Matt Birney

Great Southern Mining has identified an impressive eight new target areas at its northern Goldfields Cox’s Find project courtesy of a 100 metre by 50 metre grid of shallow RAB holes drilled across most of the company’s ground holding. The drilling has identified multiple gold anomalous zones, some with concentrations exceeding one gram per tonne. A program of 1,150m for 350 holes has given Great Southern a solid base of new targets to drive the next phase of its exploration program.

St George Mining’s new geophysical program has experienced some early success after it identified some exciting conductive features at depth along the Cathedrals Belt that are in positions that look geologically interesting for nickel-copper mineralisation. Amongst the most compelling targets from the new survey is a deep conductive feature lying directly underneath St George’s Investigators prospect where the Perth based ASX-listed company has been enjoying ongoing exploration success.

The WA Government’s little-known website, www.iThink.wa.gov.au, is actively encouraging members of the public and businesses to put forward innovative ideas and services that can support and inform the State’s response to COVID19 isolation. The submission that received the highest number of votes to-date is from the private, but soon to be ASX-listed, healthcare technology company, InteliCare, that has an artificial intelligence-powered, in-home monitoring system to help the sick and elderly.

AVZ Minerals has delivered a dazzling DFS for its Manono lithium-tin project in the Democratic Republic of Congo that dwarfs pretty much every lithium project in WA. A DFS tabled this week on the project shows the project pumping out a stunning AUD$600m a year in EBITDA for at least the next 20 years based on today’s USD conversion. The company is now in advanced discussions with international debt providers.

ASX-Listed Middle Island Resources has defined a shallow new gold deposit at the McIntyre prospect, which is just one of fourteen targets within its wholly owned Sandstone gold project, located in central WA. New, consistent shallow drill intercepts from the current RC drill program include 24m grading 1.66 grams per tonne, 23m at 1.40g/t, 11m at 1.39g/t and 18m going 1.35g/t gold have delivered a second deposit in a week.

ASX-listed gold explorer, Ardiden Limited has secured land access rights to continue exploration for extensions to its 110,000-ounce gold resource at the Kasagiminnis gold project after executing a binding MOU with the Mishkeegogamang First Nation of Ontario group in Canada. The Kasagiminnis resource of 790,000 tonnes at an impressive 4.3 grams per tonne gold covers only 600m of the prospective 5.6km strike length of the project.

After another solid field campaign, Classic Minerals has produced a maiden resource at its Kat Gap project near Southern Cross in WA of almost 93,000 ounces grading nearly three grams per tonne gold. The new resource has now laid a solid foundation for the company to go ahead and apply for a mining lease across the deposit and run some initial numbers around getting into early production.

ASX-listed ‘software-as-a-service’ provider, K2fly, said the annual recurrent revenue stream from its software contracts has now surpassed A$2.0M after it signed on yet more customers for its “RCubed” mineral resource governance software. The company said the total contract value for its multi-year contracts, mostly with global mega-mining clients, now tops A$6M after Belgium-based Sibelco signed on for a 3-year term and Kinross Gold Corporation inked a 5-year deal.

ASX-listed oil explorer, 88 Energy, has interpreted oil in a formation above the primary target zone’s confirmed condensate gas find at its “Charlie-1” oil appraisal well on Alaska’s oil-rich North Slope. Detailed analysis of the wireline logs obtained when the well finished drilling have identified an extra 19.5m of additional oil pay zone in the Seabee Formation where live oil shows were recorded while drilling.

ASX-listed PharmAust Limited will shortly commence laboratory testing of the effects of its anti-cancer drug, Monepantel on the Coronavirus after entering into an agreement with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research in Melbourne, Victoria. The study will be overseen by the Institute’s award-winning, chronic infections researcher, Professor Marc Pellegrini, with feedback expected as early as May this year.

