Trinex Minerals is focused on progressing its critical minerals projects in Canada
\nIt is focused primarily on its uranium project in the Athabasca Basin and lithium projects in the Northwest Territories
\nUranium mineralisation has already been intersected at Gibbons Creek and more geophysics will be carried out
\nExploration also on the lithium projects during the Canadian summer<\/p>\n
Pivoting from one sector to another is not a decision to be made lightly by a junior resources company, though their smaller size and ability to make quick decisions makes them ideally suited for doing so if the situation warranted.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly the decision that former base metals-focused Todd River Resources embraced after acquiring what it described then as a \u201ctransformational\u201d package of three lithium exploration projects in Canada\u2019s Northwest Territories late in 2023.<\/p>\n
Accompanying this switch towards critical minerals was a change in name to Trinex Minerals (ASX:TX3)<\/strong><\/a> to reflect this change in direction.<\/p>\n Since then, the company has further affirmed its commitment to critical minerals with the acquisition of the Gibbons Creek uranium project in the Athabasca Basin<\/p>\n Managing director Will Dix told Stockhead that while the company (as Todd River) had been working on base metals in the Northern Territory and WA from 2017, it decided as a board about a year ago to pivot into critical minerals and pursue opportunities both onshore and offshore.<\/p>\n \u201cWe ended up signing a deal on some Canadian lithium assets in the Northwest Territory towards the end of September last year,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was the start of the new company, up until that point, we were called Todd River Resources. It was the catalyst for the name change and the rebranding.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have a commitment to Canada and focused over there. Other opportunities have come through the door since then, one of which has culminated in this, us doing the uranium deal in the Athabasca.\u201d<\/p>\n He added that while the company retained its Australian assets, it was very much focused on Canada for at least the next 18 months to two years with both Gibbons Creek and the Northwest Territory lithium assets sharing equal priority.<\/p>\n Location of the Gibbons Creek project. Pic: Trinex Minerals TX3 executed a binding letter of intent in February 2024 to acquire an initial 51% interest in the 139km2 Gibbons Creek project on the northern flank of the highly prospective Athabasca Basin, which is known to host a sizeable number of the world\u2019s best uranium mines.<\/p>\n Dix said the decision to acquire Gibbons Creek was equal parts opportunistic \u2013 with the project being offered to the company \u2013 and strategic due to the recognition that there would be ups and downs in the lithium market and that it was important to have \u201ca second string to our bow\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cLong-term the uranium industry will grow. There\u2019s a recognition globally that while we want to be part of this energy transition from fossil fuels to renewables or less impactful energy sources, from a pollution or CO2 emissions point of view, I think uranium has a very big role to play in that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He added that while Australia was a great jurisdiction for uranium, there were political impediments to its development, adding that he was not a huge fan of going into developing countries to look for uranium.<\/p>\n By contrast, the Athabasca basin was an area that the company had its eye on for a long time and the project came along at a good time for it.<\/p>\n \u201cGibbons Creek, it is really close to infrastructure and that adds value, we can literally drive out from where we stay at Stony Rapids and we will be on site with the drill rig in 20 minutes,\u201d Dix noted.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is pretty unusual for any kind of exploration project.\u201d<\/p>\n The project is fully permitted for exploration with three high-priority target areas \u2013 Airstrip, Hocking West and Butler Lake \u2013 that have been identified for immediate follow-up work and drilling.<\/p>\n \u201cGibbons Creek is a relatively well understood uranium system in that it is an unconformity-related, or basin-related mineralisation,\u201d Dix said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have got a number of targets that we generated there. The first and easiest to explore is the Airstrip prospect.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s where we just completed drilling and we have already announced a couple of weeks ago that we have got good indications of uranium mineralisation in the first couple of holes there.\u201d<\/p>\n Two of the first three holes drilled by TX3 at the prospect had intersected uranium mineralisation with assays expected in late April.<\/p>\n Dix adds that the company will carry out more geophysics before testing other opportunities within the project with drilling.<\/p>\n \u201cButler Lake is the central prospect and we will definitely do more geophysics on it this year and then I would imagine that next winter we will drill it and then Hocking West next January.