Company: Torque Metals

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR)

WRITTEN BY Aaliyah Rogan

Torque to expand drilling at New Dawn

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has unveiled plans to expand its current diamond and reverse circulation (RC) drilling program at its New Dawn Lithium Project in Western Australia. 

The $23.56 million market capitalisation company says multiple lodes remain open to the north and south in the area, with more than 90% of the project yet to be explored and tested. 

This news comes after Torque reported new assay results from 2 diamond holes, striking ‘high-grade’ mineralisation up to 2.45% lithium oxide (Li2O). 

The best results include hole 23NDDD005 with 6.44m @ 1.01% Li2O from 222.07m, including 3.92m @ 1.52% Li2O from 222.73m and 3.66m @ 1% Li2O from 207m, including 2.63m @ 1.24% Li2O from 209.07m. 

According to the company, all holes drilled to date have consistently intersected vertically stacked pegmatites. 

Torque Metals Managing Director Cristian Moreno says confirming ‘high-grade’ lithium mineralisation alongside visual observations of shallow RC intervals has increased the company’s confidence in the project and further validated the belief that it holds a ‘significant’ lithium-tantalum deposit. 

“The eastern holes have intersected multiple thick, continuous zones of spodumene extending southeast towards Bald Hill, which we hope to confirm with assays. 

Favourably, these lodes remain open to the north and south, highlighting the outstanding potential that New Dawn holds. 

Our RC drilling has consistently intersected vertically stacked pegmatites in every single hole, with spodumene intercepts apparent under UV light.”

“Our RC drilling has consistently intersected vertically stacked pegmatites in every single hole, with spodumene intercepts apparent under UV light”

Torque notes that assays are still pending for 19 RC and 2 diamond holes, with 6,628m of drilling completed. 

The New Dawn project is considered prospective for lithium, tantalum, and tin and lies 600m west of the Bald Hill Mine in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. 

Torque Metals is an ASX-listed gold, nickel, and lithium explorer focused on mineral discoveries in the well-established mineral provinces in Australia. 

As of 30 September 2023, the company had $3.563 million cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.

Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au   

Images: Torque Metals
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Written By Aaliyah Rogan
Relocated from the East Coast in New Zealand to Queensland Australia, Aaliyah is a fervent journalist who has a passion for storytelling. When Aaliyah isn’t writing stories, she is either spending time with friends and family or down at the beach.
WRITTEN BY Oliver Gray

Torque Metals delivers a masterclass in ‘regional consolidation’

This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner Torque Metals Ltd. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.

Things move quickly at Torque Metals (ASX:TOR). When Mining.com.au spoke to Managing Director Cristian Moreno in July, the Perth-based company had one asset — the 300km-square Paris Project south of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia — and was zeroed in on gold as its darling commodity.

Fast forward a few months, and Torque is a completely different beast.

In early September, the company signed an option agreement to acquire 100% of the New Dawn Lithium and Penzance Nickel projects, a package of 14 tenements covering 200km-square in WA’s Goldfields region. 

The 3 projects — Paris, New Dawn, and Penzance — now comprise what Moreno calls the Penzance Exploration Camp, which covers roughly 500km-square of land highly prospective for a range of commodities. 

“We were presented with a great opportunity, due to our presence in the region, where we were able to build credibility with the vendor. Plenty of people were interested in these tenements, but it came down to the reputation of Torque and our solid exploration activities in the local area,” Moreno says.

“We listed with the intention to simply focus on the excellent gold asset at Paris, but the opportunity to build our tenure and explore for critical minerals was too good to pass up.”

“Plenty of people were interested in these tenements, but it came down to the reputation of Torque and our solid exploration activities in the local area”

Indeed, the Penzance Exploration Camp now represents an enviable landholding, that’s for sure. But it’s Torque’s overall strategy that could prove to be the real change-maker.

Adventures in consolidation

The undeniable transformation is no directionless pursuit of ‘diversification’. Instead, it’s better thought of as consolidation in a region — consistently ranked one of the world’s best for mining investment — with complex mineralisation.

“The geology here is complex, but at the same time beautiful. That allows you to have multiple commodities in the same region,” Moreno says.

“You could have gold, but associated with gold you could have another set of commodities — silver, copper, nickel, lithium, these sorts of things. So don’t think that we are diversifying our portfolio, I don’t want to transmit that message. The message that I want to transmit is that we are doing a regional consolidation.”

The ‘why’ of the matter makes sense when you look at Torque’s neighbours.

Within a stone’s throw of the Penzance Camp are projects operated by some of the world’s biggest miners, including Gold Fields’ (JSW:GFI) St Ives Gold Mine, KCGM’s Super Pit, Karora Resources’ (TSX:KRR) Higginsville Gold Mine, and Mineral Resources’ (ASX:MIN) Mt Marion Lithium Mine, as well as Black Mountain’s Lanfranchi Nickel Mine and Alita Resources’ Bald Hill Lithium and Tantalum Mine, which sits just 600m east of Torque’s New Dawn Project.

It’s for this high-profile population that the region is also dense with infrastructure, with processing facilities, roads — including one from the Paris Project to St Ives — and train lines stretching across the otherwise drab landscape.

Take into account these facts, and Torque’s grand plan seems eminently sensible.

“We are explorers. Torque Metals is an exploration company,” Moreno says.

“What we need to do is drill every single project or potential mineralised zone that we have, come up with a mineral resource, and sell it to someone else. If you’ve got a processing plant less than 5km away, why do you need to spend money building another? You just have to come up with an agreement with this other company to sell the ore. That’s it.”

“If you’ve got a processing plant less than 5km away, why do you need to spend money building another?”

‘This is going to be a world-class gold deposit’

On paper, it’s a cost-effective, streamlined strategy. How it turns out in the real world of fate and happenstance is, as always, just part of the fun.

In any case, Moreno says the hard work seems to be paying off.

“We were trying to get attention from the market, but unfortunately it didn’t understand or didn’t like a gold story that much,” he says.

