Resources Top 5: DY6 goes through the roof after identifying gallium in Malawi

News.com.au

29-04-2025

A review of drilling data has revealed the presence of high grade gallium at the Tundulu project
Andromeda Metals had a stellar rise after delivering its quarterly report for the three months ending March 31
Investors in Alkane Resources continue to support the merger arrangements with shares up another 10.26%
Your standout small cap resources stocks for Tuesday, April 29, 2025
DY6 Metals (ASX:DY6)
After revealing the presence of high-value critical mineral gallium at the Tundulu REE and phosphate project in Malawi, DY6 Metals has gone through the roof, increasing 340% to a daily high of 18.5c.
A new look at old drill data uncovered high-grade gallium from surface with some assays showing impressive grades over long stretches, including up to 74 metres at more than 93 g/t gallium with a spike at 310 g/t.
The review uncovered notable intersections:
74m at 93.26g/t gallium oxide and 1.56% total rare earth oxides from 72m including 14m at 202.79g/t Ga2O3 from 89m;
53m at 72.79g/t Ga2O3 and 1.02% TREO from surface including 12m at 145.07g/t Ga2O3 from 25m; and
30m at 94.63g/t Ga2O3 and 4.03% TREO from surface.
The gallium mineralisation is open at depth as while some of the elevated results occurred within the saprolite clays, others occurred deeper within fresh rock with no assaying done for deeper potential.
There is also plenty of room for more mineralisation to be found as just 40% of the highly prospective area around the Nathace and Tundulu hills target areas have been drill-tested.
Should the company establish the presence of significant gallium, it could add a valuable byproduct to the already heady product mix at Tundulu.
The 91.5km2 Tundulu project comprises several hills in a ring around a central vent called Nathace Hill, where the majority of historical surface sampling and drilling has been undertaken and identified heavy REE mineralisation.
Gallium intersections were noted in 27.7% of the 4901 samples from historical diamond and reverse circulation drilling carried out in 2014 that the company assayed for the critical mineral.
Data indicates there is a positive relationship between the gallium and TREO mineralisation though the trend lines suggest that further research on the relative contents of individual lithologies is required.
DY6 Metals (ASX:DY6) has commissioned Auralia Metallurgy to conduct preliminary metallurgical testwork on a select bulk sample from Tundulu to determine the deposit's suitability to produce a separate rare earth and phosphate concentrate.
Early signs point to a potentially serious play and the market will be watching closely when results land in the coming weeks.
Gallium is hot property thanks to demand in electronics and semiconductors, and most of the global supply is stitched up by China.
Prices have risen steadily in recent years due to growing demand but supply security has been eroded significantly by export restrictions placed by dominant producer China.
Andromeda Metals (ASX:ADN)
Kaolin-focused Andromeda Metals had a stellar rise after delivering its quarterly report for the three months ending March 31, trading up to 1.5c, a 50% lift on the previous close with more than 68m shares changing hands.
The quarterly demonstrated continued progress in advancing the flagship Great White Project in South Australia including considerable project funding progress for the initial Stage 1A+ development.
Importantly, ADN entered into exclusive negotiations for a debt project financing facility with Merricks Capital with a limit of up to A$75 million while due diligence is being carried out by a select number of capital providers.
The negotiations with Merricks Capital are for a debt facility to support a final investment decision for the Stage 1A+ development of 100,000wmtpa.
Both parties are in the final phases of due diligence and negotiations towards agreeing terms and conditions, and securing final approvals for the financing to support a final investment decision for Stage 1A+.
Operationally, during the March quarter the procurement of long-lead items for Stage 1A progressed, with the majority of these items now fabricated and warehoused, ready for shipment to site.
Significant operational planning and project readiness activities are underway to support efficient delivery of Stage 1A+.
On the exploration front, drilling started at the Chairlift deposit to test for potential extensions and better define the high brightness, low titanium portions of the deposit.
The development ready project has most of the pieces needed to proceed with the first stage. It has an ore reserve of 15.1Mt that is sufficient to support a 28-year mine life and a bankable feasibility study estimating it could generate a net present value and internal rate of return of $763m and 43% respectively.
Capex is estimated at $194m for a three-stage development that can supply up to 330,000 wet metric tonnes of product per annum.
