Eastinco Mining and Exploration (EM.P ) announced today unaudited interim results for the 6 months ended 30 June 2022 (1H22)
Restructuring
During the period, Eastinco said it continued to work towards completion of its 100% acquisition of Aterian Resources, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Altus Strategies (ALS ). Subsequently, Altus has merged with Elemental Royalties and the combined entity Elemental Altus Royalties (EARC) is listed on TSX-V in Canada and OTCQX in the US.
Aterian has been advancing a portfolio of 15 copper and silver projects in Morocco. Concurrent with its acquisition of Aterian, Eastinco will apply for admission to trading on London's Main Market, and change its name to Aterian.
Upon completion of the acquisition, the company will welcome EARC as a significant shareholder, effectively transforming it into a "multi-jurisdiction, multi-commodity, critical and strategic metals exploration and development company".
HCK Joint Venture, Rwanda
Eastinco reported the discovery of multiple new pegmatite zones at HCK. Prior to commencing fieldwork, two zones, HCK-1 and HCK-2, were known. That number has now increased to 18 zones that will require assessment and evaluation. The significance of these discoveries is that pegmatite dykes in Rwanda are the primary host rock for Tantalum-Niobium mineralisation.
Eastinco said it is conducting a shallow exploration pitting programme along the strike of HCK-1 to determine the overall geometry of the occurrence. Initial recon of HCK-1 had estimated the strike length to be c. 650m. Current work indicates that the pegmatite zone continues for at least 1,500m, with additional pitting expected to extend this further.
Musasa Joint Venture, Rwanda
Eastinco implemented several changes to machinery at the Musasa plant at the recommendation of its on-site processing consultants, Quiver Limited. Quiver has provided an on-site plant manager to control daily operations and a metallurgical consultant to develop process improvements and associated plant upgrade strategies to increase and optimise plant production.
Eastinco said plant operation has temporarily halted to allow for additional off-site metallurgical testing and on-site evaluation of a new set of separation spirals recently imported from South Africa.
In March, Eastinco commenced surface exploration over the Kassava Prospect, one of five currently identified areas of mineralisation known on the project. The Kassava Prospect is located only 300m south of the wash plant and follows a southeast trending ridge. Excavation work is ongoing to define the margins of the pegmatite, with data indicating it is lens-shaped with a maximum horizontal width of 80m, and pits covering a strike length of 250m. Eastinco has identified positive geological indicators over a lateral distance of c. 500m to the east, suggesting the zone may be quite extensive.
The licence application to extend the area of interest at Musasa up to 400 hectares remains pending with the Government of Rwanda, the company said.
Metal Trading
Eastinco said it has been granted a license to trade both locally and internationally in metals mined from the region. To fully avail of this revenue opportunity, Eastinco has applied for membership of the ITRI Tin Supply Chain Initiative (ITSCI), designed to address concerns over 'conflict minerals' such as tin, tantalum, and tungsten from the DRC and adjacent countries.
Conclusion
Eastinco's reported pretax loss of £233K, narrowed from 1H21, reflects the company's ambitious expansion program and changes aimed at streamlining its mining and business operations, as well as investors' access to its listed shares. The loss was a result of administrative costs, overheads, operational and exploration costs, and legal and professional expenses related to the aforementioned acquisitions in Morocco, operations at the Musasa JV and HCK JV in Rwanda, as well as the company's upcoming merger, restructuring, and listing on London's Main Market.
All of these changes represent potential value inflection points in the future. Follow to stay up to date on the company's operations.
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