Public Company News

ASX-listed oil and gas explorer, 88 Energy says the planned spudding of the Merlin-1 well at its Project Peregrine on the North Slope of Alaska remains on track to go ahead next month. The company also hopes to drill the project’s Harrier-1 well immediately after the Merlin-1 well has been completed. Construction of the snow road to the Merlin-1 and Harrier-1 locations is under way.

ASX-listed gold explorer, Great Southern Mining has quickly shaken off any lingering after-effects of festive season celebrations and got back to business, resuming a significant RC drilling program at its Mon Ami and Cox’s Find gold projects near Laverton in WA.

ASX-listed base metals and gold play, Si6 Metals has identified a string of polymetallic anomalies at its flagship Maibele North project in Botswana while the company’s deep diamond drill hole continues its journey to approximately 550 metres depth targeting nickel sulphide mineralisation.

ASX-listed Estrella Resources enjoyed a stellar ride on the bourse in the wake of arguably one of the most exciting base metals discoveries last year at its Carr Boyd nickel project 80km north-north-east of Kalgoorlie. An open letter to shareholders by Chairman Les Pereira published this week suggests 2021 may prove even more of a hit.

Fresh from being awarded an “investigation” permit for its San Jose lithium project in Spain, Infinity Lithium’s proposed development of a mining and processing operation at San Jose with an estimated pre-production CAPEX of US$309 million has been given a big vote of support by key strategic investor EIT InnoEnergy.

ASX-listed clinical-stage oncology group, PharmAust has extended its pre-clinical studies collaboration with the Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute as they work towards determining how effectively PharmAust’s Monepantel drug combats cancer cells.

Hot on the heels of a successful $2.4 million capital raise, unlisted Barton Gold has moved to further strengthen its leadership group as the gold explorer gears up for follow-up drilling at its historic Tarcoola gold project in the Gawler Craton, South Australia, and a possible IPO this year.

Troy Resources has eked out more encouraging exploration results at its Karouni gold mine in Guyana where it has managed to keep the drill rods turning despite a recent spate of COVID-19 infections on site. The company, forced to pull its 2020-21 Karouni gold production guidance of 35,000-40,000 ounces due to the COVID-19 outbreak and shortage of various supplies, is now looking to build the project’s ore reserves position.

Image Resources has posted a bumper year of sales from its mining operations in WA, with the mineral sands producer delivering over 310,000 tonnes of heavy mineral sands concentrates for the year. The solid production figures represent a 20 per cent jump in overall production from the previous year and an impressive $174 million in annual revenue.

Novo Resources is set to join the big league, with the company having received approval to make the move to the main board of the Toronto Stock Exchange. The change signals a significant shift in the company’s status as it continues to develop the Beatons Creek gold mine in Western Australia and prepares to join the ranks of the world’s gold producers.

Gold has stood the test of time proving it to be a stand-out performer in 2020 following the onset of COVID-19. March saw the price of the yellow metal fall to US$1,486 per ounce before rising by a stunning 40 per cent to hit an all-time US$2,067 per ounce high in August. What does 2021 hold for gold?

CZR Resources is set to cut costs for its developing Robe Mesa iron ore operation in WA’s Pilbara region after putting in place a memorandum of understanding with the owners of the port facilities at Onslow, which is located 180km to the west of the company’s developing iron ore project. The use of Onslow port drastically reduces the haulage distance from the mine gate to port.