Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

Uranium and gold explorer Okapi Resources has appointed former Newmont and LionOre executive Brian Hill to the role of Chairman, replacing Peretz Schapiro who helped engineer Okapi’s turnaround over the last year. Hill has a solid domestic and international record of building mining companies into significant acquisition targets.

Classic Minerals has entered into a joint venture treaty with Tribitrage Holdings that will see the company offload 80 per cent of its lithium interest rights at two Kat Gap mining tenements in WA. Under the agreement, Tribitrage will cough up $300,000 to claim a majority stake and will be required to spend $500,000 on exploration within the first 2 years.

Perth Basin operator Triangle Energy is heading into 2022 with a completely refreshed board of directors led by new managing director Conrad Todd after his appointment this week to steer the company. The departures of shareholder Tamarind Energy and founding managing director Rob Towner earlier this month kicked off the renewal process.

Oil and gas producer and explorer Empire Energy has booked its maiden contingent resource and significantly lifted all other estimates for its Beetaloo Basin assets in the Northern Territory after its successful 2021 drilling and testing operations on the Carpentaria project area. An independent consultant reported an 866 per cent upgrade to its mid-range estimates figure as 396 billion cubic feet, or “bcf” up from the previously modest 41bcf.

ASX-listed explorer PolarX’s Humboldt Range gold-silver project in Nevada looks to be screaming out to be drilled as strong sampling results confirm a large and highly promising target. The Perth-based company is in the final stages of securing a rig to sink some holes into what is fast becoming a high priority project at the Black Canyon lode claim.

AVZ Minerals has announced the expeditated completion of a US$240m cornerstone investment from Chinese operator Suzhou CATH Energy Technologies for its Manono lithium-tin project in the Democratic Republic of Congo. According to the company the agreement provides certainty of funding to progress the venture, pending the award of a mining licence and collaboration development agreement from the local government.

Junior explorer Valor Resources has met its first-year expenditure and cash payment commitments under a farm-in agreement where it is looking to take an 80 per cent stake in the Hook Lake uranium project located 60 kilometres east of the Key Lake uranium mine in northern Saskatchewan in Canada. Expenditure by Valor has now exceeded the C$750,000 requirement set out in the farm-in agreement.

ASX-listed Wiluna Mining is ticking off milestones after confirming the first shipment of gold concentrate to its two off-take partners, Polymetal International and Trafigura. The company says the maiden supply forms part of an ongoing delivery that could significantly spike its revenue and assist in financing its transition towards becoming a top tier gold producer.

Venture Minerals is scrubbing up its Tasmanian tin-tungsten play in rapid fire after drilling at its Mount Lindsay project rattled off a clutch of exemplary results including a monster 119.2 metre intersection grading 0.8 per cent tin and 0.2 per cent tungsten from 75.8m. Remarkably, Venture says the hole is still open and that it is still awaiting additional assay results.

Image Resources’ major shareholder, Chinese backed Murray Zircon is looking to show the existing board and management the door despite three solid and profitable years at the mineral sands miner. Murray Zircon has lobbed a section 249D notice over the wall seeking to remove the directors and its largest beneficial shareholder, LB Group is working the phones looking for support for the 249D – the key question however is why?

Horizon Minerals has unearthed a mixed bag of geological goodies at its Yarmany project near Coolgardie. Initial drill results confirm gold, nickel-cobalt-copper, silver, lead, zinc and even lithium mineralisation to be present, opening up a grab bag of opportunities for the gold developer. The Yarmany project sits around 25 kilometres northwest of Coolgardie and takes in some 400km2 along the prospective Mt Ida Fault and Reptile shear zone.

Kairos Minerals has eked out an extensive lithium-in-soil anomaly at its Roe Hills project some 120km east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. With the white metal running red hot and the emerging discovery of Breaker Resources’ Manna Lithium deposit only 10km up the road, the company cast its eye back over the results of a 2020 soil sampling program and discovered the intriguing anomaly stretching over 2.7km.

Oar Resources is making headway at its wholly owned Crown project, about 70 kilometres north east of Perth, after finalising plans for an airborne geophysical mapping survey at the site. The project is considered highly prospective for nickel, copper and platinum group elements and is on the doorstep of Chalice Mining’s much-lauded Gonneville polymetallic discovery.

Meeka Gold Limited has discovered a new, shallow lying oxide gold lode amongst a slew of other high grade hits, adding to the company’s ongoing success with the drill bit at its Murchison gold project in WA. Excellent shallow intercepts from recent drilling include 16 metres grading 6.67 grams per tonne gold from just 20m downhole with a 4m internal section going 24.1g/t gold.

If billionaire “prospector” Mark Creasy has the Midas touch when it comes to divining lucrative mineral deposits, Paul Hopper just might be the man who wields the mythical rod of Asclepius - the Greek God of medicine - when it comes to the equally lucrative ASX-listed biotechnology space. By any measure Hopper has experienced success listing and developing biotech companies on the ASX – and the last year was a good one.

Classic Minerals has only one hurdle left to clear now to develop its Kat Gap gold mine near Southern Cross after being given a permit to clear native vegetation for its mine and processing plant in WA’s goldfields. The company only needs regulatory approval for its mining proposal now including the mine closure plan before it can kick its operation into gear.

