Matt Birney

ASX-listed Neometals has intersected massive nickel sulphides at its Mt Edwards project in the Goldfields region of Western Australia with drilling returning a cracking intersection of 4m @ 6.3% nickel within a broader 11m @ 2.6% nickel from 108m down-hole at the Zabel prospect. Drilling at the Lake Eaton tenement also showed elevated nickel grades along strike of Mincor Resources’ high‐grade Cassini nickel deposits.

Venus Metals and Rox Resources have extended high-grade gold mineralisation at the Currans Find North prospect near Youanmi, WA, with drilling returning a top intersection of 1m @ 57.2g/t gold from 110m down-hole. The results extend high‐grade gold mineralisation at depth and demonstrate the potential for the discovery “blind” high‐grade gold lodes along strike and down‐plunge from known mineralisation.

Buru Energy has encountered good to excellent shows while drilling through the primary objective Reeves Formation at its highly-prospective Adoxa-1 conventional oil exploration well in the Canning Basin, Western Australia. Live oil shows were observed at the surface and the well also intersected oil shows in cuttings samples of interpreted good quality sands at 970m and 1,565m measured depth.

AVZ Minerals’ metallurgical test work programs for its Manono lithium-tin project in the DRC, have delivered encouraging results in line with other global lithium-mineralised pegmatite ores and support its ongoing DFS. Testing has generated similar rock characteristics and strengths to other spodumene-bearing ore deposits and heavy liquid separation produced a high-grade concentrate at 6.2% lithium oxide, with a 66% concentrate recovery.

King River Resources has increased its footprint in the Northern Territory’s Tennant Creek copper-gold belt with the application for two prospective new exploration licences. One of the licence applications contains the same geological formation hosting the Tennant Creek and Rover goldfields, while the other covers the historical Kurundi open pit and underground mine where rock sampling returned over 5g/t gold and up to 9.7% copper.

Nzuri Copper’s takeover by Chinese industrial player, Chengtun Mining Group, is entering its final stages with shareholders set to vote on the AUD$109.5 million all-cash takeover offer in mid-August. The company’s Kalongwe copper-cobalt project within the Central African Copperbelt in the far south of the Democratic Republic of the Congo is expected to play a key role in Chengtun’s copper-cobalt expansion plans in the country.

Strike Energy has confirmed that it has made a significant conventional gas discovery in the Wagina sandstone of its multi-target West Erregulla-2 well in the Perth Basin, Western Australia. Notably, the well has yet to intersect the secondary target Basal Wagina sandstone and will now be finished before drilling resumes towards its total planned depth of 5,200m to intersect the Basal Wagina and primary target Kingia-High Cliff sands.

Greenland Minerals has raised $7m through a heavily oversubscribed share placement to fund ongoing technical development of its giant Kvanefjeld rare earth project in southern Greenland. Proceeds from the placement will also be used to complete the project permitting and advance commercial development. The company recently lodged its application for a mining licence over the Kvanefjeld project.

Australian Potash has flagged that it will soon upgrade mineral resources and define a maiden ore reserve at its Lake Wells sulphate of potash project near Laverton, WA, following the milestone completion of final field programs. The programs were carried out in support of the company’s ongoing definitive feasibility study, for which final documentation is currently underway.