Announcements

GreenTech Metals has kicked off its mission to lift the resource numbers at its Whundo base metals project in Western Australia’s West Pilbara region after cranking up a new 2200m reverse-circulation drilling program. The company flagged the program a fortnight ago, about a month after revealing that an extensive review, based largely on geophysics, had confirmed significant additional resource potential at the project.

Geological mapping and grab sampling by Estrella Resources has stretched its manganese strike out to 47km in Timor-Leste, with some priority samples already crushed and sent back to Perth for expert lab analysis. The company is now weighing up its business case for the potential first-ever manganese exports from the Southeast Asian country formerly known as East Timor.

Radiopharm Theranostics’ stock rocketed up more than 35 per cent this morning after the cancer-fighting firm secured commitments from leading international and Australian institutional investors to raise $70 million at a premium to its most recent share price. The funds will be used to advance the company’s clinical programs for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer through its innovative radiopharmaceutical products.

ASX-listed K2fly’s cloud-based software solution that audits mineral inventories has attracted as new customer, with Canadian company Lundin Mining committing to a new three-year, $661,000 agreement. The deal – which has an annual recurring revenue value of $180,000 – will provide Lundin with a total mineral resource governance solution to be delivered at the corporate level, covering all of the company’s material reporting sites.

American West Metals has secured $18.8 million in non-dilutive funding to accelerate its Storm copper project in Canada after signing a royalty package deal with Australian-based Taurus Mining Royalty Fund. The funding package is designed to underpin the exploration and drilling activities that are already underway at the potentially district-scale project, along with fast-tracking project development amid a surging global thirst for copper production.

Strickland Metals has gone back to its Horse Well gold camp in the Western Australian desert and returned with another string of impressive hits including 20.3m at 1.9 grams per tonne gold from 103

In this week’s edition of Bulls N’ Bears Big Hits, we examine some of the more notable drill intersections revealed on the ASX, including Astute Metals’ 59.43m at 1300 parts per million lithium from 73.2m. We also take a close look at other interesting drill hits revealed last week by Patagonia Lithium, Australian Rare Earths and FireFly Metals.

Mining software provider K2fly’s shares hiked 85 per cent today after revelations emerged that the company is set to be taken over by globally-renowned, technology-focused investment firm Accel-KKR. Under the binding scheme implementation deed signed by the two companies, K2fly shareholders will be entitled to receive 19c per share – representing a massive 90 per cent premium on the company’s previous closing price of 10c.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is … Schrole Group. Its shares jumped 187.5 per cent as the new listing of Mexican fast food chain Guzman y Gomez also tantalised the market’s tastebuds in an impressive debut. Other ASX movers and shakers this week included Terra Metals, Lithium Plus Minerals and HeraMED.

Xanadu Mines has identified key follow-up targets at its Red Mountain project in Mongolia after returning positive copper and gold results from near-surface in a discovery drill campaign across four prospects. The company recorded epithermal gold extensions in shallow mineralisation at its promising Target 33 prospect, with assay highlights showing a 41m hit grading 1.07 grams per tonne gold from 34m.

Radiopharm Theranostics looks set to fill its coffers with a healthy $18 million following a strategic equity investment and asset transfer deal with leading United States-based radiopharmaceutical company Lantheus Holdings. Lantheus has agreed to make an initial strategic equity investment of $7.5 million in Radiopharm at an offer price of 0.5c per share – a whopping 47 per cent premium to the last closing price.

With niobium-related news again rattling the ASX market this week, Lycaon Resources is getting closer to launching its hunt for the lustrous metal in Western Australia’s West Arunta region after scheduling heritage surveys for next month. Recent discoveries by WA1 Resources and Encounter Resources have demonstrated the potential for the West Arunta region to host significant niobium and rare earths mineral systems.

Chariot Corporation has moved quickly to get boots back on the ground at its Black Mountain lithium project in Wyoming, with exploration activities kicking off just one month after phase one drilling finished. The announcement caused a flurry of interest on the ASX, with the company’s shares jumping more than 31 per cent from a previous close of 18c to touch 23c during intraday trading.

Strickland Metals is convinced it has one hand wrapped around the tail of a “significant-scale” mineralised system at its Rogozna gold and base metals project in Serbia after step-out drilling spat out a new suite of solid results. The company plans to quickly follow up the positive assays from its Medenovac prospect, with a 10,000m diamond drill campaign set to kick off this week.

Reach Resources has stepped closer to unlocking the exploration potential of its Wabli Creek rare earths project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region after scheduling a crucial Aboriginal heritage survey. The company today confirmed it would be meeting next month with the local Burringurrah Aboriginal Corporation in a bid to gain clearance for its long-awaited maiden drilling program that could launch as soon as next quarter.

Gold Mountain will keep a foot planted on the Salitre lithium project in Brazil that is now set to become a joint venture operation that it will share with Alderan Resources and Mars Mines in a new earn-in deal. The move will allow Gold Mountain to retain exposure to exploration upside at Salitre, while also narrowing its focus on its diverse portfolio of mineral holdings.