“Now that we’ve brought in lithium, the market is understanding. And it’s not just lithium. Shareholders are understanding that this company is different. That this is a serious company, with a serious board, with serious management. We are in a different position now.”

For the time being, however, it’s a case of doing the work. Already, drilling at the Paris and Observation prospects — both part of the Paris Project — has delivered some pretty eye-watering results, including 2.49m at 40.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, 4.44m at 20.82 g/t gold, and 1.2m at 185 g/t gold.

Metallurgical testing using samples from the 2 prospects also beat Torque’s expectations, with 40% of gold recovered through gravity concentration, and composite gold recoveries of 96.79% and 99.7% at Paris and Observation, respectively.

“I think ‘amazing’ is not the word we should use here. This is spectacular,” Moreno says.

“Gold recoveries of 97% at Paris and 99.7% at Observation — that’s telling us that if we define a significant resource in this particular project, in the Paris Gold Project, we will have a world-class gold deposit. I’m telling you, this is going to be a world-class gold deposit. What we need to do is keep drilling.”

“I’m telling you, this is going to be a world-class gold deposit”

And though the New Dawn and Penzance projects are new additions, it’s not as if Torque is dragging its heels.

The same month the option agreement was signed, the company undertook a first-pass sampling campaign at New Dawn, collecting rock chip samples of up to 6% lithium oxide. Drilling activities shortly thereafter returned 8m at 0.71% lithium oxide from 22.3m, including 3.57m at 1.25% lithium oxide.

In a statement at the end of October announcing the addition of a second rig, Moreno noted the initial results showed positive lithium and tantalum grades similar to those found at the neighbouring Bald Hill Mine in its early days.

“One of the emerging, standout features of the New Dawn Lithium Project is the presence of multiple, vertically stacked pegmatites, these geological formations holding the key to potentially proving up significant pegmatite volumes,” he said at the time.

“Much like the Bald Hill Mine, New Dawn’s vertically stacked pegmatites are potential hosts for spodumene lithium mineralisation.”

The Penzance Nickel Project, on the other hand, is yet to be the subject of meaningful exploration by Torque.

The road ahead

It’s not hard to see how Torque’s lofty ambitions make good commercial sense. But Moreno, a discerning creature by nature, isn’t without a backup plan.

In the perhaps unlikely event that the company’s big-time neighbours turn their noses up at additional resources, Moreno is happy to do the mining himself.

“If no one is interested in selling the project or offering us a good amount of money, or a reasonable amount of money, then we could think about production ourselves.”

Either way, the path to greatness is made somewhat clearer by the fact that New Dawn occupies 2 pre-native title, granted mining licences. Across the wider Penzance Camp, there are another 10 mining licences, plus 4 prospecting licences and 12 exploration licences, 3 of which are currently under application.

“Imagine this — you have mining licences, you have pre-native titles, you have infrastructure,” Moreno says.

“You are one hour away from Kalgoorlie Airport, you are in Western Australia, you are in the safest country for investing money in mining projects. I think it’s simple to understand that this is a really good option for investing, to be honest.”

Asked if any future acquisitions were on the horizon, Moreno was tight-lipped, saying only that his approach to all things going forward would be ‘aggressive’.

“Torque Metals is not is not going to stop here. I’m not going to stop here,” he says.

“We’re not this little company that is waiting for the big boys to come and knock on the door and take them over. No, I’m going to be super aggressive. So let’s see what happens.”

“We’re not this little company that is waiting for the big boys to come and knock on the door and take them over; no, I’m going to be super aggressive”

Of course, even the best-laid plans can fail in the ever-changing, ever-challenging world of mining and exploration. But as far as measured, sensible, realistic and potentially lucrative schemes go, Torque’s is up there as one of the best.

Write to Oliver Gray at Mining.com.au

Images: Torque Metals
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Written By Oliver Gray
Originally from Perth, Oliver has a keen interest long-form journalism. He has written for a number of publications and was most recently Contributing Editor of The Market Herald’s opinion section, Art of the Essay.
WRITTEN BY Aaliyah Rogan

Torque spins second rig at New Dawn

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has mobilised a second reverse circulation (RC) drill rig to its New Dawn Lithium Project in Western Australia. 

With 2 rigs now actively testing multiple pegmatite targets in the area, Torque says it plans to accelerate drilling to the east side of the project and boost sample deliveries to the laboratory. 

The $18.70 million market capitalisation company says the newly arrived rig is systematically drilling towards the east to about 200m below surface. 

Torque notes if pegmatite bodies prove to be lithium-mineralised, they could potentially yield a ‘substantial’ spodumene lithium inventory at New Dawn. 

The company’s share price had risen almost 38% to $0.215 as of 11:50am AWST.

All of the RC holes drilled thus far at New Dawn have intersected multiple, deeper vertically stacked pegmatites. 

The assay results from the first set of RC drilling are expected to be released from mid-November. 

Torque Metals Managing Director Cristian Moreno says initial diamond drilling at New Dawn has demonstrated ‘positive’ lithium and tantalum grades, and the project’s vertically stacked pegmatites are potential hosts for spodumene lithium mineralisation. 

“One of the emerging, standout features of the New Dawn Lithium Project is the presence of multiple, vertically stacked pegmatites. These geological formations hold the key to potentially proving up significant pegmatite volumes. 

“Torque’s move to speed up its due diligence assessment reflects the company’s growing confidence in the project’s promise”

With 2 drilling rigs now active at New Dawn, the pace and intensity of the exploration effort has been significantly accelerated. Torque’s move to speed up its due diligence assessment reflects the company’s growing confidence in the project’s promise.”

Torque Metals is a Western Australia-focused explorer with assets prospective for gold, nickel, and lithium. The New Dawn Lithium Project lies 600m west of the Bald Hill Project in the Western Australian Goldfields. 

As of 30 September 2023, the company had $3.563 million cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.

Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au  

Images: Torque Metals
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Written By Aaliyah Rogan
Relocated from the East Coast in New Zealand to Queensland Australia, Aaliyah is a fervent journalist who has a passion for storytelling. When Aaliyah isn’t writing stories, she is either spending time with friends and family or down at the beach.
  • 25 October, 2023
WRITTEN BY Adam Drought

Torque closes book on ‘defining’ quarter

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has dedicated the September quarter to the expansion and exploration of its project portfolio in Western Australia.  

