Check the BMR comments section during the day for updates and helpful information. Morning Musings returns tomorrow.
1. Gold has traded between $1,259 and $1,267 so far today as a Federal Reserve monetary policy meeting convenes…as of 7:00 am Pacific, bullion is down $4 an ounce at $1,261 while Silver has slid 19 cents to $16.70…Gold held in exchange-traded products has gathered momentum and holdings are up 24 tonnes so far in June, according to Standard Chartered…for all of 2017 so far, holdings have increased 110 tonnes…at current prices, metal held in trust does not look exposed to loss-making positions…keep in mind that the last 3 rate hikes have coincided with important lows in both Gold and the Venture…
2. The Venture is up 1 point at 787 through the first 30 minutes of trading…Ascot Resources (AOT, TSX-V) is up 15 cents at $2.09 after reporting results for 22 additional drill holes in an ongoing program featuring 6 drill rigs at its Premier mine near Stewart…P17–1269 returned 1,135 g/t Au over half a meter within a wider interval grading 36.3 g/t Au (uncut) over 16.15 m…to date, 112 holes have been completed in 34,893 m of drilling with results pending at the moment for another 46 holes…the TSX has slipped 70 points while U.S. markets are bouncing back…the Dow and NASDAQ are both up more than 40 points in early trading…
3. Historically throughout the 1900’s, explorers and miners focused exclusively on the exceptionally high-grade Silver of the Castle mine in northern Ontario and ignored the potential of other metals including visible Cobalt, in part due to recovery issues which have since been solved…yesterday, Castle Silver Resources (CSR, TSX-V) reported assays from the first 5 chip samples taken inside the mine after an underground work program started there just over a week ago…CSR–17-S03 returned 1.8% Cobalt, 8.5% Nickel and 25.2 g/t Ag…CSR–17-S04 graded 1.6% Cobalt, 5.3% Ni and 17.5 g/t Ag…all 5 samples averaged 1.06% Co, 5.3% Ni and 17.5 g/t Ag…underground sampling covering multiple target areas continues at Castle ahead of near-term drilling…the shallow-dipping 300-m-thick Nipissing diabase intrusive that underlies a large portion of the 33 sq. km Castle Property is interpreted to be a heat source that mobilized Silver, intimately associated with Cobalt, Nickel and likely other metals as well…CSR is the only junior with underground access in the prolific Silver-Cobalt Camp in northern Ontario and the first to report assays from 2017 work…the numbers reported by CSR bode well for the company’s program, now underway, to produce high purity Cobalt powders through its proprietary Re-2OX process for end user evaluation by the battery sector…CSR has bounced between 25 and 26.5 cents in early trading…
4. Constantine Metal Resources (CEM, TSX-V) has commenced a 7,000-m program with 2 drills at the Palmer JV Project in Alaska as part of a $7 million (U.S.) total budget…Palmer is a high-grade VMS project with an Inferred resource of 8.1 million tonnes grading 1.4% Cu, 5.2% Zn, 0.32 g/t Au and 31.7 g/t Ag…it features considerable exploration upside as most targets (hydrothermal alteration zones and high-grade base and precious metal mineralization exposed at surface) have never been drill tested…the majority of 2017 drilling is dedicated to discovery of new mineral deposits while the balance is for expansion and upgrade of the existing South Wall-RW Zone resource, and geotechnical studies…
5. Satori Resources (BUD, TSX-V) announced this morning that the company has commenced diamond drilling at its 100%-owned Tartan Lake Gold mine located in Flin Flon, Manitoba…drilling is designed to expand and extend the known high-grade mineralization – plenty of upside potential here – and will consist of approximately 4,000 m split into 2 phases…Tartan Lake consists of a processing plant, related infrastructure, and a decline providing access to developed mining blocks within the Main and South Zones to a vertical depth of 320 m…47,000 ounces were produced between 1987 and 1989…a NI-43–101 resource estimate was recently completed, showing an Indicated mineral resource of 1,180,000 tonnes @ 6.3 g/t Au (240,000 ounces) and an additional Inferred resource of 240,000 tonnes @ 4.9 g/t Au (37,000 ounces), using a 3.0 g/t cut-off…