A successful drilling campaign at White Cliff Minerals’ Reedy South gold project in Western Australia’s proven Cue goldfields has produced extensions along strike and at depth to the already-defined 42,400-ounce mineral resource at the site. The company says it recorded positive results from the 2000m reverse-circulation program, including a consistent 79m intercept grading 1 gram per tonne gold from just 10m.

St George Mining has defined a promising 2.1km-diameter high-density circular intrusive at its Destiny project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields via a follow-up gravity survey designed to identify potential rare earths-rich carbonatite targets. The company says the geophysical characteristics of the gravity anomaly are consistent with a potentially-mineralised intrusive body that could be similar to other local structures known to host rare earths and related mineral suites.

Surging uranium prices have prompted Toro Energy to release an updated scoping study into its Lake Maitland project in Western Australia, with the new data showing a bulging EBITDA of more than $2.3 billion during its 17.5-year mine life. The latest figures assume prices of US$85 (AU$128.50) per pound of uranium oxide and US$5.67 (AU$8.57) per pound of vanadium oxide.

Meeka Metals has invested in a total camp and infrastructure package to accelerate the development of its flagship Murchison gold project in Western Australia – and at just 20 per cent of the cost predicted in its recent definitive feasibility study. The shopping cart includes camp accommodation, ablution blocks and offices for the Andy Well and Turnberry mining centres and a 110-kilolitre fuel storage tank.

Buru Energy’s Ungani oilfield is set for a new lease on life following the company’s significant farm-in agreement with Sabre Energy that is designed to spearhead a production restart and continued exploration at the site in Western Australia’s Canning Basin. Sabre will earn a 70 per cent interest in the Ungani oilfield and control of the operations for a $6 million outlay.

Aurum Resources has delivered yet another suite of lengthy gold hits from its burgeoning Boundiali project in West Africa’s Côte d'Ivoire, this time with a headline act showing 69m at 1.05 grams per tonne gold from 195m including 12m at 2.28g/t. Another hole in the ongoing campaign bored through 10m at 1.97g/t gold from 131m including 2m at 7.37g/t.

In this week’s edition of Bulls N’ Bears Big Hits, we examine some of the more curious drill intersections revealed on the ASX, including Culpeo Minerals’ biggest-ever run of 298m at 0.98 per cent copper equivalent from 90m downhole. We also take a close look at other notable drill hits last week from Wildcat Resources, Spartan Resources and Terra Metals.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears Runner of the Week is … MRG Metals. Its shares jumped 400 per cent on the back of it signing a binding joint venture agreement for its Corridor Sands project in Mozambique to see it join fellow movers and shakers NeuRizer, Reach Resources and Pearl Gull Iron.

The Federal Government has paved the way for Triangle Energy Global to complete the $15 million sale of its Cliff Head oil assets off the WA coastline after approving the site for permanent offshore carbon storage. The approval confirmed today by Resources Minister Madeleine King will allow Pilot Energy to acquire the project, while Triangle will set a stronger focus on its Perth Basin targets.

Ardea Resources’ high-tech mineral processing technique has boosted the nickel-cobalt inventory at its Goongarrie Hub project near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia and earned it a healthy Federal Government grant of $1.1 million. It comes less than two months after a giant Japanese consortium committed to backing the development of the project described by the Federal Government as “globally significant”.

Lithium Universe has cleared another key component in its plans to develop the proposed Bécancour lithium refinery in Canada after the successful completion of two environmental field studies at the site. In February, the company secured a prime location for its proposed refinery after executing an option agreement to purchase a commercial property in the province of Quebec.

Aurum Resources is building its bank balance ahead of a beefed-up exploration blitz across its Boundiali gold project in Côte d’Ivoire, with a maiden JORC resource expected before the year’s end. Management has received firm commitments from a $17 million two-tranche placement and is also offering eligible shareholders a shot at a $3 million share purchase plan in a bid to pocket about $20 million.

GreenTech Metals is putting the finishing touches on a new 2200m reverse-circulation drilling plan aimed at lifting the resource numbers at its Whundo volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit in Western Australia’s West Pilbara region. The move follows the company’s detailed review of the old Whundo and Ayshia deposits and other spatially or geologically-related targets identified between the two zones, primarily from fixed-loop electromagnetic geophysics

Middle Island Resources has secured the maximum $300,000 grant from the NT Government, which the company says is an endorsement of the significant targets at its Barkly copper-gold “super-project” in the Top End. The co-funded payment will enable the first-round testing of a spread of iron oxide-copper-gold targets at its Georgina project and one deep diamond-hole at its Bedrock prospect within the Barkly ground.

Triangle Energy expects to have the drill rods turning late next month at its Booth-1 well in the North Perth Basin after the company today confirmed the rig will soon be released to the joint venture project. Management says Booth hosts a prospective resource range of between 113 and 540 billion cubic feet of gas (Bcf), with a best estimate of 279Bcf.

Lindian Resources has shortlisted two experienced contractors to vie for the prize of designing and constructing a processing plant at the company’s hulking Kangankunde rare earths project in the south-east African nation of Malawi. Management, which is close to completing a stage-one feasibility study for the project, says both firms have a track-record of delivering significant-scale mining and processing operations in several African countries.