Waiting and watching Hillside
March 9 - 15, 2010
REX Minerals boss Steven Olsen says it’s probably premature to think of the company as a target for merger and acquisitions, although he expects interest in the company’s South Australian assets to increase considerably once a resource is released to the market later this year.
Pure nickel search focus now rare
March 9 - 15, 2010
WHO’D have thought just a few short years after the nickel price went into the stratosphere that there’d be a dearth of pure nickel explorers in Australia? But that rather curious situation suits the focused and well credentialed team at Breakaway Resources nicely as they systematically drill test targets in one of the world’s premier nickel locations.
Race is on for next Bryah bonanza
March 2 - 8, 2010
IN THE wake of Sandfire Resources jagging its superb DeGrussa discovery, a swag of companies and clever geologists are busily trying to unlock the code to copper-gold deposits in Western Australia’s expansive Bryah Basin. And while it’s early days, consolidation beckons.
More drilling to start on the Yorke Peninsula
March 2 - 8, 2010
EXCITEMENT about South Australia’s ‘frontier’ exploration potential continues to mount, not least in the Southern Uranium camp where managing director John Anderson is itching to drill-test his theories about IOCGU targets at the company’s Ridgeback property on the Yorke Peninsula.
Plenty still to do, says Simich
February 23 - March 1, 2010
SANDFIRE Resources has unveiled the much anticipated maiden resource for its DeGrussa project in Western Australia. So did it live up to expectations? Sandfire boss Karl Simich says yes.
Nickel deeds done dirt cheap
February 23 - March 1, 2010
MOST of its peers may have better headline assets but Mincor Resources is seen as an impressive miner and explorer offering “dirt cheap nickel leverage”.
Magma's hit in the right rocks
February 16 - 22, 2010
MORE drill results of the ilk reported this week by Magma Metals from its Thunder Bay North project in Ontario would undoubtedly create huge interest in the emerging Australian and Canadian-listed platinum player.
Archer ready to take a shot at manganese
February 16 - 22, 2010
SOMEONE has do the exploration work to find the promising new projects, and Archer Exploration is doing the early stage slog in South Australia on what it hopes will be promising manganese and uranium tenements.
Independence to up Karlawinda spend
February 16 - 22, 2010
INDEPENDENCE has got board approval to undertake additional exploration at its Karlawinda gold project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with “back-of-envelope type scenarios” on a potential operation giving the company the encouragement to increase its work programs.
Exploration technique takes root
February 9 - 15, 2010
MINOTAUR Exploration is looking forward to drill testing targets in the Gawler Craton generated by deep-rooted plant geochemistry, a technique that it’s hoping could prove a big breakthrough for exploration of the sand-covered province. It’s also one of a number of exploration programs being finalised by one of Australia’s better credentialed explorers.
Clancy keeps the faith with Gold Fields
February 2 - 8, 2010
DESPITE a substantial joint venture with Gold Fields and a strong exploration portfolio in the highly prospective Lachlan fold belt, Clancy Exploration is still flying under the market’s radar.
Tapping Tennant Creek’s treasures
January 19 - 25, 2010
WHILE other gold explorers try to move into production by reviving marginal old mines, Emmerson Resources is taking a more studied approach at its Tennant Creek project in the belief that finding new, million ounce plus deposits is only a matter of time and hard work.
Unfinished business
January 19 - 25, 2010
NEW mineral discoveries in Western Australia are going to play second fiddle to Sandfire’s Doolgunna for a while – perhaps for a very long time. Falcon Minerals, though, is confident the Collurabbie polymetallic project 160km east of the big Mt Keith nickel mine can recapture some of the spotlight.
Magnus test fires Alchemy
December 21 - 27, 2009
DECEMBER 14: ALCHEMY Resources looks to have rapidly morphed into one of the more promising juniors on the Australian Stock Exchange, with established gold resources near a mill and an exploration project in a region that’s spawned one of the more exciting copper discoveries globally in years.
