Matt Birney

Metallurgical testwork on King River’s giant Speewah vanadium deposit in the Kimberley has shown that it could produce super-high purity titanium dioxide, boosting the economics of the project. The latest leach test on Speewah concentrates produced 99.5% purity titanium dioxide. The high purity levels potentially open up new master allow markets such as the aerospace market for King River.

ASX-listed biotech PharmAust has successfully identified a revamped formulation of its promising anti-cancer drug “Monepantel”. Perth-based PharmAust says that the reformulated Monepantel will improve the drug’s taste and enable the delivery of over 10 times the amount of substance per dose than previously, paving the way for clinical trials ahead of full scale commercialisation.

One of the oil industry’s top analysts has given a very positive report on Strike Energy as it embarks on a drill program with the potential to save the east coast gas market from its supply shortage. Peter Strachan’s new report concludes Strike is worth 66% more than its current share price and that’s before the high-impact Jaws drilling program gets underway in the Cooper Basin.

Sky and Space Global is collaborating with pan-African telco player Paratus Group on a field trial that will see a point-of-sale device connected to a bank via the ASX-listed company’s nano-satellite-based IP network. Sky and Space sees the trial as a way to open the door to the multi-billion-dollar global point-of-sale market, especially in the rapidly expanding African market.

Aquabotix has reported a 22% increase in cash receipts for the December quarter, putting the underwater drone player in a sound financial slipstream as it accelerates towards new growth targets. The Sydney and Massachusetts-based company added 10 new distributors to its global network in the last quarter of the year and has revised sales targets for its automated drones in a number of industries.

BlackEarth Minerals is throwing plenty of expertise at its advanced graphite exploration project in Madagascar, making two key appointments ahead of next month’s commencement of a major drilling operations. The newly listed company has secured an exploration services company with deep experience in Madagascan graphite and a geology manager with a solid graphite CV.

Nzuri Copper’s Kalongwe copper-cobalt project could be set for a mine life extension after exploration drilling just 2.5kms away produced a series of very positive results that may lead to a satellite orebody. Drilling at Monwezi 2 has extended an historic copper-cobalt intercept in three directions and confirmed a new geological interpretation of the target.

ASX-listed MGC Pharmaceuticals has been given the green light by Slovenian authorities, who have given the medical marijuana company’s European medicinal cannabis production facility a tick of approval. The company has now cleared an important regulatory hurdle for the production of its products in Europe, whilst it also steps up the approvals process for the import of medicinal and beauty brands into Australia.

Lithium Australia’s lithium mica Sadisdorf project in Germany has received a boost with news that joint venture partner Tin International has been awarded a highly prospective exploration permit nearby in Saxony’s Ore Mountains region. The Perth-based lithium processing and exploration specialist said the new permit would become part of the joint venture and was thought to have a high likelihood of hosting substantial tin-lithium mineralisation.

Hammer Metals aims to continue its spectacular run of success with the drill bit with the start of a 13-hole RC program at the Jubilee copper gold prospect southeast of Mt Isa. Drilling began last week to follow up last month’s maiden drill program, which produced a stunning 5 metres at 7.35% copper and 3.75 g/t gold from just 35m down-hole. Investors are now eagerly awaiting results from the second RD program.

Connected IO has tapped into a pipeline of potential growth by signing a deal with KORE to promote and sell its products in over 160 countries. The United States-headquartered KORE boasts a number of top tier corporate clients on its books, particularly in North America, and has the capacity to catapult Connected IO into the tech big league around the world.

With first production from the Browns Range heavy rare earths project now within sight, Northern Minerals is turning its attention to the discovery of additional deposits in the region. New high-grade rock chip sample assay results from a variety of regional prospects have delivered exciting results and encouraged the company to get exploration rigs back on the ground in the June quarter.

With a sharpened drill bit at the San Jose project, Plymouth Minerals plans to pencil up improved economics for its giant lithium project that already boasts a lovely set of numbers. A small drilling campaign about to kick off is expected to firm up fundamentals for the project’s feasibility study and aims to deliver improved pit designs and lower stripping ratios for an emerging lithium supply line direct into the heart of Europe’s ever-expanding battery industry.

Neometals’ big titanium-vanadium deposit at Barrambie in the northern Yilgarn is coming into its own thanks to surging prices for its two major products, titanium and vanadium. Favourable markets are creating a multitude of development options for Neometals at the project, with the company stepping up work on everything from direct shipping to downstream processing options.

ASX-listed Peppermint Innovation’s full scale commercialisation of its unique mobile bill payments technology is underway. The Perth fintech player is commencing the rollout of its APP payments technology to major Philippines network marketing company, SANTE Barley and its 200,000 members. Peppermint’s technology is aimed at the millions of Filipinos that still don’t operate a bank account.

Geopacif Resources shareholders can look forward to a flood of material news this year with a new resource and reserve estimate due out soon ahead of a DFS at the end of the year. The Woodlark gold project in PNG is also fully permitted to mine after passing all environmental, technical and social hurdles. The company is confident that development work in 2017 gives encouraging impetus for producer status in the not too distant future.

