Finding the right funding model essential
August 11 - 17, 2008
GREENFIELDS drilling is at a nadir and the general rate of major new discoveries hasn’t changed in nearly 50 years despite some 40 years of research at universities and government institutions, a huge increase in the data available, and the advent of new and sophisticated tools for exploration. So what’s the problem?
Clock still ticking at Caldag
August 11 - 17, 2008
THE Caldag heap leach nickel laterite mine and pilot plant in Turkey – the project on which AIM-listed European Nickel’s profile was built – looks likely to be moved onto the back burner as the company’s Filipino interests start to take centre stage. After initially capturing the imagination of the investment community, Caldag has been a major frustration for ENickel for the past two years, while its growing asset base in the Philippines has provided a constant stream of good news.
Something out of the ordinary
August 4 - 10, 2008
AMIDST the market carnage, Papua New Guinea-focused greenfields explorer Goldminex Resources stands out like an absolute beacon. Earlier this month the company’s shares hit a new high, as interest in its outstanding early stage exploration play continued to grow.
Predictive numbers add up
August 4 - 10, 2008
A NEW exploration company with a heavyweight board and a predictive modelling technology is set to finalise seed funding and ground positions in West Africa over the next six or so weeks. The company’s success or otherwise could have a significant effect on an exploration sector that hasn’t exactly been over-achieving in recent times.
Mincor steps up Kambalda value search
July 28 - August 3, 2008
ANALYST critiques of Mincor Resources often focus on what are negatively portrayed as a portfolio of relatively small mines. And while the cash keeps piling up and while the original mine bought back in 2000 continues producing, there’s no doubt the company would like to put the perception to bed once and for all. Enter the so-called “Ultra-Nickel Ore Body Program”.
Rich copper hits for Azure
July 21 - 27, 2008
STRONGLY mineralised drill hits by Azure Minerals at the high-grade Promontorio copper-gold-silver project in Mexico are raising confidence that a “large copper-gold-silver” deposit can be defined.
Deep test of Charters theory
July 14 - 20, 2008
CHARTERS Towers gold miner Citigold Corporation is much maligned in some circles, however, it is undertaking a drilling program which may cause sceptics to swallow hard. In fact the drilling program comprises one hole. Citigold refers to it reverently as the Deep Hole.
Evelyn juts, reveals potential
June 23 - 29, 2008
MICHAEL Mulroney knows a thing or two about VMS orebodies having worked on these valuable styles of mineralisation as a geologist years ago before he became a corporate practitioner. And he likes what he sees at Jutt Holdings’ new Liberty-Indee VMS project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.
Azumah in review spotlight
June 16 - 22, 2008
AZUMAH Resources is no orphan when it claims to be among the most undervalued of the many western-based explorers hunting gold in West Africa. However, on simple comparative metrics, it’s got a point.
Familiar territory
June 9 - 15, 2008
THERE are unlikely to be too many boards of this calibre heading companies with a market capitalisation of a mere $A10 million. And this for more than $3 million cash, established resources in a highly mineralised part of north Queensland, and, as of last week, a strategic copper asset in Arizona. No wonder there are some investors around who enjoy the opportunities on offer from market downturns.
Bigger Cadia East reserve to underpin mine planning
June 2 - 8, 2008
NEWCREST Mining is believed to have more than doubled the reserve estimate for its proposed Cadia East underground project in New South Wales, with the 700-million-tonne-plus orebody still being expanded in the lead up to a decision to develop Australia’s largest underground mine.
Rover has a new tale
June 2 - 8, 2008
IF THERE was a competition for the best gold exploration hits in Australia in recent years, Westgold Resources’ effort of early June at its Rover 1 project, south-west of Tennant Creek in the Northern Territory, would figure prominently.
Apex closes on production start
May 26 - June 1, 2008
APEX Minerals journey to refractory gold production in the goldfields of Western Australia continues to gather pace, with a near-30% increase in the indicated resources at its mainstay Wiluna project over the past three months.
Tennant Creek exploration fires up
May 19 - 25, 2008
TENNANT Creek, population about 3000, is seeing a few a more Toyotas, drillers and offsiders crawl down its main street these days as exploration of one of Australia’s richest mineral fields by three cashed-up juniors and a small supporting cast gathers momentum. Is the discovery of a new mine a case of “when”, not “if”?
Golden promise
May 19 - 25, 2008
IT’S UNOFFICIAL then. ASX-listed junior Alkane Resources is sitting on about $US1.4 billion worth of uranium and perhaps more than $US3 billion worth of gold at its three key New South Wales exploration projects. That investors don’t quite know yet what to make of this is evidenced by Alkane’s lacklustre share price.
Where low grades are exciting
May 19 - 25, 2008
THE biggest junior landholder in the region containing the multi-million ounce Tropicana gold discovery in Western Australia has indicated it is getting broadly comparable results from early stage work as those recorded by Tropicana owners AngloGold Ashanti and Independence.
Promontorio promise for Azure
May 12 - 18, 2008
ACQUIRING an established high-grade copper resource cheaply at this stage of the cycle begs the obvious question(s). Namely, how, and/or what’s the catch? In the case of Azure Minerals, the answers sound legit, and suggest the opportunity for a big win for Perth-based junior.
