Announcements

Venus Metals and Rox Resources say they have identified what looks to be a new gold lode parallel to the old Youanmi mine at their joint ventured Youanmi gold project in WA. The JV partners’ continuing drilling campaign at Youanmi recently returned a pulse quickening 4-metre intersection going an impressive 45.5 g/t gold from 341m including 1.33m grading an even more impressive 129.3 g/t gold from 341.75m.

ASX-listed junior explorer Surefire Resources has uncovered three new targets at its exciting Yidby gold discovery at its namesake project in WA’s south-west Murchison district following recent soil sampling work. The Perth-based company says results from the geochemical survey comprising 520 samples point to three discrete and significant soil anomalies south-east and along strike of Yidby.

Quantum Graphite has launched into an eight-hole diamond drilling campaign over the ‘Eastern conductor’ near its Uley 2 graphite deposit on the Eyre Peninsula in SA. Uley 2 already boasts a 6.3 million tonne resource going 11.1 per cent total graphite content, with reserves clocking in at 4Mt at 11.89 per cent. The company is now looking to grow the resource and reserves via a two-phase drilling campaign.

Ora Banda Mining says its central Davyhurst gold processing hub and surrounding satellite mines in WA’s Eastern Goldfields have continued to make performance improvements across the board during the operation’s current ramp-up phase. The company eked out gold production of just over 2,450 ounces in the past couple of weeks and estimates total gold output of about 9,000 ounces across July and August.

ASX listed Emu NL has ramped up drilling at its lode-gold style Gnows Nest project in WA with a 6,500m reverse circulation program that has already intersected quartz veining at depths between 120m and 190m downhole. Drill testing is ongoing at the historic Gnows Nest mine, the Monte Cristo prospect and at a new target known as Watertank Hill, within a significant structural zone between Gnows Nest and Monte Cristo.

Junior exploration company, Torian Resources has delivered several significant gold drill hits at its Stirling Well deposit some 40km north-west of Leonora in WA including 1m at an impressive 16.81 g/t gold. The company says the recently announced results have increased the mineralised footprint beyond the existing resource which already consists of 253,500 tonnes going 2.01 g/t gold for more than 16,000 ounces of the precious yellow metal.

ASX-listed aspiring gold developer Bardoc Gold has revised its cash-flow optimisation strategy and brought forward development of its cornerstone Aphrodite deposit which will increase early profits and free cash flows from its proposed Bardoc gold mine in WA. The revised plan will increase the forecast gold production to 150,000 ounces of gold per year by year three of the initial five-year plan.

Vietnam nickel hopeful Blackstone Minerals has produced a series of encouraging results from a maiden drilling program targeting the Ban Khoa disseminated nickel sulphide prospect at its Ta Khoa project about 160km west of Hanoi in northern Vietnam. The pick of the initial assays was 147m averaging grades of 0.31 per cent nickel, 0.04 per cent copper, 0.01 per cent cobalt and 0.14 grams per tonne PGEs from 62m depth.

ASX-listed Element 25’s second shipload of about 27,000 tonnes of manganese concentrate produced at its Butcherbird operation in WA’s southern Pilbara region has recently departed Port Hedland, only a handful of weeks after the inaugural export shipment of about 27,000 tonnes set sail. The Perth-based company says the ore aboard a Handymax-size vessel will be delivered to its offtake partner OM Materials’ smelter in China.

Comet Resources has confirmed recent re-assaying of core from an historic drilling program at their Santa Teresa project in Mexico has proven intersections of high-grade gold, including ‘bonanza’ grade hits of up to 132g/t gold. Comet has also completed the analysis of samples from a surface sampling program and phase 1 metallurgical test work.

ASX-listed explorer, Oar Resources claims to have set a new record for the highest grade halloysite recorded in Australia at its Gibraltar project on the Eyre Peninsula in SA. A series of “exceptionally” high-grade halloysite strikes above 30 per cent confirm the exciting halloysite-kaolin discovery with one sample printing at a dazzling 53 per cent.

A second batch of assay results from a further eight reverse circulation holes through Superior Resources’ Steam Engine prospect has got pulses racing at the company, with impressive gold grades including 7 metres at 3.7 g/t gold which contained 4m at 5.0 g/t. The results are from the company’s 13,000-metre drilling campaign at its Greenvale project, approximately 210km west of Townsville, Queensland.

Auger geochemical sampling by ASX-listed explorer, Todd River Resources has outlined three zones with elevated levels of nickel-copper-platinum group element mineralisation at its 100 per cent owned Berkshire Valley project in Western Australia, 100km north of Chalice Mining’s spectacular Julimar discovery. The company says the zones cover some three kilometres of strike and are associated with a strong, complex magnetic feature interpreted to stem from mafic and ultramafic intrusions.

Conico has discovered a new massive sulphide prospect at its Ryberg project on the east coast of Greenland. The company has wasted no time in getting the drill rods spinning and has commenced ploughing the first hole into the newly-named Cascata prospect whilst sulphide hits at its existing Sortekap and Miki prospects continue to stack up. Molybenite has also been added to the cocktail of minerals present.

Valor Resources is on a roll in Canada with the budding explorer identifying new high-grade uranium mineralisation from rock chips at the company’s Hook Lake project in Canada’s famed Athabasca uranium basin. Additional silver, lead and high-grade rare-earths mineralisation with key rare earth elements neodymium, praseodymium and dysprosium have added some unexpected value to the project.

