Latest news with #AskariMetals
West Australian
27-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Askari set for polymetallic field program alongside Namibian tin mine
Askari Metals is set to launch a phase one exploration campaign at the company's prospective EPL 7626 area, one of three exploration licences within the company's Namibian polymetallic Uis project. The licence is contiguous with and about 4 kilometres northeast along strike from Andrada Mining's operating Uis tin mine, which hosts a JORC-compliant estimated mineral resource of 77.51 million tonnes averaging 0.79 per cent lithium oxide, 0.15 per cent tin and 82 parts per million tantalum. Askari's planned field work includes mapping, rock chip sampling and tenement-wide soil geochemical sampling. The proposed work will be undertaken by Askari's African exploration crew under the guidance of the company's chief exploration and project manager, Clifford Fitzhenry. Fitzhenry, a geologist with 21 years' experience, joined Askari two years ago in a then-new role of chief exploration and project manager in Africa. His appointment was a key part of Askari's exploration strategy to accelerate its drilling and development program at its flagship Uis lithium project. Askari says soil sampling is the company's preferred means of conducting low-cost, effective exploration for buried lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatites in the EPL 7626 licence area. An LCT pegmatite target is a specific type of granitic pegmatites, which have geological and geochemical characteristics that help exploration companies identify lithium-caesium-tantalum-style pegmatites. The pegmatites may also include tin, niobium and rubidium. Following the soil geochemistry, the company can follow up and refine its priority targets with trench sampling. A previous in-house remote sensing study across EPL 7626 identified zones with spectral tin-tantalite signatures characteristic of mica schists, which were also mapped on another of Askari's nearby licence area, EPL 7345. The company believes mica schists in this second licence area continue northeast beneath Andrada's Uis tin mine and into the EPL 7626 area, most likely beneath cover. Askari based the remote sensing study on Sentinel-2 multispectral satellite imagery, which can differentiate rock types, map regolith units, and identify surface mineralogy. The company is now setting up for a licence-wide soil sampling program on an initial 200 metre by 200m sampling grid to pick up any geochemical anomalies associated with buried pegmatites. The program will comprise about 54 square kilometres and will collect about 1407 samples. The company will determine any next work from the results of the first phase soil geochemical program on EPL 7626 and will design a follow-up infill sampling program to further test any anomalies encountered. Askari also expects to receive assay results from its first phase trenching program at EPL7345 over the next few months. This means that further work on the greater Uis project will comprise a second phase of infill soil geochemical sampling, followed by first phase trenching program at EPL 7626, and then a first phase trenching program on a third licence area. In other work, Askari is progressing its Ethiopian gold strategy and its Tanzanian uranium strategy and is currently reviewing some prospective projects for potential acquisition. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
West Australian
06-05-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Askari identifies more than 4% tin oxide at Namibian project
Askari Metals has identified high-grade tin, tantalum and rubidium in old rock chip assays from its Uis project in Namibia, with best hits including 4.05 per cent tin oxide, 1121 parts per million (ppm) tantalum pentoxide and 0.83 per cent rubidium oxide. The revelation comes from a review of third-party data from Askari's central tenement in its Uis project, which is contiguous at its northeastern extremity with Andrada Mining's operating Uis tin mine. Andrada's mine hosts a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate of 77.51 million tonnes at average elemental metal grades of 0.15 per cent tin, 3655ppm lithium, 1355ppm rubidium, 82ppm tantalum and 114ppm niobium. In comparison, Askari's highlighted historical rock chip oxide numbers - drawn from 1163 samples - convert to elemental metal equivalents as 3.19 per cent tin, 7589ppm rubidium and 918ppm tantalum. Askari's 2-kilometre by 26-metre OP pegmatite target features high-grade mineralisation up to 1.64 per cent tin oxide, 392ppm tantalum pentoxide and 0.22 per cent rubidium oxide. Rock chip samples from its PS pegmatite exhibit values to 1.63 per cent tin oxide, 639ppm tantalum pentoxide and 0.27 per cent rubidium oxide. Fieldwork at its DP pegmatite target has also revealed high-grade mineralisation with values up to 0.89 per cent tin oxide, 635ppm tantalum pentoxide and 0.29 per cent rubidium oxide. Other pegmatites near the DP target produced higher grades, with best results including 4.05 per cent tin oxide, 1121ppm tantalum pentoxide and 0.44 per cent rubidium oxide. The three projects lie in a cluster close to the northern border of the tenement, about 3.5km southwest of