Gold's challenge here today, not gone tomorrow
May 5 - 11, 2008
IF THE head of the world’s biggest gold producer painted a bleak picture this week of the challenges facing the industry – even in times of robust gold prices – the view from the sector’s vanguard, the exploration front, is not much better. In fact, according to Newmont Mining Corp’s worldwide exploration vice-president Steve Enders, it’s not pretty at all.
You don't suppose ...
May 5 - 11, 2008
STORING too much faith in a report by Martin Place Securities (MPS) on CuDeco Ltd and its Rocklands copper project might be a tad risky judging by some of the queries being flagged by outsiders familiar with affairs in north Queensland.
Aussie chases Highlands prize
April 28 - May 4, 2008
WITHIN the next six months, Scotgold Resources hopes to have some signs posted in an uncharted gold region – if only modest ones – in an unexpected part of the world. While its peers are chasing elephants in Africa, Asia and the ’stans, Scotgold is working away along a Dalradian metamorphic complex in the highlands of Scotland.
Tin drilling underway at Tallebung
April 28 - May 4, 2008
NEW SOUTH Wales focused explorer YTC Resources has stepped up its quest to identify a large tin porphyry deposit adjacent to alluvial tin workings at Tallebung, about 70km north-west of Condoblin, with the start of a new diamond drilling program. Its target is a 50-million-tonne resource able to support an 8000tpa tin operation, with major shareholder Yunnan Tin of China presumably having first call on production.
New venture has its own signature
April 21 - 27, 2008
NEAROLOGY, the ‘science’ of finding something near something important, is not being relied upon by Venture Minerals managing director Andrew Radonjic to sell the virtues of the Mount Lindsay magnetite-tin-tungsten project. In fact, he’s actively trying to separate its prospects from the fortunes of the two historically significant nearby mines.
Exco keen to step up
April 14 - 20, 2008
SHALLOWER, higher grade ore drilled at Exco Resources’ E1 copper-gold project near Xstrata’s Ernest Henry operation in Queensland has capped a good week for the prospective miner, with briefings in North America by managing director Michael Anderson also likely to have helped the stock gain some traction.
Replacement ounces the Newmont challenge
April 7 - 13, 2008
FAT Prophets has added its 10oz worth on the find-versus-buy resources debate, highlighting gold major Newmont Mining Corp’s difficulty last year in replacing mined ounces. The answer, it seems, is for the company to find more Miramar’s.
Aquila finds third string to carbon steel bow
April 7 - 13, 2008
A HANDY trifecta for any aspiring carbon steel resources company with coking coal in Queensland’s Bowen Basin and iron ore in the Pilbara region of Western Australia would have to include manganese in South Africa’s Kalahari field, wouldn’t it?
Drilling points to more tungsten at Watershed
April 7 - 13, 2008
COFFEY Mining is expected to deliver a revised resource estimate for the Watershed tungsten project in north Queensland in the first half of next month, with latest drill results continuing to point to the likelihood of a significant lift in the previous estimate of 56,300 tonnes of contained tungsten.
Intrepid search balances risks, rewards
March 31 - April 6, 2008
INTREPID Mines’ Tujuh Bukit copper-gold project in eastern Java is seen as having the potential to one day be comparable to Xstrata’s massive Tampakan copper-gold deposit on Mindanao in the Philippines. Initial work though is targeting a more modest, though still significant, opencut gold mine.
Long-range Avoca view has plenty of upside
March 31 - April 6, 2008
ROYAL Bank of Canada has joined the throng of mainstream investment banks now positively covering the emerging Avoca Resources, with analysts from RBC backing Avoca management’s assessment that there are at least a few more million ounces to be uncovered in the rejuvenated Western Australian goldfield.
Emmerson heads to Creek with a big paddle
March 24 - 30, 2008
MANY former Tennant Creek explorers and miners will no doubt take more than a passing interest in results set to flow from one of the biggest single-company exploration programs conducted for years in Australia’s Northern Territory, due to get underway next week.
Uranium explorer finds tungsten opportunity
March 24 - 30, 2008
THE things you find when you’re scouring the world for uranium deals! Australia’s Uran still needs to lay hands on historic drilling records for the Montana tungsten prospect once known as Ho Mountain, but it appears it may be onto something interesting in the former US silver mining area.
Lost ... and found
March 17 - 23, 2008
YEARS of market neglect of junior explorer Oropa could finally be set to change as the company’s growing Pungkut gold project takes shape near Oxiana’s proposed Martabe development in Indonesia’s North Sumatra.
Monro changes Tectonic outlook
March 10 - 16, 2008
GARY Comb is not known for pulling out the chequebook without an extremely good reason, meaning the managing director of Jabiru Metals’ decision to put $A2.1 million into Tectonic Resources late last year is notable. Now it’s up to Tectonic to prove recent metallurgical success at the Phillips River project will finally result in the development of a viable mining operation.
