James Pearson

Triangle Energy’s share price jumped 11% on strong volumes after confirming its highly anticipated Becos-1 exploration well in WA’s Perth Basin is set to spud in April, targeting up to 21 MMbbl of oil. Silver City Rig 24 is en route and expected on site next week to tackle Triangle’s 50 per cent owned EP 437 permit that it jointly holds with Strike Energy and Echelon which have 25% each.

Terrain Minerals has just upped the stakes significantly at its Monza gold project east of Geraldton after nailing an 11m drill hit grading 6.03g/t gold and 43.5g/t silver just 50m from known mineralisation. The high-grade hit at the new prospect to the west of the project included standout 1m intercepts of 10.28g/t, 11.41g/t, and 10.37g/t gold, suggesting a strong near-surface mineralised system.

Latitude 66 has jagged 16m of disseminated sulphides at 4m depth while hunting for high-grade gold and copper satellite deposits near its flagship KSB project in northern Finland. The 12-hole program was run over two targets called K6E and K6W. The exciting visuals line up with a strong IP anomaly and a nearby surface sample grading 8.8g/t gold and 0.6 per cent copper. Assay results are due in six weeks.

Chariot Corporation has rejigged its acquisition terms with Black Mountain Lithium to boost the company’s near-term cash while maintaining its grip on the promising US Black Mountain lithium project in Wyoming. Under the new deal, instead of coughing up US$1.45M in three lump sums by the end of 2025, Chariot will make seven smaller payments in instalments ending in September 2026.

Meeka Metals has delivered another strong result at its Murchison gold project near Mt Magnet, with drilling at Turnberry Central unearthing standout hits, including 36m grading 2.82g/t gold from 89m depth. The 24-hole program aimed to tighten up the resource for mine scheduling and probe for mineralised extensions to the west and below the current pit design.

Strickland Metals has delivered a major 670,000-ounce gold equivalent resource upgrade at its Rogozna project in Serbia, pushing the total to 7.4 million ounces - up 2m ounces in just nine months. The flagship Shanac deposit now hosts 5.3m ounces at 1.1g/t, including a high-grade core of 1.85m ounces at 1.8g/t, all discovered at just $3 per ounce.

Terrain Minerals has hauled up some remarkable rare earths samples from its Lort River project near Esperance in Western Australia’s Fraser Range region, after multi-element assay tests picked up head-turning grades of up to 9840 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO). The uber-high-grade 1-metre section was discovered within a broader zone of 8m grading 4037ppm TREO starting at only 23m depth.

Empire Energy is closing in on becoming the first gas producer in NT’s massive Beetaloo Basin from its Carpentaria project, in what is shaping up to be a high-stakes moment for Australia’s energy future. Hydraulic stimulation of its 3.3km horizontal C-5H well is expected to kick off in May. A successful production flow is likely to open the flood gates for many more players to enter the fray.

Latitude 66’s share price jumped 20 per cent to 7.8 cents after the company released a scoping study on its KSB gold-cobalt project in Finland. The study revealed a high-grade, low-cost operation with a post-tax NPV of US$310m at US$2500 an ounce gold. The project has an all-in cost of just US$996 with cobalt credits and will pay for itself in 16 months.

Canadian-listed Rio2 Limited has secured a US$25m prepayment from a US-based precious metals investment firm, Wheaton Precious Metals International, under a precious metals purchase agreement with Rio2’s Fenix Gold project in Chile’s Maricunga belt. Rio2 views the funding as a strong endorsement of its development strategy and a key milestone in its push to bring the mine into production by year’s end.

The latest drilling blitz at McLaren Minerals’ titanium project in WA’s Eucla Basin has revealed thick new intercepts of heavy mineral-rich sands coupled with an unexpected groundwater discovery and confirmation of an in-ground gypsum source. The campaign is focussed on infill drilling within a previously identified mineral sands strandline about 40km west of Balladonia. McLaren expects to wrap up the 6000m air core drill program by mid-April.

Larvotto Resources continues to pull in good results from the company’s high-grade Hillgrove gold antimony project in NSW, with big hits that included 0.6m at a stunning 183.5g/t gold equivalent from 493m. Four diamond rigs have now completed more than 8400 metres of drilling at its Bakers Creek and Eleanora-Garibaldi prospects, hinting at new rich mineralisation near existing underground infrastructure.

Great Southern Mining has jagged high-grade gold with an eye-opening intercept of 1 metre grading 70.94 grams per tonne gold within a 5m section of 14.57g/t gold from 41m at its Duketon gold project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields. The company's 3678-metre reverse circulation drilling campaign to test earlier identified shallow mineralisation kicked off in January and is now complete.

Management at Canadian-listed Rio2 Ltd has put the band back together to repeat its prior success at Peruvian gold mine, La Arena. Rio2 has a similar looking massive heap leach gold operation in Chile that is about to spring into production. Initially, its 4.8m-ounce Fenix gold mine is forecast to pump out 91,000 ounces of gold a year for the first 12 years at an uber-low cost of US$1250 per ounce.

Image Resources has kicked off heavy mineral concentrate transport from the company’s new Atlas mineral sands mine in WA’s Mid West region, by trucking its first batch to Geraldton ready for shipping. Process commissioning at Atlas began early last month and is ahead of schedule, the company says. Throughput rates are up to 80 per cent of the design capacity and the plant is operating at 95 per cent of its capacity.

Metallurgical test work by Strickland Metals on the Palomino deposit at its Horse Well gold camp in Western Australia’s northeastern goldfields has notched up whopping gold recovery rates of up to 88.6 per cent. Using six composite rock samples from the deposit, the study found the gold mineralisation is highly amenable to the normal processing techniques of three-stage crushing, followed by gravity and cyanide leach processing.

