Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

Lithium Australia subsidiary, VSPC has secured an Australian patent in support of its proprietary process for producing phosphate-based battery cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries that it says can be achieved at a considerably reduced cost. VSPC has simplified its processing technology for the manufacturing of lithium metal phosphate battery cathode powders over the past two years, paving the way for the use of a wider range of raw materials as feedstock.

TNT Mines is gearing up for a major drilling program aimed at probing a couple of walk-up drill targets at its brownfields Warriedar gold project 50km north-west of the historic high-grade Paynes Find gold mine in WA. Warriedar takes in the old, high-grade Reids Ridge gold mine, where the Perth-based company plans to sink 40 holes for an aggregate drilling coverage of 5,000 metres.

Wiluna Mining’s development strategy across its multi-million-ounce gold operation in WA is continuing to pay dividends, with drilling at Golden Age producing a bag of high-grade intercepts, running as high as 47 grams per tonne gold, whilst the nearby discoveries at Starlight and Essex begin to take shape.

Legend Mining has stepped up its hunt for nickel at the Rockford Project in WA’s Fraser Range. An aggressive 10,000m diamond drilling campaign marks the start of the 2021 field season with one rig already feeling the dirt at Legend’s Mawson prospect in the revered Fraser Range. A second rig is due next week as the company begins to smash out the metres at Mawson.

ASX-listed Impact Minerals has racked up a bunch of fresh platinum group--copper-nickel drill hits across its shallow prospects which make up its aptly named Platinum Springs project, not far from the Broken Hill township in western NSW. Drilling at Plat Central returned one wide intercept of 32m at 0.7 g/t 3PGE from just 3m below surface, including 3m at a healthy 5.4 g/t PGE, below 76m.

ASX-listed gold and base metals explorer, Middle Island Resources is planning to demerge its Barkly copper-gold project in the NT with the aim of creating a separately listed entity on the ASX. The move, designed to unlock greater value in its wholly owned subsidiary that houses the 4,411sqkm of Barkly tenement holdings in the East Tennant mineral district, remains subject to shareholder approval.

Horizon Minerals has nailed its first drill hole at the Windanya project 45km north of Kalgoorlie. A discovery hole hit a head-turning 2 metres grading 26.68 g/t gold from just 35m at the project, setting it up as an immediate exploration priority for Horizon. Windanya sits within the Bardoc Tectonic Zone where over 100 tonnes of gold from a range of deposits have been mined.

ASX-listed Canada gold explorer, Ardiden has the drill rods spinning again in northwest Ontario, chasing the untested easterly strike of its Kasagiminnis gold deposit as it looks to build on the existing 110,000 ounces at 4.3 g/t gold already inferred. Ardiden’s latest suite of drill holes are vectoring in on an untested section of around 1.5km in strike length.

ASX-listed AVZ Minerals has nailed down a second offtake contract with a major Chinese lithium outfit – its second in less than three months. The aspiring central African lithium developer has struck a binding agreement with new offtake partner, Shenzhen Chengxin Lithium Group for the supply of spodumene concentrate from AVZ’s mammoth Manono lithium-tin project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Whilst it mulls over some positive nickel-copper assays from recent shallow metallurgical test holes at its Stricklands prospect, St George Mining has two sets of drill rods spinning simultaneously at its flagship high-grade Mt Alexander project in WA’s north-eastern Goldfields. Both rigs are vectoring in on strong EM conductors that are amongst the deepest tested along the western extension of the Cathedrals Belt prospect.

K2fly has added NYSE-listed precious metals mega-miner, Coeur Mining to its Software-as-a-Service customer base after Coeur inked a 5-year deal for the company’s industry-leading RCubed Resource Inventory software. The 5-year deal to be rolled out across Coeur’s five North American mine sites is worth A$718,000 over the period and has pushed K2fly’s total contract value for its software as a service offering to A$8.7m.

Kingwest Resources has expanded its global gold resource based on a cluster of deposits at its historic Menzies gold project about 130km north of Kalgoorlie by more than 125,000 ounces following its recent major resource definition drill out. The company increased the combined resource estimate for Menzies to 11 million tonnes of ore at an average grade of 1.26 grams per tonne for 446,200 ounces of gold.

Ora Banda Mining continues to kick goals as part of its ongoing resource drill out of its Davyhurst project in the goldfields of WA. Having poured the first gold bar at Davyhurst only in February, the company is now steaming ahead in its quest to grow the resources beneath the Riverina pit and at the Riverina South prospect.

Indiana Resources has upped the ante in its case against the Government of Tanzania, which relates to the alleged expropriation of the company’s Ntaka nickel project in southern Africa. The company is pursuing Tanzania through an arbitration process with the World Bank, with Indiana’s claim now topping an eye-watering US$95 million. The first hearing is now scheduled for the 22nd of April 2021.

High purity alumina developer, Altech Chemicals says the results from first-phase testing of batteries that contain graphite particles coated with its proprietary high purity alumina coating technology have been “positive and encouraging”. Test work will now proceed to the next stage involving further testing of battery charging and discharging with the aim of demonstrating repeatability and consistency.

The pieces are coming together for ASX-listed Middle Island Resources with positive developments from its ongoing feasibility study aimed at bringing the old Sandstone gold processing plant back to life. Final news on what could be a game-changer for the gold explorer is just a few short weeks away.

