Public Company News

Aruma Resources is set to increase its tenement holdings at its Saltwater gold project in WA’s Pilbara region. Its application for an adjoining exploration licence covers the “prospective” Spinifex dome structure north-west of the project’s fertile Saltwater structure. The company’s recent drilling at Saltwater points to what it suggests is a potential new gold camp analogous to Kalamazoo Resources’ Mt Olympus gold deposit to the west.

Lithium Australia has confirmed exploration asset sale and joint venture terms with fledgling base and precious metal explorer Charger Metals, which has obtained conditional approval to list on the ASX after its $6 million IPO closed oversubscribed. Lithium Australia will retain 30 per cent of three JV exploration projects in Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Ora Banda Mining’s retiring managing director David Quinlivan has officially handed over the MD’s baton to Peter Nicholson, who has been in the CEO’s chair for the past three months. Mr Quinlivan will now switch to being a non-executive director of the company. The executive leadership transition comes after Mr Quinlivan played an instrumental role in reviving Ora Banda’s Davyhurst mine about 120km north-west of Kalgoorlie.

Classic Minerals has hit paydirt at Kat Gap in Western Australia with infill and extensional drilling across its evolving resource area intersecting uber high-grade gold mineralisation. Results include the company’s best ever intercept of an impressive 10 metres at 40.54 grams per tonne gold. That drill hit featured an interval of 0.5m going at an astonishing 592 g/t from only 26.5m down-hole.

ASX-listed Venture Minerals has been buoyed by star stock market performer and joint venture partner Chalice Mining’s newly identified electromagnetic anomalies at the so-called “Julimar look-alike” target at the duo’s South West nickel-copper-PGE project about 240km south of Perth. Punters responded positively to the initial EM anomalies defined by Chalice’s early work, pushing Venture’s share price up almost 15 per cent in trading today.

Lithium Australia has announced that it has been granted a European patent for its in-house LieNA lithium processing technology, said to significantly improve metallurgical recovery of lithium from fine and low-grade spodumene for use in the production of lithium-ion batteries. Improved lithium recoveries boost profit and can reduce both the footprint and environmental impact of mining to enhance sustainability.

Neometals has delivered significant increases in contained nickel resources at its Mt Edwards project near Kambalda in WA. A bumper 51 per cent jump at the 26N deposit and 45 per cent lift for the McEwen deposits have contributed to a hike in global resources at the former mine to 162,510 contained nickel tonnes grading at an average 1.6 per cent.

Si6 Metals has identified numerous targets for drill testing along three newly confirmed geophysical anomalies at its Airstrip copper-silver prospect in eastern Botswana. Si6 is now eyeing up a drilling campaign to test the targets at depth. Historical drill hits at Airstrip include an eye-catching 8m at 10.39 per cent copper and 630 grams per tonne silver from 52m.

Okapi Resources says wet weather won’t stop the ASX-listed junior explorer completing the maiden drilling program at its Enmore gold project in New South Wales within the next two weeks. Nearly 770m in six of 8-10 planned holes have been drilled so far as the company follows up promising drill results from 20 years ago at two priority target areas.

CZR Resources has committed to a DFS on the proposed development of its Robe Mesa iron ore project in WA’s Pilbara region. The company says the study will evaluate the mining, haulage and export of Robe Mesa direct shipping ore, with the latter to also be weighed up with a port facility being developed at Beadon Creek in Onslow as an alternative to Port Hedland.

Todd River Resources has uncovered extensive nickel-copper-PGE anomalism over the Eastern Trend within its Berkshire Valley project, near the wheatbelt town of Moora in WA. Recent auger sampling over the seven kilometre long Eastern Trend has delineated two priority targets, with the anomalies returning values up to 9,300 ppm nickel, 900 ppm and 105.2 ppb platinum and palladium.

Having put a circa-50,000 ounce oxide gold resource on the table at Mt Dimer in Western Australia in May, Twenty Seven Co is now gearing up to chase a large-scale copper-gold deposit near Broken Hill on the other side of the country before having a second and third crack this year at a new gold discovery in WA.