Announcements

Ora Banda Mining’s ongoing development program at its Callion deposit in the Goldfields has continued to intersect high-grade gold in drilling of both open pit and underground targets. The company is presently working on upgrading the resource at Callion and has proposed a conceptual development program to access high-grade ore within the upper levels of the historic underground mine in addition to the extraction of high-grade lodes at depth.

Terrain Minerals has recently completed a first pass program of exploration over its Smokebush project in the South Murchison mineral field of Western Australia. Initial reconnaissance and sampling over three priority targets returned impressive assays in excess of 17 grams per tonne gold. A site visit has also thrown up more targets for follow up drill testing by the Perth-based, ASX-listed company.

TSX-listed, Pilbara-focused gold player, Novo Resources, has acquired 15.97 per cent of Canadian explorer, New Found Gold Corp via a scrip-for-scrip deal that gives Novo access to New Found’s stellar gold prospect on the east coast of Canada. A recent drill intercept at New Found’s Queensway project returned 19m at 3 ounces to the tonne from 98m with 6m at a staggering 9oz/tonne gold.

ASX-listed biotech, PharmAust, has added a fifth site to its expanding network of anti-cancer trial sites for canines, securing the Brisbane Animal Hospital as the latest location for its Phase II anti-cancer trial in dogs with B cell lymphoma. The addition of the site in Brisbane expands the trial that is already underway in Perth, Melbourne and two centres in Sydney.

Medicinal cannabis player MGC Pharmaceuticals has inked a seven-year supply deal with Brazilian medical cannabis company Onix, with an estimated value of at least $1.65 million in the first year. From year two, the deal, which will see Onix purchase a bulk order of MGC Pharma’s pharmaceutical grade products, has an estimated value of at least $4.1 million per year.

Troy Resources has been out in the field surrounding its Karouni gold mining operations in South America, scouting for potential new gold discoveries off the back of the highest-grade drill intercept ever recorded in the region. Activities at the Upper Itaki, Kaburi Hills and Potaro–Kuribrong prospect areas, all within cooee of Troy’s existing Karouni Mill, are now hitting high gear.

Novo Resources has achieved some outstanding gold recovery rates on the latest set of mechanical ore sorting tests for multi-tonne bulk samples of crushed ore from its Egina and Beatons Creek gold deposits in the Pilbara. Tests done at laboratories in Sydney and Germany have recovered between 92 and 100 per cent of gold in three size fractions from the Egina sample and the Beatons Creek fractions returned between 82 and 94 per cent of the gold.

Altech Chemicals’ green credentials for its disruptive new kaolin clay-based high purity alumina production processes appear to stack up well against the industry standard alkoxide process that uses high-grade aluminium metal as a feedstock, according to the Perth based company. Altech says its numbers show that its HPA process produces substantially fewer greenhouse gas emissions and consumes much less energy per tonne of HPA produced.

Classic Minerals has hit some solid gold drill numbers only 1.2km south and along strike from the main drilling area at its Kat Gap gold prospect where gold-filled quartz veins extend at depth into the granite host rock. The best RC drill result to date returned 8m grading 7.91g/t gold from 60m, including 4m at 13.56/t gold from 60m.

ASX-listed MGC Pharma has secured a key market in Europe after signing an exclusive, commercial wholesale supply agreement with Polish NGO, Cannabis House Association and the University of Lodz to supply a large-scale research project in Poland. Under the deal, MGC Pharma will supply its medicinal cannabis-based, cannabinoid medicine products to up to 250 pharmacies and provide scientific support to the commercial research study whilst gathering participant data.

Well known technology man, Terry Stinson, has joined the board of ASX-listed Aurora Labs to support the company’s commercialisation strategy. Aurora considers his appointment key to delivering its 3D metal printing technology to market as it pulls out of the research and development phase. Mr Stinson will no doubt help the company to focus on large-scale commercial applications for its printing technology.

