Announcements

Buru Energy has been buoyed by the return to operations at its Ungani oilfield, which was closed last summer as a result of the widespread devastation wreaked by Tropical Cyclone Ellie. Turning the oil tap back on means the company’s first revenue of the year from its sole producing asset will soon roll into its coffers, with its first oil shipment slotted for Q3.

WA-focused explorer Kairos Minerals turbocharged the mineral resource of its Mt York gold project by 500,000 ounces to 49.24 million tonnes at 1.02 grams per tonne for 1.62 million ounces of gold. The company says its new numbers include a higher-grade component of 21 million tonnes at 1.5g/t for 1 million ounces and the mineralisation at its project remains open.

Reach Resources has confirmed the presence of lithium at its Morrissey Hill and Wabli Creek projects following a successful sampling program in WA’s emerging Gascoyne region. Samples from its Bonzer prospect that forms part of Morrissey Hill returned significant results, including one assay showing 2.3 per cent lithium oxide in addition to 4295 parts per million caesium, 705.8ppm tantalum oxide and 7978ppm rubidium.

Emu NL has discovered a new rare earths region in WA’s Great Southern town of Jerramungup, 450km south-east of Perth. Emu has revealed significant mineralisation from 20m to 52m thick and up to 1138 parts per million total rare earths oxide (TREO) within basement granitoids and adjacent clay zones in a five-hole drill campaign at project Viper. The longest intersection was 52m at 542ppm TREO.

Venture Minerals and SensOre have inked a farm-in agreement on the former’s Golden Grove North project, 450km north-east of Perth. SensOre can earn up to 70 per cent in all minerals, with the exclusion of rare earths, by spending up to $4.5 million. SensOre will utilise its proprietary AI technology at the project, where it has already highlighted lithium and copper potential.

Valor Resources has staked three new mineral claims covering 6.41 square kilometres in Canada’s world-class Athabasca Basin – two of which cover the historical Beatty River heavy rare earths project. Management says previous explorers tabled assays of up to 8.75 per cent total rare earths oxide, with up to 1.15 per cent dysprosium from trenching and surface sampling.

Lindian Resources continues to deliver extraordinary results from its drill campaign at its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi, with assays reading up to a massive 14.9 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO). The impressive grade was recorded in a 1m section from 79m that formed part of a bigger 85m hit at 3.35 per cent TREO from surface.

Northern Minerals has extended the mineralisation of its flagship Wolverine deposit following solid assays from the company’s recent diamond drilling program at its Browns Range project in northern Western Australia. Assay highlights show a 17.6m intercept at 1.96 per cent total rare earths oxide (TREO) from 589m, including a 9.94m hit going 3.27 per cent TREO from 589m.

WA’s Gascoyne region is emerging as one of the State’s newest lithium hotspots with local exploration heavyweights snapping up prime locations in the hunt for valuable EV mineralisation. Delta Lithium hit the headlines last year with its Yinnetharra project and more recently, Minerals 260 crashed the party by grabbing 1700sq km of tenements near Delta’s northern lithium project.

Infinity Mining is narrowing in on a host of precious and base metal targets at three of its key projects in Western Australia’s Pilbara region following analysis of four recent electromagnetic surveys at the sites. The company now has seven priority targets under investigation after it designed surveys to detect conductors related to volcanogenic-hosted massive sulphides and magmatic nickel-copper mineralisation.

Quantum Graphite’s half-owned joint venture company has gained original equipment-manufacture intellectual property rights to The Sunlands Co.’s thermal energy storage battery cell. The cell is being aimed at revolutionising the grid-connected energy storage market by using long-duration energy storage techniques. Quantum says the JV company’s name will be changed from Quantum Sunlands Partnership to Sunlands Power.

The third and final batch of assay results from ChemX Materials’ 2023 drilling campaign at its Jamieson Tank manganese deposit on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula have landed, including a headline 16m hit going 17.9 per cent manganese from 17m. The results will help bolster a maiden mineral resource estimate for the Perth-based high-purity critical materials company.

Brightstar Resources has extended its 252,000-ounce Cork Tree Well gold deposit, 30km north of Laverton, with 6000m of RC drilling giving best results of 10m at 4.54 grams per tonne gold from 192m, including 2m at 17.23g/t and 13m grading 1.83g/t from 143m. An updated resource estimate will inform mining feasibility studies due for delivery by the middle of the year.

American West Metals has been buoyed by visual analysis of its five latest RC drill holes sunk at the company’s Storm copper project in Canada that show thick copper-sulphide intercepts. The explorer says its initial phase of drilling is designed to define maiden JORC resources within the 4100N, 2750N and 2200N zones where high-grade copper mineralisation starts from surface.

Askari Metals has sealed a $2.5 million strategic equity investment by global battery materials supplier Huayou International Resources, with the funds to be used to turbocharge lithium exploration at its Uis project in Namibia. Management says it has issued Huayou 4.5 million fully-paid ordinary shares at an issue price of 55 cents, in addition to 1.5 million free attaching options.

Everest Metals has kick-started its latest 40-hole, 1000m drilling campaign at its Mt Edon LCT project, 5km from Paynes Find in Western Australia’s Mid West region, as it chases recently-observed underground pegmatites. Management says its latest deep-ground penetration radar work lit up a host of geophysical pegmatite targets, which it now plans to explore along with other previously-identified lithium, caesium and tantalum pegmatite structures.

