Public Company News

Auric Mining has started milling the second ore parcel from its 100 per cent-owned Jeffreys Find mine near Norseman and expects the first cash to land in the till next month – at a serendipitous time of strong gold prices. The company says the 145,000 tonnes of ore will take about seven weeks to process, with 52,000 tonnes already delivered to the Greenfields Mill in Coolgardie.

ABx Group has locked in a deal that could be worth up to about $9 million for the supply of cement-grade bauxite to South Australian construction materials company Adelaide Brighton Cement’s Birkenhead manufacturing operation. The contract will see ABx supply between 90,000 and 120,000 tonnes of bauxite during a five-year term from its DL130 project in northern Tasmania.

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has got straight down to work in a new drilling campaign at its Pinjin gold project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields, plunging two holes on the first day in a bid to mirror glittering historic results. The new program is aimed at extending thick, shear-hosted gold mineralisation at Kirgella Gift and confirming historic assays at Providence, between 300m and 500m further south.

ANSTO confirmation that mineral concentrates from Lindian Resources’ Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi are non-radioactive has delivered simpler logistics and transport options and enhanced offtake opportunities. The company has also produced concentrate grades of up to 66 per cent total rare earth oxides (TREO) from ore at the Malawi operation, by beneficiation using gravity and magnetic separation techniques.

Infinity Lithium subsidiary Infinity Greentech has confirmed improvements in recoveries and the successful production of battery-grade lithium hydroxide through the application of its “Li-Stream RPK” process. The company says the use of mica from its San Jose project in Spain as part of the process has the potential to herald a new European production era for lithium mica applications.

Toro Energy’s 100 per cent-owned Dusty nickel project in Western Australia’s Goldfields continues to grow, with the company’s latest assays showing an up-dip extension to the continuous lens of nickel-rich mineralisation, about 160m thick. Assays from Dimma’s fifth diamond hole showed 2.1m of massive nickel-sulphide grading 1.83 per cent nickel, 0.29 per cent copper and 0.55 grams per tonne platinum and palladium from 147.1m.

A Brightstar Resources scoping study has revealed the company will punch out an EBITDA of $153 million over an eight-year mine life at its dual Menzies and Laverton gold projects in Western Australia. The study outlines an initial target of 5.28 million tonnes at 2g/t gold for 322,617 ounces and an extraordinary pre-tax internal rate of return of 79 per cent.

ASX-listed Si6 Metals has launched a new drill program at its flagship Dibete copper-silver project in Botswana, with a 15-hole campaign set to explore untested anomalies within the site’s known oxidised zones. The company says Dibete is the first of three projects to be tested in the next four months, with its Airstrip and Malbele North sites set to be next on its exploration calendar.

ABx Group’s ALCORE pilot plant in NSW is now fully funded to completion after the company raised an extra $1.5 million to complement a $7.5 million grant received from the Australian Government through its Modern Manufacturing Initiative. Construction at the NSW Central Coast site has started and the company has taken delivery of the bath mini-reactor, with formal commissioning of the plant just days away.

ChemX Materials has advanced its high-purity alumina (HPA) micro-plant flowsheet as it prepares to scale up to pilot-plant production. The company has now also identified intermediate HPA product pathways and says investment in high-precision analytical equipment and dedicated human resources has resulted in increased operational performance for its HPA micro-plant. A maiden high-purity manganese mineral resource estimate is also imminent.

Javelin Minerals looks set to put significant new impetus behind its lithium exploration and production goals in Uganda after signing a strategic takeover bid implementation agreement with Gecko Minerals. The company says Gecko directors have “unanimously” recommended shareholders back the move, which will net it two new projects in the African nation that are considered prospective for lithium.

Empire Energy Group has lit up with increased gas flow rates from its fracture-stimulated Velkerri shale gas horizontal well, known as “Carpentaria-3H”, in the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin. The company says it has reaffirmed its optimised extended production test strategy. The results replicate post-soaking improvements seen in its other horizontal well, Carpentaria-2H, auguring well for the planned gas pilot project to service existing gas pipelines.