Poondano the first step for Polaris
March 10 - 16, 2008
POLARIS Metals is one of a throng of would-be iron ore producers in Australia that believes it has the critical components needed to take advantage of the strong demand for its commodity. And the company’s new managing director Jonathan Lea is getting set to lay out Polaris’ case to the market over the coming months.
Zinifex takes deeper look at North America
March 3 - 9, 2008
THE set-to-merge Zinifex has opened an office in the traditional mining and exploration precinct of Denver in the United States and has been continuing to canvas opportunities in Latin America. It is also putting work into a gold project that came with the Wolfden Resources transaction last year and which is potentially coming into play with the strong gold price.
Faith in gold search grows
March 3 - 9, 2008
EVEN after you’ve studied GODS, some things are hard to believe. Peter van der Borgh initially found it difficult to come to terms with the fact that the largest alluvial gold field in New South Wales had not been extensively drilled since it was mined in the mid to late 1800s. That’s odd, he thought.
Vital drilling to upgrade resource
March 3 - 9, 2008
NEW VITAL Metals Ltd chief executive Andy Haslam may have uttered the words numerous tungsten buyers around the world have been waiting to hear. “In three months we will have a very real mining project on our hands,” he has told HighGrade.
Red and gold
February 25 - March 2, 2008
THE ROLLING farmland through central west New South Wales offers a stark contrast to the arid, inhospitable country many mineral explorers find themselves in on the other side of Australia. Western Australia’s Eastern Goldfields has underpinned the nation’s gold production for decades. NSW may well have the golden keys to the future.
McPhillamy's scope widens
February 25 - March 2, 2008
ALKANE Resources boss Ian Chalmers says he will press the company’s joint venture partner, gold major Newmont Mining Corp, to accelerate work on the promising McPhillamy’s gold prospect in New South Wales, but he may not need to.
Old fields have new dimensions
February 11 - 17, 2008
THE Tallebung tin field in New South Wales doesn’t look a lot different to when it was last mined nearly 40 years ago. A series of shallow openpits might have been in production more recently. There’s a power line to the dilapidated front office; a concrete shell for the primary crusher; a ROM pad and a healthy looking low-grade stockpile. But for YTC Resources chief executive Rimas Kairaitis, it is impossible to focus on Tallebung’s past. He now believes the ‘prospect’, and several others in YTC’s portfolio, have a much bigger future.
Elephant hunt demands bravery
February 11 - 17, 2008
NEW SOUTH Wales is elephant country for major copper and gold deposits – there’s plenty of evidence at Cadia-Ridgeway, Northparkes and Lake Cowal. Ambitious China-backed exploration minnow YTC Resources hopes to add Kadungle to the list.
Merceditas gives Genesis new start
February 11 - 17, 2008
ALL going to plan over the next six months or so, Argonaut Capital-backed Genesis Minerals is seeking a significant re-rating by the market after reportedly beating off very strong interest from Canadian and British parties to acquire the Merceditas copper-gold project in northern Chile.
Funding need on Azure horizon
February 11 - 17, 2008
ONE of the two geologists credited with discovering the deposit that spawned a $A3 billion nickel company recently gobbled up by Xstrata wants some drill success and a little market heat heading Mexico-way over the next few months.
Exco strategic options multiply
February 11 - 17, 2008
DEALS with Xstrata and Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Australia – including a potential change in ownership for the Ernest Henry operation – plus “extremely exciting” uranium prospectivity headline a maiden report on Exco Resources by a heavyweight broking house.
Coyote hunt ready to go deeper
February 4 - 10, 2008
“WE’RE not saying it’s a Callie,” are the words of the executive chairman. His exploration manager (naturally) has a different view. Put them together and you get a statement like the one that appeared in Tanami Gold’s latest quarterly report.
Apex ahead of plan
February 4 - 10, 2008
INFILL and extensional drilling may not necessarily constitute high-end rocket science, but neither is such exploration a lay down misere. Apex Minerals has delivered a stream of strong drill hits since launching its refractory gold revamp of the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia, and new resource estimates expected in the next few weeks can likely be expected to show the company is well on its way to first production later this year.
Pluton starts year with new focus
January 28 - February 3, 2008
AN exploration minnow with a sharemarket capitalisation that has gone from $A15 million to $A150 million in 12 months should have posted at least one drill result. But Pluton Resources Ltd is still a month or so away from that milestone. Clearly, anticipation levels are fairly high.
Back to earth
January 28 - February 3, 2008
BACK home in Australia after three weeks in Laos trying (unsuccessfully) to get some assurances about his company’s foreign investment licence, Rox Resources managing director Ian Mulholland was quickly reminded this week of a different problem facing willing explorers here - drill rig availability.
Support warms for isolated project
January 21 - 27, 2008
DESPITE intuitively looking a somewhat challenging proposition, Australian junior Ironbark claims there is “compelling development potential” at its remote Citronen zinc project in North Greenland, with Ausenco appointed earlier this month to carry out a pre-feasibility.
Westgold ready to shift NT focus
January 21 - 27, 2008
A PROMISING gold-copper target in a high grade locale is set to be drilled by Westgold Resources after 25 years in the exploration wilderness.
