Public Company News

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.

Altech Chemicals has secured another key piece of the puzzle to realise its ambition of becoming a global heavyweight in high purity alumina with approval granted from the Malaysian government for its proposed plant in Johor. Malaysia has jumped at the chance to secure a total investment of $390 million and become a key player in a high-value and rapidly growing commodity.

ASX-listed Calidus Resources has announced the appointment of Mark Connelly to its board as an independent, Non-Executive Chairman. Connelly has enjoyed success in resource project developments and as a powerbroker in merger and acquisition deals lauded by punters. Avid market watchers will no doubt be keeping a close eye on Calidus’ flagship Warrawoona gold project near Marble Bar as Connelly steers it towards production.

Peppermint Innovation has signed an agreement with Singaporean-based CredoLab to deliver credit scoring spinoffs to cash-payment plagued Filipinos who do not have access to banking facilities. At least 70 million Filipinos do not operate a bank account and are paid their weekly wages in cash, however a credit rating via their mobile phones will expedite future access to micro finance and micro insurance services.

Galena Mining will ask shareholders to approve a one-for-five share split to bring the company’s rampant share price down to levels more familiar to retail investors. The unusual move, just five months after the company listed, could prove to be a positive for shareholders if previous share splits are any guide. Both Fortescue Metals and Iron Bark Zinc have successfully pulled off share splits in the past.

Former market darling Aspire Mining is back on the front foot in Mongolia thanks to a big rebound in coking coal prices and its good fortune in landing in the middle of China’s ambitious plans to build railway routes into Europe. The company has seized the opportunity to recapitalise its balance sheet and is aiming to be in production by mid-2019 with its smaller satellite coal deposit.