Today, May 30, Kainantu Resources Ltd. (KRL:TSX.V; 6J0:FSE) released financial and operational results from the first quarter of the year (Q123). This quarter consisted of three months and ended on March 31.
Kainantu Resources Ltd. is a mining company that focuses on the exploration and development of mineral resources. They primarily operate in Papua New Guinea, where they are engaged in gold exploration and mining activities. The company aims to discover and develop high-quality gold deposits in the region, utilizing modern exploration techniques and sustainable mining practices.
Financial Results
Some important financial elements to mention throughout the duration are as follows:
- The ongoing responsible handling of financial assets persisted this quarter.
- US$0.32 million of capitalized expenditure was spent on exploration and evaluation activities, paralleled by the US$0.72 million spent in 2022 during the same period.
- KRL reported the placement of a Senior Convertible Debenture securing commitments of CA$1.40 million, maintaining funding for the
company's projects and operations (to supplement cash and receivables reported on March 31 of US$0.35 million (or CA$ 0.48 million) with US$0.17 million of non-trade receivables). - US$0.32 million in cash was used in operating activities, and US$0.31 million for investing activities and net inflows from the financing of US$0.52 million
- US$0.31 million was the operating loss for the period. largely in line with $0.26 million in 2022, with small -increases in travel costs and professional fees relating to fundraising.
Operational Highlights
Kainantu's focus for this quarter consisted of its projects at Kili Teke and Ontenu/KRL South.
The company believes Kili Teke represents a notable and promising porphyry gold-copper project in the advanced exploration stage. It already boasts an established mineral resource, and there is considerable potential for additional enhancements and discoveries that could significantly elevate its overall value.
However, the primary area of focus for Kainantu Resources has been KRL South, where extensive work has been conducted to assess the potential mineralization. Initial studies of historical data, combined with on-site observations, have revealed various types of mineralization in this region.
Within the vicinity of Tirokave, a village known for gold panning and located at the heart of EL 2559, which is a key part of the KRL South tenement package, the exploration team has conducted mapping and sampling activities. The company has identified systems characterized by epithermal vein-style mineralization, multiple skarn deposits, and deeper alteration/mineralization likely associated with porphyry-style deposits.
Highlights of these projects in quarter one included:
- Work to define drill targets continued at the Ontenu project. The company reports a high degree of consistency from its samples at Ontenu, with within a narrow range of up to 1.55ppm gold (Au), 3,893ppm copper (Cu), and 20.8ppp silver (Ag).
- A NI43-101 Technical Report for the Kili Teke project was issued. This included h an estimated inferred mineral resource of 237Mt at 0.34% Cu, 0.24g/t Au and 168ppm Molybdenum (Mo), for a total of 802kt of Cu, 1.81Moz of Au and 40kt Mo (at a 0.2% Cu cut-off).
- Kainantu also noted the completion of its "highly-successful study" at Mountain Gate Prospect at the May River project, which included "geochemical analysis identifying a likely shallow buried Au and Cu rich porphyry target."
In light of these results, CEO Matthew Salthouse commented, "KRL is pleased to provide this update for Q1 2023. During the quarter, considerable focus was applied towards funding initiatives to enable the consolidation and development of our foundation assets, providing a platform to preserve and build upon our blue chip portfolio at Kainantu, May River, and Kili Teke. The recently announced convertible debenture supports this strategy, providing funding to lock in value-generating initiatives, primarily at Kili Teke and Ontenu/KRL South. KRL looks forward to updating stakeholders on further initiatives at these projects and other locations in the near future."