Copper corridor takes shape
December 17 - 23, 2007
AGGRESSIVE Zambia exploration company Zambezi Resources Ltd, which engaged in-country smelter operator and global commodity trader Glencore International as joint venture partner at its two main projects, continues to wait on a pile of assays from the flagship Cheowa property, where a resource increase was flagged last week.
Re-reading Bendigo's reefs
November 19 - 25, 2007
AFTER the debacle it suffered 12 months ago, the last thing in the world Bendigo Mining wants to do is over-promise and under-deliver. However, there are indications that the wheel of fortune could be slowly starting to turn.
Tamaya funds find drillers
November 19 - 25, 2007
LIVELY Tamaya Resources, epitome of the new generation ‘global explorer’ with its ambitious, well-credentialed management group and far-flung projects, could start draining its replenished exploration kitty in a hurry if early results of significant drilling programs underway in Chile and Armenia reveal some of the upside it sees in key development properties.
No shortage of copper around Isa
November 19 - 25, 2007
EXPLORATION north of Mount Isa continues to deliver strong copper results for the various companies operating in the region, with CopperCo and Perilya Mines recording particularly strong drill hits over the past week.
PLA's new platinum hits
November 12 - 18, 2007
THE “best platinum (drill) intersection” this year at potentially “one of the most attractive platinum mines in the world” unambiguously expresses the high hopes Platinum Australia (PLA) has for its Kalahari platinum joint venture project in South Africa.
Mutooroo might change course
November 12 - 18, 2007
SUCH has been the rise and rise of the sulphur price that Havilah Resources and Mutooroo joint venture partner Heilongjiang Resources are now reconsidering the processing specifics and destination of the sulphide rich copper, cobalt, gold and iron mineralisation at the South Australian project.
Lead balloon rises
October 22 - 28, 2007
GIVEN what a dog zinc used to be, there can’t be any huge surprise that another long time hound, zinc’s mate lead, has now also wandered onto the stage at the booming commodity price club. Australian company Abra Mining claims to be one of the very few companies worldwide advancing a major lead project, with Chinese interest a clear signal of credibility.
Firmer ground
October 22 - 28, 2007
ATLAS Iron is looking more and more like a company that won’t become an iron ore leviathan in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, where it has a potential billion-tonne magnetite deposit. The reason is its continuing exploration success at Abydos and Pardoo, near Port Hedland.
Drill hits glitter in big miner results
October 22 - 28, 2007
SOME stunning exploration results highlighted steady operational quarters for Newcrest Mining and Oxiana, two of Australia’s largest independent base and precious metal producers.
Hillgrove sees more to Wheal Ellen
October 15 - 21, 2007
BASE metal junior Hillgrove Resources should have the key numbers defined for a significant new copper-gold operation at Kanmantoo in South Australia within weeks, with the company also encouraged by a lead-zinc prospect with analogies to Terramin Australia’s nearby Angas zinc-lead development.
Tasman results to fill gaps in page
October 15 - 21, 2007
DESCRIBED by the managing director of another explorer as the most significant gold drill hit in South Australia since Dominion Mining found the highly profitable Challenger deposit, the 21m grading 21gpt gold and 83gpt silver recorded earlier this year has also significantly changed the thinking of geologists working on Tasman Resources’ Parkinson Dam project, 60km west of Port Augusta.
Admirable progress at remote zinc play
October 8 - 14, 2007
DEEP, remote, expensive to explore and develop: the Admiral Bay zinc-lead-silver prospect in Western Australia’s Canning Basin seems to have been cast at the wrong end of the industry’s standard project development spectrum since it was identified by Marathon Oil in 1981.
Ivanhoe still exploring options
October 8 - 14, 2007
GIVEN Robert Friedland undoubtedly demands discretion in his underlings, he looks like he’s got himself a surefire winner in Ivanhoe Australia chief executive officer Peter Reeve. Either that or it is a particularly sensitive time to be talking to the press.
Star billing
September 24 - 30, 2007
THE planets look to be aligning for emerging gold miner Avoca Resources, with the gold price starring and managing director Rohan Williams particularly encouraged by regional exploration results from the Jupiter, Mars and Mercury prospects 15km south-east of the company’s new Trident mine in Western Australia.
Cambodia has surface attractions
September 17 - 23, 2007
DESPITE being a country that has barely registered on the radar of Western explorers, and despite it being very early days in terms of an exploration campaign, such is the claimed prospectivity of Cambodia that Australian-based Southern Gold believes it will come up with a major gold discovery in the not to distant future.
Minnows invade elephant country
September 17 - 23, 2007
AN 18-YEAR veteran of exploration on South Africa’s famed Bushveld Complex says the influx of junior exploration companies that has invaded the space previously dominated by a handful of majors showed no signs of abating though scarcity of drilling resources is starting to impede some search programs.
Monster find may lurk at depth
September 10 - 16, 2007
“WE THINK there’s something big down there … really big.” While they’re not the words one wants to hear while enjoying a summer holiday at Amity, they clearly take on a whole different tone when spoken in reference to high-grade nickel sulphide potential.
