Gold Miners Give Investors Something to Crow About, but Big Rates Decision Looms

• Gold miners bite nails as US Fed rate decision approaches
• Higher rates are bad for gold, with severity of hike to impact bullion’s near-term price
• Chalice drills hard at Julimar

Gold miners will be looking over their shoulders overnight as the US Fed gathers for what is expected to be a 25 basis point rise in the Yankee fund rate.

But they have a secret weapon in their corner, a growing banking crisis in the States the biggest central bank in the world is keeping a hawkish-eyed watch on after JP Morgan’s $10.6 billion takeover of First Republic swept the country’s second biggest bank collapse under the proverbial rug.

A pause would be as big a surprise for US investors as yesterday’s rise from the Aussie Reserve Bank’s.

But if it transpired it would undoubtedly satisfy gold bulls who have seen prices top US$2000/oz again last night.

“If the Fed were to surprise with a pause, this would suggest a deepening banking crisis and would likely send gold higher,” Clifford Bennett, chief economist at ACY Securities, told Reuters.

Gold stocks were the standout large cap miners on the ASX today.

Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) rose by more than 5% as it took a controlling stake in Breaker Resources (ASX:BRB).

Fellow mid-tiers Regis Resources (ASX:RRL), Silver Lake Resources (ASX:SLR), Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG), Westgold Resources (ASX:WGX), Red 5 (ASX:RED) , West African Resources (ASX:WAF) , Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR) and St Barbara (ASX:SBM) were all heavily in the green.

The big three gold stocks of Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST), Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN) and Newcrest Mining (ASX:NCM) also stood out in the big dog space as Fortescue Metals Group (ASX:FMG) dropped 4% to lead the materials sector to a 0.9% fall.

Gold Monstars share price today:

Chalice steps out at Julimar

Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) has long been bullish that its Gonneville resource, marketed as the largest nickel sulphide discovery in two decades and first major PGE resource in Australia, could be eclipsed by discoveries to the north of the 26km long Julimar complex near Perth.

Drilling was originally constrained by access issues. $3b capped Chalice owns the farmland to the south of the Julimar State Forest where Gonneville was discovered.

But it had to wait until late 2021 to receive approval from the State Government in WA to conduct low impact exploration drilling under the forest on targets to the north.

Has drilling so far proven it’s as good?

Maybe not quite, but Chalice is finding plenty of sulphides bearing PGE, nickel and copper, as assays from 22 new drill holes at the Hooley prospect some 5km north of Gonneville were returned and put out to the market today.

They include headline hits of 32m at 2.2g/t 3E (platinum, palladium and gold), 0.2% nickel, 0.2% copper and 0.01% cobalt from 88m and 59.1m at 1.3g/t 3E, 0.1% Ni, 0.1% Cu and 0.01% Co from 133m.

Extensional drilling at the northern end of Gonneville at depth was more impressive in terms of widths and grades, including 125.8m at 2.8g/t 3E, 0.2% Ni, 0.2% Cu and 0.02% Co (1.2% NiEq) from 396m and 107.6m at 0.9g/t 3E, 0.2% Ni, 0.1% Cu and 0.02% Co (0.6% NiEq) from 408m.

Four diamond rigs remain on side doing wide-spaced reconaissance drilligng at Hooley and extensions at Gonneville. CHN says several kilometres of Julimar remain untested, with drilling at the Baudin-Jansz-Torres targets expected to start in the third quarter of 2023.

Two holes have also been drilled at Hartog, 1.5km north of the updated Gonneville resource. No immediate follow up is planned, but drilling along 3km of untested strike to the north will start in the third quarter after approvals are received.

Chalice Mining (ASX:CHN) share price today:

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