Public Company News

ASX-listed Buru Energy has increased oil production by 20 per cent at its Ungani oil field in the Canning Basin east of Broome in Western Australia after successfully installing an electric submersible pump in the Ungani-5 oil production well. Average oil production rates were previously around 800 barrels per day but have now stabilised at above 1,000 barrels of oil per day.

South Australian focused copper-cobalt explorer, Coda Minerals continues to deliver the goods at the Elizabeth Creek project in the Olympic Dam Copper Province. High grade hits at the Emmie Bluff prospect going up to 4.71 per cent copper equivalent have the company well placed to turn out a maiden resource estimate projected for the third quarter. Further drilling is due to commence in May.

Innovative ASX-listed project developer Neometals is set to expands its exposure via a secondary listing on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. Admission to AIM is projected for the second half of this year as the company seeks to gain greater access to UK and European investment capital for four core projects in the burgeoning electric vehicle and energy storage solution sectors.

Venus Metals has unearthed five new electromagnetic targets following its recent high-powered geophysical survey as the company steps up its nickel-PGE hunt in the mineral rich Youanmi terrane. The anomalies were spotted at Venus’ new Vidure South prospect where historical drilling returned tantalising grades of nickel and platinum group elements with the company yet to tap the deeper source of this elusive sulphide mineralisation.

Terrain Minerals is back on the ground at its Smokebush project in WA, with the company firing up the drill rigs and embarking on a 17-hole, 2,100 metre program of reverse circulation drilling. The latest program will extend the current drill pattern over the Monza prospect and jump into a maiden four-hole program over its new Paradise City discovery.

TNT Mines drilling campaign over its Eureka deposit in WA has now drawn to a close with the company having ploughed more than 11,000 metres of drilling into the gold-rich ore system that has returned a swag of mineralisation including a surprising 34m hit going 1.75 grams per tonne gold. The drilling has defined new mineralisation surrounding the existing open pit and highlighted a new discovery along strike.

ASX-listed Lithium Australia’s 50 per cent-owned household lithium battery supplier, Soluna Australia has received Clean Energy Council approval for another of its battery packs, the 10K Pack HV, expanding its range of energy storage offerings for residential applications. Soluna says the 10K or 10-kilowatt Pack HV is a “premium quality” residential battery module that stores solar power.

Neometals is set to lend its expertise in vanadium processing to the low-cost recovery of the specialty metal from waste materials in Europe. The company is nearing completion of a detailed Pre-Feasibility Study which proposes to extract a wealth of vanadium pentoxide from the metal-bearing waste materials produced by SSAB, a large-scale steel producer based in Scandinavia.

ASX-listed Venture Minerals remains on course to make the first iron ore shipment from its revitalised Riley iron ore mine in Tasmania during the current quarter. The Perth-based company says commissioning of Riley’s key wet screening plant is expected to kick off within a couple of weeks as various stages of the construction phase near completion.

ASX-listed Lithium Australia is looking to secure another place in the burgeoning battery metals business as it plans to spin out its non-core assets into a new IPO to be known as Charger Metals. The company will retain a 30 per cent stake in Charger ahead of its proposed listing on the ASX.

Eclipse Metals is homing in on a potential high-grade, near-surface silver deposit at Rock Hill in the Northern Territory, with analysis of the historical exploration revealing the presence of a melting pot of metals including both copper and zinc. However, the star of the show looks to be silver with intercepts grading at an astounding 2,288 grams per tonne.

Aspiring gold miner Horizon Minerals appears to have nailed its drilling campaign at the Peyes Farm prospect just 10km northwest of Kalgoorlie in WA’s Goldfields. Numerous high-grade hits have been returned including a 4-metre interval going a whopping 18.17 grams per tonne gold. A resource estimate update is anticipated for the June quarter this year.