Mundo happy with progress, statements
September 10 - 16, 2007
MUNDO Minerals Ltd hasn’t let last week’s caution from the Australian Securities Exchange over bullish statements about its South American gold prospects curb its enthusiasm for the Tocantins joint venture ground in central Brazil – or new declarations about its potential.
Apex intent on rapid build-up
September 10 - 16, 2007
ELEVEN drill rigs in action and a $A20 million exploration budget give measure to Apex Minerals intent to get a 200,000oz per annum or more gold project into action by early 2009, while the company’s first drilling later this month of EM targets in a prestigious nickel neighbourhood will be awaited with some interest.
Resource imminent at major gold find
September 3 - 9, 2007
THE gold sector is within weeks of seeing an initial resource estimate for what is generally considered the best global gold discovery made in the past decade.
Sleeping giant stirs
September 3 - 9, 2007
FORTESCUE Metals Group is already talking up plans to expand production from its 40,000 square kilometres of Pilbara real estate and last week the Solomon find, west of the Cloud Break mine and about 50km north of Tom Price, became the focal point of discussions about prospects for a second FMG production leg in the region.
Gravity knowledge to weigh in for Minotaur
September 3 - 9, 2007
GRAVITY expertise is seen as the key ingredient in successful Australian junior Minotaur Exploration’s iron-oxide copper-gold (IOCG) foray into the east coast Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
PacMag set to follow the signs
August 27 - September 2, 2007
CLEARANCES have been attained and a rig “tentatively” lined up for the end of October as PacMag Metals gets set to drill a promising target in South Australia that it claims has the key hallmarks of a major copper-molybdenum target.
Botswana uranium back on the radar
August 27 - September 2, 2007
IT’S BEEN called the land uranium explorers forgot. Now it seems they’ve remembered their way back – to Botswana.
More Cloncurry answers to surface
August 27 - September 2, 2007
AS THE clock ticks down steadily at Xstrata’s Ernest Henry copper-gold operation in Queensland, the Ivanhoe Australia-backed Exco Resources has kicked two drill rigs into action at its nearby E1 project with the aim to significantly increase resources.
Monax rig down, Carapateena quiet
August 20 - 26, 2007
CONCERNED at the damage $250,000 drill holes would continue doing to its bank balance, big target explorer Monax Mining has shut the rig down temporarily at its Punt Hill project near Teck Cominco’s Carapateena project in South Australia while it conducts IP-focused geophysical targeting.
Bendigo's cautious comeback
August 13 - 19, 2007
THE ‘new’ Bendigo Mining should have a fair idea by as soon as the end of the year whether it is going to be back into production in the short term. The cashed-up company also doesn’t expect to have problems raising funds for development should they be needed.
Voisey’s Bay, Oyu Tolgoi, Cloncurry?
August 6 - 12, 2007
IVAHNOE Australia has tens of millions of dollars worth of drilling in mind over the next few years at its Cloncurry copper, gold and uranium tenements in Queensland. Funding the work is the big question, though speaking publicly clearly signals the possibility of an IPO.
Blind Wills shows the way
August 6 - 12, 2007
THE new set of experienced exploration eyes at Higginsville that have already spotted the big Trident find are now widening their focus, with the blind Wills prospect already looking a potentially more-than-useful satellite feed for Avoca Resources’ emerging gold operations.
Upside might be down
July 23 - 29, 2007
UPSIDE is invariably a given in any transaction, but Newcrest Mining’s new Namosi copper-gold-molybdenum opportunity in Fiji is also likely to pose its fair share of operational and corporate challenges.
Perilya hungry for growth
July 16 - 22, 2007
PERILYA Ltd has ratcheted up its marketing campaign, with an analyst visit to its new zinc operation in South Australia made against the backdrop of management’s stated intentions to grow the company through merger or acquisition.
Projects emerge for playmakers
July 2 - 8, 2007
A PROMISING early stage nickel exploration project and a significant new gold mine nearing development make for an intriguing and prospective mix for Regis Resources, the somewhat low-profile Melbourne-based junior with a blue chip board and management.
GlobeStar aims for mid-08 start-up
July 2 - 8, 2007
CANADA’S GlobeStar Mining Corporation could begin production from its Cumpie Hill nickel project in the Dominican Republic as early as mid-2008, president William Fisher has told HighGrade.
Andean adrenalin rises
July 2 - 8, 2007
MAJOR corporate action in Toronto featuring Yamana Gold, Northern Orion and, perhaps most interestingly, a seemingly less-than-impressed Meridian Gold provides an intriguing backdrop to Andean Resources and its emerging Cerro Negro project in development friendly Santa Cruz, Argentina.
Bongará nears feasibility
June 25 - July 1, 2007
US EXPLORATION company Solitario Resources Corporation is receiving a boost from one of its high-powered joint venture partners in South America, with Brazil’s Votorantim Metais putting its foot down on the accelerator at the Bongará zinc project in northern Peru.
Ludwig may prove a good fit
June 18 - 24, 2007
WON after a competitive bid process featuring two Canadian companies, PacMag Metals is hoping prospective high-grade copper ground near its large Ann Mason copper-molybdenum project in Nevada will decrease capital payback time for the notional $US1 billion development.
