Announcements

Strickland Metals has delivered a major 670,000-ounce gold equivalent resource upgrade at its Rogozna project in Serbia, pushing the total to 7.4 million ounces - up 2m ounces in just nine months. The flagship Shanac deposit now hosts 5.3m ounces at 1.1g/t, including a high-grade core of 1.85m ounces at 1.8g/t, all discovered at just $3 per ounce.

Chariot Corporation has secured convertible note deal, roping in up to $2 million to fuel its lithium hunt across the United States and Australia. The company has locked in an initial $600,000 drawdown from New York-based investor Obsidian Global, with the potential to tap an additional $1.4m over the next 12 months.

BMG Resources will accelerate its exploration efforts at the company’s Bullabulling and Invincible gold projects in WA, motivated by high gold prices and recent nearby acquisitions by two big-name mining investors. Both projects contain favourable gold mineralisation in big structures, which they share with other significant projects being advanced by Mark Creasy and Tim Goyder.

Titanium Sands Ltd has cleared another big hurdle in its quest to bring its vast Mannar Island heavy mineral sands project in Sri Lanka into production after the country’s environmental authority issued terms for the company’s pivotal environmental impact assessment. The milestone sets the stage for the final environmental studies required for Titanium Sands to secure an industrial mining licence to bring its high-grade deposit into production.

Terrain Minerals has hauled up some remarkable rare earths samples from its Lort River project near Esperance in Western Australia’s Fraser Range region, after multi-element assay tests picked up head-turning grades of up to 9840 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO). The uber-high-grade 1-metre section was discovered within a broader zone of 8m grading 4037ppm TREO starting at only 23m depth.

Empire Energy is closing in on becoming the first gas producer in NT’s massive Beetaloo Basin from its Carpentaria project, in what is shaping up to be a high-stakes moment for Australia’s energy future. Hydraulic stimulation of its 3.3km horizontal C-5H well is expected to kick off in May. A successful production flow is likely to open the flood gates for many more players to enter the fray.

Greentech Metals has entered into binding agreements for two of its non-core exploration licences and a single prospecting licence, which will allow the company to focus on its nearby Whundo copper project. The adjoining tenements include one prospecting licence that is yet to be granted and enclose a total 930ha. The deal allows buyer Errawarra Resources to consolidate prospective ground around its 363ha Elizabeth Hill silver mine lease.

Altech Batteries has locked in the backing of a major shareholder, German-based investment firm Deutsche Balaton AG, by securing funding via a bond note facility for up to €2.5 million (A$4.3m) to further develop its new-age battery projects. The company has land in Johor, Malaysia, for sale and expects the proceeds will be sufficient to repay any borrowed funds.

Latitude 66’s share price jumped 20 per cent to 7.8 cents after the company released a scoping study on its KSB gold-cobalt project in Finland. The study revealed a high-grade, low-cost operation with a post-tax NPV of US$310m at US$2500 an ounce gold. The project has an all-in cost of just US$996 with cobalt credits and will pay for itself in 16 months.

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has completed a maiden reverse circulation drilling program to test its recent Lighthorse gold discovery at the company’s Pinjin project, 140km northeast of Kalgoorlie. KalGold drilled 16 holes along three 100m-spaced lines for 2446m to a maximum downhole depth of 222m. The laboratory assays are now being fast-tracked.

Canadian-listed Rio2 Limited has secured a US$25m prepayment from a US-based precious metals investment firm, Wheaton Precious Metals International, under a precious metals purchase agreement with Rio2’s Fenix Gold project in Chile’s Maricunga belt. Rio2 views the funding as a strong endorsement of its development strategy and a key milestone in its push to bring the mine into production by year’s end.

Bulls N’ Bears Big Hits examine some notable drill intercepts revealed on the ASX this week, including Axel REE’s 8m hit going 13,604ppm TREO from 55m at its Caladao project in Brazil. Other interesting intercepts were reported by Resouro Strategic Metals from its Tiros project in Brazil and Caspin Resources’ Bygoo tin project in NSW.

The latest drilling blitz at McLaren Minerals’ titanium project in WA’s Eucla Basin has revealed thick new intercepts of heavy mineral-rich sands coupled with an unexpected groundwater discovery and confirmation of an in-ground gypsum source. The campaign is focussed on infill drilling within a previously identified mineral sands strandline about 40km west of Balladonia. McLaren expects to wrap up the 6000m air core drill program by mid-April.

Larvotto Resources continues to pull in good results from the company’s high-grade Hillgrove gold antimony project in NSW, with big hits that included 0.6m at a stunning 183.5g/t gold equivalent from 493m. Four diamond rigs have now completed more than 8400 metres of drilling at its Bakers Creek and Eleanora-Garibaldi prospects, hinting at new rich mineralisation near existing underground infrastructure.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Tlou Energy. It says share sellers are gone, and the Botswana energy firm is back to business as usual. Renewable solutions group GreenHy2 announced a tech contract with a leading Euro supplier, Besra recouped some share price losses as it focussed on its substantial Bau gold project and Trek found glimmering visual gold in drilling core samples as the gold price cracked US$3000 an ounce.

Novo Resources is set to kick off a maiden air core drilling program before month’s end to test a promising part of the Sholl Shear in its Balla Balla gold project in WA’s West Pilbara region. The program will target structurally complex zones in and near the shear. The ancient fertile structure is one of four main fault and shear zones that make the region ripe for exploration.