During the quarter, the $19.30 million market capitalisation company signed an exclusive, binding, conditional option agreement to acquire a 100% interest in an ‘extensive’ package of tenements adjacent to its Paris Gold Camp, renamed the Penzance Portfolio.

Torque signed the agreement with Abeh and its associates for the purchase of the 14 tenements that cover about 200km-square, bringing the company’s footprint to 500km-square nestled between numerous ‘quality’ neighbours, including Gold Fields Australia and Karora Resources. 

The acquisition provided Torque with exposure to the electric battery minerals sector, encompassing potential for the discovery of gold, lithium, and nickel deposits. It included additional gold-prospective tenements around the Paris Project. 

More recently, Torque announced it had signed an agreement to secure 3 tenements next to Penzance, as reported on 11 October, to bring its consolidated tenure to 600km-square. 

Torque progressed exploration across both the Paris Gold Project and its New Dawn Lithium Project in conjunction with the acquisition. 

At New Dawn, Torque conducted desktop studies that identified outcropping pegmatites before receiving ‘impressive’ assay grades of 6% lithium oxide (Li2O) from sampling. 

The company utilised historical data to create a 3D model of pegmatite bodies, which positioned it to move forward with a first-pass diamond drilling program for the determination of lithium values.

At Paris, Torque uncovered ‘high-grade’ mineralised zones at both the Paris and Observation prospects. Infill reverse circulation (RC) pre-collar diamond tail drilling at the Paris prospect also encountered multiple ‘highly altered’ fault regions. 

Key results from infill RC drilling included hole 23PRCDD076 with 2.49m @ 40.6 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 167.8m, 4.44m @ 20.82g/t gold from 170.3m, and 1.2m @ 185g/t gold from 174.7m within 35m @ 14.12g/t gold from 157.85m, as reported in July. 

Torque adds a second-round diamond drilling program was concluded adjacent to the Paris open pit, which specifically targeted extensions of Paris mineralisation towards the west. Assays from this drilling extended the mineralisation boundaries of the Paris gold systems.      

The company ended the quarter with $3.563 million in cash and cash equivalents at hand after receiving firm commitments to raise $4 million during the September quarter. 

Torque Metals Managing Director Cristian Moreno says the company is open to what the future holds as it continues to head towards ‘new horizons’.   

“This has been a defining quarter for Torque, consolidating its presence across multiple gold, nickel, and lithium prospects, in the form of the Penzance Portfolio. 

Torque strengthened its presence in the renowned jurisdiction of the WA goldfields, leading the company to new horizons through the New Dawn Lithium Project, Penzance Nickel Project, and expansion of Paris Gold Project tenure. 

“This has been a defining quarter for Torque, consolidating its presence across multiple gold, nickel, and lithium prospects, in the form of the Penzance Portfolio”

The Paris Gold Project continued to return impressive gold intervals, with further drilling extending the mineralisation boundaries, building our understanding of the gold-bearing structures. Exceptional gold recoveries from initial metallurgical testing exemplify the first-class opportunity of the Paris Gold Project. 

I am incredibly pleased with the efforts of the Torque exploration team during the September 2023 quarter, who successfully completed intense exploration programs. I am looking forward to what the team uncovers as we proceed to assess the expanded tenement package.”

Torque Metals is an ASX-listed gold, nickel, and lithium explorer continuing to evaluate and pursue other prospective opportunities in the resources sector in line with its strategy of developing ‘high-quality’ assets.

Write to Adam Drought at Mining.com.au

Images: Torque Metals
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Written By Adam Drought
Born and raised in the UK, Adam is a sports fanatic with an interest in Rugby League and UFC/MMA. When not training in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Adam attends Griffith University where he is completing his final year of a Communication & Journalism degree.
WRITTEN BY Aaliyah Rogan

Torque confirms multiple pegmatites at New Dawn

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has received the first assays from diamond drilling at its New Dawn Lithium Project in Western Australia, confirming spodumene and multiple stacked pegmatite zones. 

The $42.82 million market capitalisation company says lithium was confirmed in multiple pegmatite intercepts, with a peak individual grade of 2.79% lithium oxide (Li2O).

Hole 23NDDD003 returned the ‘best’ intersection with 3.57m @ 1.25% Li2O from 26.73 within 8m @ 0.71% Li2O from 22.3m.

Meanwhile, Torque says it struck multiple stacked pegmatites in holes NDDD005, NDDD006, and NDDD007.

Assays are still pending for these holes. 

Torque Metals Managing Director Cristian Moreno says the assays confirm that there is near-surface spodumene mineralisation at the project, and the deeper drilling revealed stacked pegmatite zones — demonstrating the potential for scale. 

“All 7 holes intersected a number of shallow spodumene enriched pegmatite intervals, some up to 10.19m thick within the first 50m depth. 

Of those, the 3 deeper holes located north and east of the central lode confirmed the presence of deeper pegmatite intersections, potentially expanding the project’s mineralised boundaries and demonstrating strong continuity of the logged pegmatites both along strike and down-dip. 

“Having confirmed the presence of spodumene-rich bearing pegmatites and multiple deep pegmatite intersections, Torque is continuing its due diligence drilling effort at New Dawn”

Having confirmed the presence of spodumene-rich bearing pegmatites and multiple deep pegmatite intersections, Torque is continuing its due diligence drilling effort at New Dawn, switching predominantly to reverse circulation (RC), with 4 RC holes per each diamond hole for another 4,000m in the second stage.”

An RC rig has been mobilised to focus on the deeper systems in the eastern area where Torque says pegmatites are shown to be thicker and remain open north, south, and at depth. 

Torque is continuing drilling, with a further 20 holes for 4,000m. 

The company notes an ‘extensive’ area of the 2 mining licences is yet to be tested for lithium potential, including a mapped outcrop to the northwest of the old pit. 

