James Pearson

In a bold bid to unveil Namibia’s onshore resource treasures, 88 Energy has launched a major 2D seismic acquisition program for its petroleum exploration licence 93 (“PEL 93”) within the Owambo Basin's uncharted Damara system. The ambitious initiative that covers 18,500 square kilometres of largely-unexplored territory, represents a pivotal milestone for both the company and the region, with an eye to unlocking new oil discoveries.

Meeka Metals has secured mine dewatering and clearing permits to step closer to first gold at its Murchison project in Western Australia’s Mid West region, with the company now expecting mining permits early in September. Management has drawn down on $1.34 million of a $2.2 million secured bridging loan facility to purchase the camp and associated infrastructure at the operation.

Latitude 66 has immediately hit its stride after a recent reverse takeover of DiscovEx Resources and re-listing on the ASX, revealing impressive new gold assay results up to 22.4m at 2.4g/t from extensional diamond drilling at its Kuusamo Schist Belt (KSB) project in Finland. The company is building on the existing indicated resource of 650,000 ounces of gold and 8000 tonnes of cobalt.

Aguia Resources has endured a forgettable few years, but with new management and a new plan in place for its South American projects, a road to riches may well lie just ahead. The company is aiming to deliver strong early cashflow from its high-grade Santa Barbara gold mine in Columbia to provide the cash needed to fire up its organic phosphate operations in Southern Brazil.

Strickland Metals has upped the ante at its Rogozna gold and base metals project in Serbia by adding a fourth diamond rig to target substantial copper-gold porphyry mineralisation at the site, with initial assays due next month. The new drilling activities come hot on the heels of Strickland confirming yesterday that it had completed its full acquisition of the project.

Aguia Resources is on the cusp of securing a processing facility close to its Tres Estrades phosphate project in Brazil that should see it avoid paying through the nose for a brand new one and lead to an earlier production ramp up by mid-2025. The identification of existing processing plants within an economic trucking distance of Aguia's orebodies presents a unique opportunity to cut costs and accelerate production timelines.

King River Resources is set to unleash the drill bit in a new campaign designed to home in on high-grade gold targets at its Tennant Creek project in the Northern Territory following detailed interpretations of geophysical studies. The 1600m reverse-circulation drilling program will test newly-identified gold targets at the company’s promising Kurundi operation at Tennant Creek.

Estrella Resources has inked a milestone joint venture and royalty deed with Murak Rai Timor (MRT), the State-run mining arm of the Timor-Leste Government, to explore for manganese, copper and gold in that country. Estrella will hold 70 per cent of the newly-formed venture that includes three exploration licenses covering a landholding of 121.5 square metres, with MRT holding 30 per cent.

ChemX Materials has taken a crucial step towards high-purity alumina production after cranking up the early-stage commissioning of a leach circuit at its innovative “HiPurA” pilot plant in Western Australia. The leach circuit is a critical initial part of ChemX’s purification process in its aim to produce 99.99 per cent, or “four nines”, purity HPA from its planned 24-tonne per annum plant.

Novo Resources and its respective joint venture partners De Grey Mining and industry veteran Mark Creasy are firing up the rigs with multiple gold and base metal drilling programs in Western Australia’s Pilbara region. The partnerships will be plunging a combined 32,000m of drilling into the respective Becher and Nunyerry North targets in a bid to make another compelling Pilbara discovery.

Geological mapping and grab sampling by Estrella Resources has stretched its manganese strike out to 47km in Timor-Leste, with some priority samples already crushed and sent back to Perth for expert lab analysis. The company is now weighing up its business case for the potential first-ever manganese exports from the Southeast Asian country formerly known as East Timor.

ASX-listed K2fly’s cloud-based software solution that audits mineral inventories has attracted as new customer, with Canadian company Lundin Mining committing to a new three-year, $661,000 agreement. The deal – which has an annual recurring revenue value of $180,000 – will provide Lundin with a total mineral resource governance solution to be delivered at the corporate level, covering all of the company’s material reporting sites.