Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

ASX-listed junior explorer St George Mining is set to kick off a seismic survey next week across an under-explored western portion of the “Cathedrals Belt” at its joint ventured Mt Alexander nickel-copper sulphide project in WA’s north-Eastern Goldfields region. The Perth-based company will be looking to map the host intrusive structures in the western area, where new electromagnetic conductors have been recently encountered.

Results from new metallurgical testwork on sample material from the 132N and Munda nickel deposits at ASX-listed Neometals’ Mt Edwards nickel sulphide project in WA’s world-class Widgiemooltha nickel province are said to have confirmed the project’s potential to deliver commercially acceptable nickel concentrates. The presence and recoverability of palladium from the deposits also points to a possible additional revenue source.

Oar Resources appears to have grown the target area of its exciting Gibraltar kaolin-halloysite find on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia after identifying new zones of bright-white kaolin away from the initial discovery, including a large 5km-by-2.5km zone associated with granite basement rocks to the south-west. Initial XRF analysis has highlighted a 5m section going at 80 ISO-B brightness from 17m with results from more detailed XRD analysis pending.

ASX-listed base and precious metals explorer PolarX is aiming to get a drill rig into action soon at its Humboldt Range silver-gold project in Nevada, USA, after outlining several substantial, high-grade epithermal silver-gold anomalies at its Fourth of July claims. A major 3.5km-long anomaly has been identified grading up to 186g/t silver in the soils and with rock-chips going at more than 1,000g/t silver and 10g/t gold.

Aruma Resources has sniffed out a trio of encouraging historical shallow gold hits from drilling carried out almost a quarter of a century ago at its Scotia South gold project about 60km south of Norseman in WA. The intercepts were 7m grading 2.71 g/t gold from 36m including 5m at 3.48 g/t, 3m going at 3.02 g/t from 9m and 1m at 5.6 g/t from 51m down-hole.

ASX-listed explorer Venus Metals has launched into an air-core drilling campaign at its Henderson gold-nickel project in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia where it is targeting structurally controlled gold associated with two fault zones crossing the tenure. Several historical gold operations believed to be related to the faults lie near the project including a 322,000-ounce resource just 15km away.

High purity alumina hopeful Altech Chemicals has set up a dedicated research, development and testwork laboratory in Perth as it looks to refine its graphite and silicon particle battery materials HPA coating technology. The company says the almost fully operational laboratory, previously occupied by an environmental consulting business, has been in a commissioning phase since May this year and was easily converted to meet its requirements.

Galan Lithium’s share price has touched an all-time high after a second look at its pond design determined it might be able to squeeze up to 25,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent annually out its Hombre Muerto West lithium brine project in South America’s renowned Lithium Triangle, rather than the originally contemplated 20,000 tonnes per annum.

WA-based technology company Neometals has announced a key step in its lithium-ion battery recycling efforts, with commissioning of a demonstration plant with its German joint venture partner. Its unique recycling process aims to recover cobalt, nickel, lithium and copper from spent batteries for reuse. Demonstration plant results will inform the joint venture’s decision to develop a commercial recycling plant.

ASX-listed heavy rare earth explorer and producer Northern Minerals has kicked off vital resource drilling at its advanced Browns Range project in WA’s north. The planned 12,000m of reverse circulation drilling is aimed at defining new resources and reserves ahead of next year’s project bankable feasibility study and final investment decision on a commercial-scale operation.

Estrella Resources has served up several nickel-copper sulphide hits at its exciting T5 discovery near the historical Carr Boyd Rocks mine north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Results include 13.4 metres at 1.3 per cent nickel and 0.4 per cent copper from 392m. The company plans to test the extent of the T5 basal contact which hosts the mineralisation at T5 and Carr Boyd Rocks.

Extensional RC drilling by ASX-listed Kingwest Resources has delivered a slew of cracking high-grade gold hits in auriferous shoots outside the existing mineral resource at its multi-deposit Menzies gold project in WA. The pick of the new intersections from the recently completed program was 26m at an average grade of 4.56 grams per tonne gold from 158m including 2m at 49.49 g/t from 169m.

Kula Gold says it has achieved a “major technical breakthrough” in its hunt for significant new Archean lode-style gold deposits in unexplored terrane next to gold mines between Southern Cross and Nevoria in WA that have underpinned regional production of 15 million ounces of gold at grades between 3 and 5 grams per tonne. Drilling has picked up Archean greenstones where none were previously mapped.

ASX-listed aspiring central Africa lithium developer AVZ Minerals has poured $40 million into its coffers via a “heavily oversubscribed” capital raise, paving the way for the company to increase its ownership stake in its flagship Manono lithium and tin project in the DRC to 75 per cent. Funds from the share placement will also help advance early project capital works.

As it closes in on a fresh mineral resource estimate for its flagship Parks Reef project in WA, PGMs explorer Podium Minerals has served up a cluster of high-grade assays from a recent resource extension reverse circulation drilling program. The pick of the drill intersections from the first batch of results received for the “stage seven” round of 27 holes totalling 4,157m came from one hole.

ASX-listed Buru Energy has spudded the onshore Currajong 1 exploration oil well targeting 28 million barrels of conventional oil in the Canning Basin in the north of Western Australia. A second well, Rafael 1, targeting 69 million barrels of oil is set to follow with a seismic program to define new prospects for future drilling also on the horizon.

