Public Company News

Wiluna Mining Corporation has notched up a win in WA after its farm-in and joint-venture partner A-Cap Energy scored a series of positive nickel and cobalt results from a recently completed diamond-drilling program at its Wilconi project near Wiluna. According to the company, the probe took in roughly 1490 metres and represents a crucial milestone as it works towards a pre-feasibility study at the venture.

Off the back of strong vanadium demand, multi-element explorer Surefire Resources is looking to kick start its vanadium project in WA’s Mid West region. The company’s Victory Bore and Unaly Hill inferred resources combine to form a whopping 237Mt of ore going 0.43 per cent vanadium pentoxide and 5.9 per cent titanium dioxide with iron credits.

ASX-listed explorer White Cliff Minerals has boosted its WA-focused battery metals armoury after sealing a binding agreement to acquire explorer Abraxis Mining and its trio of adjacent tenement applications in the Pilbara that are considered highly prospective for lithium. The new ground spans 294 square kilometres and importantly borders two promising lithium projects.

Metal Hawk has seen early results from a recent air-core drilling program back up its geological modelling for the Commodore nickel sulphide discovery. The work at the mineralised komatiite system defined several nickel zones matching features mapped in a moving loop electromagnetic survey last month. It has now started a 3000 metre RC drilling program to bedrock-test priority nickel sulphide targets near Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

St George Mining has nailed 5.2m of nickel copper sulphides in its very first drill test of downhole electromagnetic conductor targets at its Mt Alexander project. The company said the new intersection extends the high-grade Stricklands deposit 35m further northwest and confirms the extension of mineralisation down dip. Similar looking conductors are also scheduled to feel the drill bit along the 5km strike of the company’s Cathedrals Belt.

Fresh from discovering its own 330m tonne ore body, sharemarket darling Chalice Mining is set to get the rods spinning again – this time to test farm-in partner Venture Minerals’ conductors in the same geological province. Previous work at Venture Minerals’ South West project revealed multiple EM anomalies scattered across the 20km long Thor magnetic anomaly target area.

Valor Resources has mapped out five promising spectral anomalies at its Picha project, with trademark porphyry signatures indicating the explorer may be tantalisingly close to unearthing a porphyry-style deposit in its Peruvian precious metal hunt. The company’s project lies only 17km from Chucapaca, Peru's largest goldmine, where close to eight million ounces of gold equivalent has been defined.

Galan Lithium is pulling out all stops to get a DFS tabled for its massive lithium brine play in Argentina by the end of the year and the company expects to update its resource by quarter three this year after discovering potentially new mineral resource zones courtesy of a Transient Electromagnetic geophysical survey. The project already boasts a US$2.2b net present value and a seriously impressive set of pre-DFS numbers.

Gold and nickel explorer Great Southern Mining is bringing the drill back to its 100 per cent owned Duketon gold project to commence a 5000 metre RC program on the Southern Star orebody, where previous exploration yielded stunning results up to 56 g/t gold. The company is looking to focus on a southern extension of a lookalike magnetic high feature similar to the existing orebody.

Twenty Seven Co has entered an agreement with mega-miner Rio Tinto’s exploration arm covering a six month exclusive option period to explore for non-gold minerals at its North Rover project near Sandstone in WA. Rio can earn an 80 per cent interest in non-gold minerals at the tenement by spending $5 million on it.

Multi-element explorer Horizon Minerals has netted $2m in cash by divesting assets as it continues its expansive exploration campaign in WA. The company shed its shareholdings in Red Dirt Metals and Cyprium Metals in addition to the non-escrowed portion of Metal Hawk. The earnings pocketed from monetising its assets will be used to fund part of its ongoing large-scale multi-commodity drilling program.

It may be over half a century on but kick-starting gas supply out of the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin and the historic move to get oil flowing from the Bass Strait share similar themes. There’s an interesting discussion happening in Australia regarding energy security right now that assumes greater importance during times of high energy and/or geopolitical instability.