Public Company News

Terrain Minerals has called a brief festive timeout on drilling at its Smokebush gold project in Western Australia, wrapping up a productive end to 2025 at its Lightning prospect. With more than a third of the current RC program completed, a newly granted mining licence and strong funding support, the company says it is well placed to hit the ground running when drilling resumes in January.

Ora Banda Mining has drilled into wide, high-grade gold at its Sand King underground mine in WA's Goldfields, confirming a growing northerly mineralised corridor, which is likely to boost ounces significantly. Peak intercepts included bonanza grades up to 146 grams per tonne (g/t) from drilling that has stretched mineralisation well beyond current resource boundaries.

Buru Energy says it is courting global capital to fund a flow test and an independent resource certificate at the company's onshore Rafael gas discovery in Western Australia's Canning Basin. With approvals secured, multiple suitors running the rule over the opportunity and a development partner already locked in, the company believes it is steadily closing in on long-term gas cashflows from 2028.

Estrella Resources has rolled out another set of manganese-rich results from its Ira Miri project in Timor-Leste, with several high-grade intervals hinting at the potential for multiple stacked manganese horizons. The company says it has also wrapped up drilling at its adjacent Werumata limestone project, which exposed thick carbonate layers and a fresh limestone unit at depth, with promising early commerciality indications.

American West Metals will kick off its first gallium and indium-focused drilling program at the company's flagship West Desert project in the US state of Utah next year. The move comes after recent re-sampling of historical diamond drill core uncovered high-grade mineralisation across a suite of critical metals. The fully permitted program will test an array of drill-ready targets for the vital critical minerals.

Middle Island Resources has wasted no time putting an experienced hand on the tiller, appointing seasoned explorer and company builder Peter Spiers as chief executive officer. With more than three decades across discovery, development and corporate growth, Spiers steps in just as the company's Serbian assets begin to deliver the kind of results that can change a junior's trajectory.

Horizon Minerals has intersected stunning visible gold in drilling at its Burbanks project south of Coolgardie in Western Australia, including a whopping intercept grading up to 5.848 kilograms per tonne gold from 259m depth. The results form part of the company's monster two-stage 30,000m drilling program at the project, which kicked off in late June with focused infill drilling to upgrade confidence around its existing gold resources.

Norfolk Metals has laid the groundwork for a busy new year drilling blitz at its Carmen copper project in Chile, with environmental permitting and studies progressing ahead of a news-packed Christmas period. The company says a five-year permit will clear the path for a broader drilling assault across its 46.6 square kilometre concession package, including follow-up work from a high-impact diamond drilling program currently underway.

Lindian Resources has locked in delivery of its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi by awarding the design and construction contract for the stage-one processing plant to Obsideo. The move has significantly de-risked execution, with recent plant optimisation likely to lift throughput, while keeping capex broadly in line, as the company targets first production in late 2026.

Great Southern Mining is onto what is starting to look like a major new gold discovery at its Amy Clarke prospect in WA's Duketon gold belt that now stretches across 4.7kms. A new round of aircore drilling has nailed the widest gold intersection yet just 8kms from Regis Resources' Garden Well mill, with a 17-metre hit grading 1.4 grams per tonne from just 20 metres.

Dateline Resources has struck thick, high-grade gold beneath the North and South pits at the company's Colosseum project in California, improving continuity and delivering grades above the current resource. The latest drilling supports an early mine plan and strengthens the project's economics as the company sharpens its gold feasibility study at record prices.

The Bulls N' Bears ASX Runners of the Week are… Bass Oil, which soared on a freshly inked three-year gas deal with Origin Energy in a Cooper Basin comeback, Marmota, which confirmed its “spectacular gold discovery” at Greenewood in the Gawler craton, Alvo Minerals, which extended its Touro massive sulphide streak in Brazil as copper hits all-time highs and Alchemy Resources, which hit premium 65 per cent iron hematite on its granted mining lease in the Bryah Basin.