BBX Minerals Limited: June 2022 Quarterly Activities Report
Highlights:
- Seven drill holes from the Três Estados project assayed during the quarter. Significant mineralised intervals reported in multiple holes;
- Development of analytical methodology completed. Samples are assayed for Pt, Pd, Ir, Rh and Au;
- Further enhancements to BBX’s dedicated laboratory facility in Catalão;
- Installation of brand-new Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (AA);
- Strategic appointment of non-executive director further strengthens the Board.
BBX Minerals Limited (ASX: BBX) (“BBX” or the “Company”) is pleased to provide details of its activities during the quarter ended 30 June 2022.
In line with last quarter, the Company continues to maintain strict Covid-related health and safety protocols, but overall conditions have improved significantly. Strong controls remain in place, with the well-being of BBX’s employees, their families, and the communities where the Company operates being of utmost importance.
Assaying
The June quarter was a very productive period in terms of progressing with the Company’s assaying programme. During the quarter, the company assayed seven drill holes (Figure 1).
Figure 1: drill holes assayed during the quarter
Assaying began following the Company’s announcement that it had finalised the development of an analytical methodology designed to assay for gold and PGM’s in a single method. The Company’s technical team is satisfied that the method developed yields satisfactory results for QA/QC control samples for all precious metals. As such, BBX commenced full-scale assaying of drill holes drilled in the 2017 as well as 2020/21 drilling programmes at the Três Estados project (Figure 2).
Significant results include:
TED-015
- 2.62m at 1.99 g/t 5E PGM[i] (0.71 g/t Pt, 0.74 g/t Pd, 0.34 g/t Ir and 0.2 g/t Au) from 12m
- 4m at 2.62 g/t 5E PGM (0.78 g/t Pt, 0.34 g/t Pd, 1.31 g/t Ir and 0.2 g/t Au) from 28m including:
2m at 4.18 g/t 5E PGM (1.55 g/t Pt, 0.63 g/t Pd, 1.82 g/t Ir and 0.18 g/t Au) from 30m- 16m at 1.66 g/t 5E PGM (0.86 g/t Pt, 0.75 g/t Ir, 0.01 g/t Rh and 0.04 g/t Au) from 38m
- 1.9m at 2.84 g/t 5E PGM (1.79 g/t Pt, 0.98 g/t Ir and 0.07 g/t Rh) from 58m including:
1m at 4.10 g/t 5E PGM (2.18 g/t Pt, 1.86 g/t Ir and 0.06 g/t Rh) from 58m- 1m at 12.05 g/t 5E PGM (11.52 g/t Pt, 0.41 g/t Pd and 0.12 g/t Rh) from 84m
TED-001
- 2m at 2.48 g/t 5E PGM (2.48 g/t Pt) from 23m
- 2m at 16.23 g/t 5E PGM (10.82 g/t Pt, 4.43 g/t Pd and 0.98 g/t Au) from 37m
TERC-003
- 6m at 1.4 g/t 5E PGM (1.36 g/t Pt and 0.04 g/t Rh) from 20m
- 2m at 2.67 g/t 5E PGM (2.34 g/t Pt, 0.31 g/t Ir and 0.02 g/t Rh) from 30m
- 12m at 1.74 g/t 5E PGM (1.71 g/t Pt and 0.03 g/t Rh) from 38m (open at depth)
Refer to ASX releases for full results.
Andre J Douchane, CEO, commented: “BBX has accomplished much during the quarter ending June 30, 2022. Assays of drill holes began and have become routine. Final assay results are now timely due to the installation of the new AA at the independent assayer; and the Catalão laboratory is working efficiently. Additionally, the Company will soon begin to work on a JORC resource at Três Estados, where based on the results reported to date, BBX sees the potential for a near surface PGM deposit. The technical team also continues to work on an extraction process.
It is anticipated that the assaying of the 82 drill holes, 44 in Três Estados and 38 in Ema, will be substantially completed within the December quarter 2022. The initial JORC resource is also expected to be completed by within the December quarter”.
Drillhole Locations
Hole ID
East
North
RL
Azimuth
DIP
Depth (m)
Tenement
Method
TED-015
224818.0
9198356.00
191.00
0
-90
91.88
880.080/2008
DD
TED-001
227487.00
9198105.00
151.00
0
-90
50.16
880.080/2008
DD
TERC-002
224798.00
9198224.00
172.00
0
-90
50.00
880.080/2008
RC
TERC-003
224892.00
9198272.00
170.00
0
-90
50.00
880.080/2008
RC
TERC-004
224983.00
9198179.00
186.00
0
-90
50.00
880.080/2008
RC
TERC-005
225106.00
9198111.00
209.00
0
-90
36.00
880.080/2008
RC
TERC-007
224704.00
9198167.00
154.00
0
-90
42.00
880.080/2008
RC
Figure 2: Três Estados project
Laboratory enhancements
The Company made further enhancements to its laboratory during the June quarter. This has enabled BBX to expedite its assaying programme and announce results regularly. Developments during the quarter include:
- Purchase and installation of two additional gas furnaces used for nickel button production. One furnace is always on standby. Furnaces operate nonstop from 8AM to 5PM, Monday to Friday.
- Installation of new fume extraction system.
- Refurbishment of existing fume hood and installation of additional hood for increased sample handling capacity.
- Enhancements to sample storage facility.
- External and independent AA device maintenance and calibration.
Two new employees were recruited and trained in order to increase the Company’s assaying capacity.
