This has been a busy week for mining companies, including Baobab Resources (LON:BAO), which had more positive news to offer to investors in a drilling update on Wednesday.
Baobab Resources said it is finding the sort of iron mineralisation it was expecting at the Ruoni North at the Tete project in Mozambique.
This week the group released drill results from the Ruoni North deposit which, along with the Ruoni South deposit, will form part of the group’s third resource statement before the end of this year.
The first of these three resource statements, which took the overall Tete resource to 160 million tonnes, was released in August. With the two other scheduled statements, on the Chitongue Grande and the Ruoni deposits, Baobab is targeting a 300 million tonne resource by the end of 2011.
The results reported this week included significant drill intercepts, with lengths of up to 95 metre and an average head grade of 33 per cent, with saleable DTR concentrate grades averaging 59 per cent iron, 0.8 per cent vanadium and 12 per cent titanium at a mass recovery of 39 per cent.
Moving to gold miners, Tanzania-focused Shanta Gold (LON:SHG) said this week that positive assay results announced for the firm’s Jamhuri Prospect identify approximately 750 metres of mineralised strike.
Shanta now plans to mine Jamhuri after completion of open-pit mining activities at the firm’s other prospects at Bauhinia Creek, Luika and Black Tree Hill.
The firm said that significant gold intersections include: four metres at 3.18 grams per tonne; nine metres at 2.87 grams per tonne; 12 metres at 2.54 grams per tonne; eight metres at 2.75 grams per tonne; four metres at 3.3 grams per tonne; and seven metres at 4.24 grams per tonne.
Fellow gold mining small cap, East Africa focused Nyota Minerals (LON:NYO, ASX:NYO) will be busy in the coming quarters and has earmarked completion of its DFS for its flagship Tulu Kapi project for the third quarter of 2012.
A future resource estimate update for the Ethiopian project has also been provisionally scheduled for the first quarter of next year.
"Additionally we expect preliminary JORC compliant resources on targets proximal to Tulu Kapi and further afield. I look forward to updating you on moving Tulu Kapi into production and the ongoing development of our exciting regional portfolio," said chairman Melissa Sturgess.
Peer Red Rock Resources (LON:RRR) told investors that it has approved a small drill programme to test geophysical targets identified last year at the Migori gold/copper project in Kenya.
The drilling work will begin immediately.
The targets were first identified through a VTEM survey in 2010 and since then they have been refined by a ground IP (induced polarisation) programme – which has been referred to as the Barnabas project.
Elsewhere in the sector, Thor Mining (LON:THR, ASX:THR) said it is encouraged by the strong rally in the tungsten price over the year to June 30, which bodes well for the medium term development of the Molyhil project.
The molybdenum project in was put on care and maintenance back in November 2009 after metals prices came under pressure following the global economic slowdown.
Meanwhile, the company is focusing its efforts on gold exploration. In fact this week, Thor kicked off a 10-hole drilling programme at the historic Spring Hill gold project in the Northern Territory.
Ormonde Mining PLC (LON:ORM) said it is making good progress on its flagship Barruecopardo tungsten project in Spain where the feasibility study is on track for completion by the end of 2011.
In this week's interim results statement, the Spain-focused exploration and development group said it expects the study to meet or exceed target expectations. Assays from the remaining holes drilled on the property should be available shortly and this will lead on to a revised resource estimate.
This week’s research included a note on Archipelago Resources (LON:AR.) from Ambrian Capital.
The company has had an exceptional 12 months in which it has financed, developed and begun production at its flagship Toka Tindung gold mine, according to Ambrian’s Adam Kiley.
Following this week’s upbeat interim results statement, Kiley said that he is confident that Archipelago will reach its annualised production rate during the fourth quarter of 2011, and it will achieve its annualised production target of 160,000 ounces during 2012.
As well as this ramp up in production, Kiley reckons Archipelago will add value through exploration too.
Back to gold miners, GGG Resources (LON:GGG, ASX:GGB) and joint venture partner Auzex Resources (ASX:AZX) have applied for additional prospecting licence areas covering 8 square kilometres adjacent to the key prospective areas to the south of the Bullabulling Trend.
The Bullabulling gold project is located 65 kilometres south-west of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia's Yilgarn basin.
In other news, a report by Proactive Investors on Eurasia Mining (LON:EUA) said the company’s recent placing should be interpreted as a tacit endorsement of the company’s prospects and its plans.
Patient investors kicked in £468,500 via a placing, which will fund the group’s ongoing exploration in the Urals in Russia, where it is planning to establish an alluvial platinum mining operation.
Eurasia is currently awaiting the conclusion of the permitting process so that it can obtain a production licence for its first project, but in the meantime it is also exploring the surrounding area.
As a result of this work it recently booked Russian-classified reserves for two additional areas within its exploration licence.
It has subsequently applied to the authorities for a discovery certificate. Once these certificates have been received Eurasia will have the opportunity to apply for expanded production licence coverage for these two areas.
Speaking to Proactive Investors about the pivotal, yet protracted, licensing process, chief executive Christian Schaffalitzky said: “Most of our investors are waiting for that. The two additional areas will eventually add to the resource area we already have.
“However the next stage is to receive a discovery certificate for those areas and once that has happened we can apply for a production licences for there as well.
“Ultimately we are going to have a much larger production area footprint than we initially started out with.”