Public Company News

Octava Minerals has tapped the market for $1 million in a bid to expand the antimony prospect within its Yallalong project in WA, with plans for both extensional and infill drilling. In a further show of support, company directors have also agreed to stump up $150,000 to provide a cash boost that will bolster the funds required for planned exploration programs.

Horizon Minerals says it expects to rake in $30 million in free cash flow from its Boorara gold project, 15km east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in Western Australia’s Goldfields region. After giving Boorara the green light just two months ago, the company has wasted little time getting its shovels into the ground for the project that is set to produce 49,500 ounces of gold.

Chariot Corporation has hitched its wagon to a pilot plant strategy at its United States-based Black Mountain lithium project in Wyoming to fast-track production and supply spodumene concentrate into that nation’s rising domestic demand for the silvery-white metal. The decision follows an internal review that revealed a quicker, lower-cost route to production in time to capitalise on a predicted resurgence in lithium prices.

Xanadu Mines has confirmed it is in the final stages of completing a prefeasibility study on its Kharmagtai copper-gold project that sits in Mongolia’s South Gobi region. The company recently handpassed operational duties for the massive project to joint venture partner and Chinese behemoth, Zijin Mining, and says it has taken additional time to finalise the mine design to ensure a higher standard.

Askari Metals' share price surged 63 per cent today on big volume after a strategic review of its 100 per cent-owned Mt Maguire gold project in Western Australia’s Ashburton region threw up historic high-grade hits. The findings included 2m at 12.14g/t from 35m and 31m at 0.84g/t from 20m as the company moves to tap into the potential for a gold discovery at the site.

Strickland Metals is targeting the near-surface mineralisation at its Gradina prospect in Serbia in a bid to expand the company’s existing 5.4 million-ounce gold equivalent Rogozna project and drive its gold and base metal resource to next-level status. A new diamond-drilling program for 10,000m has been launched at the site that sits in the landlocked Balkan nation.

Latitude 66 has wrapped up what could prove to be a pivotal 18-hole, 2197m diamond drilling program at the K South target within its Kuusamo Schist Belt (KSB) play in Finland, in a bid to lift the project’s gold resource. The company says all samples from the program have now been submitted to MSALABS in Canada, with assay results expected in early November.

Altech Batteries has clocked up a key milestone with the successful launch of its first 60kWh “Cerenergy” sodium-chloride battery prototype in Germany. The company says the battery unit, which has been installed at the Fraunhofer IKTS lab in Dresden, has passed all physical tests with “flying colours” and has smashed through forecast performance and efficiency expectations in the rigorous daily assessments.

In this week’s edition of Bulls N’ Bears Big Hits, we examine notable drill intercepts revealed on the ASX, including Global Uranium’s hits up to 5387ppm uranium oxide in Colorado. We also take a look at other interesting drill hits as reported by Superior Resources from its Steam Engine gold project in Queensland and Great Boulder Resources from its Mulga Bill gold prospect in WA.

Triangle Energy has secured the crucial environmental plan approval to drill its Becos-1 well in WA’s Perth Basin and expects to launch the campaign before year’s end in its quest for onshore oil and gas. Rig tenders are now underway to test the shallow target where a best estimate of 5 MMbbl has been identified, with the potential to reach as much as 21 MMbbl.

Estrella Resources has revealed high-grade manganese in Timor-Leste just days after nailing down new exploration licenses at its Samalari prospect in the nation’s Baucau Municipality. The site is showing manganese oxide mineralisation along a 1.7km strike zone with widths of up to 5m and early samples have returned impressive hits going up to 53.9 per cent manganese, according to analysis from Australian Laboratory Services.

Aguia Resources has reinterpreted its high-grade, polymetallic gold-copper-silver-zinc El Dovio play in Colombia as an orogenic lode gold-silver style of mineralisation that was followed later by copper and zinc. The company’s new designation contrasts sharply with its previous casting as a volcanogenic-hosted massive sulphide (VMS/VHMS) deposit and indicates that the base metal component results from emplacement during later tectonic processes.