Matt Birney

Mineral exploration company Valor Resources is onto a grab bag of significant grade copper samples, with some going as high as 13.4 per cent, arising from a geochemical sampling program at its Picha copper and silver project in southern Peru. At the Cobremani prospect, sampling of historical works delivered a continuous 35.6m long channel with an average 1.3 per cent copper and 22.85 g/t silver.

Twenty Seven Co could be set to join the white-hot lithium market after early visual results identified the presence of pegmatites with evidence of lithium, tin and copper mineralisation at its Trident project near Broken Hill in New South Wales. The results compliment historical geochemical sampling which included a stellar 7.63 per cent lithium oxide sample. The company is now awaiting assay results from rock chips collected from those pegmatites.

Mineral explorer Aldoro Resources has boosted its lithium footprint in WA after sealing an agreement with Trafalgar Resources for the 100 per cent acquisition of its Windimurra pegmatite assets near Mt Magnet. The deal represents the fourth acquisition of lithium ground by Aldoro in as many months. Under the agreement Aldoro will pay Trafalgar $50,000 in cash and 275,000 shares.

Great Southern Mining is rapidly scrubbing up its Southern Star gold deposit in WA after it intersected a best yet drill hit of 68 metres going 1.9 grams per tonne gold from just 61m in amongst a wealth of other high-grade hits at its Duketon project in WA. The impressive result backs up a previous 59m hit in a different hole grading 2.1 g/t gold.

WA-focused exploration company, Metal Hawk has delivered a broad 22m nickel sulphide hit going 0.27 per cent nickel at its Commodore prospect near Kalgoorlie some 150m north of its recent discovery where a 1m interval at a smashing 5.9 per cent nickel was intercepted. The company will now ramp up exploration drilling at the prospect following a $2.4m cash injection from a strongly supported capital raise.

ASX-listed aspiring gold and iron ore developer, CZR Resources has cranked up a 7,800m infill reverse circulation drilling program as a key part of the definitive feasibility study underway on its 85 per cent-owned Robe Mesa iron ore project in WA’s Pilbara. The drilling is aimed at growing the indicated resource and further de-risking the project in tandem with ongoing technical and economic studies.

ASX-listed Godolphin Resources is preparing to unleash the drill and probe several fresh targets at its Yeoval project in western NSW after a detailed review of historic exploration data set the wheels in motion. The project area covers some 290 square kilometres and compellingly, is also home to 60 historic copper gold mine workings along a 20km strike length.

Kingwest Resources has signed a joint venture agreement with FMR Investments which will see the company resume underground mining at the Menzies Gold Project north of Kalgoorlie. The deposit was last mined 85 years ago and produced 526,000 tonnes at 16 grams per tonne gold for 270,000 ounces. Lake Goongarrie is also set to be extended with five new gold anomalous zones detected.

Barton Gold is collaborating with the CSIRO to trial innovative ore detection in the field where geochemical sample analysis will be completed within eight hours. The technology, if proved successful will dramatically reduce reliance on turnaround times for laboratory assays results which can take anywhere up to 12 weeks. Barton’s government co-funded radar survey has recently identified a collection of shallow targets at its Tarcoola Gold Project in SA.

Venus Metals, along with their joint venture partner Rox Resources has had major success with its metallurgical test work recently conducted on the Youanmi Deeps Resource in WA. Test work has delivered substantial improvement in gold extraction for Youanmi Deeps with new test work improving extraction to 95.6 per cent, a substantial increase from the historical production which averaged 86.8 per cent gold recovery.

King River Resources has signed a Participant Agreement with the Future Battery Industries Cooperative Research Centre. The $120 million Australian organisation provides industry-led research and seeks to grow Australia's competitiveness and contribution in the global battery industry value chain. King River will now brush shoulders with about 60 other members of the alliance, including heavyweights BHP, IGO and the Federal Government.

Mineral exploration company, Comet Resources has commenced reporting environmental, social and governance metrics under a universal framework developed by international non-government organisation, the World Economic Forum. A series of sustainability metrics will now be measured and then disclosed in the Perth-based company’s quarterly and annual reports, including governance, anti-corruption practices, ethical behaviour, diversity and inclusion, pay equality and carbon emissions.

ASX-listed junior explorer, Latitude Consolidated has hit a solid metre of bonanza grade gold within three metres of high-grade gold at its St Annes prospect in the Murchison gold district of WA. Assay results have returned a 1m sample at St Anne’s running at a superlative 31.2 grams per tonne gold within 3m at a stellar 13.82 grams per tonne gold from 103m.

ASX-listed junior gold explorer, Horizon Minerals has released a slew of new high-grade intercepts at its Kestrel discovery to beef up the arsenal of prospects already on hand at its flagship Binduli project near Kalgoorlie. Notable recent shallow intersections include 4m grading 24.27 grams per tonne gold from 92m and 5m grading 13.22 g/t including 1m at 42.27 g/t from 101m.

Multi-mineral explorer, PolarX is set to extend its Alaska Range Project with recently completed diamond drilling at the Caribou Dome Copper deposit hitting finely disseminated native copper in four drill holes. The vein-hosted mineralisation currently extends 1.1 kilometres and the discovery has potential to grow the existing resource at Alaska Range which comprises both the Caribou Dome and the Zackly deposit.

Coda Minerals has increased the size of its famed Emmie Bluff copper gold discovery in South Australia, with additional thicker zones of copper sulphide mineralisation intersected in the eight diamond drill holes completed to date. Visual logging of core has shown three holes hit the jackpot as they intersected the bornite-rich core of the mineralisation, which is thicker than seen in previous holes.