Novo Resources has unearthed an impressive total of three new broad areas of gold-bearing alluvial gravel swales, or shallow channels, at its flagship Egina conglomerate gold project in the Pilbara. The Paradise area, which is host to two of the newly discovered gold-bearing areas, is about 14 kilometres north-northeast of Novo’s Egina mining lease. Another new discovery, known as Clarke, is just 10 kilometres northwest of Egina.

After an aggressive exploration campaign across its Menzies and Goongarrie projects in WA, Kingwest Resources has tabled a scoping study for just one of its prospects, Goongarrie Lady, where it is hoping to pull out $10.3m in 10 months before tax and financing from one open pit. The company is planning to initially mine 149,000 tonnes at an impressive 3.12 g/t for 14,000 ounces of recovered gold.

Neometals has lifted the nickel resource at its Armstrong deposit 90km south of Kalgoorlie, by an impressive 60% following a substantial RC drilling program that was designed to infill the old resource and test the extents of interpreted high-grade nickel shoots. Armstrong forms part of the Mt Edwards project where an expanding resource base, across 11 deposits, is bolstering the company’s position as an aspiring nickel developer.

Tyranna Resources has its sights firmly set on a plan to advance its Dragon and Knight nickel projects that lie about 30 to 40 kilometres east of St George Mining’s Mt Alexander nickel project in the Goldfields of WA. The ASX-listed company has put together a grab bag of interesting looking nickel targets and is now planning to embark on a maiden exploration program in the region.

Horizon Minerals has taken a conservative approach to the current state of play in the market and is putting as much cash as possible into bringing its flagship Boorara gold project east of Kalgoorlie, into production. To maintain its balance sheet, the company’s Board and Executive team have agreed to sacrifice 25% of their salaries to support the company’s vision. Management said it is still aiming to break ground at Boorara in the June quarter of this year.

Blackstone Minerals has exercised its option to acquire a 90 per cent interest in the Ta Khoa nickel project in northern Vietnam from AMR Nickel Limited for AUD$1M Blackstone shares based on its 30-day VWAP. The Perth-based explorer picked up a binding option to acquire the project back in May 2019. The project includes the mothballed Ban Phuc underground nickel mine and 450,000 tonne per annum nickel concentrator built to Australian standards.

Great Southern Mining has remained steadfastly confident of finding something big at its Queensland multi-metals exploration play. The challenges of holding a vast swathe of remote, yet very prospective ground have not prevented the company from fast-tracking the exploration pathway to discovery with a new hyperspectral survey providing an insight into the mineral composition of the underlying rocks. The survey has identified five high priority gold targets and ten secondary gold targets at the Edinburgh Park project.

Middle Island Resources has tabled an impressive five-fold increase to the global mineral resource at its Sandstone gold play in Western Australia, adding half a million ounces to the Two Mile Hill Deeps deposit. This brings the total resource at the project to nearly 624,000 ounces. With the rods still turning on site and a goal of ploughing 17,000 metres of drilling into the project, it is unclear as to just where this resource will finally end up.

Managing Editor of Bulls N Bears, Matt Birney, writes that history can provide guidance when it comes to just how long it takes the ASX to recover from global health related pandemics. From peak to trough and peak again, the ASX is remarkably consistent after a pandemic and the numbers will shock you. So just what does this mean for this Coronavirus inspired market crash?

Venus Metals has lodged two interesting looking tenement applications on the south-western shore of Lake Ballard to be known as the Henderson gold-nickel project, located 50 kilometres northwest of Menzies in WA. The tenements fall within the Mt Ida greenstone belt, which is host to some significant projects including Mt Ida and Davyhurst, where gold’s renewed interest is breathing new life into those projects.

Kingwest Resources’ First Hit prospect has broken its own solid gold records, smashing out three metres with an incredible five ounces to the tonne gold that also includes a smaller two metre zone going 237.5 grams per tonne - over 7.5 ounces of gold to the tonne. Another stellar result was 5m grading 13.1g/t from 32m - an important result confirming the presence of the Stirling lode, above Lady Shenton.

