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1. Spot Gold has traded between $1,769 and $1,788 so far today…as of 7:00 am Pacific the yellow metal is up $8 an ounce at $1,783…Gold has posted 3 straight monthly gains and is trading higher at this time of the year than it ever has, setting the stage for a run to the $2,000 level during this 2nd half of 2020…Silver, also looking very strong as it outpaces Gold, has added 28 cents to $18.30…base metals continue their upward trend, thanks in part to encouraging economic news out of China…Copper has climbed 6 cents to $2.78…Nickel has shot up 20 cents to $6.00 while Zinc is a penny higher at 93 cents…Crude Oil has declined 20 cents to $40.45 while the struggling U.S. Dollar Index has retreated more than half a point to 96.57…technically, the dollar is in trouble and that’s good news for commodities and the Venture…the Independence Day weekend saw a record increase in new COVID-19 infections in several U.S. states, with Florida surpassing the highest daily tally reported by any European country during the height of the outbreak…British Prime Minister Boris Johnson appears poised to reverse course and ban Huawei from supplying components for the country’s 5G wireless network…the expected decision comes amid growing friction between Britain and China over Hong Kong as well as new security concerns about Huawei raised by Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre, or NCSC…any change of heart by Johnson could have repercussions for the Canadian government, which has yet to decide whether to ban the Chinese tech giant, and the larger Five Eyes intelligence alliance…Canada would be the lone member of the group that is not taking a firm stand against Huawei…Britain’s decision in January to allow Huawei components in non-core parts of the fifth-generation network had been seen as a potential model for Canada to follow…the Trump administration rightly views Huawei as a security threat because of its close ties to China’s communist government…“I don’t want to see our critical national infrastructure at risk of being in any way controlled by potentially hostile state vendors,” Johnson told the Evening Standard newspaper…“We have to think very carefully about how to proceed now”…
2. China’s Shanghai Composite Index soared 5.7% today to reach 3,333, its highest close since February 2018…this is no insignificant event…a front-page editorial in state-owned China Securities Journal said fostering a “healthy bull market” was important, given China’s increasingly complicated international relations, intense financial and technological competition, and the challenge of controlling internal financial risks…the article was a clear indication that China’s communist government is determined to support the rally in local stocks…part of that effort will likely include using state-owned entities to purchase stocks, as they’ve done in the past…ample liquidity, cheap funding and expectations of a faster and better back back in business activity that other major countries are underlying factors that should drive the Shanghai Index considerably higher during this last half of 2020…
3. Great Bear Resources (GBR, TSX-V) has drilled 10 g/t Au over 31.25 m in the widest high-grade interval drilled to date at the LP Fault at its Dixie Project at Red Lake…BR-129 is one of the deepest drill holes intersecting the LP Fault so far, with results suggesting that the mineralized zone is expanding at depth…it extends known mineralization on this section from bedrock surface to approximately 400 m vertical depth…continuity of mineralization is demonstrated by shallower drilling on the same section as BR-129…new drill hole BR-139 intersected the same mineralized zone 100 m vertically above BR-129…assays include 32.4 g/t Au over 3.75 m within a broader interval of 13.2 g/t over 9.75 m…Chris Taylor, President and CEO, commented: “The most recent drilling along 650 m of strike length of the multi-kilometre LP Fault Gold system has shown mineralization typically expands at depth. As the system broadens, we generally observe an increasing number of high-grade Gold intervals within broader halos of moderate Gold grades. Gold mineralization continues to show excellent continuity within and between drill sections in all locations tested to date. A new Gold zone adjacent to the LP Fault zone was also discovered at approximately 750 m vertical depth, consistent with our model of a greater than 1 m wide structural zone at Dixie that has the potential to host additional new Gold discoveries”…Great Bear has completed 120 of approximately 300 planned drill holes into the LP Fault target, as part of its 5-km-long by 500 m deep grid drill program…GBR is up $1.21 at $18.82 as of 7:00 am Pacific…
