Meeka Metals offloads Gecko North project and refines focus

Bolstered by ongoing success at the company’s projects in the Albany-Fraser region and Murchison WA, Meeka Metals (ASX:MEK) has sold its Gecko North project to a third party. 

Meeka shares are up 4.35% in late morning trades.

LithGold Minerals, a private player, has bought the Gecko North acreage for $0.23m, with one payment awarded to Meeka today, and another due February 2023. 

The sale is ultimately a testament to Meeka’s ongoing success at its rare earths Albany-Fraser (Circle Valley) and Murchison (Murchison Gold) projects respectively. 

As those developments continue to evolve, management called the situation for what it is: getting rid of an asset that no longer made sense to hold onto. 

“With material results being delivered from our ongoing work in the Murchison, gold drilling in the Albany-Fraser and the emerging opportunity in rare earths, Gecko North no longer fit,” Meeka Metals MD Tim Davidson said. 

“We continually evaluate our portfolio of high quality projects to ensure capital is allocated where it will deliver most value.” 

But Meeka hasn’t exited entirely: it retains a 1.5% net smelter royalty attached to Gecko North, which sits in permit E15/1587. 

What is happening at Circle Valley? 

Late last month, Meeka noted it had successfully recovered 82% of high value magnet rare earths from initial testwork samples retrieved from Circle Valley. 

ANSTO, Australia’s nuclear regulator, was responsible for the tests. 

ANSTO performs all rare earths testwork in Australia given that REEs tend to coincide with radioactive elements uranium and thorium—investors should note that’s just business as usual.

Circle Valley is only one of Meeka’s projects near Esperance: the other is called Cascade, but both are separate. 

With that out of the way, back in June, Meeka confirmed the project acreage had returned evidence of high value magnet earths, and scandium. 

At the time, scandium was trading at US$1,000/kg. 

In June, drillers on-site also found shallow mid-grade gold at Circle Valley. 

And what about Murchison? 

About a week before last month’s Circle Valley testwork results dropped, the company noted another success: the Murchison Gold project has been proven to contain high grade gold at shallow depths. 

Aircore resullts were extracted from the St. Anne’s prospect at Murchison, and further drilling carried out through July and into August. Results from renewed drill runs at Murchison are due within the near future, though, assay laboratory delays continue to frustrate company’s pace of exploration. 

Ultimately: good results from St. Anne’s will allow Meeka to boost its JORC resource.

Meeka's three month charts show the company staying afloat, despite strong headwinds. YTD performance is up 17%

Disclaimer: Market Index helps small-cap ASX listed companies connect with Australian investors through clear and concise articles on key developments. Meeka Metals was a client at the time of publishing. All coverage contains factual information only and should not be interpreted as an opinion or financial advice.