Matt Birney

Specialist test work on natural flake graphite sourced from Comet Resources’ 100 per cent owned Springdale graphite project in the south of Western Australia has demonstrated its suitability to produce a precursor material for use in the manufacture of lithium-ion battery anodes. Comet says the results enhance the prospects for future development of the project.

ASX-listed K2fly Ltd has clinched a five-year contract with leading platinum, palladium and gold producer Sibanye-Stillwater, who has signed on for the implementation of the resources software-as-a-service provider’s Decipher mining tailings management solution. K2fly says the South African-headquartered Sibanye-Stillwater intends rolling out K2fly’s software at all of the miner’s more than three dozen tailing storage facilities it operates in southern Africa and the United States.

ASX-listed junior gold explorer Torian Resources says it has encountered gold mineralisation at high priority prospects at its flagship Mt Stirling project about 40 kilometres north-west of Leonora in WA following a round of auger vacuum drilling. The company has also dipped its toes into the cryptocurrency space via an equity swap arrangement with blockchain outfit BullionFX.

Legend Mining continues to reap the rewards of its highly targeted exploration efforts at its Rockford Project in WA’s emerging Fraser Range base metal province. A maiden diamond drilling program at the Octagonal prospect has hit a broad zone of blebby and semi-massive nickel-copper sulphides. Drilling has also confirmed the presence of a large layered mafic-ultramafic intrusion that looks to be analogous to the nearby Nova-Bollinger and Silver Knight deposits.

Manganese producer, Element 25 has scored an eight-year “innovation patent” for its cutting-edge extraction technology used to separate manganese from concentrate produced at its 100 per cent owned Butcherbird mining and beneficiation operation north of Meekatharra in WA. The company is looking to manufacture a high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate product for use in the thriving lithium-ion battery industry.

Infinity Lithium has ticked off a key milestone with metallurgical testwork producing the first battery-grade lithium hydroxide from its 75 per cent owned San Jose lithium project in Spain. The company’s technical advisory committee has undertaken a parallel review of all technically feasible alternative extractive technologies identifying multiple new processes which could provide opportunities for significant improvements in all parameters of the process flow sheet.

ASX-listed Lithium Australia is seeking to carve out a niche position as one of the only providers of nickel-free and cobalt-free cathode materials outside of China. The company says the reliance on China for the materials is of “great concern” and Lithium Australia’s wholly owned subsidiary is well positioned to establish a strategic stake in the lithium-ion battery market.

ASX-listed resources software provider K2fly Ltd has bedded down a five-year extension to its existing contract with the world’s largest gold company, Newmont Corporation in relation to its resource governance software-as-a-service solution. Perth-based K2fly says the extension deal, which takes the Newmont contract period out to March 2028, has a total contract value of A$1.3 million.

ASX-listed Hot Chilli has unearthed two large geochemical targets, Productora Central and Santiago, considered to be potential “game changers” at its Costa Fuego copper-gold development hub in Chile. Employing the latest advanced 3D geochemistry technology, Hot Chili says both targets come in at over 1km in diameter and look to be larger than the main Cuerpo 3 porphyry at the company’s massive Cortadera copper-gold discovery.

Mineral exploration company, Superior Resources has unleashed the drill rig at its Bottletree copper prospect in northern Queensland to test the core of a large geophysical anomaly where previous drilling on its northern margins hit an eye-catching 292m interval going 0.22 per cent copper. The company says recent 3D geophysical modelling confirms potential for the discovery of a major copper deposit.

Vietnam-focused nickel company, Blackstone Minerals is off to a flyer in a recently launched infill drilling campaign at its King Snake prospect, located at its Ta Khao nickel-copper and PGE project. The new drill campaign has already hit 8.5 metres of sulphides including massive sulphide veins. Assays from previous drilling at the prospect have also delivered multiple nickel, copper, cobalt and PGE hits.

Junior explorer Strickland Metals says its recently acquired 346,000-ounce Millrose gold project on the north-eastern flank of the prolific gold-bearing Yandal-Millrose greenstone belt in WA provides an outstanding drill-ready opportunity to potentially grow its gold resource base in pursuit of possible early production in the region. The Perth-based company snapped up the project for $10 million from previous owners Millrose Gold Mines and Golden Eagle Mining.

Godolphin Resources says it has encountered sulphides in all RC holes drilled into the Quarry lode prospect at its high-priority Lewis Ponds mixed metals project 15km east of Orange in the Lachlan Fold Belt of NSW. The aim of the quartet of RC holes vectoring in on the upper levels of Quarry lode was to extend the lode mineralisation near surface and to the north of the current Lewis Ponds mineral resource.

Junior exploration company, Twenty Seven Co has uncovered numerous high-grade lithium and tin showings in the northern part of its 100 per cent owned Trident project near Broken Hill in New South Wales. A review of historical geochemical and sample data has returned lithium occurrences going as high as a dazzling 7.63 per cent lithium oxide.

Resource drilling by specialty metals company, Technology Metals Australia has identified a thickening of its Yarrabubba magnetite iron and vanadium deposit south of Meekatharra in WA. Drilling in the south-east of the existing 27.7Mt resource going 38.7 per cent iron and 0.9 per cent vanadium pentoxide has returned broad high-grade zones including 24m at 50.2 per cent iron and 1.13 per cent vanadium pentoxide.

Galan Lithium has partnered with leading sustainable supply chain traceability provider, London-headquartered international group Circulor Ltd as the ASX-listed lithium development hopeful seeks to become a preferred source of lithium carbonate supply to global markets. It says the collaborative partnership with Circulor will look to establish full lithium traceability and carbon dioxide and environmental, social and governance tracking for its lithium brine assets in Argentina’s “lithium triangle”.

