Helen Barling

ASX-listed 88 Energy has quickly escalated its chase for a lucrative 647 million barrels of oil by tapping into the giant Alaska North Slope basin with drills intersecting three primary reservoirs at its Hickory-1 well. Early interpretations allude to a hydrocarbon pay that will be further assessed by wireline logging and a coring program, as drilling continues to target two deeper secondary reservoirs.

Aruma Resources has set the rods in motion at its flagship Salmon Gums gold project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields as it looks to follow up previous bonanza hits of 5m running at 50.2 grams per tonne gold. The exploration program is designed to probe the extent of gold mineralisation at the company’s Iris and Thistle prospects which sit along a 4km stretch of greenstone belt housing Pantoro’s nearby 3.9 million tonne Scotia deposit averaging 3.6 g/t.

Quantum Graphite says it is poised to take advantage of the respective booming markets for battery anode materials and long-duration energy storage after positive flake-sampling tests in South Australia. First-phase flake test-work achieved a purity of 97.59 per cent graphitic carbon and the company predicts increased temperatures will raise that mark to the 99.5 per cent needed for anode production.

Surefire Resources hopes a “unique” high-purity alumina deposit, with returns grading up to 31 per cent aluminium oxide, will lead to lucrative rewards from its flagship Victory Bore vanadium project, 400km inland from the WA port city of Geraldton. The company has appointed Queensland-based consultant Lava Blue to start purification test work aimed at leading to the production of high-purity alumina product.

Everest Metals is a different looking company today from when it was Twenty Seven Co up until last year. It has totally renewed its board which is now led by mining man Mark Caruso and assisted by COO and former finance professional Simon Phillips. The new board has its foot on a curious new project that boasts multiple near surface gold reefs and hints of DeGrussa-style copper at depth.