Torque Metals is an Australian explorer focused on discovering gold and lithium through its Paris, New Dawn, and Penzance projects. 

As of 30 June 2023, the company had $2.090 million cash at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.

Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au 

Images: Torque Metals
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Written By Aaliyah Rogan
Relocated from the East Coast in New Zealand to Queensland Australia, Aaliyah is a fervent journalist who has a passion for storytelling. When Aaliyah isn’t writing stories, she is either spending time with friends and family or down at the beach.
  • 27 September, 2023
WRITTEN BY Adam Orlando

‘Everything’s happening at Torque’: Cristian Moreno

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has reported ‘exceptional’ gold recoveries in metallurgical testwork completed on drill core samples from its Paris Gold Project in Western Australia. The company’s Managing Director Crisitan Moreno says the forward plan is to keep validating the results. Meanwhile, the first core samples from due diligence drilling at the New Dawn Lithium Project, also in Western Australia, have been dispatched to a laboratory.

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Written By Adam Orlando
Mining.com.au Managing Editor Adam Orlando has more than 20 years’ experience in the media having held senior roles at various publications, including as Asia-Pacific Sector Head (Mining) at global newswire Acuris (formerly Mergermarket). Adam has worked in newsrooms around the world including Hong Kong, Singapore, London, and Sydney.
  • 27 September, 2023
WRITTEN BY Aaliyah Rogan

Torque receives ‘exceptional’ Paris gold recoveries

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has received ‘exceptional’ gold recovery results from metallurgical testwork conducted at the Paris and Observation prospects within the Paris Gold Project in Western Australia. 

The $42.13 million market capitalisation company says the metallurgical testwork exceeded expectations for the conventional cyanide leaching and gravity processes. 

Gravity tests, prior to the cyanide leaching, confirmed the presence of coarse gravity recoverable gold, accounting for 40.7% of the gold, within the Paris composite and 39.9% of the gold within the Observation composite. 

Cyanide leach testing produced overall gold recoveries of 96.7% from the composite calculated head grade of 5.57 grams per tonne (g/t) for Paris. 

For the Observation prospect, cyanide leach testing produced 99.7% gold recoveries from the composite calculated head grade of 2.35g/t. 

Assay results were completed by Bureau Veritas and testwork was managed by Metallurgical Operations. 

A second round of drilling is being planned, which will provide new material for the next round of metallurgical testwork. 

Commenting on the testwork results, Torque Metals Managing Director Cristian Moreno says: “This first metallurgical characterisation of Torque’s Paris and Observation gold prospects is indeed vindication of the company’s view that it holds a first-class, emerging gold project. 

Benefits from the inaugural diamond drill campaign, as initially revealed by assays and now reinforced by IMO’s metallurgical analysis, are being realised. 

Very high gold recoveries through standard cyanide leaching show the benign, free milling mineralogy. That 40% of the gold is amenable to gravity recovery further exposes the quality of the deposits. These advances encourage the company that a quality Mineral Resource Estimate can be delineated in H1 2024. 

Whilst our immediate focus remains on testing the lithium potential of the New Dawn Lithium Project where we have recently commenced our maiden drilling, the company keeps advancing Penzance and Paris projects, and we are confident that with our ongoing in-house exploration efforts, we will further solidify our position in the gold and nickel sector.”

The Paris Gold Project is a 200km-square area located in the Western Australian Goldfields region. 

Torque Metals is an ASX-listed exploration company, focused on its prospective ‘high-grade’ mineral deposits in Western Australia. The company’s portfolio of assets include the Paris, New Dawn, and Penzance projects. 

As of 30 June 2023, the company had $2.090 million cash at hand, according to its latest quarterly report. Subsequent to the end of June, the company conducted a share placement to raise $4 million.

Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au     

Images: Torque Metals 
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Written By Aaliyah Rogan
Relocated from the East Coast in New Zealand to Queensland Australia, Aaliyah is a fervent journalist who has a passion for storytelling. When Aaliyah isn’t writing stories, she is either spending time with friends and family or down at the beach.
  • 21 September, 2023
WRITTEN BY Carolyn Rebeiro

‘Not wasting time’: Torque begins drilling at New Dawn

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has begun due diligence drilling at the New Dawn Lithium Project in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia — just two weeks after announcing its planned acquisition of the project. The company’s Managing Director, Cristian Moreno, says Torque plans to ‘get aggressive’ with future drilling if lithium is hit as expected.

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Written By Carolyn Rebeiro
Joining Mining.com.au from the West Coast, finance presenter Carolyn began her journalism degree in Townsville and developed a passion for mining news after a FIFO stint in WA's Goldfields.
  • 21 September, 2023
WRITTEN BY Aaliyah Rogan

Torque initiates drilling at New Dawn

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has begun a diamond drilling program at its recently acquired New Dawn Lithium Project in Western Australia. 

The drilling will consist of an initial 22 holes for 2,700m to test known pegmatitic bodies for lithium and tantalum. 

This news comes after the $42.06 million market capitalisation company collected multiple rock chips from the project that returned lithium oxide (Li2O) grades of up to 6%, announced on 13 September. 

Earlier this month, Torque secured an option to acquire the New Dawn project, which lies 600m along strike from the 26.5 million tonnes (Mt) @ 1% Li2O spodumene Bald Hill Lithium and Tantalum Mine. 

Commenting on the drill program, Torque Metals Managing Director Cristian Moreno says: “Torque Metals has swiftly moved onto due diligence drilling at the New Dawn Lithium Project to uncover the potential of newly acquired tenements located just 600m west along strike of the Bald Hill mine. 

“Torque Metals has swiftly moved onto due diligence drilling at the New Dawn Lithium Project”

The company’s technical team is thrilled to embark on diamond drilling for an initial 2,700m across 22 holes, following impressive rock chip samples grading up to 6% Li2O. 

The proposed regional consolidation of Torque’s tenure across 500km-square of the Boulder Lefroy Fault now encompasses promising gold, lithium, and nickel prospects, positioning the company as an active mineral explorer.”