Sukari has bigger bottom
June 18 - 24, 2007
FURTHER evidence of the potential of Centamin Egypt’s Sukari gold project has been revealed with a stellar drill hit below the current multi-million-ounce resource.
Out of Africa
June 18 - 24, 2007
A JAPANESE-Government backed firm is on the lookout for greenfields exploration companies active on the ground in Africa. However, diamond and gold explorers need not apply.
New chief to lend guiding hand
June 18 - 24, 2007
SCORE one for the consultants. Experienced geological managers of the calibre of Paul Mazzoni are in high demand from exploration and mining companies, and the shrinking band of global consulting groups.
Oxide continues at Kinsevere
June 18 - 24, 2007
ANVIL Mining’s new flagship copper operation in the Democratic Republic of Congo could contain significantly more copper than current estimates of 1.6 million tonnes of contained copper after recent drilling picked up two new zones of oxide mineralisation.
Exploration a Rio strength: chief
June 11 - 17, 2007
RIO Tinto has dismissed as nonsense the general notion that lean, mean, focused juniors make better mineral explorers than the clichéd bloated majors, with the company’s recently appointed head of exploration Eric Finlayson saying there is absolutely no evidence to back such claims.
Rigs resume NT MVT hunt
June 11 - 17, 2007
TENNANT Creek Gold Ltd’s (TNG) quest to firm up Manbarrum’s credentials as a significant new Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) zinc province is back into gear with the restart of drilling after a long break due to the northern Australian wet season. First diamond drilling by TNG will further test the main Sandy Creek deposit, a discrete lead zone, and possibly several other promising geophysical survey targets.
Friedland makes E1 a bigger deal
June 4 - 10, 2007
WHEN Robert Friedland’s new man downunder Peter Reeve phoned Michael Anderson out of the blue back in March, life for Exco Resources suddenly got a whole lot rosier. And, by corollary, a tad more complicated for Xstrata plc.
AM5 the best yet for Jubilee?
June 4 - 10, 2007
THREE surface and two underground rigs are drilling potentially the biggest find yet made at Jubilee Mines’ bonanza nickel operations in Western Australia.
More Sabodala gold at depth
June 4 - 10, 2007
MINERAL Deposits Ltd has continued to back claims of significant “upside potential” at its Sabodala gold project in Senegal with strong drill intercepts outside of the targeted 1.01 million ounces of reserves delineated.
Red Dome back to life
May 28 - June 3, 2007
KAGARA Zinc Ltd has shown itself to be no shrinking violet after audaciously drawing some comparisons between its Red Dome prospect in Queensland and the jewel in Newcrest Mining’s crown, the world-class and highly profitable Ridgeway deposit in New South Wales.
Early signs good at Puthep
May 28 - June 3, 2007
PAN Australian Resources Ltd has recorded early zinc encouragement from drilling probing the primary potential of its Puthep copper project in Thailand as the search for the company’s next big development gets underway.
Monax learning fast
May 28 - June 3, 2007
BIG TARGET junior Monax Mining Ltd will get a good idea next month whether its Hoary iron-oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) prospect in South Australia shares more similarities to the super heavyweights in the region, Olympic Dam and Carrapateena.
Golden Promise for Castle
May 28 - June 3, 2007
CASTLE Minerals Ltd is heralding what it says is a very strong, 3km-long anomaly over prospective structures at Akoko on Ghana’s Ashanti gold belt. Akoko is part of a Ghanaian exploration portfolio that, according to the Croesus Mining-flavoured Castle, is absolutely top shelf.
You gotta have faith
May 7 - 13, 2007
WESTERN Metals Ltd is a classic example of the flood of new wave uranium stocks that have emerged, insofar as it has enjoyed nuclear-powered stock market performance on the back of barely explored prospects. HighGrade takes a closer look at the strongly WMC-flavoured company headed by slick managing director George Bauk.
More SLI opens up to PlatAust
April 23 - 29, 2007
THOSE involved in the platinum industry will be watching on with much interest as Platinum Australia Ltd and African Rainbow Minerals Ltd begin drilling ground along strike from the already significant Kalplats project in South Africa.
Tropicana resource by June
April 23 - 29, 2007
ANGLOGOLD Ashanti Ltd has described as premature estimates that emerged last week of resources and possible development costs for the Tropicana gold project in Western Australia.
Yunnan cheques on old fields
April 16 - 22, 2007
NEW exploration company YTC Resources Ltd has the full backing of the world’s major tin producer, China’s Yunnan Tin Group, for its attempt to build a sizeable production profile within 2-3 years on several old New South Wales tin fields. Yunnan has leant its name, chairman and vice chairman, and chequebook to an unlisted junior explorer for the first time, according to YTC director Richard Hill.
Avalon picks top shelf address
March 26 - April 1, 2007
TWENTY-FIVE years ago BHP spent some serious money pattern drilling the Cadjebut Fault line on Western Australia’s Lennard Shelf to come up with the high-grade Cadjebut lead-zinc deposit. David McSweeney, making a hasty return to the public company arena via newly listed Avalon Minerals Ltd, is adopting a more “sophisticated” approach to the search for the region’s next big Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) deposit.