Andrada's mining operation. Askari also has a fourth established K9 target, about 5km south of the triad of targets near the tenement border. K9 also shows respectable grades, with values up to 0.27 per cent tin oxide, 216ppm tantalum pentoxide and 0.49 per cent rubidium oxide. Historical drilling on the tenement also produced high-grade intercepts, which include 4m assaying 0.16 per cent tin oxide, including 1m at 0.26 per cent, 4m at 314ppm tantalum pentoxide, including 1m at 695ppm, and 2m at 0.30 per cent rubidium oxide, including 1m at 0.38 per cent. The highest tin grade obtained from the results is 4.05 per cent tin oxide, which equates to 3.19 per cent tin, while 66 samples produced grades of more than 0.25 per cent tin oxide or 0.19 per cent tin. At the OP target, analyses from 175 drilling samples yielded an average grade of 0.11 per cent tin oxide, while 175 samples from the company's DP target averaged 0.19 per cent tin oxide. The results point to strong tin potential within the licence. The company has also identified significant tantalum mineralisation in the central licence area, which has produced three top grades of 1121ppm, 803ppm and 639ppm tantalum pentoxide. A total of 268 samples assayed better than 100ppm tantalum pentoxide, which points to significant potential for the valuable metal in the northeastern corner of the licence area. Rubidium hits attain a maximum of 0.83 per cent rubidium oxide, with 61 samples assaying better than 0.2 per cent rubidium oxide and 174 samples from the DP target averaged 0.14 per cent rubidium oxide. With rubidium rising in significance in the growing panoply of critical commodities, the prevalence of the metal in Askari's Uis ground could prove to be an important sweetener to any future production stream. Importantly, in addition to the company's known PS, OP, DP and K9 pegmatite targets, its exhaustive review of historic assay data has highlighted three significant new anomalous tin, tantalum and rubidium zones that extend northwest within and parallel to the northern licence border. These distinct individual trends range from 2km to 4km long and are centred between 2km to 3km inside the northern licence border, northwest of the PS, OP, DP cluster. Askari is looking at further exploration to develop and expand the known tin and tantalum mineralisation in the central licence area. The company will review its phase one trenching assays from the licence when they are received and plans to undertake detailed mapping and rock chip sampling of the three new target zones northwest of the current target cluster. Subject to trenching results and indications from detailed mapping, Askari also plans to mobilise an excavator to site for a phase two trenching program. The company's immediate further work will focus on better defining the company's tin and tantalum targets across the licence and will also embrace extensions of the known current OP and DP targets. The Uis project is shaping up to be a valuable polymetallic project with strong economic potential. It is rapidly emerging as a major but significantly under-explored asset for the company.
West Australian
30-04-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Askari seizes first mover status on Ethiopian gold projects
Askari Metals has entered into a binding agreement to acquire 100% of Rift Valley Metals which owns a gold portfolio of five tenements enclosing 460 square kilometres of highly prospective ground in Ethiopia. The company's landholdings are within the Adola Greenstone Belt in the under-explored southern segment of the Arabian-Nubian Shield, about 350km south of Ethiopia's capital of Addis Ababa. The Arabian-Nubian Shield spans over 2.7 million square kilometres and remarkably is slightly bigger than the area of Western Australia. It covers Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. The Arabian-Nubian Shield is a massive continental block formed between about 870–550 million years ago. The Shield region remains largely unexplored despite its significant mineral endowment which includes volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits, porphyry copper-gold systems and orogenic gold, as evidenced by the presence of several major mining operations. Egypt's Sukari mine owned by Centamin hosts 11 million ounces of gold, while Barrick's Jabal Sayid project in Saudi Arabia contains a significant 30 million tonnes of copper. Perseus' Block 14 operation in Sudan hosts 3M ounces of gold, while Eritrea's Bisha mine mineral resources comprise an impressive 2.85Mt of contained zinc at 3.87% and 760Kt of contained copper at a grade of 1.03%. Bisha is owned by very active Chinese firm Zijin Mining (55%) who can earn up to 60%, with Eritrean National Mining Corporation (ENAMCO) holding the remaining 45%. It is the largest producing zinc project in Eritrea. Ethiopia also hosts multiple significant deposits, including Allied's Kurmuk project with 3.4M ounces at 1.6g/t gold; Kefi's Tulu Kapi deposit with 1.7M ounces of gold at 2.6g/t gold and Midroc's Lega Dembi mine with 2.5M ounces of gold. The Arabian-Nubian Shield is richly endowed with several mineralisation types whose styles are a function of its geological and structural arc-accretion history. VMS deposits such as the Bisha-Hambok cluster in Eritrea and Hassai next door in Sudan, are arc-related, while porphyry copper-gold systems like Jebel Ohier in Sudan are associated with post-collision intrusions. Orogenic gold mineralisation also occurs in shear-zone-hosted quartz veins which include Ethiopia's Adola Belt and Egypt's Sukari deposit. 