Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runners of the Week is… Santa Fe Minerals, after the company scooped up a gold exploration play in a red-hot West African jurisdiction. Long-suffering Energy World shot up after it wiped more than a half a billion dollars in debt off its books, Next Science sayonara’d a chunk of its med-tech assets for $76 million and Loyal Metals picked up an super-high-grade historic copper-gold asset in central Queensland.

BMG Resources has kicked off a 30-hole reverse circulation drilling program for a planned 3000 metres at its Bullabulling North gold project near Coolgardie. The program will follow-up high-grade gold results from earlier scout drilling, which include 2m assaying an impressive 18.1g/t gold from 34m, 12m at 2.3g/t gold from 53m and 4m going 10.12g/t gold from 32m. Credit: File

Thunderbird Resources is zeroing in on high-grade gold mineralisation at its Kookabookra gold project near Armidale in New South Wales, with rock chip assays returning up to a spectacular 153.5 grams per tonne gold at the company’s Mt Secret prospect. Continued surveys will direct a maiden drilling program at Thunderbird’s recently acquired projects, planned for later this quarter.

St George Mining has launched advanced geophysics surveys at its Araxá niobium-rare earths project in Brazil’s mining heartland of Minas Gerais. The company is flying its high-tech surveys in a quest to expand its project to become a globally significant niobium resource base. Meanwhile, the company is winding up a 10,000-metre drilling blitz at the relatively untested project.

88 Energy has secured a 12-month extension for the company’s onshore Owambo Basin petroleum exploration licence in Namibia that will extend its first renewal exploration period until October 2026. The company has introduced a new stage 1 works program targeting pre-drill de-risking. The program includes an airborne gravity and magnetic survey to run later this year.

In a Red Letter Day, Meeka Metals yesterday poured the first gold from the company’s Murchison gold project on schedule, within 12 months of breaking ground at its new Murchison Goldfield venture. With plant commissioning completed, management reports that production is ramping up smoothly. Meeka plans to process about 80,000 ounces of gold per year.

Latitude 66 has signed a deal to sell its 17.5 per cent interest in the Greater Duchess copper-gold joint venture in Queensland for $2 million upfront. The agreement includes a potential $4 million bonus if the entire JV is sold within 90 days. The move unlocks non-dilutive cash and aligns with the company’s strategy to monetise non-core Australian assets while focusing on projects in WA and Finland.

Dateline Resources has completed a detailed geophysical survey at its Colosseum project in California, revealing signatures strikingly similar to the nearby famed Mountain Pass rare earths deposit. With early assay results showing rare earths anomalies and a 3D model on the way, the company is eyeing a potential major discovery, underpinned by its “stacked evidence” strategy to target carbonatite intrusions and gold-rich breccia pipes.

Green360 Technologies has penned an agreement to produce low-carbon retaining wall blocks with leading WA precast concrete manufacturer PERMAcast. PERMAcast will fund the purchase of a block laying machine and batching plant and the joint venture partners will split then the profits from selling the blocks into WA’s mining construction market, while maintaining control of the product.

Estrella Resources has pulled in a hefty $5 million from a strategic investor who exercised a second option to buy 136.76 million shares at 3.65 cents per share and at a 500 per cent premium to the first conversion in September. The cash boost will be used to fund drilling exploration on the company’s manganese and limestone prospects in Timor-Leste, where Estrella recently made some exciting discoveries.

Aurumin Limited and Brightstar Resources are in merger talks to combine their Sandstone assets into a consolidated 2.4-million-ounce gold project. The proposed scrip deal would give Aurumin shareholders Brightstar equity and is aimed at de-risking and fast-tracking development. While still subject to due diligence, the move could establish one of WA’s most significant near-term gold projects in the Goldfields.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runners of the Week is… Ovanti Ltd, after the company scored a buy now, pay later maestro to guide its US expansion. Olympio unveiled visible gold in its first drill hole in Canada, Codeifai flew on a poorly kept takeover secret, and Sunrise unveiled high-grade scandium results at its NSW critical minerals project.

Aurum Resources has launched a 30,000-metre diamond drilling campaign at its 0.87-million-ounce Napié project, about 110 kilometres southeast of the company’s flagship Boundiali project in Côte d'Ivoire. The two-rig program aims to expand the current Napié resource, drill other thinly tested targets and deliver an updated mineral resource estimate for the project by the end of the year.

Larvotto Resources has secured formal NSW government approval for its Hillgrove Mod 6 application, clearing the path for mining and processing at its gold-antimony project. The green light allows the company to press forward with final financing, infrastructure upgrades and a planned production start in 2026. The approval also supports key environmental initiatives, including the shift to dry-stacked tailings for more sustainable operations.

NeuroScientific Biopharmaceuticals has acquired unlisted Perth-based Isopogen for $5.1 million, gaining control of the company’s stem cell therapy developed as a last-line treatment for severe autoimmune disease and transplant complications. The move puts NeuroScientific in line to compete in the regenerative space.

Terrain Minerals has cranked up the drill bit at its Smokebush project in Western Australia, extending its current reverse circulation drilling campaign in search of high-grade silver and gold at its Lightning and Monza prospects. The company has tacked on an extra 700m and three holes, expanding the program to a substantial 20 holes for 4300m. The expansion stems from keen field observations by Terrain on the ground.

