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…
Mont Royal Resources Limited has unveiled its initial exploration findings from the first phase of the lithium exploration program at the renowned Northern Lights Projects, located in the prolific Upper Eastmain Greenstone Belt in Quebec, Canada. Exploration achievements have been realised by the company across two distinct territories for both the Boheir and Léran projects. Boheir project discoveries include the identification of outcropping Spodumene-bearing pegmatitesin the South-West corner of the property, specifically in two outcrops — 30 square metres and 45 square metres, spaced 16 metres apart. These are situated in a substantial 500 metres-wide greenstone unit that stretches 15…
Resource exploration company Loyal Lithium Limited announced the company’s plans to commence an initial drilling program at its Trieste Lithium Project towards the end of September 2023. The drilling will target Dyke #01, a large, prominent weather-resistant outcrop ridge with a mapped surface expression of 4,000 square metres with an approximate length of 200 metres and an apparent maximum width up to 35 metres. Dyke #01 is the largest outcrop by surface area and topographic prominence of the five spodumene-bearing pegmatite dykes discovered during the recent field mapping and sits within a 400 metres long zone of interest. The drill…
Exploration and development company Toubani Resources has announced the appointment of Lycopodium Minerals as the engineering lead for the Definitive Feasibility Study Update (DFS Update) of the company’s Koboda Gold Project in southern Mali. Lycopodium’s primary role will be to optimise the processing flowsheet, plant design and both capital and operating estimates for the DFS Update. The company will work closely with Toubani’s team to manage the study update and together both companies aim to optimise an initial oxide phase, evaluating the potential for an increased processing rate, which could later lead to a boost in annual gold production. The…
Field mapping activities at Loyal Lithium’s Hidden Lake Lithium Project in Canada has resulted in the discovery of an additional six spodumene bearing pegmatite zones. The team stationed at the Yellowknife Lithium Belt in the Northwest Territories have collected samples for urgent assay analysis to help identify high priority targets and inclusion for the company's upcoming Canadian winter drill program. The new Hidden Lake Lithium Project update combined with the recently announced pegmatite findings at the Trieste Lithium Project has further enhanced the strength of the company’s portfolio as Loyal Lithium currently has two potentially world-class spodumene assets in North…
Galan Lithium Limited has today announced the commencement of full Phase 1 pond construction at the Hombre Muerto West (HMV) lithium brine project in Argentina — with the first fleet of earthmoving equipment mobilised and active on-site. This marks the company’s pivotal step towards achieving a production capabity of 5.4 kilo-tonnes per annum lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) by the first half of 2025. The company aims to complete the construction, lining and filling of the first 205,000 square metre pond by the first quarter of 2024 in order to initiate the evaporation path to production during the summer months. Other…
Summit Minerals Limited’s recently conducted comprehensive satellite and radar survey at the Castor Lithium Project in Canada has identified lithium-bearing minerals at over 100 potential targets for exploration activities. Following this, subsequent field investigations will be conducted through rock fragmentation and mapping at the Quebec, Canada site. Summit Minerals Limited has employed Sentinel and Radar imagery for the analysis in order to accelerate and hone exploration targeting while the company waits for fire restrictions to lift on the site. The new lithium targets showcase the presence of Sentinel and ALOS-1 footprints, historical rock geochemistry and unique geological features at the…
Summit Minerals Limited (ASX:SUM) has begun a maiden field program at the prospective Ahmed Antimony Project in Morocco. The maiden field program includes stream sediment sampling, geological mapping, and rock chip sampling. It is designed to map the primary structural control on, and determine the prospective extents of mineralisation at Ahmed, helping to refine the company’s drill targets and provide the framework within which more expansive exploration will develop. The field teams’ immediate focus is on the known mineralisation identified through the historical trenches and workings within the Project area. The company’s Moroccan partner, Ashgill Morocco, will manage the field…
