Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

Impact Minerals has rung in the new year with an intriguing drill hit of 138m grading 0.3 g/t 3PGM from surface at its Broken Hill nickel-copper-3PGM project in NSW. The drill hit along the southern margin of its Red Hill prospect included 12m at 1.5 g/t 3PGM, 0.3 per cent nickel and 0.2 per cent copper from 103m down-hole.

Oar Resources has lit up more than twenty targets at its Crown nickel project, just ten kilometres west of WA’s prominent Julimar nickel-PGE discovery. A detailed evaluation of the regional geophysical datasets at Crown has revealed a wealth of structural and geological targets, which stretch along more than 15km of strike in a terrane that has developed into one of Australia’s most sought-after exploration addresses.

ASX-listed West Africa gold explorer, Mako Gold has expanded its footprint in the fertile auriferous terrane in Côte d’lvoire receiving approval from the country’s Ministry of Mines for the Ouangolodougou permit area. The newly granted permit together with the company’s existing Korhogo Nord permit will now constitute its Korhogo gold project.

Gawler Craton-focused gold hopeful, Indiana Resources has commenced RC drilling at its Minos gold prospect in South Australia where it plans to pump 1,500m of test holes into the Lake Labyrinth Shear Zone, following up historical gold hits including 12m at 10.36 g/t, 24m at 2.18 g/t and 6m at a healthy 12.37 g/t.

AVZ Minerals has received a ringing endorsement of its green credentials, with an independent study of the company’s developing Manono lithium operation in Africa suggesting the aspiring producer may boast one of the lowest carbon footprints of any hard rock lithium mine in the world. The company’s proposed minimisation and offset program may result in close to zero greenhouse gas emissions.

ASX-listed explorer, White Cliff Minerals’ maiden RC drilling program at its historic Reedy South gold project near Cue in WA’s Murchison Goldfields has returned some encouraging initial gold sniffs including seven metres at an average grade of 3.16 grams per tonne from 53m depth, 11m at 2.29 g/t from 21m, 16m at 1.74 g/t from 72m and 7m at 1.5 g/t from 48m.

Venture Minerals has jumped on voracious investor appetite for iron ore players to raise $10 million in an equity placement, with the bulk of the funds set to be funnelled into its Riley hematite project in north-west Tasmania. The company received commitments from sophisticated, professional and institutional investors for the capital raise via the placement of 181.81 million new Venture shares.

Delecta Limited has joined the hunt for gold in the United States, picking up the Speedway gold project in western Utah. The company’s latest acquisition is situated in the Great Basin district, which boasts a total endowment of more than 200 million ounces of gold. The company’s sampling program has already returned several anomalous results including assays of 1.24 g/t gold and 43.8 g/t silver.

Horizon Minerals has wasted little time shaking off any festive season cobwebs and fired up the drill bit again as it edges closer to finalising a feasibility study on the potential development of its Boorara gold project near Kalgoorlie. The company has resumed its massive exploration campaign targeting a multitude of advanced and early-stage prospects within 75km of the proposed Boorara gold processing plant site.

Lithium Australia is confident an evolution in the global electric vehicle industry will underpin a 500 per cent expansion in the lithium-ferro-phosphate type, lithium-ion battery market within the next 10 years and is preparing to reap the windfall. The company’s subsidiary, VSPC has successfully developed new lithium-ion battery cells using lithium ferro phosphate, under its patented processing technology developing advanced cathode powders.

ASX-listed West Africa gold explorer, Mako Gold, has added a second drill rig to its workforce in a significant expansion of its gold exploration program around the Gogbala and Tchaga prospects at its flagship Napié project in Côte d’Ivoire. The second RC/DD drill rig will target geophysical anomalies mapped up along a 5km portion of a 23km long soil/auger anomaly running through its Napié tenement.

Lindian Resources has been buoyed by the successful results of screening test work done on high-grade sample ores from the Bouba conglomerate bauxite deposit at its Gaoual project in Guinea. The company says the simple dry screening process used significantly reduced the levels of the silica impurity and delivered an increase in the aluminium oxide grade in high-grade conglomerate ore samples, with minimal loss of tonnage.

Horizon Minerals has cleared a $4 million debt with Germany-headquartered investment group, Sparta with the early repayment of $4.6 million, including interest, courtesy of a successful trial gold production campaign at its flagship Boorara gold project near Kalgoorlie. The contract mining and toll milling exercise has also delivered “important” grade reconciliation data for the consolidated feasibility study on Boorara currently being undertaken by Horizon.

Barton Gold has landed a major concession by the South Australian government with the Tunkillia gold project being granted “new mine” status. New mine status will reduce the effective royalty rate payable to the government on any gold production from 3.5 per cent to 2 per cent, potentially delivering a multi-million dollar saving to the company and an additional incentive to expedite a move to production.

Australian Bauxite’s 89 per cent-owned chemical refining subsidiary, Alcore has clinched the services of Dr Mark Cooksey as its Chief Executive Officer after he filled the position on a leave arrangement with national science agency, the CSIRO. Australian Bauxite says Dr Cooksey’s appointment is a shot in the arm for Alcore’s efforts to commercialise a new process for aluminium fluoride production.

Aspiring ASX-listed heavy rare earths developer Northern Minerals, has delivered on its pre-Christmas plan with 8,500m of RC drilling at its Browns Range project in WA’s East Kimberley region. The results produced some solid hits including 9m at 0.54 per cent TREO from 53m downhole and 11m at 0.37 per cent TREO from 52m in two separate holes at its greenfield Toad prospect.