6. Field crews have mobilized to Canada Zinc Metals‘ (CZX, TSX-V) Akie Property in northeast B.C. to commence the company’s 2017 diamond drilling program that will focus primarily on the Cardiac Creek Zn-Pb-Ag deposit…the Company owns 100% of 11, large, contiguous property blocks that comprise the Akie and Kechika regional projects including the flagship Akie Project hosting Cardiac Creek…a majority of the upcoming drilling will target the deposit with a focus on expanding the down-dip limits of the high-grade core of Cardiac Creek as well as other expansion targets down-dip and along strike…CZX is trading at its 2017 lows…
7. Nemaska Lithium (NMX, TSX) has announced that it’s raising $50 million on a bought deal basis through a syndicate of underwriters led by National Bank Financial Inc. – 47.62 million common shares of NMX at a price of $1.05 per share…Nemaska will use the net proceeds of the offering to continue development of the Whabouchi Lithium mine, the Whabouchi spodumene concentrator and the Shawinigan hydrometallurgical plant…the offering is expected to close within approximately 2 weeks…Nemaska Lithium says it’s also actively engaged in discussions with prospective lenders regarding terms and conditions of the project debt financing and has recently started the due diligence phase of the process with certain parties…the company expects to reach an agreement with the lenders by the end of September…NMX is off 12 cents at $1.06 as of 7:00 am Pacific…
The most popular recent BMR articles…
and CSR – noone cares:) Route1 (roi.v) comes out with a business changing NR and nada… oh well!:)
Comment by jeremy — June 13, 2017 @ 7:14 am
GGI. 500K offer moved to 15.5. smells like a financing lid, and moving up a half cent, well maybe they were nervous it might get nibbled on
Comment by david — June 13, 2017 @ 7:41 am
Venture (slow across the board) is behaving very typically immediately prior to a Fed decision, Jeremy—–cycle lows have occurred in both Gold and the Venture right around the 3 previous rate hikes…ideal time for accumulation. The followers, those driven by their emotions, will wait and buy at higher prices; the leaders will see through the fog of the market and pick away at some great deals.
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 13, 2017 @ 7:45 am
I think the venture as a whole needs to perk up… 🙂
Comment by jeremy — June 13, 2017 @ 8:02 am
CSR my conspiracy theory is holding true, good news yesterday and stock down today …..
Comment by Greg — June 13, 2017 @ 8:44 am
Jon, I think the venture being quiet is simply seasonality. I don’t think the fed decision (whether they raise 1/4 point or not) is going to have much if any effect on the venture right now.
Comment by Danny — June 13, 2017 @ 11:54 am
There are many stocks moving. Here is what I have to say looking at level 2.
GGI, CSR, BCK, arf arf
Comment by dave — June 13, 2017 @ 12:07 pm
Seasonality can be part of the explanation, Danny, though last year of course “seasonality” wasn’t a factor.
It’s the phase of the bull cycle the Venture is currently in. Keep in mind, markets behaved very much like this as well around the same time in 2010 before the next phase kicked in.
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 13, 2017 @ 12:11 pm
Regarding BCK, I guess you can’t blame the PP holders at .10 for taking some profit, a lot of selling by anonymous. I am guessing when anonymous is done selling we might get a bounce back up. Still a great share structure though.
Obviously the market is not a big believer in the GGI story. The market is saying to Regoci “show me”!
Comment by Danny — June 13, 2017 @ 1:06 pm
just wondering … how much do you think a co. is worth with a silver-cobalt mine in operation today ? lets use csr for the example?
Comment by herman — June 13, 2017 @ 1:40 pm
GGI – one of the surprises Regoci may be referring to is the share price dropping below 14 cents. Pathetic.
Comment by Dan1 — June 13, 2017 @ 1:45 pm
Jon
I don’t buy the seasonality reasoning, when the Venture was in a bear market there were still many stocks that did very well, just makes no sense that CSR would be down 1.5 cents today on over 200,000 shares after very promising news yesterday , somebody just does not want this stock to break out …
This is getting very discouraging….
Comment by Greg — June 13, 2017 @ 2:06 pm
Greg, I didn’t make the seasonality argument but if you look at the top 500 stocks on the Venture, you can tell that this is a bull market still in consolidation mode, tinged with some malaise which has been the case every time around a Fed rate hike since late 2015 (ideal time to accumulate).
