Announcements

Barton Gold has pushed the button on its ASX listing, opening up its initial public offering to raise a minimum of $10 million for exploration in South Australia’s Gawler Craton region. An enviable package of gold projects includes the burgeoning Tunkillia deposits, which now boast close to one million ounces in resources positioning the discovery as SA largest undeveloped gold project.

ASX-listed Latitude Consolidated has taken its Murchison gold project resource past one million ounces after more than doubling its Turnberry open pit gold inventory to 610,000 ounces ahead of receiving first assays from a new 10,000-metre drilling program. The updated 1.115-million-ounce project resource includes 505,000 ounces grading an impressive 8.6 g/t in the high-grade Andy Well mine that Latitude bought from Silver Lake Resources earlier this year.

ASX-listed central Africa lithium hopeful, AVZ Minerals has lodged the all-important mining licence application for its proposed Manono hard-rock lithium and tin project development in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The Perth-based company says the DRC Government now has all the required documentation to support its application.

Venture Minerals has begun commissioning the key wet screening plant at its former Riley iron ore mine in Tasmania as it edges closer to a full operational restart. The company says with plant construction completed and the commissioning phase underway, it remains on course to ship out the first iron ore product from the rejuvenated project in the current quarter.

ASX-listed Troy Resources has increased its exposure to the geologically prospective Makaba Kuribrong Shear Zone around its Karouni gold mine in Guyana, snaring the “must have” Potaro target in a progressive land acquisition program that has expanded its Karouni holdings to 3,000 hectares. Potaro, about 20km south of the Karouni gold plant, was identified by Troy as a key pick-up two years ago.

WA junior iron ore development aspirant CZR Resources could get a material economic boost for its proposed Robe Mesa iron ore project from new port facilities at Onslow, west of the project, according to a new report. Work on the company’s definitive feasibility study is now occurring in parallel with a deeper assessment of logistics options.

TSX-listed Novo Resources has exercised its option to acquire 50 per cent of the Malmsbury gold project in central Victoria, where the company has drawn comparisons with no less a geological analogue than Kirkland Lake’s 6.1 million-ounce Fosterville deposit 55 kilometres to the north. The deal with GBM Resources builds Novo’s Australian portfolio outside of its operations in WA’s Pilbara region.

Buru Energy remains on track to begin its 2021 drilling campaign in WA’s Canning Basin, with the drill pad for the Kurrajong 1 well nearing completion. Buru and joint venture partner Origin Energy are spudding both the Kurrajong 1 and Rafael 1 wells this season, with drilling expected to kick off in June 2021.

Wiluna Mining Corporation is now cashed up to complete the first phase of its sulphide expansion program, with the WA gold producer finalising US$42 million of credit from multi-national commodity trader, Mercuria. The loan will be used to finalise construction of the Phase 1 sulphide plant that will lift Wiluna’s production profile to more than 120,000 ounces of gold per annum.

Surefire Resources has upped the ante at the Perenjori magnetite iron ore project in WA’s southwest Murchison mineral field, with a production study to be conducted by consultant MinRizon Projects looking at options for the project’s existing 191.7 million tonne resource going 36.6 per cent iron. Resource drilling may also be on the cards ahead of a feasibility study.

Alto Metals has delivered another stellar step-out drill hit at its Vanguard gold prospect in WA’s Sandstone district with shallow visible gold less than 40m from surface assaying 60.6 grams per tonne over 4m. The high-grade intercept increases the extent of known mineralisation along the Vanguard and Vanguard North Trends to 2km.

ASX-listed Lithium Australia says its wholly owned subsidiary and cathode powders developer, VSPC has produced lithium manganese ferro phosphate cathode powder of “advanced and consistent quality” for use in lithium-ion batteries. Some of the lithium manganese ferro phosphate product will be made available next month to battery manufacturers for commercial testing focused on the electric vehicle market.

Blackstone Minerals continues to return high-grade nickel intercepts from its Ta Khoa project in north Vietnam. The company is drilling out a nest of new sulphide discoveries across the nickel-copper-rich terrane, with exploration at the new Taipan Zone intersecting an impressive 20.4 metres at 1.35 per cent nickel and 0.8 per cent copper from only 27m down-hole.

ASX-listed healthcare provider, InteliCare Holdings has received a welcome boost from this week’s Federal budget. The company is now looking forward to lifting sales of its innovative suite of in-home healthcare technologies as the government commits more than $6.5 billion to funding home care packages and pledges a further $13.2 billion to the National Disability Insurance Scheme.

Kairos Minerals aims to kick off an aircore drilling program at its Skywell gold project in WA’s Pilbara region this quarter after analysis of its 2020 geochemical and airborne geophysics results highlighted multiple intrusion-related gold targets south-west of the exciting Hemi gold find. The company recently set up camp at nearby Kangan and expects to start 5,000 metres of aircore drilling there within weeks.

WA-focused Torian Resources has discovered new gold zones at Mt Stirling in WA’s prolific Leonora gold district with hits including 4m grading 3.01 grams per tonne from surface. Drilling continues on the large Mt Stirling gold system as the company closes in on a resource update. New high priority regional targets are also to be drill-tested.