Novo Resources continues to demonstrate the developing potential of its Pilbara conglomerate gold hosted Egina and Beatons Creek deposits with ongoing high-tech mechanical test work squeezing out more and more fine gold from the ancient rocks. A small sub-sample of Egina concentrate was “seeded” to determine the effectiveness the German-based TOMRA mechanical ore sorting testing equipment and the company said that 120 out of 120 of the seeded nuggets were recovered.

Australian Potash has remarkably penned its second offtake deal during turbulent times, securing another “take-or-pay” partner for nearly half of all its “K-Brite” premium Sulphate of Potash fertilizer to be produced annually from its WA Lake Wells project. The exceptional and binding ten-year term sheet has been agreed with Singaporean tier one, Migao International, who produced over one million tonnes of specialty fertiliser during 2019 from seven facilities across China.

Middle Island Resources’ punt that the ground surrounding its Sandstone gold project in WA might be harbouring rich pickings appears to be paying off after the Perth based company experienced some extreme success with the drill bit recently. The best result from the latest drill campaign came in at an exceptional 4 metres grading nearly three ounces to the tonne gold from the McClaren prospect.

ClearVue Techologies and Netherlands-based eLstar Dynamics B.V are planning to develop the ultimate remote controlled, energy generating “smart window” by combining both companies proprietary technologies into one window. The partners have penned a synergistic agreement that will combine Clearvue’s window glass energy generation technology with eLstar’s dynamic/switchable and dimmable glazing technology. The partners are planning to develop a window that can be controlled remotely whilst generating its own power.

At a time when health care has never been more prominent in the minds of many and home care solutions are more urgently sought, Intelicare’s artificial intelligence powered, in-home monitoring system for the sick and elderly is set to come into sharp focus. As the company seeks to ride on the coat tails of an ageing baby boomer population, its upcoming public listing on the ASX would seem exquisitely timed with the elderly confined to quarters right now due to the Coronavirus and largely quarantined from their loved ones.

Rapidly expanding ASX-listed automotive conglomerate, AMA Group, has negotiated revised terms with Insurer Suncorp, for its Capital SMART panel repair business, with the new terms to include increases in average repair pricing and increases in volumes. AMA said the new agreement with Suncorp recognises the additional costs associated with repairing modern vehicles safely, including the increasing costs of new technologies such as Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems.

Ora Banda Mining has landed multiple, wide drill intercepts along a one-kilometre strike south of its main Riverina gold deposit, located 48 km north-northwest of its Davyhurst mill in WA. Riverina already has a total resource of 280,000 contained ounces of gold albeit an upgrade is almost certain now with new hits like 13m at 4.59 g/t gold from 63m, including 3m at 10.1 g/t gold.

Hot Chili has transformed the Cortadera copper-gold deposit, one of Chile’s best kept secrets, into a company maker and it has now bought itself another 12 months to pay for it as the company continues to drill it out and get a handle on just how big Cortadera might be. The deal removes the need to raise money during the Coronavirus calamity, which has also caused the US dollar to tank.

Ardiden Limited has amassed a huge land bank after securing 165 square kilometres of prospective leases adjacent to its Pickle Lake gold project in Ontario, Canada, taking its total land-holding in the gold-rich greenstone belt to 664 square kilometres. Ardiden said its lease position is the largest in the region and comparable with the world class Red Lake gold district located approximately 200 kilometres west of Pickle Lake.

Just 12 months after taking the helm at ASX-listed agricultural company, Alterra, Oliver Barnes has successfully pivoted the company and made good on his business model to create long term investment grade agricultural assets that are attractive to the institutional investment market. Alterra is set to become one of WA’s leading avocado orchard developers after leasing 300ha of prime land near Pemberton in WA.

Troy Resources has recovered 4,528 ounces of gold since mining re-commenced on January 10th this year at its Karouni gold project in Guyana South America, with much of the precious metal coming from the Hicks-4 pit that recently booked a three-fold reserve upgrade. Head grades have also been solid with the average grade for the quarter coming in at 2.2 grams per tonne gold.