Public Company News

Strickland Metals says a maiden diamond drilling program at its Iroquois project in outback Western Australia has produced “fantastic” zinc results, providing a timely boost after being unable to access its site due to bad weather. It is reporting high-grade zinc mineralisation hits, with a headline figure of 4.3m going 27 per cent. Unsurprisingly, a follow-up drill program is planned.

Octava Minerals has started drilling at its Pinnacle Well prospect in an area in Western Australia’s Pilbara region known as “lithium elephant country”. Drilling at the prospect, 10km north of the Archer deposit that has resources of 18 million tonnes at 1.0 per cent lithium oxide, will test a significant lithium anomaly, including a 1.5km pegmatite showing visible lithium mineralisation.

Auric Mining has officially begun production at its Jeffreys Find project after receiving the green light from the Department of Mining, Industry Regulation and Safety, with its first gold pour expected in July. It started work immediately after getting approval for its full open-pit mine at its project near Norseman. The drill and blast of the first 5m bench is already completed.

Could Legend Mining finally be poised to unearth a nickel monster from the renowned Fraser Range? Management has lined up its strategic ducks and has the drills ready to explore two key targets at its Octagonal prospect, 250km east of Kalgoorlie. The company believes results from a combination of seismic data, an induced polarisation survey and 3D audio magnetotellurics survey has changed its game.

Western Australian-based minerals explorer Terrain Minerals is priming its drills at its Smokebush project in the State’s Mid West region after gold and copper-nickel anomalies were discovered in a “highly-successful” field program. The discoveries were made at the company’s Larin’s Lane target where a maiden exploration program unearthed a new 700m-by-250m gold anomaly that management says is ready for air-core drilling.

Askari Metals has installed Canaccord Genuity (Australia) as its strategic capital markets advisor. Management says the investment bank has a proven track record and extensive experience in the global lithium sector. Canaccord will be tasked with the implementation and deployment of a comprehensive capital markets strategy and as part of the deal will be issued with 2.5 million unlisted options.

Ora Banda Mining continues to deliver impressive results from phase-one drilling at its Riverina underground deposit near Kalgoorlie, with assays highlighting a 0.4m intercept at a massive 243g/t gold from 151.6m. The 0.4m hit was contained within a 4.4m intersection grading 22.88g/t gold from 151.6m drilled at the company’s Murchison Lode, with a second hole recording a 0.8m segment going 24.33g/t gold from 103.6m.

Classic Minerals has pencilled in later this month to commission a new processing facility at its Kat Gap gold mine in Western Australia’s Goldfields region. Successful commissioning will clear the company to begin gold production. It says its ore is already sitting and waiting on the facility’s ROM pad as it eyes ramping up production of up to 100,000 tonnes per annum.

Middle Island Resources has increased its tenement holdings in the Northern Territory after entering into a binding agreement with ASX-listed Strategic Energy Resources to purchase its East Tennant project. The acquisition will expand the company’s Barkly super project in the region and adds 1319 square kilometres of ground to take its total tenement area to an impressive 6753sq km.

Venus Metals has revealed what it believes could be “game-changing” high-grade drill results in its JV with Rox Resources after uncovering the faulted extension of the 4-million-ounce Youanmi gold deposit. The lode-extending discovery hole returned 28m at 34.81 grams per tonne gold, with new drilling 200m further south hitting 5.7m at 8.26g/t gold from 233.3m and 5.08m grading 9.56g/t from 225.8m.

Neometals has added grunt to its ore reserve as part of an update to its Barrambie titanium project’s prefeasibility study (PFS). The deposit’s probable ore reserve now sits at 27.6 million tonnes at 22.3 per cent titanium oxide, 43.7 per cent iron oxide and 0.57 per cent vanadium oxide. The PFS update has outlined a $78.1 million capital requirement for one year of DSO production.

Buru Energy has been buoyed by the return to operations at its Ungani oilfield, which was closed last summer as a result of the widespread devastation wreaked by Tropical Cyclone Ellie. Turning the oil tap back on means the company’s first revenue of the year from its sole producing asset will soon roll into its coffers, with its first oil shipment slotted for Q3.