Terraco Gold wraps up third royalty deal on Spring Valley, boosting exposure to Barrick-led JV

Terraco Gold Corp. (CVE:TEN) says it has closed its third royalty transaction on the Spring Valley project in Nevada that it agreed upon in April, which included a US$1.0 million cash infusion, increasing the junior company's royalty exposure on the Barrick(TSE:ABX)-led joint venture property to up to three per cent. 

Together with the company's first two net smelter returns (NSR) transactions on the project in 2011 and 2012, Terraco now has royalty coverage, either by direct ownership or option, of up to 3 per cent NSR on the developing project, which is expected to advance through scoping and into pre-feasibility status this year. 

“We are pleased to complete this 3rd royalty transaction on the Spring Valley Project located in Pershing County, Nevada, which is a Barrick led joint venture with Midway Gold Corp," said president and CEO of Terraco, Todd Hilditch, in a company statement Monday. 

"Terraco management believes that the valuation of this NSR will grow as the project moves towards production and we are pleased that Barrick has continued its accelerated rate of earn-in with Midway on the Spring Valley Project."

Indeed, in 2013, Barrick completed its US$30.0 million spending requirement for its 60 per cent interest in the project, and told Midway of its intention to spend an additional US$8.0 million to earn 70 per cent, showcasing the property's significant potential as miners work to cut back on costs and increase profits accross the industry.

"We are also excited, in these tough economic and market times that although we are issuing 800,000 shares of Terraco to the royalty vendor for the royalty assets, we received a USD$1,000,000 cash infusion without issuing additional shares or debt, thus no substantial shareholder dilution," said Terraco. 

No other details of the other party involved in the royalty transaction were provided in the statement Monday. 

Hilditch said in the release that in the last 19 months, the company has delivered to its shareholders a growing gold-focused asset base, and brought US$6.0 million in "creative funding" to Terraco, with its share structure left "relatively intact". The junior gold company continues to maintain a debt-free balance sheet, to be left with more than C$1.8 million of cash and marketable securities  after the third royalty deal closes. 

Earlier this year, Midway announced drill results from the Spring Valley project, highlighting an interval of 361 metres of 1.47 grams per tonne (g/t) gold starting at 35 metres depth, which includes 21 metres of 7.54 g/t gold and 23 metres of 3.02 g/t gold. 

The property, which is a joint venture between Barrick Gold and Midway Gold Corp (CVE:MDW), also adjoins Terraco's 100 per cent owned Moonlight project that spreads over 35 square kilometres, providing blue-sky potential for the junior gold company. 

Energizer Resources skyrockets after "ultra-high purity" graphite concentrate revealed from Molo

Shares of Energizer Resources (OTCBB:ENZR) (TSE:EGZ) almost doubled this morning after reporting greater than 99.9 per cent graphitic carbon from a finished concentrate of its Molo flake graphite deposit in Madagascar, completed as part of a series of preliminary metallurgical tests to enhance both the operating and capital costs presented in an economic study from January. 

The company's stock was lately up 87 per cent as of 11:15am ET, at 20.5 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange, rising as high as 24 cents this morning. 

"We are delighted to have achieved an ultra-high purity of greater than 99.9% graphitic carbon on the first test," said president and COO Craig Scherba in the statement accompanying the news on Monday.

"This is highly significant and reconfirms, as demonstrated from the mineralogical results in our completed Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) Study, the exceptional quality of our graphite. As outlined in our previous news releases and PEA Study, the Molo is situated in an extremely rare and unique geological setting which has resulted in our flake graphite being both very high in purity and in quality." 

The company said the "ultra-high purity" graphite concentrate was achieved in a first-pass, single stage hydrometallurgical purification test done by SGS Canada. The result was comprised of an average of five repeat assays on the concentrate over two days. 

The tests were done to analyze the ability to upgrade the Molo graphite to an ultra-pure concentrate, with the company now able to begin the development of a comprehensive hydrometallurgical process flow sheet as part of a full feasibility study of the project. 

The concentrate seen was generated in a single cleaner flotation test without optimized conditions, Energizer said, with the company using a conventional leach technology for the purification process. 

In June, SGS started phase 1 of the Molo pilot plant process, made up of a series of systematic series of tests to finalize an optimized process flow sheet for the deposit, focused on minimizing costs while maximizing graphite flake size fractions, grade and recovery. Results from the phase 1 process are expected to be released within the next 30 days, Energizer said, adding that they are anticipated to have a "significant positive impact" on the company's existing projected economics, which include a pre-tax $421 million net present value at a 10 per cent discount rate, an IRR of 48 per cent, and a payback period of three years. 

The final phase is for SGS to design and construct a pilot plant to process roughly 200 tonnes of Molo graphite ore. The pilot plant is anticipated to begin processing in August, and will result in the production of between 6 and 10 tonnes of graphite concentrate, which the company will use to further off-take discussions.          