Did you get that?
December 21 - 27, 2009
DECEMBER 14: SETTING the market straight when positive exploration results are perceived negatively would be a frustrating part of the job for the management of exploration companies. Just ask Sipa Resources managing director Mike Doepel.
Fossey presents as new Bass lode
December 7 - 13, 2009
BASS Metals has, in quick time, built an enviable track record of production in Tasmania, in the process providing a good example of just how juniors should operate in the resource sector. As always though, it’s significant exploration discoveries that really attract the attention of the market, and on that score it is noteworthy that Bass is now drilling new targets generated by new exploration technology.
Mongolia beckons explorers
November 23 - 29, 2009
ARE you a junior looking for exploration opportunities? If so you could probably do a whole lot worse than book a ticket to Ulaan Bataar based on the general observations of an experienced geological consultant who has recently been on assignment in Mongolia.
Cook looks to get to the bottom of alluvial field
November 9 - 15, 2009
TIRED of the trials and tribulations of tin, mining executive Peter Cook has stepped back into the country and commodity that yielded his greatest success of recent years, namely Papua New Guinea and gold.
Krucible fires up desert drilling
November 2 - 8, 2009
KRUCIBLE Metals seems to be aiming to be one of those rather rare, investor-attractive juniors keen on not becoming addicted to equity capital. Instead the Brisbane-based company aims to generate a cashflow stream of its own while carrying out big picture exploration in frontier country.
Silver Swan sets sights high
October 26 - November 1, 2009
A VALUABLE cluster of deposits near Meekatharra in Western Australia are now in the sights of Silver Swan Group, with drilling set to test regional targets at the Quinns project containing the Austin discovery.
Rex marks the spot
October 26 - November 1, 2009
SOME sixty visitors to an exploration site earlier this month and subsequent offers of $A42 million in new equity show the interest in Rex Minerals’ Hillside copper-gold discovery in the coastal wheatbelt country of South Australia, with 2010 shaping as a defining year for the project.
Mt Isa drills deep at Gregory
October 26 - November 1, 2009
ON THE basis the next generation of mines in Australia will come from deep under cover, the Nathan Tinkler-backed Mt Isa Metals has tied up a large swathe of featureless ground it’s now drilling 240km north of Mount Isa in north-west Queensland.
Old ground, new numbers
October 19 - 25, 2009
LICENSED to drill after its recent $A18 million equity raising, Silver Lake Resources is waiting on results from a new diamond drilling program at Lena, the former Perilya gold find south of Tuckabianna, that could start to “change our whole world”, according to SLR director of exploration and geology Chris Banasik.
Exco getting busy again on the ground
October 19 - 25, 2009
EXPLORERS reporting good drill results always enjoy the market fun – especially when the bulls are running – while would-be project developers tend to get scant attention as they diligently go about changing a deposit into a mine. The latter’s been most definitely the case for Exco Resources, though with the additional funds from a $A10 million raising this week, exploration to get some fizz into the stock is now on the cards.
Aphrodite next for renowned team
October 19 - 25, 2009
WHEN the team that found Prominent Hill are out in the field exploring, it would seem an eminently sensible idea to keep an eye on what they’re doing and where they are active.
Cambodia could be prominent for OZ
October 12 - 18, 2009
AFTER a tumultuous year or so, not much about OZ Minerals seems to elicit excitement these days (the company has $A1 billion in the bank and a shiny new mid-sized copper mine!). However, its Cambodian gold exploration interests continue to produce a flutter or two.
Westgold support runs deep
October 5 - 11, 2009
WESTGOLD Resources’ exploration for high grade gold west of Tennant Creek received huge endorsement this week from investors who have agreed to back the company to the tune of $A22 million in an aggressively priced placement.
CuDeco has a lot to live up to
September 28 - October 4, 2009
WAYNE McCrae’s CuDeco had better announce an absolute standout copper resource when it finally gets around to formally telling the market what it believes it has on its hands at its Rocklands project near Cloncurry in Queensland or there could be some severe market disappointment.