Beetaloo Energy has secured crucial consent from Traditional Owners to sell appraisal gas from its Carpentaria gas project in the Northern Territory. The decision followed an on-country meeting organised by the Northern Land Council and paves the way for further development. The company says the agreement has highlighted its commitment to Indigenous partnerships and enables local communities to share in the region’s growing economic opportunities.

Horizon Minerals has kicked off a 30,000m drilling campaign at its Burbanks gold project in WA’s Goldfields. The campaign aims to upgrade confidence in the resource and expand high-grade zones to feed the company’s refurbished Black Swan processing plant. With early hits of up to 45.4g/t gold and historic grades averaging 22.7g/t, Burbanks is shaping as a cornerstone for Horizon’s standalone gold producer strategy.

Neometals, through its partnership with mining services heavyweight Mineral Resources, has inked an agreement with mining giant Rio Tinto to advance its patented lithium processing technology – the ELi process. The company’s 70:30 joint venture Reed Advanced Materials has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Rio subsidiary Livent USA to explore the commercialisation of its proprietary process to convert lithium feedstock into high-purity lithium hydroxide monohydrate.

Neometals has delivered a 250,000-tonne mineral resource estimate averaging 1.6g/t gold for mineralisation near historical underground workings at its Ironclad deposit in the company’s Barrambie project near Sandstone. The inaugural inferred estimate of 13,000 ounces gold for Ironclad was completed to confirm historical non-JORC compliant estimates and is based mainly on shallow reverse circulation and rotary air blast holes drilled mostly to less than 75 metres deep.

GreenTech Metals’ recent exploration target model for its Whundo massive sulphide base metals project points to a resource potential from 15 million tonnes to 23Mt, with between 0.9% and 1.4% copper. The model for the company’s project, near Karratha in WA’s Pilbara region, also indicates a zinc resource potential for the same tonnage within a grade range of 0.2% to 0.4% zinc.

Legend Mining has snapped up a 100 per cent interest in the Pinnacle Well gold and base metals project outside Leonora in Western Australia for a mere $50,000 cash. The company says its underexplored gem in the northern Goldfields marks Legend’s first foray beyond its nickel-copper stronghold in the Fraser Range and signals a strategic gallop into the booming gold space.

Dateline Resources boss Stephen Baghdadi has put his money where his mouth is by injecting $1.06 million into the ASX-listed explorer after exercising more than 53 million options. The move has lifted his stake to nearly 13 per cent and gives the company’s flagship Colosseum gold-rare earths project in California a major confidence boost as mining studies and rare earths exploration ramp up.

Singapore mining entity Bastion Mining has declared victory in its battle for control of ASX-listed Xanadu Mines, announcing its off-market takeover bid is now unconditional after Bastion secured a 55.65 per cent stake in the Mongolian-focused copper and gold explorer. Bastion quickly accumulated the required 50.1 per cent of shares necessary for a successful takeover, after offering 8c per Xanadu share.

Pilot Energy has locked in the purchase of the WA-based Cliff Head oil facility from former joint venture partner Triangle Energy and will repurpose the asset for carbon capture and storage. Pilot has acquired Triangle’s remaining 78.75 per cent interest in the oil field to assume full ownership of its onshore assets as well as all its offshore assets within WA jurisdiction.

St George Mining will start a reverse circulation drilling program within days at its Araxa niobium-rare earths project in Brazil, as the company builds local community and government support to develop Araxa into a globally significant project. The RC program will be followed by a 10,000m, 16-week diamond drilling campaign in July.

Aguia Resources is set to kick off surface exploration at its prospective Atocha gold-silver project in Colombia, in a bid to generate new drill targets at the site where high-grade gold and silver have already been identified. Previous rock chip sampling returned grades of 19.9g/t, 14.65g/t and 14.2g/t gold and silver assays up to 3480g/t.

The moment of truth is close for Great Southern Mining and Gold Fields Ltd, with the JV partners getting near to drilling a 2.4-km-wide porphyry anomaly in Queensland, unearthed by an IP geophysical survey that appears to scream “drill here”. The duo believe they may be onto a “chargeability anomaly” laden with sulphides housing a significant gold-copper deposit and will need the rods to start turning to prove up that theory.

Estrella Resources has struck 7.76m of manganese oxide just below surface at its Ira Miri project in Timor-Leste. The intercept confirms the company’s geological model and follows a successful site visit attended by East Timor’s Prime Minister. With drilling ramping up and assays pending, Estrella is accelerating exploration in the region, supported by enthusiastic community and government backing.

Dateline Resources has kicked off a major geophysical and geochemical survey blitz at its US Colosseum gold-rare earths project aimed at unlocking a dual gold and rare earths play from one of America’s most prospective geological corridors. A high-tech magnetotelluric study has been rolled out to collect detailed imaging data beneath the surface using fluctuations in the earth’s natural electrical and magnetic fields generated from solar winds and lightning to detect buried breccia pipes.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runners of the Week is… Amplia Therapeutics. The biotech beauty might just be onto a fabled golden bullet for pancreatic cancer. ArchTIS Limited surged on a pair of blockbuster defence cybersecurity contracts. And Vanadium Resources unveiled an early-stage direct shipping ore agreement with a Chinese global metals trader.

Novo Resources has given its high-grade Pilbara gold and gold-antimony prospects a solid nudge, including at Sherlock Crossing, where it defined a 1.5km-long soil antimony anomaly with coincident gold. The better than 15ppm anomaly, which peaked at 48.3ppm antimony, was identified in extended sampling south of Novo’s initial grid around the historic Clarke Mine, with peak gold of 85 parts per billion.