Value Microcaps Junior Miners

[Lone Clone]

BTO, IAU, KTN, EDV

B2Gold aka BTO released its Q4 results and they were a mixed bag. That said, the stock may not deserve the 10% haircut it is taking a few hours after the NR.

The positives were all about Q4 production, which increased almost 30% over Q3 to 353k oz AU, allowing BTO to meet guidance for the 8th straight year. The Otjikoto mine in Namibia had an outstanding Q4, while Fekola bounced back nicely after earlier problems with the Mali government. Also good news was that cash costs dropped significantly to $593/oz, which you might think resulting in strong cash generation, but here comes the bad news.

First, the budget for the construction of Back River currently underway in Nunavut has been increased by over $200M. Then we heard that the problems in Mali have led to BTO guiding for a decrease in overall production for 2024 along with an increased in costs. The company is also forecasting that 2025 will see a big leap in production, but the market doesn't seem to care about that right now.

https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=34547614

FWIW, in response BMO issued a new analyst report on BTO, maintaining them at Outperform but dropping their target from $7.50 to $6.50. As well, TD, alwaus more positive on BTO, issued a new analyst report caling the impact Mixed by maintaining BTO as Action List Buy with a target of $8.

Nevada miner i-80 Gold aka IAU released another set of drill results from its Ruby Hill project. This time the focus is on the FAD deposit, acquired when they bought out Paycore Resources last year, and located 500m from the original Ruby Hill mine which yielded large amounts of Au, Ag, and Pb over a century of mining.

Each hole into FAD intersected multiple mienralized horizons, up to six in one hole, with high levels of Ag, Pb, and Az over lengths of up to 15m. In addition the easternmost hole added Au to the mix, with the best intersection being 3.9 g/t Au, 185.6 g/t Ag, 11.1% Zn & 3.6% Pb over 25.4m including 4.1 g/t Au, 350.1 g/t Ag, 13.8% Zn & 7.3% Pb over 11.0m.

IAU has so much going on at Ruby Hill that we only get brief mentions of what might be other important discoveries that will be followed up later, e.g. finding shallow Au near the original Ruby Hill mine that may be amenable to open pit mining, or a hole looking for an extension of Graveyard Flats that found 3.9 g/t Au, 185.6 g/t Ag, 11.1% Zn & 3.6% Pb over 25.4 m including 4.1 g/t Au, 350.1 g/t Ag, 13.8% Zn & 7.3% Pb over 11.0m.

Exploration continues at Ruby Hill, paid for by the potential JV partner whose name remains under wraps. One assumes there is hard negotiation going on behind the scenes, with IAU's hand getting stronger with every new set of drill results.

https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=34548786

Mexican explorer Kootenay Silver aka KTN remains focused on their Columa prospect, but they are also working up a few of their other Mexican properties, including releasing an updated Resource Report on the La Cigaara project in Chihuahua. The didn't manage to increase the overall amount of metal, but by decreasing the tonaage they significantly increased the grade, in the case of M&I from 86 to 102 g/t Ag, in the case of Inferred from 80 to 102 g/t Ag.

M&I resources are now 15.73Mt grading 102 g/t Ag, 0.07 g/t Au, 0.16% Pb, and 0.21% Zn (120 g/t AgEq) containing 51.57M oz Ag, 33.9k oz Au, 54.8M lbs Pb, and 73.5M lbs Zn (or 60.56 Moz AgEq).

Inferred Resources are now 3.37 Mt grading 102 g/t Ag, 0.06 g/t Au, 0.20% Pb, and 0.19% Zn (119 AgEq) containing 11.00M oz Ag, 6.00k oz Au, 14.8M lbs Pb, and 13.8 M bs Zn (12.85 Moz AgEq).

It is not mentioned in this NR, but in the past KTN has said that after completed the updated Resource Estimate they were going to proceed to a PEA, which would certainly help as they continue to look for a partner to develop the project.

https://www.siliconinvestor.com/readmsg.aspx?msgid=34548814

FWIW, in the wake of this week's Q4 production results from African gold miner Endeavour Mining aka EDV, BMO released a new analyst report calling the impact Neutral due to results being basically in line with expectations, and maintaining EDV at Outperform with a target of $34. Meanwhile Scotia released a new analyst report calling the impact Mild Positive, mostly because the new mine construction is proceeding ahead of schedule, while maintaining EDV at Sector Outperform with a target of $37.