4. Skeena Resources (SKE, TSX-V) is exercising its option to acquire 100% of the Eskay Creek Gold-Silver Project…as a result, Barrick Gold (ABX, TSX; GOLD, NYSE) will become a significant shareholder in Skeena…under this binding agreement, Skeena and Barrick have agreed to amend the terms of the original option agreement…Barrick will be issued 22.5 million Skeena units, comprising 1 common share and a non-transferable half warrant with a strike price of $2.70…Barrick has also been granted a 1% NSR royalty on the entire Eskay Creek land package…half of that royalty must be repurchased from Barrick during the 24-month period after closing, at a cost of $17.5 million (CDN)…Skeena will also have to pay Barrick $15 million (CDN) in the event it sells more than a 50% interest in Eskay Creek over the next 2 years…Skeena’s CEO, Walter Coles Jr., commented: “Skeena is honoured to have Barrick as a significant shareholder as we endeavor to revitalize Eskay Creek, the former highest-grade, past-producing Gold mine in the world. The recent improvements to infrastructure in the Golden Triangle offer us an opportunity to potentially reopen closed mines and contribute to the economic development of communities in northern Canada. Gaining 100% ownership and operatorship of Eskay Creek is an important milestone in the evolution of our company. Skeena is well financed with almost $50 million of cash and we continue to believe there are meaningful opportunities to increase the grade and size of this project with aggressive exploration drilling”…Barrick President and CEO Mark Bristow stated: “The Skeena team has done a great job on its evaluation of Eskay Creek and this is another good example of a transaction that delivers a value creating opportunity for all stakeholders”…SKE, trading at new highs, has jumped 41 cents to $2.40…
5. Enduro Metals (ENDR, TSX-V), formerly Crystal Lake Mining, has demonstrated the high-grade Gold potential of its Newmont Lake Project in the Eskay Camp with news this morning that assay results from previously unsampled drill core from a previous operator have returned 54.7 m of 7.6 g/t Au and 8.9 g/t Ag, starting at just 20 m, within a broader interval of 144 m grading 3.2 g/t Au and 3.7 g/t Ag (historic drill hole R-08–07)…a 2019 Enduro hole, NW19–12, 150 m northeast of R-08–07, intersected 188 m of 1.1 g/t Au starting 67 m downhole, including 44.1 m of 4 g/t Au starting at 82 m…that 2019 hole is highly significant because it was drilled beyond where the NW Zone was thought to have ended, thereby confirming that the zone remains open in that direction…newly reported Enduro hole, NW19–17, intersected 2 low sulphidation epithermal feeder structures underneath and adjacent to NW19–12, including 1.62 m of 14.8 g/t Au within 18.3 m of 1.8 g/t Au starting at 189 m, and 1.5 m of 9.3 g/t Au, 16.3 g/t Ag and 0.82% Cu starting at 80.24 m…infrastructure in the region has greatly improved, including power and road access now within 16 km, leading to a dramatic change in the approach to exploration and potential development at Newmont Lake…an on-going comprehensive technical review of the project recently identified 3 Gold mineralization styles associated with the 20-km-long McLymont Fault, one of multiple target areas within the Newmont Lake Project…the study determined that previous operators did not identify all Gold mineralization styles, and as a result, only 19% of the total drill core has been assayed to date…the Enduro technical team assayed the full core length from the earlier diamond drill hole R-08–07…other holes in the NW Zone are now also being re-examined…this has some similarities to the Great Bear experience early on at Dixie…Enduro needs to continue to focus on this high-grade Gold potential…ENDR is up 8 cents at 27.5 cents as of 7:00 am Pacific…
