Public Company News

Askari Metals says its first exploration licence has been granted at the company’s Yarrie lithium project, just 100km east/north-east of Pilbara Minerals’ giant 214.2 million tonne Pilgangoora lithium resource. The entire project area comprises nine contiguous exploration licences which enclose a total of 1711 sq kms across ground adjacent to and along strike from other significant hard rock pegmatite-hosted lithium deposits.

ABx Group has revealed high grade critical rare earths in drilling at its Wind Break prospect, only 15km northeast of the company’s 52 million tonne Deep Leads-Rubble Mound rare earths resource in Tasmania. Seventeen of the holes yielded samples where more than 4.5 per cent and up to 6.7 per cent of the total rare earth oxide content is made up of the more lucrative heavy rare earths dysprosium and terbium.

Assays from the first eight diamond drill holes at Aurum Resources’ Boundiali gold project in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa suggest wide, shallow gold mineralisation with more assays on the horizon. The best results were 16m at 1.24 grams per tonne from 117m including a 6m thick section grading 2.44g/t from 127m, 7.39m at 1.94g/t from 139.34m including 5.35m at 2.53g/t from 141.37m.

Xanadu Mines has entered into a binding term sheet to earn up to 80 per cent of the Sant Tolgoi project in Mongolia which hosts multiple shallow copper-nickel targets over several kilometres of strike. The deal adds to the company’s already significant presence in Mongolia which is home to its flagship Kharmagtai copper-gold project and its highly prospective Red Mountain operation.

Gold Mountain has moved closer to locking-down drill targets at its Custodia hard-rock lithium project in Brazil with stream sediment sample assays backing-up soil sampling results. Steam sampling has identified a total of 15 target areas and only two of those areas have seen overlapping soil sampling programmes to-date. The company says it will be back on the ground shortly to conduct more sampling before getting a drill-bit in the ground.

Ora Banda Mining has increased gold production and the head grade from its Davyhurst plant in WA’s Goldfields region for the third consecutive quarter while lifting its gold sales by 15 per cent. According to its December quarterly report, the company produced 16,340 ounces at a head grade of 2.1 grams per tonne and sold 15,387 gold ounces from its Davyhurst operations for the three-month period. All-in sustaining costs reduced by 15 per cent compared to the previous quarter.

Everest Metals Corporation will develop the 48,545 ounces of gold and 89,011 ounces of silver at its 100 per cent-owned Mt Dimer Taipan gold and silver project in WA’s goldfields as the gold price continues to trade near record highs above $3000 an ounce. The company will now lean into the project which contains recent intercepts as high as 8m at 13.55 g/t gold from 80m – including a 4m slice at a 23 g/t.

St George Mining has expanded its footprint on the Ida fault in Western Australia’s Goldfields region after picking up a new exploration licence alongside its Destiny rare earths and lithium project. The recently acquired Prince of Wales tenement is considered prospective for lithium, nickel and gold mineralisation and covers about 8km of the Ida fault next door to Destiny’s 90km stretch of the geological feature.

Toro Energy has moved quickly to take advantage of the recent price spike in global uranium prices announcing plans to freshen up a previously released scoping study over its Lake Maitland project eyeing off the possibilities of what the current 16-year high price above US$100 a pound could mean for the prospects of its uranium project near Wiluna in WA.

Meeka Metals has extended its positive run of gold hits during the final seven infill holes drilled at its St Anne’s prospect with a 31m section grading 1.11grams per tonne gold from 31m including 4m at 4.66g/t gold. St Anne’s has an estimated mineral resource of about 277,000 tonnes at an average grade of 2.8g/t gold for a contained 25,000 ounces of gold and forms part of the company’s Murchison gold project about 30km north-east of Meekatharra.

Venture Minerals has wound up stage one resource drilling at its 40 sq km, large-scale, clay hosted Jupiter rare earths prospect, 80km south-west of Mt. Magnet in WA’s Mid-West region. The project previously threw up some eye-watering results including 32m at 1629ppm TREO from 22m including 16m at 2397ppm TREO and a further 2m at an eyebrow-raising 7367ppm TREO from 36m.

Non-executive director of BMG Resources John Prineas will replace Greg Hancock as the non-executive chairman of the company as it kicks off a search for a new MD to develop its 500,000-ounce gold find near Wiluna. The move follows the resignation of Managing Director Bruce McCracken and will see Mr Hancock remain on the board as an independent non-exec director.