Matt Birney

Strike Energy has agreed to share the rig mobilisation costs with another Perth Basin operator to drill its exciting West Erregulla gas permit just north of Perth in WA, with the program expected to kick off in May. Recent reprocessed 3D seismic work produced gas volume estimates ranging between 607 and 1,296 billion cubic feet for the Kingia-High Cliff targets, with a best estimate of 916 bcf.

Caravel Minerals has drilled multiple zones of thick copper mineralisation at the Dasher prospect within its namesake project, located northeast of Perth in the Wheatbelt region of WA. Best intersections include 56m @ 0.53% copper from 18m down-hole and a new deeper discovery of 31.7m grading 0.42% copper from 146m down-hole that included a higher grade 13.7m section going 0.61% copper from 164m.

Rare earth element developer Greenland Minerals has chosen leading Chinese technical group BTMR Laboratories to supervise the optimisation of its Kvanefjeld project ore flotation circuit in southern Greenland, based on recent work showing recoveries above 80% and concentrate grades exceeding 22% rare earth oxide. The encouraging metallurgical results are likely to materially reduce operating and capital expenditure requirements at the massive project.

Classic Minerals has exercised an option to fully acquire two exploration licences over the prospective Kat Gap gold project at the southern end of its under-explored Forrestania gold project, near Southern Cross in WA. Drilling programs for Kat Gap will kick off later this month, to follow up on existing shallow, high-grade results and to confirm the width and tenor of historical drilling.

Conglomerate gold developer Novo Resources has extended and expanded its non-binding 2017 MoU with Japanese heavyweight Sumitomo Corporation, to help develop its significant suite of Australian gold projects dotted throughout the Pilbara region of WA. Sumitomo has agreed to provide personnel and up to 5 billion Yen – about AUD$64.4m – to evaluate, advance and develop Novo’s vast tenement holdings into economic gold mining operations.

King River Resources has discovered another high grade gold zone at its Mt Remarkable project, near Kununurra in WA. The 4m intersection at 19.88g/t gold from 21m down-hole, includes a metre at 69.3g/t gold from 21m. The same zone returned 2m @ 10.47g/t gold from 33m down-hole and 3m @ 4.29g/t gold from 27m down-hole in separate drill holes down-dip of the wider zone.

88 Energy is just weeks away from spudding its high impact Winx-1 exploration well in Alaska’s North Slope oil province, which targets a gross, best estimate, prospective resource of about 400 million barrels of oil. The company submitted the key drilling permit application before the end of 2018 and has started construction of the ice road to the well site.

Coolgardie Minerals has received its first revenue cheque of $1.68 million from the sale of high grade oxide ore to Northern Star Resources from its Geko pit near Bullabulling in WA. The company is carrying out further grade control drilling to determine the extent of the remaining supergene zone in the western part of the pit and to define the Stage 2 oxide ore zones for mining this month.

BlackEarth Minerals has delivered a maiden resource estimate of 9 million tonnes grading 5.8% total graphitic carbon at its Haja graphite prospect in southern Madagascar. The new estimate complements the nearby Razafy graphite mineral resource of 11.2 million tonnes grading 7.1% TGC, which is presently undergoing an internal scoping study due for completion early next quarter.