Matt Birney

ASX-listed Lithium Australia has enjoyed a record-setting December quarter with the company increasing revenue from customers by more than $200,000 to $1.261 million in addition to a significant reduction in operating costs. The latest figures are more than double the $488,000 made in receipts from customers in the corresponding December quarter of 2021 and appears to be a record for Lithium Australia.

Minerals explorer Auric Mining has uncovered significant enrichment of rare earth elements along a 7km-long strike at its Chalice West project near Norseman with a swag of assay results indicating the widespread rare earths mineralisation including valuable magnet rare earths critical for high-tech products. Auric says a prominent magnetic feature in the project’s centre is also promising and needs drilling.

With all assay results from its recent air-core drill program at its Chalice West project now back from the laboratory, Auric Mining says widespread gold and nickel mineralisation can be added to its rare earth elements discovery. The latest results include another five holes returning anomalous gold values and anomalous nickel intercepts were also returned in a further five drill holes.

Panther Metals has been buoyed by initial testing results of samples from its Coglia nickel-cobalt project in the WA Goldfields that returned final nickel extraction levels of 92.6 per cent. The test work was based on a blended sample obtained from the company’s maiden drilling program. Panther says the high-pressure acid leach testing indicated the potential to further upgrade the nickel grade through beneficiation.

Asra Minerals is putting the finishing touches on its 2023 exploration assault at its multi-commodity Mt Stirling project near Leonora in WA following extensive data compilation and a comprehensive technical review. The company’s vast land holding, in the shadow of Red 5’s King of the Hill gold operations, houses multiple gold resources along with multiple intriguing rare earths and critical metals discoveries at Yttria and Wishbone.

ASX-listed oil producer Triangle Energy has closed the book on a solid December quarter, tabling a host of milestones including its second oil delivery to a refinery in Thailand via an all-new shipping route, farming out two gas prospective permits to Talon Energy and raking in $6.6 million courtesy of oil sales associated with its Cliff Head joint venture partnership with Pilot Energy.

Altech Chemicals has finalised the design of a 100MWh battery plant capable of producing 60KWh battery packs that utilise table salt instead of lithium and other metals normally found in a lithium-ion battery after two workshops in Germany. The company says its devices offer safer, longer-term power solutions without the threat of price hikes and supply chain issues that plague the production of critical metal-infused products.

Meeka Metals has begun infill drilling at its Circle Valley rare earths project near Esperance as the company looks toward delivering an initial mineral resource for the site in the June quarter of this year. Last year the explorer produced some impressive results from its maiden drill program at the operation with highlights including one assay that went 12m at 2690 parts per million total rare earth oxides from 20m including 4m at a mammoth 6894ppm TREO from 24m.

Okapi Resources is set to become the single largest shareholder of a private Australian company developing and commercialising a bleeding-edge uranium enrichment technology after entering into a binding agreement with Ubaryon. Okapi currently has its foot on a suite of uranium assets in North America and says the investment will help it manufacture a processed form of uranium that is typically imported from Russia.