Matt Birney

Hot on the heels of a successful $2.4 million capital raise, unlisted Barton Gold has moved to further strengthen its leadership group as the gold explorer gears up for follow-up drilling at its historic Tarcoola gold project in the Gawler Craton, South Australia, and a possible IPO this year.

Troy Resources has eked out more encouraging exploration results at its Karouni gold mine in Guyana where it has managed to keep the drill rods turning despite a recent spate of COVID-19 infections on site. The company, forced to pull its 2020-21 Karouni gold production guidance of 35,000-40,000 ounces due to the COVID-19 outbreak and shortage of various supplies, is now looking to build the project’s ore reserves position.

Image Resources has posted a bumper year of sales from its mining operations in WA, with the mineral sands producer delivering over 310,000 tonnes of heavy mineral sands concentrates for the year. The solid production figures represent a 20 per cent jump in overall production from the previous year and an impressive $174 million in annual revenue.

Novo Resources is set to join the big league, with the company having received approval to make the move to the main board of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The change signals a significant shift in the company’s status as it continues to develop the Beatons Creek gold mine in Western Australia and prepares to join the ranks of the world’s gold producers.

Gold has stood the test of time proving it to be a stand-out performer in 2020 following the onset of COVID-19. March saw the price of the yellow metal fall to US$1,486 per ounce before rising by a stunning 40 per cent to hit an all-time US$2,067 per ounce high in August. What does 2021 hold for gold?

CZR Resources is set to cut costs for its developing Robe Mesa iron ore operation in WA’s Pilbara region after putting in place a memorandum of understanding with the owners of the port facilities at Onslow, which is located 180km to the west of the company’s developing iron ore project. The use of Onslow port drastically reduces the haulage distance from the mine gate to port.

AVZ Minerals will end 2020 on a high-note after locking in a 5-year offtake deal with China’s largest lithium compound producer, Ganfeng Lithium. The coup will see Ganfeng purchase up to 160,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per annum from AVZ’s world-class Manono lithium-tin project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The deal sees AVZ clear yet another hurdle on its development pathway as Manono edges ever closer to production.

Godolphin Resources has hit more gold at its Mt Aubrey gold project in NSW’s revered Lachlan Fold Belt, around 100km northeast of Orange. The best drill hole from its Phase 2 RC drill program hit multiple zones including 8m at 0.60 g/t gold from 56m, 2m at 1.22 g/t gold from 84m and 2m at 1.01 g/t gold from 96m.

Unlisted South Australian gold explorer, Barton Gold has easily raised $2.4 million in a private placement of convertible notes for working capital and corporate costs as it readies for a follow-up drilling program at its flagship Tarcoola gold project in SA’s revered Gawler Craton.

Infinity Lithium has taken a significant step forward in the development of its massive San Jose lithium project in Spain, with a key local Government body granting the company a “Investigation Permit Ampliación a Valdeflórez”. The permit grants the company legal title over the principal project tenure which has been set aside for its proposed milling and processing operations.

ASX-listed pharmaceutical innovator, PharmAust, will begin manufacturing Monepantel tablets for two important Phase 1 and Phase 2 human trials to study the drug’s impact on Motor Neuron Disease and certain cancers. It will be the first time PharmAust has used its Monepantel drug in tablet form to investigate its anti-cancer activity in humans.

Neometals has continued to build its inventory of resources at its Mt Edwards nickel project in WA, with a recent review and upgrade of the Zabel deposit estimating it to now contain some 351,000 tonnes of ore grading at 1.9 per cent nickel. The revision of the Zabel deposit brings the global resource across the project area to a solid 8.74 million tonnes at 1.7 per cent nickel.

Middle Island Resources has discovered what it says is “significant” copper oxide mineralisation at surface at the Crosswinds prospect within its greenfields Barkly copper-gold project in the NT’s East Tennant mineral district. The company’s share price touched 38.5¢ today, rising from its closing price of 30.5¢ yesterday, after it revealed cracking spot portable XRF-gun readings of between 24.8 per cent and 76.2 per cent copper at Crosswinds.

ASX-listed high purity alumina hopeful, Altech Chemicals has finalised the terms of a staggered €5 million sale of a 25 per cent interest in German subsidiary, Altech Industries Germany to Frankfurt Stock Exchange-listed Altech Advanced Materials. Perth-based Altech, who retains ownership of the other 75 per cent of AIG, says it has now received the initial cash payment of €250,000 under the terms of the agreed deal.

Oakdale Resources is already looking to expand its drilling program over the Gibraltar halloysite project in the SA, with the company seeking approval to extend the drilling pattern to the north of the prospect. In other news, drilling has also wrapped up in the US for Oakdale, with planning underway now for the 2021 field season at both the Lambarson and Douglas Canyon gold projects.

Victory Mines has nailed the projected ‘down-plunge’ extensions to its recently acquired Coogee gold project in WA, with the latest assays from its maiden RC drill campaign returning more high-grade drill intercepts. The best result was an exciting 10m intersection at 12.01 grams per tonne gold from 93m down-hole that included an even sweeter 3m going 35.87 g/t gold from 94m.

Antilles Gold is betting on more normalised relations between the United States and Cuba when Joe Biden moves into the White House. The ASX-listed explorer hopes the Biden Presidency will lead to more global investment in Cuba, including for the company’s La Demajagua gold and silver project. Antilles will undertake a drilling program in January to establish an initial JORC resource for the planned open pit mine.