6. The Dow has jumped 453 points through the first 30 minutes of trading…a slew of encouraging U.S. economic data, including record weekly job additions, helped the NASDAQ end at an all-time closing high last week and brought the S&P 500 and Dow within about 8% and 13%, respectively, of their February peaks…in Toronto, the TSX has climbed 175 points while the red-hot Venture has jumped another 10 points to 643…Sona Nanotech (SONA, CSE) is destined to become one of the great Canadian success stories emerging out of the global pandemic…last Thursday SONA announced a ground breaking development in lateral flow as it moves much closer to bringing its Rapid Response COVID-19 test to market, with potential orders in the tens of millions…robust testing by MRIGlobal revealed exceptional specificity and sensitivity rates of 96%, unheard of in lateral flow, with an ability to detect the COVID-19 virus in patients with low viral loads in just 10 to 15 minutes compared with RT-PCR testing which typically takes 24 to 48 hours to detect the virus…SONA’s unique Gold nanorods – they have a patent on this technology – is the key, and these nanorods – as opposed to the commonly used nanospheres – could power the next generation of lateral flow diagnostics…SONA has essentially created a new platform for lateral flow with this disruptive technology…the stock is up another $1.26 at $8.23 as of 7:00 am Pacific…VIZSLA Resources (VZLA, TSX-V) has hit a new high of $1.03 in early trading…drilling has commenced at Stardust, Sun Metals’ (SUNM, TSX-V) 100%-per-cent-owned high-grade Copper-Gold Project in north-central British Columbia…3 diamond drill rigs are currently onsite and actively drilling…the company’s fully funded $3.8 million program is focused on expanding the high-grade 421 zone at Stardust, and exploring for similar thick high-grade, massive sulphide zones…the drill program is anticipated to run until early October…initial drilling is focused on expanding the 421 zone, including 2 rigs on the highly prospective and shallower southern up-plunge extension of the zone near hole 453 and on completing hole 455 which was not finished during the 2019 campaign and is targeting the northern down plunge extents of the zone…K92 Mining (KNT, TSX-V) production in the 2nd quarter was 26,847 ounces Gold equivalent at its Kainantu Gold mine in Papua New Guinea…during Q2, K92 produced 25,762 ounces of Gold, 531,406 pounds of Copper and 10,867 ounces of Silver, or 26,847 AuEq oz (based on prices of $1,500/oz, $2.70/lb and $17.75/oz)…the quarter also achieved record mill throughput of 49,311 tonnes, despite lower running time associated due to COVID-19 and other production impacts, with multiple daily mill throughput records exceeding 700 tonnes…
7. Another pipeline project bites the dust – citing “legal uncertainty”, Dominion Energy (D, NYSE) and Duke Energy (DUK, NYSE) have canceled their Atlantic Coast Pipeline project, a natural gas pipeline that was to stretch hundreds of miles across West Virginia, Virginia and North Carolina…despite a recent win for the project in the U.S. Supreme Court, ongoing delays, litigation and an expected increase in costs threatened the economic viability of the project, the companies said yesterday…the pipeline, initially announced in 2014, had faced intense criticism and legal challenges from radical environmental and other groups…“This announcement reflects the increasing legal uncertainty that overhangs large-scale energy and industrial infrastructure development in the United States,” stated Dominion Energy Chairman Thomas Farrell…“Until these issues are resolved, the ability to satisfy the country’s energy needs will be significantly challenged”…the companies had “worked diligently and invested billions of dollars to complete the project and deliver the much-needed infrastructure to our customers and communities” in the years since it was announced, Farrell said…the announcement brought cheers from the Natural Resources Defense Council…“This is tremendous news for West Virginians, Virginians, and North Carolinians who deserve clean air, safe water and protection from climate change,” stated Gillian Giannetti, an attorney with the NRDC…
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Thank you BMR for bringing SONA to my attention on your 7@7:00 public commentary last March. Have been rewarded very handsomely for listening to you. The best part is there is still so much more upside potential.
Comment by John — July 6, 2020 @ 10:15 am
Ditto John!
