Announcements

Middle Island Resources’ share price rocketed 80 per cent from $0.016 to $0.036 a share today, driven by its potentially transformative acquisition of Konstantin Resources. The unlisted Australian company holds 14 exploration and mining licences enclosing 620 square kilometres of Serbia’s Western Tethyan Belt, a globally renowned copper-gold province. The deal, paired with a $3.4 million placement at $0.017 per share, strengthens Middle Island’s position as a multi-jurisdictional copper-gold explorer.

Octava Minerals has launched exploration at its Federation copper, zinc, silver and tin project in Tasmania, re-opening historic ground last worked in the 1980s. The company has already tracked down Renison Associated Tin Mines’ old drill holes and adits at the Sweeney’s prospect, where previous sampling lit up with hits including 4.17 per cent zinc, 3.32 per cent tin and 1.23 per cent lead, pointing to untapped potential.

Altech Batteries has been approved as eligible for a proposed €46.725 million (A$83.55 million) German government grant to further develop the company’s groundbreaking CERENERGY sodium-chloride solid-state battery project in Saxony. The grant endorsement recognises Altech’s vision to redefine energy storage with a sustainable alternative to lithium-ion batteries, using the humble power of table salt, reflecting Europe’s plan to transition to renewables.

Terrain Minerals has revealed a striking gold interval of 22 metres grading 2.71 grams per tonne gold at its Lightning prospect, part of the wider Smokebush Project in Western Australia’s Mid West region. The latest drilling program followed up a compelling 600m-long induced polarisation anomaly from geophysical data and formed part of the company’s exploration strategy.

Aurum Resources has acquired a 35 per cent stake in Ivorian company Major Star Plus, in which it can earn up to 95 per cent in three permits covering almost 469 square kilometres near its 2.41-million-ounce Boundiali and 0.87-million-ounce Napié gold projects in Côte d'Ivoire. With 10 drill rigs and supported by a $35.6M placement, Aurum has planned 100,000m of drilling in 2025 to identify new gold discoveries.

Dateline Resources has raised $25 million at 21.5 cents a share, lifting its cash balance to $35 million, to accelerate drill programs and BFS work at its California Colosseum gold‑rare earths project next door to the Mountain Pass mine. Six new breccia‑pipe targets and modelling to about 300m depth underpin the technical case, while a recent OTCQB listing has improved North American investor access. Recent federal recognition further supports the case for this ASX high-flyer.

Rio2 Ltd has upgraded its share listing to the Toronto Stock Exchange, where its stock will begin trading on Wednesday. The exchange has the world’s tenth-largest market capitalisation. The company is developing the Fenix Gold Project in Chile’s Atacama region using a heap leach process to extract up to 4.8 million ounces of gold, to reach a projected annual production of 91,000 ounces of over the first 12 years.

Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Invictus Energy. The company’s stock soared after a Qatari-backed Sheikh made a major African gas grab for its monster Cobora gas project. Basin Energy was also in the spotlight after acquiring a Queensland uranium-rare earth double act while Ark Mine’s and TechGen also sizzled, all combining to take out this week’s Bulls N’ Bears Runners of the week.

Ora Banda Mining has ignited exploration near Menzies with a breakthrough at its Round Dam trend in Western Australia’s Goldfields. Early results from a 62,000m drilling assault have uncovered a potentially transformative gold system along the 7.5km Round Dam, just 3.5km from the company’s 1.2 million tonne per annum Davyhurst mill.

Estrella Resources has launched LiDAR, drone magnetics and MobileMTd surveys across 3200ha of its Ira Miri and Werumata prospects in Timor-Leste to refine modelling of its manganese and limestone targets. The surveys will also improve targeting accuracy, with results expected to guide ongoing drilling at Ira Miri and imminent resource-definition drilling at Werumata to support a JORC-compliant limestone resource by November.

