Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

Bulls N' Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Infini Resources after it nailed eye-popping uranium visuals and XRF hits from its Canadian drill blitz at Portland Creek. Xstate Resources struck a gas column jackpot deep in Queensland's Surat-Bowen Basin, Pure Foods Tasmania's gourmet pâté stormed Coles' national shelves with a tenfold order boom and Battery Age Minerals got the green light to drill its high-grade gold-silver beast in Argentina, proving small caps can thrive on metals mania and geopolitical fireworks.

ASX-listed Triangle Energy has banked a trifecta in the Philippines, bagging two offshore and one onshore petroleum exploration licences, which the company says have handed it a commanding position in some of the region's most prospective, underexplored terrain. With contingent resources in the hundreds of billions of cubic feet and gas-hungry markets on tap, Triangle is now sitting on what could be Southeast Asia's next major gas story.

Altech Batteries is hailing a breakthrough with a major advance in its Silumina Anodes technology, recording 88.5% capacity retention after 500 charge-discharge cycles by adding just 5% alumina-coated silicon to graphite anodes. The company's latest Silumina Anodes deliver a charge capacity of 420 mAh/g which far surpasses graphite's capacity in the range of 230-250 mAh/g. Altech's Saxony pilot plant confirms scalability, promising longer EV range and lighter batteries.

Octava Minerals will launch aircore drilling next week at its Byro Critical Minerals Project in WA's Gascoyne region, following outstanding bioleaching test results which showed recoveries of up to 85% rare earths, 92% lithium, and 78% vanadium. Octava has planned an 18-hole, 1000m program that, pending final approvals, will target a maiden resource via testing of high-grade zones in the host Coyrie Formation.

Larvotto Resources has peeled off another impressive set of drill results from its Eleanora-Garibaldi zone at its Hillgrove antimony-gold project in New South Wales. The company has notched up standout intercepts such as 30m at 3.29g/t gold equivalent and 5.4m at 11.99g/t gold equivalent, with several zones still open at depth. The hits are expected to underpin upcoming resource and reserve upgrades.

Corazon Mining has secured a 12-month option for 80% of the Feather Cap gold project in WA's Gascoyne region which hosts high-grade hits up to 20m at 3.01g/t and sits near Westgold's 2.9Mt Durack gold project. Other historical hits including 7m at 6.21g/t gold highlight potential across the 154 square kilometre project. With its Two Pools project 150km to the northeast, Corazon's regional footprint is growing.

Ora Banda Mining has jumped out the gates to kick off the financial year, with a record 30,595-ounce gold quarter. The company banked a hefty $38.5 million in free cash flow, pushing its piles of cash to $122.7 million. Ora Banda says its Sand King underground mine ramp-up is now humming, after FY25's heavy capital injection, where it expects even more gold to flow for the quarter to 2026 ahead.

Lindian Resources has wrapped up early development works program at its giant Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi with mining of its 23.7Mt at 2.9 per cent total rare earths oxide probable ore reserve scheduled to commence in early January. The reserve is backed by a 61Mt indicated resource at 2.43 per cent total rare earths oxides which includes a high-grade core of 25 million tonnes at 3.26 per cent TREO.

Solara Minerals now has boots on the ground and is soil sampling at its newest Wilgeena gold project in Western Australia's burgeoning Murchison gold region. The company says it is targeting gold anomalism within its Peak Hill schists, host to its neighbouring 114,000-ounce Hermes South deposit as Solara looks to join the regions gold resurgence.

Neometals Limited has started drilling beneath and along strike of the historic Barrambie Ranges gold mine in WA's Murchison after a soil and mapping campaign defined multiple high-priority targets. The company says the 2,000-metre reverse-circulation program will test extensions of previously mined high-grade veins and add new data to its growing Barrambie dataset, which already includes a maiden resource at Ironclad and high-grade hits at Mystery.

Augustus Minerals has wrapped up a 1,173 sample auger soil program at its Music Well gold project north of Leonora in Western Australia, testing extensions at its Clifton Dodd's and St Patricks targets, while running first pass lines across the new Golden Dingo nugget trend Samples are at the lab with multi element results due in weeks, with a Heritage Survey Report pending to clear the path for the company's maiden drilling.

St George Mining has partnered with Brazil's Federal Centre for Technological Education in Minas Gerais for a new pilot plant at its Araxá project to advance high-grade rare earths and niobium processing. The collaboration establishes the St George Technological Centre at the Federal Centre for Technological Education's Araxá campus, focusing on sustainable innovation and downstream studies.

Javelin Minerals is pushing ahead with a new diamond drilling program to bolster its near-term plans to charge into production at the company's historic Eureka gold project, near Western Australia's historic Kalgoorlie mining hub. The drill program will provide valuable geotechnical and metallurgical data and test the potential at the project's northern end to boost indicated resources and add mineable ounces and longevity to the mining operation.

Biotech innovator NeuroScientific Biopharmaceuticals has received the green light from Australia's drugs regulator to treat its first three patients with Crohn's disease using its proprietary “StemSmart” stem cell therapy. The approval marks a pivotal milestone in the company's special access program and paves the way for a planned phase two clinical trial targeting those that don't already respond to existing treatments next year.

Larvotto Resources has fired the starting gun on an upgrade at its Hillgrove processing plant to 525,000tpa, after inking a project delivery contract. The deal locks in scope, governance and timelines for the work, with early works already underway. Commissioning is targeted for late 2026, at which point the company expects to play a starring role as a key Western supplier of strategic metal antimony, with gold providing an extra kicker.

Siren Gold has expanded the geochemical footprint at its Langdons gold–antimony project in New Zealand to reveal a completely new mineralised zone south of Liberty Reef with extensions detected beneath. The discovery, paired with a newly granted five-year exploration permit, clears the way for a maiden drilling program as the new soil samples and earlier high-grade rock-chip results continue to underscore the project's remarkable potential.