Comment by Dan1 — July 6, 2020 @ 10:43 am
One of these days CCW has got to break thru 60 cents, then off to the races…
Comment by GREGH — July 6, 2020 @ 1:08 pm
BEX, AIR, and XTM steadily marching higher over the last week. Really hoping for a breakout this summer.
Comment by schiffwasright — July 6, 2020 @ 1:52 pm
It’s very close, Gregh – the chart looks beautiful and it’s a dangerous game to be giving up paper in the upper 50’s here, but love the accumulation opportunity…suddenly this will literally explode…
Comment by Jon - BMR — July 6, 2020 @ 2:32 pm
Jon
I’m thinking/ hoping with all the negative sentiment on GGI that I’m seeing out there, that we wake up one morning to an NR that breaks it wide open too…
Also congrats on SONA!!
Comment by GREGH — July 6, 2020 @ 2:35 pm
AURAMEX CLOSES $5.5 MILLION FINANCING
Auramex Resource Corp.’s private placement announced on June 8, 2020, and upsized on June 17, 2020, has closed and consists of: (i) 10,099,000 units at a price of 25 cents per unit; (ii) 4,783,667 common shares at a price of 30 cents per common share; and (iii) 4,054,056 units at a price of 37 cents per unit for gross aggregate proceeds of approximately $5.5-million. Post financing AUX has 30,795,253 Common Shares issued and outstanding.
Each Unit will be comprised of one Common Share and one-half of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, “Warrant”). Each Warrant shall be exercisable to acquire one Common Share (“Warrant Share”) at a price of $0.40 per Warrant Share until July 6, 2022. If the closing price of the Common Shares is at a price equal to or greater than $0.55 for a period of 10 consecutive trading days, Auramex will have the right to accelerate the expiry date of the warrants by giving notice, via a new release, to the holders of the Warrants that the Warrants will expire on the date that is 30 days after the issuance of said news release.
Common Shares issued under the FT Offering and Charity FT Unit Offering qualify as ‘flow through shares’ (“Flow Through Shares”). The gross proceeds from the FT Offering and Charity FT Unit Offering will be used to incur ‘Canadian exploration expenses’ that will qualify as ‘flow through mining expenditures’ as those terms are defined in the Income Tax Act which will be renounced to the initial purchasers of the Flow Through Shares.
The net proceeds of the Offering will be used for exploration, including drilling the Georgia high-grade gold target, and general working capital purposes. A Finder’s Fee of 6% was paid in cash or Units on a portion of the Offering. Securities issued in the Offering are subject to a statutory hold period expiring on November 7, 2020.
About Auramex Resource Corp.
AUX is exploring the past-producing Georgia River high-grade gold mine located 16 kilometres south of Stewart, BC in the prolific Golden Triangle. Georgia River was explored from the 1970s by several companies with the intent of restarting the mine, but this historic work only focused on the area hosting the existing mine workings. Work by AUX over the past few field seasons has generated compelling evidence in support of a large intrusion-related gold target adjacent to the area of previous work. Field crews have mobilized, and contractors have been selected to facilitate the 2020 field program which will involve drill testing the newly defined high-grade gold target.
We seek Safe Harbor.
Comment by Jon - BMR — July 6, 2020 @ 3:39 pm
And the energizer bunny VENTURE keeps on ticking, nice….
Comment by Laddy — July 6, 2020 @ 3:53 pm
Jon, how long before some big entity takes a run at SONA? Given their game changing gold nanorod technology, Covid 19 is not the only lateral flow test that will be developed using this technology.
Comment by Dan1 — July 6, 2020 @ 5:34 pm
It may not be long, Dan1, but at much, much higher prices…
Comment by Jon - BMR — July 6, 2020 @ 5:50 pm
Jon,
We’ve been awaiting news from RMI for quite a while now. 2 holes extended by many meters because sulfide is seen continuously is sure a sign of good omen, but the delays keep… punching in. Are you worried about them or you think that it’s the tree hiding a majestuous forest?
Comment by Ragnarok — July 6, 2020 @ 7:36 pm