Great Southern Mining has armed its WA Duketon gold project near Laverton with fresh firepower after banking $4 million from Regis Resources for the sale of a mining licence, with another $5m potentially on the table. The cash injection will bankroll up to 15,000m of drilling this half, zeroing in on shallow, high-grade gold at its Golden Boulder and Amy Clarke prospects in Western Australia’s rich Duketon belt.

Solara Minerals’ Wilgeena gold project, 15km from Westgold’s 481,000-ounce Peak Hill and Catalyst’s 243,000-ounce Hermes deposits in WA’s Murchison region, reveals significant gold potential. Historical shallow drilling hit high-grade intercepts including 5m at 1.98g/t gold, with minimal follow-up. Solara plans to test multiple gold and copper targets near key structural trends to leverage the data to unlock value in one of the state’s most productive goldfields.

Horizon Minerals has taken a major step towards becoming a standalone mid-tier gold producer, with its pre-feasibility study at the Black Swan project near Kalgoorlie progressing strongly. The work includes refurbishing the existing crushing and grinding circuit as well as adding a new carbon-in-leach gold plant, setting the stage for a final investment decision in the December quarter and potential construction in 2026.

NeuroScientific Biopharmaceuticals has unveiled positive results from two studies using its stem cell therapy in kidney transplantation. Eight out of 10 patients in a small case series, facing severe organ rejection, retained their donor kidney. A second study showed the treatment was safe and may improve graft function in deceased-donor transplants. The findings have bolstered the company’s plans for a wider clinical development in the multibillion-dollar global market.

American West is completing key pre-feasibility study activities at its Storm copper project, northern Canada’s only near-term copper development. Permitting and environmental studies are progressing at the project, which is supported by Canada’s critical minerals strategy. High-grade visible copper mineralisation suggests Storm has resource expansion potential, while its strategic importance positions it for rapid development.

Thunderbird Resources has landed high-grade gold results at the company’s Kookabookra project in NSW, with rock chip assays of up to 17.35g/t at its Bear Hill prospect, 2.79g/t at Butchers Reef and a 23g/t gold hit within an inferred possible 400m strike length at the new Kojak target. Ongoing soil sampling and mapping support the potential for a large-scale intrusive-related gold system. Thunderbird plans to run a drill campaign to test recent IP anomalies and historical drilling.

Corazon Mining is set to kick off a new round of exploration at its recently acquired Two Pools gold project, within a prospective but underexplored region that has produced more than 6M ounces of gold since 1990. The company also recently raised $2 million through a placement and has appointed experienced mining executive Simon Coyle as MD to advance exploration in a geologically promising region near major gold mines.

A survey at Kalgoorlie Gold Mining’s Pinjin project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields has refined targets for a 6200m RC drilling program starting in September, focusing on a 1.6km-long strike at its recent Lighthorse prospect. Diamond drilling at its Kirgella Gift and Providence prospects, backed by $130,000 in state funding, aims to unlock deeper gold potential.

Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Kaili Resources, after its share price broke records by flying up 8333% in a day on news of it was drilling for rare earths in South Australia. Magnetite Mines flew too on its own SA rare earths project, also on the Lime Coast, Argent Biopharma acquired a set of cannabis biotech ahead of a targeted US listing and Octava revealed a microbe-based bioleaching breakthrough at its lithium-rare earths play in WA’s Gascoyne region.

Octava Minerals has lit up the market with a suite of eye-catching bioleaching results from its Byro rare earths and lithium project in WA’s Gascoyne. Partner, European biomining specialist BiotaTec, used microbes to extract up to 75 per cent of the key magnet metals and about 40 per cent of the lithium in samples in record time. The results point to serious potential for a rapid, low-cost heap-leach operation.

According to charts and data just trotted out by the Bank of America’s global research chief strategist. we’ve walked back to the dot-com peak on multiple metrics. While the air may be getting a little thin at the top of the market, Dollar Bill reckons it’s still a mighty good time for a climb in the small cap foothills.

