Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runners of the Week is… Lumos Diagnostics, after the company signed an exclusive diagnostics supply agreement for the US, valued at up to $487 million. Tali Resources bucked the IPO trend by flying out of the gates on day-one of listing on its West Arunta copper potential. Osteopore Ltd's 3D-printed implants got the nod for market distribution in Switzerland and ClearVue unveiled stellar trial results for its solar vaccuum-insulated glazing units in Hong Kong.

Lithium Universe has secured exclusive rights to a patented microwave technology for greener recycling of silver and critical metals from solar photovoltaic panels, after completing its acquisition of licensee New Age Minerals. The acquisition gives Lithium Universe access to Macquarie University’s innovative microwave joule heating technology, which more efficiently recovers silver from discarded photovoltaic panels.

American West Metals has cemented an off-take partner for its flagship Storm copper project in Nunavut, Canada, finalising key milestones in a transformative partnership with UK-based trader Ocean Partners. American West says its binding off-take agreement and funding commitments will de-risk the project’s path to development as Canada’s next copper producing player.

Bulls N’ Bears Big Hits this week examines some recent notable drilling intercepts revealed on the ASX, including Encounter Resources’ high-grade niobium hit at its Joyce project in WA’s West Arunta region. Other interesting drill hits were reported by Nimy Resources, at its Mons gallium project, and Hyterra Limited landed a helium hit at its Nemaha gas field project in the US state of Kansas.

Terrain Minerals has finally pulled the drill rig from the company’s Smokebush project on WA’s Yalgoo belt, after knocking out an expanded 5000-metre campaign at its high-grade gold and silver prospects. The expanded RC drilling program was designed to reveal the extent of gold and silver-bearing structures at the project, ahead of defining a maiden mineral resource at the early-stage Smokebush by the middle of next year.

Javelin Minerals has bolstered its plans for near-term mining at its Eureka gold project near Kalgoorlie, having significantly upgraded the project resource to the higher confidence indicated category. The company says its upgraded resources and grades could expand its plans to fast-track mining at the project to recover 34,000 ounces of gold by next year.

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining’s Lighthorse prospect at Pinjin near Kalgoorlie has doubled its strike to 1450m via air core drilling, identifying broad gold anomalism to guide an upcoming major RC drilling campaign. The 99-hole, 4710m program revealed thick, shallow gold intercepts and a second anomaly 800m north, surpassing the company’s Kirgella Gift/Providence footprint. This sets the stage for KalGold’s largest-ever RC drilling effort.

Dateline Resources sits barely 10 clicks north of what could soon become the single most heavily backed rare earths operation on the planet, courtesy of a recent multibillion-dollar public-private partnership just announced between MP Materials and the United States Department of Defense. Dateline hosts geology almost identical to MP’s Mountain Pass rare earths as well as a gold resource north of a million ounces.

St George Mining has development studies in full swing at its Araxa niobium and rare earth elements project in Brazil’s premier mining state of Minas Gerais, as part of a global push to find new supplies. The company’s inaugural drilling campaign is charging ahead, with 40 auger holes on a 500m grid completed for 512m as part of a reconnaissance program to test areas beyond the current resource envelope.

Lithium Universe Limited has kicked off a pioneering project to extract silver from discarded photovoltaic solar panels, leveraging technology developed by scientists at Macquarie University in Sydney. Global silver demand is set to reach a record 680 million ounces in 2025, driven by a 7% compound annual growth rate in industrial use, photovoltaics and artificial intelligence, triggering an anticipated 117.6-million-ounce market deficit.

King River Resources has unearthed more high-grade gold at its Kurundi project in the Northern Territory and is preparing to drill two iron oxide copper-gold targets at its Kuiper prospect this month. The company is working through a pipeline of drill-ready targets across its 5000 square kilometre Tennant Creek landholding, following earlier standout hits and geophysical success.

There are moments when policy collides with geology, and when it does, fortunes can shift overnight. The decision by the US Department of Defence, announced last week, to take a half-billion-dollar equity stake in the country’s only producing rare earths mine has thrust the geopolitical spotlight onto a handful of ASX-listed juniors and reshaped their prospects in a flash.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runners of the Week is… Yandal Resources, after the company identified a gold discovery of potentially massive scale in one of WA’s prolific gold belts. Imagion shot up on positive talks with the US FDA on its Phase 2 breast cancer imaging technology, Falcon intercepted some of the highest grade gold in Australian drilling this year and Bayan scooped up a strategic rare earths project next to the world-class Mountain Pass mine.

Ora Banda Mining has ended its financial year with a record 92,400 ounces of gold produced, a 32% increase over the previous year, marking the company’s second consecutive year of more than 30% organic growth. Production includes 1400 ounces from third-party processing under an ore sale agreement with Norton Gold Fields at Paddington Mill.

BMG Resources has firmed up its belief in a substantial gold system at its Abercromby gold project in WA’s Mid West region, after receiving broad mineralised hits from the first phase of a recently completed diamond drilling program. Scoping studies are now underway to assess the optimal mining strategy, with a low-capex, fast-tracked production scenario being evaluated.

Buru Energy has shed another non-core strategic asset, inking a deal to offload its hydrogen and helium subsidiary 2H Resources to Denver-based natural hydrogen hopeful Koloma Australia. The transaction is valued at up to a tasty $2 million in cash and comes as Buru narrows its focus on its flagship Rafael gas and condensate project in Western Australia’s Kimberley region.

