Doug Bright

Neometals has completed five reverse-circulation holes for 495m at the historic Rinaldi copper prospect within its Barrambie project, near Sandstone in WA's Mid West. Early results have confirmed primary copper sulphides 70m below surface, including the key copper ore minerals bornite and chalcopyrite. Early results from only 10 per cent of the submitted samples include 7m at a respectable 1.72 per cent copper from 82m depth.

Neometals Limited has delivered a positive scoping study for its Ironclad deposit at the company's fully owned Barrambie gold project in WA, pointing to a fast toll-milling run of up to 11,000 ounces of gold from an estimated 220,000 tonnes of ore at a grade of 1.8g/t. The study found that a proposed 50:50 mining services JV could fast-track mine development, with a kick-off in Q1 2027.

Dalaroo Metals has defined a high priority 2.5 kilometre drill target at its Bondoukou gold project in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. Geological mapping and surface sampling have returned gold values up to 17.95g/t gold and point to a large, structurally controlled Birimian style gold system ahead of drilling.

Corazon Mining has struck a deal with IGO Ltd to expand its Plutonic-Marymia gold footprint, lifting the company's contiguous landholding to 537 square kilometres. The agreement hands Corazon historic exploration data, including non-public De Beers work and opens up an underexplored greenstone corridor ripe for modern sampling and geophysics.

Meeka Metals is preparing to install a wash plant, extra crushing circuit and Steinert multi-sensor ore sorter at its Murchison gold project near Meekatharra to lift its plant throughput from 600,000 to 800,000 tonnes per year and provide a higher-grade ore feed to the mill. The $6 million upgrade is expected to be commissioned in the September quarter.

NeuroScientific Biopharmaceuticals has taken a major step towards scaling up its StemSmart stem cell therapy by launching its first manufacturing run with Australian cell therapy specialist Q-Gen. The milestone signals the start of transferring the company's patented production process to a clinical-scale facility capable of supplying future trials and potentially, commercial demand.

MetalsGrove Mining has launched surface mapping, rock chip sampling and high-resolution LiDAR ground imaging to home in on drill targets at its Zuénoula gold project in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. The company expects the work to wrap up by the end of March, producing high-resolution digital terrain models and imagery to define historic prospects, refine structural interpretation, understand gold dispersion and prioritise future drilling targets across the project.

Estrella Resources has received the final assays from its 2025 drilling at the Werumata limestone project in Timor-Leste. The Baucau limestone averaged 83 per cent calcium carbonate and Batu Putih chalk averaged 77.5 per cent carbonate, values which would support a range of industrial acid-neutralisation uses. Bulk density work is underway ahead of a maiden mineral resource estimate targeted for mid-April.

Horizon has wrapped up its latest mining phase at Boorara, retaining a hefty 460,000 tonnes of stockpiled ore containing 14,200 ounces of gold that will serve as the initial feed for the commissioning of its planned Black Swan processing hub in mid-2027. The move is designed to de-risk the mill start-up, while pre-production planning is also underway for an early-2027 Boorara mining restart.

Quantum Graphite says partner Sunlands Pure Group has signed an MOU with Oman's Al Buraimi Governorate for a planned, large-scale graphite refinery on a 240-hectare site in Buraimi, 60km from the nation's Sohar Port. The agreement recognises Quantum as the exclusive flake graphite supplier and flags a further update on funding and downstream arrangements within two weeks.

Terrain Minerals has kicked off 1500 metres of aircore drilling at its Lort River project near Esperance, targeting clay-hosted rare earths. The program was prompted by a standout 8m intercept 12 months ago, which assayed 4037 ppm total rare earth oxides, with peak one-metre results of almost one per cent TREO, including highly anomalous grades of magnet rare-earth elements.

Triangle Energy has signed a joint study agreement with an Indonesian institution for an offshore exploration area in Indonesia, overseen by the nation's Directorate General of Oil and Gas. The six- to eight-month study is expected to cost about US$300,000 and, once completed, will give Triangle priority rights to negotiate a production-sharing contract. The company says the area is unexplored and prospective for gas and oil.

St George Mining has inked a Memorandum of Understanding with a Brazilian fine chemicals specialist to assess processes for separating cerium and lanthanum from its Brazilian Araxá rare earths concentrates. With cerium and lanthanum making up the bulk of Araxá's rare earths mix, the company says removing them could boost its more valuable neodymium-praseodymium and other heavy rare earths concentration to boost its product value.

MetalsGrove Mining has added another promising piece to the exploration puzzle at its Zuénoula permit in Côte d'Ivoire, identifying a second gold target from early-stage soil sampling. The new anomaly stretches for kilometres along a favourable structural trend and sits just north of the company's previously defined Central Area. Samples have been consigned to Bureau Veritas' laboratory in Abidjan for fire assay, with results due mid to late March.

Corazon Mining has inked a diamond drilling contract with K-Drill for its wholly owned Two Pools gold project in Western Australia. The maiden program covers four holes for 1,000 metres, including a 400-metre test of a 300-metre north-west extension. Heritage and Program of Work approvals are complete, with drilling due to start once the final heritage report is received.

St George Mining has encountered more thick, high-grade rare earths and niobium intercepts from surface at its giant Araxá project in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil. New assays from 16 diamond holes have confirmed strong continuity and depth persistence, including up to 160.65m at 3.74% total rare earth oxides and 0.54% niobium pentoxide.

