Public Company News

Ora Banda Mining has charged into FY26 with soaring gold production at its Davyhurst project in WA’s Goldfields and a new gold discovery that could reshape its future. With the Sand King underground mine now hitting its stride and a 1km multi-lode system uncovered at Little Gem, the company is flexing its muscle across all operations, backed by a strong $84.2 million cash position and $73 million earmarked for exploration.

St George Mining has delivered Brazil’s first rare earths sample from its Araxá niobium-rare earths project to MagBras for magnet production studies, potentially pioneering Brazil’s magnet rare earths supply chain with a sample sent to MagBras for magnet production studies. The 30kg rare earths oxalate sample, derived from the company’s 100%-owned Araxá project, marks St George as a frontrunner in Brazil’s emerging rare earths supply chain.

Aguia Resources has struck a high-grade gold and silver system in its debut drill campaign at the Santa Barbara project in Colombia. First assays from five holes included visible gold and grades up to 44g/t, while underground sampling turned up monster hits north of 85g/t gold. The drilling has confirmed mineralisation continuity beneath current workings and sets the stage for a much larger exploration push.

Kula Gold/Aurumin Ltd have reported a 98,534-tonne maiden resource grading 0.63g/t gold for tailings at their joint venture Mt Palmer project in WA’s Goldfields, boosting the project's early monetisation potential. The inferred resource, defined by 60 air core drill holes, contains 1996 ounces of gold at a 0.4g/t cut-off, with preliminary metallurgical testwork showing an average 86 per cent gold recovery rate.

Melbourne executive Nathan Smith will take the reins as CEO at NeuroScientific Biopharmaceuticals, bringing his strategic and commercial nous as the company gears up to release its innovative StemSmart stem cell technology. This is the Perth-based biotech’s second heavy-hitting appointment, after it recruited a well-credentialled chief medical officer in Perth-based paediatric haematologist and oncologist Dr Catherine Cole.

Great Southern Mining has kicked off diamond drilling at its Edinburgh Park project in northern Queensland, with three deep holes planned at Leichhardt Creek. Backed by a $15 million Gold Fields Ltd JV, the campaign is targeting massive IP anomalies that mirror geological signatures seen at other nearby major gold-copper systems. With its Mt Dillon prospect up next, the drill bit could be edging closer to a major discovery.

St George Mining has secured $5 million at a 13.1% premium for its Araxá project in Brazil to upscale drilling, expand its niobium-rare earths resource and pursue US partnerships. The company will soon launch 9000m of drilling to enhance its world-class project. The placement will enable an earlier and expanded program at Araxá to increase the current 41 million tonne niobium–rare earths resource.

Octava Minerals has clinched a $1.5 million raising to help the company secure the Federation copper-zinc-silver project in western Tasmania, tapping into a region famed for its mineral wealth and pro-mining jurisdiction. The project, stumbled upon decades ago by then operator and nearby tin prodigy Renison, has a promising set of high-grade historical intercepts at its Sweeney’s prospect that are untested since drilling in the 1970s.

Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runners of the Week is… I Synergy Limited, after the company revealed a MoU with NASDAQ-listed Treasure Global to deliver its AI infrastructure to Malaysia. ActiveEX unveiled a promising maiden resource for its Queensland gold project. Vanadium Resources locked in an offtake with the Chinese for its South African iron-vanadium ore and Broken Hill Mines relisted on its eponymous mine in NSW.

Aurum Resources has struck 1.43m at 234.35g/t gold at its 1.59-million-ounce Boundiali gold project in Cote d'Ivoire as it continues a 100,000m drilling program for the year. Two resource updates are imminent. The company has completed 23 diamond core holes totalling 5728.9 metres of drilling at its BM Target 3 deposit within Boundiali.

Larvotto Resources has officially sealed a $60 million equity deal to get its Hillgrove antimony-gold project in New South Wales up and running. The raise follows a hefty US$105 million (A$159.6 million) bond issue and gives the company the financial firepower to push through construction and hit first ore in the second quarter of next year. Larvotto is now in the box seat to deliver the West’s next critical minerals supply.

Dollar Bill (AKA Bulls N Bears’ Bill McConnell) has been polishing his monocle in preparation for the resurgence of the small caps market – and it’s starting to happen.