Torque says a 3D model of the pegmatite bodies, generated from public data, positions it to undertake a first-pass diamond drill program to determine the lithium values in pursuance of its due diligence work. 

The 22-hole program is designed to confirm the distribution and lithium/tantalum grades of pegmatites. Torque notes it will report drill results once practicable and the data is understood and verified through assays. 

The New Dawn project includes 2 granted mining licences considered ‘exceptionally’ prospective for spodumene. 

Torque Metals is a precious and battery metals exploration company focused on its assets in ‘well-established’ mineral provinces in Australia. 

As of 30 June 2023, the company had $2.09 million cash at hand, according to its latest quarterly report. Torque conducted a share placement to raise $4 million announced on 5 September. 

Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au  

Images: Torque Metals
Author Image
Written By Aaliyah Rogan
Relocated from the East Coast in New Zealand to Queensland Australia, Aaliyah is a fervent journalist who has a passion for storytelling. When Aaliyah isn’t writing stories, she is either spending time with friends and family or down at the beach.
WRITTEN BY Adam Drought

Torque prepares for exploration, progresses expansion

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) is looking to get exploration underway at its New Dawn Lithium Project in Western Australia as it maintains its focus on growing its landholding. 

The $29.11 million market capitalisation company says drilling at New Dawn is scheduled to begin this month, targeting outcropping pegmatites within the project.   

This project is situated only 600m west of and abutting the operating Bald Hill Mine, which currently holds a Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 26.5 million tonnes @ 1% lithium oxide (Li2O), and hosts ‘high-grade’, outcropping, spodumene-bearing pegmatites. 

Multiple rock chips taken from New Dawn have displayed lithium grades of up to 6%. 

The company also notes potential mineralised structures are set to be tested in a drilling program at its Paris Gold Project, following its decision to exercise an exclusive, binding option agreement for the purchase of 14 nearby tenements in the Western Australian Goldfields, as reported on 5 September 2023.

These tenements cover 200km-square and connect the project to Gold Fields’ (JSE:GFI) St. Ives tenements, located along-strike of 70 million ounces of gold production along the Boulder-Lefroy fault.  

Torque has renamed the expanded aggregate holdings to the Penzance Project, where it is also looking to undertake a desktop review of geophysical datasets to assess nickel potential, as stated in its latest company presentation released yesterday (12 September 2023). 

This presentation comes ahead of Torque’s Managing Director Cristian Moreno’s appearance at the New World Metals Investment Series in Sydney tomorrow (14 September 2023).  

Torque Metals is an explorer focused on its Paris project in Western Australia. As of 30 June 2023, the company had $2.09 million cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.

Write to Adam Drought at Mining.com.au

Images: Torque Metals
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Written By Adam Drought
Born and raised in the UK, Adam is a sports fanatic with an interest in Rugby League and UFC/MMA. When not training in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Adam attends Griffith University where he is completing his final year of a Communication & Journalism degree.
  • 05 September, 2023
WRITTEN BY Carolyn Rebeiro

Expanding in WA: Torque Metals’ new dawn

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has signed exclusive, binding and conditional option agreements to acquire 14 tenements, expanding its footprint in Western Australia’s Goldfields region. It includes the New Dawn Lithium Project, 600 metres along strike of Bald Hill, one of Australia’s only in-production lithium mines which has been the subject of recent bids from Glencore and Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN). The acquisition would see the company venture into ‘the critical minerals domain’ but, given the proximity to its Paris Gold Camp, Torque’s Managing Director Cristian Moreno says it’s a consolidation of tenure and the company won’t walk away from its gold assets.

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Written By Carolyn Rebeiro
Joining Mining.com.au from the West Coast, finance presenter Carolyn began her journalism degree in Townsville and developed a passion for mining news after a FIFO stint in WA's Goldfields.
  • 05 September, 2023
WRITTEN BY Aaliyah Rogan

Torque to acquire WA tenements package

Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has signed exclusive binding and conditional option agreements to acquire 100% of a package of tenements located adjacent to the Paris Gold Camp in Western Australia. 

The $12 million market capitalisation company’s new tenure will expand its footprint to 500km-square, encompassing potential for discovery of gold, lithium, and nickel deposits. 

The expanded aggregate holdings are to be renamed to the Penzance Project. 

Torque’s share price had surged 144% to $0.305 on the ASX as of 1.20pm AEST on the back of the announcement.

Under the terms of the transaction, Torque has paid $150,000 for an exclusive option to acquire the tenement package. The option may be exercised at any time during the period 1 January to 31 January 2024. 

Conditional upon due diligence by Torque, the company shall pay $1.5 million in cash, 15 million shares with 7.5 million of the consideration shares escrowed for 6 months, a 2% net smelter royalty, and the issue of 85 million performance shares which will be convertible into shares on satisfaction of the performance milestones. 

The company notes the performance shares will expire 5 years from the date of issue. 

If the conditions are not satisfied on or before 5pm on 31 January 2024, the agreements will be terminated. 

Torque has received firm commitments for a share placement to raise $4 million at $0.12 per share, representing a narrow discount of 2.7% to the company’s 5-day volume weighted average price (VWAP) prior to the trading halt for the acquisition. 

Torque’s board of directors will subscribe to $170,000 in the placement, subject to shareholder approval. 

The placement comprises 2 tranches. Tranche one consists of the company issuing 23,084,260 shares to raise $2.77 million, and tranche two consists of the company issuing 10,249,073 shares to raise $1.23 million, including participation by the directors. 

A general meeting of shareholders is expected to be held in late October 2023 to approve the tranche two of the placement and approve the issue of the consideration shares and performance shares under the acquisition. 

Commenting on the acquisition agreement, Torque Metals Managing Director Cristian Moreno says: “The Western Australian Goldfields reigns supreme on the global stage for minerals exploration and Torque is ecstatic to strengthen its presence in this renowned jurisdiction. 

In the wake of remarkable and solid gold discoveries at the Paris gold systems, Torque is strategically expanding its presence in the region, whilst also venturing into the critical minerals domain with the acquisition of New Dawn pre-native title mining licences, adjacent to the Bald Hill which hosts a 26.5 million tonnes @ 1% Li2O spodumene mine. 

