James Pearson

A gravity survey by Sipa Resources at the Barbwire Terrace project it shares with Buru Energy east of Broome in WA has unearthed a big anomaly and telltale structures to boost its chances of a lead-zinc find. Sitting on the southern margins of the Fitzroy Trough, the findings show geological similarities to the Lennard Shelf on the northern side of the trough.

Meeka Metals has slotted in the final piece of the approvals puzzle from the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS), allowing it to launch full-scale development of its Murchison gold project in Western Australia. With the green light now shining brightly, Meeka has quickly moved from planning to construction and is targeting its first gold pour by July next year.

A leadership restructure at Atomos and a new product suite has led to a 5.1 per cent increase in sales and lifted gross margins to 40 per cent as part of a solid financial turnaround for the video technology innovator. It comes on the back of a 22 per cent cut in fixed operating costs following a $15 million loss in the past year.

As part of an extensive exploration program at the Egina Gold Camp, Novo Resources and billionaire “prospector” Mark Creasy have stretched the strike extent at the joint-ventured Nunyerry North gold prospect in WA’s Pilbara region to 500m after some solid drill hits, including 13m at 2.68g/t from 66m, 11m at 2.20g/t from 84m and 17m at 1.85g/t from 25m.

Buxton Resources has revealed a 54m graphite zone, with 20m estimated to be grading more than 10 per cent total graphitic carbon (TGC), in a maiden drillhole at its Ranger prospect in Western Australia’s Murchison region. Sitting within the company’s Narryer project, the discovery has bolstered its efforts to expand its graphite footprint, complementing the promising nearby Graphite Bull project.

Reach Resources has identified new high-priority targets rich in niobium and rare earths after nailing down a comprehensive mapping and sampling campaign at its Wabli Creek project in Western Australia’s Gascoyne region. The company plans to use the results gleaned from its latest work to plan a drilling program that it expects to roll out towards the end of this year.

Galan Lithium has signed a memorandum of understanding with China-based Chengdu Chemphys Chemical Industry Co., paving the way for a US$40 million funding and offtake package at its Hombre Muerto West lithium brine project in Argentina. The package, subject to due diligence, will be in exchange for a five-year purchase agreement for Galan to deliver a total of 23,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent material.

ASX-listed Neometals has switched up its corporate strategy to sharpen focus on rolling out bigger and more lithium-ion battery recycling plants to a growing list of license holders via the Primobius joint venture it shares with SMS group. It will also target the sale of non-core assets and building strategic partnerships to share the ongoing development expenditure of other technologies to better manage its capital.

Xanadu Mines has revealed a significant increase in the mineral resource estimate for its flagship Kharmagtai copper-gold project in Mongolia, reporting a 463,000-tonne increase in contained copper and a 746,000-ounce rise in contained gold. The boost has been driven by both the results of new drilling at the White Hill deposit and a refined pit design generated as part of the company’s current prefeasibility studies.