American West Metals has intercepted thick copper sulphides at depth at its Storm Copper project in Nunavut, Canada, with a diamond drill hole intersecting a lengthy 47 metres of visual copper sulphide mineralisation at its high-priority Cyclone Deeps target. The result reaffirms the potential for a large-scale, stacked copper horizon beneath the company’s flagship Cyclone deposit, setting the stage for significant resource growth across its massive 2200-square-kilometre tenure.

Chariot Corporation has struck a milestone deal to acquire almost 70 per cent of five high-grade Nigerian lithium projects, featuring mapped spodumene pegmatites and rock chip grades of up to 3.31 per cent lithium oxide. The low-cost, staged earn-in model reflects the company’s strategic approach and adds African firepower to a lithium portfolio already spanning the US and Australia.

Novo Resources has delivered a suite of high-grade gold results from its maiden reverse circulation drilling program at its Tibooburra gold project in northwestern New South Wales. The company revealed standout intercepts, including an impressive 12m running 5.9 grams per tonne gold from just 16m in its first hole, followed by a thicker 17m grading 2.4g/t gold from 59m along strike.

Latitude 66 has etched out a promising gold target at its Edjudina project in Western Australia’s Goldfields, with an air core drilling program at its Colossus prospect targeting bedrock returning assays of up to 0.45g/t gold. The company says beneath a blanket of transported cover, the underlying geology exhibits the trademarks of Ramelius Resources' nearby 1.1-million-ounce Lake Rebecca gold project.

Beetaloo Energy Australia has completed a historic 67-stage hydraulic stimulation campaign executed by global oilfield services giant Halliburton at its Carpentaria-5H well in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo sub-basin. The campaign was wrapped up in 20 days and covered an extraordinary 2955-metre lateral section, marking what could be a turning point in Australia’s quest for reliable and scalable gas supply to the eastern seaboard.

In a transformational move, BMG Resources has executed a memorandum of understanding that clears a path to toll treatment of its Abercromby gold ore at Wiluna Mining Corporation’s Matilda plant. The fully operational conventional carbon-in-leach gold ore processing facility is 20km northeast of BMG’s project and the company says the mill is well-suited to process its Abercromby ore.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runners of the Week is… Santa Fe Minerals, after the company scooped up a gold exploration play in a red-hot West African jurisdiction. Long-suffering Energy World shot up after it wiped more than a half a billion dollars in debt off its books, Next Science sayonara’d a chunk of its med-tech assets for $76 million and Loyal Metals picked up an super-high-grade historic copper-gold asset in central Queensland.

BMG Resources has kicked off a 30-hole reverse circulation drilling program for a planned 3000 metres at its Bullabulling North gold project near Coolgardie. The program will follow-up high-grade gold results from earlier scout drilling, which include 2m assaying an impressive 18.1g/t gold from 34m, 12m at 2.3g/t gold from 53m and 4m going 10.12g/t gold from 32m. Credit: File

Thunderbird Resources is zeroing in on high-grade gold mineralisation at its Kookabookra gold project near Armidale in New South Wales, with rock chip assays returning up to a spectacular 153.5 grams per tonne gold at the company’s Mt Secret prospect. Continued surveys will direct a maiden drilling program at Thunderbird’s recently acquired projects, planned for later this quarter.

St George Mining has launched advanced geophysics surveys at its Araxá niobium-rare earths project in Brazil’s mining heartland of Minas Gerais. The company is flying its high-tech surveys in a quest to expand its project to become a globally significant niobium resource base. Meanwhile, the company is winding up a 10,000-metre drilling blitz at the relatively untested project.

88 Energy has secured a 12-month extension for the company’s onshore Owambo Basin petroleum exploration licence in Namibia that will extend its first renewal exploration period until October 2026. The company has introduced a new stage 1 works program targeting pre-drill de-risking. The program includes an airborne gravity and magnetic survey to run later this year.

In a Red Letter Day, Meeka Metals yesterday poured the first gold from the company’s Murchison gold project on schedule, within 12 months of breaking ground at its new Murchison Goldfield venture. With plant commissioning completed, management reports that production is ramping up smoothly. Meeka plans to process about 80,000 ounces of gold per year.

Latitude 66 has signed a deal to sell its 17.5 per cent interest in the Greater Duchess copper-gold joint venture in Queensland for $2 million upfront. The agreement includes a potential $4 million bonus if the entire JV is sold within 90 days. The move unlocks non-dilutive cash and aligns with the company’s strategy to monetise non-core Australian assets while focusing on projects in WA and Finland.

Dateline Resources has completed a detailed geophysical survey at its Colosseum project in California, revealing signatures strikingly similar to the nearby famed Mountain Pass rare earths deposit. With early assay results showing rare earths anomalies and a 3D model on the way, the company is eyeing a potential major discovery, underpinned by its “stacked evidence” strategy to target carbonatite intrusions and gold-rich breccia pipes.

Green360 Technologies has penned an agreement to produce low-carbon retaining wall blocks with leading WA precast concrete manufacturer PERMAcast. PERMAcast will fund the purchase of a block laying machine and batching plant and the joint venture partners will split then the profits from selling the blocks into WA’s mining construction market, while maintaining control of the product.

Estrella Resources has pulled in a hefty $5 million from a strategic investor who exercised a second option to buy 136.76 million shares at 3.65 cents per share and at a 500 per cent premium to the first conversion in September. The cash boost will be used to fund drilling exploration on the company’s manganese and limestone prospects in Timor-Leste, where Estrella recently made some exciting discoveries.