Horizon Minerals has pocketed another $10 million from its Phillips Find joint venture after completing mining and five toll-treatment campaigns. The project has processed 225,988 tonnes at 2.02g/t gold for 14,095 ounces of gold from five toll treatment campaigns, with more cash expected next month after final reconciliation. Horizon says the funds have strengthened its balance sheet as the company progresses its Black Swan processing hub plan.

Neometals Limited has upgraded the Ironclad gold resource at its Barrambie gold project in Western Australia's Mid West from 13,000 ounces to 285,000 tonnes at 1.6g/t gold for 15,000 ounces, with 86 per cent of the gold now in the higher-confidence indicated resource category. The update will bolster completion of Neometals' planned scoping study targeted for this month and support mine planning and approvals.

St George Mining has clinched a spot in the ASX All Ordinaries after a meteoric rise driven by its world-class Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Brazil, with its market value rocketing to $500m. The company says index inclusion should lift its profile and potentially improve liquidity, as it nears development in Minas Gerais.

Dalaroo Metals has landed significant grades from scout rock-chip sampling at its Bondoukou project in West Africa. Four of six quartz samples returned grades between 3.59 and 17.95g/t gold from quartz reef material exposed in artisanal workings extending about 600 metres along strike. The company is continuing its evaluation of the project, with mapping and geochemical sampling underway.

Horizon Minerals has moved Black Swan firmly into build mode after ordering long lead processing equipment to support its gold plant conversion near Kalgoorlie. The early commitment aims to de-risk the construction schedule and follows scoping studies that outlined a robust 2.2 million tonnes-per-annum gold-processing hub capable of producing 102,000 ounces per year.

Aurum Resources has returned thick, shallow, high-grade gold intercepts from a 30,000-metre step-back diamond drilling program at its 870,000-ounce Napié gold project in West Africa, ahead of a mineral resource update due this quarter. Best gold hits included 19m at 5.16g/t from 146m at Gogbala and 18.9m at 2.59g/t from 176.1m at Tchaga, supporting ongoing resource growth drilling.

Dateline Resources has wasted no time advancing exploration at its recently acquired Music Valley heavy rare earths project in California, mobilising airborne geophysics and specialist field teams. The renewed exploration of the area follows historical United States Geological Survey results that revealed high grade heavy rare earths mineralisation and supports Dateline's objective to build a domestic critical minerals pipeline in the United States.

Xpedra Resources is set to begin a maiden drilling campaign at its Springfield gold deposit in central New South Wales after mobilising a reverse circulation drill rig to site. The program will target extensions to historical shallow high-grade gold and deeper mineralisation across a largely untested intrusion that has not been drilled since 1999.

St George Mining has tabled a step change to its already giant carbonatite-hosted Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Brazil, boosting its mineral resource by 75 per cent to 70.9 million tonnes. A sharp 218 per cent increase in the measured and indicated category has also strengthened the project's development potential, while ongoing drilling and new discoveries point to further near term growth.

Patriot Resources has pulled the trigger on a transformational silver deal, completing the acquisition of its high-grade Tassa project in southern Peru. With a 31.4 million-ounce silver-equivalent JORC resource already on the board and mineralisation starting from surface, the company has instantly reshaped itself into a serious emerging silver growth play with clear upside.

Ora Banda has delivered a standout half-yearly result, with stronger gold prices and higher sales volumes. A successful ramp-up of its second underground mine, Sand King, also contributed to the numbers, driving record revenues, earnings and cash generation compared with the previous corresponding period. Revenue for the six months surged 80 per cent to $336.3 million, underpinned by total equivalent gold sales of 62,583 ounces.

Dateline Resources has taken a slice of a US company with a grab bag of US critical minerals projects and picked up 100 per cent of a high grade rare earths project south of its existing Colosseum project in California known as Music Valley. The new project is showing early signs of the more lucrative rare earths yttrium, dysprosium and neodymium, among others.

Lindian Resources has received independent confirmation from Australia's Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation that monazite concentrate from its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi is exempt from radioactive transport classification under the IAEA's SSR-6 framework. The ruling simplifies logistics and strengthens Lindian's pathway to market.

Moonlight Resources has launched a phase two reverse circulation drilling program to chase up near-surface phase one gold hits at its Leo Grande prospect, part of its Clermont gold project in Queensland. The new drilling program will sink 70 holes for 5000 metres, following a successful maiden phase one campaign in 2025, which delivered big intercepts of gold mineralisation in every one of the 14 holes drilled, with all of them from or near-surface.

Lindian Resources has added some serious operational muscle to its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi, appointing a heavyweight process plant specialist to guide the project through commissioning, first production and a looming expansion phase. With stage one construction advancing and stage two studies underway, the timing could hardly be better as the company sharpens its focus on delivery and reliability.

BMG Resources has sharpened its edge by hiring a seasoned mining executive as general manager to oversee project development and help steer the company's Abercromby gold project in WA's Agnew-Wiluna greenstone belt towards the earliest possible production timeline. Gareth McArthur has landed with 25 years of mining credentials, including project leadership across operational, technical and construction roles at Rio Tinto and smaller developers in WA.