Long Shortz: Brazilian Critical Minerals
The results confirm strong percolation with minimal solution loss, reinforcing the viability of ISR as a low-impact rare earth extraction method.
With the company's latest $4 million oversubscribed placement, BCM is well placed to advance the Ema project through to its Bankable Feasibility Study.
Watch the video to learn more.
This video was developed in collaboration with Brazilian Critical Minerals, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
The interviews and discussions in this video are opinions only and not financial or investment advice. Viewers should obtain independent advice based on their own circumstances before making any financial decisions.
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News.com.au
3 days ago
- News.com.au
Cry? Argentina's laughing as companies flock to join its mining industry
Argentinean President Javier Milei's investment-friendly policies are helping draw mining companies This is combined with the lure of rich, yet underexplored ground across the country Minerals such as lithium, copper and gold are some of the big drawcards for explorers and miners alike Argentina is increasingly being seen as an attractive destination for resources investment, standing out even amongst the other well-endowed jurisdictions of South America. Regardless of how one might view maverick President Javier Milei, who swept to power in a landslide victory in December 2023, credit must go where credit is due. His economic reforms have certainly contributed to the creation of a more dynamic and business-friendly environment in the country. This includes the introduction of policies such as the Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI) that offers tax, customs, and exchange rate benefits for investments of more than US$200 million. One key beneficiary of this policy is Rio Tinto's US$2.5bn Rincon project in the Rincón Salt Flat, Salta, which will include a processing plant capable of producing up to 60,000tpa of battery-grade lithium carbonate. Other miners and explorers are taking note. 'Argentina is really positioning itself as a top-tier mining destination and this is something that largely wasn't there ten years ago,' Pursuit Minerals (ASX:PUR) managing director Aaron Revelle told Stockhead. 'The Milei government has really opened up the country, and they started that with the oil and gas sector. They've now really moved that into mining.' He also pointed to the 30-year Fiscal Stability Guarantee under the Mining Investment Act that covers exploration through to project maturity and really enhances the long-term investment security as another positive factor. 'There's also growing global governance and transparency standards,' Revelle added. 'Argentina now enjoys the strong support of the IMF, which is another key reason why it's such an attractive mining destination. 'Milei's very well received despite his eccentric nature across a lot of governments, especially in Latin America. 'He's showing that Argentina is tired of the old Peronist rule. People want jobs, they want lower taxes, they want lower costs of living, and I think his policies are really giving him a good standing there.' Rich mineral bounty Argentina's transformation isn't all thanks to Milei though. It has been one of the top three performers in the region since 2018 and has regularly outperformed both Chile and Bolivia, the other two prongs of the famous Lithium Triangle, thanks to having the most attractive tax code. This has contributed to the 77.1% increase in exploration expenditures between 2021 and 2023 to US$427m. It also owes a large part of this growth to its vast strategic mineral resouces. 'Argentina holds the third largest lithium reserves globally as part of the famed lithium triangle alongside Chile and Bolivia,' Revelle added. 'You look at the emergence of copper, you know, which is becoming a juggernaut there. Taca Taca in the Salta province, but also the Filo del Sol project up in San Juan. 'Then looking at other commodities – gold. (In) Santa Cruz, you've got Cerro Negro, a famed tier-1 Newmont deposit.' More importantly for junior explorers such as Pursuit, Argentina remains largely underexplored. Challenger Gold (ASX:CEL) managing director Kris Knauer agrees, telling Stockhead that Argentina doesn't just have attractive geology. It is also very immature compared to jurisdictions like Chile or Ecuador. Argentina also benefits from a high-quality, skilled mining workforce that's readily available. That's on top of significant infrastructure, with well-established road, rail and ports across its mining regions as well as stable access to electricity and water. Revelle points out that the individual provinces control mining rights. The Federal Government's key role is its courting of direct foreign investment. 'There are several major provinces that are constantly flying the flag, with their governors regularly attending PDAC to attract investment,' he added. This combination of business friendly policies, mineral riches and available infrastructure has led major miners such BHP, Lundin, Ganfeng and Eramet to make significant investments in the country. ASX players Given all the advantages, there's certainly no shortage of ASX-listed companies operating in Argentina. Pursuit is focused on its Rio Grande Sur lithium project that has a resource of 1.104Mt lithium carbonate equivalent. It's doubled down on Argentina, with the company recently divesting its WA gold prospects and is evaluating other opportunities in the country. 'There's plenty of opportunity, and we're seeing some amazing prospects that may not have actually been there or available to us five to ten years ago in terms of political constraints or things like that,' Revelle said. 