Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

Comet Resources is set to become a key player in the lucrative downstream processing of lithium-ion battery anode material after vending-out its Springdale graphite project to International Graphite - an Australian manufacturer of high-value graphite products for supply to global markets. International Graphite plans to list on the ASX early next year with Comet in line to own a 25 per cent stake in the graphite manufacturer after the listing.

Perth-based Lithium Australia looks to have its eyes set on systematically progressing its battery production expertise with its wholly owned subsidiary, VSPC rubber stamping a three-way deal with the Australian Research Council and the University of Technology Sydney, to conduct research and development for solid-state lithium metal battery technology. The company says the technology will spearhead the next generation of lithium batteries.

Native Minerals has spotted what it believes to be a significant iron-oxide copper-gold anomaly from a maiden high-resolution magnetic drone survey at its 100 per cent owned Nullarbor tenements in WA. The new target area is perched on a low seismic zone with a large-scale structure and low resistivity readings, similar to the enormous Olympic Dam IOCG deposit. Drill target planning is currently underway.

Perth-based Venus Metals’ Henderson project north of Menzies in WA could turn out to be a triple header with the company recently completing a hard-rock lithium sampling and mapping program at the gold and nickel site. A suite of 97 rock samples were bagged during the renaissance trip which sought to review the lithium potential of the company’s landholdings with assays currently pending.

ASX-listed Aldoro Resources is concentrating efforts on exploring the Loop Pegmatite structure at its Wyemandoo pegmatite project in Western Australia. The exploration focus is following up a series of high-grade lithium and rubidium assays and completed satellite imagery which indicate a similar structure immediately to the south in the pegmatite swarm. Aldoro says the Wyemandoo pegmatites represent a new lithium-rubidium bearing-pegmatite field.

Nickel explorer, Estrella Resources has intercepted 12 metres of nickel-copper sulphides on previously untested ground, some 1.4 kilometres along trend from its striking T5 nickel-copper discovery near Kalgoorlie in WA. The company says the new intercept looks strikingly similar to the T5 discovery RC hole that returned 8m at 1.11 per cent nickel and 0.36 per cent copper in 2019.

ASX-listed Coda Minerals is narrowing in on a highly prospective 2km long copper-gold mineralised corridor at its Cameron River project near Mt Isa in Queensland. Systematic rock chip sampling over the Copper Weed and Rebound prospect areas have returned a bevy of high-grade results including 22.2 per cent copper and 2.74 g/t gold along with identifying several new targets.

Gold explorer, Torian Resources has upped the ante at its Mt Stirling gold project near Leonora in WA after early-stage auger vacuum drilling unveiled a 1km long gold zone, some 1.5km from its 100,000 ounce Mt Stirling gold deposit. The next day, about 10km further south, the company unearthed a bumper grade gold discovery with drilling intercepting 2m at a cracking 12.18 g/t gold.

Horizon and Metal Hawk have signed an interesting nickel rights option agreement on 12 tenements adjacent to Horizon’s Cannon gold project area approximately 20km east of Kalgoorlie. The agreement sees Horizon pick up an initial 1.5m shares in Metal Hawk with the option of another 3m more shares within 18 months and Metal Hawk taking up an option over the potentially lucrative nickel rights.

Barton Gold has revealed more stunning gold intercepts from its final 29 holes of the last drilling program at the Tarcoola gold project in the central Gawler Craton of SA including 5m at 48.9 g/t gold. The hits continue a run of success following the recent gold discoveries around the northern edges of the Perseverance pit and the gold zone discovered at Perseverance West last year.

Empire Energy is preparing to capitalise on the surging gas market after inking a transportation services memorandum of understanding with APA Transmission, a wholly owned subsidiary of APA Group. Under the agreement, the duo will explore opportunities to develop mid-stream infrastructure in the Beetaloo Sub-Basin to support the transport of hydrocarbons from Empire’s assets in the Northern Territory.

Mineral exploration company, Podium Minerals has commenced drilling two deep diamond holes to 750m to test for depth continuity of its flagship Parks Reef PGM deposit near Meekatharra in WA. The company recently delivered an updated mineral resource estimate for the project clocking in at a head-turning 40.2 million tonnes going 1.54 g/t 3E PGM for 2.2 million ounces of contained platinum, palladium and gold.

ASX newcomer, Tambourah Metals has launched an airborne gravity survey at its Julimar North project in the Wheatbelt region of WA. The survey will look to unveil ultramafic rocks prospective for nickel, copper and PGE mineralisation akin to Chalice Mining’s spectacular Julimar discovery nearby. The explorer recently pocketed $8m from an IPO for its listing on the ASX.

Middle Island Resources has been quietly beavering away, pulling together a swag of new gold prospects and a 2km long nickel anomaly at its Sandstone project in Western Australia. It has also increased its footprint around the newly discovered Crosswinds copper prospect in the Northern Territory.

88 Energy looks set to tap its Merlin-2 well that it says is prospective for some 652 million barrels of oil, after inking a deal with Doyon Drilling to use the company’s Arctic Fox rig to test the well at its Project Peregrine in the North Slope of Alaska. The company says the appraisal well has been independently assessed to have a geological success rate of 56 per cent.

ASX-listed Neometals and its joint venture partner, mega German engineering firm, SMS Group, have successfully completed commissioning of their showcase lithium-ion battery recycling demonstration plant. All leaching, purification and recovery circuits of the “Stage 2” hydrometallurgical refinery have now been successfully wet commissioned. The plant trial on electric vehicle batteries will commence as scheduled in early November.