ASX-listed explorer, St George Mining, has a foothold on some early stage multi-metal exploration ground in the sought after Paterson Province in the eastern Pilbara region of WA. The company has one granted tenement in the Paterson covering over 35 kilometres, that, according to management, holds the same geological characteristics as the behemoth Telfer gold mine that has produced over 32 million ounces of gold and 1 million tonnes of copper to date.

ASX-listed Coziron Resources has pinpointed a couple of new priority gold targets at its Croydon Top Camp project in WA’s Pilbara region after a data review highlighted areas where a number of compelling geological criteria all lined up nicely. The company is now looking to add its newly identified drill ready targets to the expanding schedule as it plans to follow up maiden RC results from Top Camp such as 8 metres grading 10.2 grams per tonne gold.

In a Target Statement made to the ASX, Spectrum Metals’ Board has unanimously urged its shareholders to accept the friendly take-over bid by Ramelius Resources. The ASX300 listed company’s implied offer of 15 cents per Spectrum share is a serious 70% increase to its 30-day volume weighted average share price of just over 8 cents. Ramelius’ offer represents an implied value of about $231m for Spectrum’s Penny West gold project.

Hammer Metals will have the rods turning and Geophysicists on the ground very soon at its Mt Isa project in Queensland after being awarded Government grants amounting to $283,000. The windfall will fund a diamond drilling program at the Koppany copper-rare earths project and two magneto telluric surveys, one at the Kalman copper, molybdenum, gold and rhenium deposit and the second across part of the Mt Philp Breccia that is prospective for gold and copper.

After scratching away at the dam wall for a while, it seems that the wall is now crumbling for ASX-listed mining software provider K2fly, with a wave of giant mining companies signing on recently for its unique “RCubed” resource governance software. Latest potential devotees to K2fly’s software include BHP Billiton spin off, South 32, and Vale Australia, a subsidiary of Vale S.A, the largest iron ore producer in the world today.

As the historic Youanmi goldfields gets a new lease on life courtesy of a modern rush of gold explorers, ASX-listed Venus Metals is ahead of the pack with its portfolio of assets surrounding the old Youanmi mine playing host to a range of projects from resource stage to first pass exploration drilling. Venus is about to kick off a geophysical survey across its Penny West Deep South gold target.

ASX-listed Infinity Lithium has executed a binding agreement to divest its African potash assets and the Perth company is now set to focus 100% on its San Jose industrial lithium project in Spain that is looking to lever burgeoning demand for lithium-ion batteries in Europe. Infinity has a 75% interest in San Jose that, according to its pre-feasibility study, is set to deliver 15,000 tonnes per annum of battery-grade lithium hydroxide.

ASX-listed St George Mining has lit up multiple EM anomalies at its various discoveries and prospects along the Cathedrals Belt trend which already boasts a number of high-grade nickel-copper sulphide mineralised zones. St George says it is planning to start drilling the new anomalies shortly and complete resource definition drilling at its Stricklands prospect, all of which are a part of its Mt Alexander project, 120km from the world-class Agnew-Wiluna nickel belt.

ASX-listed Calidus Resources said the near-term development strategy for its 1.25Moz Warrawoona gold project in the Pilbara has received a shot in the arm after the project was granted a streamlined State and Federal environmental approval process. The WA office of the EPA has advised Calidus that it will assess the project as an “Accredited Assessment”. Calidus is targeting 100,000 ounces of gold per year at Warrawoona.

In a stunning turnaround, AusIndustry has reversed its decision to deny Northern Minerals’ $24.16m research and development tax offset grant relating to its Browns Range heavy rare earths plant in the Kimberley. The ATO will now review the claim and it looks likely that the outcome will be so profound that it will allow Northern Minerals to thrive and possibly even submit a further multi-million dollar claim for FY19.

Spectrum Metals is not sitting idly by while shareholders consider a takeover bid by ASX-listed Ramelius Resources Ltd. In fact, Spectrum is gearing up for another bunch of drill holes around the various deposits that make up its Penny West gold project. It is targeting resource additions to add to an already healthy maiden estimate of 799kt at 13.8g/t for 355,500 ounces of contained gold.

