Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

The United States Interior Department has reconfirmed ASX-listed Dateline Resources’ rights to mine and explore for gold and rare earths at its flagship Colosseum project in California. The long-awaited decision paves the way for a dual-commodity future for the company, just 10km from the US’s only operating REE mine, Mountain Pass.

Aurumin has launched a 1250m reverse circulation drilling program at the 64,700-ounce Gwendolyn gold deposit in its Johnson Range project, between Southern Cross and Sandstone. The validation and infill campaign is the first drilling undertaken since 2013 at the 803,000-tonne, 2.51g/t resource and, in the current heady gold price market, it has the potential to prove up an impeccably timed resource development opportunity.

After a thin few weeks for notable drill intercepts on the ASX, Bulls N’ Bears Big Hits this week digs deeper into Western Mines Group’s big reveal of an eye-watering 5.3 million tonnes of contained nickel metal in the company’s maiden mineral resource estimate for its Mulga Tank project in the WA Goldfields. That includes a notable hit from its most recent - and deepest - diamond drill hole.

Aurum Resources will kick off a maiden diamond drill program this month at its newly acquired Boundiali South tenement in Cote d’Ivoire to pursue some big hits from previous reverse circulation drilling, including a 20m intercept at 10.45 grams per tonne (g/t) gold. With government approvals on track, Aurum sees no further impediment to future exploration or obtaining mining rights for the prospect.

Horizon Minerals has awarded ASX-listed GR Engineering with the scope to complete engineering studies on the mothballed Black Swan processing facility to have it roar back to life as a gold plant. The coveted piece of infrastructure was secured by Horizon from its recent merger with Poseidon Nickel. The Kalgoorlie plant was used to process nickel before it was placed on care and maintenance.

Lindian Resources will start metallurgical test work of its high-grade Kangankunde monazite from Malawi, helped by Australia’s top nuclear science team, to target a market-ready mixed rare earth carbonate product. The Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation will run parallel acid and alkaline cracking methods to find the most economical way of producing a usable carbonate product prior to generating a final certificate of analysis.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runners of the Week is… Whitehawk Ltd, after it became a core cyber partner in a massive US$920M (A$1474M) US government contract. WA junior goldie OzAurum surged on results from its Cross Fault discovery next to Carosue Dam, Argent’s cannabis-based epilepsy therapy was approved for prescription in Germany and Galan turned down an unsolicited $240M bid for its Argentinian lithium projects.

Estrella Resources is set to make history in Timor-Leste by launching the country’s first mineral exploration drilling campaign at its Ira Miri, Sica and Lalena manganese prospects. Partnering with experienced in-country operator CoreSearch Minerals, a division of the experienced H2O group, Estrella is investing US$200,000 to mobilise a fully equipped RC and diamond drilling rig into the country’s northwest.

Galan Lithium has turned down a US$150 million (A$240M) cash offer from a Chinese-French combo to acquire its lithium brine projects in Argentina, labelling the proposal “opportunistic” and “undervalued”. The market responded swiftly, with Galan’s shares soaring more than 50 per cent to a high of 16c per share - defying the broader ASX index and lithium market sentiment.

GreenTech Metals and Artemis Resources have teamed up to form Andover Lithium, creating a massive 420-square-kilometre lithium exploration venture in Western Australia’s highly prospective West Pilbara region. By consolidating their lithium assets into one joint venture, the duo now holds the largest exploration package in the area - boosting the companies’ appeal to major funding partners drawn to the landholding’s scale and potential.

ASX-listed video tech innovator Atomos Limited has struck a savvy new $13.7 million debt deal - wiping out its old facility and dodging any shareholder dilution in the process. The move also delivers a fresh shot of $5M in working capital, as the company eyes a return to positive cash flow within the next year.

Novo Resources will launch a 2000m reverse circulation drilling program this month at Tibooburra in northwestern NSW to test high grade gold results from soil and rock chip geochemistry and other exploration. Recent surface sampling at the Clone prospect produced results of 89.6g/t and 41.9g/t gold in mullock around old workings and 31.4g/t and 10.4g/t gold from quartz vein outcrop along a 700m strike.

Javelin Minerals has taken the final hurdle ahead of drilling at its Eureka gold project, 50km north of Kalgoorlie, by completing of a heritage survey that clears the path for a maiden 3000m reverse circulation drill program. The company has a rig secured and ready to target extensions of high-grade lodes and a series of untested anomalies around the existing high-grade pit.

Shares in Buru Energy soared as much as 36 per cent on the open to 4.9 cents after the company inked a game-changing deal with a private LNG processing and supply firm to fund and build an LNG plant at its Rafael-1 gas discovery in WA’s Canning Basin. The deal could see Buru transition from explorer to producer with saleable gas potentially flowing from Rafael by the second half of 2027.

Horizon Minerals is on a tear after toll treating the first 37,000t of ore from its Phillips Find JV in the WA Goldfields and 50,604t from its Boorara mine to bank a cool $12.9M. With gold prices soaring to US$3,122 (A$5000) per ounce, Horizon’s timing could not be better.

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.