What’s more, our consolidation of tenure across promising gold, nickel, and lithium prospects forms the formidable Penzance portfolio, fortifying Torque’s dominant position along the pivotal regional geological feature – the Boulder Lefroy Fault. As the potential of the Paris Gold Camp unfolds this acquisition propels Torque’s growth prospect to new heights.”

Torque Metals is an exploration company, focused on its Paris Gold Project, located in Western Australia. As of 30 June 2023, the company had $2.09 million cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.

Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au   

Images: Torque Metals
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Written By Aaliyah Rogan
Relocated from the East Coast in New Zealand to Queensland Australia, Aaliyah is a fervent journalist who has a passion for storytelling. When Aaliyah isn’t writing stories, she is either spending time with friends and family or down at the beach.
  • 28 August, 2023
WRITTEN BY Aaliyah Rogan

Torque strikes ‘strong’ gold at Paris

Gold explorer Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has received approval for a Plan of Work (PoW) for an upcoming drilling phase at its Paris Gold Project in Western Australia. 

The $12.76 million market capitalisation company says this campaign will aim to spatially increase the gold-mineralised zones and explore adjacent parallel structures that were uncovered by geophysical imagery and machine learning algorithms. 

This news comes after the company received gold assays that returned ‘strong’ gold intersections from a recent drill program at Paris. 

Some of the best intercepts recorded include drillhole 23PRC090 with 27m @ 3.96g/t Au from surface, including 3m @ 27g/t Au from 24m. This hit came from 100m north of the Paris historical open pit. 

From the southern mineralised lode, Torque reports drillhole 23PRC079 hit 7m @ 8.04gt Au from 132m, including 3m @ 13.31g/t Au from 133m. 

Diamond tail drilling extended the mineralised structure west of the Paris pit by 70m, with a top result of 2.31m @ 4.67g/t Au from 229.39m. 

At the HHH prospect, Torque struck 5m @ 3.99g/t Au from 66m. The company says the assays from this prospect have extended mineralisation in the area 150m to the east. 

Finally, drilling between the HHH and Paris open pits confirmed a new mineralised trend dubbed the Eva prospect. Results from this include 1m @ 1.09g/t Au from 22m and 10m @ 1.07 g/t Au from 38m. 

Commenting on the results, Torque Metals Managing Director Cristian Moreno says: “We are especially encouraged not only by the extension of the mineralised structure at Paris, 70m towards the west from the last mineralised drillhole, but also with the discovery of 2 new, very shallow mineralised structures lateral to the historic HHH and Paris pits, lending credence to our geological model and out hypothesis that repetitive E-W trending gold systems could stitch together the presence of a pervasive gold belt between Paris-HHH-Observation prospects. 

“Locating strong grades lateral to and on strike of the historic pits illustrates the potential of this underexplored area and supports our vision of an extensive gold camp“

Locating strong grades lateral to and on strike of the historic pits illustrates the potential of this underexplored area and supports our vision of an extensive gold camp.”

The company’s exploration and metallurgical testwork programs aim to establish whether the gold mineralisation from Paris can be deemed significant enough to warrant advancement towards the definition of a resource. 

Metallurgical characterisation by Bureau Veritas, under the supervision of IMO, on core samples obtained from the Paris and Observation prospects is ‘well advanced’. 

Testing is evaluating the metallurgical characteristics and gold recoverability in those deposits, which will definitively address any issues of the presence and potential impact of other elements in the mineralised zones. 

Torque expects to report on this testwork in September 2023. 

Torque Metals is an exploration company focused on its Paris Gold Project, covering 300km-square, which includes 9 wholly owned, granted, pre-native title mining licences, and multiple exploration licences situated in Western Australian goldfields. 

As of 30 June 2023, the company had $2.9 million cash at hand, according to its latest quarterly report.

Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au   

Images: Torque Metals
Author Image
Written By Aaliyah Rogan
Relocated from the East Coast in New Zealand to Queensland Australia, Aaliyah is a fervent journalist who has a passion for storytelling. When Aaliyah isn’t writing stories, she is either spending time with friends and family or down at the beach.
  • 21 July, 2023
WRITTEN BY Aaliyah Rogan

Torque Metals awaits assay results for Paris Gold Project, WA

Gold explorer Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) is expecting assay results this quarter from its second round of diamond drilling at the Paris Gold Project in Western Australia. 

The $16.37 million market capitalisation company has released its June quarterly report, in which it states the drilling program was concluded adjacent to the Paris open pit and comprised 3 holes for 322m, targeting westerly extensions of Paris mineralisation. 

Speaking to Mining.com.au this week, Torque Metals outlined how its full focus was on this 1 asset — the Paris Gold Project.

During the quarter, Torque also submitted diamond core samples for metallurgical characterisation analysis by Bureau Veritas, which is evaluating the characteristics and gold recoverability of those deposits. 

Results are expected to be available in Q3 2023, providing ‘crucial’ insights into the gold processing and extraction potential of the Paris Gold Project. 

Commenting on the company’s latest activities, Torque Metals Managing Director Cristian Moreno says: “Core samples are undergoing metallurgical analysis, with results anticipated to be available during the current quarter. 

“We also look forward to receiving assay results … which we expect will elevate prospectivity within the Paris Gold camp”

We also look forward to receiving assay results from our 52-hole (6,128m) RC drilling and 3-hole (322m) diamond drilling, which we expect will elevate prospectivity within the Paris Gold camp. 

I am incredibly pleased with the efforts of the Torque exploration team, moving the company into an exciting stage of extending mineralised zones, unveiling new mineralised structures, identifying parallel mineralised targets and establishing connectivity between the Paris, HHH, and Observation prospects.”

In addition, the company entered into a conditional binding Sale Agreement with Altan Rio Minerals (TSXV:AMO.V) to divest its Bullfinch Project for $800,000 in cash and shares combined with the assumption of expenditure commitments. 

