Matt Birney

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

ASX-listed Connected IO continues to blaze a trail in the burgeoning “internet of things” global market with the launch of a new wireless modem device designed to take advantage of the latest low latency broadband cellular network known as “Cat 1”. Cat 1 has been built by major mobile service companies around the world to provide an optimized, cost effective network specifically for the internet of things.

Northern Minerals look set to get Australia’s first heavy rare earths mine across the line after securing an offtake agreement for all production in the first three years. The sales agreement, with a subsidiary of one of China’s big rare earths companies, includes a $10 million pre-payment and has dramatically boosted the prospects of a development decision.

Lithium Australia have kicked off a much-anticipated drill program in Mexico with hopes of a discovery to rival the massive neighbouring Sonora deposit, which already has an off-take agreement with Tesla. Drilling began this week at the Agua Fria prospect where recent work identified a thick bed of lithium clays over a strike length of 5km and returned a number of very high assays.