Aurum Resources' infill drilling at its Boundiali BMT3 deposit in West Africa has grown its total Boundiali indicated gold resource by 53% to 0.92Moz gold, with the total project resource remaining at 2.41Moz. The drilling at BMT3 has enabled the conversion of 320,000 ounces of previously “inferred” gold to the higher-confidence “indicated” resource category.

Horizon Minerals has revealed a golden tempest of high-grade one-metre-plus drill hits from its latest drill program at the company's Burbanks gold project, 9km south of Coolgardie in Western Australia's fabled Goldfields. The company kick-started a 30,000-metre drilling blitz in late June, which has delivered multiple standout gold results, including a showstopping 1.55m slice grading over 3 ounces to the tonne gold .

Chilean mining expert David Fowler has joined the Norfolk Metals' board as a non-executive director to help develop the company's recently acquired Carmen copper project near La Serena in Chile. Norfolk has drilled 20 holes in its 50-hole maiden drilling program targeting a near-surface supergene copper resource at Carmen, which may be amenable to heap leaching.

This week's Bulls N' Bears Runner of the Week is… Tambourah Metals. Its share price surged after outstanding gold drilling results at its WA gold project. Nelson Resources' share price ran hard after the company locked in a mining agreement for its Yarri project, CGN Resources nabbed land in a prime WA gold area and Dart Mining unveiled a stunning antimony hit from its latest Queensland drilling program.

Octava Minerals has reported exceptional bio-leaching test results from its Byro critical minerals project in WA's Gascoyne region, reinforcing its potential as a significant source of rare earth elements, lithium and vanadium. The testwork, conducted by the CSIRO and European bio-mining specialist BiotaTec, demonstrates high recovery rates for critical minerals essential for magnet production and battery technologies.

Chariot Corporation has zeroed in on a compelling series of drilling targets, kicked up from its successful surface sampling program at the company's Resurgent lithium project, straddling the Oregon-Nevada border in the US. The company is poised for a potential blockbuster discovery, with Resurgent situated on the same renowned ancient geological caldera as Lithium Americas' groundbreaking Thacker Pass and McDermitt projects.

Dateline Resources' share price roared to fresh highs after the company shifted gears at its Colosseum project in California, with a high-powered drilling blitz targeting gold extensions and rare earths upside. A second rig is en route and samples are already in the lab, as the company fast-tracks its bankable feasibility study to deliver near-term production at one of America's most intriguing critical mineral prospects.

Chariot Corporation has thrown its hat in the ring for a dual listing on the United States OTCQB Venture Market, as the Trump administration moves to secure its domestic lithium stakes in nearby players. Chariot's decision comes hot on the heels of growing buzz from US investors eyeing the company's Wyoming and Nevada lithium projects and several successful Australian OTC listings successes.

Terrain Minerals has kicked off a maiden scout soil sampling program at its Carlindie lithium project in WA's Pilbara region, targeting 15km of interpreted lithium-bearing pegmatite structures about 30km east of Wildcat Resources' Tabba Tabba deposit. The low-cost program aims to generate drill-ready targets from the region's felsic-hosted lithium potential within 14 days, with results expected in four weeks to inform the design of follow-up drilling next year.

Altech Batteries has signed a collaboration agreement with Chinese battery producer AMPower to sell its sodium nickel chloride battery systems in Australia, Europe and the US. Altech has fast-tracked market entry for its fireproof, long-life alternatives to lithium-ion batteries, while advancing its CERENERGY energy storage facility project in Germany. Co-development of small and medium-sized systems will follow while protecting IP on both sides.

In a bold decision that could accelerate the path to production, Lindian Resources has decided to run its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi under an owner-operator model. By ditching contract miners and putting its own team in the driver's seat, the ASX-listed junior aims to sharpen efficiency, cut long-term costs and stamp more control over one of the world's most anticipated rare earths developments.

Larvotto Resources has struck geophysical gold at its Hillgrove antimony-gold project in New South Wales, with a groundbreaking induced polarisation survey at the undrilled Kiarra Prospect revealing resistivity highs that scream untapped potential. Historically, mineralisation found at the site has shown a strong correlation with resistivity highs, with the geophysical anomalies interpreted as potential lode extensions.

Toronto-listed Royal Road Minerals has welcomed Rio2 Limited onto its register after the Chile-focused developer picked up a 15 per cent stake in Royal Road in an on-market trade worth C$4.6 million (A$5 million). The deal propels Rio2 into substantial-holder territory and locks in boardroom rights, setting the stage for a heavyweight partnership between two hungry gold players both gearing up for serious growth on multiple fronts.

Estrella Resources has kicked off RC drilling at its Werumata limestone project in Timor-Leste, targeting a 500-million-tonne resource. Approvals have been secured and drilling is imminent, as the company eyes an early offtake deal. Estrella's environmental impact statement and management plan have been given the green light, paving the way for it to launch its maiden drilling campaign in about two weeks.

Thunderbird Resources' joint venture partner Mustang Energy has kicked off a 2000m diamond drilling campaign at the duo's Surprise Creek uranium-copper project in Canada's Athabasca Basin. The program aims to unlock a high-grade prize at the world's premier uranium address. Past results at site hit 2.1m at 4.37 per cent uranium, just 57m below surface, and rock chips grading up to 7.98 per cent.

Aurum Resources has nailed stellar gold hits in infill drilling at its Boundiali project in Cote d'Ivoire, including 1 metre assaying a bonanza 152.35g/t gold, in a 12-hole campaign targeting a pre-feasibility study in the first quarter of 2026. Potential exists for significant resource growth as mineralisation remains open along strike and at depth.