Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV) (ASX:CAV) (FRA:YBB) is on track to complete the majority of its planned exploration for the 2020/21 financial year which is focussed on its Western Australian projects, during the current field season.
The company has refocussed its activities on its WA projects and will engage with WA-based consultants for planned exploration programs, including drilling services.
Carnavale is focused on acquiring and exploring high-quality and advanced exploration and development projects prospective for strategic minerals associated with the electric vehicle battery sector and other new-age disruptive technologies.
The company continues to actively evaluate new projects ranging from early greenfields exploration to advanced near-term resource potential with a primary focus on tin, lithium, cobalt, silver, nickel, gold and copper in prospective geological regions.
Executive chairman Ron Gajewski said: “Our strategy remains to acquire and explore high impact projects where potential exists to discover significant resources similar to our Kookynie Gold Project, Grey Dam and Mt Alexander nickel projects.”
The mineral exploration company is exploring and advancing the Grey Dam Nickel Project, 74 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie, WA.
New acquisitions
The company has secured the right to acquire up to 80% of the Mt Alexander project, covering around 24 square kilometres of the prospective granite-greenstone belt that hosts the Cathedrals nickel-copper-cobalt-platinum group elements project, owned by St George Mining Limited (ASX:SGQ).
Carnavale also secured the right to acquire 80% of the high-grade Kookynie project from Western Resources Pty Ltd, west of the Kookynie townsite and 60 kilometres south of Leonora.
It also signed an exclusive and binding 24-month option agreement with Western Resources to acquire 80% of the Ora Banda South Project, covering around 25 square kilometres in the Yilgarn Craton, WA.
Ora Band South Project
The Ora Banda South project remains largely unexplored with much of the tenement concealed by shallow recent transported cover.
Carnavale’s Gajewski said: ”Our geological team interpret the area to be underexplored and highly prospective with a geological setting similar to the St Ives Invincible deposit, which hosts over 2 million ounces of gold.
“The existing positive shallow bedrock gold results in the limited historic drilling along the southern portion of the Carnage Shear Zone provides support to our view that this area has the potential to host a significant gold deposit.”
Carnavale will start targeted and systematic exploration using modern exploration techniques such as Ultra Fine Fraction soil sampling and shallow air-core drilling.
Grey Dam Project
In June 2019, Carnavale secured the rights to earn 80% in the adjoining tenement to the Grey Dam project from Simon Buswell-Smith and in November 2019, it secured the right to acquire up to 80% of the adjacent tenement portfolio held by Mithril Resources Limited (ASX:MTH)
These acquisitions significantly increased its overall footprint at the Grey Dam project, covering 108 square kilometres of prospective and contiguous tenure and 30 kilometres of bedrock ultramafic/mafic sequences prospective for nickel sulphide-style mineralisation.
It commissioned a fixed loop EM geophysical survey to test these areas of coincident copper, nickel, and platinum mineralisation, which defined four very strong, high-priority conductors.
The company has finalised a research deal with CSIRO to use this sampling data as part of a larger collaborative research study on the application of the innovative UFF soil sampling techniques to detect nickel sulphide mineralisation.
It has also commenced a program of 1,500 metres of reverse circulation and diamond drilling, targeting nickel sulphide mineralisation, which is expected to be completed in October 2020.
Under the option to earn 80% of the tenement package, Carnavale paid a non-refundable option fee of $20,000 for the sole right to explore the tenements for three years.
Carnavale may elect to acquire 80% of the tenements by paying $250,000 to Mithril anytime during the option period.
Mithril can either transfer 100% equity to Carnavale and receive a 1% net smelter royalty (NSR) on all commodities produced from the tenements or enter into a joint venture deal, based on an initial interest of Carnavale 80% and Mithril 20%, with both parties contributing to expenditure on a pro-rata basis.
Mt Alexander project
Results from the low-cost UFF soils sampling at Mt Alexander tenements show overlapping geochemical signatures in platinum, copper and nickel.
Carnavale plans to follow up the newly defined UFF soil targets with ground EM surveys to define direct drilling targets.
Under the option agreement, Carnavale paid a non-refundable option fee comprising $10,000 cash and 10 million fully-paid Carnavale shares, to explore the tenements for four years.
It may opt to buy the 80% stake by paying $250,000 in cash or fully-paid Carnavale shares.
The vendor can retain 20% equity on a pro-rata contributing joint venture basis or transfer the equity to Carnavale in exchange for the grant of a 1% NSR on the tenements.
Carnavale retains a first right of refusal to acquire the royalty for $750,000
Fundraising
Carnavale is well-funded with around $3.5 million cash as at September 30, 2020.
Exploration consultations on board
To advance the technical development of Carnavale’s projects, the company hired exploration consultants, Allan Kneeshaw and Humphrey Hale.
Kneeshaw will review the company’s exploration projects, focussing on the prospectivity for nickel sulphide mineralisation across Grey Dam and Mt Alexander while Hale will help manage the exploration activities and review possible future opportunities.
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