Public Company News

ASX-listed King River Resources has advanced a chain of core pre-feasibility study activities for its Kwinana project in WA as it seeks to carve a niche in the increasingly lucrative global high purity alumina and downstream markets. The company is working to bring to life its immense Speewah Dome vanadium-in-magnetite project in the state’s Kimberley region as a HPA feed source.

Estrella Resources looks to be on target as it continues drilling across its T5 nickel sulphide target in WA. Latest drill results from the discovery include an impressive 12.9m sulphide intercept, which hosts several zones of semi-to-massive nickel-rich mineralisation. The new zone of sulphides forms part of the Upper T5 conductor and is located 40m south of previous drilling, extending the envelope of this exciting nickel discovery.

ASX-listed Okapi Resources has kicked off exploration work at its Holly kaolin project in southern WA as part of technical due diligence relating to the recently announced planned acquisition of the project’s owner. The Perth-based company collected about 15 kaolin samples from Holly this week for assaying at a laboratory in Perth.

Wiluna Mining Corporation is poised to build the production platform that will position it to become one of Australia’s next significant gold mining companies after closing a A$93 million equity and debt funding deal to initially catapult its annual production rate from 60,000 ounces of gold to 120,000 ounces over the next 12 months. The company continues to see strong institutional support for its big-picture Wiluna growth blueprint.

ASX-listed Anglo Australian Resources has delivered further stellar gold hits at the Mandilla gold project in WA, with a maiden resource estimate due for release shortly. The new drill intercepts at Mandilla East have extended the known mineralisation by 130m to the south and include 66m going 1.77 grams per tonne gold. Results from nearly 10,000m of drilling remain pending.

Coda Minerals has shifted exploration at the Elizabeth Creek copper project in South Australia into higher gear. A major drilling campaign is underway to convert an existing exploration target at the Emmie Bluff prospect, estimated at 46-77 million tonnes going at 0.5-2.3 per cent copper-equivalent, into a maiden resource. Priority regional targets are also to be tested.

ASX-listed Kairos Minerals is waiting for assays from a reverse circulation drilling program completed at its Roe Hills gold and nickel project about 120km east of Kalgoorlie in WA, however visual indications of sulphides in rock chips have management eager to move forward. The Perth-based company punched out 20 holes for a total of 2,992 metres at the Caliburn, Talc Lake and Black Cat prospects.

Buru Energy looks to be on schedule to move into drilling of its inaugural 2021 well at Currajong 1 in WA’s Canning Basin. The company says site works for the well east of Broome are nearing completion with the first loads of rig gear expected to leave the Northern Territory next week. Drilling is expected to kick off in mid-June 2021.

Classic Minerals has achieved another significant milestone on the way to production start-up in the form of a native title agreement over the mining area at its developing Kat Gap gold project about 170km south of Southern Cross in WA. The company says it has now executed a Noongar Alternative Heritage Agreement with the South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council, representing the Ballardong Agreement Group.

Northern Minerals continues to optimise its cutting-edge rare earth processing circuit in WA, with the addition of an ore sorter that management says has the potential to double the feed grade to the milling circuit. The new equipment might also deliver considerable cost savings for future production by increasing throughput and reducing both capital and operational expenditure.

TSX-listed WA gold producer, Novo Resources has moved to speed up the process for receiving its gold assay results. The company has now secured a deal with Intertek Testing Services (Australia) Pty Ltd that will see the latter provide on-site laboratory and sample preparation services and PhotonAssay services. Intertek will manage an on-site laboratory at Novo’s Golden Eagle gold processing plant near Nullagine in the East Pilbara.

Comet Resources has pulled off something of a coup, entering into an agreement to acquire the mineralised extensions to its Santa Teresa gold mine in northern Mexico. The company is looking to secure the La Sorpresa III lease to the north-west of its mine, said to host a number of old shafts and workings, where historical records show production grading at an incredible 280 grams per tonne gold.