Public Company News

After an initial phase of reconnaissance, Askari Metals has uncovered high-grade spodumene-hosted lithium within extensive pegmatites at the company’s recently acquired Uis lithium, tantalum and tin project in Namibia, Africa. Results up to 2.1 per cent lithium oxide were returned from 196 rock chip samples collected as part of the company’s due diligence evaluation of the advanced project.

Blackstone Minerals has validated its process for the company’s proposed Ta Khoa nickel refinery project in Vietnam after its metallurgical test work program was successful in producing battery-grade nickel and cobalt sulphates in addition to processing third-party cobalt supply. The findings come from batch test work and commissioning of piloting equipment completed in August as part of a definitive feasibility study into the company’s Ta Khoa nickel project and its namesake refinery.

JV partners Triangle and Pilot Energy could lodge a formal application to use the company’s Cliff Head oil reservoirs as carbon storage tanks in the next few weeks after finalising the regulatory approval data required for the submission. The producer’s oil fields are currently churning out about 700 barrels of oil per day but once depleted it is hoped they will be used to progress the partnership’s clean energy initiatives.

BMG Resources has extended the mineralised footprint of its Abercromby gold project near Wiluna out to 1.3km after receiving assay results from the company’s recent diamond drilling campaign. Assay highlights include a 5.56m hit at 3.5 grams per tonne gold from 400m whilst a second hole recorded a 6m intercept going 2.79 g/t gold from 171m.

As the price of gold continues to recover lost territory, Surefire Resources has wrapped up a five-hole diamond drilling program at the company’s Yidby gold project in the Murchison district of WA’s Mid West. The campaign was designed to reveal structural and lithological information as the explorer looks to home in on the project’s broad gold mineralisation and localised high grades. The drill core has been transported to a laboratory in WA and is currently under the geological microscope.

West Perth-based Asra Minerals has appointed experienced geologist and mining executive Rob Longley as its new Managing Director. Longley was General Manager Geology for Sundance Resources in Africa from 2007 to 2015 and CEO and MD of Helios Gold. His most recent position was CEO and MD of minerals explorer Ardiden and he is also a non-executive director of Green Technology Metals.

Shares in mineral explorer Tambourah Metals shot up over 83 per cent this morning after multiple prospective pegmatites were confirmed across a strike length of 500m at the company’s Russian Jack lithium project in WA’s Pilbara region. The explorer also excited the market by claiming a small yet highly prospective tenement in the Pilbara’s latest lithium hotspot.

The Cliff Head joint venture between Triangle and Pilot Energy continues to deliver the goods with the duo completing its fourth tanker load of 26,500 barrels of oil onto the AB Paloma vessel at the Port of Geraldton in WA. Triangle Energy holds a 78.75 per cent share in the partnership and says the ship is now stocked with 53,000 barrels of oil and is on its way to a refinery in Asia where it will be sold.

The recently released Federal Budget has highlighted the importance of the mining and resources industry to the Australian economy with a particular focus on the critical minerals sector. One of the most important commodities to the current market is lithium due to the importance of the metal to the electric vehicle and battery sector.

Shares in Venture Minerals vaulted over 30 per cent in intraday trading after the company doubled its rare earths portfolio through a new discovery at its Golden Grove North zinc-copper-gold project in WA’s Mid-West. Results from a surface sampling campaign at the operation’s Vulcan prospect graded up to 12.5 per cent total rare earth oxides and follow the recent detection at the company’s Mount Lindsay project in Tasmania.

As it looks to table an updated mineral resource, Australian explorer Godolphin Resources has confirmed rare earths mineralisation in a four-hole diamond drill program completed in July at the company’s Narraburra rare earths project in NSW. All holes in the 285.6m-long campaign intercepted rare earths across the project in both weathered surficial material and in underlying fresh rock with a peak grade of 1027ppm TREO.

Askari Metals has expanded its lithium foothold in WA’s Pilbara region by entering a binding agreement to acquire all of the shares in private company, Greenstone Lithium, in exchange for an upfront consideration of $250,000 in cash and shares. The 65-square-kilometre project is considered prospective for lithium, tin and tantalum mineralisation and is comprised of one granted tenement and one tenement application.