Public Company News

Empire Energy has commenced drilling a highly anticipated oil well in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin. The Carpentaria 2H well will test for oil in the Velkerri shales 200m downdip from Carpentaria 1. Carpentaria 2H is located 11km north of the Carpentaria 1 discovery well and will be drilled to 1,800 metres before turning south and drilling horizontally for one kilometre along the world-class oil rich Velkerri shales.

Mineral exploration company Legend Mining has launched a 3D seismic survey aimed at uncovering deeper drill targets at its exciting Mawson nickel, copper and cobalt discovery in the Fraser Range of Western Australia. Previous drilling at Mawson returned an assortment of serious nickel and copper hits including 31.1 metres at 2.80 per cent nickel and 2.04 per cent copper from 200.7m depth.

Canadian listed Novo Resources said it has identified multiple untested magnetic anomalies comparable to the gold-bearing intrusions at De Grey Mining’s extraordinary nine-million-ounce Hemi gold discovery. The new targets have been etched out of the northern sector of Novo’s 100 per cent owned Egina project in the West Australian Pilbara Craton. They were identified through a detailed aeromagnetic interpretation in conjunction with extensive soil sampling.

Manganese producer, Element 25 says a new shipping strategy will deliver a freight tariff reduction of 45 per cent from peak tariff rates for an upcoming shipment of manganese concentrate sourced from its Butcherbird mine in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The company will now transport its manganese concentrate in a larger capacity Supramax vessel to lower the shipping costs.

Legend Mining appears to be on the cusp of a new nickel-copper discovery at its Rockford project in WA’s rich Fraser Range base metals province. Diamond drilling has intersected nearly ten meters of nickel-copper rich sulphides at the Northerly prospect in a mafic-ultramafic intrusion that is akin to the known fertile intrusions that host the revered Nova-Bollinger and Silver Knight deposits.

Soil sampling by WA explorer Kairos Minerals has outlined two high-priority lithium targets at the company’s Wodgina project in the Pilbara. One target stretches for a lengthy 1.7km and is supported by a nearby historical sample that returned 1.6 per cent lithium oxide. The project lies less than 3km from the “world class” Wodgina lithium deposit.

Mineral explorer Valor Resources continues to deliver the goods at its Picha copper and silver project in southern Peru. Recent channel sampling by the company at two separate areas has returned a 40.5 metre long surface channel grading 0.49 per cent copper at its Cumbre Coya prospect, with a 17.6m channel going 1.95 per cent copper also unearthed at the Maricate prospect some 500m away.

DiscovEx Resources has unveiled a series of potential walk-up drill targets across two of its gold projects in the mineral-rich Yilgarn Craton in WA. Soil geochemical sampling at its Edjudina project near Kalgoorlie has unearthed a suite of compelling drill targets, whilst auger drilling at the Newington project, some 65km from Southern Cross, has identified potential extensions to the Newfield Central and Dawsons high-grade quartz lodes.

Wiluna Mining Corporation’s massive development program at its namesake WA gold operation looks set to continue bringing home the bacon with drilling over the Happy Jack and East Lode areas delivering a symphony of high-grade gold intersections. Notable results included 3.72 metres grading 5.31 grams per tonne gold at the former and 7.75m going 13.27 g/t gold at the latter.

In the final stretch of a long race to reach a coveted cup, ASX-listed Buru Energy has encountered hydrocarbons above the targeted Ungani Dolomite at Rafael 1 in the oil-rich Canning Basin of northern Western Australia. With the well at 3,872m and a finish line of 4,000m the board and investors are keenly awaiting the news to come.

Horizon Minerals has increased the mineral resource estimate at its recently acquired and well-advanced Cannon gold project, located a short trucking distance from the company’s flagship Boorara gold project on the south east fringes of Kalgoorlie. The mineral resource review was conducted independently and upgraded the current estimate by over 8,000 ounces gold to 32,070 ounces grading an impressive 4.29 grams per tonne gold.

ASX-listed, King River Resources has upped the ante in its push to produce high value aluminium precursor compounds used in lithium-ion batteries. Laboratory test work on the company’s already developed 5N purity Type 1 precursor has now added to King River’s repertoire of products with development of a Type 2 precursor - an aluminium compound for use in lithium-ion battery cathodes.