The Bullfinch Project is not a core asset of Torque. As such, its divestment will permit the company to focus its resources on the Paris Project. 

Torque Metals is an ASX-listed exploration company focused on its flagship Paris Gold Project. The Paris Project covers over 300km-square and includes 9 wholly owned mining licences and multiple exploration licences in the Goldfields region of Western Australia. 

On 30 June 2023, the company had $2.090 million cash at hand.

Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au

Images: Torque Metals Ltd
Author Image
Written By Aaliyah Rogan
Relocated from the East Coast in New Zealand to Queensland Australia, Aaliyah is a fervent journalist who has a passion for storytelling. When Aaliyah isn’t writing stories, she is either spending time with friends and family or down at the beach.
WRITTEN BY Oliver Gray

Torque Metals: finding success through simplified exploration

This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner Torque Metals Ltd. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.

If simplicity is the height of sophistication, Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) is decidedly swank.

Based in Perth, the company has 1 asset — the Paris Gold Project, located south of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia — and operates within the confines of a similarly narrow exploration remit.

“A company our size should be focusing on 1 particular thing,” Managing Director Cristian Moreno says.

“We don’t want to pick different commodities. We don’t believe in diversification into every single commodity, exploring for absolutely everything, because that is not connected to the market or to the investor. An investor would like to receive a simple story — gold or copper or nickel or lithium, but just 1 element, 1 commodity. 

And that is Torque Metals: 1 commodity, 100% focus on gold and 100% focus on high gold grades.”

“that is Torque Metals — 1 commodity, 100% focus on gold and 100% focus on high gold grades”

A narrow focus

Though it’s been that way since Moreno became CEO in April 2022 — and then Managing Director in October. The strategy more aggressively revealed itself in June 2023, when Torque decided to sell its Bullfinch Gold Project, located 34km north of Southern Cross in Western Australia.

“We consider Bullfinch to be a tier-two, tier-three asset rather than a premium asset like the Paris Project,” Moreno explains.

The deal with Altan Rio Minerals (TSXV:AMO) landed Torque a non-refundable payment of $100,000, with another $650,000 to come should Altan complete its secondary listing on the ASX.

According to that June announcement, the idea was that a slimmer portfolio would provide Torque with the flexibility and financial support to focus on the 300km-square Paris Project, which consists of 9 mining licences, 2 prospecting licences, and 10 exploration licences — 7 of which are currently under application.

The narrower focus has also given Moreno — a geologist, agricultural engineer and data scientist — the freedom to meet exploration processes with a considered sense of creativity.

“Because I’m a data scientist myself and a statistician, I can use a lot of machine learning, a lot of data manipulation,” he says.

“What I’m doing is using the historical data, using these algorithms that you can download from the internet, and sort of playing around with it and trying to visualise or generate additional targets inside the project. That is helping me with the identification of additional mineralised structures.”

Moreno is quick to point out that such a method is not akin to crystal balling your way through an exploration program. Rather, it’s about probability. It’s about improving your odds and finding a competitive edge.

“Drilling is not cheap, drilling is expensive. If you add value to your drilling — analysing your data, understanding your deposit, understanding the geology — the potential to find something is quite good.

I came from the oil and gas industry. You don’t have 10 holes to test your deposit, you have 1. And for 1 hole, the cost is around $10 million or $20 million. That’s expensive. That’s why the oil and gas industry invests a lot in research and development, because you have just 1 chance. 

But because people believe that mining is not expensive, that it’s cheap, they just drill a lot of holes and see what happens. No, you have — and this is my philosophy — you have to take care of the money of the shareholders. This is not my money. This is not the money of the company. This is the money of the shareholders.”

“you have to take care of the money of the shareholders”

Indeed, cost savings are a consistent theme at Torque Metals. The company has its own in-house laboratory, where its geological team can analyse and interpret rock chips, alterations and mineralised structures. And with Australia’s mining sector still hampered by ongoing staff shortages, it’s as much about saving time as it is saving money.

“I don’t sort of outsource a lot of things to service providers,” Moreno adds.

“The only thing that I’m not doing here is drilling, of course, because I don’t have a rig. If I had a rig, I would drill myself, believe me.”

Bonanza à Paris

If Moreno’s exploration approach is somewhat non-traditional, he takes comfort in the knowledge that it seems to be working.

At the start of July this year, Torque unveiled its latest batch of assays from drilling at Paris, where 3 key prospects, Paris, HHH, and Observation — all of which sit within a 2.5km-by-1km slice of the overall project — have returned bonanza-grade results.

Among the best was a 35m intercept grading 14.12 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 157.8m, which included 2.49m at 40.6 g/t gold and 1.2m at — brace yourself — 185 g/t gold.

Those are undeniably impressive results. But for a company focused on a small slice of its only project, some might be tempted to view Torque as a single-basket explorer with a great deal of eggs. The truth, however, is more or less the reverse.

“No, the answer is no,” Moreno explains.

“In the 1% of the project we’re exploring, we’ve got something, and we haven’t explored the remaining 99% of the project”

“What we are doing is de-risking this particular area and at the same time exploring around. We’ve got 99% of the project to discover something else. In the 1% of the project we’re exploring, we’ve got something, and we haven’t explored the remaining 99% of the project. The probability of finding something else is quite high.”

That the Paris Project sits within Western Australia’s prolific Boulder-Lefroy Fault — remarkable for the number and importance of gold deposits it hosts — is added encouragement. As far as mining jurisdictions go, you’d be hard-pressed to find a better-established one.

Roughly 12km to the northwest of Paris is Gold Fields’s (JSE:GFI) 7-million-ounce St Ives Gold Mine. To the southwest is Karora Resources’s (TSX:KRR) Higginsville Mining Operation, which produced 13,250 ounces of gold in the first quarter of 2023.

“On top of that, we’ve got the Lanfranchi Nickel Mine just 1km to the west of our tenements,” Moreno says.

“We’ve also got Liatam Mining — 25 million tonnes of lithium at 1% — just 4km east of our tenements. So, what else could we have? Maybe additional commodities, but at this stage, we’re focusing on gold.”

