Spotlight Round-up
10th December 2021
Oh, the weather outside is frightful! Winter is coming to the North, and for many of us, that means more time indoors - working, shopping, or spending time with family. Even as Christmas is approaching, and activity starts to wind down for the year, companies around the world are looking to provide big end of year news from investments to geological results. Let’s take a moment to reflect on the last week as we look to build some Christmas cheer!
Santa Claus (Kinross) is coming to Town
Kinross Gold Corporation ((TSX:K; NYSE:KGC) announced their acquisition of Great Bear Resources Ltd. (TSX-V:GBR) for about $1.4 B (USD) on Wednesday. Great Bear developed the Dixie project in northern Ontario’s Red Lake mining district for several years running, with exciting discoveries that hint at a large mineralized system there. Their work on their flagship project paid off in a big way with their acquisition by Kinross, who have been involved with the project since 2018 and believe that the Dixie project “has excellent potential to become a top tier deposit that could support a large, long-life mining complex.”
Gold, Frankincense, and….more gold?
As we round out the week, the gold prices are….exactly where they started. The prices reached a 7-day high of $1,783.80 per oz before falling back around $1,770 per oz. This can be seen as an encouraging blip or potentially a tepid market as investors try to make sense of the manic federal reactions to the Omicron variant of COVID. Either way, we’ll keep an eye on gold for you, because it’s one of the strongest indicators for the mining market!
And the mining market listens! At the end of last week, the Mines and Money London conference saw more than 1,500 attendees during the early December meeting, including a few representatives of your favorite mining news source, Spotlight Mining! Overall the conference provided a chance for more than 400 investors to get in touch with mining representatives from around the world to catch some last minute December news, strategy goals, and the 2022 outlook!
One of our favorite companies, Enduro Metals, came by for a chat about their latest discovery - a full porphyry system at their Burgundy Ridge project. Catch our interview with COO Dylan Hunko below and read our recent article on their incredible find.
Deck the Halls (with core logs!)
SolGold Metals (TSK: SOLG; LSE: SOLG) just released some big news on their high-priority Porvenir porphyry project in Ecuador - with new drill core data returned more than 700 m of 0.66 % CuEq! This porphyry discovery has returned a few drill holes, which hinted at the size of the system, but Hole 19 is big!
Goldplay Mining (TSXV-AUC.V) also had a fun news release - their first ever on their Scottie West project in British Columbia - with sample assaying at 5.90 g/t gold and 155 g/t silver! The property, located smack dab between the past-producing Granduc and Scottie Gold mines, is prospective for both copper and gold mineralization. Located in an active mining district in the Stikina Terrane of the “Golden Triangle”, Goldplay spent the summer sampling and mapping to evaluate previously discovered magnetic anomalies high in the Canadian Rockies which exhibited surface evidence for mineralization. Preliminary results are hopefully just a stocking stuffer for their team as we look for the big presents contained below the tree (underground!).
Aurion Resources (TSX VENTURE: AU) (OTCQX: AIRRF) have unveiled new geologic information extended their joint-venture project at the Kutuvuoma-Ikkari to extend 1.4 km. Early results from this project indicate gold vein intercepts with economic mineralization (e.g., 1.29 g/t Au over 20 m).
Palladium One has announced a big, non-brokered private placement of 15 million shares, totaling more than $4 M (CAD) in investments for the company.
Lastly, Plato Gold (TSXv: PGC) has announced a new geophyrical survey on their Mariott target in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt. Look for new info on the geology and structure, which will provide new gold targets in the new year.
On the Naughty List
Brian Wesson, former CEO of Otso Gold (TSXV: OTSO), and current Managing Director of Lionsbridge Capital Pty, has been detained in Oulu, Finland on charges of aggravated embezzlement and payment fraud. Wesson, with no prior notice, resigned his position with Otso Gold on November 30, as external management consultants were searching for computer equipment, files, and property - as well as investigating discrepancies in financial transactions. “The criminal suspicions facing Mr. Wesson are extremely serious. We are grateful to the Finnish authorities for the speed of their response, and we will continue to assist law enforcement in their investigation,” an Otso spokesperson said in a statement.
In the Spotlight
Keep up to date on the goings-on in mining by reading Spotlight’s publications!
- Scotland has long been a coal producer (with uncompressed version (peat) being important for another Scotch resource!) - but what about gold? Spotlight writer Luke Holland takes a glance at precious metal exploration in the Highlands.
- Water, water, everywhere! Learn from writer David Nworie about how one Brazilian state is recycling our most precious natural resource - water!
- If greenfield gold exploration in the Yukon is your thing, check out our latest Project of the Week by Aaron Hantsche which focuses on Snowline Gold’s new work in the Selwyn Basin.
- Check out our Wednesday regional news from Latin America - where gold remains a topic of interest!
That’s it for this week! Thanks for reading, and I’m happy to fill in for Jane this week. Stay warm out there!
