Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

Chimeric Therapeutics has successfully secured the manufacturing of a key tool for cell therapy targeting gastrointestinal and neuroendocrine tumours as the company gets set for a clinical trial. Management says by securing the supply of “viral vectors” it has successfully navigated one of the most critical and challenging components of the manufacture of its “CAR T” cell therapy Chimeric is now focused on advancing its treatment to a first phase clinical trial.

Infinity Mining has landed strong gold results over a 200m strike from the first five RC drill holes in its latest campaign. Assays from the first five RC drill holes at the company’s Victor Bore project include 7m at 1.96 g/t gold from 32m, 6m going 1.4 g/t gold from 25m with best individual 1m intersections of 8.67 g/t from 34m and 7.33g/t gold from 29m. Infinity wrapped up 37 RC drill holes at five historical gold mine prospects on its ground near Leonora in the Central Goldfields of WA.

Lindian Resources continues to pull impressive assays from its Kangankunde project in Malawi with the latest drill results highlighting a 3m hit at a whopping 15.6 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) from 69m. The high-grade intercept is contained within a larger 26m section grading 6.15 per cent TREO from 58m and includes a 1m segment at a head-turning 18.76 per cent TREO from 71m.

ASX-listed Neometals’ latest feasibility study into its Vanadium Recovery Project in Finland has shown a significant increase to the operation’s net present value compared to its preliminary investigations. The latest figures show a 40 per cent increase to pre-tax net present value up to $US323 million compared to $US230 million identified in the prefeasibility study completed in May 2021.

Strickland Metals will commence drilling at its Iriquois base metals project in WA’s Earaheedy Basin with a minimum of three diamond holes after the company developed a new geological model for the site. The campaign will target the site’s currently untested “feeder structure” to the zinc-lead mineralisation that the company believes could be enriched with silver and copper. Strickland’s latest modelling for the system suggests the potential for a much larger copper-zinc-silver-lead mineralisation than previously estimated.

Askari Metals has kicked off phase 2 drilling at a key tenement that forms part of its Uis lithium project in Namibia after an ongoing mapping and sampling program highlighted untested pegmatites at the site. The campaign began late last month and aims to investigate a number of recently discovered pegmatites reported to have visible lithium mineralisation at surface. Askari says the latest RC drill program will cover a minimum of 4000m with four holes already completed and assay results from phase 1 drilling expected in coming weeks.

Everest Metals will focus on a slew of conductor targets with a new deep drilling campaign at its Revere gold project near Meekatharra and along strike from Sandfire Resources’ DeGrussa copper-gold mine. The company says the upcoming campaign will aim to intersect volcanic hosted massive sulphide copper-gold mineralisation down to a depth of around 300m and similar in geology to the famed DeGrussa deposit.

Minerals explorer Surefire Resources has been buoyed by an impressive independent estimate which has at least doubled the amount of vanadium it has lurking in its wholly owned Victory Bore-Unaly Hill project. The company says the global exploration target estimate for the entire vanadium project is a whopping 682 million tonnes to 1.19 billion tonnes at 0.2 percent to 0.43 percent vanadium pentoxide.

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has unveiled its maiden mineral resource for the company’s La Mascotte gold deposit near Kalgoorlie of 3.61 million tonnes at 1.19 grams per tonne gold for a total of 138,000 gold ounces. The modelled resource footprint measures 700m north-south by 500m east-west and 140m below surface. KalGold says the deposit remains open at depth at a cutoff grade of 0.6 g/t gold with recently identified targets offering an opportunity for resource growth.

Sydney-based oil and gas company Empire Energy Group is one step closer to production. The company has recently put its Carpentaria-3H well through its paces by testing flow pressure and now are sealing the off the well to increase those numbers and recovery over the life of the well. Empire has the largest acreage holding in the giant Beetaloo Basin gas province in Australia’s top end.

Venture Minerals has won the right to truck iron ore around the clock from its Riley mine to the port of Burnie in Tasmania after the state’s Supreme Court overturned all three grounds of a legal challenge. The initial challenge by the Tarkine National Coalition was directed at the Tasmanian Environment Protection Authority who had previously granted approval for 24-hour trucking movements from Venture’s Riley iron ore mine. 

Galan Lithium has kicked off a 2500m drilling program targeting lithium-bearing pegmatites. The campaign at its Greenbushes South lithium project is just 3km from the world-class Greenbushes lithium mine in WA. In August last year the company’s soil sampling and geophysical survey at the site uncovered a number of anomalies demanding further investigation.

Medical technology company Radiopharm Theranostics has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Pharma15 Corporation – a US-based company focused on therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals to treat prostate cancer. Pharma15 is developing products that aim to overcome resistance to prostate-specific membrane antigen targeting cancer therapies currently available or in late-stage development.

CZR Resources has its sights set on more resource growth at its Robe Mesa iron ore development in the Pilbara after acquiring an adjoining tenement to Rio Tinto’s Mesa F project from Fortescue. After acquiring the ground CZR has expanded its strike length of the company’s P529 deposit to 1.1km. The deposit is only five kilometres from CZR’s 45.2 million tonne Robe Mesa iron ore project.

Neometals has executed a slew of agreements to secure the company 50 per cent ownership of joint venture company Recycling Industries Scandinavia AB to develop the first Finnish vanadium recovery project. The balance of RISAB equity is held by unlisted Australian mineral development company Critical Metals whilst Neometals holds approximately 19 per cent of Critical’s issued capital.

NSW focused explorer Godolphin Resources has tabled rock chip assays from around historic workings at its Cyclops and Goodrich prospects with exceptional grade copper along with strong gold, silver, lead, molybdenum and zinc to boot. Additional rock chip assays from old workings at the nearby Goodrich prospect also returned high grade copper with bonus molybdenum, again with elevated gold, silver, lead and zinc.

