Joint venture partners Covalent Lithium, Wesfarmers and Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile (SQM) have opened of the Mt Holland lithium mine and concentrator project. The Mt Holland lithium project consists of an open-cut mine and concentrator, located 110km southeast of Southern Cross in the Wheatbelt region, and a refinery currently being constructed in the Kwinana Industrial Area. With an expected cost of $2.6 billion, the project is supporting 1,000 jobs during construction and 350 jobs during operations. Mt Holland will produce 380,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate per year, which will be refined into 50,000 tonnes of battery-quality lithium hydroxide.…
BMG Resources Limited has announced promising results from its ongoing exploration review of the Dragon project neighbouring WA1 Resources’ site in the West Arunta region of Western Australia. Multiple targets showing structural and magnetic features have been identified at the Dragon Project — features similar to those that represent mineralised carbonatites at WA1 Resources’ ground and the nearby Aileron Project of Encounter Resources. BMG’s Dragon Niobium-REE Project is immediately adjacent to and shares a 30-kilometre-long border with the West Arunta Project of WA1 Resources. BMG Non-Executive Chairman John Prineas said: “Our ongoing review of exploration data for the West Arunta…
Pantera Minerals Limited has announced a substantial expansion of its Smackover Brine Project in North America, with the acquisition of 3,553 acres, representing a 26 per cent increase in leased acreage. The company's total net leased acreage now surpasses 17,000 acres. The bulk of the new acreage comes from a key lease with a mineral owner covering 2,194 acres, placing Pantera in a unique position of strength. This expansion not only enhances the project's scalability but also consolidates Pantera's control, with 100 per cent ownership of the project now under its purview. Pantera, the sole junior company listed in the…
A West Australian-based lithium explorer looks well-positioned to capture significant upside when the alkali metal’s market moves into its anticipated recovery mode. In 2023, Global Lithium Resources Ltd (ASX:GL1) spent a great deal of its corporate time sizing up its wholly-owned outcropping Manna pegmatite project in its home state of WA, completing a large-scale 60,000 metre reverse circulation and diamond drilling campaign which covered infill and extensional targets. The junior also started metallurgical and geotechnical programs that have since carried over into 2024. Located around 100 kilometres east of Kalgoorlie-Boulder in the state’s Goldfields, Manna currently enjoys an indicated and…
Hillgrove Resources has commenced production of its first copper concentrate from the Kanmantoo mine in South Australia, following the successful completion of the processing facility; both milestones were met within the company's target timeframe of Q1 2024. The transition from explorer to producer makes Hillgrove Resources one of only a few copper producers on the ASX. Hillgrove Resources CEO and Managing Director Lachlan Wallace said: “Operations will be bedded down at Kanmantoo as we ramp up to steady stage production and our attention will turn to growing the business by converting future exploration and development opportunities.” “The project is well-positioned…
In mid-February a Perth-based dual-listed resources house took a major step towards establishing a sovereign national graphite project which entailed a ‘mine to market’ capability and integrated operations located within its home state of Western Australia. In doing so, it moved further towards its goal of becoming a significant player in the global processed graphite market. International Graphite Ltd (ASX: IG6) has just completed the successful wet commissioning of its new $1.5 million, 200 tonnes per annum graphite micronising plant in the coal mining town of Collie in WA using imported graphite concentrates. To be known as the Collie BAM…
An ASX-listed junior is looking to expeditiously dual-track its two lithium projects during the coming year, with the Perth-based Future Battery Minerals Ltd (FBM) targeting deposits in both Western Australia and the US state Nevada. In WA, the prize is its wholly-owned Kangaroo Hills, located just 17 kilometres south of the historic gold town of Coolgardie, where a high grade lithium-caesium-tantalum pegmatite discovery has so far returned an assay of 29 metres at 1.36 per cent lithium. Meanwhile, in southern Nevada, the aptly-named Nevada Lithium Project (NLP), in which the junior has an 80 per cent interest, is a large-scale…
