High stakes and blue sky as Augustus lines up for PNG golden prize
It considers each application in the order in which it is submitted and summarily rejects the first-ranked application. It is now at promising No 2, a private company called Tribune Mt Kare Gold Ltd.
‘If we are successful in securing this ground it will place Augustus on the threshold of world-class geology…’
Augustus Minerals CEO James Warren
If the Tribune fails to meet the high bar of money and expertise set by the MRA, the ASX has listed Augustus Minerals, run by Perth prospector Brian Rodan and James Warren, who has a PhD in Geology, as next in line for the 2.45 million ounce gold equivalent prize, and this is where things start to get interesting.
Rodan better have a metal tattoo stamped on his forehead. He was one of a handful of people who founded the massive mining contractor Eltin Mining years ago. Kalgoorlie resident Eltin dominated the Australian mining scene for decades in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Rodan later founded major mining contractor ACM, which he later sold for tens of millions of dollars.
He has since founded, invested in and continues to control multiple ASX-listed exploration companies. He was the driving force behind capital increases that reached millions of dollars over time.
Interestingly, Rodan, which has been in the mining industry for half a century, is in serious form at Mt Kare. He was managing director of mining contractor ACM PNG when a contract was awarded to carry out phase 1 underground drilling and mine development work on the project in 2012. Rodan was not only instrumental in the mine design, but also provided equipment and expertise in the construction of the Mt Kare portal and underground mine. This is a far cry from other Mt Kare candidates at PNG’s Mineral Resources Authority, who appear to be just wagging their tail feathers.
By all accounts, Kare Mountain is in the land of giants. It is located approximately 15 kilometers southwest of Barrick’s world-class Porgera mine, which boasts more than 32 million ounces of gold. Further north is the revered Ok Tedi, with 16 million ounces of gold and 11 billion pounds of copper. Southeast of the Square Mountain lies Newmont/Harmony’s wild Wafi Golpu district, home to 22 billion pounds of copper and 23 million ounces of gold.
Geologically, Kare Mountain is an Alkalic Epithermal deposit. Alkaline-type deposits are a subset of low-sulfidation epithermal deposits and constitute some of the world’s mega mineral deposits. Drilling results are dazzling to a geologist, and Kare Mountain is no exception. In the past Mt Kare has made coffee-spitting drill hits such as 111 meters at 9.8 grams per tonne gold from just 4 metres, and 17.7 meters at 100 g/t gold from 59 meters – or for size, try 20 meters at 443 grams per tonne gold! Figures like that would have West Perth mining glitterati jumping out of bed every day.
Augustus Minerals CEO James Warren recently said; “If we are successful in securing this ground, it will position Augustus on the cusp of world-class geology and offer shareholders a glimpse into a project with real potential for scale.”
For now, however, Augustus’s official language about Mount Kare remains as restrained as it should be. “Quietly confident” is as powerful as it gets.
While the PNG story provides the blue-sky narrative, Augustus is far from standing idle on his own land. The company is already making progress on multiple fronts across its Western Australia portfolio; the most important of these is the Music Well gold project, located about 35 kilometers north of Leonora, where early fieldwork has yielded results so strong that they cast doubt on the gold belt.
The company has completed more than a thousand surface geochemistry samples, revealing visible gold in high-grade quartz veins of up to two ounces per tonne from the St Patricks mine.
The initial drill program will test hidden extensions at Clifton East, Dodd’s, St Patricks and Black Cat candidates, which Augustus lists as high-priority greenfield targets.
The company also operates the Ti-Tree Project, a 1,700 square kilometer package of copper, gold, lithium, uranium and rare earth elements in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. Although not its current focus, the Gascoyne field adds a critical minerals dimension that could be of interest as the company’s gold projects mature.
But for now, Augustus’ big blue sky comes in the form of Square Mountain. The PNG Government is looking for someone with mining expertise and the ability to raise money to run it, and while the credentials of the first hopeful in line, little-known private company Tribune, are unclear, Augustus has plenty of both.
Who knows, maybe numbers 1 and 2 will join forces. Augustus can bring his IPO, fundraising prowess, and mining expertise to the table and unlock Tribune #1 ticket holder status. Considering the equivalent of 2.45 million ounces of gold already discovered, it looks like there will be plenty of gold around.
Watch this space.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: mattbirney@bullsnbears.com.au
