Public Company News

Surefire Resources says an updated beneficiation scoping study for its wholly-owned Victory Bore vanadium project, 530km northeast of Perth in WA, has underlined the economic viability of the venture. The company has its hands on a 151 million tonne resource at 0.44 per cent vanadium pentoxide, 25 per cent iron and 6.73 per cent titanium dioxide at the operation.

Cyclone Metals has started its maiden New Zealand exploration program at its newly-acquired Mareburn and Macraes South gold projects. The projects are located adjacent to OceanaGold Corporation's 10-million-ounce Macraes gold deposit currently producing 155,000 ounces per year. Geochemical sampling will target known gold mineralisation and favourable cross-cutting structures that may mimic the 80-million-ounce Carlin trend in Nevada.

Torian Resources has bolstered its heavy rare earths portfolio after a new discovery at its Mt Stirling project in Western Australia. The company believes ongoing work at the venture has identified additional yttrium oxide mineralisation and has labelled the new prospect Wishbone. Interestingly, the finding is within earshot of its recently announced Yttria heavy rare earths prospect.

St George has announced a major expansion of exploration for its four WA based projects. Work at Mt Alexander will test new nickel-copper-PGE targets and extensions to existing high-grade shallow deposits. The hunt for Winu style deposits at its Paterson project is planned to start in May. Whilst at the company’s Ajana and Broadview projects exploration will target Nova/Bollinger and Julimar style mafic intrusion hosted nickel-copper-PGE targets.

Blackstone Minerals has bolstered its engineering horsepower with GR Engineering Services as it heads towards the delivery of a definitive feasibility study into its upstream Ta Khoa Nickel Project. The ASX-listed addition is hailed as a ‘Tier 1’ process engineering, design and construction advisory company and will man the role of Blackstone’s primary consultant.

Gold-focused Horizon Minerals and joint venture partner Richmond Vanadium Technology have settled on the path forward for the development of the duo’s shared vanadium venture in central north Queensland. The pair have agreed Richmond will be the dedicated IPO vehicle to drive the project – that Horizon holds a 25 per cent interest in – to an ASX listing in September or October.

Infinity Lithium subsidiary Infinity GreenTech has inked a deal with Murdoch University that will see the duo form a partnership to commercially test work on a lithium chemical conversion process called ‘GreenTech RPK’. According to the company, a victory in the space could allow it to breathe new life into previously-unviable lithium deposits.

Strickland Metals says it has an emerging large gold system at its Millrose project as the explorer continues to find gold aplenty. The first hole north of known resources returned 54m at 1.8 g/t gold from 130m including 23m grading 2.4 g/t gold. Drilling beneath existing resources returned 95.5m going at 2.0 g/t gold including a high-grade intercept of 8m at 14.6 g/t gold from 215m.

Gold and rare earths explorer Meeka Gold Limited is aiming to bolt on another gold discovery to match its flagship Murchison gold project. The company is continuing to drill out its Circle Valley project in the Albany-Fraser Mobile Belt in WA’s south with the aspiration of transforming the project into one to match the nearby Tropicana mine.

Shares in gold explorer DiscovEx Resources vaulted more than 28 per cent on intraday trading following an announcement it had executed two binding-option agreements with Rio Tinto that allow the mining behemoth to acquire 100 per cent of the iron ore rights for four tenements within the Sylvania project, 15km southwest of Newman in Western Australia.

Mineralisation has been observed in all holes drilled in the latest campaign by PolarX at its Star Canyon gold-silver target at the northern end of its overarching Humboldt Range project in Nevada, USA. The explorer says it’s a strong start to the program with visual results consistent with the styles of alteration and mineralisation seen in the region. It’s now heading south to drill a further 10 holes.

Panther Metals is continuing to keep its drill crew busy as it moves its RC rig from the 38 holes just drilled at the company’s Eight Foot Well gold prospect near Laverton in WA to the Merolia gold project where grab samples from the Burtville East target have yielded grades of up to 38.45 grams per tonne gold.