Junior exploration company, Zuleika Gold has potentially unveiled a broad gold system at its Breakaway Dam prospect near Kalgoorlie in WA with 21 air-core drill holes intersecting gold including a peak 4m at 4.3 g/t gold. A second potential new gold zone may also have been intersected at its Credo Well gold project some 25km to the west.

WA-focused explorer, Kairos Minerals has returned the best high-grade gold hit in the history of its Mt York project in the Pilbara after striking a cracking 32m at 3.79 g/t gold. Described by the company as an exceptional intercept, it comes as part of an ongoing 20,000m drilling campaign seeking to add more gold to the 873,500-ounce resource base at the project.

Horizon Minerals has tabled an updated mineral resource estimate for one of the key satellite gold deposits that underpins its proposed flagship Boorara gold production hub about 15km east of Kalgoorlie. The revised resource for the company’s Jacques Find-Peyes Farm deposit, located at the Teal project area 10km north-west of Kalgoorlie, weighs in at 1.74 million tonnes grading 2.32 g/t for 130,000 ounces of contained gold.

Innovative project developer, Neometals and its partner, SMS Group, have moved a step closer to testing their lithium-ion battery recycling technology after successfully managing to integrate the first two stages of its showcase recycling demonstration plant in Germany. The duo, via their 50-50 Primobius joint venture, is looking to recover valuable materials such as lithium, nickel and cobalt from end-of-life batteries.

Perth-based junior explorer Aruma Resources is set to get boots on the ground after receiving the green light to kick off drilling at its Salmon Gums gold project in WAs prolific Norseman goldfields. The company plans to undertake a maiden 3,000m RC program at the project, located 30km south and along strike from the recent Scotia gold discovery.

Perth-based gold-miner Wiluna Mining is frantically ticking boxes as it gains momentum on the downhill run towards commissioning its 750,000 tonne-per-annum flotation plant as part of its major production ramp-up plan at its namesake project in WA. The company expects the plant to be in operation in December and is targeting increased production to 120,000 ounces per annum by the end of the 2022 financial year.

ASX-listed Quantum Graphite says the first two holes of an eight-hole diamond drilling campaign along the ‘Eastern Conductor’ near its Uley 2 resource on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia appear to have successfully intercepted multiple graphitic zones. Uley 2 already takes in a hefty 6.3 million tonne resource going 11.1 per cent total graphitic content.

ASX-listed Calidus Resources has taken two crucial steps in its journey towards becoming Australia’s next gold producer completing installation of the mill at its Warrawoona project in WAs Pilbara region and signing a mining services agreement with Macmahon Holdings. Construction is now more than 60 per cent complete with the company on track to pour first gold in the June quarter next year.

Market punters pushed Metal Hawk’s share price through the roof after maiden reverse circulation drilling at the company’s Berehaven nickel project near Kalgoorlie hit massive sulphide nickel mineralisation. Metal Hawk’s share price touched 76c in intraday trading after it announced a two-metre intersection of massive and semi-massive nickel sulphide mineralisation from 144m. The company’s previous day’s closing share price was 18.5c.

ASX-listed Barton Gold is continuing its aggressive exploration approach at its 100 per cent owned Tarcoola and Tunkillia gold projects in the South Australia’s revered Gawler Craton. With the South Australian government contributing up to $300,000 courtesy of its “Accelerated Discovery” initiative, the company has commenced a high-resolution gravity survey designed to refine its new regional structural model and optimise future drill targeting.

Multi-mineral exploration company, Okapi Resources has snapped up a 100 per cent interest in the historical Sunnyside uranium mine in Utah, USA, after staking mining claims that cover 960 acres adjacent to Okapi’s existing Rattler uranium project. The Sunnyside uranium mine comprises several small past-producing pits where uranium and vanadium were both mined in the early 1900’s at high grades. The project has seen no modern exploration since.

Nickel exploration company, St George Mining says maiden regional drilling at two 100 per cent owned prospects near its exciting Mt Alexander nickel sulphide discovery in Western Australia’s north-eastern Goldfields has intercepted broad intervals of host rocks prospective for nickel sulphide mineralisation. The company believes its Mt Alexander tenure has potential to develop into a major multi-deposit nickel camp.

Minerals technology group Neometals’ joint venture partner Critical Metals has struck a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Swedish company H2 Green Steel that may open the door to a possible second vanadium recovery project for the partners. The collaboration with H2 Green Steel complements the existing agreement between Neometals and Critical Metals in relation to their proposed vanadium recovery plant in Finland.

ASX-listed Northern Minerals has progressed its potentially game changing ore sorting initiative with the successful testing of the sorter system at its Browns Range rare earths pilot operation in the north of WA. The company is now producing sorted material and converting this to a 30 percent total rare earth oxide concentrate. Processing of the ore sorted material has resulted in remarkably better recoveries.

Perth-based Wiluna Mining has wrapped up a mammoth 175km of drilling over the past 18 months to support a resource and reserve upgrade integral for its stage 2 sulphide development feasibility study. Latest drilling results from the East Lode and Happy Jack lodes continue to impress with intercepts grading up to 53.4 g/t gold confirming Wiluna as a high-grade mineralised system.

Bardoc Gold’s hopes of increasing the forecast mine life of its namesake multi-deposit gold project near Kalgoorlie in WA have been buoyed by recent encouraging extensional and infill drilling results. Best numbers from the latest diamond drill hits from gold-bearing lodes in the key Zoroastrian deposit area are 4.5m grading 3.53 g/t gold from 102m, 1m at 11.7 g/t from 466m and 6m at 2.44 g/t from 460m.