Bolnisi's stocks rising
March 19 - 25, 2007
A TRACK mounted, deep-penetration Major 50 diamond core drill rig arrived on site last week at the emerging Palmarejo gold-silver project in Mexico, meaning all is now in place to test what looks like serious upside at the already significant development.
Maximus puts drill order in
March 1 - 7, 2007
EXPLORATION minnow Maximus Resources Ltd has identified a massive sulphide nickel and platinum group metals (PGM) drill target at its Milgoo project near Mt Magnet in Western Australia following the first-ever electro-magnetic survey of ground previously explored by the former Canadian major Falconbridge.
The right rocks
February 22 - 28, 2007
DAVID Leach, the American guru on Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) geology, is among a dedicated group trying to prove some big picture theories about the formation of large lead-zinc deposits in MVT settings. The conclusions probably won’t come soon enough to help Rox Resources Ltd’s search effort in Laos, but Rox managing director Ian Mulholland will be happy to make a major contribution to Leach’s research.
Giant Pebble
February 22 - 28, 2007
A 90% increase in the inferred resource at one of the world’s major emerging porphyry copper projects has put a little more fizz in the shareprice of Vancouver-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. Investors will note though that there is still a long way to go to development of the company’s Pebble project in south-western Alaska.
Deal search coming to a head
February 22 - 28, 2007
IF PROVEN minefinders and operators are critical components of success then the heavyweight board and management installed at Apex Minerals NL should place the junior in prime position.
Rainy eyes more blue sky
February 15 - 21, 2007
AN EMERGING gold project in north western Ontario featuring what its owner describes as one of the biggest gold systems in Canada is likely heading for the auction block sometime over the next 12 months, with a further $C7 million to be spent exploring it this year including about 40,000m of drilling.
North's star on the rise?
February 15 - 21, 2007
WHILE focusing on greenfields exploration may not be an overly fashionable strategy even at the best of times, its raison d’etre is not difficult to fathom. Any sceptics need only consider Robert Friedland’s backing of explorers targeting the remote north coast of Labrador in the 1990s, or other big successes generated by the likes of Chuck Fipke and Mark Creasy. Northern Star Resources is another firmly committed to the big picture.
New angle evokes confidence
February 1 - 7, 2007
THE Australian gold mining sector has done itself few favours over the past couple of years on the investor relations front given a handful of setbacks related to unexpected resource/reserve downgrades. In a nutshell, the expected gold hasn’t been there. An emerging Australian gold miner looks to be providing investors with a template of sorts though, not surprisingly, this is not exactly a case of reinventing the wheel.
Botswana drilling on target
February 1 - 7, 2007
DISCOVERY Metals Ltd is applying some strict geological and accounting discipline to its efforts to grow the resource at its Maun copper-silver play in Botswana ahead of a decision to proceed with a feasibility study late next month.
Zinc search goes global
January 25 - 31, 2007
LED by a well credentialed geologist with a comprehensive network of contacts in the Americas, the exploration team at Zinifex Ltd is going global to find the next generation of projects. Significantly, the Melbourne-headquartered Zinifex believes it enjoys a key advantage over many of its bigger competitors.
Islands and esteem
December 14 - 20, 2006
THE IDEA of an island treasure hunt brings out the buccaneer in most of us. Fortune-hunters who clambered aboard Pluton Resources Ltd obviously liked the sound of its quest – iron ore, copper and of course plenty of gold on three disparate islands off the shores of Terra Australis.
New Coolgardie focus
December 7 - 13, 2006
THE QUEST to put some life back into gold mining in Coolgardie by an Australian-Canadian consortium was spiced up by the disclosure of assays from two rounds of positive drilling in the past week.
A third Kambalda dome?
November 30 - December 6, 2006
SUCCESSFUL explorer and nickel miner Independence Group NL is now pondering whether large targets it holds out on Lake Lefroy, near Kambalda, could have the makings of a third mineral-rich dome in the region.
Change of plan
November 30 - December 6, 2006
THE rejuvenated Platinum Australia Ltd will confirm over the next few months whether it has a “world-class” project in the making at its Kalahari platinum joint venture (Kalplats), 330km west of Johannesburg in South Africa’s North West Province.
Ox tracking Kalimantan elephants
November 9 - 15, 2006
THE jungle wilds of central Kalimantan in Indonesia have attracted the attention of ambitious copper-zinc-gold miner Oxiana Ltd, which has earmarked a possible $US40 million or so on porphyry copper-gold prospects held by the Canadian, and soon to be Alternative Investment Market (AIM)-listed Kalimantan Gold Corp Ltd (KGC).
Experience to the fore
November 2 - 8, 2006
THERE’S not much about the high-earning VMS deposits at Rosebery in Tasmania and Golden Grove in Western Australia that the exploration team at Jabiru Metals Ltd’s emerging $A70 million Jaguar project don’t know about.