Blackthorn by BHPB's side
September 28 - October 4, 2009
DISCRETION being the better part of valour means Blackthorn Resources’ managing director Scott Lowe is very cautious about saying too much regarding the Mumbwa joint venture with BHP Billiton in Zambia. But it is, to be sure, very much big picture exploration.
Testwork delivers Tectonic shift
September 14 - 20, 2009
STEVE Norregaard, the no-nonsense mining engineer and managing director of Tectonic Resources, isn’t giving away much in terms of details. He is, after all, a strong believer in the school of not overpromising and under-delivering. But his claim that recent test work is “10 times more significant” than the discovery drill hole that led to the identification of a major precious and base metal inventory, says a lot, even if your average geologist might not entirely agree.
Beckwith not fussed about depth of bonanza zone
September 14 - 20, 2009
SEPTEMBER 11: WHEN Andy Beckwith, the managing director of Westgold Resources, attended a mining conference dinner in Darwin last night, you can bet he would have been in a particularly good frame of mind. For only hours earlier Westgold reported hitting a bonanza gold zone in a region with a pedigree not only for yielding mines, but also for those rare and almost mythical beasts known as company makers.
Austin just the start for Silver Swan
August 17 - 23, 2009
WHILE much market attention on VMS discoveries has morphed to the north thanks to the exciting Sandfire Resources discovery, Silver Swan Group has recently raised more than $A8 million and has about 10,000m of drilling planned over the next two quarters on its own promising VMS ground south of Meekatharra in Western Australia.
Goldminex keen to see drills working
August 10 - 16, 2009
THERE may be some sensationally mineralised rocks and prospects on the ground that Goldminex holds in the rugged Owen Stanley Ranges of Papua New Guinea, but all the market wants to know, as always, is what are the drill results showing?
Sipa targets re-opened NT ground
August 10 - 16, 2009
THE technically-strong exploration firm Sipa Resources expects results in the first half of August from drilling expected to begin this week targeting ground in the Tennant Creek area of the Northern Territory that’s been off-limits for more than 30 years.
Holy Trinity
August 10 - 16, 2009
ROB Bills, CEO of promising Northern Territory gold and copper explorer Emmerson Resources, didn’t get a call-up to the speaker’s rostrum at this year’s Diggers but still managed to share some of the spotlight that was supposed to shine brightly on Ivanhoe Mines enigma Robert Friedland.
AngloGold Ashanti takes up exploration challenge
August 10 - 16, 2009
THE leading gold discoverer among the majors, according to a Minerals Economics Group review of the sector, is spending more than 20% of its 2009 global greenfields exploration budget in Australia but sees further finds of the stature of Tropicana only coming through the application of new ideas and thinking.
Cambodia rocks for rejuvenated OZ
July 20 - 26, 2009
CAMBODIA could be about to get some prominence in the exploration world with OZ Minerals showing its keenness to get to back to work after surviving its near-death corporate experience by carrying out drilling in the wet season as part of a more than $A4 million exploration commitment. Juniors such as Southern Gold will be especially interested onlookers.
Worth a shot, or three
July 20 - 26, 2009
THERE has been no change in strategy for Brisbane-based Metallica Minerals, but when opportunities arise to be involved in a potential IOCG find of the calibre that recently crossed managing director Andrew Gillies’ desk, he’s not going to bury his head in the nickel-cobalt, bauxite or coal.
IMX starts big Mt Wood program
July 20 - 26, 2009
SOUTH Australian magnetite hopeful IMX Resources has started drilling IOCG and/or Tennant Creek style copper-gold targets south-east of Coober Pedy in the prospective Mt Wood Inlier.
Common ground
July 13 - 19, 2009
WHILE a patronising laugh and a roll of the eyes are common reactions to the mention of “nearology”, Enterprise Metals managing director Dermot Ryan can make a strong case for his company’s Revere just down the road from Sandfire’s exciting Doolgunna/DeGrussa copper-gold find in Western Australia.