<\/p>\n Gibbons Lake prospects. Pic: Trinex Minerals TX3 also has plans to progress its lithium projects, which collectively cover ~500km2 of ground, this summer.<\/p>\n This will be focused primarily on the large, ~350km2 Halo-Yuri project that is the northernmost of the three plays.<\/p>\n It has already fast-tracked planned on-ground exploration to determine the prospectivity of its pegmatite systems of which there are hundreds according to fresh satellite imagery.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are good indications already that there\u2019s spodumene-bearing pegmatites there, there\u2019s one confirmed in the northern part of that project,\u201d Dix said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat that work program will be is very much boots on the ground, reconnaissance sampling, mapping, getting a really good feel for where the opportunities at Halo-Yuri might be and then we will look at drilling that 12 months later.<\/p>\n \u201cThe other two projects, we have got spodumene at Ross Lake, pegmatite that\u2019s several hundred metres long by 25-30m wide.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are in the process of finalising the drilling permit application, which should get lodged in the next week or so.<\/p>\n \u201cAt our third lithium project, the MAC project, we have got some new tenure that we have added on to the original piece of land that we acquired and we need to do again some first pass work, especially on the southern part.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat will happen in the Canadian summer as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Trinex Minerals\u2019 lithium projects in the Northwest Territories. PIc: Trinex MInerals Dix noted that the company continues to look for opportunities in Canada, particularly in the lithium and uranium spaces<\/p>\n \u201cObviously the name of the game is to create shareholder wealth and value,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cThat only happens to us through good science and good geology and good exploration practices with the ultimate ambition being to make a discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n TX3 has also started initial discussions with several companies about some of its Australian projects with Dix saying that while it was still early days, it would certainly consider the right proposal.<\/p>\n \u201cSome of them \u2013 given the current state of the market \u2013 are going to be hard to do anything with and we might end up divesting some of those,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the ones that have intrinsic value such Mount Hardy, it would need to be the right kind of opportunity for us, preferably one that lets us retain exposure to it, otherwise we are happy to hold.\u201d Companies are not just about their projects though, their leadership plays an equally important role.<\/p>\n Dix is a geologist with 23 years\u2019 experience in base metals, gold and uranium exploration and mining including seven years with successful international nickel producer LionOre Mining International.<\/p>\n Executive director Su-Mei Sain is a chartered accountant with 20 years\u2019 experience much of which comes from the mining sector.<\/p>\n Dix notes that she has worked with the company for many years and adds a lot of strength to its financial planning.<\/p>\n \u201cEdward Fry, our chairman, has been instrumental in a lot of the work we have done in Australia from a land access and indigenous liaison point of view and he is doing that same role with Canadian First Nations,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n Fry is currently an executive director of Gimbulki, a native title access company he established in 2002 and has held senior executive roles with Normandy Mining and was manager of international logistics and marketing for that company\u2019s base metal portfolio.<\/p>\n The remaining non-executive director is Geoffrey Crow, who has been with Todd River since the beginning and adds a capital markets angle to the board thanks to his 28 years\u2019 in corporate finance, stockbroking and investor relations.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel that we have all the disciplines covered and we work very well together. There\u2019s a lot of trust between the four of us,\u201d Dix said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are always discuss things until everyone is in agreeance and that tends to be fairly straightforward for the four of us.\u201d<\/p>\n TX3 is also well-funded with about $4m in the bank, which Dix says is enough to get all of its planned work programs completed for at least the next 12 months.<\/p>\n \u201cThat differentiates us from a lot of juniors out there that are going to have to raise money to keep on working,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n\n \u00a0<\/p>\n At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Trinex Minerals is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n The post Canadian uranium, lithium share top billing as Trinex Minerals shifts into exploration gear<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\n\u00a0<\/p>\nWell understood uranium system<\/h2>\n
\n\u00a0<\/p>\nStaying ahead in the lithium game<\/h2>\n
\n\u00a0<\/p>\nSeeking opportunities and Australian projects<\/h2>\n
\n\u00a0<\/p>\nBoard and funding<\/h2>\n