Venture Minerals has continued its recent splurge on rare earths by signing a joint venture agreement designed to deliver the diversified metals explorer a majority stake in Sentinel Exploration’s Iron Duke project. Iron Duke is Venture’s third acquisition in Western Australia’s Mid West region in the past month. The company says it will get the drill bits spinning later this month.

A pancreatic cancer treatment developed by ASX-listed Radiopharm Theranostics has been granted crucial orphan drug designation by the United States Food and Drug Administration just weeks before clinical trials begin. The approval is for the company’s patented RAD301 integrin technology that aims to assist with the imaging and treatment of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.

Meeka Metals has played its trump card, revealing its highest rare earths mineralisation to date from the latest resource drill-out at its Circle Valley project near Esperance – Western Australia’s newest rare earths hotspot. The headline hit returned 4m running at 7475 parts per million total rare earths oxides, which will feed into a maiden mineral resource estimate due to be tabled next month.

Infinity Lithium is pushing closer towards mining licence and environmental authorisation submissions for its San José lithium project in Spain following positive government permitting recommendations. The finalisation of the Extremadura regional government’s Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Document, compiled by its General Directorate for Sustainability, classes the project as compatible with environmental and land use requirements.

DiscovEx is hunting an “enigmatic” gold source at its Edjudina project north-east of Kalgoorlie after recent drilling assays confirmed bedrock gold at all three prospects tested and ratified the continuity of mineralisation at the transition between weathered and fresh rock. All three targets displayed elevated gold results close to the bottom of hole and scale potential. The company’s chase for the source continues.

Octava Minerals is putting boots on the ground at its Yallalong nickel-gold project, 220km north-east of Geraldton – and the CSIRO has jumped in with funding to help lessen the impact of the imprint. The “green energy” metals explorer has snared exploration funding from the CSIRO’s Kick-Start program and will employ the agency’s leading-edge technology to optimise sample collection, while simultaneously reducing on-ground activity.

Lithium Australia will fill its coffers to the tune of more than half a million dollars after entering into a binding agreement to sell 70 per cent of its Lepidolite Hill lithium project to Eastern Resources. It will see Lithium Australia collect $550,000 in three tranches and allow it to put further focus on improving technology associated with the battery materials industry.

CZR Resources has cranked up its Pilbara-based Robe Mesa iron ore reserves by a massive 230 per cent to 27.3 million tonnes at 55 per cent iron, or 62.2 per cent iron after calcining. The reserves underpin an initial eight-year mine plan production of 3.5 million tonnes per annum with a cash cost of $57/t. CZR says there is still more scope for project growth.

ABx Group has boosted the mineral resource estimate at its rare earths project in northern Tasmania by 50 per cent, to pass the 20 million tonnes milestone on the back of a 30-hole drill program. The company believes “not all clays are created equal” and says its deposit is different to most others because the process of extraction would be cheaper and cleaner.

ASX-listed Aurumin is set to continue its search for lithium at its Mt Palmer project in the Goldfields after being named a successful applicant for the WA Government’s Exploration Incentive Scheme. The explorer has executed an agreement with the Department of Mining, Industry Regulation and Safety, through its subsidiary Aurumin Mt Palmer, to receive up to $150,000 in direct drilling and mobilisation costs.

DiscovEx Resources’ JV partner, Carnaby Resources, continues to rack up high-grade copper hits at the duo’s Burke & Wills discovery near Mt Isa in Queensland, pulling up 12m averaging 2.4 per cent copper from 126m. Drilling continues at the evolving copper find, with results set to feed into a maiden mineral resource estimate for Carnaby’s Greater Duchess project slated for the third quarter of this year.

Octava Minerals’ joint venture partner Future Metals, which operates their Panton North project in WA’s Kimberley region, is set to start exploration drilling on an interpreted extension of the neighbouring 5-million-ounce Panton platinum group metals deposit. Mineralisation was previously traced up to the tenement boundary. Drilling will also target soil and rock anomalies at Panton West, within the joint venture’s ground.

Allup Silica has polished off a 26-hole maiden air-core drilling program at its wholly-owned Pink Bark project, 110km from Esperance in Western Australia. The 421-metre campaign was chasing silica sands and other potential clay-hosted rare earths, with holes drilled to an average depth of 16.5m. Management is expecting results towards the end of next month.

Empire Energy Group has been given the green light to seek production approvals for its gas projects in the Beetaloo sub-basin – a game-changing moment for the area’s development of the vast resource. The company says finalisation of the NT Government’s new industry regulations sets the scene for gas production approval in the region, including for its EP187 Carpentaria pilot project.

Askari Metals will accelerate lithium exploration at its Uis project in Namibia after meeting the conditions for $2.5 million in strategic equity investment by global battery materials supplier Huayou International Resources. Huayou will subscribe for 4.5 million fully-paid ordinary shares in Askari at an issue price of 55 cents per share. Askari has a current share price of about 40c, offering a healthy premium.

Emu NL has enlarged its mineralised footprint in the heart of Esperance’s rare earths region after rock chips returned results of up to 1242 parts per million total rare earth oxides (TREO) from its latest reconnaissance survey. Management says fieldwork from outcropping Booanya suite granites has revealed high-value magnet rare earth oxides averaging about 22 per cent of TREO grade from 28 rock-chip samples.