Public Company News

Ora Banda Mining’s ongoing development program at its Callion deposit in the Goldfields has continued to intersect high-grade gold in drilling of both open pit and underground targets. The company is presently working on upgrading the resource at Callion and has proposed a conceptual development program to access high-grade ore within the upper levels of the historic underground mine in addition to the extraction of high-grade lodes at depth.

Terrain Minerals has recently completed a first pass program of exploration over its Smokebush project in the South Murchison mineral field of Western Australia. Initial reconnaissance and sampling over three priority targets returned impressive assays in excess of 17 grams per tonne gold. A site visit has also thrown up more targets for follow up drill testing by the Perth-based, ASX-listed company.

TSX-listed, Pilbara-focused gold player, Novo Resources, has acquired 15.97 per cent of Canadian explorer, New Found Gold Corp via a scrip-for-scrip deal that gives Novo access to New Found’s stellar gold prospect on the east coast of Canada. A recent drill intercept at New Found’s Queensway project returned 19m at 3 ounces to the tonne from 98m with 6m at a staggering 9oz/tonne gold.

ASX-listed biotech, PharmAust, has added a fifth site to its expanding network of anti-cancer trial sites for canines, securing the Brisbane Animal Hospital as the latest location for its Phase II anti-cancer trial in dogs with B cell lymphoma. The addition of the site in Brisbane expands the trial that is already underway in Perth, Melbourne and two centres in Sydney.

Medicinal cannabis player MGC Pharmaceuticals has inked a seven-year supply deal with Brazilian medical cannabis company Onix, with an estimated value of at least $1.65 million in the first year. From year two, the deal, which will see Onix purchase a bulk order of MGC Pharma’s pharmaceutical grade products, has an estimated value of at least $4.1 million per year.

Troy Resources has been out in the field surrounding its Karouni gold mining operations in South America, scouting for potential new gold discoveries off the back of the highest-grade drill intercept ever recorded in the region. Activities at the Upper Itaki, Kaburi Hills and Potaro–Kuribrong prospect areas, all within cooee of Troy’s existing Karouni Mill, are now hitting high gear.

Novo Resources has achieved some outstanding gold recovery rates on the latest set of mechanical ore sorting tests for multi-tonne bulk samples of crushed ore from its Egina and Beatons Creek gold deposits in the Pilbara. Tests done at laboratories in Sydney and Germany have recovered between 92 and 100 per cent of gold in three size fractions from the Egina sample and the Beatons Creek fractions returned between 82 and 94 per cent of the gold.

Altech Chemicals’ green credentials for its disruptive new kaolin clay-based high purity alumina production processes appear to stack up well against the industry standard alkoxide process that uses high-grade aluminium metal as a feedstock, according to the Perth based company. Altech says its numbers show that its HPA process produces substantially fewer greenhouse gas emissions and consumes much less energy per tonne of HPA produced.

Classic Minerals has hit some solid gold drill numbers only 1.2km south and along strike from the main drilling area at its Kat Gap gold prospect where gold-filled quartz veins extend at depth into the granite host rock. The best RC drill result to date returned 8m grading 7.91g/t gold from 60m, including 4m at 13.56/t gold from 60m.

ASX-listed MGC Pharma has secured a key market in Europe after signing an exclusive, commercial wholesale supply agreement with Polish NGO, Cannabis House Association and the University of Lodz to supply a large-scale research project in Poland. Under the deal, MGC Pharma will supply its medicinal cannabis-based, cannabinoid medicine products to up to 250 pharmacies and provide scientific support to the commercial research study whilst gathering participant data.

Well known technology man, Terry Stinson, has joined the board of ASX-listed Aurora Labs to support the company’s commercialisation strategy. Aurora considers his appointment key to delivering its 3D metal printing technology to market as it pulls out of the research and development phase. Mr Stinson will no doubt help the company to focus on large-scale commercial applications for its printing technology.

ASX-listed explorer, St George Mining, has a foothold on some early stage multi-metal exploration ground in the sought after Paterson Province in the eastern Pilbara region of WA. The company has one granted tenement in the Paterson covering over 35 kilometres, that, according to management, holds the same geological characteristics as the behemoth Telfer gold mine that has produced over 32 million ounces of gold and 1 million tonnes of copper to date.