Rafaella Resources Limited has commenced a drilling campaign for up to 4,500 metres, through its Spanish subsidiary and 100 per cent owner of the Santa Comba tungsten and tin project, Galicia Tin and Tungsten SL (GTT). The drilling campaign will initially focus on converting existing Inferred Resources located within the current pit shells to Measured and Indicated status amounting to seven holes, totalling approximately 1,500 metres. Four of the initial holes are positioned within the existing aggregate quarry and all the targeted resource upgrade will fall within Stage 1 of the mine plan, which is to be undertaken through a…
Last year, Adriatic Metals PLC acquired TSX-listed Tethyan Resource Corp to advance the former Kizevak and Sastavci polymetallic mines in the Raska District in Serbia, and over the last few months the company has been progressing with drilling programs at these sites. This morning, Adriatic reported that assay results have been returned for 16 diamond core holes at Kizevak and three holes from Sastavci. Drilling at Kizevak has confirmed the down dip continuity of a high-grade lens in the central-northwest part of the deposit, beneath the limit of historic drilling, and the company advised that mineralisation remains open. Meanwhile, confirmation…
Eagle Mountain Mining Limited has recommenced drilling at its 80 per cent owned Oracle Ridge Copper Project in Arizona, USA. The first drill hole for 2021 is WT-21-01 and was completed last week, while WT-21-02 is underway. All drilling undertaken by the company last year was aimed at expanding the existing mineral resource base. Eagle Mountain outlines that assays received from the 2020 drilling program contained significant grades of copper mineralisation. Assays for the last five drillholes are still pending. The company remains confident in achieving its previously announced Exploration Target of adding an additional 14-29 million tonnes (Mt) at…
Rio Tinto is on-track to become the first producer of high-quality scandium oxide in North America, with the construction of a new commercial-scale demonstration plant underway at its Rio Tinto Fer et Titane (RTFT) metallurgical complex in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec. RTFT expects to commence commercial supply of scandium oxide in the second quarter of 2021. With its world-class aluminium business, the company is also well positioned to produce aluminium-scandium alloys to meet customers' needs. Rio Tinto is investing US$6 million for the construction of a first module in the plant, with an initial capacity to produce three tonnes of scandium oxide…
Barrick Gold Corporation has announced preliminary full year and fourth quarter 2020 results which indicate that it has met its 2020 guidance targets. According to Barrick, preliminary gold production for the full year of 4.8 million ounces is at the midpoint of the 4.6 to 5 million ounce guidance range, while preliminary copper production of 457 million pounds is also within the guidance range of 440 to 500 million pounds. The preliminary Q4 results show sales for the quarter of 1.19 million ounces of gold and 108 million pounds of copper, as well as preliminary Q4 production of 1.21 million…
Pan Asia Metals Limited (PAM), has today provided an update on the drilling program at the Khao Soon Tungsten Project (KSTP) and has reported that a drill rig has been mobilised to the Reung Kiet Lithium Project, both located in southern Thailand. KSTP, located approximately 600 kilometres south of Bangkok, is one of PAM’s primary assets and a significant historical high-grade producer. PAM outlines that modern exploration has discovered potentially world-class district-scale tungsten mineralisation across numerous prospects. Today PAM announced that drilling of Priority One holes at the Than Pho West (TPW) Prospect have been finalised. Ten holes were drilled…
Rio Tinto has agreed to a new electricity agreement with Meridian Energy that allows New Zealand’s Aluminium Smelter (NZAS) to continue operating the Tiwai Point aluminium smelter until 31 December 2024. The extension provides certainty to employees, the local community and customers while providing more time for all stakeholders to plan for the future. NZAS is New Zealand’s sole aluminium smelter. It commenced production in 1971 and produced 353,293 tonnes of aluminium in 2019. NZAS is 79.36 per cent owned by Rio Tinto and 20.64 per cent owned by Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Company. In July 2020, Rio Tinto announced the…
