Public Company News

ASX-listed Vietnam base metals player, Blackstone Minerals has taken a significant initial step in its quest to produce downstream nickel, receiving a non-binding letter of interest from global commodity trading giant, Trafigura. Perth-based Blackstone hopes to upscale its proposed downstream refining operation and become a significant global supplier of downstream nickel products for the lithium-ion battery industry.

ASX-listed K2fly’s timing in buying the SATEVA software service business, which caters for iron ore producers, when the iron ore price is flying high has been exquisite with the expanded group already having snared $850,000 worth of new purchase orders from major iron ore mining houses.

Dampier Gold has backed up previous exploration success at its Credo project, revealing the results of a comprehensive soil sampling program which has delineated a “high-grade”, north-west trending gold corridor cross-cutting the company’s tenure and already hosting two high-grade gold resources. The company looks well placed to continue its run of success in the Eastern Goldfields of WA when drilling kicks off again in the coming weeks.

Native Mineral Resources says it has confirmed the presence of a deeper porphyry system at its Leane’s copper-gold discovery, further bolstering the company’s exploration model as it looks to nail down the next big copper discovery in North Queensland as the copper price reaches for 10-year high placing copper explorers firmly in the market spotlight.

Impact Minerals has rung in the new year with an intriguing drill hit of 138m grading 0.3 g/t 3PGM from surface at its Broken Hill nickel-copper-3PGM project in NSW. The drill hit along the southern margin of its Red Hill prospect included 12m at 1.5 g/t 3PGM, 0.3 per cent nickel and 0.2 per cent copper from 103m down-hole.

Oar Resources has lit up more than twenty targets at its Crown nickel project, just ten kilometres west of WA’s prominent Julimar nickel-PGE discovery. A detailed evaluation of the regional geophysical datasets at Crown has revealed a wealth of structural and geological targets, which stretch along more than 15km of strike in a terrane that has developed into one of Australia’s most sought-after exploration addresses.

ASX-listed West Africa gold explorer, Mako Gold has expanded its footprint in the fertile auriferous terrane in Côte d’lvoire receiving approval from the country’s Ministry of Mines for the Ouangolodougou permit area. The newly granted permit together with the company’s existing Korhogo Nord permit will now constitute its Korhogo gold project.

Gawler Craton-focused gold hopeful, Indiana Resources has commenced RC drilling at its Minos gold prospect in South Australia where it plans to pump 1,500m of test holes into the Lake Labyrinth Shear Zone, following up historical gold hits including 12m at 10.36 g/t, 24m at 2.18 g/t and 6m at a healthy 12.37 g/t.

AVZ Minerals has received a ringing endorsement of its green credentials, with an independent study of the company’s developing Manono lithium operation in Africa suggesting the aspiring producer may boast one of the lowest carbon footprints of any hard rock lithium mine in the world. The company’s proposed minimisation and offset program may result in close to zero greenhouse gas emissions.

ASX-listed explorer, White Cliff Minerals’ maiden RC drilling program at its historic Reedy South gold project near Cue in WA’s Murchison Goldfields has returned some encouraging initial gold sniffs including seven metres at an average grade of 3.16 grams per tonne from 53m depth, 11m at 2.29 g/t from 21m, 16m at 1.74 g/t from 72m and 7m at 1.5 g/t from 48m.

Venture Minerals has jumped on voracious investor appetite for iron ore players to raise $10 million in an equity placement, with the bulk of the funds set to be funnelled into its Riley hematite project in north-west Tasmania. The company received commitments from sophisticated, professional and institutional investors for the capital raise via the placement of 181.81 million new Venture shares.

Delecta Limited has joined the hunt for gold in the United States, picking up the Speedway gold project in western Utah. The company’s latest acquisition is situated in the Great Basin district, which boasts a total endowment of more than 200 million ounces of gold. The company’s sampling program has already returned several anomalous results including assays of 1.24 g/t gold and 43.8 g/t silver.