Specifically with regard to CSR, what I’m excited about and focused on – what’s going to drive the value – is what’s happening on the ground. Great news yesterday, and a lot more to come. And a good portion of that selling today – 60% or nearly two-thirds – was from ANON and is putting more money into the treasury, Greg! (final tranche of financing plus exercising of some warrants pre-2017). That’s a vote of confidence. With selling, what’s critical is that you understand where it’s coming from and why. CSR will break out—could be at anytime given developments on the ground, but when it’s ready. It’s not a case of anybody trying to hold it down. Volume has been picking up and that’s great to see.
CSR is a stock that’s up 250% this year, for crying out loud. It has been building a great base to launch from very soon.
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 13, 2017 @ 3:15 pm
Jon
thanks for your insight, just surprised to see CSR down today after what I thought was very very good news yesterday… I was really excited for todays trading so to see it down was very disappointing, I know I know don’t look at the day to day trading.. look at the big picture, which was what I was doing based on yesterday’s NR amongst all the other info you guys have been giving us and it just didn’t add up, I really thought today would be the day it broke up over the 26 cent mark… oh well…
Comment by greg — June 13, 2017 @ 3:27 pm
Looks like BCK settled down a bit today after yesterday’s record volume, although pretty good volume today too around 25/26 level. Jon: do you know when the pp might be closing?
Comment by STEVEN1 — June 13, 2017 @ 5:33 pm
They will close the PP on BCK at or before month-end, Steven1.
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 13, 2017 @ 5:40 pm
How good is Market Smart, Jon? Do they really pack much of a punch? Not really impressed with their site- I click on ‘media’ and an video clip from 2015 shows up with GGI’s drill program at Grizzly. Seems a bit amateurish. Also noted that BCK is there too. Not a whole lot of SP valuation increase over the past few years on any of the companies they promote, save NEE. What are your perspectives on their work? And does BMR collaborate with them in any way?
Comment by Johnz — June 13, 2017 @ 6:29 pm
Jon,
What happened to DBV? Have you stopped following it??? Is it a buy at these levels or is it “done like dinner”???
Comment by Jeff — June 13, 2017 @ 6:43 pm
High Volume Alerts(s)! …EGD +600% …EU +400% …XTM +300% …ABN +200% …PLY +180% …KDX +100%
Comment by Daniel — June 13, 2017 @ 7:54 pm
CSR
I guess even if you do promote your company everywhere doesn’t mean the stock price is going up… Basa being interviewed everywhere lately and stock stays the same or trades down a penny or two… sheesh
Comment by greg — June 13, 2017 @ 11:30 pm
The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday, June 14, edition that Canaccord Genuity analyst Kevin MacKenzie began coverage of Barkerville Gold Mines ($1.10) with a “speculative buy” rating. Mr. MacKenzie set a share price target of $1.75. Analysts on average target the shares at $1.55.
Comment by Sameer — June 14, 2017 @ 4:49 am
1.2 million shares traded in CSR the last 7 sessions, so volume is increasing, Greg, which is always positive, and more money is being put into the treasury. Stay focused on the big picture and the end game which is far more important than minor daily swings in the stock price.
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 14, 2017 @ 5:06 am
FIRST COBALT SURFACE SAMPLING TESTS KEELEY-FRONTIER FOR DISSEMINATED COBALT
First Cobalt Corp. has commenced a surface sampling program at its Canadian flagship project, the Keeley-Frontier mine near Cobalt, Ont.
The surface sampling program will improve the understanding of the controlling structures in the mineralized system and assess the extent of disseminated cobalt mineralization outside of previously mined structures. By testing for metals away from the main vein system, First Cobalt intends to determine if a cobalt-rich halo extends beyond the high-grade vein system that could be amenable to large scale bulk-mining methods.
Trent Mell, President and CEO commented,
“Many Canadian gold mines built over the past two decades resulted from revisiting old high grade mines and recasting them as lower grade but higher tonnage operations. This is our vision for the Cobalt Ontario camp and our exploration program will now begin to assess the Keeley-Frontier project for bulk mining potential. Surface sampling is an effective and efficient way to test the metal dispersion around the known silver-mineralized zones. We expect assay results in a few weeks. Structural mapping of these stripped outcrops is also necessary to understand the broader region’s bedrock geology and will improve our targeting for the summer drill program.”