The company further added that the results of the preliminary metallurgical tests revealed that total organic carbon and carbonate carbon concentrations were below the analytical detection limits of 0.05%, suggesting that essentially all carbon contained in the samples were present in the form of graphitic carbon and confirming the quality of the graphite.

"According to industry experts, only natural flake graphite has the necessary attributes that allow it to be used across all applications where natural graphite can be used," the company's statement read. "The three largest demand markets for high-purity natural flake graphite today, and going forward, are refractories, battery and energy storage, and specialty graphite foils." Graphite has achieved critical mineral status, with over 180 applications today that are dependent on the material.

Energizer late last year unveiled an NI 43-101 resource estimate for Molo, which ranks the deposit as one of the largest in the world.  

Indicated resources at the Molo deposit total 83.99 million tonnes, grading 6.36 per cent carbon (C), above a 2 per cent C cut-off grade, with inferred resources totalling 40.32 million tonnes grading 6.3 per cent C. 

The conventional open pit project is expected to mine 1.17 million tonnes per year of ore, at an average head grade of 8.5 per cent with a stripping ratio of 1.65. With completion of the full feasibility study targeted for the fourth quarter of this year, the start of mine construction is expected in the third quarter of 2014, and production is anticipated in the fourth quarter of 2015 at an output capacity of 84,000 tonnes per annum (tpa).  

Gold Resource Corp reports fatality at La Arista mine

Gold Resource Corp (NYSE MKT: GORO) reported late Friday that an employee was fatally injured in a rock fall accident at its La Arista underground mine in Mexico. 

The company said at close to midnight Eastern time on Friday that underground operations were temporarily suspended until an investigation, conducted by Gold Resource Corp's management and the Mexican Ministry of Labor and Social Security, is completed over the next several days.    

“It is with great sadness that we report the death of a colleague at our Mexican operations,” said the company's president, Jason Reid, in a statement releasing news of the death. 

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends and to everyone touched by this incident.  Safety procedures are being reviewed as employee health and safety is priority one for the company.”

Shares of Gold Resource Corp were down by two pennies Monday morning, at $8.18 in New York.

Earlier this month, the company reported its preliminary production results for the second quarter, maintaining its full year outlook. The U.S.-based gold producer with operations in Oaxaca, Mexico, reported production of about 20,500 ounces of precious metal gold equivalent for the three months to June 30. This compares with 14,488 ounces of gold equivalent in the same period last year.  It stood by its outlook for the full year, for output of between 80,000 to 100,000 ounces of gold equivalent. 

The planned expansion of the Aguila mill to a nominal 1,500 tonnes per day progressed well during the quarter, according to the company's statement, with the target to complete the project by year-end. 

Klondex Mines yields 1,435 tons of high grade material in June to ship to Newmont

Klondex Mines (TSE:KDX) (OTCQX:KLNDF) has reported that it has yielded 1,302 tonnes (1,435 tons) of mineralized material in June from its underground development program at its Fire Creek project in Nevada, ahead of targeted initial production later this year. The results from the program, which targeted the Joyce and Vonnie structures at the site, come just days after the company made two big announcements, including an agreement with U.S. mining giant Newmont (NYSE:NEM) to begin processing the company's higher grade mineralized material from the Nevada property this month. 

The second piece of news last week, announced after the closing bell last Thursday, saw Klondex secure $2.39 million in bridge loans as a means to support the development of Fire Creek, from where initial production from bulk sampling is due to start later this year, with an updated resource from drilling due this summer, to be followed by a new and comprehensive mine plan. 

The underground development program at Joyce and Vonnie in June yielded 1,302 tonnes of mineralized material at an average grade of 119.8 grams per tonne gold (3.49 ounces per ton), using a 1,714.7 g/t cap on gold sample results. The development program is expected to continue throughout the rest of the year, with June's production adding to the 682 tons in May, for a total of 2,117 tons that will be shipped to Newmont for processing. 

The agreement announced Friday with Newmont is part of the gold development company's way to monetize its high grade material, with CEO Paul Huet highlighting at Klondex's annual shareholder meeting in June that these deals will be a "great opportunity to improve margins and separate the high grades over 3 ounces that [the company] has."

"Testing this high-grade material not only gives us the much needed metallurgical information on Fire Creek mineralization, but it allows us the opportunity to monetize mineralized material generated from the trial exploration drifting from the Joyce and Vonnie structures," said Huet in the release Friday.

Proceeds from the processing of this material will be used toward funding the company's own waste development ahead of the 2014 bulk sampling program, and for a second drill to follow up on recent discoveries. Indeed, earlier this month, the company unveiled grades as high as 30,228.7 g/t gold from sampling at the Joyce vein on the site, and has made three discoveries at the deposit in the last eight months. 

