Public Company News

Aruma Resources has completed the latest phase of drilling at its wholly-owned Salmon Gums gold project in Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields region, with an initial assessment of drill core showing mineralised quartz veins at the company’s high-grade Thistle prospect. Assays from seven competed drilllholes have been sent for laboratory assessment and management is now eagerly awaiting the results.

Early boots on ground at Reach Resources’ White Castle manganese project in WA’s Gascoyne region have been handsomely rewarded with high-grade manganese readings up to an eye-catching peak of 48 per cent. The company has amassed an impressive foothold in the emerging critical metals province after acquiring an additional exploration licence from Firebird Metals and extending its tenure to 70km at the prospective Edmund Basin.

ASX-listed Neometals has achieved lithium recoveries of greater than 93 per cent from trials of a new process at its Primobius hub plant, in a move expected to offer savings in both operating and capital costs. Primobius is a joint venture (JV) company owned equally by Neometals and SMS group, which has installed plants in nearly every country in the world.

Classic Minerals appears set to fully own its Forrestania gold project, south of Southern Cross in Western Australia, after it entered into an agreement with Hannans subsidiary Reed Exploration to purchase the final 20 per cent of the operation. Combined with its Kat Gap project, the company’s total resource around Forrestania comes to 8.41 million tonnes at 1.45g/t gold for 391,417 ounces.

Lithium Universe is another step closer to establishing its proposed Quebec lithium processing hub after securing global consulting heavyweight Hatch to undertake the engineering study for its downstream lithium carbonate refinery in Canada. The first part of the study will be to determine the ideal location for the 16,000 tonnes per annum lithium carbonate refinery and the estimated capital and operating costs.

Toro Energy has kicked off its Lake Maitland extension study, which will also include uranium-vanadium ore from its Lake Way and Centipede-Millipede deposits that sit some 30km south-east of Wiluna in Western Australia. The company’s new assessment is aimed at adding considerable value to its original scoping study that forecast an annual EBITDA of $101 million during a 17.5-year mine life.

Altech Batteries has notched up a win that will see permitting for its 100MWh battery project in Germany go through State approval, bypassing the more complex Federal process and expediting its mission. The company is in joint venture with Fraunhofer IKTS to commercialise the battery plant, which is designed to meet the demands of the stationary energy storage market.

Legend Mining has launched a high-power fixed loop electromagnetics survey to identify conductors below 600m at its Octagonal prospect that forms part of its greater Rockford project in Western Austra

Galan Lithium has upped the ante, with its phase-two DFS into its Hombre Muerto West project in Argentina projecting an annual average EBITDA of US$374 million (AU$588 million) for an astounding 40 years. Hot off the heels of its phase-one DFS, the company is looking to boost production at its flagship project, which is estimated to deliver a whopping US$2 billion (AU$3.1 billion) NPV.

Buru Energy has acquired some 200 square kilometres of high-resolution 3D seismic data within and around its 100 per cent-owned prodigious Rafael gas-condensate project in Western Australia’s Kimberley region. Once the data, which also includes several 2D lines in an adjoining permit, is processed and interpreted by year’s end, it will provide enhanced clarity on the subsurface structure and will drive appraisal drilling for next year.

Twigger's Tales (aka Argonaut’s Liam Twigger) tackles the big issues around the green energy and critical minerals revolution and the paltry sum of money committed by the Australian Government when compared to the USA’s big, bold cheque. It is time for Australia to have its own “Oppenheimer moment” to cement its place in the vanguard of the critical minerals charge.

Strickland Metals is galloping along at its Horse Well prospect in the Warburton mineral field, near Wiluna in Western Australia, with more solid gold hits from drilling. Management has today revealed new intercepts of 4m at 1.7g/t gold from 2m in near-surface laterite and an impressive 58m at 1.7g/t gold from 17m, including 10m at 4.2g/t gold, largely in the weathered oxide zone.