S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) mining stock Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) has been on a green streak.
The precious and base metals explorer is up 26.6% over the past month, but is down 0.51% today.
At the time of writing, the Chalice Mining share price is $1.95.
This follows the release of the company's September quarter activities and cash flow report.
ASX 300 mining stock rises as Gonneville progresses
Chalice reported approximately $98 million in cash and listed investments and no debt as of 30 September. During the quarter, the miner spent about $4.2 million on pre-development activities.
Chalice Mining's flagship project is the Gonneville palladium-nickel-copper (PGE-Ni-Cu) project in Western Australia (WA).
During the quarter, the WA Government gave Gonneville 'Strategic Project' status, and the Federal Government gave it 'Major Project Status', which means extra support and coordinated approvals.
Chalice said it remains focused on progressing the Gonneville Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). It is currently working on the process flowsheet development and metallurgical testwork.
The purpose of the PFS is to assess the project's technical viability, select a preferred staged
development pathway to progress into a Feasibility Study (FS), and deliver an economic evaluation
that can be tested using various macroeconomic assumptions.
The company hopes to complete the study by mid-2025.
What else happened in the quarter?
Chalice said it continued to engage with potential strategic offtake and financing partners for Gonneville.
In July, Chalice signed a strategic non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mitsubishi Corp, a top-tier strategic partner, to investigate a potential binding partnership within 90 days of the company completing its PFS.
The company is also in discussions with various copper and nickel smelters and refiners of the precursor Cathode Active Material (pCAM).
In its statement, the company said: "There continues to be strong interest in offtake and the market continues to be tight for both copper and nickel concentrates."
What's next for Chalice Mining?
The company began implementing targeted reductions in corporate overhead and project expenditures in August. By the end of the year, it hopes to reduce its expenditure rate to about $1 million per month.
As my colleague James reported last week, broker Bell Potter has a speculative buy rating on this ASX 300 mining stock. The 12-month price target of $5.15 implies a potential upside of 164%.
The broker considers Gonneville a world-class critical minerals project, commenting:
CHN is sufficiently funded to complete the PFS by mid-2025 and lay out a clear case for the project's value ahead of any potential transaction via its strategic MOU with Mitsubishi Corporation.
CHN also has sufficient funding to maintain an active exploration program beyond 2028 and retain capacity to pursue exploration success.
The broker also explained why the ASX 300 mining stock had risen so much over the past month.
Recent share price appreciation reflects CHN as a long-dated option on PGE and nickel prices, in addition to its exposure to a world class critical minerals project.
ASX 300 mining stock price snapshot
Chalice Mining shares are outperforming the ASX 300 this year.
The mining stock is up 16% year to date, while the ASX 300 is up 8% over the same period.
