Matt Birney

Just like they did with Lithium at Mt Marion, Neometals are again seeking to get ahead of the curve with their new battery re-cycling play in Canada that will focus heavily on reproducing Cobalt in addition to other elements such as Lithium. The company is hoping to eventually produce nearly 700 tonnes of Cobalt a year by recycling old batteries. 

Blackham Resources look like moving into the big league of Australian gold producers within just three years after a preliminary expansion study at the Wiluna Gold Project confirmed a low-cost pathway to annual production of more than 200,000 ounces of a gold. This target would see Blackham double its current production projection. 

ASX listed PharmAust has taken a major step towards safeguarding the intellectual property of its promising anti-cancer drug after being granted a key patent in China. The patent strengthens the Perth-based company’s IP protection in a critical world market and provides protection for 16 years, with PharmAust expecting further patents to be issued in coming months.

Stargroup’s remarkable transformation from small time ATM machine operator to a totally vertically integrated and ASX listed outfit with ownership up and down the value chain is now complete. The Indue acquistion came with a massive windfall for Stargroup after two large exiting clients agreed to resign and a Sydney credit provider forfeited $325k when they failed to provide financing. 

Blina Minerals have snapped up the Dingo gold project in the Eastern Goldfields for the bargain price of $20,000. The project comes with extensive historical drill data that has defined a significant zone of shallow mineralisation, with the real prize potentially being the primary source of mineralisation in an underlying intrusive body.

Medical device company Analytica has advanced its “PeriCoach” incontinence device by developing a proprietary exercise regime that can be integrated into the company’s e-health treatment system. PeriCoach is targeted at the millions of women worldwide who suffer from urinary incontinence, with the problem impacting around 1 in 3 women globally according to Analytica

Sky and Space Global have easily raised $10 million at 19c a share in a heavily oversubscribed placement that will fund the company as it forges ahead with the launch of its first three miniature telecommunications satellites within weeks. The company’s amazing share price run has seen the stock jump from a low of 1.6c in August last year to 26c last month.  

Pilbara Minerals now have offtake deals for 100% of Pilgangoora production, with a serious Chinese Lithium player committing to more than half of the project’s output for the next 10 years. Pilbara’s share price soared on news of the deal with Ganfeng Lithium, which has also promised at least $20m in funding support.

Lithium Australia’s focus on technology is paying dividends with the successful trial of a newly developed portable tool that is able to measure Lithium content from core samples in the field. The analyzer overcomes the limitations of the more traditional “XRF” tool that struggles to identify Lithium and could bring a whole new perspective to the feverish global hunt for Lithium.

MGC Pharmaceuticals has cemented its position in the Australian medical marijuana market, signing a major research agreement with the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology. The deal will see MGC and RMIT collaborate on medical cannabis research initiatives targeted at a range of diseases including cancer and establish an “International Library of Cannabis Medicine”.

Medicinal marijuana player MGC Pharmaceuticals are on a mission to be one of the first ASX listed companies to garner serious revenues from medicinal cannabis derived products. The company announced this week they had signed up wholesalers in Europe to market their cannabis derived skin care and cosmetics lines. 

The Browns Range heavy rare earths project is moving ahead quickly following last month’s Final Investment Decision, with developer Northern Minerals striking a $10m mining agreement with MACA. The deal comes under Northern’s innovative lead contractor agreement with Sinosteel MECC, which allows deferred payment for 20% of all works.

Auroch Minerals are racing ahead with the first drill program at their high-impact Copper-Zinc project in Portugal, locking in a contractor to start drilling mid-month. The drill results will be hotly anticipated, with the project located just 20 km along strike from the “super-giant” Neves Corvo mine and sitting on a host of ripe geophysical targets.

ASX listed medical device company Analytica has refined its innovative PeriCoach urinary incontinence device, with the Brisbane-based company unveiling the latest version of its e-health treatment system. The version 3 device includes better processing capability, wireless connectivity, power management and an enhanced user experience.

Peppermint Innovation will hand deliver its mobile bill payments technology to the front doors of up to 60,000 Filipino households in what looks to be an impressive partnership with a very large gas bottle home delivery company in the Philippines. Householders will now be able to pay their other bills at the same time that they receive their regular supply of LPG gas. 

Stargroup is on track to complete the acquisition of high margin Australian ATM machine service provider Indue after raising $3.35 million in an oversubscribed placement. The Indue aquisition completes Stargroup's strategy of total vertical intergration with the company now a major player is all aspects of the ATM business from manufacturer to service provider to operator. 