Okapi Resources has picked up more than 2,000 square kilometres of prospective kaolin ground and joined Australia’s lucrative halloysite hunt. White Knight in South Australia and Holly in Western Australia are two key projects secured by the company with its acquisition of private resource group Bulk Mineral Holdings.

ASX-listed Classic Minerals has successfully commissioned its Australian-designed “Gekko” mobile processing plant in a key step towards producing gold from its Kat Gap gold project south of Southern Cross in WA by August this year. Classic has a granted mining lease and circa-93,000 ounce JORC gold resource at Kat Gap.

Busy ASX-listed junior explorer, Comet Resources has added geographic and commodity diversity to its portfolio by forging ahead with a deal to acquire large tracts of prospective copper-gold and base metals exploration ground in the Northern Territory. Limited past exploration has turned up promising precious and red metal results. The company now has its foot on 840sqkm of prospective ground in central Australia.

Podium Minerals has upped the ante at its Parks Reef platinum group metals project in WA, having secured a government grant to co-fund the drilling of two holes to test for continuity of the existing mineralisation at depth. The holes will be drilled to more than twice the depth of any previous drilling at the deposit with a third hole also on the cards.

Victoria-focused explorer Dart Mining is shifting its exploration efforts at the Granite Flat copper-gold project into higher gear. A 1,000m diamond drilling campaign has commenced to follow-up on previous eye-catching hits that include a 3m interval going 41.1 g/t gold as the company also looks to test for a monster copper-gold porphyry body at depth.

Impact Minerals’ PGM-base metals hunt at its Broken Hill project in NSW is starting to get interesting. Drilling is set to commence at the Red Hill and Little Broken Hill Gabbro prospects to follow-up previous stellar hits including 138m going 0.3 grams per tonne palladium, platinum and gold, or “3PGM”. Further drilling is also on the cards for the third quarter.

Victory Mines is zeroing in on a potentially serious porphyry copper-gold discovery at its Coogee project in WA. The target is located a mere 15 kilometres north-west of Lefroy’s coveted Burns copper-gold deposit. Resampling of recent drilling at Coogee has revealed a bounty of copper and gold mineralisation including 15 metres at 1 per cent copper and 1.49 grams per tonne gold from only 80m down-hole.

AVZ Minerals continues to make giant strides towards its goal of becoming a significant lithium producer in central Africa, this week securing approval for a draft “Cooperation Agreement” with the newly installed government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The accord opens the door for the establishment of a Special Economic Zone to assist in bringing the world class Manono project into production.

Kingwest Resources will start a new round of deeper drilling at its Menzies gold project north of Kalgoorlie in WA later this month after reporting more high-grade hits from below shallow existing resources at the historic mine. Best new intercepts include 12m at 3.7 grams per tonne gold from 102m and 2m at 17.3 g/t gold from 125m.

Comet Resources has been given the green light to begin drilling at its high-grade Santa Teresa gold project in northern Mexico. The Environmental Impact and Risk assessment department in Baja California has now completed its evaluation of the company’s planned drilling program, clearing the way for diamond drilling to commence in the weeks ahead.

ASX-listed explorer Todd River Resources is waiting for a truckload of assays from nearly 300 drill holes in a large maiden drilling campaign at Berkshire Valley, north of the exciting Julimar nickel and platinum group element discovery in WA. The company suggested the intersected rocks indicate it is in the right geological environment for nickel-copper-PGE mineralisation.

White Cliff Minerals has reported high-grade rock chip sample results from the Cracker Jack gold prospect in WA’s Cue goldfield, including one grading 37.3 g/t gold. More sample assays are due soon and a maiden drilling program at the site, part of the company’s Reedy South project, is just around the corner.

ASX-listed Neometals’ 50 per cent-owned joint venture company, Primobius has finalised CAPEX and operating cost estimates for its proposed lithium-ion battery recycling operation in Germany. The company is contemplating building and operating an 18,250 tonnes per annum commercial-scale recycling plant, with the forecast CAPEX coming in at US$165 million and operating costs averaging US$1,560 per tonne of batteries processed.

Ardiden Limited is set to receive an $8.7m shot in the arm from the proposed sale of 80 per cent of its lithium assets in Canada. The sale will allow the company to focus on the Pickle Lake gold project whilst retaining some lithium upside courtesy of a proposed 20 per cent free carried interest in the lithium assets to be sold.

Lithium Australia’s 90 per cent-owned subsidiary, Envirostream Australia looks likely to be a major beneficiary from the introduction of an accredited process for the collection and recycling of spent, or end-of life batteries with the launch of the Battery Stewardship Council's national battery collection network early next year. Under the Battery Stewardship Council’s scheme, approved entities will be paid to collect and recycle hazardous and toxic spent batteries.

Aspiring gold miner Classic Minerals has bolstered its board with the appointment of non-executive director, Ms Gillian King as the company looks to bring the Kat Gap gold project in WA into production. Ms King is of Noongar and Gurindji heritage and adds human resource and indigenous affairs expertise to the company’s board.