'Over the next 12 months, we will look at Argentina and the lithium market, which we think will eventually rebound and come back as demand continues to grow. 'If there was an exceptional opportunity in South America we would potentially look at it, but for us we are very comfortable in lithium, very comfortable in Argentina, and really just developing opportunities within the country. We expect the country to continue to grow." Revelle didn't discount other minerals, noting that gold, copper and silver are very prospective in Argentina. The company recently produced high-purity lithium carbonate samples from its 250tpa pilot plant using synthetic brine chemically identical to that of the Rio Grande Sur lithium project. To enhance product quality and simulate potential refinement steps at commercial scale, a portion of this material was further treated at bench scale using fractional crystallisation (FX) and ion exchange (IX) techniques. These post processing steps upgraded the product to 99.5% purity, meeting established benchmarks for technical-grade lithium carbonate. Samples will be used by potential partners for product qualification and assessment purposes, representing a critical milestone in Pursuit's commercial strategy. Challenger Gold is focused primarily on its Hualilan gold project in Argentina's San Juan province that has a resource of 2.9Moz of gold with a high-grade core of 1.6Moz at 5g/t gold. In June 2025, the company unveiled a toll treatment PFS that outlined attractive returns, despite using conservative spot prices of US$2500/oz for gold and US$27.50/oz for silver. The three-year toll milling strategy delivers an estimated EBITDA of A$136 million, a post-tax NPV of US$50.5 million, and cumulative post-tax free cash flow of US$56.7 million. Using a gold price of US$3300/oz, a touch below spot, this EBITDA increases to A$221 million. The toll mining operation is based on just 3% of project's current resource and requires a modest upfront capital investment of just US$8.9 million (A$13.8m), with a rapid payback period expected by December 2025, only three months after mining begins. Mining will be focused on three shallow open pits producing 465,000 wet metric tonnes of mineralised material, with an average mined grade of 6.2g/t gold and 35g/t silver. A production target of 76,600oz payable gold and 338,500oz silver has been set out with a life-of-mine strip ratio of 6:1 and a forecast mining cost of US$8.12/t. Ore will be hauled 165km on a sealed highway to the fully permitted Casposo plant, where recoveries of 84.4% gold and 65.7% silver are expected. Knauer said the company will cross a number of milestones by the end of the year. 'There'll be first drill and blast, first mining, first processing of all, first cash flow, that's all by the end of this year. That will happen in the next five months,' he said. 'You will also see some infill drilling results from the higher grade pits there as part of that, but really for us the next five months is about executing and delivering cash flow and producing gold.' This initial toll milling operation will effectively 'bootstrap' the company into the larger operation, likely to come into focus in early 2026. 'You'll have a ... study showing what the larger project now looks like and the scale of it, which will be in the first quarter next year,' he added. The broader project is already fully permitted and has the first EIA approved in San Juan gold mining for over 10 years. An EIA amendment is needed for trucking the ore to the toll mill, along with an explosives approval for drill and blast contractor Orica, with Knauer saying time frames have been as expected. On the copper front, Belararox (ASX:BRX) operates the Toro-Malambo-Tambo (TMT) project down the road from BHP and Lundin's Filo Del Sol copper deposit, recently revealed to be among the largest global copper finds of the past 30 years in a hint the underexplored Vicuna border region of Argentina and Chile could host more tier-1 copper projects. Recent Phase 1 drilling tested two of several high priority target areas with the Tambo South target returning wide and continuous anomalous copper zones. Geological interpretation has indicated multiple intrusions with varying extents of copper mineralisation with suggestions that the upper parts of the copper porphyry target have been tested successfully. A magnetotellurics geophysical survey is planned at Toro South and Tambo to characterise the most prospective zones for follow-up drilling. American Salars (CSE:USLI) acquired the Cauchari Ines 01 lithium brine project in May 2025. The project covers about 1235 hectares over part of the 2550km2 Cauchari Salt Lake basin – a proven producing salar – and is known to contain lithium concentrations, with sampling returning up to 383ppm lithium from a depth of 30cm below the salt crust. It is located about 13km from Rio Tinto's Rincon salar – an approved US$2.5 billion development that will eventually export 60,000tpa of lithium carbonate – and about 80km from the town of San Antonio de Los Cobres with access provided by existing mining tracks and roads. There is also immediate proximity to railroads, electricity and gas pipelines. Cauchari Ines 01 sits within a known geological district with significant lithium and potassium sampling and is near the San Antonio de los Cobres and Pocitos industrial centre. Mineralisation in the Cauchari Salar include borates, sulphates, carbonates and brines rich in lithium, potassium, boron and rare earths. Significant concentrations of lithium were determined in brines from the Cauchari Salt Lake area at the northern end of the company's claim boundary.
