Public Company News

Terrain Minerals has kicked off 1500 metres of aircore drilling at its Lort River project near Esperance, targeting clay-hosted rare earths. The program was prompted by a standout 8m intercept 12 months ago, which assayed 4037 ppm total rare earth oxides, with peak one-metre results of almost one per cent TREO, including highly anomalous grades of magnet rare-earth elements.

Triangle Energy has signed a joint study agreement with an Indonesian institution for an offshore exploration area in Indonesia, overseen by the nation's Directorate General of Oil and Gas. The six- to eight-month study is expected to cost about US$300,000 and, once completed, will give Triangle priority rights to negotiate a production-sharing contract. The company says the area is unexplored and prospective for gas and oil.

St George Mining has inked a Memorandum of Understanding with a Brazilian fine chemicals specialist to assess processes for separating cerium and lanthanum from its Brazilian Araxá rare earths concentrates. With cerium and lanthanum making up the bulk of Araxá's rare earths mix, the company says removing them could boost its more valuable neodymium-praseodymium and other heavy rare earths concentration to boost its product value.

Ora Banda Mining has expanded its Little Gem prospect in WA, with new drilling uncovering a parallel trend, dubbed Sapphire, that extends the system south to its Sunraysia prospect. The fresh results highlight broader mineralisation potential, hot on the heels of yesterday's tenfold resource boost at the company's Round Dam trend to 1.33 million ounces. A maiden resource eyed for Little Gem later this year.

MetalsGrove Mining has added another promising piece to the exploration puzzle at its Zuénoula permit in Côte d'Ivoire, identifying a second gold target from early-stage soil sampling. The new anomaly stretches for kilometres along a favourable structural trend and sits just north of the company's previously defined Central Area. Samples have been consigned to Bureau Veritas' laboratory in Abidjan for fire assay, with results due mid to late March.

Ora Banda Mining has delivered a tenfold resource boost at its Round Dam deposit, catapulting the project's inventory to 1.33 million ounces of gold. The massive uplift supercharges the company's global resource to 3.3 million ounces, with the new deposit considered entirely suitable for low-cost open-cut mining. Management says the mineralised trend remains largely underexplored, with more drilling planned.

Corazon Mining has inked a diamond drilling contract with K-Drill for its wholly owned Two Pools gold project in Western Australia. The maiden program covers four holes for 1,000 metres, including a 400-metre test of a 300-metre north-west extension. Heritage and Program of Work approvals are complete, with drilling due to start once the final heritage report is received.

St George Mining has encountered more thick, high-grade rare earths and niobium intercepts from surface at its giant Araxá project in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. New assays from 16 diamond holes have confirmed strong continuity and depth persistence, including up to 160.65m at 3.74% total rare earth oxides and 0.54% niobium pentoxide.

Dateline Resources has massively expanded its Music Valley heavy rare earths project in California, stacking on an additional 1800 per cent of landholding to create a district-scale landholding of more than 20,520 acres. The move consolidates nearly 9km of prospective ground as the company's airborne geophysics survey and on-ground mapping programs get into full swing.

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining is about to put the pedal down on exploration at its Pinjin gold project in Western Australia's Laverton Tectonic Zone, locking in multiple drilling programs set to begin in mid-April. The campaign will chase extensions at its existing deposits, test deeper gold below known mineralisation and probe a suite of fresh structural targets across one of the Goldfields' most productive geological corridors.

St George Mining has bolstered its Brazilian leadership ranks with the appointment of a highly experienced local geologist as it pushes ahead with development studies at its rapidly emerging Araxá rare earths and niobium project. The strategic hire comes hot on the heels of a major resource upgrade and signals the company is shifting its focus from exploration success towards mine planning and development.

Horizon Minerals has pocketed another $10 million from its Phillips Find joint venture after completing mining and five toll-treatment campaigns. The project has processed 225,988 tonnes at 2.02g/t gold for 14,095 ounces of gold from five toll treatment campaigns, with more cash expected next month after final reconciliation. Horizon says the funds have strengthened its balance sheet as the company progresses its Black Swan processing hub plan.