Bart Bogacz

Octava Minerals says it has locked in the relevant regulatory approvals required to begin exploration works at its high-grade Yallalong antimony project to the north-east of Geraldton in Western Australia. Geological fieldwork including mapping and rock-chip sampling is already underway as the company advances its activities towards the drill-testing of four high-priority targets along a vast 10km antimony corridor identified at the project.

Buru Energy’s hunt for onshore oil in Western Australia’s mighty Canning Basin has moved up a gear with the spudding of the Rafael Shallow 1 exploration well. The drilling is targeting the Rafael Shallow oil prospect where a prospective resource of between 3.2 million stock tank barrels (MMstb) of oil and 79 MMstb has already been identified, including a best estimate of 19 MMstb.

ChemX Materials has secured a patent from the New Zealand Intellectual Property Office for its “HiPurA” processing technology used to produce high-purity alumina (HPA) for application in cutting-edge technologies such as LEDs, semiconductors and lithium-ion batteries. The patent adds to the company’s recently-granted Australian equivalent and helps reinforce its push to become a key HPA producer in Australasia.

Estrella Resources is continuing to deliver the goods at its Lautém project in virgin Timor-Leste, with the discovery of new supergene manganese mineralisation exposed from surface at its Sica prospect. The company also received “exceptional” assay results from grab samples taken at several nearby prospects, with grades reaching as high as 57 per cent manganese.

Triangle Energy Global’s hunt for onshore oil and gas in Western Australia has grown white-hot, with the spudding of its Booth-1 exploration well at the Booth prospect marking the launch of a highly-anticipated drilling campaign in the underexplored North Perth Basin. The drilling is targeting a hefty 279 billion cubic feet resource as part of Triangle’s joint venture agreement with Strike Energy and Echelon Resources.

Mining technology business K2fly has delivered a 20 per cent boost to its annual recurring revenue, with new sales and contract renewals driving the key performance metric from $7.5 million in the fourth quarter of FY23 to $9 million in the fourth quarter of FY24. Cash receipts from customers of $4.6 million also jumped by 28 per cent during the same period.

Triangle Energy’s hunt for onshore oil and gas at its Booth prospect in Western Australia’s North Perth Basin has stepped up a gear, with spudding of its Booth-1 well anticipated at the end of this month and drilling expected to begin in about 10 days. The company is targeting a vast 279 billion cubic feet resource at Booth.

Quantum Graphite and its joint venture partner Sunlands Energy are a step closer to securing a US$300 million funding solution to fuel their quest aimed at feeding high-purity graphite into the American economy. The partnership has confirmed it has received a letter of interest regarding the significant financing commitment from the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM).

White Cliff Minerals has beefed up its landholding at its Nunavut copper-gold-silver project in the northern Canadian province of the same name after putting its foot on two adjoining and “highly-prospective” exploration licences covering up to an additional 63 square kilometres. The new tenure includes the Halo prospect where historical drilling returned a 4.7m intercept at an eye-catching 10.47 per cent copper.

Dateline Resources is tapping investors for up to $5.8 million via a renounceable rights issue to provide a financial boost for its compelling Colosseum gold and rare earths project in California. The company plans to use the funds to conduct further exploration works and complete a mine planning study for the bumper 1.1 million-ounce gold resource it recently reported at the project.

ASX-listed Strickland Metals has tied up the acquisition of its mammoth Rogozna gold and base metal project in Serbia where a resource containing more than 5.4 million ounces of gold equivalent has already been defined. A 60,000m resource expansion and exploration drilling campaign is also well underway, with three rigs smashing out the metres and a fourth to be added shortly.

Larvotto Resources has revealed a bumper exploration target at its Hillgrove gold and antimony project in New South Wales, consisting of 2.8 to 3.6 million tonnes holding between 670,000 and 1.08 million ounces of gold equivalent grading at 7.4 to 9.46 grams per tonne. The target adds strong potential for the company to grow its vast resource base that contains 1.4 million ounces of gold equivalent at a cracking grade of 6.1g/t.

Radiopharm Theranostics’ stock rocketed up more than 35 per cent this morning after the cancer-fighting firm secured commitments from leading international and Australian institutional investors to raise $70 million at a premium to its most recent share price. The funds will be used to advance the company’s clinical programs for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer through its innovative radiopharmaceutical products.

Perth-based explorer Thunderbird Resources is beefing up its bank balance to the tune of $4.1 million ahead of a 2400m drilling blitz targeting high-grade uranium at its flagship Hidden Bay project in the globally-renowned Athabasca Basin in Canada. Fieldwork programs are already underway, with the company’s drill-testing of multiple targets at the operation expected to kick off in August.

Red Metal has delivered a boost to its Sybella rare earths discovery in Queensland, with metallurgical testwork enhancing the prospects of a low-cost and low-capital heap leach processing operation. Management believes the results could pave the way for a process route that lifts revenue and lowers processing costs in a future mine at the project.

Estrella Resources is off and running at its Lautém manganese, copper and gold project in Timor-Leste (formally East Timor), with preliminary geological reconnaissance works identifying a 27 km manganese trend with serious grades up to almost 61 per cent. The company is undergoing systematic geological mapping and sampling at its newly granted 504 square kilometre land package after managing to lock down one of the first ever exploration licences in the mineral rich province.

The world’s largest iron ore and nickel producer, Brazilian powerhouse Vale, has contracted Perth based ASX-listed company K2fly to supply its unique mining software across 69 of its sites for at least three years. The deal will add almost half a million dollars a year to K2fly’s all important “annual recuring revenue” figure that many software as a service companies are judged on.

Image Resources has taken a key step towards the development of its Atlas mineral sands project in Western Australia after no formal objections were lodged for the implementation of the company’s development proposal. The outcome could speed up the group’s return to mining by several months, with the process now moving towards final ministerial approval.

White Cliff Minerals is gearing up for a bumper 2024 as its hunt for a smorgasbord of metals builds up steam. Planned works include diamond drilling at its recently acquired Radium Point uranium, gold and copper project in Canada where rock chip results from historical works include an eye-catching 14.15 per cent uranium, 22.72 per cent copper and 8.28 grams per tonne gold.

Askari Metals has secured two additional exploration concessions at its Yarrie lithium project in the prolific Pilbara region of Western Australia – and in proximity to Pilbara Minerals’ globally-renowned Pilgangoora lithium resource. The company says the acquisitions represent a significant milestone and it now plans to launch further exploration works at what it describes as a “highly-anticipated” project.