Gunsynd puts £0.11m into Arizona-focussed Eagle Mountain Mining

Gunsynd has invested AUD 0.2m (£0.11m) in ASX-listed copper-gold exploration and development company Eagle Mountain Mining, it announced on Wednesday.

The AIM-traded firm said the investment would provide it with exposure to copper exploration, complimenting its recent investment in gold explorer Rincon Resources.

It said the investment was executed based on a subscription for 1,538,462 ordinary shares at 13 Australian cents each, as a part of a AUD 3m capital raising supported by institutional investors.

The funds would be used for a surface diamond drilling programme of about 2,000 metres at Eagle Mountain's high-grade Oracle Ridge Copper Mine Project, scheduled to begin in the third quarter, as well as for the potential acquisition of prospective ground in the vicinity, and to provide additional working capital.

Gunsynd said Eagle Mountain Mining was established in 2017 as a copper-gold explorer focussed on the strategic exploration and development of advanced and greenfield projects in Arizona.

It said Arizona lay “at the heart” of America's mining industry, containing some of the world's largest copper discoveries, now owned by major mining companies including BHP, Rio Tinto, Freeport McMoRan and Hudbay.

Eagle Mountain's Oracle Ridge and Silver Mountain projects are within the Laramide Arc, which hosts many of those significant copper porphyry deposits.

It described Oracle Ridge as a high grade, advanced stage underground copper-gold-silver project.

The project includes an NI43-101 resource of 11.7 million tonnes at 1.57% copper, 17.47 grams of silver per tonne, and 0.18 grams of gold per tonne.

Eagle Mountain said it believed there was “significant potential” to expand the known resources through additional drilling, along with exploration at depth, to define the source of the mineralisation.

“We are very pleased to announce this investment in Eagle Mountain, which will offer direct exposure to copper via the development and exploration of the Oracle Ridge project in Arizona,” said Gunsynd director Peter Ruse.

“Copper prices hit a two-year high of $6,545 a tonne last week, boosted by concerns over strikes and supply from Chile - the world's top copper producer.

“This marked a gain of more than 40% since touching four-year lows in March 2020 when economic activity slumped along with demand.”

Ruse said Oracle Ridge contains high grade copper resources with significant gold and silver, pointing to historical drill results of 7.7 metres at 5.11% copper, 9.1 metres at 3.97% copper, and 18 metres at 2.84% copper, as showing the potential of the ore body.

“We believe Eagle Mountain has a high-quality board and management team that have a proven track record of exploration and development success in the mining industry both in Australia and overseas.

“We understand this capital raising received support from the institutional investor market in Australia, displaying strong conviction to gain listed copper exposure.”

At 0953 BST, shares in Gunsynd were down 4% at 0.72p.