Pan Asia Metals well-positioned to move into next phase of growth with JORC mineral resources and feasibility studies

Pan Asia Metals Ltd (ASX:PAM) is well-positioned to move into its next phase of growth – the generation of JORC mineral resources at its key tungsten and lithium projects and the initiation of feasibility studies – following its successful listing on the Australian Stock Exchange in October 2020. The company is focused on building a pipeline of battery and critical metals assets, which are at or near the bottom of their peer group cost curves. Pan Asia has a 100% interest in four projects - two tungsten project areas and two lithium project areas, with three of them fitting the company’s strategy of downstream, value-adding development opportunities in low-cost environments proximal to end-market users.  The company owns three projects in southern Thailand - Khao Soon Tungsten Project, Reung Kiet Lithium Project and Bang Now Lithium Project - and the Minter Tungsten Project in Australia.   Whilst Minter does not directly fit Pan Asia’s strategy, it is seen as a potential source of tungsten concentrate to feed future South East Asian-based downstream processing operations. Depending on the results of its drill programs, the company is targeting to have maiden resource estimates at two projects and hopes to be commencing work on scoping studies for the projects late in the year.  Advantage over many peers The company is specifically focused on South East Asia for geological and economic reasons - low-cost operating environment with greater potential to move downstream and value-add in certain circumstances. Pan Asia has an advantage over many of its peers as its projects are located where balance sheet requirements are expected to be much less demanding due to their close proximity to the advanced industrial centres in Thailand and Malaysia. These countries offer competitively priced process inputs as well as being low-cost operating environments – something, which applies to South East Asia in general and is why processors and manufacturers choose to locate there. Its projects are in the South East Asian Tin-Tungsten Belt, which extends from Myanmar in the north through Thailand and Peninsular Malaysia to the Tin Islands in the south. This belt appeals due to the occurrence of a suite of specialty metals associated with granite related tin, tungsten, lithium, tantalum, niobium, rubidium, caesium, rare earths and other rare metals. It contains some of the largest historical tin producing districts in the world, specifically in Southern Thailand and much of Peninsula Malaysia, and has experienced very limited modern exploration. Pipeline of project opportunities PAM is focused on speciality metals and value-added products that are in high demand in South East Asia and the company’s business model is to develop its key assets while simultaneously building a pipeline of future project opportunities. The company targets assets that have the potential to be positioned in the lower third of the cost curve, which are likely to have lower capital requirements and have the potential to present downstream value-adding opportunities. Executive chairman and managing director Paul Lock said: “PAM’s tungsten and lithium projects potentially offer low opex and capex solutions for two critical metals, with balance sheet requirements expected to be much less demanding as the projects are in low-cost environments and close to the advanced industrial centres of Thailand and Malaysia. “We are also continuing to develop our target generation program, which will see us acquire additional assets that fit our criteria. “Our aim is to build a pipeline of target assets in battery and critical metals, and rare earths (specialty metals) which fit our criteria. The company has conducted due diligence on several projects in Asia and Australia. Simple strategy Lock added: “At Pan Asia our strategy is simple, we aim to secure assets, which have the potential to place future operations at the bottom of the cost curve and which offer the option to extend down-stream and value add. “If we achieve this, then our operating margins will naturally be higher, allowing the company to prosper in all price environments. “The company has built a strong reputation in South East Asia and as a result, Pan Asia’s shareholders and stakeholders will benefit as the current assets are developed and new assets are secured.” Khao Soon Tungsten Project Pan Asia’s Khao Soon Tungsten Project is a significant historical producer. Modern exploration has discovered potentially world-class, district-scale tungsten mineralisation across numerous prospects. Pan Asia started its second drilling campaign at Khao Soon just before listing and both drilling programs have intersected robust widths and tungsten trioxide (WO3) grades associated with strong surface anomalies, from which exploration targets have been estimated. Additional drilling has been undertaken to support mineral resource estimation Earlier this week, the company intersected near-surface tungsten mineralisation with good grades over robust widths while drilling at Than Pho West (TPW) prospect within the Khao Soon Project. PAM will use laboratory results to enhance geological interpretations and grade modelling at TPW to update the exploration target. Reung Kiet Lithium Project Its Reung Kiet Lithium Project in southern Thailand is in a region of previous large-scale tin mining. Pan Asia’s exploration discovered lepidolite and muscovite (lithium-rich micas) occurring in pegmatites over a combined strike length of 2.5 kilometres. Rock-chip and trench sampling have generally defined consistent high grades across good widths and initial diamond drilling has also resulted in some encouraging intersections. The company started its second drilling campaign in mid-January 2021, targeting the previously undrilled Bang I Tum (BIT) prospect. Last week, Pan Asia Metals intersected relatively wide pegmatite dyke swarms in the first two diamond drill holes at Reung Kiet prospect, which forms part of the Reung Kiet Project, with a further six holes planned. The intersections followed an earlier trenching program that returned lithium grades of up to 1.99%. Bang 1 Tum (BIT) prospect Also in March, Pan Asia Metals Ltd intersected pegmatite dyke swarms over substantial widths in all six diamond drill holes completed at BIT prospect within the wider RKLP. Spot hand-held XRF analysis of drill core by the company identified the presence of elevated tin and niobium along with elevated lithium indicator elements, such as rubidium and manganese. Lock said: “Whilst we await results from the lab we are buoyed by the hhXRF results and visual indications which support the presence of lepidolite and muscovite and therefore the potential for lithium to be hosted in both. “The presence of elevated tin and niobium, the latter as a proxy for tantalum, is also very encouraging.” Minter Tungsten Project The Minter Tungsten project, within the central portion of the Lachlan Orogen, also known as the Lachlan Fold Belt, includes the broadly-defined Wagga Tin Belt in New South Wales. This tin belt hosts numerous granites of particular composition that give rise to tin, tin-tungsten, tungsten and gold mineralisation hosted within the granite intrusions and/or adjacent metasediments, and commonly in quartz veins. It plans to start drilling the Doyenwae prospect within Minter Tungsten Project after receiving State Government approval for a six-hole reverse circulation (RC) drilling program of 1,000-1,200 metres. The program aims to test the potential for near-surface tungsten mineralisation that may be amenable to open-pit mining. It will also test a revised interpretation of the controls on tungsten mineralisation at Doyenwae. Exploration by previous explorers at Minter has defined a belt of prospective tungsten mineralisation hosted in quartz veins occurring within metasediments near a granite contact and has identified elevated tungsten over a relatively large area. Buoyant tungsten market Lock noted the general buoyancy in the APT market - the reference price for tungsten, adding: “Fastmarkets MB recently reported that the APT price was $25,000-25,500 per tonne, the highest level since 2019. The strong price was attributed to tightness in the scrap and raw materials market and the demand side facing the prospect that several large Chinese and Russian mines are reaching the end of their respective lives. “We believe Khao Soon will be one of the few new tungsten projects with the potential to work in the current price environment,” Lock said. IPO Pan Asia Metals completed its Initial Public Offering (IPO) and was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange under the ticker code PAM on October 8, 2020, which coincided with the start of drilling at the key Khao Soon Tungsten Project in Thailand. The IPO, which raised A$4.28 million at 20 cents per share, resulted in an implied market capitalisation at listing of A$25.2 million. PAM's IPO was met with strong demand from a range of investors across Australia, resulting in a share register of 414 shareholders and shares have traded in the range of A$0.15 to A$0.20. Following the listing, Lock said: “Listing on the ASX is a major milestone and the beginning of a new phase of growth for the company.” The company intends to use the majority of the IPO proceeds for exploration.