Latitude 66 Limited will this month launch a major 9000-metre air core drilling campaign at its fully owned Edjudina gold project, near to Kalgoorlie Gold Mining’s exciting new high-grade gold discovery. The program will target multiple gold anomalies identified through previous geochemical testing, geophysical surveys and historical drilling in WA’s Eastern Goldfields and aims to unlock the site's full potential.

Ora Banda Mining has bolstered its balance sheet by locking in a $50 million revolving credit facility with two Australian banks and hedging 100,000 ounces of gold via a put option at $4400 per ounce. The two-year funding agreement has supercharged the company’s war chest to more than $100m, including a $58m bank balance, and provides the company with the financial clout to achieve production of 150,000 ounces in WA next year.

Aguia Resources has locked in $1.5 million in fresh capital after completing a placement of 40 million shares at 3.8 cents each, setting the stage for an aggressive drilling campaign at its high-grade Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia. The new cash will support expansion of the company’s gold processing plant to 50 tonnes per day, kick off a comprehensive drilling program and cover general working capital needs.

Strickland Metals has jagged a massive 7.5-kilometre intrusion-related gold system next to its 109,000-ounce Dusk ’til Dawn gold deposit which is part of the company’s wider Yandal project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields. Strickland spent several months pouring over new geophysics and geochemical analysis of the area before overlaying the findings with historic exploration data.

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has wasted no time gearing up the rigs for follow-up drilling at its exciting Lighthorse gold discovery, part of the company’s Pinjin project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields. The 16-hole reverse circulation drilling program will test fresh rock beneath a shallow, wide area of mineralisation - interpreted as a horizontal supergene blanket - to chase up potential sources of uber-high-grade gold.

Strickland Metals may be on the cusp of a major porphyry discovery after its diamond drill rig intercepted a whopping 493m intercept of 0.14 g/t gold from 223m at its Jezerska Reka prospect, part of the company’s Rogozna gold and base metal project in Serbia. Assays revealed a 412m section grading 130ppm copper from 300m, ending in gold and copper mineralisation at 700m depth.

American West Metals’ preliminary economic assessment has knocked out a whopping $1.33bn revenue number for a 10-year mine with a net cashflow of A305m at its flagship Storm Copper project in Canada. The study is targeting 10.3mt of resource at 1.3 per cent copper and 3.7g/t silver to produce 487,000t of 17 per cent copper concentrate. With a low A$76m capex and a A$238m NPV, the project will pay for itself within three years.

Altech Batteries is cleaning up its corporate structure by offering to buy the remaining minority stakes in its CERENERGY and Silumina Anodes projects from German-listed subsidiary Altech Advanced Materials. The $23.3m all-scrip deal increases Altech’s ownership to 75 per cent of CERENERGY and all of Silumina Anodes, strengthening its control over the company’s advanced salt battery technology

Thunderbird Resources has completed a review of historical exploration data uncovering high-grade assay samples up to 49.8 grams per tonne gold and 4.1 per cent antimony at its newly acquired Rockvale and Kookabookra projects near Armidale in New South Wales. Four of the tenements, covering 358 square kilometres, form the Rockvale project and are strategically positioned near Larvotto Resources’ exciting Hillgrove gold-antimony project.

Estrella Resources has jagged a rich deposit of transported alluvial manganese at its Soru prospect within the company’s Lautém manganese project in Timor-Leste, with visual grades running as high as 95pc. The manganese may have leached from the surrounding hills due to erosion to form a supergene deposit before breaking up and creating a tertiary deposit of boulders and rock fragments across the hillside and in the local creek systems.

Suvo Strategic Minerals’ low-carbon concrete joint venture with PERMAcast has scored its first binding MOU with a WA-based wind farm developer. It plans to construct and install 3GW onshore and 2GW offshore capacity, deploying up to 500 turbines that each require more than 1000 cubic metres of concrete. The JV partners have a right to first refusal on the supply deal subject to a successful pilot program.

Assays from metallurgical drilling at Octava Minerals’ Byro rare earth elements and lithium project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region have backed up previously defined high-grade mineralisation. A hit from two 100-metre holes reached as high as 500ppm total rare earth oxides, 375ppm lithium oxide and 523ppm vanadium pentoxide over a 50m intercept.

Aguia Resources has nailed down a 10-year binding lease agreement to process organic phosphate from its Três Estradas project near Caçapava do Sul in southern Brazil’s agricultural heartland. Aguia will operate the plant at a monthly cost of BRL$163,000 (A$43,000) and a BRL$5m (A$1.4m) one-off payment to the owners. Aguia has an option to extend the lease for a further 10 years. First production is slated for later this year.

Aurum Resources has struck more high-grade gold at its Boundiali project in Côte d'Ivoire, with hits of up to 8m at 8.23g/t gold outside the known resource. Results from 3079m of drilling across 12 holes at Target 3 have extended mineralisation by 380m, pushing the strike to 1.9km - well beyond the 950m already included in the 1.59-million-ounce global resource.

Image Resources has landed first production of heavy mineral concentrate at its Atlas project, 170 km north of Perth, marking a key step in the company’s plan to expand its mineral sands footprint and achieve planned revenue growth by mid-2025. The mine achieved its first production during early-stage commissioning this month. Despite bushfire evacuations last year, accelerated construction has since kept the project on schedule with initial forecasts.

Strickland Metals has boosted its Serbian Rogozna project’s mineral resource by 23pc, reaching 6.69m gold equivalent ounces. A key driver is the maiden resource at Medenovac, contributing 1.28m gold equivalent ounces from a resource of 21mt grading 1.9g/t gold equivalent. The polymetallic deposit - rich in gold, copper, zinc, lead and silver – has lifted Rogozna’s portfolio, reinforcing its status as a major gold and base metals asset.