Public Company News

Buoyed by positive gold assays, ASX-listed Askari Metals has started a third round of RC drilling at its Burracoppin gold project in Western Australia’s eastern Wheatbelt. The program will probe up to 3500m, with the explorer launching a volley of 13 holes before adjusting its aim and firing another volley of up to 40 holes.

Test work on rare earths from ABx Group’s Deep Leads project in northern Tasmania has strengthened the company’s belief that it hosts ionic adsorption clay-style or “IAC” mineralisation. The deposits are known to be a major source of permanent magnet minerals and are used to develop super magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines, mobile phones and computers.

Terrain Minerals has discovered clay-type rare earth elements at its fully owned Lort River project in Western Australia after a review of historic auger drilling data, including a high percentage of rare earths used in the production of magnets. Assays also show high scandium grades the company says are a potentially important addition to the high-grade rare earths mineralisation.

Aruma Resources has returned high-grade lithium and rubidium results from a surface rock chip sampling program at its fully owned Mt Deans lithium project in south-eastern WA. Results included high-grade lithium of up to 1.96 per cent lithium oxide and very high-grade rubidium of up to 1.42 per cent rubidium oxide. A total of 11 samples were taken along a 500m strike.

Adriatic Metals has its foot down on construction of its Vares high-grade zinc-silver project in Bosnia and Herzegovina as it works towards opening its namesake mine and processing plant next year. The company says a newly appointed drilling contractor has delivered a dramatic increase in productivity in converting the Rupice ore body, increasing confidence in its mineral resource.

After an air core drilling campaign, mineral explorer Meeka Gold Limited has detected grades of up to 5791ppm TREO over an expansive 1143 square kilometre region at the company’s Cascade rare earth elements project in WA. The assays reveal shallow and high-grade mineralisation up to 24m thick, with a standout strike of 4m at 5791ppm TREO unearthed within a 16m zone running 2223ppm TREO.

Junior explorer Emu NL has plans underway for further RC drilling at its Flying Emu prospect at Badja gold project near Yalgoo in Western Australia after early positive results. The first hole targeted from Emu’s stage three-drill program in April recorded a 9m hit at 3.44 g/t gold from 39m downhole, including 2m at 10.14 g/t.

Initial assays from gold and nickel explorer Metal Hawk have come up trumps, with results from five diamond drilling holes from its Commodore prospect at the Berehaven project in WA returning gold hits, its best zone grading 38.5 grams per tonne. Nickel was also discovered with the company saying the result demonstrates a link with both the gold and nickel sulphide zones announced in February.

Godolphin Resources is one step closer to starting a proposed diamond drill program at its Narraburra rare earth project in NSW following its submission to the State regulators. The six-hole program has been fast-tracked after previously approved air core drilling was postponed because of waterlogged land conditions. Diamond drilling will start once approval is received.

Pirra Lithium, one of Australia’s newest lithium explorers, has started drilling at its Spear Hill project in WA’s Pilbara Craton region, testing a 1.2km stretch of outcropping lithium pegmatites where rock chips previously returned assays grading up to 2.34 per cent lithium oxide. Pirra is a 50-50 JV between Calidus Resources and Haoma Mining.

Mineral explorer Aurumin has kicked off a barrage of diamond drilling after completing the RC portion of its exploration campaign at the company’s 784,300-ounce Central Sandstone gold project in WA. Nine holes for 1245m of RC drilling on the project’s 86,500-ounce Shillington deposit have been completed in addition to five RC “pre-collars” for the explorer’s Two Mile Hill tonalite deposit.

ASX-listed explorer Kalgoorlie Gold continues to expand the size of its La Mascotte discovery in WA’s goldfields, with the prospect now extending to a 700m strike length. The company says the mineralisation remains open in every direction. Only last month KalGold doubled the strike length of La Mascotte to 500m on the back of rich results going 16 grams per tonne gold.