According to the terms of the agreement for the high grade material, Newmont is responsible for the handling, milling and refining of minerals as well as tailings disposal, and Klondex is responsible for delivering the material. Shipments will be in lots of 1,000 tons up to 9,000 tons in 2013, and could continue as needed through to the end of 2014 as high grade material is generated, Klondex said. The first shipment of 1,000 tons is scheduled to begin in August, and processing is expected to follow immediately after the receipt of the first lot.

Klondex said Monday that July activities are expected to be more in line with May's development, resulting from the areas of the project being developed.

"We're extremely encouraged by the grades and continuity of widths encountered during this month's program along the Joyce and Vonnie structures and look forward to shipping our material in the coming weeks," said the company's general manager in a statement accompanying the June results on Monday, Mike Doolin.

"Our resource estimate is progressing well and will be released within the coming weeks. In addition, while our team is focused on the exploration and development program, our vent raise contractors are making steady, but slower than expected progress, and now anticipate completion by early September."

After the vent raise access is complete, the company plans to move into its bulk sampling program.

Aside from being surrounded by major producers, the Fire Creek property is as expected also proximate to power, transportation, infrastructure and a milling facility in the heart of the U.S. state’s gold trend. Apart from the Rapid Infiltration Basin permit, which has been submitted and is on track for the third quarter, most other major permitting is in place. 

"The advantage is that the deposit is not homogenous, and in the case where gold is declining, we have the opportunity to increase the gold cutoff grade. Costs remain the same but we can get a lot more from the revenue end, giving us the opportunity to survive at different metal prices," Huet said at the meeting in June.  He explained that the nature of the deposit allows the mining of selective areas, but more importantly, 75 per cent of the indicated ounces at the deposit remain at a higher cut off grade, something Huet says is an advantage from any operator's standpoint, and one Klondex "will make sure to capitalize on". 

Horizonte Minerals appoints Snowden for PFS

Nickel group Horizonte Minerals (LON:HZM) (CVE:HZM) has appointed consultant Snowden to carry out the pre-feasibility study work on its Araguaia deposit in Brazil.

Snowden will lead the work on the study and co-ordinate a number of other groups. The expected completion date for the PFS is the first half of next year.

As part of the study, Snowden will update the current NI 43-101 compliant resource to include the results of 9,300m of infill drilling completed in June.

The current resource, established in February 2012, is 39.3mln tonnes (Mt) at grades of 1.39% Ni (Indicated) and 60.9Mt at 1.22% Ni (Inferred) at a 0.95% Nickel cut-off.

A recent preliminary economic assessment also confirmed the suitability of the ore at Araguaia for treatment using the well-established Rotary Kiln Electric Furnace (RKEF) process.

IGEOLOGIA, a Brazilian engineering company, will help design the RKEF plant. It has extensive pyrometallurgical processing experience of Nickel laterites in Brazil including at Anglo American’s Barro Alto plant.

Jeremy Martin, Horizonte’s chief executive, said: “The aim is to deliver the PFS in H1 2014 which we believe will be a major milestone and a value driver for the company.

The completion of the PFS will be another step to de-risking our 100% owned flagship project and highlighting Araguaia's financial and technical merits as the next potential major Nickel development project in Brazil."

Tethys steps it up in Kazakhstan

Tethys Petroleum (LON:TPL, TSE:TPL) is to use the funds it received from last month’s farm-out agreement on its Bokhtar venture in Tajikistan to accelerate its Kazakhstan drilling programme.

Dr David Robson, executive chairman and president of Tethys said: "Our world-class farm-out agreement in Tajikistan has enabled the company to use these funds to accelerate our drilling programme in Kazakhstan demonstrating the real synergies in our portfolio. The programme is comprised of two oil exploration wells, including a deeper Triassic target, which are designed to unlock high potential prospects but represent limited risk due to their proximity to the already producing Doris field.”

The AKD08 (Doto) and AKD09 (Dexa) wells will be drilled simultaneously.

Doto is located to the south-west of the producing Doris field and north of the Dione oil discovery. The Doto prospect has had 22 million barrels gross mean unrisked recoverable prospective oil resources in the Cretaceous and Upper Jurassic sequences attributed to it by independent consultants.

Drilling on Doto should start in early September and is expected to take around 70 days.

The Dexa well is located to the north-west of the Doris field and has 14 million barrels gross mean unrisked recoverable prospective oil resources attributed to it.

Drilling on this exploration/appraisal well is due to start towards the end of September and should take 45 to 50 days to reach its target depth. It will be drilled using Tethys’s own ZJ30 Tykhe rig, which is on its way from Tajikistan.

Both prospects offer relatively low risk exploration/appraisal opportunities and are the two closest currently identified exploration/appraisal targets to the Doris oil field itself, Tethys said.

