Announcements

Podium Minerals has upgraded its mineral resource estimate at the company’s Parks Reef platinum group metals project near Meekatharra in WA boosting its previous PGM estimates by 28 per cent to 2.8 million ounces grading 1.56 grams per tonne PGM. The copper estimates also experienced a healthy boost rising by 31 per cent to 27.8m tonnes at 0.24 per cent copper for 104,000 tonnes of contained copper.

Battery metals developer AVZ Minerals is set to plough $25 million into an early works program and exploration drilling campaign at its Manono lithium and tin project in the Democratic Republic of Congo in Central Africa. The outlay follows a $75 million cash injection from a heavily oversubscribed capital raise and aims to fund the company’s shift to lithium production.

Torian Resources continues to rake in the high-grade gold hits at its flagship Mt Stirling gold project approximately 40km north-west of Leonora in WA. The results include an 8-metre intersection returning 8.26 grams per tonne gold from 153m, that held an impressive 5m running at 12.74 g/t from 153m. The company is set to deliver a global mineral resource estimate in the first quarter of this year.

ASX-listed ABx Group is targeting more metallics in Tasmania after unveiling a new high-grade rare earths prospect 52 kilometres east of its Deep Leads REE prospect in Tasmania. According to the company, the results from the newly discovered Portrush prospect include 581 parts per million neodymium and a solid 4,800 ppm total rare earth oxides over a one metre mineralised section from 11 metres.

Alaska-focused oil explorer 88 Energy will drill the highly anticipated Merlin 2 well in March following the completion of the access road to site and the commissioning of the contracted drilling rig. The well is the follow up to the 2021 Merlin 1 discovery that encountered multiple oil shows in the Brookian Nanushuk Formation – a significant production horizon in the North Slope area of Alaska.

Multi-commodity explorer Oar Resources has bolstered its coffers with a solid $500,000 injection following the sale of its ‘non-core’ Bramfield iron ore project in South Australia. The company plans to utilise the extra cash to focus on exploration efforts of its Crown nickel-copper-PGE project in the Julimar district in Western Australia where Chalice Mining recently made headlines with its behemoth nickel-copper-PGE deposit.

ASX-listed copper explorer Hot Chili has wrapped up drilling at its Cortadera copper-gold porphyry discovery ahead of an imminent resource upgrade for its fast-tracked Chilean project. The company is confident all three of the Cuerpos orebodies are linked to the same footprint. It says the significant extent of the porphyry mineralisation gives it versatile low grade, low-strip ratio sulphide mining options.

WA’s most recent rare earth explorer, Torian Resources has reconfirmed and upgraded significant Yttrium and other heavy rare earth element grades at its exciting Yttria discovery at the company’s evolving Mt Stirling gold project in WA. The company has utilised improved assaying techniques to reanalyse samples resulting in a 10 per cent upgrade in values.

Junior explorer Emu NL has received a double shot of good news with elevated tungsten values occurring in tandem with gold mineralisation in a recent drill campaign at its Monte Cristo prospect at the company’s flagship Badja gold project near Yalgoo in WA. Significant tungsten values intersected include 12 metres grading 0.12 per cent tungsten from 58m containing an internal metre going a whopping 0.64 per cent tungsten.

ASX-listed Surefire Resources has kicked off negotiations with a string of potential transport and off-take partners for its Perenjori iron ore project in Western Australia. According to the company, it has a hefty iron exploration target that ranges from 870 million to 1,240m tonnes at the project with grading between 29 to a stonking 41 per cent iron.

Junior gold explorer Askari Metals has swung the drill rig back into action at its Burracoppin gold project in Western Australia’s eastern wheatbelt following up a suite of shallow, high-grade gold drill hits from phase one drilling. Significant assay results include 4 metres grading 4.27 grams per tonne gold from 25m downhole with an internal metre going 14.6g/t gold from 26m.

The board of Torrens Mining has recommended the acceptance of a $23 million offer to merge with Coda Minerals, its partner in the Elizabeth Creek copper project in SA. The deal is now subject to the approval of the company’s shareholders. Coda is offering 0.23 shares to every Torrens shareholder to consolidate ownership of the project under one roof.

ASX-listed gold producer Horizon Minerals has boosted its bottom line by $1.35m after toll milling stockpiled low-grade ore from its Boorara open pit mine in the renowned WA Goldfields. The company says the processing of low-grade stockpiles via two campaigns totalling nearly 100,000 tonnes from the recent trial mining of the Boorara deposit is now complete.

Great Southern Mining is further investigating the size and extent of two bedrock conductors with a follow-up fixed-loop electromagnetic survey at its East Laverton project in Western Australia. The conductors eked out from the recent geophysical survey are considered highly prospective for massive nickel sulphide mineralisation. One identified anomaly spanned a massive 2km by 1km that the company says provides a “compelling drill target”.

A protein derived from scorpion toxin being used to spearhead Chimeric Therapeutics’ assault on brain cancer cells has delivered encouraging early results from a study being conducted at the world-famous City of Hope Hospital in Los Angeles. Patients in the study responded well to the simultaneous introduction of the cell therapy by injecting it into both the tumours and the brain.

WA’s new quarantine laws have offered Buru Energy a project boost. The reduced 7-day isolation period now means the well test team currently stranded in Perth quarantine facilities can mobilise to the Rafael 1 well site to carry out the all-important flow tests of the ‘wet’ gas discovery in WA’s Canning Basin.