With rhodium and platinum touching record prices, Podium Minerals has revealed a swathe of notable rhodium assays at its Parks Reef PGM project near Cue in WA. Demand for the rare metal is forecast to soar ahead of its increasing use as a catalyst in automotive catalytic converters, a vehicle part that cleans up exhaust fumes. The company is now looking at rhodium as a potential “credit” metal, with re-assay results averaging about 3% to 4% rhodium within the platinum, palladium plus gold zones across the entire Parks Reef deposit.

Lithium Australia has received a notice of acceptance from IP Australia, all but ensuring that the patent applications for its “LieNA” lithium processing technology will be approved. The company patents will provide for 20 years of protection for its intellectual property with the technology set to revolutionise the lithium industry by increasing lithium recoveries by more than 85% from fine spodumene ore, waste or even tailings streams.

AVZ Minerals is on the home stretch of its mammoth DFS, which is due to hit the market next month, with phase two metallurgical test work delivering another exceptional batch of results that reinforce the potential economic viability of its Manono lithium and tin project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. A bulk 2,000 kilogram sample yielded a 160-kilogram concentrate grading 6.1% lithium oxide at over 60% lithia recovery.

In a potentially transformative move, Impact Minerals has formed a strategic “Broken Hill Alliance” with fellow ASX-listed companies, Castillo Copper and private group, Squadron Resources, to amalgamate what will be the largest landholding that surrounds the world-class Broken Hill zinc-lead-silver mine in NSW. Importantly, Impact will retain the rights to explore for all platinum group metals, nickel, copper and other precious metals across its tenements.

Lindian Resources' maiden auger drilling program at its Gaoual bauxite project in Guinea has confirmed that the company is sitting on a very high-grade conglomerate-hosted bauxite deposit, with drill holes encountering exceptional grades of over 60% aluminium oxide right across the Bouba Plateau. The thickness of the mineralisation varies and in some areas is over 15m according to Lindian.

MGC Pharmaceuticals recently unveiled Murcury Pharma, a new medicinal cannabis-based line for Australian and New Zealand markets. MGC has now seen an 85% increase in orders for its product, including Mercury Pharma 100, a prescription-only 100mg/mL canibodol solution and other white label cannabidiol products that are used for treatments such as anxiety, cancer and arthritis. The company’s revenues have now reached over $430,000.

Coziron Resources has recently vectored in on gold mineralisation at the Top Camp prospect at its Croydon project in the Pilbara with one 8m drill intercept going 10.2g/t gold, including 1m at 66.1g/t. Coziron’s technical team is now joining the dots from its Top Camp gold prospect to De Grey Mining’s new Hemi gold discovery, via a geological feature Coziron calls the Tabba Tabba shear zone.

Perth-based ASX listed Impact Minerals is cashed up with over $3m now in its war chest to throw at its exciting Broken Hill PGM project just as palladium and rhodium prices touch record highs. Impact locked away a $2.1m capital raise this week on the back of palladium prices hitting USD$2500 an ounce and rhodium prices bursting through the USD$10,000 an ounce mark.

Hot Chili is on track to deliver some exceptional drill intersections at its rapidly growing Cortadera porphyry copper-gold discovery in Chile with its first expansion diamond drill hole for 2020 still in mineralisation at 900m with 550m of mineralised porphyry already in the bag from the 350m mark. The company said it would extend the hole that is a 100m step-out from the largest porphyry to around 1,100m.

In what is looking like an industry trend now, Horizon Minerals has uncovered some strong gold intercepts amongst historical drilling data and mine design records at its Rose Hill gold project 45km west of the proposed Boorara mill in Kalgoorlie. The additional data points to the confirmation of high-grade gold mineralisation with both open pit and underground mining potential to over 500m vertical depth.