Public Company News

88 Energy is eyeing up contingent resources in Alaska as it prepares to flow test two reservoir intervals in its Hickory-1 well, both of which showed strong hydrocarbon indicators during drilling. If the tests are successful, the company hopes the results will lead to the conversion of some of the prospective resource to the higher-confidence contingent category.

ChemX Materials has been granted a vital patent in Australia for its 100 per cent-owned proprietary disruptive “HiPurA” high-purity alumina process as it eyes commercialisation options. The granted patent opens the pathway to global commercialisation of the company’s scalable and modular system, which it plans to take to pilot testing with plant commissioning planned for the second half of this year.

Larvotto Resources’ $8m acquisition of the Hillgrove project in NSW comes with a million ounces of gold, Australia’s biggest antimony resource, gold-laced tailings and a mothballed processing plant and exploration package that has soaked up $200m. The project was put on the chopping block by administrators when Red River Resources experienced a fall-of-ground event at its Thalanga base metals mine in Queensland and never recovered.

Red Metal Ltd’s “metallurgy-first” approach to defining the potential of its unusual rare earths discovery in Queensland has paid early dividends, with tests showing extraction levels of up to 90 per cent on two key elements. Its Sybella project represents a potentially new deposit style for Australia – and possibly the world – with its rare earths hosted by partly weathered and fresh granite extending through a 12km-by-3km area.

DiscovEx Resources’ joint venture partner Carnaby Resources has drilled a high-grade intercept of 4m running a grade of 7 per cent copper at their Greater Duchess copper-gold project in Queensland. The latest hit is included in a longer intercept from the Duchess Central Lode of 10m going 3.3 per cent copper and 0.1g/t gold, with the steeply-dipping mineralised structure remaining open at depth.

Askari Metals has secured two additional exploration concessions at its Yarrie lithium project in the prolific Pilbara region of Western Australia – and in proximity to Pilbara Minerals’ globally-renowned Pilgangoora lithium resource. The company says the acquisitions represent a significant milestone and it now plans to launch further exploration works at what it describes as a “highly-anticipated” project.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears top ASX runner is … Avira Resources. Its share price rose more 100 per cent to join fellow movers and shakers DiscovEx Resources, Volt Power Group and Singular Health Group.

Gold Mountain is set to kick-off rare earths exploration this month at its Down Under project in Brazil, along strike from and flanking ground hosting Brazilian Rare Earths’ massive 510.3-million-tonne resource. Management says its drilling will be guided by a local geologic consultant, who will assess radiometric and magnetic data in conjunction with satellite imagery to define prospective areas begging to see the drill bit.

Javelin Minerals has renewed the exploration licences for its Husky and Malamute projects in New South Wales for an additional three years after getting the green light from the State’s resources regulator. The Perth-based explorer considers both projects to have excellent prospectivity for scandium and rare earths, in addition to precious, base and battery metals.

The United Kingdom Government has shown its confidence in Triangle Energy Global, offering it a North Sea license containing five prospects with at least 269 billion cubic feet of gas, along with multiple shallow leads. The acreage bolsters Triangle’s global portfolio as the company matures plans to drill two wells in the onshore Perth Basin this year.

Chariot Corporation has hit the ground running at its Black Mountain lithium project in Wyoming, with the first three holes drilled delivering initial hard rock results peaking at 3.09 per cent lithium oxide. The company says all three holes intersected high-grade spodumene mineralisation, confirming the potential of the lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatite swarms at the United States-based project.

Lindian Resources is taking aim at upgrading a significant portion of its massive Kangankunde rare earths deposit in Malawi to the high-confidence indicated category ahead of a feasibility study due this quarter. The deposit’s 261 million tonnes grading 2.19 per cent TREO currently sits in the inferred category and the company hopes to make an eyebrow-raising maiden ore reserve statement as part of its study.