News.com.au
3 days ago
- News.com.au
Resources Top 5: Rubidium set to unlock further value for Green Technology Metals
A maiden resource of 23,000t at Seymour in Canada ranks amongst the top rubidium deposits globally TOR has returned up to 5m at 27.93g/t gold in drilling at the Paris project in WA Silver exploration at Elizabeth Hill project will be accelerated after $6.125m was raised in a placement Your standout small cap resources stocks for Thursday, July 24, 2025 Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1) Green Technology Metals is confident of unlocking additional critical minerals value from Seymour lithium project in Ontario, Canada, after defining a maiden rubidium resource of 23,000t. The addition of rubidium to Seymour's substantial lithium resource of 10.3Mt at 1.07% Li2O is set to add a new dimension to value calculations for the project and for GT1 with shares advancing 29.63% to a daily top of 3.5c before closing at 3c. Rubidium is a critical mineral with essential uses in defence such as night vision imaging and radiation detection, potential use for chemical storage in hydrogen batteries and to replace caesium. As a high-value critical mineral, rubidium is trading at a significant premium to lithium, with high-purity material priced at about US$1060/kg. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 5.6% from US$4.63bn in 2023 to US$8bn in 2033. Besides traditional applications in defence, aerospace applications, advanced electronics and the biomedical sector, its use is expanding into emerging technologies such as quantum computing, advanced battery chemistries and next-generation electronics. GT1 will be one of few companies to integrate rubidium recovery as a by-product of lithium operations, enabling it to benefit from limited global supply, its inclusion on critical minerals lists in the US and Japan, Seymour's strategic location close to the large and growing US market, and robust trade and economic ties between Canada and Japan. The Canadian government's recognition of rubidium as a critical mineral also boosts the company's ability to potentially access additional strategic funding streams to advance Seymour. Despite the encouraging market factors, there are only a few rubidium deposits known globally including some in Australia. Even China – a significant producer – continues to import rubidium. Seymour's maiden resource of 8.3Mt at 0.27% Rb2O includes 6.2Mt at 0.28% in the indicated category and was defined following a detailed review of historical exploration data and metallurgical testwork. The resource ranks amongst the top rubidium deposits globally and represents a valuable byproduct that can generate low-cost revenue to support GT1's core lithium strategy. Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) A new 12-month high of 28c was reached by Torque Metals, a 40% increase on the previous close, after returning up to 5m at 27.93g/ gold at the Paris project in WA. This result from 503m in the second hole of TOR's current drilling program was within 12m at 12.49 g/t Au from 495m and a broader zone of 44m at 3.75 g/t from 464m. This hole, 25PRC206, which has extended mineralisation by about 240 metres beyond an historical intercept of 16m at 7.95 g/t, demonstrates the robust continuity of high-grade mineralisation at depth and along strike. The hole also intersected a new mineralised lode, north of Paris main, interpreted as an extension to the west of Paris north lode, returning 4m at 2.16 g/t from 301m. 'These latest results from Paris demonstrate the strong continuity of high-grade gold mineralisation well beyond the previous limits of drilling,' TOR managing director Cristian Moreno said. 'To intercept 5m at 27.93 g/t gold within a much broader mineralised halo is extremely encouraging and validates our down hole electromagnetics, geological and structural targeting approach. 'The hole ended in robust mineralisation, which we are immediately following up with diamond drilling to ensure we fully test this zone to depth and along strike. The new DHEM plate indicates potential for further extensions. 'As we progressively step out, we will continue to utilise DHEM to directly target our drilling.' Paris is strategically positioned near major gold producers, including Westgold's Beta Hunt operation and St Ives Goldfields, reinforcing the project's potential for future development. The current resource stands at 250,000oz at 3.1 g/t, with mineralisation remaining open in multiple directions, highlighting the potential for further resource expansion. West Coast Silver (ASX:WCE) Silver exploration at the Elizabeth Hill project of West Coast Silver in WA's Pilbara will be accelerated after $6.125m was raised in a placement. This provides strong validation of the company and its project, which hosts a past producing high-grade silver mine, and has been welcomed by investors with shares hitting a 12-month high of 17.5c, a lift of 16.67%. The placement to new institutional and sophisticated investors also enticed strong demand from existing investors with applications being scaled back. This was even more impressive considering the placement was at 11c per share, a 0.04% premium to the 15-day volume weighted average price to July 21, 2025, contrasting with most placements that are at a discount. 'We have been generating outstanding results at Elizabeth Hill and the proceeds of this capital raising will enable us to unlock the value much faster,' executive chairman Bruce Garlick said. 