Construction of ASX-listed Lithium Australia’s planned pilot plant showcasing and testing its proprietary “LieNa” fine-spodumene conversion process has begun. Development of the pilot plant, a major component of the Perth-based company’s $3.6 million LieNA lithium recovery technology research and development program, was hampered last year by travel restrictions that came courtesy of COVID-19.

Neometals’ 50 per cent-owned joint venture company, Primobius has clinched a memorandum of understanding with Itochu Corporation that will see the Japanese giant weigh up the recycling potential of Primobius’ proprietary lithium-ion battery material processing technology.

Emu NL’s Viper copper project in WA is already looking the goods with first pass sampling across the prospect throwing up visible copper. The company’s maiden auger drilling program has tested the main copper bearing stratigraphy along more than 3 kilometres of strike where the field team has been routinely picking up samples containing visible copper mineralisation.

Things are heating up for ASX-listed King River Resources after unearthing high-grade gold and copper at its as yet undrilled Kurundi Project in the Tennant Creek/Davenport region of the Northern Territory. An eye-catching rock chip sample grading 16.05 grams per tonne gold and 6.4 per cent copper leads an impressive suite of numbers across multiple locations from two newly acquired concessions.

3D metal printing group, Aurora Labs has received favourable results from initial tests it conducted to assess the material properties of sample parts printed with specialist aluminium powders supplied by its research project collaborator, Gränges Powder Metallurgy. Aurora is researching the possibility of using aluminium alloy powders in its powder bed fusion additive manufacturing.

Things are heating up for ASX-listed explorer, Impact Minerals across two projects in New South Wales. Government approvals have now been received for a highly-anticipated drilling campaign at the company’s 100 per cent owned copper-gold Apsley prospect in the Lachlan Fold Belt. The results from final assays at the Broken Hill Project are also being assessed for follow-up drilling.

ASX-listed Element 25 says pre-commissioning activities are under way at the mine site of its brand new, world class Butcherbird manganese project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia where first ore is due to hit the haul road in just a couple of weeks from now. Electrical systems and instrument loops are being checked ahead of hook-up to its own power station later this week.

Legend Mining has pocketed a bag of cash after directors, management and major shareholders exercised a horde of stock options delivering over $3 million into the budding nickel explorer’s coffers. The exercise of the options brings the company’s cash position to over $27 million which will allow the ASX-listed explorer to ramp up its activities across its extensive holdings in WA’s Fraser Range.

ASX-listed precious and base metals explorer, Godolphin Resources has unearthed more enticing gold-silver mineralisation which is outside of the current mineral resource at its historic Lewis Ponds polymetallic project in NSW’s coveted Lachlan Fold Belt region. One fresh reverse circulation drill hole at the Quarry Lobe deposit intercepted 8m at 2.7 g/t gold and 118 g/t silver from 136m downhole.

ASX-listed software developer K2fly has posted a hefty uplift of 29 per cent in its half-yearly revenues, after locking in software as a service contracts with Australian iron ore monoliths Rio Tinto, Fortescue Metals Group and Roy Hill, amongst its bevy of global mega-miners. Revenues for the half-year to 31st December 2020 hit $3.413 million, up over $760,000 on the corresponding period last financial year.

PolarX has expanded its ground holding in Nevada, pegging an additional 96 mining claims across the Fourth of July prospect area in the gold-rich Humboldt Range. The new leases provide the company with contiguous coverage along more than 6 kilometres of strike, taking in a host of historical mine workings which have returned assays of up to 15.28 grams per tonne gold and an incredible 2639.3 g/t silver.

Things just got real for Indiana Resources after the company drilled some stellar holes at its Minos gold discovery in South Australia. Results from the final five holes of the program are headlined by an impressive 38m interval grading 6.54 grams per tonne gold from just 29m, including 16m at 13.12 g/t from 37m.

Calidus Resources is barrelling towards gold production at its Warrawoona project in the Pilbara having received approval for its proposed mining operation. The company is now permitted to move into production and has commenced bulk earthworks across the plant site. Calidus has also placed orders for all of the long lead items required for the milling operation and expects to be pouring gold in early 2022.

AVZ Minerals continues to kick goals at its Manono lithium project in Africa with recent drilling to facilitate ground-water monitoring returning wide intercepts of high-grade lithium mineralisation, extending the known ore envelope an additional 90 metres beyond the current pit design. New drill intercepts include a stunning 98.0m grading 1.79 per cent lithium oxide and 1,174 parts per million tin from only 2m down-hole.

ASX-listed explorer Okapi Resources is set to kick off its maiden drill program at its Enmore gold project in NSW as it continues to search for new drill targets at its West Australian Mt Day project. The company says it is also on the hunt for new projects as it gears up for a busy year ahead.

Aspiring ASX-listed gold producer, Horizon Minerals has unveiled another set of solid grade and broad intercept gold strikes at its 100 per cent-owned Peyes Farm gold project just 10km northwest of Kalgoorlie. One of the best hits was 8m at 8.53 g/t gold, including 4m at 14.2 g/t, from 52m and another returned 6m going 5.33 g/t gold from just 30m down-hole.