Minta Rutile Project—Awakening a New Titanium Frontier in Cameroon.
- Noel Ong
- 3 hours ago
- 9 min read
Updated: 22 minutes ago
Declaration:
I am a shareholder of Peak Minerals Limited, and this review has not been endorsed by the company, nor has it been sponsored by any other party in any form (cash, shares, or options).
The information provided in this blog is for informational purposes only and reflects my personal views and analysis. It is not intended to promote the company or create speculation. Readers should conduct their own research and seek professional advice before making any investment decisions.
Astute investors will vouch that there is no such thing as a perfect investment opportunity, and this is Samso encourage followers to instead look for the ideal Risk-Reward proposition. However. Investors continue to look for that perfect investment opportunity that is, for some reason is extremely hard to find.
For investors in the ASX (Australian Stock Exchange) mineral exploration sector, what does an ideal Risk-Reward proposition look like? Well, from my perspective, what we see commonly on the Samso platform is that the larger percentage of people we come across do one of two things: educate themselves and know the facts and ignore or filter out the noise, or just listen to the noise and hope for the best :-).
Investors often talk about “genuine discoveries,” and they often point to big gold systems, new copper belts, or rare earth anomalies. But now and then, a story emerges that goes beyond the usual noise—a story that rewrites the map. That story, right now, is the Minta Rutile Project in Central Cameroon.
This reminds me of the time we published the story of Champion Iron Limited (ASX:CIA) and Canyon Resources Limited (ASX:CAY) On the 26th February 2019, we published a Samso Insight on Champion Iron (Champion Iron Limited (ASX: CIA, TSX: CIA) - An emerging Iron Ore company) who were and are still mining magnetite ore in Canada. This was one of the best stories to come out during that period. In my opinion, this is remains a great story that has a version two in Cyclone Metals Limited (ASX:CLE).
The Canyon Resources Limited story was published on the 11th March 2020 (The Best Small-Cap Bauxite Companies on the ASX) and that was a bauxite story in Cameroon. That was the first time I started to learn about a bulk commodity story that was not iron ore.
The Champion Iron and Canyon Resources stories helped me understand that these kinds of projects lead to real value propositions for the small-cap ASX companies. This is the very reason, the Peak Minerals story resonated with me after understanding the immense value creation that came from Champion Iron, Canyon Resources and now Cyclone Metals.
It is comforting to see that Canyon, whose project is in Cameroon, is progressing into the final mining process as we speak (Port Access Approval Received as Last Key Item for FID at Minim Martap Bauxite Project). What better way to give comfort to the potential questions on jurisdiction risk?
Figure 1: Location of the Minta project in Cameroon. (source: Peak Minerals Limited)
Spanning approximately 8,800km² (Figure 1) and backed by 18 granted exploration permits and 3 applications, Minta is not just about geology—it’s about timing, market demand, and vision. It’s the kind of project that redefines a company, a region, and potentially, an entire commodity space.
A Discovery Rooted in Forgotten Archives
As I have mentioned, I met up with the CEO of Peak Minerals, Casper Adson, and we had a good chat about the project and how this opportunity for the company came about with good fortune and some tenacity from the Directors.
At the heart of this discovery is Phil Gallagher, Non-Executive Director of Peak Minerals Limited, a geologist with over a decade of in-country experience in Cameroon. Armed with nothing more than local knowledge, historical whispers, and a dusty French BRGM report from the 1950s—scanned, handwritten, and, of course, entirely in French—Phil and his local partners went back to basics.
Non-Executive Director Phil Gallagher commented:
“It’s a genuine discovery in an area that nobody realized held rutile—except maybe the French, briefly, seven decades ago.”
Initial field samples were flown back to Perth. What came back from the lab wasn’t just positive—it was electric. The samples confirmed high-grade residual and alluvial rutile, along with angular rutile nuggets—a rarity in the mineral sands space.
This was no coincidence. This was a new rutile province.
A Rare Gem in the Titanium Supply Chain
Rutile is a premium feedstock in the titanium industry, boasting up to 95% TiO₂ content, compared to the 45–65% typically seen in ilmenite. As Casper Adson, CEO of Peak Minerals, explains:
“There hasn’t been a new rutile discovery globally since Sovereign Metals’ Kasiya Project five years ago. The scarcity is real. Rutile production has dropped from a million tonnes per year to just half that.”
What makes rutile so compelling is not just its rarity—it’s the value uplift it brings to processors and end users. With titanium feedstocks in high demand and supply tightening, projects like Minta are being viewed with renewed urgency.
Fresh Results Confirm the Scale – 28km of Mineralisation Unfolds
In a follow-up announcement dated 21 May 2025, Peak Minerals reported another step change in the Minta discovery story. The second batch of drill results reveals a 28km mineralised strike, extending significantly northwest of the initial discovery holes (Figure 3). Importantly, every hole intersected Heavy Mineral (HM) content from surface to the end of hole, with some standout intercepts (Figure 2):
3.1m @ 8.4% HM
6.8m @ 2.8% HM
3.5m @ 5.0% HM
1.2m @ 8.5% HM
6.3m @ 2.4% HM
Figure 2: Inset from Figure 3 showing detail of significant HM intercepts across 28km at Minta Rutile Project. (source: PUA ASX Announcement 21 May 2025)
All this across wide spacing, in an area never previously tested by modern methods. The 63.2% rutile assemblage in discovery holes remains the benchmark, and the kicker is that these numbers do not yet include the +1mm rutile nuggets, which could significantly boost total HM grades when assays come in.
