Announcements

Ora Banda Mining has massively lifted its gold resource to 3.57 million ounces and more than doubled reserves to 555,000 ounces, driven by strong gains at its Round Dam and Waihi deposits near Kalgoorlie. The company has also approved a new three-million-tonne-per-annum mill and a third underground mine to support its next stage of growth.

Augustus Minerals has received firm commitments to raise $2.5 million to fast-track stage two drilling at its Music Well gold project near Leonora. The raise follows hot on the heels of a successful maiden drill campaign that returned wide intersections, including 32m at 0.9g/t gold. The new funds will be used for a 2,800m reverse circulation and diamond drill program set to kick off in June.

Aguia Resources has hit a major milestone, securing the final operating licence for its Tres Estradas phosphate project in southern Brazil. With mining equipment already mobilised, the company has kicked off operations immediately, transitioning from developer to producer. The move establishes Aguia as a key domestic fertiliser supplier in a region heavily reliant on expensive and disrupted imports.

King River Resources has deployed drone LiDAR technology to reconstruct the excavation history of WA's historic Mindoolah goldfield and has found a discrepancy nearly nine times larger than official records would suggest. With high-grade grab samples already in hand and a systematic drill program pencilled in for June, KRR is now treating Mindoolah as a system that may be far bigger than anyone previously credited.

88 Energy has blown out South Prudhoe prospective resources by 35 per cent to 768.9 million barrels on Alaska's giant North Slope after adding a maiden Brookian oil estimate and upgrading the Ivishak reservoir. Augusta-1 will now test 133.7 million barrels across stacked producing formations beside Prudhoe Bay, with Rig-3 secured and farmout talks progressing ahead of drilling in 2027.

The Bulls N' Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Myeco Group, after it secured a major exclusive deal with Woolworths to roll out more of its premium recycled bin liners made from post-consumer waste and certified under the Global Recycled Standard. Elixinol Wellness charged late on news its flagship Healthy Chef brand will roll out into more than 400 Priceline stores nationally, Stelar Metals ran after acquiring the Hill of Leaders tungsten project in the NT amid surging tungsten prices and 1414 Degrees continued its strong run after establishing a dedicated aerospace and defence division to commercialise its nanoparticle battery technology.

Chariot Resources has firmed up its Nigerian lithium acquisition deal by adding a key Fonlo lease at no extra cost, while extending the deal timetable. The company has also boosted its regulatory spend by converting three small-scale licences into mining leases, which will deliver longer tenure and broader mining rights over those areas.

Dateline Resources has supercharged its Californian gold hunt after locking onto massive step-out hits of up to 287.3 metres at its Colosseum project. The company has now fired up a third drill rig to accelerate exploration for gold, while dense rock signatures emerging from its expanded rare earths campaign are showing strong similarities to the nearby world-class Mountain Pass carbonatite system.

Peninsula Energy has shored up its finances after securing a US$56 million (A$77M) funding package to accelerate mine development at its Lance uranium project in Wyoming. The deal comprises an equity raise and a US$30 million convertible note facility from investment house Washington H. Soul Pattinson, which has also committed heavily to the equity component.

Estrella Resources has hit the ground running in Timor-Leste, dropping a mammoth 621-million-tonne maiden JORC inferred resource at its Werumata limestone project. The deposit contains a high-grade core of 493 Mt suitable for acid neutralisation applications, with an additional 128 Mt of industrial and construction-grade material. The limestone extends for 6km across the concession, with the maiden resource covering just a fraction of the ground.

Maritana Minerals has launched a phase two drilling program at its Burbanks project near Coolgardie in WA to chase deeper extensions after its first campaign returned knock-out high-grade gold hits, which boosted confidence in the project. The company has mobilised a second rig to test deeper extensions in a bid to firm up future ore supply for its developing Black Swan processing hub.

Aurum Resources has lifted the total mineral resource at its Boundiali gold project in Côte d'Ivoire by six per cent to 3.22 million ounces, with indicated resources up 24 per cent to 1.70 million ounces. The upgrade was driven by infill drilling at the BDT2 deposit, which converted inferred material into indicated resources ahead of a prefeasibility study due this quarter.

Larvotto Resources has confirmed it can recover high-grade antimony and gold from a 1.4-million-tonne legacy tailings dam at its Hillgrove project in New South Wales. Initial testwork delivered impressive recoveries of up to 95 per cent for antimony and 75 per cent for gold, confirming the material can be used as supplementary feed for the main processing plant, which is scheduled for a restart in August.

Bulls N' Bears Big Hits looks at notable drill intercepts reported to the ASX last week, led by Haranga Resources with 4.8m assaying 25.4g/t gold, including 2.4m going 48.84g/t gold. NexGen Energy also nailed 13m at 5.2% uranium oxide, including 0.5m at a whopping 30.2% uranium oxide in Canada, while GreenTech Metals landed big platinum grades in WA's Pilbara, with 12m at 3.13g/t PGE3 from 90m depth, including 2m going 8.37g/t PGE3.

Terrain Minerals has launched one of its biggest IP surveys yet, aimed at sniffing out repeats of its Lightning-style gold target in untested surrounding ground at the company's Smokebush gold and silver project, 350km north of Perth in WA. The survey will span the granted mining lease, which contains the Lightning and Monza gold deposits. Results are expected in July, ahead of Terrain's maiden Lightning mineral resource estimate.

MetalsGrove Mining has locked onto a major West African gold system, defining two parallel targets, each stretching more than 2.5 kilometres, at the Fifty-Five prospect within its Zuénoula permit in Côte d'Ivoire. High-density infill soil sampling is now underway to sharpen the picture ahead of auger drilling. With a massive landholding along a prolific greenstone belt, the company is set to rapidly generate strong news flow.