'The quarter saw significant progress with our Stage 1A+ funding process, with the entry into exclusive negotiations with Merricks Capital for a debt financing facility following detailed due diligence,' Andromeda's acting CEO Sarah Clarke said.
'The Great White Project is in the enviable position of being development-ready, with all key approvals secured to commence construction.
'In anticipation of a final investment decision for the Great White Project, the company continues to make steady progress in its Stage 1A+ project funding process and operational readiness planning.'
Alkane Resources (ASX:ALK)
Investors in Alkane Resources continue to show their support for the company's merger arrangements with Mandalay Resources with shares rising another 10.26% to 86c, a new high of almost two years.
Alkane, which owns the Tomingley gold mine in New South Wales, and Mandalay Resources, which owns the Costerfield gold and antimony mine in Victoria and Björkdal gold mine in Sweden, announced the merger of equals on Monday.
This combination will create a pro-forma $1.013bn gold producer with a primary Aussie listing as gold prices bounce along at a near record price of US$3300/oz.
The combined entity will have a pro-forma production profile of 160,000ozpa gold equivalent rising to 180,000ozpa from 2026, with $188m of combined cash in the bank.
Each of the Tomingley, Björkdal and Costerfield assets all have opportunities to extend their lives and expand their production profiles via exploration and infrastructure developments.
'The transaction will take Alkane to a new level, bringing together two companies with complementary assets and a shared vision for growth,' Alkane's managing director Nic Earner said.
'Mandalay's two high-quality mines match the attributes of Tomingley: a proven history of consistent production, cash generation and exploration upside.
'The combination of assets, leadership and supportive long-term shareholders enhances our scale and financial strength, and positions us well to continue to pursue additional growth opportunities.'
'We are excited to have found a like-minded partner committed to the same principles.'
Narryer Metals (ASX:NYM)
Another small cap mover is Narryer Metals, which has increased 35.48% to a daily high of 4.2c.
On April 17 the company was buoyed by farm-in partner Petratherm completing phase 2 drilling aimed at testing for extensions of the titanium-rich Rosewood discovery and other titanium prospects at the Muckanippie heavy minerals project in South Australia.
There were 128 holes completed for 4486m to extend Rosewood where highly encouraging heavy mineral intersections were previously recorded over a continuous 15km2 area which remains open in multiple directions.
Initial mineralogy results from the east Rosewood area had indicated HM sands with >95% valuable HM content, composed primarily of high-value titanium minerals – rutile product (high-titanium leucoxene and rutile) and pseudorutile.
Petratherm's (ASX:PTR) drilling also targeted the Duke, Nardoo and Claypan prospects that host a new style of high-grade titanium-rich HM mineralisation in saprolite clay.
The company drilled 73 holes at Rosewood across a 9km east-west trend, extending multiple north-south lines to the north up to 1.6km.
PTR has advised Narryer that it has met the Stage 1 farm-in commitment, earning it a 51% interest in EL 6715 and has also advised that it intends to earn a further 19% interest in the tenement to 70% by spending a further $300,000 over the next 24 months.
Exploration drilling is expected to resume in early June to test for further extensions of the Rosewood mineralisation, particularly to the north.
Dateline Resources (ASX:DTR)
With a bankable feasibility study underway at the 1.1Moz Colosseum Gold Project in California, USA, Dateline Resources has lifted by as much as 43% to 1c.
The BFS is based on open pit mining of the north and south pipes at the Colosseum and processing at a rate of 2Mtpa to produce ~75,000oz per annum over 8.5 years.
BFS parameters align with scenario 2 (open pit only) of a scoping study released in October 2024, which demonstrated an NPV6.5 of US$235 million and IRR of 31% when using a gold price of US$2,200oz.
The scoping study applied a US$2,200 per ounce gold price and the prevailing price is above US$3,300 per ounce, which represents considerable upside.
DTR's BFS, which is expected by the end of 2025, will determine the potential to expand the overall size of the pits to increase the mine life.
Assuming a positive outcome and that finance can be secured for the development, the company hopes to progress to a Final Investment Decision and construction soon after completion of the BFS.
Colosseum is in the Walker Lane Trend in East San Bernardino County, California, and has a JORC-2012 compliant resource estimate of 27.1Mt at 1.26g/t Au for 1.1Moz.
Of the total resource, 455,000oz at 1.47/t (41%) are classified as measured, 281,000oz at 1.21g/t (26%) as indicated and 364,000oz at 1.10g/t (33%) as Inferred.