Citadel-MAGNUS brings you a daily update from the 2021 Diggers & Dealers conference in Kalgoorlie.
AGENDA
Major to watch
Northern Star
A very strong line-up of presenters today with delegates spoiled for choice!
There will be a lot of sore heads at the conference today following a Monday night filled with a solid dose of networking. However, we are sure that come midday the auditorium will be at capacity to hear the presentation of Northern Star’s CEO Stuart Tonkin. Everyone will be very eager to see how the Company is progressing following the merger with Saracen nearly 12 months ago, so make sure you are seated for 12pm, just before the lunch break.
Chalice Mining & Sandfire Resources
Market darling Chalice Mining and copper darling Sandfire Resources are presenting back-to-back in the afternoon, with Alex Dorsch going live (virtually) at 3.40pm, followed by Karl Simich (in-person) at 4.05pm.
Junior to watch:
Azure Minerals
This is a presentation that everyone should get to.
Azure’s flagship Andover Nickel-Copper project is shaping up to be an absolute gem and Managing Director Tony Rovira is sure to give an excellent update at 1.50pm.
It has been a little over 12 months since Azure acquired the project from Mark Creasy (who retains a 40% share) and they are just scratching the surface at what could be a major nickel-copper deposit. Azure has a nice gold portfolio as well, with their Turner River project adjacent to De Grey Mining’s Mallina Gold project.
Be sure to stop by and see Tony and the team at booth E7.
After hours:
Well, that last night was a solid opening! Kicking off with the official Clarke Energy Cocktail Party in the big marquee; then it was cocktail parties for Macquarie, Steinepreis Paganin, Canaccord Genuity and Euroz Hartleys.
For tonight, the Kal Tire Mining Traditional Bash is usually a great end to the day in the marquee. The other hot ticket this evening is the Women in Mining and WA School of Mines Sundowner, which is booked out, with a healthy waiting list.
TALKING POINTS
Rare earths have been a strong talking point at the conference, with both Lynas Rare Earths and Hastings Technology Metals attracting good crowds for their respective day one presentations. But the person many people were trying to talk to was rare earths doyen Professor Dudley Kingsnorth. Dudley has recently come out of retirement to chair newly-listed junior Australian Rare Earths. AR3 has Australia’s only ionic clay rare earths project in South Australia, and the market has already taken a shine, with the stock closing yesterday at 82c. Not a bad result after listing at 30c a month ago.
Perth Mint scored a prime piece of marquee real estate with a corner booth overlooking the central gathering area. A steady stream of delegates were making the most of the gold bar-shaped chocolates that were on offer. But even more popular was the promise that two 1oz gold bars would be given away over the next two days to lucky delegates. Visit the Perth Mint booth to get in the draw.
Market sentiment and future outlook was and continues to be a popular conversation starter, with the performance of the market over past 12 months giving a large percentage of delegates an extra spring in their step and a few extra zeroes in their bank account.
However, will this unexpected bull market continue? Plenty of punters think the good times will continue to roll, but a good number also sounded caution that the market was getting a bit toppy.
PACKED TO THE RAFTERS
Keynote speaker Professor Ian Goldin sounded a warning to delegates about the dangers of climate change and ongoing hostilities between China and the West.
While bullish on commodities and their role in combatting climate change, ongoing political tensions were likely to be negative for the mining sector.
“There is no global problem I can think about which does not require China to be in the room as part of the solution, and its role is growing in this respect,” he said.
Bill Beament used his speaking spot to unveil the new corporate identity for his next venture. VentureX will now be known as Develop and as well as progressing the Sulphur Springs copper zinc project, he talked about providing turnkey solutions for other underground operations by drawing on the Company’s world-class underground DNA.
MARKET MOVERS
Peter Bradford gave an excellent presentation on the clean energy revolution at IGO Limited. The market has certainly taken a liking to the Company’s performance and strategy over the past 12 months with the share price reaching an all-time high of $9.66 during the trading day, before closing the day 1.72% higher at $9.47 – Congrats to Peter and the team on the achievement. Despite the great year, the pressure to continue performing remains, with Peter replaying a recent meeting with major shareholder Mark Creasy, where the legendary prospector was asking when the share price would hit $20.
It was a strong day for Companies presenting post the lunch session with Calidus Resources up 4% to $0.52, Hastings Technology Metals up 7.5% to $0.215 and Auteco Minerals up 9% to $0.12.
LAST WORDS
“We are the only company globally that offers a one stop shop for EV materials.” – Peter Bradford, IGO Limited.
“Money is easy, the market is amazing and doesn’t look like slowing down…. Raising funds has never been so efficient, you virtually get what you want straight away.” – A veteran WA tenement advisor.
And finally, the day could only get better for one young corporate advisor, who decided to drive his 4wd straight through the cable gate at the Prospector Holiday Park, instead of waiting for it to drop.
