Announcements

St George Mining has delivered a maiden resource estimate for its Araxa carbonatite-hosted niobium and rare earths deposit from the world’s premier niobium-producing region in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The estimate comprises a globally significant deposit containing 280,000 tonnes of niobium pentoxide and 1.7 million tonnes of total rare earth oxides, which are both in high global demand.

Pilot Energy has boosted its WA Leander prospective gas resource by a whopping 250 per cent to an estimated 1116 billion cubic feet of gas and 18 million barrels of condensate. The upgrade to the resource followed a detailed review of offset wells, including onshore exploration and appraisal wells, in addition to remapping of 2D seismic data.

Meeka Metals has installed its newly acquired 750kW per hour ball mill at its 1.2-million-ounce Murchison gold project development, 50km north of Meekatharra in the Murchison Goldfields in Western Australia. The ball mill is arguably the heart of the processing plant, and its installation is sure to be celebrated, although it is but one item in Meeka’s dizzying inventory.

Aurum Resources has taken a key step towards the establishment of an open pit mining operation at its Boundiali project in Cote d’Ivoire following the appointment of local specialist consultancy firm Envitech to undertake an environmental and social impact study of the venture. The study will cover five deposits within the company’s BD, BM and BST (Nyangboue) licences, which make up three of the company’s four tenement areas.

Thunderbird Resources has kicked off exploration at the company’s Rockvale and Kookabookra gold, silver and antimony projects in NSW’s northern Tablelands after getting access to priority target areas. The company’s initial focus will be on targets that have historical high-grade assay results as it doubles down on its gold presence in the state.

Triangle Energy’s share price jumped 11% on strong volumes after confirming its highly anticipated Becos-1 exploration well in WA’s Perth Basin is set to spud in April, targeting up to 21 MMbbl of oil. Silver City Rig 24 is en route and expected on site next week to tackle Triangle’s 50 per cent owned EP 437 permit that it jointly holds with Strike Energy and Echelon which have 25% each.

Terrain Minerals has just upped the stakes significantly at its Monza gold project east of Geraldton after nailing an 11m drill hit grading 6.03g/t gold and 43.5g/t silver just 50m from known mineralisation. The high-grade hit at the new prospect to the west of the project included standout 1m intercepts of 10.28g/t, 11.41g/t, and 10.37g/t gold, suggesting a strong near-surface mineralised system.

Latitude 66 has jagged 16m of disseminated sulphides at 4m depth while hunting for high-grade gold and copper satellite deposits near its flagship KSB project in northern Finland. The 12-hole program was run over two targets called K6E and K6W. The exciting visuals line up with a strong IP anomaly and a nearby surface sample grading 8.8g/t gold and 0.6 per cent copper. Assay results are due in six weeks.

Strickland Metals has added 143,400 ounces of gold to the combined mineral resource for its Horse Well camp, boosting its resource to 4.68 million tonnes at a respectable 1.94 grams per tonne for 291,500 ounces. Combined with the 108,900 ounce Dusk ‘til Dawn deposit, the update lifts the total Yandal project inferred resource to an imposing 8.17 million tonnes at 1.52 g/t gold tonne for 400,400 ounces of gold.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Saferoads. The company's share price rocketed after it pocketed $10.8 million from the sale of its Road Safety Rental arm. Errawarra Resources acquired an historically high-grade silver mine in the Pilbara, RareX Ltd announced stunning gallium hits from its project in the Kimberly and Belararox Ltd intersected promising visual copper in its chase for a mammoth copper porphyry in Argentina, as the red metal hit all-time highs.

Strickland Metals has reinforced its drilling capacity at its Rogozna gold-base metals project in southern Serbia with the addition of a fifth rig, which has already begun work at its Obradov Potok prospect. Coincident multi-element gold-arsenic soil and an induced polarisation anomaly with surface hydrothermal alteration were identified at the 4sqkm prospect, which is 3.5km southwest of the company’s 5.3-million-ounce gold equivalent Shanac gold resource.

Chariot Corporation has rejigged its acquisition terms with Black Mountain Lithium to boost the company’s near-term cash while maintaining its grip on the promising US Black Mountain lithium project in Wyoming. Under the new deal, instead of coughing up US$1.45M in three lump sums by the end of 2025, Chariot will make seven smaller payments in instalments ending in September 2026.

Joint venture partners Pilot Energy and Triangle Energy have struck a revised vendor finance agreement to secure Pilot’s full ownership of their Cliff Head oil joint venture and its associated infrastructure, reopening the door to Pilot’s ambitions for a carbon capture project in WA’s Mid West. The deal sets out a new two-stage asset transfer structure. Pilot will first acquire the joint venture’s WA onshore assets.

Meeka Metals has delivered another strong result at its Murchison gold project near Mt Magnet, with drilling at Turnberry Central unearthing standout hits, including 36m grading 2.82g/t gold from 89m depth. The 24-hole program aimed to tighten up the resource for mine scheduling and probe for mineralised extensions to the west and below the current pit design.

Aurum Resources has spectacularly ticked another box in a recent string of gold hits at its Boundiali project in Cote d'Ivoire, with an 83m best run assaying 4.87g/t gold from 106m at the company’s BD Target 1. Two runs in Aurum’s primary 83m intercept jagged 6.29m at 34.94g/t gold and 8m at 14.81 g/t gold.

Strickland Metals has delivered a major 670,000-ounce gold equivalent resource upgrade at its Rogozna project in Serbia, pushing the total to 7.4 million ounces - up 2m ounces in just nine months. The flagship Shanac deposit now hosts 5.3m ounces at 1.1g/t, including a high-grade core of 1.85m ounces at 1.8g/t, all discovered at just $3 per ounce.

