Andrew Todd

Lindian Resources has made significant strides towards opening its flagship Kangankunde rare earths mine in Malawi. The company says it is running ahead of schedule as it looks to swiftly bring the low-cost critical minerals project into production. Haul roads and a solar farm for the project are underway and Lindian has filled five key positions to progress the site into its next development phase.

American West is about to launch a new drilling campaign in Utah targeting a suite of US-listed critical metals, including copper, gallium and molybdenum. The company’s West Desert project already holds the United States’ largest undeveloped indium resource and remains open in multiple directions.

Red Metal is poised to unlock the vast mineral potential of its Queensland copper-gold projects, thanks to $400,000 in collaborative drilling grants from the Queensland Government. The funds are set to spearhead the company’s proof-of-concept drilling at two highly prospective iron oxide-copper-gold projects at its Gulf and Three Ways prospects.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears' ASX Runners of the Week is… Eden Innovations, after it broke into the clean high-rise building sector and announced record concrete additive sales. Focus Minerals shot up thanks to a juicy $250 million cash gold project sale, InFocus Group unveiled a blockbuster $5M deal to become the exclusive tech partner for a Taiwanese gaming guru and market darling Dateline Resources had another roaring run.

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has locked in a 75 per cent stake in its highly prospective Pinjin gold project near Kalgoorlie, completing the first milestone of its farm-in agreement over the project. The company has sealed the deal with a $1.65 million all-cash settlement for the project, which incorporates its Kirgella Gift and Providence mineral resources, alongside its promising breakout Lighthorse discovery and Wessex gold prospect.

Toro Energy has supercharged the project financials for its Lake Maitland uranium project near Wiluna in WA, unveiling an updated scoping study forecasting a low-cost, long-life mining operation. The latest numbers paint an encouraging picture for a standalone operation, improving an historic net present value by 9 per cent to a hefty $908 million, while slashing the project’s payback period to 1.5 years.

Titanium Sands Limited has locked in its Mannar Island heavy mineral sands project for a final push towards production, after the Sri Lankan government extended its four key exploration licences. The retention paves the way for the company to complete ongoing environmental studies and brings it closer to securing the all-important industrial mining licence for its high-grade mineral sands deposit.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Oceana Lithium, after a capital raise to fill its coffers ahead of base metals testing in WA’s Gascoyne region. Zoono Group signed an exclusive packaging deal with UK majors, MetalsGrove Ltd ran on belated appreciation of its new Côte d’Ivoire gold projects, and Raiden Resources reported eight-from-eight shallow, high-grade gold hits from its emerging Bulgaria project.

Aurumin Ltd has moved closer to cashflows in a JV with contract miner Newcam, which will spend up to $4M to farm into its gold projects. One project has an almost shovel-ready 64,000 ounces waiting to be tolled. The company has also landed a quick million dollars after agreeing to sell the non-gold rights at another of its WA gold projects.

Empire Energy has secured a hefty $28M war chest to propel its trailblazing Carpentaria gas pilot project in the N.T’s colossal Beetaloo Basin, as it manoeuvres to become Australia’s next big onshore gas player. The capital injection will turbocharge the hydraulic stimulation and flow testing of Empire’s Carpentaria-5H well, the longest horizontal well in the Beetaloo Sub-basin at a whopping 3310m.

Estrella Resources has notched yet another landmark achievement in Timor-Leste, formally East Timor, announcing the first conversion of permits into exploration licenses under the mineral-rich country’s new mining laws. The newly minted licenses will enable the company to deploy ground-disturbing exploration methods, including all-important maiden drilling campaigns, set to kick-off upon receipt of the nation’s first ever drill rig.

Lindian Resources is juggling a slew of financing proposals from leading African and European commercial and investment banks, for its world-class Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi. The company says it is riding a wave of financial momentum, with multiple funding proposals under due diligence to bankroll Kangankunde’s Stage 1 continued development.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… XPON Technologies Group, after the company snapped up a leading Australian digital marketing outfit to supercharge its revenue growth. Locksley Resources enjoyed a run after lodging drilling permits on its US-based Mojave project in prime critical metals country, high-grade gallium hopeful DY6 Metals continued last week’s strong run and Arizona Lithium curiously climbed to new highs on no new news.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… DY6 Metals Ltd, after the company announced high-grade gallium assays at its Tundulu rare earths project in Malawi. Dateline Resources flew on a presidential seal of approval for its Colosseum project from Donald Trump, Andromeda Metal’s lab trials confirmed high purity alumina from its kaolin deposit and Jindalee Lithium ran on US government backing for a strategic fast permitting framework.

Meeka Metals is officially Australia’s newest gold miner, pulling ore for the first time at its 1.2-million-ounce Murchison gold project, outside Meekatharra in Western Australia. The gold ore pulled from the company’s St Anne’s North open pit is a breakthrough step on Meeka’s journey toward first production, as open pit mining ramps up and processing plant expansion works approach completion.

Ora Banda Mining has mailed in another strong performance at its Davyhurst gold project in Western Australia, producing 23,150 ounces of gold in the March quarter and uncovering a potentially game-changing high-grade discovery. The company’s gold sales rose 6 per cent, lifting the total financial year-to-date sales to 71,467 ounces - 6 per cent ahead of the last full-year’s output with a full quarter remaining.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Redstone Resources, which announced a biblically deep drill hole to test for copper in WA’s West Musgrave area. Anteris Technologies ran on a $9/share price target from US-based Cantor Fitzgerald’s research department and Jindalee Lithium shot up on news its flagship McDermitt project had received US government backing to be listed on a strategic fast permitting framework.