Stripping and channel sampling programs were conducted between 2012 and 2014 that exposed areas of mineralization close to the Keeley-Frontier mine as well as in areas considered to be extensions to the main vein system. Sampling at that time was concentrated on finding high grade silver veins similar to those mined historically, so many areas remain untested for cobalt. Five separate areas were stripped during these programs (Figure 1).
The 2017 program will expose new outcrops for sampling and structural mapping. The Bellellen Mine historically produced a higher ratio of cobalt and nickel compared to silver. An outcrop of chloritized mafic volcanic rocks near the northern shaft of the Bellellen Mine will be sampled to test for mineralization away from the historically mined vein. More stripping will be done at the Frontier #1 shaft parallel to the vein system previously encountered to test for cobalt in the altered mafic volcanic rocks. High grade silver-cobalt vein material is found throughout the surface muckpile taken from the shaft.
Outcrops south of Keeley #3 shaft show intensely chloritized and veined mafic volcanic rocks. Cobalt found here would represent metal dispersion away from the Woods Vein – improving the potential for bulk mining in this area.
Sampling of previously stripped areas will also be done in this program to target altered mafic volcanic rocks not included in the previous work program, to test for cobalt as well as other base metal mineralization as seen at the Gibson Lake area.
A rusty outcrop at Gibson Lake was previously stripped exposing a northwest-trending vein system approximately 350 metres west of the Keeley-Frontier mine. Results were published in an Ontario Ministry of Northern Development and Mines assessment report by Jamieson and Cutting in 2014. Along a 14 metre interval of the vein, elevated silver, cobalt, copper, zinc and lead were encountered: 0.95m sample with 174 g/t Ag and 0.22% Co as well as 0.6m sample with 70 g/t Ag, 0.05% Co, 0.4% Cu, 1.64% Zn, and 1.31% Pb. The copper and zinc values are significant as they are associated with pyrite-pyrrhotite mineralization, similar to mineralization seen at the Nipissing Mine in the Cobalt camp; historically the largest silver and cobalt producer in the district. There is little understanding of the relationship between the mineralization system at Gibson Lake and the veins at Keeley-Frontier. Developing this knowledge base will be an important step in advancing the Company’s strategy for a possible bulk mining opportunity in this area. Results from this 2014 report suggest other base metals could be considered for economic evaluation at Keeley-Frontier.
Twenty samples were collected from near the Frontier #1 shaft. Results revealed new silver veins away from previously known the mineralization within the historic shaft and included a 0.70 metre interval at 20.7 g/t Ag and 0.35 metres at 16.7 g/t Ag. Cobalt values were low but chlorite- and epidote-altered mafic volcanic rocks typically associated with cobalt and nickel mineralization were not sampled at that time. No samples were collected from stripping near the Haileybury Shaft, where historic records indicate cobalt-nickel mineralization was intersected. A calcite vein with visible silver and cobalt minerals is exposed in the stripped area.
The Company has engaged Canadian Exploration Services to provide equipment and personnel to conduct outcrop stripping and channel sampling at the Keeley-Frontier mine site. Mobilization to site was June 13. The results of the surface sampling program are anticipated in July.
Keeley-Frontier Project
First Cobalt’s vision for the property is to revisit the historic camp, which has not seen meaningful exploration activity in more than 75 years, and evaluate the opportunity to use modern bulk mining techniques to revive the camp.
The Keeley and Frontier Mines were originally developed and operated as separate mines and eventually integrated in 1961. From 1908 to 1965, the Keeley-Frontier Mine produced a total of over 3.3 million pounds of cobalt at a recovered grade of 0.5% and 19.1 million ounces of silver at a recovered grade of 58 ounces per tonne using these reported production numbers. Most of the production occurred between 1922 and 1931. The Company acquired a 100% option over the property in March of 2017.
The neighbouring towns of Silver Centre and Cobalt, Ontario were historically the most prolific cobalt jurisdictions in Canada and the largest silver producers worldwide. It is estimated that from 1904 to 1985 these two mining camps combined produced 50 million pounds of cobalt and 600 million ounces of silver from 70 different mines.
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 14, 2017 @ 5:30 am
Gold shoots higher after release of disappointing U.S. economic data…
Comment by Jon - BMR — June 14, 2017 @ 6:09 am