American West Metals has upscaled diamond drilling at its West Desert project in Utah after securing a $10 million placement. The expanded 10,000m program will follow up on the Meteor prospect, where recent drilling hit 77.65m of visual mineralisation. Operations will also target high-grade gallium along the Juab Fault and the "Goldilocks" zone to expand America's biggest undeveloped indium resource.

Larvotto Resources has chalked up a key restart milestone at the company's Hillgrove antimony-gold project near Armidale in NSW, delivering its first development ore from the Metz underground mine to a surface stockpile. The mining contractor has advanced 170m and rehabilitated 1.9km of drives, while plant refurbishment remains on time and budget ahead of a much-anticipated August commissioning and production restart.

Dalaroo Metals has finished a major systematic soil geochemistry program at its Bondoukou project in Côte d'Ivoire, successfully covering the entire 9-kilometre-long Gold Ridge corridor. With 4363 samples dispatched for analysis, the company has identified extensive alteration and quartz veining associated with high-grade historical signals. The data will now be used to define high-priority targets for an upcoming maiden drilling campaign.

Maritana Minerals has struck a deal to acquire a package of strategic tenements immediately adjacent to its developing Black Swan processing hub near Kalgoorlie in WA. The new tenure includes ground along strike from the Wilsons gold prospect and is intended to support exploration and could also accommodate any future infrastructure changes or expansion. The acquisition is expected to be done and dusted in the June quarter.

88 Energy has secured an unconditional 20 per cent stake in its giant oil and gas project in Namibia after restructuring its farm-in deal with Monitor Exploration. The move cuts future commitments by US$15M while preserving exposure to the emerging Damara Fold Belt play, where nearby drilling by ReconAfrica has continued to build the hype for a potential basin-opening petroleum system.

Estrella Resources is closing in on its first revenue after confirming the Ira Miri project in Timor-Leste has delivered a high-grade manganese bulk sample for appraisal, with shipment logistics underway. The company has banked more than 27,000 tonnes of ore, including nearly 5000 tonnes grading 49.38 per cent manganese. With peak in-situ hits of 60.22 per cent and mineralisation remaining open, the company believes significant exploration upside remains.

Larvotto Resources has outlined strong tungsten potential at its Hillgrove antimony gold project near Armidale in NSW, with high grade results at Curry's Block, north of the plant site. The company says recent metallurgical testwork delivered tungsten recoveries up 90 per cent, reinforcing the metal's potential as a potentially valuable byproduct alongside its planned gold and antimony production.

Aguia Resources has cleared final requests from Brazil's Rio Grande do Sul environmental agency FEPAM for minor changes to its phosphate installation licence, which is expected to clear the way for an operating licence. The company expects a ruling within three weeks, which would allow it to begin mining at the company's Tres Estradas phosphate project and processing at its DB processing plant.

Dateline Resources has confirmed a technically simple and high-margin path back to production at its Colosseum gold project in California. A robust bankable feasibility study outlined a 10.4-year mine life producing 573,000 ounces of gold, delivering a stellar pre-tax net present value of A$1.08 billion. With key equipment already secured, the company is now racing toward a final investment decision.

The Bulls N' Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Key Petroleum, which more than tripled in anticipation of State approvals over its Cooper-Eromanga Basin oil and gas permits. New IPO Kaoko Metals charged on debut chasing high-grade copper and silver in Namibia's Kaoko Copper Belt, Swift TV jumped after securing major integrations with Netflix and Google Play for its smart TV entertainment platform and Caprice Resources ran strongly after hitting a spectacular 22m at 66.2g/t gold — including 8m at 181g/t — at its Island project in WA's Murchison.

Aurum Resources has hit thick gold intersections in drilling at its Boundiali gold project in northern Côte d'Ivoire, including standout results from the BDT2 target area. The company says the new holes support good continuity of mineralisation, which will feed into ongoing resource definition work as assays and geological modelling continue.

88 Energy has locked in a key piece of the puzzle for its next high-impact drilling campaign on Alaska's famed North Slope, executing a contract for a familiar rig to drill the potentially company-making Augusta-1 exploration well. The well is targeting a big, gross unrisked prospective resource of 64 million barrels and is slated for spud in Q1 2027.

Lindian Resources is on track to become a major rare earths producer, with construction at its Kangankunde project in Malawi on schedule as it closes in on first production by the final quarter of 2026. The company is fully funded for stage one development and expects to trigger its first mining blast and deliver first ore to the stockpile pad as early as next month.

Phase two reverse circulation drilling at Moonlight Resources' Leo Grande prospect within its Clermont project in Queensland has extended the gold footprint by a whopping 450m along the Leo Grande shear zone. Step-out drilling to the southeast and northwest returned broad near-surface gold intersections with several holes ending in mineralisation, highlighting further upside potential as more assays land.

Dalaroo Metals has entered the final approval stage for a significant licence expansion at its Blue Lagoon critical minerals project in southern Greenland. The move targets a "source-to-sink" geological system rich in rare earth elements, zirconium, and niobium. With stakeholder consultations complete, the company is now preparing for an intensive mid-2026 exploration program covering both onshore and high-priority offshore targets.

Bulls N' Bears Big Hits looks at notable drill intercepts recently reported to the ASX, led by BMC Minerals with 25.1m at 180g/t silver, 9.7% zinc and 3.4% lead from 327.5m. Caspin Resources' 13m at 1.16% tin at Bygoo in NSW and Barton Gold's shallow 3m at 20.6g/t gold in South Australia round out the selection.