Magma reveals quieter side
July 13 - 19, 2009
JUST because the biggest platinum miner in the world (Anglo American) has liked your Canadian greenfields discovery so much that it’s become a shareholder, doesn’t mean you’re not open to other opportunities. Magma Metals’ Keith Watkins explains the rationale for picking up a low-profile gold project on the eastern edge of Western Australia’s Great Southern Wheatbelt.
Sentinel worth watching
July 6 - 12, 2009
COPPER drilling, a uranium-germanium- molybdenum resource calculation and new gold and copper projects with blue sky backdrops frame the PacMag Metals story in the United States and Australia over the next few months.
Venture mounts strong case
July 6 - 12, 2009
EXPLORATION is not dead thanks to the welter of juniors raising money amid optimism about stronger near-term prospects for commodity prices, and possibly more exuberant enunciation of exploration strategies than in past investment troughs. Hamish Halliday-led Venture Minerals is a case in point.
EM a key DeGrussa indicator
June 22 - 28, 2009
DATA from an airborne EM survey set to begin this week plus ongoing diamond drilling beginning next month at Sandfire Resources’ DeGrussa prospect in Western Australia will be eagerly awaited following early drill results that have generated plenty of market and industry interest.
YTC likes the look of Hera
June 22 - 28, 2009
CBH Resources will pass on a quality asset with the sale of the Hera polymetallic project to YTC Resources if past actions and statements are any guide. For its part, YTC sees Hera as a potential company defining venture that will put it in a strong position to pursue further opportunities in its ‘home state’.
Platinum at Speewah Dome? Maybe ...
June 22 - 28, 2009
EFFORTS to find a platinum mine in Australia have fruitlessly consumed many and at this stage NiPlats’ Speewah Dome project in the Kimberley region of Western Australia doesn’t look like it’s set to break the drought.
Yukon project stacks up nicely
June 22 - 28, 2009
JUNE 15: HUGH Bresser believes the Yukon base metal project in Canada owned by the company he leads, Overland Resources, "is one of the most exciting new discoveries in recent years".
The land the majors forgot
June 15 - 21, 2009
SILVER Lake Resources’ “perception-versus-reality” presentation for Daisy Milano has an unfortunate corollary when the company’s target for a second production hub is considered. For perceptions of gold’s future in Western Australia’s Murchison district are hardly improving, despite the robust price of the yellow metal.
Alchemy tries new exploration formula
June 15 - 21, 2009
GOLD exploration companies talk a lot about the need for innovation and fresh approaches to finding new generation deposits, but very few back that with comprehensive outlines of the work they’re doing. To be fair, they seldom have to. That has changed for the companies looking for some of the Western Australian Government’s exploration incentive money.
Romanian risk turns a corner
May 25 - 31, 2009
THE NAME Gabriel Resources has become synonymous with Romania’s temperamental stance on mining but a change in government and the progress of fellow Romanian explorer European Goldfields could have investors revisiting the gold-silver story. These developments have also buoyed Carpathian Gold, which is just setting out in pursuit of the vast and growing riches within its Rovina gold-copper project.
Time for a closer look
May 25 - 31, 2009
AUSTRALIA’S exploration science chief Dr Neil Williams says new data due out soon may not paint a very attractive picture of the country’s exploration landscape. On another level though, the view had never looked more promising.
Countdown to discovery – hitting paydirt at Prominent Hill
May 18 - 24, 2009
PROMINENT Hill was the best greenfields discovery made in Australia for many years, and with the mine being officially opened this weekend, this is the inside account of how the exciting story unfolded back in late 2001.
Extract upbeat on new resource
May 18 - 24, 2009
AFTER pleasantly surprising all and sundry first time round, Extract Resources is hopeful of again over-delivering on expectations, this time from the Zone 2 uranium prospect at Rossing South in Namibia.