'The Adola Greenstone Belt, part of the prolific Arabian-Nubian Shield, represents one of the last mineral rich frontier belts offering significant exploration upside with multi-million-ounce potential. This acquisition positions Askari with a significant first mover advantage within this prolific gold-copper region. These assets are strategically located along strike of large-scale multi-million-ounce gold mines including the globally significant Sakaro and Lega Dembi deposits. The discovery potential of these projects is exceptionally high, and we are excited by the opportunity that is on offer.' Askari Metals Executive Director Gino D'Anna The Adola belt is a significant geological domain in its own right and has an extensive history of gold production including significant placer gold output, with historical estimates suggesting about 55 tonnes of gold were recovered by artisanal miners. Askari's five new projects comprise Sakaro, Sakaro West, Lega Dembi South, Megado and Wayu Boda, disposed along a highly-prospective trend of multi-million-ounce gold deposits including some close to Ethiopia's only modern gold mines at Sakaro and Lega Dembi, with the latter producing more than 3 million ounces to date. Artisanal miners made the initial discoveries of the Lega Dembi and Sakaro deposits in 1975, leading to their eventual commercial development, with Lega Dembi launching gold production in 1994, yielding about 2.47M ounces of gold, while Sakaro has contributed another 0.63M ounces of gold. Both of those deposits are classified as primary epithermal gold systems, indicative of the region's significant potential for structurally controlled, high-grade mineralisation. In December 2011, National Mining Corporation, an Ethiopian private company, announced its discovery of an estimated resource of 17.7M ounces of gold at the Dawa-Okote project, further underlining the gold potential of the region. The Megado project lies in the heart of the mineralised corridor midway between the Sakaro and Lega Dembi mines 24km to its north and the 17.7 million-ounce Dawa Okote gold deposit about 34km south of Megado. Gold mineralisation is typically hosted by quartz veins which cross-cut the metavolcanic and metasedimentary units and which are rich in sulphides that include chalcopyrite and sphalerite. Potentially economic gold mineralisation in the north-south trending Adola Greenstone Belt is principally concentrated along the north-south Lega Dembi shear zone, an extensive tectonic contact between quartzo-feldspathic gneisses and greenstone sequences. Gold can also be found in quartz veins and in mylonitic foliations, often associated with steeply plunging lineations which indicate strong structural controls. The placer gold deposits in the area form from weathering of the primary gold rich quartzitic horizons and may constitute secondary shallow gold resources in modern and ancient buried or exhumed channels. Historic regional exploration by Alecto Minerals near the Wayu Boda project includes rock chip samples assaying up to 47g/t gold, along with trench sample results of 14m going 0.4g/t gold, including 3.6m assaying 1.5g/t gold, 1.3m at 4.9g/t gold and 2m running 1.1g/t gold. Askari recently received firm commitments to raise $750,000 from existing and new sophisticated investors and directors at an issue price of A$0.008 per share. CPS Capital acted as Lead Manager to the Placement, with the funding to go towards continued exploration and development of the company's Uis tin-tantalum project in Namibia. Askari's latest acquisition of the five Adola Greenstone Belt gold projects provides a first-mover advantage for Askari to launch and build a potentially tier-1 gold portfolio in Ethiopia, with completion of the placement providing sufficient working capital for its ongoing operational activities. Askari is still on the hunt for additional strategic acquisitions that complement the company's existing portfolio along the Adola Greenstone Belt and within Ethiopia generally on a more regional scale. It is already undertaking due diligence on several advanced gold projects. One thing seems certain however – this is elephant country and it is hard to find small discoveries. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
West Australian
23-04-2025
- Business
- West Australian
Askari exec reappointed to deliver African green energy shift
