Public Company News

WA agribusiness and Pemberton avocado orchard developer, Alterra Ltd’s shareholder register has been fortified following the sale of a block of shares by its former chairman. Existing major Alterra shareholder, Sandon Capital and fellow major shareholders, Emanuel Exports and the Daws family, who came on board six months ago, have stepped up to the plate to boost their holdings to 22.2 per cent and 19.95 per cent, respectively.

3D metal printing group, Aurora Labs has locked down an Australian patent for a key part of its Multi-Layer Concurrent Printing technology as it looks to progress its flagship RMP-1 printer technology to commercial readiness. The patent adds to the two the company has already secured in China and Japan. MCP patent applications in other jurisdictions including the US and Europe are at various stages of the approvals process.

Central African lithium hopeful, AVZ Minerals has taken a significant step towards the ultimate development of its massive Manono lithium and tin project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, this week awarding a front-end engineering and design study contract to Melbourne-based engineering firm Mincore. AVZ says the study will also contain a project execution schedule for the proposed US$545 million development of Manono.

Podium Minerals is rapidly filling in the gaps along 15km of strike at its Parks Reef platinum group element discovery in WA’s Mid West. Multiple drill hits spanning around 1.2km of strike in the “eastern sector” of Parks Reef have turned up some remarkably consistent PGM mineral intercepts, including 13m at 1.49 g/t three-element platinum group metals from 57m.

Buru Energy has beefed up its board ahead of its big 2021 energy exploration push with its newly minted partner, Origin Energy, as it seeks to flex its muscles further in WA’s hydrocarbon-rich Canning Basin. Respected, long-serving non-executive director Eve Howell will retire and three new non-executives will join the board as Buru gears up for 2021.

Blackstone Minerals has discovered new nickel sulphide mineralisation in the previously untested Taipan Discovery Zone within the Ta Cuong nickel-PGE-copper-cobalt massive sulphide vein prospect. Ta Cuong sits about 6km northwest of Blackstone’s dormant but modern Ban Phuc nickel mine and processing centre in Vietnam. The first diamond hole to test Taipan hit 39.7m of continuous fresh sulphides, including some massive sulphides after 15.5m downhole.

Surefire Resources is fast-tracking its Perenjori magnetite iron ore project in WA, with the aspiring producer tabling a massive resource for the deposit that now weighs in at 192 million tonnes grading over 36 per cent iron that the company says can be beneficiated up to a stellar 70 per cent iron concentrate.

Element 25 says it will be processing manganese ore by the back end of next month at its new Butcherbird manganese project in the Pilbara. The company says it will dry commission the plant in the first half of March and achieve wet commissioning and start processing ore by the end of the month, representing a significant milestone in the history of the company.

ASX-listed Chilean copper player, Hot Chili has fired up a third drill rig to accelerate its recently commenced 40,000-metre follow-up diamond and RC drilling program at its massive Cortadera copper-gold discovery. Cortadera forms part of the Perth-based company’s proposed Costa Fuego porphyry copper-gold super hub project development in Chile about 600 kilometres north of the country’s capital, Santiago.

After nailing its maiden gold drilling campaign at the Gnows Nest project near Yalgoo, Emu NL is opening up a second and third exploration front in WA with auger drilling now set to kick off in the South West and the Eastern Goldfields. A detailed auger campaign will drill test the company’s Viper, Graceland and 8-Mile Dam projects in the coming weeks.

ASX-listed explorer King River Resources says drilling has unearthed its richest, high-grade gold vein outside of the Trudi Main prospect at its Mount Remarkable gold project in WA’s north-east Kimberley region. The first high grade, reverse circulation gold hit at its Jennifer North vein returned 2m at 8.44 g/t gold which included 1m going 14.8 g/t, within an overall 5m zone grading 3.45 g/t gold.

Todd River Resources’ share price hiked more than 8 per cent in ASX trade after the company finalised a $3.3 million capital raise, landing high profile fund manager Acorn Capital as cornerstone investor in the process. The flourishing WA nickel explorer is set to kick off a raft of exploration in the coming weeks across its highly prospective targets throughout the nickel-bearing terranes of Western Australia.