Public Company News

ABx Group has secured $4 million from existing shareholders through a share purchase plan to advance its Deep Leads rare earth element project in Tasmania. The money was raised off the back of a bonanza rare earth drill hit going at 3,306 parts per million total rare earth oxides.

Venture Minerals could be in for a memorable Christmas after a downhole transient electromagnetic survey at its Orcus prospect within the Golden Grove North project in WA’s Mid West uncovered a mammoth 500m long by 240m deep conductor under high-grade zinc-copper-gold intersections. It produced assays up to 7.6 per cent zinc, 1.3 per cent copper, 2.2 g/t gold and 22 g/t silver.

ASX-listed Great Southern Mining is looking to close the year on a high as it looks to follow up some intriguing gold sniffs at its 1,000 square kilometre Edinburgh Park project in north Queensland. The company’s landholdings in the sunny state are within shouting distance of Evolution Mining’s million-ounce-plus Mt Carlton gold-silver-copper mine.

Manganese producer, Element 25 has delivered multiple breakthroughs in its efforts to tap into the flourishing lithium-ion battery industry by producing a high-purity manganese product from its Butcherbird mine in WA. Optimisation test work on a flowsheet designed to convert manganese concentrate into battery-grade manganese material has reportedly reduced reagent consumption and residue production in the conversion process. The outcome could potentially slash operational and capitals costs of the venture.

Impact Minerals’ maiden soil sampling program has pleasantly surprised with a grab bag of noteworthy rare earth elements targets emerging across the Arkun project in southwest Western Australia. The soil anomalies occur over hundreds of metres and have snagged both light and heavy rare earths in an area that has never previously been explored for rare earths.

Comet Resources is set to become a key player in the lucrative downstream processing of lithium-ion battery anode material after vending-out its Springdale graphite project to International Graphite - an Australian manufacturer of high-value graphite products for supply to global markets. International Graphite plans to list on the ASX early next year with Comet in line to own a 25 per cent stake in the graphite manufacturer after the listing.

Perth-based Lithium Australia looks to have its eyes set on systematically progressing its battery production expertise with its wholly owned subsidiary, VSPC rubber stamping a three-way deal with the Australian Research Council and the University of Technology Sydney, to conduct research and development for solid-state lithium metal battery technology. The company says the technology will spearhead the next generation of lithium batteries.

Native Minerals has spotted what it believes to be a significant iron-oxide copper-gold anomaly from a maiden high-resolution magnetic drone survey at its 100 per cent owned Nullarbor tenements in WA. The new target area is perched on a low seismic zone with a large-scale structure and low resistivity readings, similar to the enormous Olympic Dam IOCG deposit. Drill target planning is currently underway.

Perth-based Venus Metals’ Henderson project north of Menzies in WA could turn out to be a triple header with the company recently completing a hard-rock lithium sampling and mapping program at the gold and nickel site. A suite of 97 rock samples were bagged during the renaissance trip which sought to review the lithium potential of the company’s landholdings with assays currently pending.

ASX-listed Aldoro Resources is concentrating efforts on exploring the Loop Pegmatite structure at its Wyemandoo pegmatite project in Western Australia. The exploration focus is following up a series of high-grade lithium and rubidium assays and completed satellite imagery which indicate a similar structure immediately to the south in the pegmatite swarm. Aldoro says the Wyemandoo pegmatites represent a new lithium-rubidium bearing-pegmatite field.

Nickel explorer, Estrella Resources has intercepted 12 metres of nickel-copper sulphides on previously untested ground, some 1.4 kilometres along trend from its striking T5 nickel-copper discovery near Kalgoorlie in WA. The company says the new intercept looks strikingly similar to the T5 discovery RC hole that returned 8m at 1.11 per cent nickel and 0.36 per cent copper in 2019.

ASX-listed Coda Minerals is narrowing in on a highly prospective 2km long copper-gold mineralised corridor at its Cameron River project near Mt Isa in Queensland. Systematic rock chip sampling over the Copper Weed and Rebound prospect areas have returned a bevy of high-grade results including 22.2 per cent copper and 2.74 g/t gold along with identifying several new targets.