Public Company News

Horizon Minerals has signed a significant new joint venture deal aimed at developing and mining two open pits at its Phillips Find gold project in Western Australia’s Goldfields region in a bid to cash in on record high prices for the precious yellow metal. The deal with BML Ventures is underpinned by a plan to produce 15,000 ounces of gold from the site.

Novo Resources has joined the global hunt for antimony across its grounds in Western Australia’s Pilbara region on the back of widespread growing interest in the metal after China’s recent decision to implement export bans has reshaped the global supply chain. The company says it has identified two early-stage exploration sites – Sherlock Crossing and Southeast Wyloo – that are showing promising prospects.

Red Metal says its latest step-out drill program has confirmed two huge, parallel magnet rare earths zones at its Sybella project near Mount Isa in Queensland, highlighting the impressive resource potential at the site. The company’s latest assays featured strong shows for all four magnet rare earths –neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium – and infill drilling is now a key priority.

Xanadu Mines has launched into maiden field programs at its Sant Tolgoi copper-nickel project in northern Mongolia. The company says detailed mapping and sampling programs are well underway at the site that is showing positive early signs of widespread copper oxides at surface. Management believes it has multiple copper-nickel targets at Sant Tolgoi, with the potential for new district-scale copper discovery.

Galan Lithium has rung the till for AU$25 million from a placement and a rights issue to support the completion of the first phase of lithium production from its Hombre Muerto West project in Argentina in 2025. The capital raise includes a firm commitment for AU$12 million through a placement at 10.5c per share and a non-renounceable entitlement offer aimed at raising an additional AU$13.3 million.

A world-first survey using the effects of lightning strikes to test electrical conductivity in rocks at Estrella Resources’ Carr Boyd project in WA has earned the company a Federal Government grant. The cutting-edge heliborne survey initially conducted by Expert Geophysics in August last year, harnesses traditional electromagnetic pulse data in conjunction with lightning strike pulses triggered by storms constantly raging over the Equator.

ABx Group’s innovative work in exploring, drilling and processing ionic-adsorption clay rare earths deposits in Tasmania last year has been rewarded with a Federal Government rebate of more than $437,000. The timely cash injection comes less than a month after the company’s 83 per cent-owned subsidiary ALCORE received a similarly-sized rebate for its work on a process to recover and recycle waste aluminium fluoride.

Significant copper-antimony assays from Aruma Resources’ Fiery Creek project near Mount Isa in Queensland have sent the company’s share price flying on the back of its biggest-ever intraday trading volumes. A surface sampling program at the project has revealed high-grade copper assays alongside significant grades of up to 1 per cent antimony, which is currently a hot commodity on the ASX.

Empire Energy Group has locked in contractors to start drilling its Carpentaria-5H well next month, with an aim of supplying 25 terajoules a day for 10 years under a new agreement with the NT Government. The company has confirmed it has signed deals with Ensign Australia for drilling services and Halliburton Australia for fracture stimulation at the pilot project that sits 650km south-east of Darwin.