Public Company News

Altech Chemicals has stepped up efforts to expand the use of high purity alumina, or “HPA” in the burgeoning lithium-ion battery market, filing a patent for its anode-coating technology with IP Australia. Demonstration of better battery performance through the use of an alumina-based battery anode coating could open up another lucrative new market for HPA from Altech’s under-development US$280 million plant at Johor in Malaysia.

Surefire Resources has continued to build on its exciting late 2020 gold discovery at the Yidby Road prospect with a further set of thick intersections from a follow-up RC drilling program at its Yidby gold project in WA. The pick of the latest assays from Yidby Road was a 26m intercept going at 2.02 g/t gold from 126m including 2m at 10.05 g/t from 141m.

Estrella Resources says it has maintained a 100 per cent strike rate with drilling into a broad zone of sulphide-rich mineralisation at its Carr Boyd T5 nickel-copper discovery north of Kalgoorlie with a new 6.75m-thick massive nickel-copper sulphide zone hit. The intersection occurred at the base of a previously drilled 32.7m nickel-copper-iron mineralised sulphide zone.

ASX-listed biotechnology company, PharmAust has secured Monash Health Human Research Ethics Committee approval for a Phase I clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of its monepantel product in combating motor neuron disease. Twelve trial participants will be tested in the fourth quarter this year. The trial has about A$880,000 of funding from charitable organisation, FightMND Australia.

Recently announced bonanza silver and some impressive gold assays from a massive rock chip sampling program has prompted PolarX to expand its tenement holdings in Nevada’s Humboldt Range. The company says it has secured extensions of known mineralised gold-silver veins and newly discovered mineralised breccias in 358.7 hectares of additional ground.

Middle Island Resources is set to restart targeting and drilling at its Sandstone gold project in Western Australia’s Murchison region in a bid to add ounces and fine tune the economics of its recently delivered project feasibility study. The company is aiming to unearth at least 25,000 ounces of new resources on its own ground or from a nearby third-party source.

ASX-listed aspiring gold developer, Kingwest Resources has kicked off another round of reverse circulation drilling targeting depth extensions to a triumvirate of key near-surface satellite deposits that form part of its flagship Menzies gold project in WA. The company will look to delve deeper at the project’s Lady Shenton, Lady Harriet and Yunndaga systems to test for gold mineralisation beneath the current indicated and inferred resources for each.

ASX-listed Buru Energy has moved to within a whisker of commencing the Currajong 1 exploration oil well in the Canning Basin of WA. A second well, Rafael 1, is set to follow as the company targets 97 million barrels of conventional oil from the two wells. A seismic program aiming to generate additional prospects for future drilling is also on the cards for June.

ASX-listed junior explorer, Okapi Resources expects to start a maiden drilling program at its Enmore gold project about 30km south-east of Armidale in NSW’s New England Fold Belt this week after securing a drill rig. The Perth-based company plans to drill an initial eight-to-10 reverse circulation holes totalling about 1,000m at the project’s key Sunnyside and Bora prospects.

Following successful field trials last year ASX-listed Lithium Australia, through its 90 per cent owned recycling division, Envirostream Australia, has launched into an expanded trial program to test the use of recycled alkaline battery material as fertiliser micronutrient across sites in Western Australia and South Australia. Two products are being evaluated for use in manganese-deficient soils across the four WA sites and one in SA.

ASX-listed Blackstone Minerals says results from resource extension drilling at its high-priority King Snake sulphide nickel-copper-PGE target at the Ta Khoa multi-metal project in north Vietnam have continued to enlarge its footprint ahead of down-hole geophysics that will help guide infill drilling. Latest assays include a solid 2.62m at 1.54 per cent nickel, 2.01 per cent copper plus 5.16g/t PGE and cobalt.

ASX-listed explorer, Kairos Minerals has launched a significant follow-up reverse circulation drilling campaign at its Mt York gold project about 100km south of Port Hedland in WA’s Pilbara region. The Perth-based company has two rigs going gangbusters at the project’s three main deposits and an array of nearby targets where it plans to complete an initial 150 drill holes for about 20,000m.