Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) Managing Director Dr Mike Jones is looking forward to the Burrendong Minerals (proposed ASX code BIG) initial public offering, which “presents an exciting opportunity to participate in one of Australia’s most prolific mineral belts”.
Burrendong is looking to issue 25 million shares to raise $5 million at $0.20 per share with a free one-for-two attaching option exercisable at $0.25 within 36 months of listing. The funds will be used to explore a prospective tenement package in the prolific Lachlan copper-gold belt in New South Wales, including Impact’s Commonwealth Project under a share sale agreement.
Australian solicitors retained for the IPO are EMK Lawyers, while Novus Capital are lead managers, and BDO Corporate Finance (WA) are the investigating accountant.
Burrendong lodged a prospectus on 23 October 2024 with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) in relation to the IPO.
Jones says the Burrendong float presents an exciting opportunity to participate in one of Australia’s most prolific mineral belts — the Lachlan Copper-Gold Belt in New South Wales, which is home to major deposits like Cadia-Ridgeway and recent discoveries such as Boda-Kaiser.
As announced on 16 August 2023, Impact entered into a binding agreement to sell up to a 75% interest in the company’s 100% owned Commonwealth Project to Burrendong Minerals by way of a wholly owned subsidiary, an unrelated public company. A formal purchase agreement under slightly revised terms was executed and announced on 19 March 2024.
Once listed, Burrendong will take control of Impact’s Commonwealth gold-silver-copper project, which has been on hold due to our focus on the Lake Hope High-Purity Alumina Project.
“It is appropriate for Burrendong to conduct further exploration with Impact to maintain a significant interest in both the new company and the project. Burrendong’s maiden drill program will target extensions to known high-grade resources, particularly the very high-grade massive sulphide bodies found at Main Shaft,” says Jones.
“We have always believed that Main Shaft has strong similarities to the world-class Eskay Creek Project in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle, one of the world’s premier mining sites. This belief is why we have made an effort to retain a significant interest in the new company and the project.”
This agreement also provides Impact shareholders with a priority entitlement of $2 million. If Burrendong lists on the ASX, Impact will receive a cash payment of $275,000, a 12.5% shareholding in Burrendong, and a 49% interest in Commonwealth.
Within three years of listing, Burrendong can earn a further 24% interest in the project by spending $5 million. Burrendong is expected to have an enterprise value of $4.3 million on listing should the minimum amount of $5 million be raised.
Subject to listing, Burrendong will hold tenements covering 675 km2 in the heart of the Lachlan Fold Belt, home to numerous world-class copper-gold mines, such as Cadia-Ridgeway, North Parkes, and Cowal.
Recent discoveries have also attracted attention to the region, particularly the Boda-Kaiser copper-gold porphyry deposit located adjacent to Commonwealth.
Burrendong will control three resources, all of which comply with the JORC 2012 code and contain 120,000 ounces of gold, 3.3 million ounces of silver, and 30,250 tonnes of copper.
The resources are at Commonwealth Mine and Silica Hill, part of the Commonwealth project, and Galwadgere, located 10 km along the trend to the south of Commonwealth.
On listing, Burrendong will purchase a 100% interest in Galwadgere from Sky Metals (ASX:SKY), as announced on 14 July.
Impact notes that all three resources have significant upside potential, and Burrendong’s initial focus will be to extend them at depth and along trend.
A program comprising at least 3,000m of RC drilling has received statutory approvals and will start as soon as practicable, early in Q1 2025.
Meanwhile, Impact reports it will further explore at Silica Hill, which is a virgin discovery by Impact and is located 60m to 250m northeast of Main Shaft. The mineralisation comprises a North Lode and South Lode, consisting of ‘high-grade’ veins and disseminations of sulphide with gold and extensive visible silver minerals (antimony and arsenic sulphosalts: proustite-pyrargyrite).
These minerals are ‘exceptionally rare’ in Australia and contribute to some exceptional silver grades in specific veins. Zinc and lead are also credits to the mineralisation at Silica Hill. The sulphides present are similar to those at Commonwealth-Main Shaft, and they are interpreted as part of the same overall mineralised system.
Impact’s work at Commonwealth-Silica Hill has demonstrated “compelling similarities” to the Eskay Creek deposit in the famous “Golden Triangle” of northern British Columbia, Canada.
Gold, silver and base metal mineralisation was first found in the Eskay Creek area in 1932 with sporadic exploration in the intervening 50 years before the discovery of the main Eskay Creek orebody in 1988. The deposit is the type example of a “high sulphidation volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit”, a style of deposit only recognised in the past 35 years.
Over its 14-year mine life Eskay Creek produced some 3.3 million ounces of gold and 160Moz of silver from 2.2Mt of ore at average grades of 45g/t gold and 2,224g/t silver. It was once the world’s highest-grade gold mine and fifth-largest silver mine by volume.
Write to Adam Orlando at Mining.com.au
Images: Impact