It’s not very often you get to steal a project from the Chinese but only a year after paying Chinese and other interests just $83,000 for the Millenium copper-cobalt project in Queensland, Hammer Metals have farmed it out in a deal worth up to $2.7m. Their JV partner is a serious player in the battery metals business and brings more than just exploration money to the table. 

Perth listed Connected IO continues to cement its relationship with US telco Verizon. The company announced this week the securing of new purchase orders for its “internet of things” services and products from two of the US telco giant’s enterprise customers. The repeat orders, from the State of Nebraska and a US security firm, are worth more than $AUD205,000.

Troy Resources have delivered some good news for shareholders with the company’s first ore-grade hits from exploration outside of the Karouni mine area in South America. The encouraging gold intercepts validate the targeting work by Troy’s exploration team last year and support the view that Karouni could be just the start for the Perth-based gold producer.

Lithium Australia’s high hopes for their lithium clay joint venture in Mexico have been confirmed after their first drill hole at the project hit Lithium. The company, in partnership with Alix Resources, are targeting a thick bed of sediments over a strike length of five kms, right next door to Bacanora Minerals’ La Ventanathe project, considered to be the world’s largest Lithium clay deposit.

LWP Technologies has moved to safeguard its game changing fly-ash-based proppant technology for oil and gas producers by lodging a second patent in the US. Proppants are often the single largest cost item in the fracking of an oil and gas well. They lodge in the tiny fractures created during the operation in order to keep the fracture open to facilitate the flow of oil and gas. 

Legend Mining’s search for another Nova-Bollinger style deposit in the Fraser Range has entered a new stage with the start of a 50-hole aircore drilling program. The wide-spaced program will add to results from a technologically advanced round of electromagnetic surveys and help define targets for the next stage of diamond drilling.

Lithium Australia’s unquenchable appetite for Lithium feedstock is taking it into two virgin areas with hopes of opening up entirely new Lithium provinces.  The company has acquired tenements in WA’s Gascoyne region along strike from the Nardoo pegmatite district and permits inland from Cairns where there is no history of Lithium exploration but plenty of exciting indicators exist.

ASX listed Connected IO continues to forge ahead in the multi-trillion dollar internet of things sector, securing a purchase order from US electronics giant Arrow Electronics for its cutting-edge wireless modem devices.  The order will see the company’s products available through Arrow’s 465 offices across 90 countries.

ASX listed Online screening and verification company CVCheck has posted record revenue for the fiscal third quarter driven by sustained user growth and a continued surge in corporate customers. The company expects the strong run of revenue growth to continue in Q4 FY17 and is predicting to be at breakeven by year end.

Pilbara Minerals’ giant Pilgangoora Lithium deposit just keeps getting better, with 10 tonnes of bulk samples from the Central pit area returning an average grade of more than 2% Lithium. The news of exceptional in-situ grades comes as Pilbara finalises a direct shipping offtake agreement and a mining proposal for a 2Mtpa development.

Blackham Resources have identified two new high-grade zones at the Golden Age mine at the Matilda Gold project, with intercepts ranging up to 118 g/t gold. The discoveries are set to provide a welcome boost to the underground mine plan and follow a return to full open pit operations after delays caused by unseasonal wet weather.

Northern Minerals will build Australia’s first heavy rare earths mine at Browns Range in WA after board approval this week for the $56 million development. The mine will be a pilot project operating at about 10% of the scale of a proposed full scale development and will focus on production of “Dysprosium”, a key component of permanent magnets used in large electric motors.

Auroch Minerals have boosted their cash balance to $8m after banking another $1.3m in delayed funds from the sale of their Mozambique project to Xtract Resources last year. With only 85m shares on issue and a burgeoning bank balance, Auroch are something of a rarity in the small cap exploration space. 

Whilst many other medical marijuana hopefuls are still talking up their opportunities in the industry, Perth listed MGC Pharmaceuticals have produced their first cannabinoid extracts at the company’s brand new European extraction facility. The milestone means MGC remains on track for commercial production to commence in the third quarter of this year.

Lithium Australia have hit back at takeover target Lepidico with a new expert report that raises concerns about the independent expert report prepared as part of Lepidico’s defence. The new report by Leadenhall Corporate Advisory is critical of the methodology used by Lepidico’s independent expert and concluded that the report should have found the bid was fair and reasonable.

The extraordinary deal-making skills of Neometals have been put to work once again to secure a $125 million buyout of the company’s 13.8% stake in the Mt Marion Lithium project. The remarkable end to Neometals’ involvement in Mt Marion means the project will have generated a staggering $213 million for the company from a total investment of just $3 million.