Matt Birney

ASX-listed 88 Energy appears to have detected additional upside at its Umiat oil field on the North Slope of Alaska, immediately south of its Project Peregrine where it recently spudded the Merlin-1 well. The company says that analysis of Umiat 3D seismic data, together with post-well testing of Merlin-1, has revealed potential for additional reservoir sands at Umiat.

ASX-listed Lithium Australia’s wholly owned subsidiary VSPC has been granted an Australian patent for its proprietary nanotechnology process of manufacturing phosphate-based battery cathode materials for use in lithium-ion batteries. Perth-based Lithium Australia says the cost of producing nickel-free and cobalt-free battery cathode powders can potentially be significantly reduced by using VSPC’s technology.

Strickland Metals is set to kick off reverse circulation and aircore drilling programs this month at a keystone deposit and an emerging prospect at its Horse Well gold project in WA. The company says its recently launched gravity geophysical surveying work has turned up several “look-alike” targets near the anchor Dusk Til Dawn deposit that it intends probing with a round of RC drilling.

ASX-listed PharmAust Ltd subsidiary Epichem OHD has hit a milestone in its development of technology to turn waste into fuel on an industrial scale, after the company completed the build of a benchtop scale reactor that will enable research, development and promotion of its potentially disruptive technology. The reactor turns biomass waste from a wide range of sources into fuels, fertiliser, agricultural growth stimulants and even ethanol.

Lithium Australia, through its 90 per cent owned recycling division Envirostream Australia, has filed a patent application related to its alkaline battery separation process used in fertiliser micronutrients, as it looks to secure intellectual property protection for its battery recycling technology. The company recently launched an expanded field trial using the process to generate samples for manganese-deficient soils across four sites in WA and one in SA.

Si6 Metals has delivered a 154,000-ounce gold resource for its Korong and Waihi deposits that make up its 100 per cent owned Monument gold project near Laverton in the north-eastern Goldfields of Western Australia. The update has added more than 100,000 ounces of gold to the previous estimate as the company eyes further resource and exploration drilling at the project.

Todd River Resources is growing its suite of nickel-copper-PGE targets in Western Australia’s South West mineral field, with the explorer extending its Eastern trend in the Berkshire Valley to over seven kilometres of strike. Shallow auger drilling shows two distinct target areas along the mineralised trend, with platinum and palladium levels kicking at more than 10 times background levels associated with coincident copper and nickel anomalies.

ASX-listed gold producer Ora Banda Mining has rattled off a spate of impressive high-grade gold intersections from drilling at its Riverina underground deposit near its Davyhurst mining and processing operation about 120km north-west of Kalgoorlie in WA. Better assays include 1.3m grading 25.3 g/t gold from 217.8m, 2.8m at 21.2 g/t from 253.7m, 1.4m at 18.1 g/t from 281.6m and 5m at 16.7 g/t from 200m.

Nine years ago, Hot Chili won the prestigious Emerging Company Award at Diggers & Dealers in Kalgoorlie and this week the company is presenting there again as one of only two companies worldwide to make a major copper discovery since 2016 which has now attracted the interest of mega resource house Glencore. Hot Chili’s rival in the major copper discovery space is Rio Tinto’s Winu discovery in WA.