Dateline boss takes $277k swing at US gold-rare earths play

After converting another tranche options, Dateline Resources MD Stephen Baghdadi has pumped another $277,000 into Dateline, bringing his total personal investment in the company just since June to $1.35m and boosting his stake to 12 per cent of the $1.3b company. 

Dateline’s Colosseum project in the USA has driven a market frenzy this year, with punters liking both its gold endowment and its potential for rare earths.

Dateline says its exploration crews onsite are hammering away at the ex-Barrick gold mine in the mineral-soaked Walker Lane trend that is prospective for both gold and rare earths. 

Two rigs are currently operational with a third on the way, as targeting of high-priority gold-bearing breccia pipes looks to extend the already substantial 1.1-million-ounce gold resource.

Flagged by recent high-powered geophysical work, the breccia pipes have become the core focus as the company looks to expand the known gold system, particularly at its top targets like the South Pit-adjacent anomaly that shows deep gravity and resistivity lows which are classic of deep plunging mineralised pipes. 

Dateline says it is also chasing up fresh rare earths prospects with the drill bit after geophysical models lit up carbonatite look-a-like targets just 10 kilometres from the world-class Mountain Pass rare earths mine. 

The plan is to hit the best gold and rare earth targets at the same time in a one-two punch aimed at unlocking more ounces of gold while tapping into the project’s growing critical minerals potential.

Further induced polarisation surveys are next, designed to pinpoint near-surface sulphide zones that could reveal more gold or rare earths for drill testing. 

Dateline Resources managing director Stephen Baghdadi said: “Exercising these options was an easy decision because the momentum at Colosseum is undeniable. We are completing our feasibility study and undertaking an exciting drilling program for gold and REE’s. With strong U.S. policy support for critical minerals and a clear development pathway ahead, I have complete confidence in Dateline’s long-term future.” 

Colosseum’s JORC-compliant resource stands at 27.1 million tonnes grading 1.26 grams per tonne gold for 1.1 million ounces, with over two-thirds in measured and indicated categories. 

A bankable feasibility study, updated in May, delivers a net present value of US$550 million (A$850 million) and a 61 per cent internal rate of return at a projected gold price of just US$2900 (A$4465) per ounce. 

With gold still well north of US$4100 (A$6300) per ounce, those figures are looking pale now and the real numbers will likely be considerably more impressive. The study projects 635,000 ounces mined over a swift 8.3 years at 71,000 ounces annually and boasts a robust all-in sustaining cost per ounce of around US$1500 (A$2300) an ounce. 

Dateline’s cash reserves now sits at over $32 million and will give it plenty of runway as it hurtles toward production.

Management is also keeping an eye on its high-grade Argos strontium project, 100km away in San Bernardino County.

Billed as the largest “strontium” deposit in the US, it has churned out high-grade celestite (strontium sulphide) at over 95 per cent.

Strontium is not the most critical of minerals but is used in permanent magnets. It also has applications in fluorescent lights (as strontium phosphate) and is used in drilling fluids for the oil and gas industry.

With the rigs chewing through a bevvy of prime targets, a hefty cash pile and a managing director betting big on the company, Dateline is charging towards production at Colosseum now.

If gold prices hold and rare earths stay in the global spotlight, Dateline will be able to well and truly hold its own in a market that has become feverish for both commodities.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au