The group is to follow up its successful drilling programme on the Akkulka block, where 11 of the 13 wells came up trumps with commercial levels of gas, by drilling a further five shallow gas wells, starting in late September or early October.

Tethys has re-focused some of its investment into accelerating gas development and exploration after the significant increase in the realised gas price in January of this year.

The new Kazakhstan-China gas trunk line under construction, which is planned to pass through Tethys’s contract areas, will provide an additional commercialisation route and offers potential further price upside, the company believes.

Overall infrastructure in the field area is also improving and a new railway is now under construction with a new rail station planned to be built only some 70 kilometres from the Doris oilfield and 23 kilometres from the nearest Akkulka gas well. This could provide more cost effective transportation options for oil plus a nearby market for some gas, Tethys added.

Shares in Tethys were up 1.3% at 44.7p in early deals.

Black Iron gets thumbs up from analysts on Metinvest development deal

Black Iron (TSE:BKI) had its price target boosted this week by analysts at Cormark Securities, on the back of a definitive development agreement with Metinvest B.V. to advance the company's Shymanivske iron ore project in the Ukraine putting the iron ore development company "back on track". Cormark's price target was increased to $1.10 from 75 cents previously, with the firm's "buy" rating maintained.

Metinvest, Ukraine’s largest integrated mining and steel producer, will take a 49 per cent interest in the project for an initial US$20 million investment and fund its share of capital going forward, Black Iron announced Tuesday. More compelling over the long term is the commitment from Metinvest of dollar-for-dollar matching of all the equity financing Black Iron raises, of up to $536 million. 

"The agreement provides Black Iron with a strong strategic partner with political and financial support to get the project developed and should underscore the low market valuation," wrote Cormark analyst Cliff Hale-Sanders in his research note the day after the news was announced. 

With only about $220 million now needing to be raised, the company's management highlighted on Tuesday that it still has 100 per cent of offtake available for raising additional financing. Black Iron also remains the operator of the project. 

Cormark's Hale-Sanders pointed out that while the transaction results in a significant ownership dilution for Black Iron on the project, the market had been valuing the company's shares as if the project was unfinanceable. "Both partners have agreed to fund the development on their proportionate interest or be diluted down. Using the projected capital investment of $1.1 BB from the December 2012 feasibility study and 60% debt, we believe Black Iron will need $219 MM in equity to fund development," wrote the analyst in the note. 

Last December, Black Iron filed a feasibility study that showed a 45.9 per cent internal rate of return, a 2.2 year payback period and a US$3.5 billion net present value, on a pre-tax basis, for a 9.2 million tonne per year operation, producing high grade, 68% iron concentrate. Capital costs were projected at $1.09 billion, or $119 per tonne of installed capacity, ranking it in the first quartile of development projects, according to Black Iron's statement last year. 

The Shymanivske property is surrounded by existing infrastructure, including access to power, rail and port facilities, which the company has said will allow for a quick development timeline to production. Two operating mines - ArcelorMittal’s Kryviy Rih iron ore complex and YuGOK, owned by Evraz and Smart Holding - are essentially adjacent to Black Iron’s asset, and have been successfully producing a high quality concentrate for years. 

The company, which has a large historical compliant resource of 814 million tonnes grading 31%  iron, will benefit from an expected offtake arrangement, with such a deal anticipated to finalize in the second half of the year. Production start-up from the project is expected in the second half of 2017. 

"This [Metinvest] transaction puts BKI back on track for development and should support a strong rerating of the shares as milestones are met," concluded Hale-Sanders. Metinvest is Ukraine’s largest mining and steel producer and has a track record of developing and operating iron ore projects. In 2012, it produced 36.2 million tonnes of iron ore and 12.5 million tonnes in steel, the analyst added. 

Desjardins Capital Markets analyst John Hughes also released a research report on the back of the news, reiterating his "buy" rating and $1.00 price target, saying the investment by Metinvest is regarded as a positive and necessary step toward progressing the project to production. 

"Metinvest appears to be well connected at the political level in Ukraine. This should benefit Black Iron in terms of securing land, as well as with two permitting issues the company has found challenging on a project‐to‐date basis," Hughes wrote. 

The deal is still subject to the approval of the TSX and the government of Ukraine's anti-monopoly division, which is expected to take around three months to secure.  

The news sparked some encouragement from investors, with Black Iron's shares picking up over 33 per cent this week, currently trading at about 20 cents on the Toronto Stock Exchange. 

Snipp Interactive launches augmented reality tool SnippAR

Mobile marketing firm Snipp Interactive (CVE:SPN) has launched SnippAR, which allows marketers to provide their customers with augmented reality experiences. 

With SnippAR (http://ar.snipp.com), users can unlock interactive content by holding the opened app in front of an augmented reality trigger. A trigger can be an image, physical object or certain geographic locations.