DeGrussa ignites Sandfire
May 18 - 24, 2009
WHILE it is early days, directors of Sandfire Resources are convinced they have new mine on their hands at the Degrussa prospect in the Meekatharra region of Western Australia. The big question, according to executive director Karl Simich, is the size.
Altan Rio ready to punt
May 11 - 17, 2009
JOHN Jones-chaired ALTAN Rio has its next tranche of investor funds and is ready for a tilt at a golden Nevada jackpot.
Posturing no cause for panic, says Citi
May 4 - 10, 2009
POTASH explorers concerned by news this week that large new deposits have been found in Brazil don't need to worry too much, with Citi downplaying the wire report and the potential market impact.
Clancy on target
April 27 - May 3, 2009
BARRICK, Rio Tinto and Newcrest Mining are already there in major capacities and with Gold Fields now setting up an office in the New South Wales regional city of Orange after taking over management of joint ventures with Clancy Exploration, the Lachlan Fold Belt has attracted another major keen on its prospectivity.
Fresh take highlights Kingsgate exploration
April 20 - 26, 2009
THAI politics aside, Kingsgate Consolidated looks increasingly well positioned to outperform its gold peers and the broader market, with clear upside in prospect from the company’s exploration portfolio.
Talking the Linggo
April 13 - 19, 2009
RAISING $A20 million at a decent price on the back of what superficially looks a relatively modest gold mining proposal in Indonesia would seem a top effort in the best of times, let alone in the recent market. But so promising are its prospects that Kingsrose Mining claims it could have raised a lot more if it so chose.
Wait and wither on the vine: Bills
April 13 - 19, 2009
THE message to junior company boards to get much more serious about exploration in Australia was one former BHP and WMC executive Rob Bills already had pinned on his office wall. Now the managing director of Tennant Creek-focused Emmerson Resources has struck what he sees as a winning deal with Ivanhoe Australia to further up the exploration ante at the historic gold and copper field.
Young Jones promises a wild ride
April 6 - 12, 2009
INTRODUCED as the son of a near legendary mine-finder from the Wild West, Evan Jones sounded more like a certain American mining entrepreneur than he did the former chairman of Troy Resources. Certainly, the Kalgoorlie-born, Vancouver-based Jones shares Ivanhoe Mines supremo Robert Friedland’s conviction about staking ground in elephant country before starting a hunt for big grey mammals.
Get serious, or get on your bike
April 6 - 12, 2009
CHRIS Cairns has been telling the Integra Mining story a lot lately so he switched hats for a large part of his presentation at last week’s Paydirt Gold Conference in Perth, becoming scornful industry spokesman. The focus of his ire wasn’t politicians or NGOs and he left Australian investors alone this time.
Dominion refocuses on challenge
April 6 - 12, 2009
THE THINKING that finding another Challenger in the vicinity of the high-grade Gawler Craton gold mine is a lost cause seems to have been abandoned by Dominion Mining, which has doubled its near-mine exploration budget this year and allocated a further $A5 million for regional exploration.
Ivanhoe's magic numbers
April 6 - 12, 2009
MARCH 30: THOSE who shook their head in scepticism at Ivanhoe Australia’s $A125 million IPO last year might now repent and become believers. Resources maestro Robert Friedland, via his Ivanhoe Australia CEO Peter Reeve, looks to have again weaved his magic, with the Merlin discovery in the Cloncurry backblocks of north-west Queensland potentially being a bonanza find and being favourably compared to the outstanding Cosmos and Flying Fox deposits of Jubilee Mines and Western Areas, respectively.
Magma in the rocks that count
April 6 - 12, 2009
MARCH 30: LURKING to the south of Magma Metals’ Thunder Bay North project in the Great Lakes region of North America are two Rio Tinto projects providing massive encouragement for the exploration team at the Anglo American-backed junior.
A fox, a quoll ... the hunt continues
March 23 - 29, 2009
HOW close is Western Areas to finding the next Spotted Quoll, or Flying Fox?
