Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

Venus Metals and joint venture partner Rox Resources appear to have confirmed significant open-pit mining cost savings for the proposed shallow, high-grade Grace gold deposit near Mount Magnet in Western Australia’s Murchison district. Grace forms a part of the duo’s 1.66-million-ounce Youanmi gold resources that the partners are looking to bring into production.

AVZ Minerals has unveiled a 41.6 per cent increase in the proved and probable ore reserves for the centrepiece Roche Dure deposit at its monster Manono hard-rock lithium and tin project in the DRC. Reserves now stand at 131.7Mt at average grades of 1.63 per cent lithium oxide and 990 g/t tin, up from 93Mt at 1.58 per cent lithium oxide and 988 g/t tin.

ASX-listed Infinity Lithium says the Spanish government has approved a “historical funding package” of €4.3 billion through to 2023 aiming to transform the nation into a European electric vehicle production hub. Infinity is looking to provide critical raw materials for production of lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles from its 75 per cent owned San Jose lithium project in Spain.

ASX-listed Alaska oil and gas explorer 88 Energy says it is on track to present the market with a full appraisal of results from Merlin-1 well testing at its Peregrine project early next month after being “highly encouraged” by latest preliminary hydrocarbon indications. The company is targeting more than one billion barrels of oil resources in the Peregrine field.

ASX-listed Horizon Minerals has tabled an updated mineral resource for the joint-ventured Penny’s Find gold project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields as it eyes a start to toll ore processing from the high-grade gold asset in the March quarter next year. The satellite underground deposit hosts an indicated and inferred resource of 250,000t at 5.22 g/t for 42,000 ounces of contained gold.

Geophysical surveying that accurately mapped known sulphide mineralisation at Si6 Metals’ Maibele North project in eastern Botswana has also defined several new nickel-copper sulphide targets along strike from, and below, the project’s 2.38 million tonne resource grading 0.72 per cent nickel and 0.21 per cent copper. Si6 is considering a drill campaign to test the new targets.

New ASX listing Askari Metals has secured a drilling contractor to undertake a maiden reverse circulation drilling program at its Burracoppin gold project in Western Australia. Planned drilling is designed to test several high-grade historical results and artisanal workings. The company is cashed up after recently raising close to $6 million as part of its initial public offering.

Kairos Minerals has intercepted shallow gold zones with drilling at its Roe Hills project some 120km east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Hits at the Caliburn prospect include 8m at 1.32 grams per tonne gold from just 32m, with a 4m interval going at 2.29 g/t gold. Infill drilling is now on the cards as Kairos looks to work Roe Hills toward a maiden resource estimate.

Indiana Resources has served up numerous “stunning” gold hits at the exciting Minos discovery at its 100 per cent owned Central Gawler Craton project in South Australia. One broad 21m intercept returned 8.43 grams per tonne gold from 176m, including a bumper grade 1m interval going 159 g/t gold. The company is looking to table a maiden resource estimate for Minos.

Todd River Resources plans to get busy on the ground this quarter at its Nerramyne project in WA’s Murchison region after applying for further ground next to its large, granted exploration licence covering a 40km-by-6km copper soil anomaly. The company says a newly defined mafic intrusive will be one target worth investigating further in the expanded Nerramyne project area.

Kula Gold has dished up thick, shallow hits of bright white kaolin from a maiden drilling program at its 100 per cent owned Airfield project near Southern Cross in Western Australia. All three holes hit kaolin clay zones averaging 42m thickness from just 5m below surface, sending the company’s share price soaring by over 50 per cent in morning trading.

Sihayo Gold has clocked up more encouraging gold intersections from a diamond drilling program at its brownfields Sihayo gold project in North Sumatra, Indonesia. The pick of the assays from the latest seven holes at the Sihayo-2 prospect for which the company received results were 5m at 1.17 g/t from 25m, 3m going at 0.79 g/t from 4m and 4m at 0.76 g/t from 16m.

ASX-listed Calidus Resources has an eye firmly on becoming Australia’s next gold producer. With “rapid progress” made on several fronts in recent weeks the company says construction at its Warrawoona gold operation in WA’s Pilbara is now 40 per cent complete ensuring it is well on track for its first gold pour in the first half of next year.

Twenty Seven Co has defined three broad areas of anomalous gold mineralisation at its Yarbu gold project north of Southern Cross in Western Australia, with one zone coming in it at a hefty 1.9km-by-1.4km. The company plans to drill-test the new targets located along the Marda-Diemals Greenstone Belt that also hosts Ramelius Resources’ 280,000-ounce Marda gold project to the south.

Barton Gold has started a new geophysics program at its Tarcoola gold project in SA as it looks to hone the recently interpreted regional structural model for the brownfields project. The company says the ground penetrating radar survey will be aimed at priority targets identified last year as favourable for potential repeats of the mineralisation and auriferous structures at the nearby former high-grade Perseverance gold mine.

Perth-based biotechnology company PharmAust has clinched an agreement with the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute for research into the effectiveness of its monepantel drug against a cancer-inducing virus in humans. The research raises hopes for an effective treatment for 10-to-20 million people worldwide infected with the HTLV-1 virus, which causes pulmonary disease, inflammatory disorders and, in some cases, leukaemia or lymphoma.