Applications include virtual visits, 360 degree tours, store and location finders, training and education programs, interactive maps, print-to-mobile activations, and virtual gaming, among many others. 

The product debuted in the Middle East under the brand SnippKhayal, which is now available for download on iTunes and Google Play, with Lexus as its first client - a campaign that was first announced earlier this month. 

According to the company's statement, it has received "vast interest" from the technology from top brands both regionally and globally, with Snipp expected to soon launch a specific augmented reality product for the North American market. 

In the release, Snipp cited Student Talk, a specialized magazine in Kuwait published by the PH7 Publishing house, as one of the first users of SnippAR. Users downloaded and opened the Snipp Khayal app to unlock interactive videos within the magazine. 

"Publishers in Kuwait are beginning to see the power of Augmented Reality. It is a great way to interact and engage with readers on a one-to-one level," said managing director of Snipp's Middle East office, Aya Kabbara. 

"Magazines like Student Talk are positioning themselves as leaders in this emerging space by becoming early adopters of Augmented Reality technology."

The company has continually been adding to its mobile marketing toolbox as it figures that as an increasing number of people spend more time carrying out traditional web-based activities such as shopping and social interaction on their mobile devices, every company will need to start implementing a "mobile optimized layer" for their business to support this growing trend. 

It recently launched SnippQR, a tool with which users can create an unlimited number of QR codes in high-resolution, print-ready formats. 

Snipp said in May that several key initiatives are expected to bear fruit for the company, any one of which can drive significant revenue and profitability gains, including an organic acquisition strategy, the launch of new products and the continued development of its overseas relationships. Its sales jump in the latest quarter was attributed to new sales channels, additional sales contracts from existing customers, as well as new clients and the launch of new products like SnippCheck - a mobile receipt processing service - and SnippWine. 

Headquartered in Washington, D.C. and established in 2007, Snipp has provided its services to several Fortune 500 companies and other major brands, advertising agencies and publishers, including Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT), Ford (NYSE:F), Wendy's (NASDAQ:WEN) and Campbell Soup (NYSE:CPB). It also worked on new campaigns last year with Taco Bell & ESPN, Meredith Corp, Arm & Hammer, and James Hardie, and launched Snipp in Mexico and the Middle East, executing successful campaigns in both markets. 

Jennings says SilverCrest prefeasibility study in line with estimates, continues apace toward expansion

Jennings Capital analyst Kwong-Mun Achong Low has maintained his buy rating and 12-month target price of $3.25 per share on SilverCrest Mines (CVE:SVL), a day after the junior miner released its prefeasibility study for its expansion plan at the Santa Elena mine in Mexico. 

The report added more detail to the stellar reserve and resource figures released in May, which feed into the company's target to dramatically increase output at the site. 

The headline financials boast a pre-tax net present value of $243.7 million, and a whopping 88 per cent internal rate of return (IRR), with eight years of mine life added after the company released updated reserve and resource estimates for the mine earlier this year, which in some cases doubled the estimates previously available for the 100 per cent owned project. 

The economic analysis of the expansion plan, which uses base case metal prices of $1,450 per ounce of gold and $28 per ounce of silver, estimates total operating revenue of $684.9 million for the additional 8 years of mine life beginning in January 2014, from estimated sales of 12.11 million ounces of silver and 262,739 ounces of gold. 

The pre-tax net present value is still strong, the analyst highlighted in the report, at an estimated $128.7 million even using lower metal prices of $1,250 an ounce of gold and $19.50 per ounce of silver, with an IRR of 49 per cent. 

"By and large the PFS was in line with our expectations, although it had a  number of areas for enhancement and optimization. For example, annual production of 3.5 Moz AgEq was 8% below our expectations, due primarily to the PFS assumption of a 2,800 tpd mill instead of the 3,000 tpd mill currently under construction," wrote Achong Low. 

Key to the newly- increased figures, which include 19.7 million contained ounces of silver and 327,430 contained ounces of gold in probable reserves, is the mill to be built on the site, currently in the midst of construction but expected to be up and running by early next year with a view to achieving commercial production at the 3,000 tonnes per day (tpd)  run rate by late March. With a nominal capacity of 2,500 tonnes per day currently, the Santa Elena mine’s open pit heap leach facility is expected to recover approximately 675,000 ounces of silver and 33,000 ounces of gold in 2013, with the mill set to have a substantial impact on the amount of production from the mine next year.

"Notably, capex and opex both stayed below our current forecasts with $43 million initial capex remaining to be spent, assuming the 10% capex participation by Sandstorm Gold for a 20% gold stream from the underground," noted the analyst, who also said he expects Sandstorm to buy in to the 20 per cent gold stream, as he calculates an accretive transaction for Sandstorm even if metal prices approached $1,000 an ounce per gold and $15 per ounce of silver. 

