Matt Birney

MGC Pharma has produced its first batch of CannEpil, from its European cannabis factory and the company is now one step away from final certification that will green light the facility for full scale production of medical marijuana products. The drug is set to provide medical relief for epilepsy sufferers with initial sales revenue predictions of AU$1 million per annum for the first year of distribution.

Nzuri Copper has announced that it has started its 2018 exploratory field program in the DRC, with drilling to target eight high priority copper-cobalt targets identified last year from geological and geophysical interpretation. The targets all lie within 30km of the existing ore reserve defined at the flagship Kalongwe copper-cobalt deposit and each target has potential for a new base metal discovery in this prospective district.

Southern Gold has completed a definitive farm-in and 50/50 JV Agreement with its partner Bluebird Merchant Ventures for the Gubong gold project in South Korea. Bluebird will deliver a feasibility report in July, outlining its preferred re-development options at the mine. The JV Agreement is triggered when the mine development framework presented by Bluebird to advance the project is deemed satisfactory to Southern Gold.

Greenland Minerals has announced it will complete its Environmental and Social Impact Assessments for the flagship Kvanefjeld rare earths project in southern Greenland by June, paving the way for it to mine the world’s largest rare earths deposit. The Perth based company revealed this week that it has been working hand in glove with the Greenland Government to make the project happen.

Mobile payments APP developer Peppermint Innovation has again tapped bullish tech investor Smidge Digital for a placement and once again Smidge has gone in at a premium price to the market. Peppermint is rapidly developing its two APP products that are taking off in the Philippines, one is already being used by the big banks in-country as a mobile banking APP for its customers.

Strike Energy has moved into the coveted Northern Perth Basin oil and gas post code in a deal with Warrego Energy on a block that looks a little like the huge Waitsia gas discovery located just 16km away. Strike will become the operator and 50% owner in the block that is very close to Australia’s largest onshore gas discovery in 40-years.

Myanmar Metals has locked in a major Myanmar based industrial company to invest in its large, Bawdwin polymetallic zinc project in that country, potentially de-risking the venture. East Asia Power Company will acquire a 24.5% share of the project, by reimbursing Myanmar’s costs on a pro-rata basis to date and into the future. East Asia Power operate the Lashio zinc refinery and several mines in Myanmar.

Infinity Lithium has successfully completed drilling for a feasibility study at the San Jose lithium project which is rapidly emerging as one of the most likely new supply hopes for European electric vehicle makers. New results suggest Infinity should be able to steepen the pit walls of the proposed open pit, cutting an already low stripping ratio and giving the project a further economic boost.

Field trials conducted with an international freight and logistics company have delivered a pass mark with distinction for ASX listed Spectur’s “see in the dark” thermal camera detection system, clearing an important final hurdle ahead of the imminent launch of the company’s surveillance technology to a range of industries. The solar powered cameras are wireless and can detect an intruder at great distances in complete darkness.

Strike Energy has drilled the intermediate section of the historic Jaws-1 well in the Southern Cooper Basin and is set to begin the critical, horizontal drilling phase of the campaign before flow testing the historic, pure coal seam well at previously untested depths of more than 2km below surface. Investors are now set for a white knuckle ride one way or another.

Southern Gold has secured tenure at another historic gold mining operation, building its impressive portfolio of epithermal gold-silver projects in South Korea. The Aphae project has produced nearly 4000 ounces of gold and lies within a significant alluvial gold field. The mineralisation is open along strike and at depth, with rock chip results returning grades up to 6.08g/t gold and 93g/t silver.

King River Copper will raise a minimum of $6m and up to $18.5m thanks to an innovative underwriting of its soon-to-expire options and a share price that has run off the Richter scale on the back of exploration and metallurgical successes. The company also announced it had pegged 3,000 square kilometres of additional ground, locking up its exciting new gold play in the East Kimberley.

Middle Island Resources has accidentally produced another stunning gold intercept from the Two Mile Hill deposit near Sandstone while drilling a large diameter core hole to collect samples for ore sorting testwork. The latest intercept from a poorly drilled section of the deposit featured 100 metres at 2.02 g/t gold, including 7m at 18.1g/t gold, well above the target grades for the Two Mile Hill deeps deposit.

St George Mining has announced a high grade nickel-copper sulphide intersection from the Stricklands prospect at its Mt Alexander project west of Leonora in W.A. The 13.6 metre intercept from 40m depth contained a 4m section with average grades of 4.7% nickel and 2.0% copper using pXRF analyses. The mineralisation is true width and backs up last years spectacular 17.5m hit going 3% nickel.

ASX-listed specialist pumping company Babylon Pump & Power is gearing up to take advantage of the expected new wave of maintenance related mining activity post the mining construction boom. The company has amassed a $3.3m war chest to gear up its dewatering pumping fleet as it gets ahead of the pack of service businesses that will materialise as the mining industry gets set to take off again.

ASX-listed security surveillance company Spectur has posted a solid 149 per cent lift in sales revenue for the first two months of the year driven by a lift in camera rentals and a successful east coast expansion. The Perth-headquartered security tech play, which now has over 1,100 cameras deployed in the field, says it is also supplying its HD4 camera system to a new tier-one critical infrastructure client.