Away to a good start
November 2 - 8, 2006
THE new metal price environment and a cashed up, restructured explorer provide the ingredients for a renewed exploration effort at promising lead-zinc-silver and copper prospects in major-deposit country south of Cloncurry in Queensland.
Deeper Dominion
November 2 - 8, 2006
AN 8000m, $A2 million drilling program is expected to provide some fresh angles on Dominion Mining Ltd’s deepening treasure hunt at Challenger in South Australia – when the company can get hold of a drill rig. The search effort of late has been generating plenty of clues that Dominion’s mining campaign at the remote site won’t be ending any time soon.
New ideas for old ground
November 2 - 8, 2006
If HARRY Anagnostaras-Adams’ plan can be brought to fruition, within five years he will have started a new mining company, listed on London’s Alternative Investment Market, reached feasibility with at least two projects and brought one mine into production. Ambitious enough, but making it seem bolder are the locations chosen to underpin the plan.
Third time lucky
October 26 - November 1, 2006
THEY HAVE got long names, and they’ve a habit of being the basis for long-lasting mines. The lure of volcanic hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) deposits drew Oxiana Ltd to the Golden Grove mine in Western Australia and recent exploration results suggest there is already something big on the company’s search radar.
The go zone
October 26 - November 1, 2006
HIGH metal prices are bringing many old projects back to life, even ones with investment and political risk hurdles previously thought to be too steep. Time has proven to be a great leveller for Yandera in Papua New Guinea.
Image comes with a new style
October 19 - 25, 2006
WHILE cynics invariably roll their eyes when the oft-used “world class potential” phrase gets trotted out, a well-credentialed exploration team in Australia firmly believe they’re on the trail of a find that could “potentially turn the mineral sands industry on its head”.
Base camp Broken Hill
October 19 - 25, 2006
IF YOU wanted to take a conservative view, based on established resources, Broken Hill has about 12 more years of mining life. However, history has shown it is hard to kill old mines.
Strong signs of longer life
October 19 - 25, 2006
PROMISING drill intercepts deep below established resources at Oxiana Ltd’s booming Golden Grove zinc-copper mine in Western Australia give further credence to analogies being drawn with other long-life operational volcanic hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) operations. Good news given the operation generated net cashflow of nearly $US130 million for its Melbourne-based owner in the first six months of 2006.
Supply tap full of potential ... risks
October 19 - 25, 2006
DEMAND uncertainties aside, it is not difficult to envisage ongoing commodity supply pressures well into the next decade given both the drawn-out project development timelines and risks evident in the advanced exploration and development portfolios of heavyweights BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.
Uranium find may be the real thing
October 5 - 11, 2006
ONE of Australia’s three uranium miners is on the trail of a high-grade new discovery that may overshadow some of the established discoveries awaiting political wind changes.
Vital signs
October 5 - 11, 2006
LONG, highly technical stock exchange announcements don’t usually elicit much excitement from investors. That was shown again last week when tungsten explorer Vital Metals Ltd put out a serious-looking statement about granitic plutons, apophyses and, most intriguing of all, “albitised granite” at the Watershed project in north Queensland.
Jabiru to resume VMS hunt
August 10 - 16, 2006
JABIRU Metals Ltd plans to recommence exploration drilling at the emerging Jaguar copper-zinc project next month after a lull in which the company has advanced development of its 350,000 tonnes-per-annum underground mine.
Cadia East the next giant
August 10 - 16, 2006
AUSTRALIAN gold heavyweight Newcrest Mining Ltd is about one third of the way into an exploration decline project at Cadia East, adjacent to its operating Cadia openpit gold-copper mine in New South Wales. The 7km decline is central to an $A130 million feasibility study on development options for the world-class deposit.
Breakaway search begins
June 26 - July 2, 2006
RESHAPED Breakaway Resources Ltd will become one of Australia’s most aggressive mineral exploration companies, armed with some of the advanced targets of Canadian-based LionOre Mining International Ltd which has stepped out of exploration to focus on mining and mineral processing.
Left behind
June 12 - 18, 2006
WITH stellar gold and nickel prices life in Kalgoorlie could not be better. The housing boom is strong and the building of a new golf course in Kalgoorlie-Boulder will release up to 2000 new housing blocks. In Kambalda the past low spots that saw empty shops and housing are forgotten. But one of the region’s favourite sons is concerned.
Platinum quest continues
May 29 - June 4, 2006
AUSTRALIA should be looking for a clone of Peter Vanderspuy or to lure that lanky geologist back to Australia on a more permanent basis.
Treasure island revisited
May 15 - 21, 2006
WINTER is a tough time to explore for minerals in Tasmania. The rain is heavy and constant, particularly on the mineral-rich west coast. Tracks and cleared drilling pads become bogs. Drill-holes and drillers become waterlogged. But when the sun shines, as it does often, there can be few better places to prospect, explore, live and work.
Making the grade
May 15 - 21, 2006
THE VETERAN New South Wales mineral explorer Golden Cross Resources Ltd is on the way to proving to itself and then to financial backers that the Copper Hills copper-gold project north of Cadia will perhaps be the next large-scale mining operation in the state.