Matt Birney

Hammer Metals has doubled the strike length of its North Orelia gold target with the latest drill results identifying significant areas of shallow gold mineralisation. Recent intercepts from air core holes at the Orelia Target 1 include 4m grading 3.88 grams per tonne gold from 24m, 8m at 1.93g/t gold from 36m, which includes 4m at 2.5g/t from 40m and 7m grading 0.9g/t.

Great Southern Mining has identified an impressive eight new target areas at its northern Goldfields Cox’s Find project courtesy of a 100 metre by 50 metre grid of shallow RAB holes drilled across most of the company’s ground holding. The drilling has identified multiple gold anomalous zones, some with concentrations exceeding one gram per tonne. A program of 1,150m for 350 holes has given Great Southern a solid base of new targets to drive the next phase of its exploration program.

The WA Government’s little-known website, www.iThink.wa.gov.au, is actively encouraging members of the public and businesses to put forward innovative ideas and services that can support and inform the State’s response to COVID19 isolation. The submission that received the highest number of votes to-date is from the private, but soon to be ASX-listed, healthcare technology company, InteliCare, that has an artificial intelligence-powered, in-home monitoring system to help the sick and elderly.

ASX-Listed Middle Island Resources has defined a shallow new gold deposit at the McIntyre prospect, which is just one of fourteen targets within its wholly owned Sandstone gold project, located in central WA. New, consistent shallow drill intercepts from the current RC drill program include 24m grading 1.66 grams per tonne, 23m at 1.40g/t, 11m at 1.39g/t and 18m going 1.35g/t gold have delivered a second deposit in a week.

After another solid field campaign, Classic Minerals has produced a maiden resource at its Kat Gap project near Southern Cross in WA of almost 93,000 ounces grading nearly three grams per tonne gold. The new resource has now laid a solid foundation for the company to go ahead and apply for a mining lease across the deposit and run some initial numbers around getting into early production.

ASX-listed oil explorer, 88 Energy, has interpreted oil in a formation above the primary target zone’s confirmed condensate gas find at its “Charlie-1” oil appraisal well on Alaska’s oil-rich North Slope. Detailed analysis of the wireline logs obtained when the well finished drilling have identified an extra 19.5m of additional oil pay zone in the Seabee Formation where live oil shows were recorded while drilling.

Novo Resources has unearthed an impressive total of three new broad areas of gold-bearing alluvial gravel swales, or shallow channels, at its flagship Egina conglomerate gold project in the Pilbara. The Paradise area, which is host to two of the newly discovered gold-bearing areas, is about 14 kilometres north-northeast of Novo’s Egina mining lease. Another new discovery, known as Clarke, is just 10 kilometres northwest of Egina.

Neometals has lifted the nickel resource at its Armstrong deposit 90km south of Kalgoorlie, by an impressive 60% following a substantial RC drilling program that was designed to infill the old resource and test the extents of interpreted high-grade nickel shoots. Armstrong forms part of the Mt Edwards project where an expanding resource base, across 11 deposits, is bolstering the company’s position as an aspiring nickel developer.

Horizon Minerals has taken a conservative approach to the current state of play in the market and is putting as much cash as possible into bringing its flagship Boorara gold project east of Kalgoorlie, into production. To maintain its balance sheet, the company’s Board and Executive team have agreed to sacrifice 25% of their salaries to support the company’s vision. Management said it is still aiming to break ground at Boorara in the June quarter of this year.