McLaren Minerals has put a bow on a 6000m air core drilling campaign at its flagship McLaren titanium project in WA’s Eucla Basin, aiming to improve resource definition and progress feasibility studies. The six-week program covered 64 per cent of planned priority locations, with infill drilling enhancing the existing 280-million-tonne resource and step-out holes revealing thick new heavy mineral sands zones to the north and east.

American West Metals has revealed a sizeable new copper target at its Storm project in Nunavut, Canada, with historical drill tests intersecting visual copper sulphides at its newly titled Midway prospect. The company says a 2018-hole intersected 58m of visual sulphides, primarily chalcocite, with intervals containing up to 2.5 per cent estimated sulphide content.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Grand Gulf Energy, after it acquired an option over a billion-barrel oil prospect off the coast of Namibia. Meteoric Resources announced a maiden resource for its ionic clay deposit in Brazil, Aus Strategic Materials flourished under US rare earths supply concerns following Chinese export bans and NeuroScientific Biophamaceuticals acquired an innovative and life-changing stem cell technology company.

Galan Lithium has announced a transformation partnership with US lithium expert Authium for a funding and offtake package that will propel its Hombre Muerto West lithium brine project toward first production. The deal includes a fully funded and operated plant to be supplied by Authium, eliminating a substantial US$41.5 million (A$65.5M) in capital expenditure for Galan.

Ardea Resources has secured a pivotal $4.6 million strategic placement from Japanese joint venture partner Sumitomo Metal Mining to progress the company’s mammoth Kalgoorlie Nickel project in Western Australia. The cash injection will primarily fuel working capital, ensuring Ardea’s expert team continues to drive the ongoing $98.5M definitive feasibility study, which Sumitomo will pay for.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Osteopore Ltd after its 3D-printed bone regrowth implants were approved by the European Union for distribution. Leeuwin Metals’ historical gold results unveiled extensive shallow high-grade mineralisation over 3km at its new Marda project in WA, Golden Horse Minerals returned stellar gold extensions at its WA project and Pivotal Metals ran up on no news other than renewed interest in its Canadian copper project with a sizeable resource.

Thunderbird Resources’ joint venture partner Firetail Resources is ramping up exploration efforts at their Picha JV copper project in Peru, ahead of maiden drill testing set for the second half of this year. Firetail is upping its game with geophysics, soil sampling and structural mapping underway to unlock the region’s substantial copper porphyry potential.

The United States Interior Department has reconfirmed ASX-listed Dateline Resources’ rights to mine and explore for gold and rare earths at its flagship Colosseum project in California. The long-awaited decision paves the way for a dual-commodity future for the company, just 10km from the US’s only operating REE mine, Mountain Pass.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runners of the Week is… Whitehawk Ltd, after it became a core cyber partner in a massive US$920M (A$1474M) US government contract. WA junior goldie OzAurum surged on results from its Cross Fault discovery next to Carosue Dam, Argent’s cannabis-based epilepsy therapy was approved for prescription in Germany and Galan turned down an unsolicited $240M bid for its Argentinian lithium projects.

Galan Lithium has turned down a US$150 million (A$240M) cash offer from a Chinese-French combo to acquire its lithium brine projects in Argentina, labelling the proposal “opportunistic” and “undervalued”. The market responded swiftly, with Galan’s shares soaring more than 50 per cent to a high of 16c per share - defying the broader ASX index and lithium market sentiment.

Javelin Minerals has taken the final hurdle ahead of drilling at its Eureka gold project, 50km north of Kalgoorlie, by completing of a heritage survey that clears the path for a maiden 3000m reverse circulation drill program. The company has a rig secured and ready to target extensions of high-grade lodes and a series of untested anomalies around the existing high-grade pit.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Saferoads. The company's share price rocketed after it pocketed $10.8 million from the sale of its Road Safety Rental arm. Errawarra Resources acquired an historically high-grade silver mine in the Pilbara, RareX Ltd announced stunning gallium hits from its project in the Kimberly and Belararox Ltd intersected promising visual copper in its chase for a mammoth copper porphyry in Argentina, as the red metal hit all-time highs.

Chariot Corporation has secured convertible note deal, roping in up to $2 million to fuel its lithium hunt across the United States and Australia. The company has locked in an initial $600,000 drawdown from New York-based investor Obsidian Global, with the potential to tap an additional $1.4m over the next 12 months.

Titanium Sands Ltd has cleared another big hurdle in its quest to bring its vast Mannar Island heavy mineral sands project in Sri Lanka into production after the country’s environmental authority issued terms for the company’s pivotal environmental impact assessment. The milestone sets the stage for the final environmental studies required for Titanium Sands to secure an industrial mining licence to bring its high-grade deposit into production.

This week’s Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Tlou Energy. It says share sellers are gone, and the Botswana energy firm is back to business as usual. Renewable solutions group GreenHy2 announced a tech contract with a leading Euro supplier, Besra recouped some share price losses as it focussed on its substantial Bau gold project and Trek found glimmering visual gold in drilling core samples as the gold price cracked US$3000 an ounce.