Public Company News

ASX-listed Norwest Energy, along with JV partner and Operator, Mineral Resources, has lodged the environmental plan to drill its highly anticipated Lockyer Deep gas exploration well located near Dongara, north of Perth. Norwest and Min Res are targeting a prospective resource of up to 1.2 trillion cubic feet of gas at the prospect that lies only 15kms north of Strike Energy’s huge West Erregulla gas find.

ASX-listed base metals explorer, Legend Mining, has continued to deliver broad hits from aircore drilling at its Mawson nickel-copper sulphide discovery within its Rockford project in WA’s revered Fraser Range district. The Perth-based company’s current aircore drilling program rattled off another half a dozen broad intervals this week ranging from 21m to 43m with anomalous nickel and copper values.

Lithium Australia’s patented “LieNA” process that could potentially change the economics of lithium processing by turning lithium waste ore into battery chemicals, is poised on the brink of commercialisation as the company looks towards its first-generation pilot-plant. LieNA takes fine spodumene ore that otherwise may have become waste and concentrates the lucrative lithium phosphate end-product by up to and greater than 85 per cent.

Tietto Minerals has continued its impressive run of success in Cote d’Ivoire, Africa with ongoing drilling returning high-grade gold intercepts from the depth extensions of the 2.15 million-ounce AG gold resource.

Lithium Australia said its 50 per cent owned lithium battery manufacturing subsidiary, Soluna Australia, is set to turn a profit by the end of December this year. Its modular lithium battery systems that can be linked to roof mounted solar panels can store unprecedented levels of energy for use at a future time when the sun may no longer be shining.

Classic Minerals has taken the plunge in a bid to generate some early cash flows from its Kat Gap project in WA, buying a mobile gravity gold concentration plant for the on-site processing of ore. The high-grade discovery at Kat Gap in the Southern Cross region includes a 1m drill hit going 10 ounces of gold to the tonne.

As Australian Potash clears the last hurdles on the pathway to production at its Lake Wells sulphate of potash project, the company has inked a third binding offtake deal with Tier 1 Mitsui & Co for 30,000 tonnes per annum of its “K-Brite” premium fertiliser. The third deal now brings the company’s total committed offtake to a remarkable 100,000tpa of the project’s 150,000 tonnes of sulphate of potash, expected to be produced annually from the West Australian mine.

Impact Minerals has locked in its ownership of the Blackridge conglomerate gold project, laying claim over majority of the historic goldfield in central Queensland.

Buru Energy has continued to swell its coffers with the first crude oil sale of the financial year from its Ungani oil field in WA’s Canning Basin. The latest oil lifting of 74,819 barrels is expected to net Buru around $1.6m for its share of the sale by the Buru-Roc Oil joint venture sold on a spot price basis.

ASX-listed Horizon Minerals’ operations remain ahead of schedule at its Boorara gold mine, 10km east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder with milling now underway at the nearby Lakewood mill and its inaugural gold pour expected next week. Horizon says ore mined to date, 80,000 tonnes at a fully diluted grade of 1.5 g/t gold, is in line with reserve modelling.

Emerging ASX-listed gold player Calidus Resources has received a significant cash injection towards the accelerated development of its flagship Warrawoona project 20km south-east of Marble Bar in WA’s East Pilbara region. The Perth-based company has raised $25 million before costs from a heavily oversubscribed share placement to sophisticated and professional investors of 49 million shares at 51 cents each.

ASX-listed King River Resources has been buoyed by tax credits of up to $975,000 under the Federal Government’s exploration incentive scheme, with the explorer confirming the tax office has approved its application to participate in the Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive program. The tax credits can be distributed to its Australian resident shareholders who are issued new shares from any of its capital raisings in 2020-21.