Public Company News

Northern Minerals’ definitive feasibility study for its Browns Range rare earths project in WA is on track to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, as it continues to develop mining, metallurgical processing and plant and engineering design studies. The mining strategy has been determined as an open pit to 125m depth, followed by an underground mine at its Wolverine deposit.

Smart home technology company Zimi has produced an impressive March quarter to generate more value in receipts from customers in the the last three months than in the combined amount from its previous two reporting periods. The company collected $464,000 in customer receipts in the quarter, compared to a combined $308,000 from the entire first half of the financial year, according to its latest quarterly report.

Horizon Minerals has promoted chief operating officer Grant Haywood to the position of chief executive officer – effective from the start of July – as the company eyes production at its Cannon gold project. The move comes as managing director Jon Price steps down and into the position of non-executive director after more than seven years at Horizon’s helm.

Triangle Energy has reeled in $11.4 million in the March quarter – a staggering 73 per cent increase from the previous quarter – courtesy of oil sales associated with its Cliff Head JV partnership with Pilot Energy. The record sales round off a busy quarter highlighted by two oil shipments and finalising the acquisition of two oil and gas permits in WA’s Perth Basin with Key Petroleum.

Javelin Minerals has ordered more air-core drilling at its Malamute rare earths and metals project, about 10km south-east of Tottenham in central New South Wales. The company will drill 18 new holes to follow up a 40-hole air-core program in 2019 that intersected significant lateritic material overlying ultramafic and mafic rock units, forming a prominent egg-shaped magnetic anomaly almost entirely within its ground.

Ora Banda Mining has seen a mined gold grade increase of more than 50 per cent at its operations to 2.5 grams per tonne over the March quarter compared to an average of 1.7 g/t gold in the previous six months. The significant grade increase caps a solid three months for the company that also included an almost 5 per cent increase in gold produced with a total of 12,310 ounces against 11,803 ounces in the December quarter and 11,720 ounces through the September quarter.

Lithium Australia has recorded green gains after mixed battery collections by subsidiary Envirostream jumped more than 30 per cent to 364 tonnes in the March quarter, compared to 275 tonnes in the December quarter. According to the parent company’s latest quarterly report, Envirostream also generated a comparative cash gross profit of almost $1 million in the nine months to March.

ChemX Materials has unveiled more high-grade, near-surface manganese in its second batch of assay results from drilling in South Australia, including a 6m hit grading 18 per cent manganese from just 15m. It says it now has data from 69 holes of its 94-hole Jamieson Tank campaign, which has targeted mineralisation that can be efficiently converted to high-purity manganese – a key component in electric batteries.

Venus Metals Corporation has gained a boost to exploration plans for its Marvel Loch East rare earths project after its subsidiary Redscope Enterprises scored a co-funded drilling grant from the WA Government. The Exploration Incentive Scheme funding will contribute 50 per cent of direct drilling and mobilisation costs, with Redscope successfully applying for a maximum amount of $157,500 to explore the project near Southern Cross.

Infinity Mining will drill 10 RC holes at its Brisbane nickel prospect in the Pilbara after receiving $117,810 in WA Government grant funding. The company has revealed plans to explore an ultramafic basal contact target at the prospect, in addition to a prominent conductive target that may represent nickel sulphides, which was identified by a helicopter electromagnetic survey.

ASX-listed Estrella Resources has run the rule over a promising 5A nickel target at its Spargoville project, 20km south-west of Kambalda in WA’s Goldfields, and has opted for an underground decline operation over open-pit mining. The company will now press full-steam ahead towards restarting the historic mining at Spargoville of nickel – now a much-needed battery metal.

Venus Metals and joint venture partner, Rox Resources, continue to serve up bumper hits at their Youanmi gold project in WA’s Murchison goldfields, with the latest drilling at the Link prospect striking 22m at 6.31 g/t gold. The duo is plunging 24,000m of drilling into the project in a bid to upgrade the current 3.2-million-ounce inferred mineral resource to the higher indicated category.