Spitfire looks to land a WW II
March 8 - 14, 2009
WITH apologies to Bill Hayden, a drover’s dog could have floated a resources company during the height of the boom … and no doubt there’d be some uncharitable resource company shareholders these days who would be of the opinion that they’d have been better off with the dog.
Gold diggers, not explorers
February 23 - March 1, 2009
PREDICTIONS of a further fall in global mine gold production this year, partly a result of sub-par discovery rates over the past decade, are not spurring a bigger exploration push by the sector majors.
Kaolin may be neat side dish
February 9 - 15, 2009
MINOTAUR Exploration has typically been a meat-and-two-vegies-style of exploration company, albeit the meat being of prime cut as reflected in the quality of the Prominent Hill copper-gold discovery in South Australia. However, a move into a kaolin project that Normandy once did a lot of work on shows it’s quite happy to broaden its horizon where appropriate.
Drilling won't be confined to Hillside
February 9 - 15, 2009
NEVER ruin a good exploration story with intensive drilling would be the totally cynical way to assess Rex Minerals’ stated strategy in the face of its outstanding early success at the Hillside copper-gold-uranium prospect in South Australia. Except the ex-Western Mining team at Rex is basing its strategy on a template established more than 40 years ago in the Kambalda region of Western Australia.
Three-for-one deal in the offing
January 26 - February 1, 2009
CHINESE investors have shown strong interest in Australian tin, tungsten and iron ore, so it is no surprise Mount Lindsay owner Venture Minerals has them at the top of its list of potential joint venture partners for the multi-metal project.
Golden opportunity
January 19 - 25, 2009
SHAREHOLDERS of Kingsrose Mining will this week vote on a deal to acquire a gold project in Indonesia majority owned by members of the company’s board. While such deals invariably pose questions, Kingsrose’s managing director David Hatch is so confident of the project that he believes that even in the current economic environment, debt financing is a viable proposition.
Show me the money
January 19 - 25, 2009
FUNDING crisis or no funding crisis, Toronto-listed Kinbauri Gold Corporation is determined to continue its “aggressive” advancement of the El Valle/Carles gold-copper operation re-start and is putting together an arcane shopping list of potential suitors that may be keen to share the costs, the risks, the resources, and the potential profits of the Spanish project.
Looking for a fast track forward
December 15 - 21, 2008
THE cheeky cover image of Westgold Resources’ annual general meeting presentation to shareholders late last month couldn’t be clearer in illustrating the expectations the company has for its Rover project in the Northern Territory. The image? Gold bars!
Green light for uranium
December 15 - 21, 2008
FLEXIBLE rules on what constitutes a major mineral discovery, and when it was actually made, often leave more than one person claiming the glory. Greenland Minerals and Energy believes changing circumstances make its claim to have unveiled a world-class multi-element resource in “one of the last frontiers for mineral deposit discovery in a politically stable, mining friendly jurisdiction” a valid one.
Drilling the key to real security
November 24 - 30, 2008
THE Australian gold industry has been littered with corporate collapses in recent years, with failure to accurately delineate deposits often being the catalyst for the disasters. New gold miner Apex Minerals is diligently doing everything in its power to ensure the gold is there when the miners get to work underground at its Wiluna project in Western Australia.
Mixed up, shook up world
November 24 - 30, 2008
MINERAL exploration expenditure in New South Wales galloped to $A189.9 million in 2007-08, according to the state’s mineral resources minister Ian Macdonald. However, the total could fall dramatically in the next two years, the Australia Mining Congress 2008 in Sydney heard.
Magic numbers
November 17 - 23, 2008
DIRECTORS at United Minerals Corp (UMC) argue that high quality iron ore is in short supply and that as such the Railway deposit in the Pilbara iron ore heartland of Western Australia will be coveted by one of the majors. However, the disparity between the company’s stunning numbers and UMC’s decimated capitalisation is truly something to behold.