Nickel exploration company, Estrella Resources continues to deliver the goods in its nickel sulphide hunt at its compelling T5 discovery near the historical Carr Boyd Rocks nickel mine, north of Kalgoorlie in WA. Step out drilling to the north and south of the currently defined T5 mineralised zone has intercepted more nickel-copper sulphides to grow the strike to a hefty 1.5 kilometres.

Things are starting to get interesting for junior exploration company, Oar Resources. The company has identified the presence of ultramafic rocks at its polymetallic Crown PGE and gold project containing copper sulphides just 8km west of Chalice Mining’s celebrated Julimar discovery in WA. Assay results from 74 rock chip samples collected at the greenfields project are due soon.

Venus Metals has discovered highly anomalous nickel, copper, chromium, platinum and palladium in soils in its Barrabarra North project next door to Chalices’ acclaimed and similarly named Barrabarra project. Venus has also applied for two new exploration licences to increase its tenure in the area to over a massive 1000 square kilometres with planned systematic soil sampling and geophysical surveys on these tenements once granted.

Torian Resources has picked up the trail of what looks to be a series of pointers to a potential gold discovery at its Tyrannus prospect within its Mt Stirling project near Leonora in WA. Shallow auger vacuum samples have thrown up some compelling grades that require further teasing out including 1m at 4.64 g/t from 3m and 1m at 8.09 g/t gold from 1m.

King River Resources has taken a big step in its ambitions to build a processing plant for high purity aluminium with the go-ahead for a definitive feasibility study on a facility at Kwinana to produce precursor aluminium compounds to feed the lithium-ion battery market. The project is a reduced version of the original plan for a full-scale HPA plant.

Blackstone Minerals has set in place an agreement for its 90 per cent owned subsidiary, Ban Phuc Nickel Mines to collaborate with the Vietnamese Government to identify new nickel opportunities outside of the company’s current Ta Khoa district tenement. First project for the new partnership will be to advance the highly prospective Chim Van nickel target located just 10km from the company’s Ban Phuc open pit deposit.

The Victorian Environmental Protection Agency has issued Lithium Australia with a 99-year operating licence that provides the environmental and legal framework for its subsidiary company, Envirostream Australia to continue lithium and other battery recycling activities at its premises in Campbellfield, Victoria. The licence permits Envirostream to process more than 500 tonnes of specified electronic waste annually.

Great Southern Mining experienced a Eureka moment after taking a chance and stepping out 200m from the existing gold deposit at its Duketon project in WA. The company hit a 17m intersection going 7 g/t gold from 11m in its latest campaign at Duketon. An even more impressive 1m at 109 g/t gold was contained within the 17m hit.

Trigg Mining has delivered a robust scoping study evaluating the proposed development of its Lake Throssell “sulphate of potash” fertiliser project in WA. The company says the project could generate $97m a year in EBITDA over a 21-year initial mine life. The project is about 170km north-east of Laverton in WA and Trigg will now launch into a pre-feasibility study to firm up its numbers.

ASX-listed proprietary software provider K2fly has strengthened its partnership with resources giant Rio Tinto, signing a contract to apply its ground disturbance data management system across all of the miner’s Pilbara sites in Western Australia. Perth-based K2fly now provides services to Rio Tinto across five of its nine product areas.

ASX-listed Altech Chemicals could be on its way to becoming a key player in the thriving lithium-ion battery industry with its high purity alumina coating technology that the company says may be able to resolve fundamental issues with energy densities and the cost of lithium-ion batteries. The company is undertaking a pre-feasibility study for a proposed 10,000 tonne per annum battery materials coating plant in Saxony, Germany.

ASX-listed junior explorer, Latitude Consolidated has launched a second exploration campaign at its Murchison gold project in Western Australia. Drilling will initially target the high-grade Turnberry gold mineralisation, following up on previously reported thick high-grade intersections before heading on to target the St Annes prospect. Previously reported thick high-grade intersections at Turnberry included 9m at an impressive 10.4 grams per tonne gold from 162m.

ASX newcomer, West Cobar Metals made a solid debut on the market last week after pocketing $5.5m in a strongly backed initial public offering ahead of the listing. The Perth-based explorer’s $0.20-a-share IPO hit the boards at the ASX in style on Friday with the stock reaching $0.25 in intraday trading. The company now plans to unleash the rig on its compelling copper and gold targets in NSW.

Hot Chili continues to unravel the geological secrets at its 100 per cent owned Cortadera copper-gold deposit in Chile after it tabled a bumper 610m intercept at 0.5 per cent copper-equivalent which includes a high-grade 138m core going 0.8 per cent copper-equivalent. The latest results extend the northern flank of the Cortadera mineralised system by a massive 170m.

Mineral exploration company, Kairos Minerals has put its foot on 479 square kilometres of tenure in the celebrated Pilbara region of WA to swell its landholding in the district to a whopping 2,026 square kilometres. The company says the new exploration licence applications are prospective for lithium pegmatite discoveries and intrusion-related gold mineralisation similar to De Grey’s world-class Hemi discovery in the region.

ASX-listed biotechnology company Cynata Therapeutics has sealed a partnership agreement with Fujifilm as it makes a big step towards a commercial manufacturing deal for its proprietary Cymerus stem cell therapy products and eyes an accelerated push into the all-important United States drug market. The company is planning a stage two trial of the therapy to treat bone marrow recipients.