Public Company News

Empire Energy’s ongoing testing at its Carpentaria-2H gas well in the Northern Territory has delivered strong initial flow rates. It has recorded a sustained output of 2.6 million standard cubic feet over the program’s first 91 hours – a potential milestone in the revered Beetaloo sub-basin.

Brightstar Resources has increased its gold inventory to 252,100 ounces at the company’s Cork Tree Well gold project near Laverton in WA as the explorer moves closer to potential production. The upgraded resource of 5.62 million tonnes at 1.4 grams per tonne gold represents an increase of 6 per cent or 15,100 ounces of gold on the previous estimate.

Gold and copper explorer Orange Minerals has taken a stake of almost 7 per cent in Godolphin Resources spending $600,000 to snap up 7.6 million shares in Godolphin’s recent share placement. The two companies already had ties through their joint venture Calarie gold project, north of Forbes in Central NSW.

Middle Island Resources has completed its maiden drilling program for iron oxide-copper-gold, or "IOCG”-style mineralisation at the company’s copper gold project in the NT’s Barkly region, east of Tennant Creek. After intersecting IOCG-style alteration in its first 808m diamond drill hole at the start of the month, the explorer has chewed through another 2217m in search of a large-scale and lucrative IOCG deposit.

ASX-listed explorer 88 Energy has announced a maiden resource estimate of 1.03 billion barrels located on the central North Slope of Alaska. The Icewine East project is spread over an area of 185,320 net acres. The maiden resource estimate is based on well logs from the previously drilled exploration well Icewine 1, seismic data, data from other wells in the region, recent petrophysical analysis and geophysical mapping. 88 Energy holds a 75 per cent working interest in the project.

Meeka Metals has delivered a string of high-grade shallow gold hits at its emerging St Anne’s discovery in the prolific Murchison region of Western Australia. The ongoing air-core campaign is testing the fertile gold shear corridor extending from the company’s 610,000 ounce Turnberry deposit. The latest results include a stunning 32m running at 16.07 g/t gold from 48m downhole.

Richmond Vanadium Technology, which is 25 per cent owned by Perth-based Horizon Minerals, has struck an off-take agreement with emerging manufacturer Ultra Power Systems to supply vanadium for its patented energy storage modules. Under the agreement, Richmond will invest up to $5 million to shift Ultra into production of its battery technology and in turn secure a guaranteed buyer of vanadium pentoxide from its Queensland project.

ASX-listed Valor Resources has outlined six high priority drill targets following an initial field visit, legacy data review and airborne gravity survey at its Hidden Bay uranium project in Canada. The project is strategically located about 20km south of Cameco’s historical Rabbit Lake mine where over 200 million ounces of uranium concentrate was once produced.

Quantum Graphite has made a play for fellow SA graphite developer and explorer Lincoln Minerals. Under the off-market bid, the company is offering one Quantum share for every 40 Lincoln shares. Lincoln is the custodian of the 2.2Mt Kookaburra Gully graphite project grading 15.5 per cent total graphitic carbon and is located in a world-class flake graphite province on South Australia’s Eyre Peninsula.

Following ongoing success across its reinvigorated gold and rare earths-focused portfolio, Meeka Metals has offloaded its Gecko North project in WA to private explorer LithGold Minerals. The deal will see the company pocket $130,000 now, $100,000 in February and claim a slice of the operation’s future riches thanks to a 1.5 per cent net smelter royalty.

Godolphin Resources’ maiden diamond drill hole from its Cyclops prospect on the Lachlan Fold Belt of central west NSW has returned multiple zones of shear-hosted high-grade copper with coincident gold, silver and molybdenum mineralisation. Godolphin describes the multiple intersections as “highly encouraging” with assay results greater than 1 per cent copper included within a broader low envelope of mineralisation.

Toro Energy has continued its run of impressive results at the company’s Dusty nickel project in WA with the discovery of a fourth massive nickel sulphide zone from its ongoing diamond drill campaign. The latest discovery was highlighted after a drill hole hit a 3.6m section of massive sulphides from 244.1m. Toro says portable X-ray fluorescence analysis of the 3.6m intersection indicates grades between 1.45 and 3.66 per cent nickel.