ASX-listed cell therapy company Chimeric Therapeutics has begun treatment of the first brain cancer patient in the fourth dose cohort in its phase 1 clinical trial of the company’s CHM 1101 cell treatment. Comprehensive cancer centre The City of Hope, one of the largest cancer research and treatment organisations in the United States, initiated and is leading the trial.

Infinity Mining has identified a host of valuable minerals from reconnaissance rock chip sampling at its Hillside project in the Pilbara including anomalous results for copper, molybdenum, gold and silver. Samples returned values of up to 4539 parts-per-million copper, 1198ppm molybdenum, 0.68 grams per tonne gold and 14 g/t silver. The exploration program also identified a partially covered copper-stained quartz vein in granite on the western side of the operation over around 170m.

Joint venture partners Venus Metals and Rox Resources have hit bonanza-grade results from an RC hole sunk into their Youanmi South prospect including a 3m intercept at almost five ounces per tonne gold from 218m. The outstanding 138.7 g/t gold hit was contained in a wider 28m segment grading more than an ounce per tonne at 34.81 g/t gold from 204m and includes an 18m section going 51.96 g/t from 207m and 10m at 79.55 g/t from 211m.

WA-based oil producer Triangle Energy has signed a binding farm-out agreement with Talon Energy for two onshore gas permits in the Perth Basin after all conditions of the deal were met. The transaction includes the first of two payments towards a 50 per cent share in the 3D seismic dataset known as “Bookara” which stretches across the two permits that were delivered in January. However, final interpretation, mapping and prospect evaluation of the data is ongoing.

ASX-listed Reach Resources is gearing up for an exploration blitz across its Gascoyne tenements following the immediate appointment of experienced geologist Steve Vallance as the company’s Exploration Manager. The explorer recently acquired the Morrissey Hill lithium project, the Camel Hill rare earths project and the White Castles manganese project located in and around existing exploration hotspots in the region.

Galan Lithium has delivered an average grade of 829 milligrams per litre lithium brine in results to a depth of 455m at its Santa Barbara exploration well in Argentina. The results which come from part of the company’s Hombre Muerto West project are at the highest end of lithium brine results achieved so far. Galan says it has the highest grade and lowest impurity lithium brine assets in Argentina and has commenced a fourth production well at its wholly owned project.

Valor Resources has been given Peruvian Government approval to drill up to 120 drill holes across multiple targets at its Picha copper project. The company has been eager to get the drill bit spinning ever since rock chip samples returned up to 7.4 per cent copper and channel samples delivered 13.1m at 1.38 per cent copper and 24m grading 1.08 per cent at the porphyry copper-silver project. Detailed program planning is due to commence shortly.

ASX-listed explorer 88 Energy has reached another milestone in a major Alaskan oil basin. The company has received formal approval over the formation of its Toolik River Unit which comprises leases within the western and central area of Project Phoenix. Grouping the leases together allows 88 Energy to push ahead with further exploration in the Alaska North Slope oil field and investigate pathways to development.

AVZ Minerals continues to record impressive assays from its Manono lithium and tin project in the Democratic Republic of Congo including a whopping 113m hit at 1.79 per cent lithium from 65.1m. The massive intercept was from one of four diamond drill holes sunk into the company’s Roche Dure north-east extension and also included 860 parts-per-million tin in addition to a higher grade zone with a 36m section going 2.06 per cent lithium and 887ppm tin from 141m.

Battery metals company Lithium Australia has boosted revenue by more than 40 per cent in the second half of calendar year 2022 compared to the corresponding period in 2021. The WA-based ASX-listed company, whose interests encompass several aspects of the so-called “green energy revolution”, also slashed its losses in that same period according to the company’s latest half-year accounts.

DiscovEx Resources is set to offload its Gooroo project in WA’s Murchison region after entering into an option agreement to sell off the prospective gold and copper tenure to fellow explorer Cooper Metals. The Perth-based explorer will continue to focus its exploration efforts on its portfolio of precious and base metal projects that are scattered across the state.

ASX-listed Infinity Mining continues to shore up its Pilbara operations after securing a five-year exploration licence extension for another of the key tenements that forms part of its Hillside project. The company is currently undertaking a detailed open-file review and geophysical interpretation over the site with reconnaissance mapping and surface sampling planned for this year’s field season.

Image Resources has upgraded its Bidaminna mineral sands project with a seven per cent resource increase to 109 million tonnes and a whopping 15 per cent increase in grade to 2.5 per cent total heavy minerals. Total contained heavy minerals also increased 23 per cent to 2.8 million tonnes. Bidimanna is part of the company’s existing profitable mineral sands operation approximately 120km north of Perth.

Perth-based industrial piping disruptor Polyline Pipe Systems believes its innovative method of producing “HDPE” poly pipes on site can help resources companies ease the current scourge of runaway prices bedevilling their sector. Polyline says its MPX630 mobile pipe extruder can reduce the conventional process to just three steps: on-site manufacture, a single weld at the end of a continuous pipe length and trench or surface installation as required.

ASX-listed Alaskan oil explorer 88 Energy is one step closer to tapping into the massive Alaska North Slope oil basin. As ice pad construction nears completion, the company remains on track for the Hickory-1 well to spud in early March, testing over the next month its six targets in the company’s Phoenix acreage that is estimated to hold 647 million barrels of oil.

Adriatic Metals is continuing to score goals at its Vares silver project, extending known mineralisation whilst pressing to identify more resources from its prospective tenements in Bosnia and Herzegovina.