Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Oceana Lithium, after a capital raise to fill its coffers ahead of base metals testing in WA’s Gascoyne region. Zoono Group signed an exclusive packaging deal with UK majors, MetalsGrove Ltd ran on belated appreciation of its new Côte d’Ivoire gold projects, and Raiden Resources reported eight-from-eight shallow, high-grade gold hits from its emerging Bulgaria project.

Dateline Resources’ share price surged as high as 5.6c this week - not far from the coveted 10-bagger status - after the company recalibrated its scoping study gold price assumptions to US$2900 (A$4460) per ounce for its US-based Colosseum gold project. The key price adjustment delivered a whopping 134% jump in net present value for the project from US$235 million to US$550M.

Estrella Resources has inked a landmark deal that could see up to 500 million tonnes of limestone exported from Timor-Leste over five years, targeting South East Asia’s surging industrial minerals demand. The binding agreement with Indonesian group PT Raka Energi Mandiri grants exclusive rights to market and sell Estrella’s high-grade, calcite-rich limestone from its extensive Timor-Leste tenements.

Strickland Metals has turned up the heat at its Yandal gold project in WA’s northern Goldfields by expanding a key gravity survey to chase down a string of new intrusion-related gold targets across a juicy 19-kilometre stretch of prospective ground. The move follows the company’s recent discovery of IRG-style mineralisation near its Dusk ‘til Dawn gold camp and could set the stage for a new pipeline of high-impact drill targets.

Aurum Resources continues its stellar run of quality gold intercepts from its Boundiali project in Cote d'Ivoire, nailing a best hit in the latest results of 34 metres assaying 2.32 grams per tonne gold. The hit, from 56m depth in the company’s BDT1 target, includes 9m at an average grade of 5.44g/t gold. A second-best result delivered 48m going 1.27g/t gold from 73m, including 8m running 3.11g/t gold.

Thunderbird Resources has nabbed high-grade gold up to 19.3 grams per tonne and 4.12 per cent antimony in rock chip grab samples from initial exploration work at its Rockvale and Kookabookra projects in northeastern NSW. The Rockvale project is within shouting distance of Larvotto Resources’ Hillgrove gold-antimony operation, which hosts the nation’s largest antimony resource.

Terrain Minerals has kicked off a 17-hole, 3350m RC drilling blitz at its Lightning and Monza prospects in Western Australia’s Murchison goldfields. The 20-day campaign follows hot on the heels of high-grade hits earlier this year and aims to define and expand mineralised zones across the two parallel gold structures. Assay results are expected in about eight weeks, feeding into a maiden resource targeted for mid-2026.

American West Metals will start its 2025 exploration program at its Storm copper-zinc project on Somerset Island, in Canada, within weeks. The company aims to further define recent high-grade copper discoveries and rapidly grow the region’s mineral resource potential. Only a fraction of Storm’s 110km-long fertile copper belt has so far been tested by a drill bit.

In a significant step for the company, lab tests have confirmed Green360 Technology’s new high-reactivity metakaolin is well suited for producing low-carbon cement and low-carbon, high-performance structural concrete. The company produced metakaolin samples from its kaolin resources and deposits that exceed the quality benchmarks of other metakaolin products currently available in Australia.

Aguia Resources has fired up the diamond rigs at its high-grade Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia with a 25-hole, 2500m program designed to unlock a potentially huge discovery in the system’s rich mesothermal vein network. The company will also pepper the existing stockwork to clear a path for expanded underground production and set the stage for a maiden JORC resource towards the end of the year.

Aurumin Ltd has moved closer to cashflows in a JV with contract miner Newcam, which will spend up to $4M to farm into its gold projects. One project has an almost shovel-ready 64,000 ounces waiting to be tolled. The company has also landed a quick million dollars after agreeing to sell the non-gold rights at another of its WA gold projects.

Xanadu Mines’ share price soared more than 50 per cent today after the company received an 8 cents per share takeover offer from unlisted Bastion Mining, valuing the Mongolian-focused copper-gold developer at $160 million. The offer follows hot on the heels of an expired exclusivity period earlier this month over a control transaction the company was negotiating with joint venture partner and major shareholder Zijin Mining.

Red Metal Ltd’s Sybella project in Queensland is shaping up as a low-cost heap leach play as leach tests show up to 81% magnetic rare earth oxide recoveries with low iron impurities using only weak acid levels. Bottle roll tests revealed a pH sweet spot between 2.0 and 2.5, where high recoveries of magnet rare earth oxides including the lucrative elements neodymium and praseodymium could be recovered using room-temperature sulphuric acid.

Dateline Resources has locked in the cash it needs to complete a bankable feasibility study on the gold deposit at its flagship Californian Colosseum gold and rare earths project to turn its 1.1-million-ounce resource into a revenue-generating mine. The company is also charging ahead with a rare earth drilling program at site and planning a US Venture listing in the third quarter of this year.

Altech Batteries has seamlessly revived a 28-year-old sodium-nickel-chloride battery that uses a primitive version of its own modern-day salt based “Cerenergy” battery technology. Altech says the old battery kicked into gear without hesitation after 28 years, showing that its own similar but more advanced battery technology is based on a solid foundation.

Larvotto Resources has discovered tungsten lurking in its already economic Hillgrove gold and antimony project in NSW, setting the scene for another payable by-product from the project that is already showing big numbers based on gold and antimony alone. Larvotto has delivered an initial mineral resource estimate for tungsten of 8.77 million tonnes at 0.05% tungsten trioxide at the project for 4774 contained tonnes.