Meridian pursues cash flow project
November 10 - 16, 2008
MERIDIAN Minerals, formerly Bellevue Resources (BVE), expects to gain support from its key shareholders for an acquisition that will hopefully give it an income to pursue an aggressive search for copper and gold in New South Wales and South Australia.
Swedish ‘twins’ exploring all options
November 10 - 16, 2008
BY HIS own admission, Brett Fraser has chosen an interesting time to try to raise the profile of Sweden-focused exploration vehicles, Drake Resources and Aura Energy.
Driller to share in WDR results
November 3 - 9, 2008
ADELAIDE-based explorer Western Desert Resources (WDR) has put together an innovative and somewhat curious deal that sees it exchanging scrip for drilling by contractor Titeline.
Avanco looks for vital funding bridge
October 13 - 19, 2008
WHILE it looks to have been caught unfortunately short with its market timing, Avanco Resources’ remains confident about the prospects for its Rio Verde Carajas copper project in Brazil. And with recent hits such as 38m grading 7.5% copper from surface including 14m at 19% copper, that’s hardly surprising.
Emmerson explores JV possibilities
October 6 - 12, 2008
‘SURVIVAL of the fittest’ is a cliché that’s rapidly gaining currency in the junior resources sector. Emmerson Resources CEO Rob Bills prefers “fortune favours the brave”, and he claims to have won new friends on an eastern states roadshow this week.
Show him the money
October 6 - 12, 2008
TALK about emerging from a time machine at the wrong time and place. Rox Resources managing director Ian Mulholland could be the next Dr Who.
Large VMS? Vearncombe mustn't say
October 6 - 12, 2008
TIMING could be better but discoveries wait for no market. And while stockmarkets ebb and flow – though usually not quite to this degree! – the mineralisation that can make a VMS mine is the most important factor for a company such as Australian-listed Silver Swan Group.
The search for exploration value
September 29 - October 5, 2008
FOR the optimists in a world currently full of swirling black clouds, Magma Metals’ Thunder Bay platinum project was rated by a number of experts last week as one of the more prospective blue sky exploration plays currently on offer in the resources sector.
Scotland search restarts
September 22 - 28, 2008
DELAYS with Scotgold’s most recent purchase, a diamond drill rig manufactured in Chile, have set back the Aussie junior’s resource expansion plans by two months. But armed with a positive resource assessment and with the drill rig finally on the ground, the company is wasting no time charting its path forward.
Results good reading, but Mithril chief in another world
September 8 - 14, 2008
MITHRIL Resources has one of the more azure of blue sky portfolios with huge exploration tracts being targeted in the middle of Australia. The company also seems to have one of those managing directors best suited to the private world of major companies from where he came, though shareholders won’t be too worried about any of that if one of Mithril’s greenfield exploration plays comes up trumps.
Jackal prompts Kimberley nickel rethink
August 25 - 31, 2008
THUNDELARRA Exploration's hunt for nickel in the rugged East Kimberley region of Western Australia continues to turn up promising results with the latest success from the Mable Hill project potentially leading the company to a complete re-assessment of the area.
Something about Myrtle
August 25 - 31, 2008
ROX Resources may be out, literally, on a wing and prayer exploring for deep-seated zinc and lead south of McArthur River in the Northern Territory at a time when the zinc and equity markets are completely indifferent to its activities, but the company should be given full marks for endeavour.
Ban Houayxai looks ok for PanAust
August 18 - 24, 2008
PANAUST has hit the one million gold ounce milestone at Ban Houayxai in Laos, and while the grade won’t set the world alight, indications are that the potential project does have some important factors in its favour.
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.
Newmont considers faster McPhillamys pace
August 4 - 10, 2008
NEWMONT Asia Pacific vice president Brian Hill has given an indication he thinks the company should step up exploration work at the promising McPhillamys gold prospect, near Blayney in New South Wales, where the gold major currently has until August 2010 to earn 51% from Alkane Resources.
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.
