It’s Friday and we sincerely hope everyone is safely tucked away indoors with lots of tea, biscuits and blankets as Storm Eunice unfurls her gusty temper across the UK. London has, for the first time, been given the ‘Red Warning’ with wind speeds reaching 90mph in parts, even taking off the roof of the O2!. Whilst this is significantly less than the highest ever recorded wind speeds of 122mph at The Needles off the coast of the Isle of Wight, Britons need to take care when venturing out and about. Scotland and Wales have closed schools and transport systems. Most major roads and bridges across the country have also been closed with traffic being diverted to safer and less treacherous routes. Those of you who are by the sea, please do take extra care. The wind is significantly stronger out in the open and the waves are not insignificant. A threat of power outages is also looming over the country, already affecting one of our own St Brides team members…so maybe take this as your cue to check that the batteries work in your trusty torch and charge all electronics devices or it could be a long night in the dark!
In brighter news, people no longer have to show a Covid pass by law to get into large events, cinemas and nightclubs in Wales as restrictions continue to ease. Speaking of cinemas, Robert Pattinson, star of the new film ‘The Batman’ revealed he originally tried doing a different voice when playing the coveted role of Batman but was told to stop because it was “absolutely atrocious”(how’s that for constructive feedback – ouch!). Looking further afield, the rover on Mars, nicknamed ‘Percy’ is now facing its toughest feat yet: getting all the samples it managed to collect back to Earth. We wonder if there will be any gold on board, as prices are appearing to be edging closer to the US$2000/oz mark, with the FTSE also up 0.4% this week. In retail, sales grew faster than expected in January, prompting a 0.3% increase on today’s readings. Inflation doesn’t appear to have affected consumer spending just yet, however, with sales of goods sold online and in-store rising 1.9% last month?
Client news:
Katoro Gold PLC (AIM: KAT) announced the successful completion of the diamond drill programme at the Haneti Nickel Project in Tanzania, with a total of 900.04 metres completed across three drill holes, as planned. Core logging and sampling are now underway, with samples being prepared for thin-section petrographic analysis and laboratory assay testing. Read the full announcement here: https://bit.ly/3LLk2KQ
Caracal Gold plc (LSE: GCAT) the gold producer with operations in East Africa, confirmed that it has raised £2 million before expenses via a placing. “This raising has attracted major shareholders at a premium, and long-term strategic shareholders to our Company, and is further proof of the allure of Caracal’s unique offering as an emerging gold producer in East Africa to the investor community,” said Robbie McCrae, chief executive of Caracal Gold. Read the full report here: https://bit.ly/3sTqvuo
Kodal Minerals (AIM: KOD) provided an update on its Bougouni Lithium Project and the Fatou Gold Project in Mali, following CEO Bernard Aylward’s recent trip to the West African nation. For Bougouni, Kodal’s technical team completed site visits in January in preparation for development activity. Meanwhile, the Fatou Gold Project initial RC drilling programme, which consisted of 11 RC drill holes for 1,242m has now been completed with final assay results indicating multiple zones of gold mineralisation with broad intersections and grade up to 7.09g/t gold. Read the full announcement here: https://bit.ly/3rZWsSM
Mila Resources plc (LSE: MILA) has commenced drilling at its Kathleen Valley Gold Project in Western Australia to build on the success of its 2021 drill programme, which confirmed consistent, high-grade mineralisation, including a 10m wide zone of mineralisation with multiple +10g/t Au & Ag grades. Check out the company’s social media channels for the latest photos from the site. Read the full announcement here: https://bit.ly/3ursBUL
Contango Holdings Plc (LSE: CGO) provided an update relating to operations at the 100%-owned Garalo-Ntiela Gold Project in Mali. Results from aero-magnetic studies have yielded multiple high-grade potential target zones and 50% of the ongoing Induced Polarisation survey has been completed to date. Results from these work programmes, together with historical drill results, will enable the Company to finalise its 2022 drill programme as it looks to firm up the targeted resource of 1.8Moz-2Moz gold. Contango also confirmed that it has received approaches from potential domestic and international investors to support the future development of Garalo-Ntiela. “Shareholders will be aware that Garalo-Ntiela has proved to be considerably larger in terms of resource quantum than originally modelled by our team, presenting the Company with a significant opportunity,” said Carl Esprey, Chief Executive Officer of Contango Holdings. At the Company’s Lubu Coking Coal Project in Zimbabwe, the company is fully funded and remains on track for the first production at the end of the current quarter. Read the full announcement here: https://bit.ly/3H5Ehz3
Cora Gold Limited (AIM: CORA) announced that it is due to commence a new 2022 drill programme at its flagship Sanankoro Gold Project in Southern Mali. ~7,500m of reverse circulation drilling will get underway in March to build on the current Mineral Resource Estimate of 21.9 million tonnes at 1.15g/t Au for a total of 809.3 koz Au. The company aims to convert existing resources from Inferred to Indicated and also target the discovery of new Inferred resources. “The Project’s potential as an open-pittable, free-digging oxide mine has been established and through this drill programme and the Definitive Feasibility Study, which remains on track to be delivered in H1 2022, we are committed to building on existing resources and creating additional value for the Company,” said Bert Monro, CEO of Cora Read the full announcement here: https://bit.ly/356Im9d
In the news this week:
‘Percy’, the Rover on Mars, faces its most difficult task ahead
Wales has lifted Covid Pass restrictions
Gold prices are escalating and here’s why
Batman’s voice, unfortunately, is not quite right
How L’Enclume’s Michelin win is taking Cumbria to the top of the food table