Lindian Resources has bagged $91.5 million in new funds from a heavily oversubscribed raising to kick off stage one construction at its world-class Kangankunde rare earths mine in Malawi. Iluka Resources is already on board with an offtake deal for 6000 tonnes of concentrate per year for 15 years and a $20 million construction loan, allowing Lindian to reach first production in late 2026.

Pilot Energy has received a $3.887 million Petroleum Resource Rent Tax refund after oil production ceased at its joint venture Cliff Head oil field. The refund, paid via operator Triangle Energy Operations, was attributed to funds spent on abandoning, decommissioning and rehabilitating the Western Australian offshore production site. Pilot is cashed up after also raising $6.8 million in a recent share and convertible note issue.

Dateline Resources has zeroed in on six new, potentially gold-rich breccia pipes at its Colosseum gold and rare earth project in California, thanks to a 3D geophysics sweep. The anomalies mirror the signature of the mine’s existing pipes, featuring 1.4 million ounces, suggesting a much larger gold system lurks below surface. The company has drill rigs primed to put the theory to the test.

The critical battery mineral – lithium - may be set for sustained higher pricing after a Chinese crackdown on illegal mining activity removed a chunk of supply from the market and triggered a price surge. The price touched its peak for this year of US$970 (A$1485) per tonne of the industry-standard 6 per cent spodumene concentrate, putting a welcome smile on the faces of lithium players.

St George Mining has dual listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to boost European investor access to the company, driven by its world-class Araxá project in Brazil, which has more than 40Mt at 4.13 per cent total rare earths oxide and 0.68 per cent niobium pentoxide. The move aligns with its global strategy to supply critical minerals outside China. St George is currently drilling to expand the high-grade deposit.

Triangle Energy and its joint venture partner Athena Exploration have substantially boosted gas resources at their UK North Sea permit, marking a significant milestone for the two companies. The marked increase in both contingent and prospective resources positions the partners among the top three holders of undeveloped gas resources in the UK west of the Shetland Islands and in the southern North Sea.

Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… OD6 Metals, after it unveiled a low capex, lower-cost product from its mammoth Splinter Rock rare earth project near Esperance. Mount Ridley Mines rode the rare earths coattails based on its nearology to OD6 in the rare earths region, ActivePort Group launched an Australian first private cloud superhighway and Energy Transition Minerals shot up on a 60 Minutes story on its monster Greenland rare earths project.

Estrella Resources has shifted its Timor-Leste exploration into high gear after picking up visuals of rich manganese mineralisation running up to 80 per cent at the Ira Miri prospect. The company is also preparing to collect a 30,000-tonne manganese bulk sample at site and planning a drill program at its billion-tonne Werumata limestone target in Baucau.

Buru Energy has discovered a significant new gas prospect beneath its Rafael gas field in WA’s onshore Canning Basin. Buru estimates its Flying Fox target, identified in recent Rafael 3D seismic data, contains 60-614Bscf of gas and 1.2-12.6MMstb of condensate. The discovery mirrors Rafael’s contingent resources and could seriously boost the overall project’s potential. Buru plans to drill next year.

Norfolk Metals’ 70 per cent earn‑in at its Carmen copper project in Chile is now underpinned by a drill plan designed to twin the best historical holes, hit the oxide blanket from surface and push deep into sulphide potential. In a copper market that is starting to get serious attention again, Norfolk’s timing appears to be good.

Bulls N’ Bears Big Hits looks at notable drilling intercepts recently reported to the ASX by Caprice Resources, Stavely Minerals and Patriot Battery Metals. Caprice’s Island gold project south of Cue in WA’s Mid West region revealed an 11-metre hit assaying 17.3g/t gold, including 9m at 21g/t gold from 170m. Other interesting drill hits were reported at Stavely’s Fairview prospects in Victoria and Patriot made a big caesium discovery in Quebec, Canada.