Legend Mining continues to grow the mineralised intrusion at its Mawson nickel-copper-cobalt find in the Fraser Range of Western Australia with further sulphide intercepts including an 11m hit going 1.02 per cent nickel and 0.61 per cent copper, several hundred metres away from the discovery zone. A new intrusion some 2km south of Mawson has also been identified as downhole electromagnetic modelling defines further targets.

ASX-listed Galan Lithium has continued its strong sharemarket rise this year on the back of impressive new results from testing aimed at showing it can produce high-purity battery grade lithium carbonate from its flagship Hombre Muerto West lithium brine project located in Catamarca, Argentina.

Okapi Resources has secured a package of brownfields uranium assets in the US via an all-scrip “transformational” acquisition of Australia-based Tallahassee Resources. The company will pay the vendors of Tallahassee Resources 33.5 million new Okapi shares and 16.75 million options as consideration for the deal and inherit 100 per cent of the mineral rights over the Tallahassee uranium project tenure in Colorado’s Tallahassee Creek uranium district.

Estrella Resources has served up a 26.3m drill intercept grading 0.73 per cent nickel and 0.4 per cent copper from 361m at its exciting T5 discovery near the historical Carr Boyd Rocks mine north of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia. Two other holes also hit a broad zone of nickel-copper sulphides as drilling to test the extent of mineralisation continues.

ASX-listed Troy Resources has reported promising reverse circulation drilling results from its Gem Creek prospect, north of the company’s 100 per cent owned Karouni gold operations in Guyana. Notable shallow drill hits such as 1m grading 7.5 grams per tonne and 5m at 5.36g/t gold have been recorded over an identified 500m of strike with mineralisation said to be open in all directions.

ASX-listed Buru Energy has got its new drilling in Western Australia’s onshore Canning Basin off to a flying start with the first casing set in the Currajong 1 exploration well. Targeting 28 million barrels of conventional oil, Buru’s drilling of Currajong 1 is due to conclude in the next two weeks. A second well targeting 69 million barrels of oil at Rafael 1 is set to follow.

ASX-listed Hot Chili has applied to dual list on the Toronto Stock Exchange as it steps up its funding and development plans for the proposed large-scale Costa Fuego copper-gold project in Chile. The Canadian share market has a proven track record of supporting world-class exploration and development companies in the copper space with a number of recent transformative dual listings.

Novo Resources’ conglomerate gold-fed operation at Nullagine in WA continues to break new production records with the company pumping out more than 16.5 per cent more gold in June than in the previous month. Novo’s Golden Eagle mill produced 5,898 ounces of fine gold for the period, with the company also posting revenue of $12.8 million.

ASX-listed software-as-a-service provider K2fly has achieved strong business growth momentum heading into its new fiscal year with surging revenues and invoicing in the June quarter rounding out a successful FY2021. During the financial year K2fly landed significant new contracts with large miners which saw it invoice A$2.54 million in the June quarter, up 34 per cent year-on-year, bringing FY21 invoices to $7.8 million.

Venus Metals and joint venture partner Rox Resources have delivered solid gold hits including 5m at 5.96 grams per tonne gold near an old underground mine the duo plan to bring into production at the Youanmi gold project in the Murchison district of Western Australia.

St George Mining is off to a flying start in its copper-gold search in the “world-class” Paterson region of Western Australia with multiple holes from its maiden drilling campaign at its Paterson prospect hitting prospective basement rocks. Initial XRF analysis has returned elevated levels of pathfinder elements suggesting potential for base metal and gold mineralisation across 35km of target stratigraphy at the company’s tenure.

ASX newcomer Barton Gold is poised to commence drilling at its Tarcoola and Tunkillia gold projects in South Australia’s famed Gawler Craton, where the company is looking to build on a plus-1 million ounce resource base. SA-based contractor Bullion Drilling is mobilising to join Barton Gold’s exploration team on site and kick off more than 11,000m of drilling over coming weeks.

Askari Metals has successfully listed on the ASX, hitting the boards at an impressive 25 per cent premium to its 20c offer price. The company has raised close to $6 million as part of its initial public offering and has already locked in a drill rig to begin testing its highly prospective suite of copper and gold projects in Western Australia.

Lithium Australia appears to have taken a key step to commercialising its lithium manganese ferro phosphate or “LMFP” cathode powder used in lithium-ion batteries with the product now available for consumer testing. The company says LMFP-type batteries are cheaper, safer and longer lasting than traditional nickel-based alternatives with the likes of Tesla transitioning to phosphate-based batteries to power its electric vehicles.

Premium fertiliser hopeful Trigg Mining has edged closer to an ultimate development of its Lake Throssell sulphate of potash project near Laverton in WA following a “highly successful” brine pumping field trial. The company hopes to deliver a maiden indicated mineral resource this quarter on the back of its recently released inferred-category resource estimate of 14.2Mt of drainable sulphate of potash at 4,638mg/L potassium.

Aldoro Resources is spreading its wings in Western Australia’s Murchison region, snapping up lithium pegmatite prospects adjacent to its Windimurra lithium footprint through a deal to acquire the neighbouring Wyemandoo as well as the Niobe tantalum-lithium project near Mount Magnet from privately-owned Meridian 120 Mining. Aldoro says Windimurra is rich in lithium-cesium-tantalum or “LCT” type pegmatites, with tungsten also present.