Casper Adson, CEO, Peak Minerals, summed it up best:
“These results reinforce the scale of the Minta Project, underscoring its potential as a new source of rutile and potentially a globally significant rutile province”
Figure 3: Minta Rutile Project confirms a further 28km zone of mineralisation adjacent to discovery hole of 4m at 1.05% rutile. (source: PUA ASX Announcement 21 May 2025)
What Does it Mean?
This is a very important step in defining the potential for the Minta project. In my opinion, that is also a shareholder opinion; the results has kind of validated the potential size of the project ASX release on the 12th May 2025 - Discovery of Rutile Province in Cameroon. The size implication can now be backed up with some facts, and you can see that in Figures 2 and 3 above.
The 28km strike length is very important, and the regional potential is highlighted in Figure 4 below. Time will tell whether my assumptions are vindicated but the signs are looking positive at the moment.
One other major factor to consider is that the oversized samples have not been factored into the assays. This will be like isolating the supergene numbers from your drilling intercepts in a gold project. We all know that the grades are typically higher and more consistent in the supergene layer, so adding that into your "good" results will definitely impact positively, assuming that the oversize particles from Minta are carrying higher numbers.
What’s Next for Minta?
Phase 1 drilling is complete over a broad 1km x 10km grid. Phase 2 is now underway, extending reconnaissance across the 7,000km² tenement, with a further 134 drill holes planned (Figure 4). These are targeting both residual rutile zones and the structural basement rocks believed to be the source of high-grade shedding.
Sample preparation and analysis will continue through the wet season, with selected samples also being tested for gold, particularly in the northeast, where artisanal activity and granitic intrusions coincide.
The company aims to define higher-grade zones for focused infill drilling and to advance the project towards a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate by 2026.
Figure 4: Minta Rutile Project Phase 2 planned residual drilling (source: PUA ASX Announcement 21 May 2025)
Why Cameroon? Why Now?
There’s a quiet but firm shift happening in Cameroon. According to Phil, three mining licenses have recently been granted, including one from his previous venture. Construction has already begun.
“The Ministry of Mines is supportive. The country wants mining to happen—it’s not just policy, it’s action.”
In a world where securing large-scale tenure in underexplored terrain is increasingly difficult, Cameroon stands out as one of the last great frontiers. Minta, until recently, wasn’t just underexplored—it was unexplored.
Samso’s Concluding Comments
The Minta Rutile Project is a rare and refreshing example of what genuine mineral discovery looks like. It’s not just about high-grade rutile—it’s about rediscovering forgotten geological potential and breathing new life into a region that was left untouched for over half a century. What Phil and the team have achieved, starting with historical BRGM data and turning it into a large-scale, drill-confirmed discovery, is the kind of story we don’t see often in today’s exploration landscape.
In a world where rutile supply is dwindling and demand for titanium feedstocks is climbing, Minta couldn’t have come at a better time. The combination of residual, alluvial, and nugget-style mineralisation across thousands of square kilometres makes this more than a single deposit—it hints at an emerging province. With assays still pending and more drilling underway, it’s clear that we’re only scratching the surface of what’s possible here.
Figure 5: A model showing the styles of HMS rutile mineralisation on major HMS projects globally and on the Minta Rutile Project deposit model. (source Peak Minerals Limited)
One of the exciting aspects of the project is the potential mineralisation style, which the company is proposing for its Minta project. As you can see in Figure 5, the model shows the different styles in which a rutile deposit could be deposited. The different styles are created depending on their life cycle over the geological time of mineralisation (creation), weathering, and erosion.
The potential of Minta, if proven to be correct, is that it may be similar to what Sovereign Metals Limited is proposing for its deposit in Malawi. A deposit that stems from the development of a regolith weathering profile, which ultimately is a process of enrichment in situ, is the best scenario for Sovereign Metals and maybe Peak Minerals. It is the best mineralisation environment to be in, as there has been no loss of bulk through the process of erosion. You are basically in the pot that is brewing the broth.
In closing, I think the latest ASX release may have allowed some form of comparison with Sovereign Metals and that may give investors and potential investors some kind of understanding of the potential size for Minta. If you take the current known size of the mineral resource that Sovereign has released to the market, a comparison to potential of Minta, that conversation will be interesting.
Now we all know that this is paper comparisons at this stage, and paper results are good for many things other than our wishes and expectations.
Cameroon’s rise as a mining destination adds another layer of significance, as I have mentioned with the Canyon Resources Bauxite project. With government support, available ground, and a growing appetite for investment, the country appears to be ready to host a new generation of mineral projects.
The Minta project isn’t just leading that charge—it’s setting the tone and joining the many profitable mining projects in Africa. For those watching the titanium market, this is one discovery you don’t want to ignore.
Happy investing and remember, always DYOR.
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