Public Company News

Lithium Australia’s application for a US patent for one of its proprietary lithium extraction technologies, SiLeach, has been approved by the US Patent and Trademark Office. The Perth-based company also received a notice of acceptance from IP Australia for the same patent application, which is expected to be granted at the end of April.

Sure-footed East Pilbara gold developer, Calidus Resources has inked a farm-in deal to acquire up to 90 per cent of fresh ground, 20km east of its Blue Spec gold project, by spending up to $800k on exploration over six years. Calidus said the highly promising tenement is littered with soil geochemical anomalies and immediately east of a mineralised corridor identified by Novo Resources.

Comet Resources has unearthed samples bearing visible, fine gold at its high-grade Santa Teresa project in Mexico. Detailed geological mapping and sampling through the historic mine area has also identified a raft of previously unrecognised structures hosting gold-rich quartz veins that remain untested by drilling. The permitting is now well advanced and the company expects to kick off resource drilling in the coming months.

Godolphin Resources has unveiled a revised mineral resource estimate for its historic Lewis Ponds polymetallic project in NSW’s Lachlan Fold Belt region and kicked off a major drilling campaign in and around the resource area. The resource now stands at 6.2 million tonnes of ore grading 2.0 g/t gold, 80 g/t silver, 2.7 per cent zinc, 1.6 per cent lead and 0.2 per cent copper.

Smart tech healthcare developer, InteliCare has clinched a five-year master supply agreement with Optus Networks that paves the way for Optus to pitch InteliCare’s smart monitoring systems to its health and aged-care sector clients. InteliCare’s system learns the daily behavioural patterns of the sick and the elderly and reports back to family or a healthcare professional if there is a departure from normal behaviour.

PolarX has tabled a treasure trove of high-grade gold and silver results from the first-pass sampling program at its Humboldt Range project in the western United States, with several samples returning assays grading over an ounce to the tonne gold. They include assays of 37.7 grams per tonne gold, 31.2 g/t gold and a stunning 1590 g/t silver.

Todd River Resources has hit the ground running with exploration over its Berkshire Valley project north of Perth defining anomalous nickel, copper and PGE mineralisation over more than 8 kilometres of strike. Recent geophysics have also added some more colour to the picture, with moving loop electromagnetics detecting an anomaly associated with a key geochemical target.

Novo Resources has received a further cash instalment totalling $5 million from fellow aspiring East Pilbara gold producer, Calidus Resources for the staged sale of the uber high-grade historic Blue Spec gold mine and surrounding leases. Calidus now has 25 per cent of the project and if it moves to 100 per cent, Novo will pick up a handy $19.5 million in total.

Australian Bauxite is hoping for a clear run this year after its development activities were curtailed at its advancing Sunrise “metallurgical-grade” bauxite project in Queensland due to pandemic-related travel restrictions in the December quarter. The company did manage to notch up a major milestone late last year having lodged a mining lease application for the proposed development of a bauxite mining and beneficiation operation.

Mining software-as-a-service provider, K2fly will buy the software assets developed by an offshoot of Wesfarmers subsidiary, CSBP in an all-scrip deal that will see CSBP emerge as the major shareholder of K2fly with just over 10 percent of its register. The deal, which involves K2fly picking up the business assets of CSBP offshoot, Decipher Mining, is valued at $3.7 million.

Surefire Resources is set to ramp up its exploration across WA, with the multi-metal explorer looking to begin realising the true value in its diversified project portfolio. Whilst the company’s Yidby gold project has stolen the limelight in recent months, Surefire is also keen to launch into exploration over its nearby Perenjori iron ore project and the Kooline silver project in WA’s Ashburton region.

Estrella Resources is tapping into the deeper potential of its Carr Boyd nickel discovery in WA, with drilling intersecting a broad zone of sulphide mineralisation at around 590 metres down-hole. The drilling confirms the down-dip extensions to the previously intersected mineralisation, with other recent intervals including 3.7m at 1.14 per cent nickel and 0.74 per cent copper from 516.8m down-hole.