Public Company News

Adriatic Metals’ maiden high-grade resource of 9.4 million tonnes grading 5.1% zinc, 3.3% lead, 1.8g/t gold and 183g/t silver at the Rupice deposit and positive metallurgical test work results will flow into the company’s Vareš project scoping study, due to be tabled by 2020. The company has entered into a partnership with base metals miner, Sandfire Resources, who owns 12.8% of its stock and is entitled to representation on the board.

Middle Island Resources has completed a re-optimisation mining study at its Sandstone gold project in WA and with elevated gold prices and new pit wall parameters improving on the 2016 PFS results, the updated work now captures 75% of the global mineral resources in proposed pits. The company is also looking to recommission the Sandstone plant on a standalone basis after studies confirmed it could be refurbished over 16 weeks for only $10.3m.

Infinity Lithium has applied for EU funding from the European Battery Alliance’s private investment company, InnoEnergy, to support the development of a pilot plant for the production of lithium hydroxide that will then be tested and validated by lithium end-users in Europe. The funds would be utilised by Infinity and its partners to advance a pilot plant at Infinity’s San José Spanish lithium project.

St George Mining has raised $5.7m to underpin its comprehensive exploration programs at the emerging Mt Alexander nickel-copper-PGM project located near Leonora in WA. The company has unearthed more than 30 regional EM conductors for drill testing and several new high-priority targets from down-hole EM surveying in the Cathedrals Belt and many of these will feel the drill bit in 2020, with the new funding now confirmed.

Lithium Australia’s ongoing review and consolidation of its business into four operational divisions; raw materials, lithium chemicals, batteries and recycling is progressing well. The company is looking to create a separate and distinctive identity for each division with one eye on potentially listing each of them in the future or at the very least, attracting investment directly into each entity.

ASX-listed Volt Resources is in the final stages of securing approval from the Stock Exchange of Mauritius for a USD$40m note issue that will underpin the stage 1 development of its Bunyu graphite project in Tanzania. The note will support the Stage 1 development of the project that has an ore reserve of 127 million tonnes grading 4.4% TGC, most of which is in the Super Jumbo and Jumbo flake categories.

Spectrum Metals has announced a stunning maiden resource of 569,000 tonnes grading a whopping 16.8g/t gold for 306,800 ounces at its Penny North discovery near the Youanmi mineral province in WA. This brings the entire Penny West project resource to 799,000 tonnes grading 13.8g/t gold for 355,500 ounces. Importantly, the ore body is still well and truly open and will most likely continue to impress.

Gold explorer, Ardiden, will kick off a program of winter drilling at its emerging Kasagiminnis deposit in Ontario, Canada, where it has defined a resource of 110,000 ounces grading at a very respectable 4.4g/t gold. The company has also planned surveys and the drilling of its South Limb prospect, airborne geophysical surveys at the West Pickle prospect and it is reviewing historical data and resource estimates for the Dorothy-Dobie prospect.

Canning Basin focussed hydrocarbon explorer and producer, Buru Energy, has commenced wireline logging operations at its latest exploration well known as Miani 1. The new well is to the northwest of the company’s Blina oilfield near Derby in WA. Buru recently reported some $3m in revenue from its Ungani oilfield, with two further production wells looming at Ungani 6H and 7H, expected to come on-line during December.

Venus Metals has completed a high-powered, electromagnetic geophysical survey at its Vidure copper-nickel prospect that has thrown up at least four shiny new massive sulphide targets. The Vidure copper-nickel prospect is located near the Youanmi region of WA with Venus set to drill test its new targets in the area shortly. Two of the new targets have conductivities that are directly comparable to the existing Vidure discovery EM results.

Strike Energy has started flow testing at its exciting West Erregulla-2 gas discovery well in the Perth Basin where it has identified three separate gas discoveries and possibly the deepest occurrence of hydrocarbons onshore anywhere in Australia. The company has also given an update and provided a strategy to begin unlocking value from the surrounding gas field, with a schedule now developed to produce gas by early 2022 and fast-track cash flows.

Kairos Minerals has secured commitments for approximately $1.35M from sophisticated investors and will look to raise another $650K in a share placement plan to underpin exploration activities at its flagship Pilbara Gold project in WA. The funds will be used to drill out some high-grade gold targets across the project and undertake resource and mining studies. Drilling is planned to commence in November.