Announcements

Corazon Mining has struck a deal with IGO Ltd to expand its Plutonic-Marymia gold footprint, lifting the company's contiguous landholding to 537 square kilometres. The agreement hands Corazon historic exploration data, including non-public De Beers work and opens up an underexplored greenstone corridor ripe for modern sampling and geophysics.

Red Metal Limited has linked up with ASX-listed mid-tier explorer Chalice Mining under an earn-in joint venture on ground prospective for copper-gold at Red Metal's Callabonna project in South Australia's Curnamona Province. The JV will focus on a series of magnetic and gravity targets along the site's northern margin, where wide-spaced historic drilling has identified large hydrothermal breccias reminiscent of an iron oxide copper-gold system.

Meeka Metals is preparing to install a wash plant, extra crushing circuit and Steinert multi-sensor ore sorter at its Murchison gold project near Meekatharra to lift its plant throughput from 600,000 to 800,000 tonnes per year and provide a higher-grade ore feed to the mill. The $6 million upgrade is expected to be commissioned in the September quarter.

Triangle Energy has revealed plans to spin out the company's Philippine assets and its wholly owned subsidiary Tetragon Energy, to create an Asian-focused oil and gas explorer to be listed on the ASX bourse. The plan, subject to the thumbs up from ordinary Triangle shareholders, will result in an in-specie distribution of Tetragon's ordinary shares to existing Triangle shareholders.

Siren Gold is chasing down a 7km long dyke at its Sam's Creek gold project in New Zealand that appears to be harbouring multiple gold deposits after the company landed a 19m drill hit going 1.3g/t gold 500m away from its existing 824,000 ounce resource. The new hit from the Doyles fold area includes a 9m section grading a solid 1.86g/t gold.

Dateline Resources has completed a high-resolution helicopter-borne magnetic and radiometric survey across its Music Valley heavy rare earths project in California. The survey was flown at just 30 metres altitude for maximum resolution. Data is with consultants for analysis, while REE and structural geology experts are already in the field, mapping and rock chip sampling the project area.

NeuroScientific Biopharmaceuticals has taken a major step towards scaling up its StemSmart stem cell therapy by launching its first manufacturing run with Australian cell therapy specialist Q-Gen. The milestone signals the start of transferring the company's patented production process to a clinical-scale facility capable of supplying future trials and potentially, commercial demand.

MetalsGrove Mining has launched surface mapping, rock chip sampling and high-resolution LiDAR ground imaging to home in on drill targets at its Zuénoula gold project in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. The company expects the work to wrap up by the end of March, producing high-resolution digital terrain models and imagery to define historic prospects, refine structural interpretation, understand gold dispersion and prioritise future drilling targets across the project.

Estrella Resources has received the final assays from its 2025 drilling at the Werumata limestone project in Timor-Leste. The Baucau limestone averaged 83 per cent calcium carbonate and Batu Putih chalk averaged 77.5 per cent carbonate, values which would support a range of industrial acid-neutralisation uses. Bulk density work is underway ahead of a maiden mineral resource estimate targeted for mid-April.

The Bulls N' Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… 88 Energy, after the company's shares stormed higher on its Alaskan North Slope oil ground, more than doubling as oil went parabolic. Aguia Resources locked in a key mining permit for its Três Estradas phosphate play in fertiliser-starved southern Brazil, Chariot Resources surged after Nigerian government approvals cleared the transfer of six lithium licences into its JV, unlocking a large undrilled land package. The punters also piled into Torque after the gold explorer poached the ex-Spartan dream team behind the $2.4 billion Never Never take-out.

Horizon has wrapped up its latest mining phase at Boorara, retaining a hefty 460,000 tonnes of stockpiled ore containing 14,200 ounces of gold that will serve as the initial feed for the commissioning of its planned Black Swan processing hub in mid-2027. The move is designed to de-risk the mill start-up, while pre-production planning is also underway for an early-2027 Boorara mining restart.

Quantum Graphite says partner Sunlands Pure Group has signed an MOU with Oman's Al Buraimi Governorate for a planned, large-scale graphite refinery on a 240-hectare site in Buraimi, 60km from the nation's Sohar Port. The agreement recognises Quantum as the exclusive flake graphite supplier and flags a further update on funding and downstream arrangements within two weeks.

Terrain Minerals has kicked off 1500 metres of aircore drilling at its Lort River project near Esperance, targeting clay-hosted rare earths. The program was prompted by a standout 8m intercept 12 months ago, which assayed 4037 ppm total rare earth oxides, with peak one-metre results of almost one per cent TREO, including highly anomalous grades of magnet rare-earth elements.

Triangle Energy has signed a joint study agreement with an Indonesian institution for an offshore exploration area in Indonesia, overseen by the nation's Directorate General of Oil and Gas. The six- to eight-month study is expected to cost about US$300,000 and, once completed, will give Triangle priority rights to negotiate a production-sharing contract. The company says the area is unexplored and prospective for gas and oil.

St George Mining has inked a Memorandum of Understanding with a Brazilian fine chemicals specialist to assess processes for separating cerium and lanthanum from its Brazilian Araxá rare earths concentrates. With cerium and lanthanum making up the bulk of Araxá's rare earths mix, the company says removing them could boost its more valuable neodymium-praseodymium and other heavy rare earths concentration to boost its product value.

Ora Banda Mining has expanded its Little Gem prospect in WA, with new drilling uncovering a parallel trend, dubbed Sapphire, that extends the system south to its Sunraysia prospect. The fresh results highlight broader mineralisation potential, hot on the heels of yesterday's tenfold resource boost at the company's Round Dam trend to 1.33 million ounces. A maiden resource eyed for Little Gem later this year.