The bigger picture

Though exploration is the company’s immediate focus, it’s not as if Moreno is missing a bigger picture.

“We don’t have just 1, we’ve got 2 operations near our Paris Project — both of them gold, both of them in the same geology, with a similar kind of alteration. So it would be totally fake to tell you that this company is going to go into production,” he says.

“What we could do in the future is sell this material to these processing plants and generate value for the company. Or some of these companies could knock on the door and say, guys, we want to buy your project.”

Here Moreno has tapped into a truth no one really wants to talk about: Western Australia’s major gold producers — those surrounding Kalgoorlie in particular — are running out of gold. The mammoth deposits that had previously established the region as one of the gold industry’s finest are no longer materialising. Which might be fine if these enormous producers didn’t also have multi-million-tonne processing facilities to run, either at full capacity or at some kind of loss.

“If we want to go to production, okay, we’ve got 9 mining licences. We could extract the ore and sell it to them, and produce a little bit of money for our shareholders,” Moreno says.

“Or these companies might say, okay, why are we paying for the ore if it’s going to be cheaper just to take them over.”

But for anything to happen at all, let alone some kind of takeover, there are still a few boxes that need to be ticked. As far as Moreno is concerned, it’s a matter of making life easier for whoever holds the project further down the track — be it Torque or someone else.

Ticking the first box will come from metallurgical characterisation and gaining a reliable understanding of the potential gold recovery rates that can be achieved at Paris. Tick number 2 will come with the release of an exploration target, which will show the potential extensions of the 3 key deposits. The potential publication of a mineral resource estimate will satisfy the third box, while demonstrated production readiness — like, for example, Paris’s 9 granted mining licences — will see to the fourth.

“I think that is a simple story”

“What I’m doing is making the job quite easy, not only for other companies, but also for the industry to understand that this is a serious project with serious potential to grow, with serious geology, similar to the geology of St Ives, and with the potential to be a significant gold deposit,” he says.

“I think that is a simple story.”

Simple stories are indeed the best. That Torque Metals has opted for clarity and restraint over hubristic baloney is perhaps a sign of underlying confidence; a willingness to simply let the project speak for itself, knowing that, in the end, the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

Write to Oliver Gray at Mining.com.au

Images: Torque Metals Ltd
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Written By Oliver Gray
Originally from Perth, Oliver has a keen interest long-form journalism. He has written for a number of publications and was most recently Contributing Editor of The Market Herald’s opinion section, Art of the Essay.
  • 05 July, 2023
WRITTEN BY Adam Drought

Torque Metals shares spike on ‘bonanza’ 185g/t gold grades at Paris Project in WA 

Gold explorer Torque Metals (ASX:TOR) has delivered ‘bonanza’ gold grades up to 185 grams per tonne (g/t) following diamond drilling (DD) at its Paris Project in Western Australia. 

The results, generated from 4 diamond holes completed at both the Paris and Observation prospects, have defined ‘high-grade’ gold mineralised zones. 

Torque reports it has completed an additional 52-hole reverse circulation (RC) drill program at the Paris, HHH, and Observation prospects, with assay results due imminently.    

Further drilling completed at Paris includes a second diamond drilling program comprising 3 holes, which was designed to test extensions to the mineralised structure to the west of the Paris prospect. Assays are expected to be received this quarter. 

Shares in Torque Metals are up 17.24% and trading at $0.17 at midday AEST. The company has a $16.38 million market cap.

Key intercepts from diamond drilling include hole 23PRCDD076 with 2.49m @ 40.6g/t gold (Au) from 167.8m, 4.44m @ 20.82m Au from 170.3m, and 1.2m @ 185g/t Au from 174.7m, all within 35m @ 14.12g/t Au from 157.85m; and hole 23PRCDD077 with 1.04m @ 83.59g/t Au from 181.34m within 14.76m @ 7.6g/t Au from 168.13m.    

With assays from RC drilling expected to be received soon, Torque Metals announces it has moved forward with first-round metallurgical testwork on the diamond core generated from Paris and Observation, with results scheduled to be returned this quarter. 

In conjunction with metallurgical testwork, Torque notes it has submitted a program of works (PoW) for the next drilling phase at its 9 pre-native-title mining licences at Paris.   

Commenting on the results, Torque’s Managing Director Cristian Moreno says: “Torque’s first-ever diamond drilling campaign at Paris and Observation prospects confirmed the existence of high-grade gold mineralised zones in all four drill holes. 

Torque also successfully completed additional RC drilling and diamond drilling programmes, involving a combination of extensional and in-fill drilling at the Paris, HHH and Observation prospects. The company eagerly awaits the assay results from these programs, which are expected to be received over the next several weeks. 

“Torque’s first-ever diamond drilling campaign at Paris and Observation prospects confirmed the existence of high-grade gold mineralised zones in all four drill holes.”

Torque is well-funded to continue driving activities at the Paris gold camp and enhance the scale of this growing gold project in the Western Australian goldfields, situated just 12 kilometres southeast of Gold Fields Ltd’s [JSE:GFI] St Ives Gold Mine and 10 kilometres east of Karora Resources’ [TSX:KRR] Higginsville Gold Operation. Torque has submitted a POW for the upcoming drilling phase, and we anticipate resuming drilling operations as soon as feasible.”

Torque Metals says it is focused on ushering in a new era of exploration by applying advanced geoscience and AI-powered smart exploration to unlock high-value gold deposits in the ‘world-class’ mining jurisdiction of Western Australia. 

The company’s Paris Gold Project is situated on the Boulder-Lefroy Fault Zone southeast of the township of Kalgoorlie.

Torque Metals had $2.7 million cash at hand and no debt as of March 31, according to a company presentation published in May. 

Write to Adam Drought at Mining.com.au

Images: Torque Metals Ltd
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Written By Adam Drought
Born and raised in the UK, Adam is a sports fanatic with an interest in Rugby League and UFC/MMA. When not training in Muay Thai and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Adam attends Griffith University where he is completing his final year of a Communication & Journalism degree.