Public Company News

Classic Minerals has retained Australian mid-tier miner IGO Limited as an exploration joint venture partner at its Fraser Range nickel-copper prospect in WA. It will pocket a $500,000 payment from IGO for 51 per cent of the prospect and the senior partner has committed a further $1m for ongoing exploration. The deal leaves Classic to focus on becoming a gold producer at Forrestania.

Lithium Australia has taken an important step towards becoming a key player in lithium ferro phosphate battery, or “LFP” supply chains, securing an Australian patent for its innovative SiLeach technology. SiLeach is used to recover lithium from micas and clays to produce lithium phosphate, a vital ingredient in LFP batteries that will power Tesla 3 electric vehicles.

ASX-listed NSW precious and base metals explorer, Godolphin Resources has appointed experienced geologist, Jeneta Owens as its new Managing Director. The Orange-based company’s decision comes after former Chief Executive Officer, David Greenwood recently returned to WA for family reasons in the wake of COVID-19 travel restrictions. Owens was previously an exploration manager and exploration team leader at the Northparkes copper gold mine, adjacent to Godolphin’s assets.

ASX-listed Indonesia gold explorer, Sihayo Gold has returned further encouraging gold hits from an ongoing diamond drilling program at its Sihayo gold project in North Sumatra. Better assays from the latest hole at the brownfields Sihayo-2 prospect include 8.4m at an average grade of 2.56 g/t gold from 47m and 9.8m at 1.77 g/t from 77m.

ASX-listed Calidus Resources’ plant construction at its Warrawoona mining and processing operation about 25km south-east of Marble Bar in the East Pilbara region is well advanced as it draws down the first tranche of funds from a Macquarie Bank $110 million debt facility. The company says its new mine remains on budget and on course to pour first gold in the June quarter next year.

Altech Chemicals has stepped up efforts to expand the use of high purity alumina, or “HPA” in the burgeoning lithium-ion battery market, filing a patent for its anode-coating technology with IP Australia. Demonstration of better battery performance through the use of an alumina-based battery anode coating could open up another lucrative new market for HPA from Altech’s under-development US$280 million plant at Johor in Malaysia.

Surefire Resources has continued to build on its exciting late 2020 gold discovery at the Yidby Road prospect with a further set of thick intersections from a follow-up RC drilling program at its Yidby gold project in WA. The pick of the latest assays from Yidby Road was a 26m intercept going at 2.02 g/t gold from 126m including 2m at 10.05 g/t from 141m.

Estrella Resources says it has maintained a 100 per cent strike rate with drilling into a broad zone of sulphide-rich mineralisation at its Carr Boyd T5 nickel-copper discovery north of Kalgoorlie with a new 6.75m-thick massive nickel-copper sulphide zone hit. The intersection occurred at the base of a previously drilled 32.7m nickel-copper-iron mineralised sulphide zone.

ASX-listed biotechnology company, PharmAust has secured Monash Health Human Research Ethics Committee approval for a Phase I clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of its monepantel product in combating motor neuron disease. Twelve trial participants will be tested in the fourth quarter this year. The trial has about A$880,000 of funding from charitable organisation, FightMND Australia.

Recently announced bonanza silver and some impressive gold assays from a massive rock chip sampling program has prompted PolarX to expand its tenement holdings in Nevada’s Humboldt Range. The company says it has secured extensions of known mineralised gold-silver veins and newly discovered mineralised breccias in 358.7 hectares of additional ground.

Middle Island Resources is set to restart targeting and drilling at its Sandstone gold project in Western Australia’s Murchison region in a bid to add ounces and fine tune the economics of its recently delivered project feasibility study. The company is aiming to unearth at least 25,000 ounces of new resources on its own ground or from a nearby third-party source.

ASX-listed aspiring gold developer, Kingwest Resources has kicked off another round of reverse circulation drilling targeting depth extensions to a triumvirate of key near-surface satellite deposits that form part of its flagship Menzies gold project in WA. The company will look to delve deeper at the project’s Lady Shenton, Lady Harriet and Yunndaga systems to test for gold mineralisation beneath the current indicated and inferred resources for each.