Belinda Hickman

Octava Minerals has received promising early-stage results from CSIRO tests of a low-cost bioleaching process of ore samples from its Byro rare earths and lithium project in WA’s Gascoyne region. The stage one testwork focused on identifying, enriching and adapting microorganisms that can process the Byro ore. Stage two tests are underway to see which adapted cultures best extract critical and battery metals from the project’s polymetallic samples.

American West Metals will start its 2025 exploration program at its Storm copper-zinc project on Somerset Island, in Canada, within weeks. The company aims to further define recent high-grade copper discoveries and rapidly grow the region’s mineral resource potential. Only a fraction of Storm’s 110km-long fertile copper belt has so far been tested by a drill bit.

Thunderbird Resources has kicked off exploration at the company’s Rockvale and Kookabookra gold, silver and antimony projects in NSW’s northern Tablelands after getting access to priority target areas. The company’s initial focus will be on targets that have historical high-grade assay results as it doubles down on its gold presence in the state.