Public Company News

A small copper mine acquired by Hot Chili within trucking distance of its Productora development looks like it could be sitting on a much bigger, higher grade copper deposit than previously thought. Small-scale lease mining in recent weeks produced 16.3 tonnes of ore at 5.24% copper from depths of less than 15 metres and has extended the strike length of high-grade, shallow copper to 1km.

Queensland Police will use ASX-listed DroneShield’s sci-fi looking drone combatting rifles at the Commonwealth games to protect athletes from potentially lethal aerial intruders. In other developments DroneShield has applauded the Australian Government’s efforts to stimulate defence industry manufacturing and exports by adopting an innovative new Defence Export Strategy policy.

Classic Minerals appear to be on the brink of a major breakthrough at the Forrestania Gold project after diamond drilling backed up its theory about hidden high-grade, cross-cutting gold lodes at the Lady Magdelene deposit. New diamond drill holes have revealed quartz veins and narrow shear zones with the same characteristics as the high-grade gold lodes at the neighbouring Lady Ada deposit.

Calima Energy has announced a major boost to its maiden drilling campaign in the Montney Formation which is on target to spud later this year. The company has shrewdly appointed a local land solutions company that guided adjoining leaseholder Saguaro to success. Saguaro already have over 30 operating wells on Calima’s doorstep and are planning another 30.

Lithium Australia’s all-scrip takeover of the Very Small Particle Company has raced to 99.7% of acceptances within two days of opening, paving the way for the creation of a unique, end-to-end lithium battery materials business. VSPC is recognised globally for producing some of the world’s most advanced battery cathode materials for lithium ion batteries.

Strike Energy's Jaws-1 appraisal well in the Southern Cooper Basin has intersected coals at a target depth of more than 2000m and remains on the cusp of making history as the first coal seam gas well to commercially flow hydrocarbons from extreme depths in Australia. The vertical well will later meet a horizontal well extending 800m in preparation for a seven-stage hydraulic stimulation program.

Kalia Ltd will pitch a proposed agreement to shareholders whereby the Perth-based junior explorer’s interest in two exciting Bougainville copper-gold exploration licences will increase by 38% to 75%. If approved, Kalia will issue 480 million new shares to Global Resources Investment Trust in a deal that will give Kalia a significantly higher stake in the lucrative island.

After rain delays, St George Mining is back on site at the Mt Alexander project near Leonora with a drill rig to follow up impressive nickel-copper hits that sent the company’s shares into orbit last November. A 20-hole diamond and RC program will target extensions of a thick channel of mineralised rocks and test some new electromagnetic targets in under-explored areas.

Volt Resources is aiming to muscle its way into the ranks of the world’s top three graphite producers and will make a USD$40m bond issue on the Tanzanian exchange.The innovative capital raise will not only bank a big lick of money for stage 1 of the Bunyu project but it will also allow Tanzanian and Ugandan pension funds to get behind the project. The NPV for the project could be as much as USD$1.31b

Revitalised gold explorer Classic Minerals is cashing up to fund more drilling at the Forrestania Gold project courtesy of a shareholder purchase plan offering investors the opportunity to top up their holdings at a 20% discount. The funds will go straight into the ground on further phases of drilling to follow up multiple, high-grade hits from the Forrestania Gold Project, near Southern Cross.

King River Copper’s exotic collection of minerals around the Speewah project in the East Kimberley has delivered a potentially lucrative bonus in the form of a large, high-grade fluorspar deposit next door to its flagship vanadium-titanium project. Global supply of the critical mineral is tightening, prompting the US recently to add fluorspar to its list of strategic stockpile requirements

BlackEarth Minerals is setting a cracking pace at its flagship Maniry graphite project in Madagascar, with two drill rigs arriving this week, just a month after the company listed on the ASX. The rigs will drill 10,800 metres of diamond and RC holes at the advanced exploration project, with results channelled into a maiden JORC resource by the middle of the year.