Great Southern Mining has jagged high-grade gold with an eye-opening intercept of 1 metre grading 70.94 grams per tonne gold within a 5m section of 14.57g/t gold from 41m at its Duketon gold project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields. The company's 3678-metre reverse circulation drilling campaign to test earlier identified shallow mineralisation kicked off in January and is now complete.

Neometals has unveiled the first assay results from its maiden reverse circulation drilling campaign at its Barrambie gold project in WA, breathing new life into an historic high-grade gold region that’s been dormant for decades. An initial 11-hole program was carried out at the company’s Ironclad and nearby Mystery North prospects, confirming gold mineralisation aligned with historical data, ahead of a planned mineral resource estimate later this year.

Management at Canadian-listed Rio2 Ltd has put the band back together to repeat its prior success at Peruvian gold mine, La Arena. Rio2 has a similar looking massive heap leach gold operation in Chile that is about to spring into production. Initially, its 4.8m-ounce Fenix gold mine is forecast to pump out 91,000 ounces of gold a year for the first 12 years at an uber-low cost of US$1250 per ounce.

Aurum Resources has scored another big hit from its Boundiali project in Côte d'Ivoire, intercepting 9m at 24.61g/t gold from 221m, including 4m at 54.64g/t from 222m. The 4m hit includes 1.3m going 156.61g/t gold. The discovery was made in one diamond hole put into the company’s BM Target 3. A second hole intercepted 2.68m assaying 10.94g/t gold from 45.7m, including 1.68m running 16.88g/t.

Thunderbird Resources has expanded its gold footprint in NSW, lodging an application for a strategic 118-square-kilometre expansion to its Kookabookra gold project immediately to the east. The company is doubling down on its gold presence in the state, suggesting that Kookabookra could host an intrusion-related gold system – similar to the kind of deposits that’s delivered multi-million-ounce gold hauls at places such as Fort Knox in Alaska and Kidston in Queensland.

Red Metal’s first scout diamond drill hole at its Bluebush silver-lead-zinc prospect in northwest Queensland has delivered 73m at 9g/t silver, including a 12m hit at 19g/t silver. The runs include base metal hits, with the 73m interval assaying 990ppm lead and 256ppm zinc from 301m and the 12m assaying 2446ppm lead and 780ppm zinc from 362m.

Strickland Metals has kicked off a ground gravity survey across its massive 7.5km intrusion-related gold system at the company’s 108,900-ounce Dusk ‘til Dawn gold camp, which is part of its wider Yandal project in WA. The gravity survey will allow for improved modelling of the intrusive gold system and help pinpoint upcoming drill testing.

Larvotto Resources has bought a homestead and wedding venue near its Hillgrove antimony-gold project in NSW to comfortably house and support a growing permanent workforce. Larvotto will pay $3m in cash plus $600,000 in shares for the 95-bed property. The company aims to start production at the mine in early 2026.

Lindian Resources has bolstered its leadership team with Robert Martin leaping into the hot seat as the new executive chairman and Teck Lim joining as CFO, as it drives its Malawi rare earths project forward.

Bulls N’ Bears Big Hits this week examines some notable intercepts revealed on the ASX, including Rox Resources’ hit in Western Australia of 6m at 19.08g/t gold from 220m, including 3m at 36.87g/t from 221m. Koba Resources also reported good results at its Yarramba uranium project in South Australia and Ausgold Limited struck gold at its Katanning gold project in WA’s Wheatbelt.

Junior explorers such as E79 Gold Mines, Caprice Resources and Thunderbird Resources have seen a significant spike in their share price when betting on a nearology play near a recent or historical discovery. E79’s share price surged from its February 6 close of 1.9c to hit a high of 5.4c on February 19 in the two weeks after a neighbour announced a greenfields gold discovery.

Image Resources has kicked off heavy mineral concentrate transport from the company’s new Atlas mineral sands mine in WA’s Mid West region, by trucking its first batch to Geraldton ready for shipping. Process commissioning at Atlas began early last month and is ahead of schedule, the company says. Throughput rates are up to 80 per cent of the design capacity and the plant is operating at 95 per cent of its capacity.

Altech Batteries has secured the necessary environmental and construction permit to build the company’s Cerenergy GridPack production facility in Saxony, Germany, and can now focus on locking in pr

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Wide Open Agriculture. Its share price ran on sales of its lupin protein to Europe, Latin America and Australia. South African helium producer Renergen announced maiden commercial sales of its liquid helium, Resolution Minerals acquired three antimony/gold projects on Australia’s east coast and Metal Powder debuted on the ASX on its metal powder process technology.

Metallurgical test work by Strickland Metals on the Palomino deposit at its Horse Well gold camp in Western Australia’s northeastern goldfields has notched up whopping gold recovery rates of up to 88.6 per cent. Using six composite rock samples from the deposit, the study found the gold mineralisation is highly amenable to the normal processing techniques of three-stage crushing, followed by gravity and cyanide leach processing.

Ora Banda Mining has again struck gold, with a stellar set of high-grade intercepts at its latest discovery, Little Gem, south of its Riverina gold camp, outside Kalgoorlie. The company is gushing over its latest results from a drilling program exhibiting thick, rich lodes of gold. The results have sparked an immediate 16-hole follow-up campaign to pepper a 4.7km gold trend emerging south of its flagship Riverina mine.