Matt Birney

Soil sampling has given Aurumin Limited the belief it could have lithium in its Mt Palmer project that straddles Western Australia’s town of Southern Cross. Analysis of elements associated with the battery metal lit up multiple targets, including some coincident with historical pegmatite intercepts of up to 50m that had previously only been tested for gold.

Galan Lithium could be closing in on the key battery metal at its Greenbushes South project in WA after recent exploration work at the venture highlighted anomalous pathfinder mineralisation in soil samples and rock chips. According to the company, the samples show the trace elements could support pegmatites similar to those found in the nearby Greenbushes mine, the world’s largest hard rock lithium deposit.

Cyclone Metals has added a diversified portfolio of gold, copper, nickel and PGE assets in New Zealand to its stable after completing the acquisition of Grand Port Resources and its wholly owned subsidiaries Midway Resources Limited and Nimitz Resources. Under the terms of the agreement, Cyclone will grant Grand Port 900 million shares and the right to nominate one board member to join Cyclone's Board.

The shallow, gold orebody at Classic Minerals’ flagship Kat Gap project has been revealed for the first time. The gold explorer says the ground-breaking exposure is only 7m below the surface and comes from a shallow hole in the floor of the bulk sample mining pit. The company plans to remove the remaining overburden after a three-kilogram sample was crushed and panned yielding fine visible gold.

Minerals explorer Panther Metals has hit a new high from drilling at its Coglia project in the Laverton region of WA with initial assays delivering the best nickel and cobalt grades to date at the venture. The headline results were a 1m intercept going 3.77 per cent nickel from 74m in one hole and another 1m section at 3160 parts per million cobalt from 49m in another.

88 Energy has struck oil after successfully reaching total depth in the Merlin-2 appraisal well in Alaska and is now waiting on wireline logging results to confirm whether oil will actually flow to surface from the target Nanushuk Formations. The company said it would take between seven and ten days to complete logging the 100 per cent owned well.

Perth-based oil and gas outfit Buru Energy says an initial review of its Rafael 1 flow testing program has confirmed positive results scored in the field. The company says an ongoing data review suggests the area could hold significant gas accumulation housed in conventional reservoirs with “very valuable light oil and low CO2 content”. The company’s share price rose more than 36 per cent on the back of the news in intraday trading.

Reproductive biotechnology company Memphasys looks to be hitting the mark in the high-value world of horse breeding after its Samson fertility diagnostic device achieved accuracy rates of more than 80 per cent when predicting pregnancies in thoroughbred and standardbred horses, all within a turnaround time of an hour. The company has been developing and field testing the device for the past 18 months.

Gold explorer Barton Gold and ASX-listed SensOre have inked a term sheet to form a strategic research and development partnership focused on the Gawler Craton. The deal will see SensOre serve up targets to the explorer using its AI technology to then be validated by the drill. The mineral targeting company stands to benefit in the form of royalties for any gold or copper produced.