Korab Resources has turned its focus on its mineral exploration activities in the Territory after the ongoing war in Ukraine placed its Bobrikovo mining project in Luhansk, eastern Ukraine at a standstill.

Last month, Korab renewed its exploration licence covering 172 square kilometres and forms part of the Batchelor Project located some 70 km south of Darwin. The company’s exploration licence (EL) has been renewed until July 2024 and is entitled to further renewals.

KOR’s projects in the Territory include the Geolsec Phosphate Operations Pty Ltd (Geolsec), which is a 100 per cent owned subsidiary of Korab operating the rock phosphate (RP) mine; the Winchester deposit—a short distance from Darwin—considered as one of the highest-grade magnesite deposits globally, being developed by Korab subsidiary Ausmag Pty Ltd; and the Batchelor and Green Alligator projects, which contain large cobalt, nickel, copper, gold, zinc, lead and other metals anomalies.

The company also operates the Mt Elephant project, an early-stage exploration focusing on copper and gold situated south of Paraburdoo in Western Australia.

Uncertain future in Ukraine

In July this year, Korab Resources reported that it was under talks with parties interested in obtaining mineral assets for the potential sale, or joint-venture development of its Bobrikovo project. The company said there are no clear agreements with any parties at the moment.

KOR has still made no investment decision for the project due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, which dropped the value of the mine to almost nothing.

“The uncertainty as to the future direction of the developments there (Ukraine) makes it prudent to be conservative,” the company said in a statement. “The exploration and evaluation expenditure attributable to the Bobrikovo project has been written off…”

Bobrikovo project is a 3.3-million-ounce gold and 16.3-million-ounce silver project managed by the company’s team of mining engineers, metallurgists, and geologists assembled from similar projects in Eastern Europe, Russia and Asia.

The mine is situated in the Luhansk within the Nagolny Ridge structure forming part of a large intra-continental Phanerozoic structure that extends from southern Europe east to Central Asia, hosting numerous world-class gold mining operations including Muruntau, Vysokovoltnoe, and Bakirchic.

Most recent reports said fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops is ongoing in and around the province of Luhansk, and that Russian troops no longer have full control of the province.

Recovering values

KOR’s share price at the ASX shot up 30 per cent late last month after the announcement that its EL in the Northern Territory has been renewed and is eligible for further renewals. In the past 12 months, KOR shares have trended up by 70 per cent.

Shares of the company are expected to continue trending up as its Batchelor project operations neighbours tenements with Core Lithium Ltd.

Most of the Batchelor project is underlain by the Burrell Creek Formation—which forms part of the Finnis River Group—hosting lithium mineralisation within nearby tenements operated by Core Lithium, Ragusa Minerals, and Lithium Plus Minerals.

With the potential of the Batchelor project to contain lithium and rare earth oxides mineralisation, KOR has started a review of exploration data from its historical exploration programs, and closed and open file reports for the tenement and the greater Batchelor Project.

Market players will also be closely following developments in the lithium space, with demand for the metal forecast to continue to remain robust over the next 10 years due to the surge in worldwide electric vehicle production.