Neometals’ innovative program of metallurgical test work has recorded a significant breakthrough in the processing of ores from its Barrambie vanadium-titanium project. The company has generated high-quality ilmenite samples from a simple flowsheet utilising gravity separation, low-temperature roasting and a final phase of magnetic separation, clearing the path for a move into production.

Blue Star Helium has picked up significant additional acreage across two leading prospects and other prospective ground at its Las Animas helium project in the US as it champs at the bit to kick off a highly anticipated maiden drill campaign comprising three and up to five wells in early 2021. The company has more than doubled its lease holdings around the historic high-grade Model Dome helium field this year.

ASX-listed oncology innovator, PharmAust, has received Government ethics approval to recommence a trial treating pet dogs suffering from cancer with its oral drug, Monepantel. PharmAust previously announced the first set of trial results had exceeded expectations by demonstrating that MPL tablets can make certain cancer lesions disappear and the recommencement of the trial is the next step on the pathway to commercialisation for the biotechnology specialist.

Si6 Metals looks set to stock up Santa’s sack with a mass of gold-rich results following first-pass exploration across the company’s Monument project in WA. High-grade grab samples from the project returned assays of over an ounce per tonne gold, setting the scene for a move into drilling early in the new year.

Taruga Minerals has upped the ante at its Mt Craig project in South Australia after it identified a 34-kilometre-long copper bearing structure at the project. The ASX-listed junior explorer has identified five priority targets along the extensive Worumba Anticline with surface sampling adjacent to historic mine workings returning grades of up to 12 per cent copper.

Impact Minerals can revel in the festive season after earlier-than-anticipated results from drilling at its Rockwell prospect in NSW delivered a timely Christmas present, unwrapping encouraging sniffs of platinum group elements over at least 400m. Better assays include 61m at 0.4 g/t 3PGE from 31m including 12m at 1.4 g/t 3PGE from 73m, which in turn includes 1m at 2.3 g/t 3PGE from 73m and 1m at 2.6 g/t 3PGE from 79m.

ASX-listed Cobre Limited’s largest shareholder, Metal Tiger, moved to maximise its shareholding in the budding base metals explorer this week. The savvy investment fund ploughed a further $310k into Cobre in a placement that will see Metal Tiger holding 19.99 per cent of the company as it ramps up exploration across the revered Kalahari Copper Belt in Botswana.

ASX-listed clinical-stage oncology company, PharmAust, has achieved a further annual extension to its current contract with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, or “DNDi”. The extension marks the 13th year that PharmAust’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Epichem, has been engaged by DNDi. The contract is expected to generate up to $1.02 million in revenue during 2021.

ASX-listed agribusiness developer, Alterra’s sale of the final sections of its “non-core” Dambadgee Springs farming property in Dandaragan north of Perth has gone unconditional. The final tranche of the overall transaction, which incorporates the rights to income from the nearby Yandin wind farm, comprised two blocks of land that fetched $2.8 million. The property was sold to a local farmer for a total price of $4.4 million.

St George Mining is set to hit the ground running in 2021 with ongoing exploration at its Mt Alexander project continuing to identify a swag of new EM targets. Geophysical surveying at the project has lit up a grab bag of new sulphide targets for drill testing whilst the company’s program of metallurgical test work has delivered excellent recoveries of both nickel and copper from the Strickland ore body.

Neometals and its giant JV partner, German-headquartered SMS group have delivered on key design, procurement and permitting milestones, paving the way for its lithium-ion battery recycling demonstration plant to be built. The innovative pair recently received approvals to build the demonstration plant at SMS’s manufacturing centre in the German town of Hilchenbach as they look to commercialise their joint recycling technology in Europe.

Origin Energy has given Buru Energy a significant shot in the arm by farming into seven of Buru’s oil and gas permits in the onshore Canning Basin in Western Australia. The farm-in significantly strengthens Buru’s planned 2021 exploration program, including drilling of the highly prospective Rafael 1 oil well. Origin will spend $35 million inclusive of a two-well drilling program and seismic work.

Godolphin Resources has again returned some tantalising RC drill hits it says continue to point to the margins of a potential copper-gold porphyry-style mineralised system at its Turrawonga discovery in NSW’s Lachlan Fold Belt. Notable intercepts from the latest round of drilling were 30m at 0.64 g/t gold and 0.04 per cent copper from 178m including 18m at 1.0 g/t gold, which in turn includes a 2m section going an intriguing 6.9 g/t.

Native Mineral Resources looks to be closing in on the deeper source of copper mineralisation at its Leane’s prospect in Far North Queensland, with drilling returning some interest tweaking hints of the red metal. Latest results from Leane’s include 6 metres at 0.33 per cent copper including 1 metre at 0.61 per cent copper from 74 metres down-hole. Results from deeper, sulphidic diamond drilling are currently in the laboratory awaiting assay.

Lithium Australia’s 90 per cent-owned subsidiary, Envirostream Australia, has harvested the grain from its test site in WA’s Wheatbelt, completing its trial of zinc and manganese derived from recycled alkaline battery waste as a source of fertiliser micronutrients. Envirostream will now move on with the statistical analysis of the grain and overall yield to assess the performance of the micronutrients.