Legend Mining will follow up last month’s exciting anomalous nickel and copper results from the Rockford project with an infill drilling program to pinpoint the extent of the newly discovered mineralised system. The program follows resampling and assaying that identified several narrow intervals with even higher grades than had been previously announced.

Revered UK online beauty store business Cult Beauty will distribute MGC Pharmaceuticals medical marijuana skin care products as part of an exclusive sales and marketing deal signed between the two companies. MGC said global distribution channels for its products had substantially expanded following an agreement that will bring many of its products to the fore on a global, web-based catwalk of quality cosmetic brands.

Australia’s newest graphite pure play BlackEarth Minerals is set to launch an aggressive drill program at its flagship Maniry project in Madagascar after successfully listing on the ASX. The company will begin a 10,800-metre diamond and RC drill program next month with the aim of publishing a maiden JORC resource by mid-year and a scoping study within 12 months of listing.

Strike Energy is preparing to push the envelope of wellbore capacity by drilling possibly the world’s deepest pure coal-seam well and the first of its kind in the southern hemisphere. The Jaws-1 well in the Southern Cooper Basin is set to spud in mid-February and is aiming to unlock a massive gas resource of up to 11Tcf to help Australia’s eastern states fend off a looming energy crisis.

Perth-listed Connected IO has posted a staggering 363 per cent lift in revenue in calendar year 2017 to $2.44m after a better-than-expected December quarter. The “internet of things” upstart company expects further growth in 2018 and says it has already secured a strong pipeline of new purchase orders worth more than $2 million for 2018.

After an impressive run of nickel-copper hits at Mt Alexander in the final weeks of 2017, St George Mining is now also focussing on its East Laverton project with the re-start of drilling at the X3 conductor. St George rates X3 as one of its best targets in the current drill program, partly because of its stand-out conductivity.

Heavy rare-earths developer Northern Minerals has slotted important pieces of the puzzle into place as its Browns Range project near Halls Creek approaches completion in the June quarter. Final equipment components from China are being delivered to the pilot plant near Halls Creek with installation also running smoothly and first product shipments set for the September quarter.

Perth-based Myanmar Metals is working hard to create a new chapter in the life of one of the worlds most fabled lead-zinc mines, the Bawdwin deposit in northeast Myanmar, where drilling began this week. A 5,000-metre drilling program is now underway to boost confidence in an already impressive estimate for the potentially world class lead/zinc resource.

Draig Resources has added some choice acreage to its gold portfolio by acquiring the Yandal South Prospect which is close to some of Western Australia's once great, but subsequently forgotten gold mines. The junior explorer is aiming to re-shine a number of abandoned West Australian mines by introducing state-of-the-art, modern exploration techniques into the equation.

Geopacific Resources has reminded investors there is more to the company than just their flagship Woodlark gold project in PNG with news of a gold-silver discovery at their legacy Kou Sa project in northern Cambodia. The epithermal gold specialist this week reported a number of drill hits of high-grade gold in unusually wide zones of mineralisation that suggested potential for a big mineral system.

Nzuri Copper has continued the lightning pace set at its flagship Kalongwe copper-cobalt deposit into 2018, hiring one of Australia’s biggest engineers to conduct a further scoping study on a potential major expansion. The move comes just days after Nzuri banked a $10m placement and adds further momentum to its exciting project in the heart of the booming African copper Belt.

Hammer Metals can’t put a foot wrong with the drill bit. Following news of 7% copper hits at Jubilee, the explorer this week announced high grade grade cobalt hits at Millennium in Mt Isa from the first drill program with a new Canadian partner. A three-hole program returned assays of up to 1.11% cobalt and has encouraged the partners to begin a 10-hole drill program next month.

Blina Minerals has discovered and dusted off a number of historic reports that show crazy cobalt grades of between 6% and up to 18% were mined on their Chilean La Cobaltera project as far back as 1844. Blina are completing a round of DD on the project which they currently have under option and they have also optioned up more ground near their project, dramatically extending their footprint.

Ironbark Zinc has moved closer to a development of its Citronen zinc-lead project in Greenland after appointing a leading global corporate finance adviser to line up finance for the US$514m project. A feasibility study in September delivered an outstanding set of numbers for Citronen, which has emerged as one of the world’s best undeveloped zinc projects just as zinc stocks head for critical lows on the LME.

Podium Minerals is aiming to become the first platinum mining operator in Australia when it lists on the ASX in February. The Perth-based explorer is looking to raise $6.6million for infill drilling and extended exploration campaigns to define a platinum-palladium resource at the Weld Range Complex in Western Australia. The company also has a number of strong potentially nickel and copper conductors at the project.

Blackham Resources has reloaded its armoury with a $14.3million loan to as part of a recapitalisation strategy aimed at taking the company into profitability from its Wiluna Gold project. The junior miner has shored up its balance sheet with news that some of its financiers and primary contractors will underwrite 36% of a forthcoming $36m rights issue aimed at putting the company on a sound financial footing with cash flow positivity achieved for the first time in December.