Surefire Resources has kicked off two separate phases of RC drilling that intersected broad zones of sulphides at its Yidby Road gold deposit near the 1.1-million-ounce Minjar gold project in WA. The company peppered Yidby with 22 RC holes totalling 2,298m with a view to extending the existing Yidby deposit. Previous hits at the deposit include 40 metres going 3.01 grams per tonne gold from 24m.

Si6 Metals wasted no time smashing through 4,198m of government co-funded drilling at its Monument gold project in Laverton where 50 per cent of direct billing costs, up to $75,000 will be reimbursed to Si6 by the WA Government. Of the 126 holes drilled, 50 holes intersected the targeted high-level felsic intrusive rock suite analogous to the seven million ounce Wallaby Gold Deposit, also in the Laverton Tectonic Zone.

Buru Energy has announced an unexpected gas show above its targeted reservoir section in the highly anticipated exploration well Rafael 1. According to the company, shows of natural gas and even hydrogen and helium in a thicker than expected Anderson Sandstone immediately above the crest of the targeted structure validate an active petroleum system and trapping mechanism at the Rafael location.

Indonesian-focused explorer, Sihayo Gold has delivered more solid gold hits from regional exploration drilling at its namesake project in North Sumatra. New hits at its Hutabargot Julu target area include 10.2m at 2.5 g/t gold from 153m at the Penatapan epithermal vein gold and silver prospect. The company is seeking to unearth more ounces to add to an already impressive 1.5-million-ounce gold resource base.

Brightstar Resources has picked up some prime geological real estate contiguous to its current gold exploration land holdings near Laverton, boosting the company’s holdings in the region to a solid 300 square kilometres. The acquisition comes off the back of a recent $2.3 million placement that has given it enough funding to drill test its significant landholdings in the region.

ASX-listed gold and base metals explorer Godolphin Resources has fired up the drill rig and kicked off a fresh round of RC drilling at its high-grade Gundagai gold project in the renowned Lachlan Fold Belt in New South Wales. The company intends to plunge 11 holes into the project totalling 1,825 metres after an extensive review of historical data and rock chip sampling identified several walk-up drill targets.

Ora Banda Mining has now received all assay results from first-pass regional air-core and brownfields reverse circulation drilling programs conducted earlier this year at its Davyhurst project north of Kalgoolie. A spectacular 5m hit at almost an ounce to the tonne gold from 127m headlined the results at Victoria Workings approximately 300m north of the Mulline Rose pit.

Emu NL has unearthed a new high-grade gold discovery at the Watertank Hill gold prospect near Yalgoo in WA, representing a potential southern extension to its nearby Monte Cristo prospect. Significant gold hits at Watertank Hill include a 2 metre hit grading 9.94 grams per tonne gold from 51m including 1m grading a stellar 19.35 g/t gold from 51m.

ASX-listed Aldoro Resources says high grade rubidium and lithium has been showing up in rock chips collected from its Wyemandoo pegmatite prospect in Western Australia and rubidium values are comparable with the richest JORC compliant global rubidium deposit in Namibia. The anomalous assay data stretches over an area greater than 9km over four contiguous exploration permits which Aldoro has termed the Wyemandoo project.

DiscovEx Resources is onto some early signs of gold at its Sylvania project, 13 kilometres from Newman in WA after 90 per cent of assays returned from its phase two infill sampling program revealed several “kilometre-scale” gold anomalies with peak results of up to 0.5 grams per tonne. The company says the anomalies are coincident with favourable geology and it is now gearing up to complete additional infill and regional sampling.

Mineral exploration company, Great Southern Mining has commenced a moving loop electromagnetic survey that is looking to generate magmatic nickel sulphide drill targets across some 70 square kilometres of ground at its East Laverton nickel project in WA. The company believes the tenure to be prospective for hosting large nickel sulphide deposits geologically akin to several recent discoveries in WA, including the celebrated Nova-Bollinger discovery in the Fraser Range.

Quantum Graphite has wrapped up a diamond drilling program at its Eastern Conductor prospect near its Uley 2 resource in South Australia that it says is visually showing grades of up to 20 per cent in several drill cores. The program extends mineralisation to the east of the proposed Uley 2 pit that houses a 6.3m tonne resource grading a very respectable 11.1 per cent total graphitic content.

Buru Energy has been quietly weighing into the burgeoning hydrogen industry and has now amassed some 29,000 sq kms of ground in South Australia that it says is prospective for “natural” hydrogen. Better known for its Canning Basin oil and gas tenure, Buru’s hydrogen play in SA is unusual in that it is a naturally occurring energy source rather than a manufactured one.

Novo Resources has tabled several high-grade gold hits at its untested Genie lode-gold prospect, located within cooee of its operating Golden Eagle processing plant in the Pilbara. Best new intercepts include 8m at 4.6 g/t gold from just 26m. The new discovery may give Novo additional mill feed options at its nearby conglomerate gold mine as it awaits approval to mine the fresh rock from its Beatons Creek project.

Aruma Resources has received the tick of approval to drill its Mount Deans lithium-tantalum project after its “program of work” was approved for actioning. A heritage survey is now the final hurdle before Aruma can unleash a rig at the exciting WA lithium project. The project sits within WA’s ‘lithium corridor’ 120 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie that has previously identified spodumene mineralisation along 1.4km strike.

Junior explorer, Native Mineral Resources has put its foot on what looks to be a compelling exploration tenement prospective for copper, gold, zinc, lead and silver, some 100 kilometres west of Cairns in north Queensland. The property is host to a mineralised breccia pipe, curiously named the “Maneater Breccia”, where a single historical drill hole intercepted more than 300 metres of sulphides down-hole.