'There is clearly immense scope to grow and further explore the project both near mine and regionally. 'Given this potential, we want to move as quickly as possible on the exploration front and the successful placement allows us to do this.' GreenTech Metals (ASX:GRE) A systematic review of historic and recent soil and rock chip samples has highlighted anomalous gold, silver and arsenic trends at the Ruth Well project of GreenTech Metals in WA's Pilbara. The gold trend aligns with a fertile regional structural zone known to host gold occurrences over a strike of 28km and includes the 374,000oz Carlow Castle gold deposit. Rock chip assays include 5.04g/t, 1.61g/t, 1.50g/t, 1.42g/t and 1.13g/t gold. These confirm that gold is associated with the gold soil anomalism. The gold soil trends are sufficiently defined to support focused follow-up mapping and sampling aimed at identifying the most prospective parts of the structural zone for potential initial drill testing. While some lithium soil trends within the Ruth Well tenements have been partially cleared by previous heritage surveys, additional surveys will be planned to ensure all targeted areas are covered. Ruth Well is 15km south of Karratha and 25km north of GreenTech's Whundo copper-gold-zinc VMS-style deposit. GRE shares were 59.5% higher to 11c. The first step of a systematic exploration program at the Mpanda Copper-Gold Project in Tanzania has been taken by Resource Mining Corporation with 1000m of rotary air blast (RAB) drilling underway. This first-pass orientation work is focusing on previously identified anomalous areas of the Stalike and Kabungu prospects with samples to be be assayed for gold and copper amongst other elements. Holes are planned to a nominal depth of 40 metres at Stalike and 30 metres at Kabungu, and will be drilled to fresh rock. Shares reached 1.8c, a 38.5% increase on the previous close. 'The very large number of historical workings across our project area is a clear indication of mineralisation at depth and it's our objective to define multiple areas of interest,' executive chairman Asimwe Kabunga said. 'As well as the drilling, we are witnessing continued third-party interest in Mpanda as well as renewed focus on our nickel prospects, which is also an encouraging development.'
Mercury
4 days ago
- Mercury
PEC gears up for next Igrejinha exploration
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. Perpetual wraps up RC drilling at Igrejinha in Brazil's Lithium Valley The program focused on Target 1 and the South East anomaly Follow up drill design will kick off once assay results are interpreted Special report: Reverse circulation drilling at Perpetual Resources' Igrejinha asset in Brazil's Lithium Valley has wrapped up at Target 1 and the South East anomaly, with preliminary observations due following analysis of logging data. A total of 11 holes for 1163m were drilled at Target 1, defining a 200m strike of outcropping LCT pegmatite, while six holes for 287m at the South East anomaly identified an outcropping 300m+ striking pegmatite, south of the target area. Due to minor delays in sample submission, which affected processing priority, first assay results are expected to be announced in August. Follow-up drill-design at Igrejinha's Target 1 and SE Anomaly, as well as at Perpetual's (ASX:PEC) other nearby Lithium Valley projects will begin shortly, once interpretation of geology and assay results are completed. Same rocks as major deposits close by Igrejinha is less than 10km from and in the same geological setting as globally significant lithium projects such as Sigma Lithium's low-cost Grota Do Cirilo complex. The Lithium Valley holds the lion's share of the nation's ~45 hard rock lithium deposits, similar to those mined in WA, and accounts for more than 80% of the country's known lithium reserves PEC executive chairman Julian Babarczy recently told Stockhead that Brazil's Lithium Valley presents a highly attractive setting for resource development. The region is bolstered by substantial investment and strong government backing for critical minerals projects, including recent moves by major Chinese firms like BYD, which have secured exploration ground and established EV manufacturing facilities More from PEC: Perpetual pounces for counter-cyclical payoff 'Important milestone' With maiden drilling now complete, Babarczy said the company was encouraged by the progress made and looked forward to the receipt of the program's assay results. 'These will provide valuable insights to guide our assessment of the important next phase of exploration and drilling as we shape the broader exploration strategy at Igrejinha and nearby projects in the Lithium Valley,' he said. 'The conclusion of drilling marks an important milestone for Perpetual as we continue to build momentum across our exciting Brazilian exploration portfolio.' Perpetual is now focusing on analysis and interpretation of the Igrejinha drill program results, with planning for future drill programs at Target 1, the SE Anomaly and other project areas. Additional work programs are also being considered across Perpetual's other Brazilian exploration assets. This article was developed in collaboration with Perpetual Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions. Originally published as Perpetual Resources completes Lithium Valley drilling with next exploration phase in sight
