Public Company News

Pilot Energy is about to break new ground in Australia's carbon game, with its Dongara direct air capture demonstration plant locked in for a June start-up. By pairing cutting-edge carbon removal technology with existing oil and gas infrastructure, the company is transforming its Western Australian Cliff Head site into a multi-purpose low-carbon energy centre.

Moonlight Resources has launched a phase two reverse circulation drilling program to chase up near-surface phase one gold hits at its Leo Grande prospect, part of its Clermont gold project in Queensland. The new drilling program will sink 70 holes for 5000 metres, following a successful maiden phase one campaign in 2025, which delivered big intercepts of gold mineralisation in every one of the 14 holes drilled, with all of them from or near-surface.

Augustus Minerals is about to take its first real swing at gold at its Music Well project, with drilling locked in to test a standout surface anomaly near Leonora. Backed by eye-catching rock-chip grades and a prime address in WA's Leonora–Laverton belt, the maiden program will finally put holes into a target that has never been drilled, despite sitting in one of the state's richest gold districts.

Estrella Resources has drawn first ore at its manganese project in Timor Leste, formally East Timor, with a 22,600-tonne manganese sample now on the way to potential off-takers who will buy the ore to test it. Notably, the freshly dug pit ended in mineralisation, setting up the possibility of full scale production if the samples check out.

Lindian Resources has added some serious operational muscle to its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi, appointing a heavyweight process plant specialist to guide the project through commissioning, first production and a looming expansion phase. With stage one construction advancing and stage two studies underway, the timing could hardly be better as the company sharpens its focus on delivery and reliability.

As the company presses ahead with its carbon management and clean energy projects in Western Australia, Pilot Energy has locked in new leadership, appointing energy veteran Brian Siddall as chief executive officer to steer its course. The company says Mr Siddall brings more than 30 years of experience in oil and gas, spanning strategy, project development, execution and asset management.

Dalaroo Metals has bulked up its strategic land holding in West Africa by bolting on the Bondoukou gold project in Côte d'Ivoire, boosting its footprint in one of the world's active gold jurisdictions. The acquisition hands Dalaroo control of a fully granted mining lease in the Birimian terrane, about 35 kilometres northwest of the lucrative 4.5-million-ounce Tanda deposit operated by Endeavour Mining.

Dateline Resources has combined a high-powered series of geology surveys to zero in on two compelling carbonatite-hosted rare earths targets at its Colosseum project in the US state of California. An impressive suite of high-resolution datasets from geophysical, geological and geochemical surveys has provided a comprehensive view of the project, using the valuable insights to charge into a drilling campaign at the two prospective zones.

BMG Resources has sharpened its edge by hiring a seasoned mining executive as general manager to oversee project development and help steer the company's Abercromby gold project in WA's Agnew-Wiluna greenstone belt towards the earliest possible production timeline. Gareth McArthur has landed with 25 years of mining credentials, including project leadership across operational, technical and construction roles at Rio Tinto and smaller developers in WA.

Aurum Resources has delivered a whopping resource upgrade at its Boundiali gold project in West Africa, increasing the total gold for the project to 3.03 million ounces at one gram per tonne gold. The total resource has grown 26 per cent to 99.7 million tonnes at 1.0g/t gold, driven by infill and extension drilling at the company's BST1, BDT2, BDT3 and BMT3 deposits.

Consolidation seems to be an ever-increasing choice taken by small caps seeking a path to value creation. But it's worth noting crunching shares does nothing to fix a weak business - it merely changes the denominator. Having done a deep dive into the impact of consolidation, or reverse split research and live ASX examples, Dollar Bill unpacks why most resets underperform and what boards must get right if they want structure to amplify strategy.

The Bulls N' Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Recharge Metals, which snapped up the Sunset Well project in the heart of WA's Leonora district complete with 94,500-ounces of gold. Cosmos Exploration muscled into Bolivia's lithium big leagues via its EAU tie-up with state-owned YLB and exclusive access to Vulcan's VULSORB lithium extraction technology, while King River Resources dusted off the historic Mindoolah goldfield in WA's Murchison belt, chasing high-grade reefs the old-timers left behind with modern rigs and a roaring gold price at its back.