SilverCrest is expected to present Sandstorm with a complete prefeasibility study and costs report in August, which would give the royalty stream company 30 days to notify SilverCrest of its decision to fund and another 90 days to finalize the agreement and make payments. 

"Management indicates that related costs could go back as far as 2006, when exploration began to delineate the underground. We estimate the final cost for Sandstorm to consider (including sustaining capex) is on the order of $150 million, of which it would pay ~10% to earn-in to the 20% gold stream on the underground," explained the Jennings analyst in his research note. 

Total operating costs of $282.2 million are expected, with average cash operating costs pegged at US$11 per ounce of silver equivalent. Total capital costs are estimated at $87.8 million, including contingency, but excluding sunk costs up to April 30 of this year. According to the company statement, total pre-tax cash flow is seen at $302.5 million, which includes an estimated US$5 million in cost deductions for closure, and working capital of US$1.8 million. 

The payback period for the expansion plan is expected to be one year. 

The next steps at the mine will be the complete detailed design over the next six months, with management expecting to further work on ground control considerations at depth, and also to refine metallurgy. 

"We like that Santa Elena continues apace for a measured start-up toward the back half of 2014," Achong Low concluded. 

Indeed, the company is looking to boost metals production to an estimated 3.5 to 4.0 million ounces of silver equivalent in 2014, up from the 2.37 million silver equivalent ounces it produced in 2012. 

RESAAS says "The Rook" to have new private group on its platform

RESAAS Services (CNSX:RSS) says that renowned real estate trainer "The Rook" has struck a deal to deliver exclusive content to his audience through a private social group on the company's social networking platform designed for real estate professionals. 

"I work with thousands of fellow REALTORS to educate them in how to use technology and social media effectively," said The Rook in a statement released by RESAAS late Thursday. "To discover a new platform like RESAAS, which simplifies this beyond measure and lets REALTORS focus on what they do best, is so exciting for me."

Under the terms of the deal, past and present students of The Rook's training program will be invited to join his new private group on the RESAAS platform, gaining access to exclusive content, tips and insight.

RESAAS, whose social network is designed to allow real-time updating of property listings as well as the ability to sync with social media sites such as Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) and Twitter, is growing steadfast in its popularity, continually adding broker after broker to its platform across the U.S. and Canada. 

Known as real estate broadcasts, RESAAS' reblasts engine automatically generates all of an agency's real estate workflow into social content that is instantly pushed out to the RESAAS platform and other social networks. Last month, the company said it planned to raise $2 million to meet with demand and expand its platform into Europe. Earlier this week, RESAAS  added Live Love Charlotte, a Charlotte-based real estate agency, to its social networking platform, its fourth such addition this week. 

"Jason [The Rook] helps real estate professionals succeed using technology and social media. RESAAS is the social network for the real estate industry, so this partnership couldn't be better aligned," said the social network company's president, Tom Rossiter. "Jason has quite a following, and we're excited to bring his more than 16,000 pupils into an exclusive online social group on RESAAS".

Outside of his coaching programs, The Rook is director of technology at Keller Williams, the largest real estate franchise in North America by agent count, according to the release, with more than 80,000 agents spanning over 700 locations.

Great Western Minerals hands in Department of Defense yttria study that highlights potential of Steenkampskraal

Great Western Minerals Group (CVE:GWG) (OTCQX:GWMGF), a rare earth-based metal alloys manufacturer  that is developing its rare earth Steenkampskraal mine in South Africa, says it has delivered its high-purity yttrium oxide supply chain assessment report to the Department of Defense, which highlights the potential of the company's project. 

In close coordination with major defense contractors, the  company, according to its statement released late Thursday, found that military requirements from 2011 to 2015 for  high-purity yttria are 40 to 50 tonnes per year higher than previous Department of Defense life-cycle sustainment estimates, and that there are processing  gaps in the supply chain.

Yttrium oxide is used in a wide variety of ceramics and phosphors for  military systems including thermal barrier coatings for jet engines,  investment casting of titanium parts, night vision crystals and  high-temperature superconductors.

"In addition to the growing magnitude of military requirements, our  report concludes that newly-mined and recycled yttria in the United  States will be unable to meet this requirement until about 2019," said Great Western presient and CEO, Marc LeVier. 

"Considering the long-lived bottlenecks for raw yttrium production and yttria refining indicated by this work, the high-grade resource at Steenkampskraal once funded and producing is capable of delivering this critical material to military contractors."

Aside from the raw yttrium that Steenkampskraal will be able to produce, Great Western's alloys manufacturing units in the U.S. and U.K. also make specialty metal alloys that include nickel, cobalt, titanium, magnet, aluminum and yttrium. 

