AUIAF - Aurania Resources (AUIAF)(ARU:CA) - Near-Term Focus Turns to Copper
Scout drilling ready to commence at Tsenken copper target. Drilling is likely to begin the last week of August or the first week of September. Scout drilling will start at the Tsenken N2 target, followed by the Tsenken N3 and N1 targets. Following field mapping and soil sampling, scout drilling could also commence at Tsenken A, a fault-related breccia with high-grade copper and silver, and Tsenken B which contains sediment hosted copper and silver. We note that copper and silver have been confirmed over an area that extends 6 kilometers north from Tsenken A.The search for gold continues. While we expect the company to focus on copper and silver targets during the third quarter, the epithermal gold and silver targets are located nearer to where COVID cases are more prevalent. Scout drilling at epithermal gold and silver targets could follow additional geophysical work and be influenced by safety considerations. Additionally, the company continues its work to locate the historic gold centers that are believed to be located in the project area. Updating estimates. We have narrowed our 2020 loss per share estimate to C$(0.46) from C$(0.48). During the second quarter, the company generated a net loss of C$(0.05) per share compared with C$(0.09) during the prior year period and our estimate of C$(0.07). The variance to our estimate is attributed to lower costs, partially due to pared back activity due to COVID work restrictions. Exploration expense was C$1,254,287 compared with our estimate of C$2,000,000 and other expenses, including for investor relations, and professional and administration fees were below our estimates.Rating remains Outperform. Aurania’s exploration program has affirmed the rich mineral potential of the Lost Cities project and yielded drilling targets for a variety of metals. With the success of its copper exploration program, we think the upcoming scout drilling program at Tsenken could further attract interest from majors interested in the project's copper potential. The company has remained nimble in ordering its activities and we expect attention on the epithermal gold and silver targets to intensify over time.Read More >>