TSX Venture rises, Jan. 7-11; Cobalt 27, K92, Ascot-IDM

Shares of Cobalt 27 Capital rose 26¢ to $4.44. In January 2019, the company bought Westgold Resources’ royalty on the Mount Marion lithium mine in Western Australia for $240,400, plus 200 tonnes of physical cobalt. The royalty consist of 1.5% gross revenues and A$2 per tonne of ore mined from part of Mount Marion. The mine is a joint venture between Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium, Mineral Resources and Neometals.

Earlier, Cobalt 27 agreed to acquire all Highlands Pacific shares that it did not already own for $96 million, a 30% premium over Highlands’ 20-day, volume-weighted average share price at closing of the Australian Securities Exchange on Dec. 24, 2018. Cobalt 27 can increase Highlands’ ownership in the Ramu nickel-cobalt mine from 8.56% to 11.3%, and would then receive over 600,000 lb. cobalt and 2,900 tonnes nickel of the mine’s production.

Shares of K92 Mining rose 19¢ to $1.13. The company has updated a preliminary economic assessment for its Kora and Kora North gold deposits — part of its Kainantu gold mine in the Eastern Highlands of Papua New Guinea.

According to the study, the company could double its processing plant capacity to 400,000 tonnes per year for US$13.6 million that the company could fund from cash flow from its existing operation. It would produce 120,000 equivalent oz. gold per year at US$615 per equivalent oz. gold all-in sustaining costs over a 13-year life. The project would then have a US$559-million, after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate and a 350% after-tax internal rate of return.

The project’s Kora North deposit contains 850,000 indicated tonnes grading 12.9 grams gold, 13.1 grams silver and 0.7% copper for 350,000 oz. gold, 360,000 oz. silver and 13.3 million lb. copper. Its Irumafimpa deposit has 560,000 indicated tonnes at 12.8 grams gold, 9 grams silver and 0.28% copper for 230,000 oz. gold, 160,000 oz. silver and 37 million lb. copper. The project also has substantial inferred resources across its Kora North, Irumafimpa and Kora/Eutompi deposits.   

Shares of Ascot Resources fell 17¢ to $1.10. In early January 2019, the company bid for IDM Mining in a deal that valued IDM at 8.6¢ per share and represented a 54% premium to IDM shareholders, based on the 20-day, volume-weighted average share price at closing on Jan. 4, 2019. IDM shareholders will receive 0.0675 Ascot shares for every IDM share held. After the deal closes, IDM shareholders would  own 16.7% of Ascot.

IDM is developing its Red Mountain gold-silver project in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle. Based on a June 2018 resource update, the project has 5.5 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 7.68 grams gold per tonne and 24.5 grams silver for 1.37 million oz. gold, and 4.3 million oz. silver. It also has 6.3 million inferred tonnes at 7.12 grams gold and 23.2 grams silver for 1.4 million oz. gold and 4.7 million oz. silver.