Strickland Metals’ second-string Iroquois project in the northern goldfields is continuing to jostle attention away from its better addressed Yandal greenstone belt Strickland stablemates, the Horse Well and Millrose projects. Iroquois has been throwing up some impressive zinc hits to back up last year’s initial discovery and it appears that Strickland now has yet another serious project on its books.

ASX-listed explorer Zuleika Gold is set to embark on major expansionary drilling programs across its Kalgoorlie gold projects. After a significant effort in 2021, the company is gearing up to plough an additional 20,000 metres into the ground for what will ultimately be a serious 40,000m campaign over two years for the Mark Creasy backed junior.

ASX-listed American West Metals has made a promising start to its US metals hunt after spotting extensive visual zinc and copper mineralisation in the first diamond hole at its West Desert project in Utah. The discovery forms part of an inaugural 7,500 metre probe at the project aimed at testing the continuity of the high-grade mineralisation.

ASX-listed junior explorer Metal Hawk has hit serious paydirt again at its Berehaven project, 20 kilometres south-east of Kalgoorlie in the West Australian Goldfields. Assays have confirmed a high-grade gold zone of five metres grading 7.2 grams per tonne gold is sitting below the company’s high-grade nickel zone identified last year. Promisingly, mineralisation remains open in all directions.

Junior gold explorer Great Southern Mining says a two-hole probe of its Southern Star deposit has confirmed a significant mineralised system. The deposit forms part of the Duketon gold project about 45 kilometres north of Laverton in WA. The company says both diamond holes intersected a mineralised quartz dolerite unit and gold-bearing assemblages that could be part of a larger system.

Trigg Mining has placed an additional $700,000 worth of shares following an oversubscribed $3.3 million share placement that received attention from new and existing investors, boosting the total capital raise to $4m. The extra proceeds will increase Trigg’s cash reserves to a formidable $7m, putting it in a strong position to progress its pre-feasibility study at the company’s Lake Throssel sulphate of potash project in WA.

DiscovEx Resources’ and joint venture partner Carnaby Resources’ remarkable Nil Desperandum prospect within the Greater Duchess copper gold project is looking like the gift that keeps on giving after the duo announced an extension of wide zones of copper mineralisation. Carnaby, the majority owner of the project in Mt Isa, Queensland, says the copper grades look to be increasing at depth.

Base metals and gold junior Todd River Resources has joined the ever-increasing ranks of explorers suffering from slowdowns at Australian assay labs as it waits for results from recent drilling. The company is eager to get follow-up work on the Berkshire Valley project underway prior to the start of this year’s crop seeding season as its nickel copper palladium group project sits in WA’s wheatbelt.

Aurum Resources has hit sulphides in all drillholes bar one as part of a maiden drilling campaign at its Penny South gold project. The activity is targeting structural anomalies along strike from the high-grade Ramelius owned Penny North deposit and the historical high-grade Penny West mine. The company is currently halfway through an 18 hole program for a total of 5,000 metres.

ASX-listed junior explorer Askari Metals is enjoying some early success at its newly acquired Barrow Creek Lithium Project in the renowned Arunta pegmatite province of the Northern Territory. Spontaneous sampling whilst the company was performing due diligence in its acquisition of the project revealed rocks running at an encouraging 817 parts per million lithium oxide. Askari is now gearing up for further exploration.

Image Resources has announced its intention to pay a 2 cent fully franked dividend after it receives the final results from the 2021 calendar year which it says are strong. The continued solid demand for Image’s heavy mineral sands from its Boonanarring project 80km north of Perth along with buoyed mineral sands prices and some cost control has resulted in a bumper calendar year for the Perth based company.

Infinity Lithium has chalked off another breakthrough at its San José lithium project in Spain after a metallurgical test work program proved successful in scaling up the production of battery-grade lithium carbonate and hydroxide ahead of a looming feasibility study. The work is funded by EIT Innoenergy and aimed at developing a more sustainable refining technology for lithium mineralogies.

Podium Minerals has upgraded its mineral resource estimate at the company’s Parks Reef platinum group metals project near Meekatharra in WA boosting its previous PGM estimates by 28 per cent to 2.8 million ounces grading 1.56 grams per tonne PGM. The copper estimates also experienced a healthy boost rising by 31 per cent to 27.8m tonnes at 0.24 per cent copper for 104,000 tonnes of contained copper.

Battery metals developer AVZ Minerals is set to plough $25 million into an early works program and exploration drilling campaign at its Manono lithium and tin project in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa. The outlay follows a $75 million cash injection from a heavily oversubscribed capital raise and aims to fund the company’s shift to lithium production.

Torian Resources continues to rake in the high-grade gold hits at its flagship Mt Stirling gold project approximately 40km north-west of Leonora in WA. The results include an 8-metre intersection returning 8.26 grams per tonne gold from 153m, that held an impressive 5m running at 12.74 g/t from 153m. The company is set to deliver a global mineral resource estimate in the first quarter of this year.

ASX-listed ABx Group is targeting more metallics in Tasmania after unveiling a new high-grade rare earths prospect 52 kilometres east of its Deep Leads REE prospect in Tasmania. According to the company, the results from the newly discovered Portrush prospect include 581 parts per million neodymium and a solid 4,800 ppm total rare earth oxides over a one metre mineralised section from 11 metres.