Great Western is looking to vertically integrate by restarting its Steenkampskraal mine in South Africa, which will eventually provide the downstream feed for its manufacturing units. It has the Less Common Metals unit in the U.K., as well as one in Troy, Michigan. 

The U.K.-based unit also recently completed the installation of its second strip casting furnace, which has increased production capacity by 700 tonnes to a total of 2,500 tonnes of metal alloys per year.

Klondex Mines to monetize high grade material with Newmont deal, gets $2.4 mln in bridge loan financing

Klondex Mines (TSE:KDX) (OTCQX:KLNDF) has indeed been keeping busy as it works to advance its Fire Creek project, making two big announcements in the span of the last 24 hours, including an agreement with U.S. mining giant Newmont (NYSE:NEM) to begin processing the company's higher grade mineralized material from the Nevada property this month. 

The second piece of news, announced after the closing bell last night, sees Klondex secure $2.39 million in bridge loans as a means to support the development of Fire Creek, from where initial production from bulk sampling is due to start later this year, with an updated resource from drilling due this summer, to be followed by a new and comprehensive mine plan. 

The Fire Creek project is situated at the intersection of the Battle Mountain trend and Northern Nevada Rift, which also hosts the Midas and Hollister narrow-vein epithermal gold deposits. Klondex is working hard at having the next new producing asset in Nevada, with the company having the advantage of grade on its side, according to CEO Paul Huet, who made the assurance to investors at the company's annual general meeting in June.

Indeed, the agreement announced Friday with Newmont is part of the gold development company's way to monetize its high grade material, with the CEO highlighting at the annual meeting that these deals will be a "great opportunity to improve margins and separate the high grades over 3 ounces that [the company] has."

"Testing this high-grade material not only gives us the much needed metallurgical information on Fire Creek mineralization, but it allows us the opportunity to monetize mineralized material generated from the trial exploration drifting from the Joyce and Vonnie structures," said Huet in the release Friday.

"Proceeds from the processing of this material will be used towards funding our own waste development and a second drill to follow up on recent discoveries." Indeed, earlier this month, the company unveiled grades as high as 30,228.7 g/t gold from sampling at the Joyce vein on the site, and has made three discoveries at the deposit in the last eight months. 

According to the terms of the agreement for the high grade material, Newmont is responsible for the handling, milling and refining of minerals as well as tailings disposal, and Klondex is responsible for delivering the material. 

Shipments will be in lots of 1,000 tons up to 9,000 tons in 2013, and could continue as needed through to the end of 2014 as high grade material is generated, Klondex said. The first shipment of 1,000 tons is scheduled to begin in August, and processing is expected to follow immediately after the receipt of the first lot.

"Newmont's terms to process the Fire Creek material provide great opportunity and support for both parties based on the processing costs, improved recoveries and resulting payables," said Huet, adding that all near-term shipments of mineralized material will be sent for processing to Newmont, including the material in May that was previously slated for direct-smelter processing. 

As for the financial details, Klondex will get an initial "partial" upfront payment of 60 per cent from Newmont, based on Newmont assays, with the remaining 40 per cent to be paid based upon the finalization of settlement assays. The first payment is expected in August, according to Klondex's statement. 

Separately, the company will get a bridge loan facility of nearly $2 million from K2 Principal Fund L.P., a major shareholder of Klondex, and a bridge loan of $400,000 from an undisclosed third party. Huet said the loans will not only allow his company to meet financial requirements, but also "enhance" its exploration and development program at Fire Creek. 

"Monetizing the high-grade material remains our number one priority and we intend to repay the loan with the funds we expect to generate from Fire Creek, by November 2013," the chief executive said. 

Each of the loans bear interest at a rate of 1 per cent per 30-day period, and mature on November 30 this year, with provisions for additional interest payments if minimum payments are not made during the loans' term. In connection with the loans, Klondex has issued a total of 500,000 warrants to the parties, it said. 

Aside from being surrounded by major producers, the Fire Creek property is as expected also proximate to power, transportation, infrastructure and a milling facility in the heart of the U.S. state’s gold trend. Apart from the Rapid Infiltration Basin permit, which has been submitted and is on track for the third quarter, most other major permitting is in place. 

"The advantage is that the deposit is not homogenous, and in the case where gold is declining, we have the opportunity to increase the gold cutoff grade. Costs remain the same but we can get a lot more from the revenue end, giving us the opportunity to survive at different metal prices," Huet said at the meeting in June.  He explained that the nature of the deposit allows the mining of selective areas, but more importantly, 75 per cent of the indicated ounces at the deposit remain at a higher cut off grade, something Huet says is an advantage from any operator's standpoint, and one Klondex "will make sure to capitalize on". 

UPDATE: Arian Silver fully-funded for at least 12 months

-- Adds management comments --

Arian Silver (LON:AGQ CVE:AGQ) is to raise up to C$15mln through a placing of convertible loan notes.

