EDITION #221
Perth, Western Australia - Thursday December 08, 2022
PUBLIC COMPANY NEWS, VIEWS & CEO INTERVIEWS |
Land grab highlights lithium promise in the Pilbara
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Australia currently leads the globe in terms of lithium production and according to Geoscience Australia about 95 per cent of Australia’s lithium resources are found within just five deposits and all are in WA. The renowned Greenbushes mine, 200km south of Perth, is the undisputed king when it comes to contained amounts of lithium and grade. The next two deposits on the leaderboard, Pilgangoora and Wodgina, both belong to the Pilbara, an area that is again a hotbed of exploration and discovery. |
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Rinehart backs Arafura rare earths in $121m capital raise |
Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Prospecting has sunk $60m into an eye-catching $121m capital raise from ASX-listed Arafura Rare Earths as it nears a final investment decision in early 2023. The funds will be used to firm up deals for a downstream processing plant, order long lead time items and build a work camp at the company’s Nolans project in the NT. |
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Westgold hits major milestone at Mid West gold operation
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Westgold Resources has completed another major milestone with its Fortnum gold operation 140km north of Meekatharra passing 250,000 ounces of gold mined since the company took ownership of the site in 2017. The producer says its Starlight underground mine has been the major source of gold over the past five years providing around 190,000 ounces whilst its Yarlarweelor open pit has contributed around 50,000 ounces with the remaining balance from the Tom’s and Sam’s open pit. |
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New Lithium Energy probe drives battery-grade graphite
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Lithium Energy has launched a 20-hole, 2000m RC drill campaign at its Burke Graphite project in north-central Queensland with plans to propel the deposit’s 6.3 million tonne inferred graphite resource running at 16.0 per cent TGC into the higher confidence “indicated” category. The company will also plunge 6 diamond core holes seeking samples to support its production of refined anode material – a critical component of a lithium-ion battery. |
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Lithium lab work shines for Latin Brazil play
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Ongoing metallurgical test work on spodumene-bearing pegmatite samples from Latin Resources’ Salinas lithium project in Brazil has yielded excellent recovery rates of more than 80 per cent lithium oxide. The program also delivered a hefty concentrate grade of up to 6.6 per cent lithium oxide using simple heavy liquid separation processes. |
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Dart expands east coast footprint in Victoria and NSW
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Dart Mining has expanded its operations after picking up new tenements in both Victoria and NSW in addition to renewing the licence for three tenements that form part of the company’s Dorchap lithium project. The ASX-listed junior has also renewed the exploration licence for its Rushworth project in central Victoria for five years whilst entering two applications for tenements placed along fractionated granites in NSW. |
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Askari boosts Namibian lithium holdings |
Askari Metals has signed a binding heads of agreement with Earth Dimensions Consulting to acquire an 80 per cent interest in a lithium prospective tenement near the town of Uis in Namibia, southwest Africa. The tenure is peppered with visible spodumene mineralisation on its surface with previous rock chip assays delivering high-grade results of up to 3.2 per cent lithium oxide, 663 ppm tantalum and 1640 ppm rubidium. |
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Kula expands exploration at Southern Cross project
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Kula Gold has extended the scope of an airborne electromagnetic and magnetic survey at its wholly-owned Westonia nickel-PGE-gold project near Southern Cross with the program now including extra infill lines. The survey aims to refine drill targets after Kula discovered PGE and gold anomalisms from its recent augur drill program. Seismic consultancy group UTS Geophysics is conducting the work. |
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Riedel tests historic goldfield in Sin City’s backyard
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Perth-based Riedel Resources has finished its latest drilling campaign at a promising historic gold play in the desert near Las Vegas in the United States. With assays from the Kingman gold project sent off to the lab, the explorer now hopes to reveal a maiden resource estimate next year. |
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White Cliff closes in on rare earths after WA survey
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White Cliff Minerals has polished off a high-resolution magnetic and radiometric survey at its Yinnetharra lithium and rare earths project about 100km northeast of Gascoyne Junction in WA. The operation is within earshot of several high-profile plays including Hastings Technology Metals’ world-class Yangibana rare earths acreage and Arrow Minerals’ emerging Reid Well prospect where rock chip sampling returned grades of up to 3.77 per cent lithium oxide. |
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Tietto strikes more high-grade gold in West Africa
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Tietto Minerals has tabled another set of enticing high-grade gold hits in a step-out and depth extension diamond drilling program at its 3.45-million-ounce Abujar project in Côte d’Ivoire. The company’s latest probe saw it strike a 0.55m section at 184.55 grams per tonne gold within a larger 2.70m intercept grading 37.88 g/t from 61.8m at its South Gamina deposit. |
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88 Energy secures rig for Alaskan oil probe
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ASX-listed 88 Energy has sealed a rig contract agreement with Nordic-Calista to use one of the company’s rigs to launch drilling operations at its Hickory-1 oil exploration well on Alaska’s North Slope next year. The well is on course to be spudded by March and has been devised to test half a dozen key reservoir targets which could yield 647 million barrels of oil. |
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Aerial tests buoy ENRG in African copper belt
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ENRG Elements has mapped some interesting targets at its Kalahari Desert copper play following extensive aerial surveys. The company says the initial results of the electromagnetic and gravity surveys have revealed ENRG is potentially sitting on three domal features that may host similar geological structures to neighbouring fellow Australian Sandfire Resources, which is already mining the in-demand metal next door. |
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Ora Banda doubles deposit depth following high-grade gold assays |
Ora Banda Mining has extended mineralisation of its Riverina gold system by more than 100m to the south and 100m vertically with the deposit remaining open in all directions following positive assay results. The company has completed 46 diamond drill holes for a total of 13,046m at the site near Kalgoorlie as Ora Banda explores the system for underground mining potential. The success has encouraged the company to expand the program to 54 holes for a total of 15,331m. |
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Chilean Navy inks land deal for Hot Chili copper play |
Copper developer Hot Chili has finalised a deal with the Chilean Navy to access sea water in a boost to the company’s green mine ambitions. The Perth-based company hopes to satisfy Chile’s environmental targets whilst latching onto to its expansive copper export industry. |
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