Public Company News

Hot Chili has launched feasibility over the company’s immense Costa Fuego copper-gold project in northern Chile, appointing expert engineers Wood to oversee a PFS over the greater Costa Fuego project area. The study will use the 2016 Productora pre-feasibility study to expedite a larger PFS over the project, which hosts more than 724 million tonnes in copper and gold resources.

ASX-listed explorer Oar Resources has landed an exploration licence at its Crown PGE-nickel-copper prospect just 9km west of Chalice Mining’s celebrated Julimar discovery in Western Australia. Initial reconnaissance works to verify 20 identified targets are now on the cards in preparation for a maiden drilling campaign planned for the second half of the year.

ASX-listed Oar Resources has laid the foundation for drilling programs on three fronts following a $2.3m placement. Funds will be used to advance the Crown PGE-nickel-copper project west of Chalice Mining’s renowned Julimar discovery in Western Australia, launch a maiden gold drilling program at Douglas Canyon in Nevada, and continue work at the emerging Gibraltar kaolin-halloysite project in South Australia.

Buru Energy is set to kick off its 2021 oil exploration program in the Canning Basin in the north of Western Australia where it is targeting 97 million barrels of conventional oil from back-to-back wells. A rig has been mobilised at Buru’s first Currajong 1 well with a second well, Rafael 1, to follow. A seismic survey to define new targets is also on the cards.

ASX-listed WA manganese producer Element 25 has dispatched the first shipment of manganese concentrate from its new Butcherbird open-pit mining and beneficiation operation about 130km south of Newman in WA’s southern Pilbara region. The Perth-based company says Pilbara-based AK Evans Group last week kicked off ore haulage from Butcherbird to Utah Point in Port Hedland in readiness for loading and export.

King River has its sights on a free cash deluge from its proposed $204 million investment in a cutting-edge high-purity alumina manufacturing plant at Kwinana, south of Perth, after tabling a stunning set of numbers in its recently completed project pre-feasibility study. The plant is expected to deliver more than $190 million per annum in free cash flow over an initial 25-year operation.

Horizon Minerals has reported a host of encouraging intersections from a follow-up RC drilling program at three prospects within its Binduli gold project 12km west of Kalgoorlie. The pick of the drill hits came from the Honeyeater prospect, which returned 4m at 11.45 g/t gold from 113m including 1m at 32.4 g/t and 4m at 5.15 g/t from 93m including 1m at 13.54 g/t.

Hot Chili has dished up a bumper-grade 144m intercept at 1 per cent copper-equivalent as it looks to grow the resource at the Cortadera deposit within its broader Costa Fuego copper hub in northern Chile. The company is eyeing a pre-feasibility study to fast-track Costa Fuego to production with the high-grade core at Cortadera to play a key part.

Wiluna Mining Corporation has wrapped up its US$42 million term loan from commodity trader Mercuria and says stage one sulphide gold expansion to more than 120,000 ounces per annum and feasibility study work on its next phase of growth are now fully funded. The FS on lifting annual output at Wiluna in WA past 240,000 ounces is expected to be completed this year.

Canada-focused Ardiden is set to shift its exploration efforts into higher gear at its Pickle Lake gold project in Ontario. The company is eyeing a maiden drilling campaign at the Esker prospect near Barrick Gold Corp’s historical Golden Patricia gold mine which produced more than 600,000 ounces of gold. Previous drill intercepts at Esker include 12.03m at 3.2 grams per tonne gold.

AVZ Minerals has locked in a long-term lease over an industrial site earmarked as an integral logistics hub for the transfer of concentrate for export from its proposed Manono hard-rock lithium project in the DRC. The company says the Kabondo Dianda “intermodal staging station”, where the Manono concentrate will be trucked, forms part of its logistics plan to export finished products to global markets.

ASX-listed Estrella Resources has dished up a 22.85m intercept of nickel-copper sulphides above a previous hit that returned 20.1m going 1.04 per cent nickel at its T5 discovery north of Kalgoorlie in WA. Results from the current phase-three drilling campaign are due soon as the company continues to advance its geological understanding of the prospect ahead of the next stage of its exploration.