Funds from the issue will be used on numerous things, including the acquisition of the El Bote processing plant, which will need to be transported piece by piece to a more convenient location. The second-hand custom mill is expected to deliver cost savings of some 75% compared to previous toll milling operations

Proceeds from the issue will also be used on the refurbishment of the plant, new ground works at the new site of the mill, as well as expansion of the San Jose mine in Mexico. Any funds left over after all that lot will be used for working capital and corporate purposes.

"Upon the completion of this financing arrangement, Arian will be fully funded for at least 12 months over which it is intended to refurbish, transport and reassemble the El Bote custom processing plant. This processing plant has the capacity for processing up to 1,500 tonnes per day and is expected to provide significant cost savings from toll milling,” said Jim Williams, Arian’s chief executive officer.

The loan notes are expected to have a life-span of 12 months and will carry a coupon of 14%. It is anticipated that the notes will be convertible prior to redemption into Arian common shares at 11 Canadian cents a pop, which compares favourably with the 8 cent closing price of Arian shares in Toronto on the day before the fund raising was announced.
The agent in charge of the private placing of the loan notes has indicated it has a subscriber interested in taking on board the whole loan note issue.

At the same time, Arian intends to implement a share consolidation that will see shareholders receive one new share for every 10 shares currently held.

"The consolidation of shares in conjunction with the financing is intended to bring greater stability to the share price over the coming months,” Williams said.

Speaking to Proactive Investors, Williams conceded that maybe Arian could have secured a better deal two years ago, before the silver price dipped, “but we are where we are”.

Williams said there is always the possibility of restructuring the deal if the silver price moves back to where he thinks it ought to be. That may happen, Williams believes, once the US dollar loses some of its haven status; silver, like most commodities, is quoted in dollars, so a dearer dollar puts downward pressure on commodities prices.

The US has its own problems and the greenback should not be as strong as it is, Williams believes, but with no other currency offering itself as a viable alternative as a reserve currency, risk averse investors are understandably going for the safe option.

Focusing on the positive, Williams is looking forward to getting the processing plant transported to the new site, though, curiously, the plant will be refurbished before it is move, rather than after.

Williams explained it is more efficient to do it that way. The plant will then be dismantled, transported to the new site and reassembled.

It is a modular design, so it won’t be up to the full targeted capacity of 1,500 tonnes a day right away. “We’ll be up to 750 tonnes per day within 12 months, and in year two we will add the second module, and ramp up to 1,500 tonnes a day,” Williams pledged.

Klondex Mines: "must be doing something right", says Ralph Aldis

Klondex Mines (TSE:KDX) (OTCBB:KLNDF) was recently lauded by senior mining analyst with U.S. Global Investors, Ralph Aldis, in an interview with The Gold Report, where he offers a few junior mining stocks that could provide greater leverage to a gold price recovery. 

"Klondex Mines Ltd.'s stock is up 25% over the last three months, and the average stock in the exploration and development space is down 25%. The company must be doing something right," said Aldis in the interview. "I feel that some of the smart money right now is already onto the high-grade stories."

Klondex is working hard at having the next new producing asset in Nevada, with the company having the advantage of grade on its side, according to CEO Paul Huet, who made the assurance to investors at the company's annual general meeting in June.

"Klondex recently put out a news release indicating that its resource, an underground drift at its Fire Creek project in Nevada, is basically 132.8 grams per ton (132.8 g/t) over 144.2 meter strike. It already has 2 million ounces (2 Moz) at 9.95 g/t. It is high quality and high grade and in the politically safe jurisdiction of Nevada. We're the third largest shareholder. None of the top three shareholders has to raise any cash to meet redemptions," said Aldis. 

"That stock won't have any selling pressure, but you can still buy it for $70M. I don't know where you can buy 2 Moz at 9.95 g/t for $70M."

The Fire Creek project is situated at the intersection of the Battle Mountain trend and Northern Nevada Rift, which also hosts the Midas and Hollister narrow-vein epithermal gold deposits. The company is planning to start initial production from bulk sampling later this year, with an updated resource from drilling due this summer, to be followed by a new and comprehensive mine plan.

"The advantage is that the deposit is not homogenous, and in the case where gold is declining, we have the opportunity to increase the gold cutoff grade. Costs remain the same but we can get a lot more from the revenue end, giving us the opportunity to survive at different metal prices," assured the chief executive at the AGM last month. 

Aside from being surrounded by major producers, the property is as expected also proximate to power, transportation, infrastructure and a milling facility in the heart of the U.S. state’s gold trend. Apart from the Rapid Infiltration Basin permit, which has been submitted and is on track for the third quarter, most other major permitting is in place.  

To read the interview from The Gold Report in full, please click here.