Peppermint Innovation will develop an app and web tool to provide money transfers to poor, cash-constrained Filipinos as part of a service provider agreement signed with the largest cooperative in the Philippines. The deal brings 300 affiliated cooperatives and one million individual members of the Mindanao Alliance of Self-Help Societies-Southern Philippines Educational Cooperative Centre into Peppermint’s financial frame.

With one positive feasibility study on its desk, Mongolian coking coal explorer, Aspire Mining, has launched another. The first already shows the viability of a rail line to the east of the giant Ovoot coal play and the second will assess the viability of a line to the west. The proposed new line will open up Russian Chinese trade opportunities and underwrite Ovoot in the process.

ASX listed EMU N.L now has three drill rigs working at its Chilean gold project where good recent weather and smooth operations has sparked hope for the imminent release of a flood of assays. The Perth-based explorer is committed to making up for lost time and completing at least 6000m of drilling before the southern hemisphere winter rolls in.

Classic Minerals has announced some encouraging high-grade gold drilling intercepts from the Lady Magdalene deposit at its Forrestania Gold Project. Results include 6.5 metres grading 3.30g/t gold, including 1m @ 9.52g/t gold. The results confirm the deposit contains cross-cutting, shoot style, high-grade gold lodes that are similar to the nearby Lady Ada open pit that was historically mined at 8.81g/t gold.

Another impressive round of high-grade drill hits from Draig Resources has extended the strike length and depth of the company’s Tribune Lode gold discovery parallel to the famed Bellevue mine in the Wiluna belt. Mineralisation has now been confirmed over a strike length of 550 metres and one of the next priorities is to test for continuity with the Southern Belle Lode 800 metres further south.

ASX listed Blackstone Minerals has announced it will recommence drilling at its high grade Little Gem cobalt-gold project in British Columbia shortly, using a specialist local contractor. The company also released anomalous gold assay results from a multi-element stream sediment geochemical sampling program at the project, extending the limits of the target zone out to 1.8km.

Ironbark Zinc’s Citronen project is rapidly moving from the drawing board to ground-breaking reality as the Perth-based company prepares to ship equipment to Greenland during the northern hemisphere summer. Landed cargoes, scheduled for mid-August, will trigger the start of the mine construction phase aimed at fulfilling the production potential of one the largest undeveloped zinc projects in the world.

An investment bank and research house has set a price target for Hot Chili at a 500% premium to recent trades, based on the value of the aspiring copper producer’s Productora project in Chile. EverBlu Capital also sees several scenarios where Hot Chili could be valued many times higher because of a strengthening copper market and smart moves to transform the economics of its flagship Chilean copper project.

King River Copper has laid claim to the highest-grade vanadium concentrate of any Australian mineral deposit after successfully completing metallurgical tests on the company’s massive Speewah project in the Kimberley. Perth-based King River said the bar had been raised by grinding and separating test work that produced a magnetite-ilmenite concentrate of 2.11% vanadium pentoxide, elevating Speewah to vanadium royalty status.

Myanmar Metals has announced some spectacular high grade base metal, silver and cobalt assays from its first drilling program at the world class Bawdwin deposit in Myanmar. Results include 46 metres grading 9.7% lead and 116g/t silver from the base of the historic open pit and 19 metres @ 6.6% lead, 187g/t silver, 0.5% copper and 0.11% cobalt from a depth of just 3 metres.

Southern Gold’s hopes for a rapid restart of a number of high-grade gold mines in South Korea have been boosted, with new investigations at the mine revealing it to be in excellent condition. Joint venture partner Bluebird Merchant Ventures reported the mine has been frozen in time since the 1970s, when a US$140 gold price brought about a premature close.

Maiden drilling by Magmatic Resources at the MacGregors gold prospect in central NSW has identified a 2km-long belt of gold mineralisation and doubled the best gold grades achieved by previous explorers. The latest results have established MacGregors, part of the Parkes JV with Japan’s JOGMEC, as the company’s third highly prospective gold project less than a year after listing on the ASX.

Classic Minerals has announced it has executed an MOU with Tianye SXO Gold Mining, who own the Marvel Loch processing plant, 100km north of the company’s promising Forrestania Gold project. Classic has several potential sources of gold ore identified through its focus on the Lady Ada and Kat Gap deposits. The deal could provide a valuable stream of cash to support Classic’s regional exploration play.

Blackham Resources has added at least another six months to its high-grade underground mine and believes it may still be harbouring more high grade ounces that have not yet been discovered. Mining at the Golden Age underground mine has been extended to December 2018 and drilling began this week into highly prospective targets that could see the mine plan roll on much longer.

ASX-listed Sky and Space Global has booked first revenues from its history making nano-satellites that are currently orbiting the earth. The company says that revenues from its three pilot miniature satellites are expected to ramp up to around A$1 million a year from current bandwidth and up to $1 billion a year once its entire network of 200 nano-satellites is up and running.

Hammer Metals has announced a deal to divest 100% of its interest in two cobalt prospects near Mt Isa whilst retaining a 1.5% royalty. The deal with Global Energy Metals Corporation allows Hammer to direct its financial resources to its ongoing copper-gold exploration in the region, whilst Global Energy Metals will continue its efforts to build critical mass for a district-scale cobalt play in the region.