Alderan Resources
Financials:
Primary ticker: ASX:AL8
Stage of development: Exploration
Primary minerals: Copper, Gold
Project to promote: Detroit Copper & Gold Project
Project location: USA
Website: americanpacific.ca
Corporate presentation: Click here
Alderan Resources Limited (ASX: “AL8”) is a USA focused copper and gold exploration company which listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in June 2017. Its portfolio consists of four high quality exploration projects in the state of Utah, USA.
Alderan’s flagship Detroit project is district scale and has strong potential for porphyry related and Carlin-like copper and gold deposits. Following tenement consolidation and compelling surface exploration results our focus is to discover copper and gold deposits which the company can then define and progress to resource estimation.
Drilling is currently underway on Alderan’s recently acquired Drum oxide gold mine at Detroit which produced 125Koz gold in the 1980s and has not received any modern exploration since closing in 1989. Alderan in-pit rock samples grade up to 10.7g/t Au and modelling of historical drilling indicates potential for both remnant mineralisation and extensions as the deposit remains open down dip and along strike.
Cash: AUD2.77M
Debt: /
Major shareholders:
Kitara Investments Pty Ltd – 12.5%
HSBC Custody Nominees (Australia) – 9.8%
Instant Expert Pty Limited – 4.3%
TR Nominees Pty Ltd – 3.1%
Instant Expert Pty Ltd – 2.8%
Management Ownership – 3.7%
Management Profile
Scott Caithness – Managing Director
More than 35 years experience in mineral exploration at senior management, executive committee and board levels across Australia, Asia, Africa and the Pacific with roles in some of the world’s largest resources companies including global diversified miner Vedanta Resources and its subsidiary Hindustan Zinc Limited, where he led group exploration, and Rio Tinto, where he managed exploration programs across Australia, India, China, Papua New Guinea and the Philippines.
Mr Caithness also co-founded and was Managing Director of Indian Pacific Resources, which listed on the ASX as Akora Resources (ASX: AKO) last year, and he was a Senior Trade Commissioner to Malaysia and Brunei for the Australian Trade Commission for three years.
Bruno Hegner – Director & Vice President Operations
More than 25 years of experience as a corporate manager and executive. His previous roles include Rio Tinto’s Managing Director of Major Copper Projects, based in Salt Lake City, and Vice-President/General Manager of Resolution Copper Company in Phoenix, Arizona. More recently, Mr Hegner was Managing Partner of his own consultancy, which included him serving as President and Director of TSX-V-listed company Discovery Harbour Resources. He also worked as an attorney at one of Utah’s top law firms.
Mr Hegner, who is based in Utah, has significant experience in the management and development of major copper projects in the USA including land titles, permitting, acquisitions, governmental relations, cost management, project management and operations including overseeing teams of more than 300 employees. Mr Hegner will lead US operations, focusing on exploration of the Company’s Frisco Copper Project in Utah.
What is your rationale for taking part 121 Mining Investment?
To raise investor awareness of Alderan and its projects in the USA ahead of a future capital raising
What recent news would you like to highlight to investors attending?
18 February 2022 – Investor presentation
20 January 2022 – AL8 recommences drilling with focus on Drum Gold Mine
18 November 2021 – Alderan’s drill data review highlights Drum’s potential
24 August 2021 – Drill data review highlights Mizpah’s gold potential
What are your key goals for the next 3, 6 and 12 months?
3 Months:
1. Complete the current Detroit drilling programme with economic grade intersections of gold and copper mineralisation.
2. At Drum, the objective is to verify remnant mineralisation based on modelling of old drill holes and test for extensions.
3. Successfully raise raise additional capital to enable ongoing drilling to evaluate the Drum and Mizpah deposits.
6 Months:
1. Continue drilling at Drum to delineate the deposit which is open down dip to the southwest and along strike to the south and north.
2. Drill at Mizpah to extend the deposit which, like Drum, is open to the north, south and down dip.
12 Months:
Deliver resource estimates for gold deposits at Drum and Mizpah and complete relevant project development studies (metallurgy, infrastructure, economics) to determine economic viability.
What do you see as the key risks and challenges facing your company at the moment and how are you overcoming these?
Securing adequate funding in the current environment to take its exploration forward.
What do you think makes your company such a compelling investment?
1. The quality of Alderan’s team. The Board and executive team is made up of ex-Rio Tinto, Western Mining Corp and Pasminco senior executives with over 120 years of combined experience. They all have extensive experience with major and junior resources companies. The technical team consists of ex-Newmont geologists each with +30 years experience.
2. The quality of Alderan’s projects. Our district scale Detroit project has excellent potential for both porphyry and gold deposits. Alderan’s surface exploration identified a number of high potential targets and drilling has been underway since September 2021. Final assay results yet to be received.
The Drum oxide gold mine was added to the Detroit project in late Sept 2021 and Alderan’s modelling of over 400 historical drill holes (1980s) indicates significant potential for remnant oxide gold mineralisation plus the deposit is open down dip and to the north and south. The potential for primary gold mineralisation below the oxide is untested. Historical drill sample assays range up to 38g/t Au and the longest +1g/t intersection was 70m. Historical drilling returned thick high grade gold intersections including 13.7m @ 6.4g/t Au (includes 4.6m @ 18.1g/t Au), 22.9m @ 5.0g/t Au (includes 9.1m @ 10.8g/t Au) and 15.2m @ 4.5g/t Au (includes 6.1m @ 10.3g/t Au). Alderan rock sampling within the pits returned assays up to 10.7g/t Au confirming the potential for high grade remnant mineralisation. Drilling at Drum is currently underway.
Mizpah is only 2km north of Drum and has an undeveloped oxide gold deposit which was also discovered and extensively drilled (197 holes) in the 1980s – again primary gold mineralisation remains untested. The average drill hole depth was only 28m from surface and 20% of the holes ended in +0.5g/t Au and 10% in +1.0g/t Au. The deposit is open to the north, south and down dip. Examples of historical intersections include 7.6m @ 2.3g/t Au, 10.7m @ 1.9g/t Au and 16.8m @ 1.4g/t Au.
In addition, Alderan’s project portfolio includes the district scale Frisco property which Rio Tinto is currently exploring for porphyry copper-gold deposits under an option agreement. Recent Rio Tinto drill intersections at the Cactus and Accrington prospects include 41m @ 1.9% Cu, 0.62g/t Au and 34m @ 0.99% Cu, 0.14g/t Au. The Valley Crossroads and White Mountain copper and gold projects are both earlier stage Alderan projects.
3. Alderan’s ability to carry out efficient and effective exploration with the majority of our funds spent on active exploration – administration and overhead costs are minimal.
4. Our projects are in Utah – one of the most highly rated mining jurisdictions in the world.
5. Alderan’s current market cap is only A$10.2M with enterprise value A$7.4M
What are the top key investor takeaways?
1. High quality and highly experienced Board, executive and technical team
2. Flagship Detroit project in Utah has excellent copper and gold potential and drilling has just commenced on the historical Drum gold mine where historical drill holes have thick, high grade gold intersections such as 13.7m @ 6.4g/t Au, 22.9m @ 5.0g/t Au and 15.2m @ 4.5g/t Au. Drum has received no modern exploration since mining ceased in 1989.
3. Alderan has a very low market capitalisation with very strong upside potential