Public Company News

Novo Resources has extended its tenement holdings in WA’s Pilbara region, with a binding letter of intent to secure surface gold rights over an additional 1,100 square kilometres of ground adjacent to its Egina gold project near Port Hedland. The deal is a strategic add-on for the company, which last month entered into a USD$30m farm-in and JV agreement with the Sumitomo Corporation to explore and develop Egina.

Hammer Metals has completed the sale of its 75% interest in the Millennium cobalt project near Cloncurry, Queensland, to Canadian partner Global Energy Metals Corporation. The company will now focus on its copper-gold projects in the Mount Isa mining district and the Bronzewing South gold project in Western Australia while retaining exposure to the cobalt projects through a 19.9% stake in GEMC.

3D printer Aurora Labs has received an advance of $1.35 million from Radium Capital, which represents about 80% of its anticipated Australian Government tax refund for its research and development expenditure in the 2018-19 financial year. The ASX-listed company will use the advance for working capital purposes and will repay Radium on receipt of the tax refund.

Middle Island Resources has increased its all-scrip takeover offer for fellow ASX-listed gold player Alto Metals to six of its shares for every Alto ordinary share. Alto has global mineral resources totalling 5.4 million tonnes grading 1.7g/t gold for 290,000 ounces of gold at its Sandstone project in WA, whilst Middle Island currently has a JORC mineral resource of 125,300 ounces of gold.

Buru Energy continues to maintain a stable production base of between 960 and 1000 barrels of oil per day from its Ungani oilfield in the Canning basin in WA’s Kimberley region. Work to upgrade the fluid handling capacity of the production facility is also on track and the company has signed a new oil sales contract on more favourable commercial terms with Petro-Diamond Singapore.

TNG Limited has signed a binding heads of agreement with Genesee & Wyoming Australia for the provision of rail haulage services for its Mount Peake vanadium-titanium-iron project in the Northern Territory. The two companies will work together to develop an optimised rail haulage strategy for Mount Peake and finalise an agreement for the transport of magnetite concentrate from the mine to the processing plant in Darwin.

King River Resources has kicked off a 31-hole drilling program that seeks to define additional vanadium resources for its giant Speewah specialty metals project in WA’s Kimberley region. The company has also tasked Perth-based engineering firm Como Engineers with seeking indicative pricing on alternative sulphuric acid plants suitable for the Speewah project and has started to develop a strategy to deal with project waste.

Hawkstone Mining has received more high-grade lithium assays showing wide intersections up to 52m @ 1,953 ppm lithium, from its Big Sandy clay project in the US. The company recently accelerated its exploration and development activities at the project, which will assist in the estimation of a maiden JORC mineral resource and the completion of definitive metallurgical test work programs.

TNG Limited has put in place funding arrangements for engineering and design work on its flagship Mount Peake vanadium-titanium-iron project in the Northern Territory. The company is looking to raise $4.98 million through a rights issue of one share priced at 9.3 cents for every 20 shares held by eligible shareholders, which is fully underwritten by German investment company Deutsche Balaton Aktiengesellschaft.

Geopacific Resources has acquired 100% direct ownership of the Woodlark gold project in PNG after buying out Kula Gold’s remaining share for a cash and scrip transaction worth about $3.29m. The deal represents exquisite timing for the company, with the gold price nearly 25% higher than that assumed in November’s DFS for Woodlark, which already outlined robust economic metrics and strong margins to develop the project.

88 Energy has all but sewn up the farm-out of the conventional rights at its project known as “Project Icewine” in the famed North Slope oil province in Alaska after its as yet unnamed partner completed all internal approvals. The farm-out is now subject to the execution of closing documents and the transfer of working interests while well planning and permitting is ramping up for drilling in 2020.

Spectrum Metals’ Phase II drilling campaign at the Penny West project near Youanmi, WA, has returned further high-grade gold intersections, with mineralisation now defined over 650 metres of strike to a vertical depth of 230m. Preliminary metallurgical test work from the Penny North ores have been encouraging, with gold recoveries up to 99.2% and free-milling gold potentially amenable to a conventional processing circuit.