Chariot Corporation has secured convertible note deal, roping in up to $2 million to fuel its lithium hunt across the United States and Australia. The company has locked in an initial $600,000 drawdown from New York-based investor Obsidian Global, with the potential to tap an additional $1.4m over the next 12 months.

BMG Resources will accelerate its exploration efforts at the company’s Bullabulling and Invincible gold projects in WA, motivated by high gold prices and recent nearby acquisitions by two big-name mining investors. Both projects contain favourable gold mineralisation in big structures, which they share with other significant projects being advanced by Mark Creasy and Tim Goyder.

Titanium Sands Ltd has cleared another big hurdle in its quest to bring its vast Mannar Island heavy mineral sands project in Sri Lanka into production after the country’s environmental authority issued terms for the company’s pivotal environmental impact assessment. The milestone sets the stage for the final environmental studies required for Titanium Sands to secure an industrial mining licence to bring its high-grade deposit into production.

Terrain Minerals has hauled up some remarkable rare earths samples from its Lort River project near Esperance in Western Australia’s Fraser Range region, after multi-element assay tests picked up head-turning grades of up to 9840 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO). The uber-high-grade 1-metre section was discovered within a broader zone of 8m grading 4037ppm TREO starting at only 23m depth.

Empire Energy is closing in on becoming the first gas producer in NT’s massive Beetaloo Basin from its Carpentaria project, in what is shaping up to be a high-stakes moment for Australia’s energy future. Hydraulic stimulation of its 3.3km horizontal C-5H well is expected to kick off in May. A successful production flow is likely to open the flood gates for many more players to enter the fray.

Greentech Metals has entered into binding agreements for two of its non-core exploration licences and a single prospecting licence, which will allow the company to focus on its nearby Whundo copper project. The adjoining tenements include one prospecting licence that is yet to be granted and enclose a total 930ha. The deal allows buyer Errawarra Resources to consolidate prospective ground around its 363ha Elizabeth Hill silver mine lease.

Altech Batteries has locked in the backing of a major shareholder, German-based investment firm Deutsche Balaton AG, by securing funding via a bond note facility for up to €2.5 million (A$4.3m) to further develop its new-age battery projects. The company has land in Johor, Malaysia, for sale and expects the proceeds will be sufficient to repay any borrowed funds.

Latitude 66’s share price jumped 20 per cent to 7.8 cents after the company released a scoping study on its KSB gold-cobalt project in Finland. The study revealed a high-grade, low-cost operation with a post-tax NPV of US$310m at US$2500 an ounce gold. The project has an all-in cost of just US$996 with cobalt credits and will pay for itself in 16 months.

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has completed a maiden reverse circulation drilling program to test its recent Lighthorse gold discovery at the company’s Pinjin project, 140km northeast of Kalgoorlie. KalGold drilled 16 holes along three 100m-spaced lines for 2446m to a maximum downhole depth of 222m. The laboratory assays are now being fast-tracked.

Canadian-listed Rio2 Limited has secured a US$25m prepayment from a US-based precious metals investment firm, Wheaton Precious Metals International, under a precious metals purchase agreement with Rio2’s Fenix Gold project in Chile’s Maricunga belt. Rio2 views the funding as a strong endorsement of its development strategy and a key milestone in its push to bring the mine into production by year’s end.

Bulls N’ Bears Big Hits examine some notable drill intercepts revealed on the ASX this week, including Axel REE’s 8m hit going 13,604ppm TREO from 55m at its Caladao project in Brazil. Other interesting intercepts were reported by Resouro Strategic Metals from its Tiros project in Brazil and Caspin Resources’ Bygoo tin project in NSW.

The latest drilling blitz at McLaren Minerals’ titanium project in WA’s Eucla Basin has revealed thick new intercepts of heavy mineral-rich sands coupled with an unexpected groundwater discovery and confirmation of an in-ground gypsum source. The campaign is focussed on infill drilling within a previously identified mineral sands strandline about 40km west of Balladonia. McLaren expects to wrap up the 6000m air core drill program by mid-April.

Larvotto Resources continues to pull in good results from the company’s high-grade Hillgrove gold antimony project in NSW, with big hits that included 0.6m at a stunning 183.5g/t gold equivalent from 493m. Four diamond rigs have now completed more than 8400 metres of drilling at its Bakers Creek and Eleanora-Garibaldi prospects, hinting at new rich mineralisation near existing underground infrastructure.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Tlou Energy. It says share sellers are gone, and the Botswana energy firm is back to business as usual. Renewable solutions group GreenHy2 announced a tech contract with a leading Euro supplier, Besra recouped some share price losses as it focussed on its substantial Bau gold project and Trek found glimmering visual gold in drilling core samples as the gold price cracked US$3000 an ounce.

Novo Resources is set to kick off a maiden air core drilling program before month’s end to test a promising part of the Sholl Shear in its Balla Balla gold project in WA’s West Pilbara region. The program will target structurally complex zones in and near the shear. The ancient fertile structure is one of four main fault and shear zones that make the region ripe for exploration.

Great Southern Mining has jagged high-grade gold with an eye-opening intercept of 1 metre grading 70.94 grams per tonne gold within a 5m section of 14.57g/t gold from 41m at its Duketon gold project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields. The company's 3678-metre reverse circulation drilling campaign to test earlier identified shallow mineralisation kicked off in January and is now complete.