MetalsGrove Mining has added another promising piece to the exploration puzzle at its Zuénoula permit in Côte d'Ivoire, identifying a second gold target from early-stage soil sampling. The new anomaly stretches for kilometres along a favourable structural trend and sits just north of the company's previously defined Central Area. Samples have been consigned to Bureau Veritas' laboratory in Abidjan for fire assay, with results due mid to late March.

Ora Banda Mining has delivered a tenfold resource boost at its Round Dam deposit, catapulting the project's inventory to 1.33 million ounces of gold. The massive uplift supercharges the company's global resource to 3.3 million ounces, with the new deposit considered entirely suitable for low-cost open-cut mining. Management says the mineralised trend remains largely underexplored, with more drilling planned.

Corazon Mining has inked a diamond drilling contract with K-Drill for its wholly owned Two Pools gold project in Western Australia. The maiden program covers four holes for 1,000 metres, including a 400-metre test of a 300-metre north-west extension. Heritage and Program of Work approvals are complete, with drilling due to start once the final heritage report is received.

St George Mining has encountered more thick, high-grade rare earths and niobium intercepts from surface at its giant Araxá project in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. New assays from 16 diamond holes have confirmed strong continuity and depth persistence, including up to 160.65m at 3.74% total rare earth oxides and 0.54% niobium pentoxide.

Dateline Resources has massively expanded its Music Valley heavy rare earths project in California, stacking on an additional 1800 per cent of landholding to create a district-scale landholding of more than 20,520 acres. The move consolidates nearly 9km of prospective ground as the company's airborne geophysics survey and on-ground mapping programs get into full swing.

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining is about to put the pedal down on exploration at its Pinjin gold project in Western Australia's Laverton Tectonic Zone, locking in multiple drilling programs set to begin in mid-April. The campaign will chase extensions at its existing deposits, test deeper gold below known mineralisation and probe a suite of fresh structural targets across one of the Goldfields' most productive geological corridors.

St George Mining has bolstered its Brazilian leadership ranks with the appointment of a highly experienced local geologist as it pushes ahead with development studies at its rapidly emerging Araxá rare earths and niobium project. The strategic hire comes hot on the heels of a major resource upgrade and signals the company is shifting its focus from exploration success towards mine planning and development.

Horizon Minerals has pocketed another $10 million from its Phillips Find joint venture after completing mining and five toll-treatment campaigns. The project has processed 225,988 tonnes at 2.02g/t gold for 14,095 ounces of gold from five toll treatment campaigns, with more cash expected next month after final reconciliation. Horizon says the funds have strengthened its balance sheet as the company progresses its Black Swan processing hub plan.

Neometals Limited has upgraded the Ironclad gold resource at its Barrambie gold project in Western Australia's Mid West from 13,000 ounces to 285,000 tonnes at 1.6g/t gold for 15,000 ounces, with 86 per cent of the gold now in the higher-confidence indicated resource category. The update will bolster completion of Neometals' planned scoping study targeted for this month and support mine planning and approvals.

Chariot Resources soared more than 50% after the government approved the transfer of six licences into a joint venture with local partners, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for its Nigerian lithium portfolio. The approvals cover four exploration licences and two small-scale mining leases previously held by Continental Lithium, which will now be incorporated into a new company called C&C Minerals.

St George Mining has clinched a spot in the ASX All Ordinaries after a meteoric rise driven by its world-class Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Brazil, with its market value rocketing to $500m. The company says index inclusion should lift its profile and potentially improve liquidity, as it nears development in Minas Gerais.

Xpedra Resources has kicked off reverse circulation drilling along a neglected and poorly tested 1700-metre-long high-grade gold intrusion at its Springfield prospect, near Gulgong in central New South Wales. Extensional and deep drilling will assess thick, shallow, high-grade gold intercepts that remain open in all directions and have not been worked on since 1999.

Dalaroo Metals has landed significant grades from scout rock-chip sampling at its Bondoukou project in West Africa. Four of six quartz samples returned grades between 3.59 and 17.95g/t gold from quartz reef material exposed in artisanal workings extending about 600 metres along strike. The company is continuing its evaluation of the project, with mapping and geochemical sampling underway.

Horizon Minerals has moved Black Swan firmly into build mode after ordering long lead processing equipment to support its gold plant conversion near Kalgoorlie. The early commitment aims to de-risk the construction schedule and follows scoping studies that outlined a robust 2.2 million tonnes-per-annum gold-processing hub capable of producing 102,000 ounces per year.

The Bulls N' Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… OD6 Metals, after the critical minerals outfit bagged the high-grade Quinn fluorspar project in Nevada to help tackle America's 100% reliance on imported fluorine. Regener8 Resources surged on the back of a savvy deal for a silver-lead-zinc project in Europe's world-class Tethyan Metallogenic Belt and BluGlass Ltd rode an 80 per cent “no-news” run on gallium nitride laser momentum and a looming price-sensitive customer order. Lindian Resources snagged a ready-built A$500 million cracking plant in Kazakhstan for a bargain-basement A$21 million, fast-tracking its Kangankunde rare earths play into an integrated non-Chinese producer.

Aurum Resources has returned thick, shallow, high-grade gold intercepts from a 30,000-metre step-back diamond drilling program at its 870,000-ounce Napié gold project in West Africa, ahead of a mineral resource update due this quarter. Best gold hits included 19m at 5.16g/t from 146m at Gogbala and 18.9m at 2.59g/t from 176.1m at Tchaga, supporting ongoing resource growth drilling.