Public Company News

ASX-listed lithium hopeful, AVZ Minerals, says it is knee-deep in negotiations with potential offtake partners and debt financing providers to breathe life into the staged, US$545 million development of its Manono open-pit lithium and tin project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo that boasts one of the largest hard-rock lithium deposits on the planet.

Perth based oncology company, PharmAust, has confirmed the anti-viral potential of its Monepantel drug in the fight against COVID-19 and firmed up its strategy for other potential treatments using the drug, including treating cancer in dogs and treating human neurodegenerative disease.

Northern Minerals has banked the majority of the almost $10 million lifeline the Australian Taxation Office promised it after settling a protracted research and development grant dispute that played havoc with its balance sheet. The company has banked $8.64 million from the ATO and a further $1.3m is due in by the end of the week. Northern used the money to repay $2m in debt.

St George Mining continues to gain momentum at the Mt Alexander nickel project with its latest round of metallurgical test work returning excellent results that show solid nickel and copper concentrate grades with promising recoveries of both metals. The concentrates also show a wealth of by-product credits that include lucrative levels of platinum group metals, silver and cobalt.

ASX-listed Indonesian gold hopeful, Sihayo Gold, is close to wrapping up a massive $40 million capital raise that will see it emerge debt-free and cashed up to fund an aggressive exploration program at its underexplored tenure in the world-class gold setting of North Sumatra. The cash injection will also allow the company to step up plans for the potential US$144 million development of its namesake 1.5Moz “starter” gold project.

Reconnaissance work over Victory Mines’ Bonaparte project in WA is already paying dividends, with both rock chipping and resampling of historic drilling returning high-grade copper samples including outcropping mineralisation which grades up to a bumper 25.9 per cent copper and 13.7 g/t silver. Victory’s back-to-basics approach has outlined an extensive copper anomalism with drilling scheduled to kick off in the coming months.

Victory Mines has earned its initial interest in the high-grade Coogee gold project near Kambalda in Western Australia and the company is now gearing up for a 4,000m drilling blitz across the developing gold target where previous tantalising results included 5m at 27.1 g/t gold just under the old open pit. Exploration is scheduled to kick off in earnest by late-September 2020 when the rods will start turning.

ASX-listed 88 Energy has boosted the potential net oil pay in its Charlie-1 test well in Alaska. Analysis of the shallow Seabee formation, above the deeper Torok gas-condensate discovery, has resulted in an upward revision of the previous estimates for the oil and gas pay zone potential of the formation and hydrocarbon volumes across the Icewine project.

Lithium Australia has moved to protect its battery recycling intellectual property by applying for two Australian patents for its recycling of battery materials processes, with lithium-ion batteries in its sights. It comes only days after the ACCC approved a spent-battery collection and recycling levy scheme aimed at significantly increasing the recycling of batteries and ending the wasteful practice of landfill disposal of batteries.

Aurora Labs has jumped out of the gates of its latest capital raising with an oversubscribed placement and share purchase plan underway to raise up to $3.5 million at $0.085 per share, as its stock opened at $0.12 per share today.

Venus Metals could be knocking on the door of the next high-grade gold discovery at Youanmi in WA. The company’s drilling campaign over the Taylor's Reef prospect has returned outstanding gold intercepts, including 3m at 19.58 g/t gold also hosting 1m at an impressive 55.81 g/t gold from only 21m downhole - follow up RC drilling is planned in the coming months.

Buru Energy has entered into an agreement with ASX-listed Sipa Resources Ltd to progress mineral exploration at Sipa’s Barbwire Terrace project immediately south-east of Buru’s own Canning Basin oil and gas leases. Buru will earn a 50 per cent interest in Sipa’s tenement by funding the first $250,000 of on-ground activities. Buru’s latest Canning Basin oil lifting of 74,819 barrels is expected to net $1.6m for the company.