Public Company News

Oil and gas explorer 88 Energy has recorded the first successful oil flow to surface from its Alaskan projects with testing at the Upper Slope Fan System of its Hickory-1 well confirming the discovery of light oil. Testing produced a peak gauge flow rate of more than 70 barrels per day of light oil at the well which forms part of the company’s greater Phoenix project within the onshore oil section of Alaska’s north slope.

The Northern Territory’s onshore Beetaloo basin is thought to be harbouring almost biblical-scale gas deposits and ASX-listed Empire Energy is in the vanguard of those seeking to prove its commercial viability. The company is now teeteringly close to pushing the button on an investment decision to start flowing gas commercially out of the basin – a move that could revolutionise the Australian gas industry.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Osteopore. Its share price surged more than 1060 per cent after announcing a deal to sell its regenerative bone implant technology into Singaporean and Vietnamese markets. Osteopore joins fellow market movers and shakers this week Allup Silica and Many Peaks Minerals.

Allup Silica’s shares soared by more than 300 per cent today after confirmation that silica sands from the company’s Sparkler project near Albany in WA will be suitable for the solar panel industry and high-tech manufacturing. Allup also tabled some stellar results from its Cabbage Spot project near Wyndham showing grades up to 99.4 percent silica. Its stock touched 13c from its close yesterday of 2.9c.

Estrella Resources has officially been granted exploration tenure of more than 500 square kilometres in Timor-Leste making history as one of the first companies to receive exploration rights in the country. The nation is looking to build its industry in this resource-rich part of the world and ASX-listed Estrella is the first through the gate.

Novo Resources has boosted its recent gold drilling results by re-assaying larger sample sizes from its WA Nunyerry North project, using modern high-tech multi-pot photon-assays, due to the nature of its coarse-gold. The improved results highlight several significant intersections, including 6m at more than 6 grams per tonne at the project it has in joint-venture with the Creasy Group.

Xanadu Mines has kicked off a hydrological drill program at its Kharmagtai copper-gold project in Mongolia as it prepares to deliver its upcoming preliminary feasibility study into the operation. Management says data from the program will be compiled into a hydrology database for use in site water balance for the final Kharmagtai PFS design, which is assessing ultimate growth of up to 40 million tonnes per annum processing throughput at the operation.

Galan Lithium has lifted the resource estimate for its 100 per cent-owned Argentine Hombre Muerto West lithium project to 8.6 million tonnes contained lithium carbonate equivalent at 859 mg/l lithium. The significant increase, the fourth since March 2020, amounts to an 18 per cent uplift in tonnes alongside another uptick in grade improving what was already one of the highest grade brine estimates in the country.

ABx Group’s latest assay results have further expanded the rare earths zone at its Deep Leads-Rubble Mound project in northern Tasmania, showing mineralisation enriched in the valuable heavy rare earths, dysprosium and terbium. The company says the results prove the site west of Launceston retains the highest proportion of the two elements of any clay-hosted rare earths resource in Australia.

Lithium Universe has settled on Bécancour Port within the city of Bécancour in Quebec, Canada is its preferred import facility for delivering spodumene to its proposed battery grade lithium carbonate refinery just 2.5kms away. Just last month the company secured a prime location for its proposed refinery after executing an option agreement to purchase a commercial property in the area.

American West Metals is looking to expand its already solid mineral resource at its Storm copper project in Canada with a high-powered electromagnetic survey set to deliver priority drill targets at the site. Earlier this year, the company unveiled a maiden resource for its operation on Somerset Island in the Canadian province of Nunavut of 17.5 million tonnes at 1.2 per cent copper and 3.4g/t silver after just one season of resource drilling.

Si6 Metals has unveiled clay-hosted rare earths hits from surface sampling at its joint-venture Caldera project in the State of Minas Gerais in Brazil, in addition to discovering further nickel-copper-cobalt at its Maibele North deposit, part of the company’s base and precious metals play in Botswana. Si6 will now kick-off an auger drill campaign at Caldera to test for higher-grade rare earths mineralisation at depth.