ASX-listed junior explorer Aruma Resources has launched a 3,000 metre RC drilling campaign targeting a previously identified pegmatite swarm at its Mt Deans lithium project approximately 170 kilometres south of Kalgoorlie. Pegmatite occurrences have been mapped over a 1km strike length and historically yielded high-grade surface rock chips grading up to 2.1 per cent lithium and 555.9 parts per million tantalum.

Venus Metals has discovered multiple outcropping lithium rich pegmatites at its Henderson project 50km northwest of Menzies in WA. Rock samples from the outcrops returned lithium results up to an extraordinary 3.5 per cent lithium oxide with enriched tantalum and niobium. Henderson sits 15km south of the spodumene-rich lithium pegmatites discovered by Red Dirt Metals in the emerging Mt Ida/Ularring greenstone belt lithium province.

Aruma Resources has snagged a high-grade gold hit amongst several other wide, shallow, lower grade gold intercepts during first pass greenfields drilling at its Salmon Gums gold project approximately 200km south of Kalgoorlie in WA. High grade hits included a 1 metre section grading 13.35 grams per tonne gold from 108m within a broader 4m interval going 4.26g/t gold from 105m downhole.

White Cliff Minerals has completed a maiden 74 hole 4,440m RC drilling campaign at Reedy South in WA. Drilling targeted large soil gold geochemical anomalies at the contact zone between mafic rocks and banded iron formations at the Cracker Jack and McCaskill Hill prospects. The anomalous zone is thought to be associated with the prospective Burnakura shear zone. Samples have been sent for analysis.

Oil and gas producer Buru Energy is one step closer to another commercial gas field at its Rafael-1 discovery in the Canning Basin after the testing crew crossed WA’s borders in advance of kicking off the highly anticipated well test. The test crew started 14 days quarantine in Perth on Saturday before heading to site for the 10-day testing program.

Meeka Gold has turned out an impressive 20m wide gold drill intercept going a solid 4.66 grams per tonne gold from just 12m downhole from the first RC drillhole completed in early January at its greenfields Circle Valley project in WA. The gold hit formed part of a wider 36m mineralised parcel that gave up 2.69g/t gold from 12m.

DiscovEx Resources and JV partner Carnaby Resources have confirmed a major copper-gold discovery at the Nil Desperandum prospect, which forms part of the larger Greater Duchess project in Mt Isa, Queensland. Carnaby’s shares soared more than 40 per cent higher during intraday trading, with DiscovEx stock following suit, up more than 30 per cent on news of the discovery.

Mineral explorer Aldoro Resources has intersected multiple pegmatite intervals prospective for lithium mineralisation in all 15 holes of a follow-up, phase two RC drill program at its Niobe project in WA. The company says the drilling validates and extends both the phase 1 drilling and the historic drilling results. The campaign forms part of a larger 64-hole investigation of the project’s landholdings.

Nickel and gold explorer Panther Metals has ticked over the halfway mark in its maiden 6,000 metre drill campaign targeting nickel-cobalt mineralisation at the company’s flagship Coglia project just 70 kilometres east of Glencore’s Murrin Murrin processing plant within the Laverton region of WA. The first assays have been submitted, testing the prospectivity of the laterite hosted nickel-cobalt mineralisation.

ASX-listed Lithium Australia is closing in on full ownership of its 90 per cent owned subsidiary, Envirostream Australia, after agreeing to terms for the acquisition of the final 10 per cent of the battery recycling company. The company says with the Battery Stewardship Scheme now in full swing and the stockpile of used batteries ever increasing, the move is a “strategic imperative”.

Gold and base metal explorer Venus Metals has a new four-kilometre mineralised slice of WA goldfields to hunt following the results from a massive 426-hole, 22 km aircore drilling program at its 50 per cent owned Youanmi Regional JV project. Just weeks ago, Venus and partner Rox Resources, tabled a whopping 1.34 million ounce resource upgrade for the project.

WA-based Surefire Resources has unveiled a large iron exploration target of between 870 and 1,240 million tonnes boasting a grade of between 29 per cent and a whopping 41 per cent iron at its Perenjori project. The company’s share price soared off the back of the announcement finishing the trading day up a cracking 36 per cent.

Quantum Graphite’s joint venture partner, Sunlands Co has received its first patent grant for its thermal battery technology by the South African Patent Office. The company utilises Quantum’s flake graphite within its thermal energy storage cells as part of the developing ‘long-duration energy storage’ sector that has been touted to form a key pillar in delivering stability and flexibility to energy grids increasingly dependent on renewable power.

Askari Metals could be onto lithium at its newly acquired Barrow Creek project in the Northern Territory after a hyperspectral remote sensing survey unveiled a string of high priority exploration targets.

Aurum Resources has intersected sulphides and quartz veining in recent drilling at its Penny South project targeting structural anomalies that bear similarities to the nearby high-grade Ramelius Resources owned Penny North deposit and the historical high-grade Penny West mine. Aurum is currently 5 holes into an 18 hole RC drill program for a total of 5,000 metres that is following up previous gold hits and new geophysical anomalies.

Torian Resources has tabled an impressive set of numbers from the latest drilling campaign at its Mt Stirling gold project, approximately 40km north-west of Leonora in WA. The results include a 10-metre intersection at 9.64 grams per tonne gold from 105m, with a brace of internal sections running 6m at 15.14 g/t gold from 105m and 1m grading 25.07 g/t gold from 110m.