Si6 Metals has kicked off an RC drilling program at its Monument gold project about 40km west of Laverton in WA following an encouraging reconnaissance rock chip sampling program. The latter returned several high-grade values including 39.3 g/t gold, 25.8 g/t, 21.3 g/t and 13.15 g/t from the Fred’s Well prospect, and 21.5 g/t, 15.15 g/t, 15.15 g/t and 10 g/t at the Perseverance prospect.

The potential of Legend Mining’s Mawson nickel sulphide discovery in WA’s Fraser Range continues to impress, with ongoing exploration expanding the footprint of the main prospect area and locating a look-a-like target a mere 2km to the south. The scene is set for a bumper year ahead for the company with recent results producing some of Mawson’s best nickel sulphide intercepts to date.

Aspiring nickel developer, Blackstone Minerals is set to spin out its Australian and US gold assets as it continues to focus the development on its Ta Khoa nickel sulphide operations in Vietnam. The company has flagged the listing of a new vehicle on the Australian Securities Exchange, based on a package of gold assets in the coveted goldfields of Western Australia.

Victory Mines has moved to full ownership of its flagship Coogee gold project in WA, with the company issuing of $1 million in shares to the company’s former joint venture partner in the project, mid-tier gold miner Ramelius Resources. The company is already capitalising on its new ownership in the high-grade project and is knee deep in a follow up drilling program across the gold-bearing Coogee Shear.

Venus Metals Corporation has jagged a couple of high-grade gold hits from a round of reconnaissance drilling at the Range View prospect nearby its Bellchambers deposit as part of its historic Sandstone gold project in WA. Notable intersections at Range View were 11m grading 4.69 g/t gold from 12m including 1m at 38.92 g/t from 20m and 5m at 9.03 g/t from 18m.

Venus Metals Corporation has returned a swag of high-grade drill hits from its Youanmi gold project in WA. A relentless drilling campaign over the resurgent project continues to deliver an abundance of gold hits including 12 metres at 6.54 grams per tonne gold from only 28 metres and 2m at 11.81 g/t gold from 53m down-hole at the new the Link discovery.

Set to be one of WA’s next gold miners, Calidus Resources has been buoyed by a clutch of solid RC infill drilling results at its under-construction stand-alone Warrawoona gold mining and processing operation in WA’s East Pilbara region that have exceeded the project’s average ore reserves grade of one gram per tonne gold.

ASX-listed Eclipse Metals has pounced on a unique opportunity in southern Greenland, securing ownership of the Ivittuut cryolite mine and its associated infrastructure. Cryolite is a specialty mineral that is used as a fluxing agent in the production of aluminium, greatly reducing energy consumption through the smelting process, however the deposit also contains a potential treasure trove of accessory minerals.

ASX-listed agribusiness developer, Alterra has tabled a double-digit IRR feasibility study for the 30-year life span of its planned 300-hectare Carpenters Avocado project near Pemberton in the South West region of Western Australia. The company also said construction of a 4.1 gigalitre dam to irrigate the project had commenced with the first 50-hectare planting due this year, subject to funding.

Emu NL has kicked off its 2021 drilling campaign at the Gnows Nest gold project in WA. The company has commenced a 9,000-metre reverse circulation across the historical mining area which is aimed at validating and building on the existing high-grade resource over the Gnows Nest mine and to begin testing the extensive gold mineralisation at the Monte Cristo prospect to the north.

Lithium Australia has entered into a joint venture with Galan Lithium that sees the latter pick up an 80 per cent stake in the Greenbushes South lithium project from Lithium Australia. As a result of the JV deal, Lithium Australia retains a 20 per cent free carried exposure to the lithium commodity while also freeing up cash to advance its downstream and battery technology projects.

ASX-listed gold and base metals explorer, Middle Island Resources has expanded its ground position surrounding the surface copper oxide mineralisation discovered at its 100 per cent-owned Barkly copper-gold project in the NT’s East Tennant mineral district. The company has broadened its footprint around the recent Crosswinds copper discovery by 26 per cent to a colossal 4,411 square kilometres by applying for two new tenements.

Mako Gold has started the new year with a bevy of more bonanza gold drill hits at the Tchaga prospect as part of its flagship Napie gold project in Côte d’Ivoire. The latest set of assays from the company’s continuing 10,000m RC and diamond drilling program were punctuated by a cracking 41m going 4.51 g/t gold from 17m and 1m at 107 g/t from 71m.

AVZ Minerals has taken another decisive step towards production, with the company’s metallurgical test work successfully generating a high-purity lithium sulphate product for potential use in the production of lithium-ion batteries. The current testing program forms a key part of the development program over its Manono lithium-tin project in the central Africa, which is also assessing the viability of downstream processing at the evolving operation.

Okapi Resources has completed due diligence on the historic Enmore gold project 30 kilometres south-east of Armidale nearby the recently revived Hillgrove gold-antimony mine in north-eastern NSW and decided to press ahead with the staged acquisition of the asset. Enmore boasts a pair of advanced walk-up drill targets that have returned high-grade gold values from rock chip sampling work and drilling undertaken by previous owners.

Comet Resources has kicked an early goal in 2021 with initial field work across its Barraba base-metal project in NSW returning high-grade copper assays. Surface sampling at the historic Murchison mine has unearthed samples grading up to 4.6 per cent copper, 4.0 per cent zinc and 0.7 per cent cobalt, confirming the high-grade nature of the mineralisation across the prospect.