Matt Birney

Asra Minerals is just weeks away from completing its updated gold mineral resource estimate for its Mt Stirling project in WA’s eastern Goldfields region that will prioritise the site’s open-pit potential. The 74 square kilometre project is 20km north of Leonora and currently has a JORC-compliant resource of about 118,400 gold ounces. Asra says at least 167 holes will be included in its upcoming figure.

Okapi Resources has launched a helicopter-supported review at its wholly owned Newnham Lake and Perch projects, part of its larger Athabasca Basin uranium tenements in Canada. The work is part of a maiden exploration program including prospecting, outcrop sampling and vegetation analysis to help identify favourable structural settings for uranium mineralisation.

The joint venture between DiscovEx Resources and Carnaby Resources has its sights on yet another set of compelling drill targets at its Greater Duchess copper-gold project near Mt Isa in Queensland after an aeromagnetic survey underlined a strong structural corridor between and beyond its previously defined Nil Desperandum and Lady Fanny prospects. The results form part of an exploration ramp-up at the operation.

Triangle Energy has secured a new export route for its Cliff Head oil to Asian crude markets, loading out 24,500 barrels through a newly established facility at the Port of Geraldton with another 25,000–30,000 barrels to be added in the next six weeks. The deal allows the company to move past this year’s closure of BP’s Kwinana crude oil handling centre.

BMG Resources is ploughing through the metres with two diamond holes from an eight-hole 3700m campaign nearing completion at the operation’s Capital prospect in the Wiluna region of WA’s Mid West. Visual inspection of the drill core suggests the company is closing in on intersecting the predicted extensions of the high-grade East and West gold lodes about 250m along strike.

Strickland Metals has been given the green light to explore the main structure of its Millrose gold project near Wiluna after receiving heritage clearance from the Tarika Matuwa Piarku Aboriginal Corporation in addition to program of work approval from the West Australian Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. The company can now focus on several high-priority areas along strike of the main 13km structure.

Empire Energy has started the much-awaited fracking of its Carpentaria-2H well, the longest horizontal well drilled in the Beetaloo sub-basin as it attempts to unlock the potential of the prospective multi-trillion cubic feet NT gas play. The company has pumped the first of a 25-stage frack in its 1250m-long hydraulic stimulation program it is planning for last year’s C-2H gas discovery.

Routine earth-moving activities at Kairos Minerals’ Mt York gold project in the Pilbara have turned up spodumene pegmatites, opening the door to a possible lithium play for the diversified West Perth explorer. The discovery has excited Kairos, not least because it was made less than 4km from Pilbara Minerals’ massive lithium operation, Pilgangoora.

Great Southern Mining says it will focus its Queensland exploration efforts on its Edinburgh Park gold project after signing a deal to offload its Palmer River site to Revolver Resources for a cool $1 million. The deal appears to be mutually beneficial for both companies with Great Southern enjoying a significant exploration cash boost whilst Revolver receives licences covering an area of 360 square kilometres adjacent to its flagship Dianne copper mine project in northern Queensland.