In addition to the abovementioned enhancements to its existing laboratory, the Company also installed and commissioned a new Atomic Absorption Spectrometer (Figure 3) purchased in the previous quarter. The AA is located and operated independently by a contractor at a nearby facility and is used exclusively for BBX’s assaying programme.
Figure 3: Newly purchased Atomic Absorption Spectrometer
Exploration
Exploration activities on site remain at a minimum. Both the exploration office and two field camps remain on care and maintenance, reducing the Company’s cash burn in line with recent quarters.
With no drilling occurring during the quarter, the following exploration related activities took place:
- Ongoing monitoring of rehabilitated areas following completion of the 2021/21 drilling programme.
- Systematic work aiming at defining the density of each type of rock intercepted.
- Petrographic analysis (Figure 4 and Figure 5) of all types of hydrothermal alterations intercepted during the diamond drilling programme.
Figure 4: drill cores used in petrographic analysis
Figure 5: drill cores used in petrographic analysis
Financial Position
The Company ended the quarter with a cash balance of $354k. As of 30 June 2022, BBX had a total of $9.95 million available under its financing facilities.
The Company did not raise capital or use any of its funding facilities during the quarter. However, the company completed a capital raising following the end of the quarter. This is explained in detail under subsequent events.
Corporate
Board changes
Mr Karl Page was appointed a Non-Executive Director of the Company effective from 30 June 2022. Karl is an accomplished entrepreneur with extensive experience in capital markets. He was the founder and director of a global marketing company providing operational and strategic advice to several clients including fortune 500 companies.
Mr Mike Schmulian retired as a director effective 30 June 2022. Mr. Schmulian (aged 73) had been a director of BBX since 2011 and Chairman since 2012. Importantly, Mr Schmulian remains available to assist the company and will provide consulting services as required by the Board.
Subsequent events
On 5 July 2022, the Company announced that it had received firm commitments from professional and sophisticated investors for a placement to raise $2,132,000 (before costs) through the issue of 26,000,000 fully paid ordinary shares at $0.082 per share and 26,000,000 attaching options with an exercise price of $0.12, expiring 31 December 2025. The Placement Shares and Options are to be issued under the Company’s existing capacity under ASX Listing Rule 7.1.
Proceeds from the Placement will be utilised to complete BBX’s ongoing assaying programme required for the delivery of a JORC resource. Furthermore, the funds raised will enable BBX to advance its extraction test work.
The Placement was led by Melbourne based boutique investment management and corporate advisory firm Peak Asset Management
Shareholder Information
The Company’s capital structure as of 30 June 2022 was as follows:
Capital Structure
Number
Fully paid ordinary shares (BBX)
460,021,475
Unlisted options (June 2023, $0.15)
9,195,000
Unlisted performance rights (various terms)
10,700,000
Top 20 Shareholders (30 June 2022)
75.28%
Listing Rule 5.3 Information
ASX Listing Rule 5.3.1: Exploration and Evaluation Expenditure during the Quarter was $289k. This amount was capitalised. ASX Listing Rule 5.3.2: There were no mining production and development activities during the Quarter. ASX Listing Rule 5.3.5: Payments to related parties of the Company and their associates during the Quarter totalled $98k. These payments relate to directors’ fees and salaries.
Additional Information required by Listing Rule 5.3.3
Tenements held at the end of the quarter
Area (Ha)
Percentage ownership
DNPM Permit Number 880.107/08
Location Brazil (Ema)
9,839.91
100%
Exploration Licence
DNPM Permit 880.184/16
Location Brazil (Ema)
9,034.00
100%
Exploration License
DNPM Permit Number 880.090.08
Location Brazil (Tres Estados)
8,172.25
100%
Exploration Licence
The Activity Report for the June quarter 2022 has been authorized for release by the Board of Directors.
For more information:
André Douchane
Chief Executive Officer
Competent Person Statement
The information in this report that relates to analytical test results of gold mineralisation in the Apui region in Brazil is based on information compiled by Mr. Antonio de Castro, BSc (Hons), MAusIMM, CREA, who acts as BBX´s Senior Consulting Geologist through the consultancy firm, ADC Geologia Ltda. Mr. de Castro has sufficient experience which is relevant to the type of deposit under consideration and to the reporting of exploration results and analytical and metallurgical test work to qualify as a competent person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Joint Ore Reserves Committee (JORC) “Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves”. Mr. Castro consents to the report being issued in the form and context in which it appears.
CREA/RJ:02526-6D
AusIMM:230624
About BBX Minerals Ltd
BBX Minerals Limited is a mineral exploration and technology company listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Its major focus is Brazil, mainly in the southern Amazon, a region BBX believes is vastly underexplored with high potential for the discovery of world class gold and precious metal deposits.
BBX´s key assets are the Três Estados and Ema Gold Projects in the Apuí region, Amazonas State. The company has 270.5km² of exploration tenements within the Colider Group, a prospective geological environment for gold, PGM and base metal deposits.
BBX Minerals Ltd (ABN: 82 089 221 634)
AUS: Brookfield Place, Level 11, 125 St Georges Terrace, Perth WA 6000 T +61 8 6383 7820
BRA: Av Jornalista Riccardo Marinho, 360, Sala 113, Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro T +55 21 2439 5700
[i] 5E PGM refers to the sum of platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), iridium (Ir), rhodium (Rh) and gold (Au) expressed in units of g/t.