Empire Energy has secured a hefty $28M war chest to propel its trailblazing Carpentaria gas pilot project in the N.T’s colossal Beetaloo Basin, as it manoeuvres to become Australia’s next big onshore gas player. The capital injection will turbocharge the hydraulic stimulation and flow testing of Empire’s Carpentaria-5H well, the longest horizontal well in the Beetaloo Sub-basin at a whopping 3310m.

Estrella Resources has notched yet another landmark achievement in Timor-Leste, formally East Timor, announcing the first conversion of permits into exploration licenses under the mineral-rich country’s new mining laws. The newly minted licenses will enable the company to deploy ground-disturbing exploration methods, including all-important maiden drilling campaigns, set to kick-off upon receipt of the nation’s first ever drill rig.

Strickland Metals is picking up the pace at its south Serbian Rogozna gold and base metals project which includes a further 20,000m of drilling at its Gradina target and a slew of new middle managers that are capable of guiding it into production. The company’s pre-development programs have expanded to include environmental baseline surveys, the opening of a local office, well-advanced metallurgical studies and ongoing drilling by six rigs across three targets.

Lindian Resources is juggling a slew of financing proposals from leading African and European commercial and investment banks, for its world-class Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi. The company says it is riding a wave of financial momentum, with multiple funding proposals under due diligence to bankroll Kangankunde’s Stage 1 continued development.

Aguia Resources is set to unlock a second source of revenue with first phosphate sales from its Três Estradas project in Brazil targeted for Q1 FY26. Mining contracts are signed and modifications to its 100,000tpa leased plant are underway. The move complements Aguia’s current cashflow stream that is ramping up from its Santa Barbara gold project in Colombia.

Reach Resources has punched out another 5,800 ounces of shallow gold at its Murchison South project near Paynes Find. The new resource at the company’s Pansy Pit was confirmed by independent consultant Mining Plus and adds to the 61,300 ounces already banked at the Blue Heaven deposit at the project. The combined 67,000 ounces now make a compelling case for toll treating.

Aurum Resources has nailed a series of additional high grades gold hits at its Boundiali Project in Côte d'Ivoire, including 1m at 73.10 grams per tonne from Target 3 in its eastern BM licence, ahead of an expected upgrade to its mineral resource. The company is also working towards a pre-feasibility study at the site which it expects to complete before year’s end.

Dateline Resources is dialling up its US focus after offloading its non-core Udu copper project in Fiji to private company Viva Metals in a deal worth $4.35 million. The sale will free up cash to fast-track drilling at its Colosseum rare earths and gold project in California. The company is also prepping for a US venture market listing after a Trump hailed its mine as “America’s second REE project.”

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… XPON Technologies Group, after the company snapped up a leading Australian digital marketing outfit to supercharge its revenue growth. Locksley Resources enjoyed a run after lodging drilling permits on its US-based Mojave project in prime critical metals country, high-grade gallium hopeful DY6 Metals continued last week’s strong run and Arizona Lithium curiously climbed to new highs on no new news.

King River Resources has acquired a new exploration licence, which encloses its Kurundi gold prospect in the Northern Territory and includes possible north-westward extensions from the Kurundi targ

Strickland Metals has come out swinging in 2025, landing two thick, high-grade intercepts at its Shanac deposit in Serbia. The standout hits included 251.6m at 1.3g/t gold equivalent and 265m at 1.2g/t gold equivalent, including a sizzling 66.8m section grading 2.7g/t gold equivalent. The second hole opened up a surprise high-grade zone on the western flank, pointing to exciting new growth potential.

Terrain Minerals is on the cusp of launching a reverse circulation drilling program next week to follow up on the company’s recent discovery of shallow high-grade gold and silver at its Lightning and Monza prospects. The two prospects lie in the northern extremity of its Smokebush project, 350km north of Perth. The drill program co-incides with Terrain’s mid-May ex-date, $1.8M rights issue.

Aguia Resources is officially in the gold game at its Santa Barbara project in Colombia, with gold now flowing and a maiden drilling campaign on the launchpad. The company is regularly mining 15 tonnes per day from its underground workings to the onsite processing plant on the way to 50tpd by July. All the early signs are stacking up for the company to reach consistent 20+g/t gold.

Novo Resources’ recent field exploration activity at its farm-in John Bull gold project in NSW has provided a host of new exploration targets, which the company plans to drill in June. Novo has also extended its known 100ppb soil gold anomaly to more than 1.5km of strike with a peak result of 1.59g/t gold, while sampling of quartz veins has nailed grades of 67.9g/t and 29g/t gold.

In a major shift for Mongolia’s Kharmagtai copper-gold project, Xanadu Mines has let its exclusivity deal with mining giant and JV partner Zijin lapse after failing to reach a control deal. Despite a promising proposal in April, Zijin could not commit within the tight timeframe. Xanadu will now pursue shareholder approval to trigger its 25% put option and reopen the door to other suitors, while continuing discussions with Zijin.

Altech Batteries is pumping out its high-tech Silumina anodes from its German pilot plant, marking a milestone for the company as it supplies first product to potential customers for testing and sets itself up for future commercial production. The new-age technology has achieved a significant breakthrough by coating silicon particles with alumina, boosting the energy capacity of lithium-ion batteries by up to 55 per cent.