Diamond drilling by PolarX at its high-grade Caribou Dome copper prospect in Alaska has intercepted massive sulphides in the opening holes of its 1500m diamond drilling program. Several 2m - 11m thick zones of possible copper-bearing massive sulphides were logged in the first three drill holes of the drill program that is designed to test three new targets and provide fresh samples for metallurgical test work.

Native Mineral Resources has successfully completed a four-hole diamond drill program and is set to deliver a thousand tonne bulk quartz gold vein sample to a toll treater from its Music Well project in WA with a view to determining the extent and grade of its exciting quartz vein target. The drilling was co-funded under WA’s government-backed Exploration Incentive Scheme.

After a significant weather-related exploration setback at its exciting Yidby gold discovery in the Murchison region of WA, Surefire Resources is back in the field with a turbocharged exploration program that will look to follow up on prior stellar drill results. The drill rods are set to start turning again in September, a drone survey has been commissioned and a 500-strong soil sampling campaign has now been completed.

Aldoro Resources has its sights on a potential world-class rubidium resource at its Niobe prospect in WA’s Mid West. It has defined an early target of 33,000-150,000 tonnes rubidium oxide, a commodity that sells for more than A$1.4 million a tonne. Aldoro is keen to start the drills spinning in September at the pegmatite project, which will also target lithium potential.

ASX listed Valor Resources has finalised the evaluation of targets at its Cluff Lake uranium project in Canada and will kick-off a boots-on-ground exploration program in September to further assess the highest priority targets. Initial exploration targeting was conducted using all available geological and geophysical datasets to prioritise areas for further ground reconnaissance to be completed.

ASX-listed junior explorer Okapi Resources has finalised the purchase of a portfolio of high-grade uranium projects in the United States in a deal it says is transformational. The Perth-based company assumes 100 per cent ownership of the brownfields uranium assets following the recent completion of an all-scrip acquisition of private Australian group Tallahassee Resources.

ASX listed Legend Mining has boosted the known extent of the mineralisation at its flagship Mawson nickel-copper sulphide project in WA. The mineralised intrusive footprint at Mawson now extends more than 1.4 kilometres, with gravity modelling suggesting the intrusion potentially extends across more than 3 kilometres of strike and importantly, there is a big increase in the size of the magnesium-oxide rich ultramafic core.

ASX-listed explorer Victory Mines has delivered further encouraging results from a recently completed drilling campaign at its Coogee gold-copper project near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia where a 1km strike length has now been identified. Latest hits include a broad 32m intercept going 1.44 g/t gold and 8m at 3.59 g/t gold. Assays from 17 holes are pending.

ASX-listed aspiring Vietnam nickel developer Blackstone Minerals has engaged the Korea Development Bank and corporate adviser BurnVoir Corporate Finance to jointly pull together a debt funding package for the development of its Ta Khoa nickel project about 160 kilometres west of Hanoi. Perth-based Blackstone is currently contemplating a potentially “vertically integrated” upstream and downstream lithium-ion battery metals processing operation at Ta Khoa.

ASX-listed premium potassium mineral fertiliser hopeful Trigg Mining is edging closer to finalising a scoping study on the proposed development of its high-grade Lake Throssell sulphate of potash project about 170km north-east of Laverton in Western Australia. The Perth-based company, which recently tabled a maiden indicated resource estimate for Lake Throssell, says it aims to wrap up the study by the end of next month.

Element 25 has completed its ramp up to Stage 1 production levels at the company’s flagship Butcherbird manganese mining operation in Western Australia. The company says the mine has now achieved a “steady state” of manganese output and is looking to manufacture a high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate product for use in the burgeoning lithium-ion battery market.

Blackstone Minerals has tabled a head turning 375 metre nickel sulphide intercept from recent drilling at its Ban Phuc deposit in Vietnam. The company’s ongoing diamond drilling program is designed to upgrade much of the existing resource to the coveted “measured and indicated” status, however exploration now appears to be also extending the ore system at depth.

ASX-listed gold developer, Classic Minerals has nailed multiple high-grade gold intercepts from depth extension drilling at its Kat Gap project 170km south of Southern Cross in WA. Best numbers include a cracking 1m interval going 44.43 g/t gold within a wider 6m intersection grading 8.94 grams per tonne gold from 142m. Classic recently commenced trial mining at Kat Gap in anticipation of full-scale production planned for next year.

Si6 Metals has completed the purchase of its Monument gold project west of Laverton in Western Australia. The company sealed the deal by exercising its option over the project and making a final payment of just $400,000 in cash and shares to the previous owner of the project, the Tim Goyder-backed explorer DiscoverEx.

ASX-listed Buru Energy has spudded a second highly anticipated well in its exploration program in the Canning Basin, Western Australia’s largest onshore basin. The Rafael 1 conventional oil exploration well located 150 kilometres east of Broome is targeting 69 million barrels of oil. A seismic program to define new prospects for future drilling is next on the agenda.

Impact Minerals looks to be sneaking up on a large copper system at Apsley in New South Wales. The company says its analysis of surface and drilling data indicates it may be touching on the margins of a porphyry copper-gold system not dissimilar to Newcrest’s nearby Cadia-Ridgeway mine. Apsley’s geochemical footprint extends over more than a kilometre along strike and up to a kilometre in width.

Blue Star Helium has clinched a vital initial consent from US authorities as part of a new protracted pathway towards an eventual approval allowing it to drill a first exploration well at its exciting Las Animas helium project in Colorado. The ASX-listed US helium player now hopes to secure an all-important drilling permit in relation to its planned maiden well at the project’s Enterprise prospect later this year.