Native Mineral Resources is to focus exploration on its core Music Well gold project in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia and its Palmerville copper project in North Queensland after divesting its non-core Mt Morgan copper-gold project south of Rockhampton in Queensland to ASX-listed GBM Resources. The two core projects have been delivering bumper grade samples including 129 grams per tonne gold at Music Well.

Aldoro Resources is poised to kick-off drilling at its Narndee project, east of Paynes Find in Western Australia. The company owns a strategic ground holding over the underexplored terrane, with recent work outlining two high-priority nickel-copper-PGE targets that have now been flagged for drill testing in addition to the recent discovery of a potential lithium-bearing pegmatite swarm on the company’s nearby Windimurra tenure.

Technology Metals Australia’s two-step strategy to bring its Yarrabubba magnetite iron ore and vanadium project south of Meekatharra in Western Australia to life ahead of developing its nearby Gabanintha vanadium project, said to be one of the highest-grade undeveloped vanadium deposits in the world, is motoring along. The company has progressed a suite of activities as a definitive feasibility study on Yarrabubba nears completion.

ASX-listed Troy Resources has attracted global gold major Barrick Gold Corp into its large Karouni gold project in Guyana. A new joint venture agreement will see Barrick target tier-one gold finds in the southern part of Troy’s ground, including around the exciting Potaro prospect, while the Australian company continues to explore and develop in the north.

Alaskan oil and gas explorer/developer 88 Energy now has a full treasury and no debt after closing the recently flagged early sale of state oil and gas tax credits worth US$18.7 million to a US company. 88 Energy now has about A$15m in the tin to accelerate exploration in Alaska where it is targeting more than one billion barrels of gross mean prospective oil resources.

Neometals has taken the shrewd step of demerging its Mt Edwards nickel sulphide project near Kambalda in Western Australia into a new company, Widgie Nickel, which will seek to list on the ASX. Management says the move will benefit shareholders by providing a dedicated nickel-focused entity to advance Mt Edwards, whilst Neometals can focus on its core battery recycling and vanadium extraction businesses.

Aruma Resources is set to increase its tenement holdings at its Saltwater gold project in WA’s Pilbara region. Its application for an adjoining exploration licence covers the “prospective” Spinifex dome structure north-west of the project’s fertile Saltwater structure. The company’s recent drilling at Saltwater points to what it suggests is a potential new gold camp analogous to Kalamazoo Resources’ Mt Olympus gold deposit to the west.

Lithium Australia has confirmed exploration asset sale and joint venture terms with fledgling base and precious metal explorer Charger Metals, which has obtained conditional approval to list on the ASX after its $6 million IPO closed oversubscribed. Lithium Australia will retain 30 per cent of three JV exploration projects in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Ora Banda Mining’s retiring managing director David Quinlivan has officially handed over the MD’s baton to Peter Nicholson, who has been in the CEO’s chair for the past three months. Mr Quinlivan will now switch to being a non-executive director of the company. The executive leadership transition comes after Mr Quinlivan played an instrumental role in reviving Ora Banda’s Davyhurst mine about 120km north-west of Kalgoorlie.

Classic Minerals has hit paydirt at Kat Gap in Western Australia with infill and extensional drilling across its evolving resource area intersecting uber high-grade gold mineralisation. Results include the company’s best ever intercept of an impressive 10 metres at 40.54 grams per tonne gold. That drill hit featured an interval of 0.5m going at an astonishing 592 g/t from only 26.5m down-hole.

ASX-listed Venture Minerals has been buoyed by star stock market performer and joint venture partner Chalice Mining’s newly identified electromagnetic anomalies at the so-called “Julimar look-alike” target at the duo’s South West nickel-copper-PGE project about 240km south of Perth. Punters responded positively to the initial EM anomalies defined by Chalice’s early work, pushing Venture’s share price up almost 15 per cent in trading today.

Lithium Australia has announced that it has been granted a European patent for its in-house LieNA lithium processing technology, said to significantly improve metallurgical recovery of lithium from fine and low-grade spodumene for use in the production of lithium-ion batteries. Improved lithium recoveries boost profit and can reduce both the footprint and environmental impact of mining to enhance sustainability.

Neometals has delivered significant increases in contained nickel resources at its Mt Edwards project near Kambalda in WA. A bumper 51 per cent jump at the 26N deposit and 45 per cent lift for the McEwen deposits have contributed to a hike in global resources at the former mine to 162,510 contained nickel tonnes grading at an average 1.6 per cent.

Si6 Metals has identified numerous targets for drill testing along three newly confirmed geophysical anomalies at its Airstrip copper-silver prospect in eastern Botswana. Si6 is now eyeing up a drilling campaign to test the targets at depth. Historical drill hits at Airstrip include an eye-catching 8m at 10.39 per cent copper and 630 grams per tonne silver from 52m.

Okapi Resources says wet weather won’t stop the ASX-listed junior explorer completing the maiden drilling program at its Enmore gold project in New South Wales within the next two weeks. Nearly 770m in six of 8-10 planned holes have been drilled so far as the company follows up promising drill results from 20 years ago at two priority target areas.

CZR Resources has committed to a DFS on the proposed development of its Robe Mesa iron ore project in WA’s Pilbara region. The company says the study will evaluate the mining, haulage and export of Robe Mesa direct shipping ore, with the latter to also be weighed up with a port facility being developed at Beadon Creek in Onslow as an alternative to Port Hedland.