Matt Birney

St George Mining is poised to start drilling 42 new electromagnetic conductors that have been identified by downhole surveys at its flagship Mt Alexander base metals project near Leonora in the Goldfields region of WA. The highest priority targets are located away from defined zones of nickel-copper sulphides and could significantly extend the mineralised ore system in the Cathedrals Belt.

Intermin Resources is selling its non-core Menzies and Goongarrie gold projects north of Kalgoorlie to gold explorer Kingwest Resources for a total consideration of $8 million in cash and shares. The sale supports Intermin’s goal of developing a standalone gold project in the Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie regions, while allowing it to retain exposure to any upside in the two projects through a substantial shareholding in Kingwest.

Infinity Lithium has signed a binding letter of intent to sell its non-core Banio and Mamana potash projects in Gabon to an unnamed buyer for up to USD$3 million in cash or shares. The buyer has a 12-month option to pay the full amount in cash or pay USD$2 million in shares in a public or private entity with a further USD$1 million in shares to be paid on delivery of a JORC-compliant scoping study within three years.

Blackstone Minerals has kicked off drilling at its Ta Khoa nickel project located in northern Vietnam and is initially targeting disseminated sulphide mineralisation at the Ban Phuc prospect, following geophysical surveys that showed chargeable anomalies were present. According to the company, the initial IP survey test line run through the area showed a strong correlation with the known massive and disseminated sulphide occurrences.

Great Southern Mining’s maiden drilling program at its Rocky Ponds breccia pipe discovery in northern Queensland has intersected strongly anomalous zones peaking at 0.2g/t gold, 49.7g/t silver, 0.44% copper and 0.58% zinc within sulphide-rich epithermal altered mineralisation. The deposit geology is similar to the Mount Carlton mine, 20km to the south, which hosts 1 million ounces of gold and 33 million ounces of silver.

Hot Chili has delineated thick, copper-gold mineralisation at its Cuerpo 3 porphyry copper deposit in central Chile, with drilling returning 188m @ 0.9% copper and 0.4g/t gold from 516m down-hole within a much broader 750m intercept. The company said the result from the Cortadera project is one of the best intersections of its type recorded globally and is similar to notable bulk tonnage underground porphyry mines.

Infinity Lithium’s San José project in Spain has been recognised as a potential cornerstone component of the European Battery Alliance’s goal of creating an integrated lithium-ion supply chain within the European Union. The EBA will facilitate discussions with other industry participants as part of their “battery mining belt” initiative whilst the European Investment Bank could provide funding to battery raw materials and mining projects.

Aurora Labs has signed a memorandum of understanding with Swedish industrial company, Gränges AB, that could lead to further collaboration in the use of 3D printed aluminium in the automotive and other industries. Under the agreement, Gränges could also pre-order an Aurora RMP-1 Rapid Manufacturing Printer and supply its proprietary aluminium powder to the company.

Hammer Metals has started an induced polarisation survey at its Bronzewing South gold project in Western Australia to refine potential drilling targets that were identified during initial field reconnaissance. First results from the survey are expected in early August. The company has also started the permitting process for the drilling campaign, which is expected to begin later this month.