Askari Metals has reappointed company founder and major shareholder Gino D'Anna as executive director to drive the company's transition towards a greater focus on its African assets. The transition combines Askari's growing African emphasis with its strategic shift towards battery metals and clean energy commodities, which will include developing projects such as its Namibian Uis lithium project and its Matemanga and Eyasi uranium projects in Tanzania. D'Anna's re-appointment enables Askari to focus on and advance its 2025 corporate objective to get the best value from the company's existing portfolio and ensure further growth through strategic acquisitions suited to its commodity emphasis and specialisation. D'Anna has significant experience in managing and advising junior mining exploration companies and more than 15 years of experience in the sector, combined with significant primary and secondary capital markets experience. His professional background includes resource exploration, public company operations, administration and financial management, including mining sector work with the Canadian government and First Nations communities. It also has a broad international flavour, including in Australia, Botswana, Namibia and Canada, where D'Anna was involved in exploring and developing many projects, including some recent discoveries. Askari also last week appointed resource industry professional Tim Morrison to its board as a non-executive director to strengthen the company's corporate expertise as it realigns its focus towards Africa and clean-energy commodities. Morrison has more than 20 years of experience in senior roles developing early-stage resource companies and has been involved in raising significant capital for resource projects across various exchanges. Downey said Askari has some highly prospective and advanced projects across Africa, where its strength and experience would allow the company to leverage a first mover advantage. In addition to its Uis lithium project, Askari has assembled an attractive portfolio of lithium, rare earth elements and copper-gold projects in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and New South Wales. The company recently acquired the Matemanga and Eyasi projects in Tanzania's southern and northern regions, respectively, through a direct application process. Matemanga is geologically well-situated due to its potentially significant continuity with the world-class Nyota uranium mine, about 70 kilometres north. Matemanga and Nyota both lie within the Karoo Basin, which includes sandstone sequences known to host uranium. A 2006 exploration program at Matemanga by former US-based explorer Uranerz Energy identified a big radiometric anomaly over a 10km x 6km area that indicates potential uranium mineralisation. Uranerz had other exploration priorities at the time and did not follow up the Matemanga anomalism. The Nyota uranium project, with its substantial resource estimate of 124.6 million pounds of contained uranium oxide at 306 parts per million uranium oxide, serves as a powerful indication of the region's potential for big uranium deposits and provides a strong incentive for new explorers. Nyota is owned by the Russian state-owned company, Rosatom, through its subsidiary Atomredmetzoloto (ARMZ). The project was previously owned by Mantra Resources and was acquired by Rosatom in 2011 for $1.2 billion. Uranium One is also a subsidiary of ARMZ and is the project operator in Tanzania. Askari's re-processing of airborne geophysical data at its Eyasi project has identified two discrete, 1km-wide linear radiometric anomalies along a 30km trend, which it interprets as part of a fluvial channel system draining primary basement granitic rocks. Askari is also undertaking due diligence assessments towards the likely acquisition of other uranium projects to assemble a district-scale uranium portfolio in southern Tanzania. Askari has also appointed specialist advisor CPS Capital Group to help it implement a capital markets strategy over the next 12 months by working with existing shareholders and new investors. CPS Capital has extensive experience in the global mineral resources sector and has successfully led financings for several mining, exploration and development companies with Australian and international assets. Askari will issue CPS Capital or its nominee $90,000 in ordinary shares in the company at a deemed issue price of 1.3 cents per share, equalling 6,923,077 shares, under Askari's existing ASX LR 7.1 placement capacity. D'Anna said the strategic alliance with CPS Capital would help Askari leverage its strength and experience to extend its corporate reach. Askari also executed a binding subscription agreement in January with Celtic Finance Corporation, a single high-net-worth sophisticated investor, to raise a further $350,000 before costs at an average issue price of 1.35c per share. The placement was completed when Askari issued 10,937,500 shares at 1.6c per share with shareholder approval and a further 15,909,091 shares at 1.1c per share under its ASX LR 7.1 capacity. Askari will use the placement to support its growth plans, as working capital to advance its Tanzanian uranium strategy and to help access a broader funding network. The company is continuing due diligence to acquire further uranium projects in the emerging tier-1 uranium province in southern Tanzania. Askari is also working on a divestment strategy for its Australian exploration portfolio, which contains prospective gold, copper, rare earths and lithium projects. The company's strategic objectives will now be built on exploiting its considerable African expertise, coupled with its desire to become a disciplined African explorer and developer. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:
