LKY receives drilling permit for historic antimony mine
These permits are a significant milestone for Locksley as it progresses the project.
Woodcock also touches on recent high-grade rock chip results and the company's exploration plans including at its nearby rare earth asset.
This video was developed in collaboration with Locksley Resources, a Stockhead client at the time of publishing.
The interviews and discussions in this video are opinions only and not financial or investment advice. Viewers should obtain independent advice based on their own circumstances before making any financial decisions.
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Perth Now
7 minutes ago
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Bull market sends mining summit back to golden age
Goldminers have long hogged the limelight at the Diggers and Dealers mining forum. The annual conference in the remote mining town of Kalgoorlie, in the Western Australian Goldfields region, is the glittering highlight of the resources industry's events calendar. Up-and-coming miners prize their shot to flaunt their wares to investors, while the majors covet the chance to snag an award at the glitzy gala dinner. In recent years, goldminers have been supplanted at the top of the roster by the battery minerals crowd, buoyed by the burgeoning demand for ores like lithium and nickel essential to the manufacturing of electric vehicles. But a record run has sent the price of bullion soaring and investors flocking back to the precious metal. Amid an upswing in mergers and acquisitions activity among goldminers, the largest has been Northern Star's $5 billion takeover of De Grey Mining. Northern Star's Super Pit dominates the Kalgoorlie landscape. The ASX giant's largest asset is a popular tourist destination, with thousands of visitors drawn to the pit's public lookout each year to watch colossal mining trucks wind their way up the serpentine access track or see scheduled blasts shake the sheer rock walls below. But the De Grey deal handed Northern Star a project that could dwarf the 130-year-old deposit, which has been plagued by productivity and cost headwinds in the past year. The newly-acquired Hemi deposit, in the iron-ore dominated Pilbara region, contains an estimated 11 million ounces of gold. That would fetch more than $55 billion at current prices. The project, which is still seeking regulatory approval, has a slightly lower grade than the Super Pit at 1.3 grams per tonne. But given the ravenous appetite for gold, even much lower grade deposits will attract interest at the Diggers conference. Forum chair Jim Walker says the mood in the industry is upbeat. "Gold's still going very, very well, lithium is coming back up again," he told AAP. "So it's going to be a very positive conference from that point of view." Lithium miners have been buoyed after a recovery in spodumene prices, after a global rout carved more than 90 per cent off the price of the mineral. Prices have climbed 50 per cent since they bottomed out in June, with the stronger-than-expected uptake of electric vehicles now driving speculation lithium production will fall short of soaring demand. But share prices for former market darlings IGO, Pilbara Minerals and Liontown Resources still languish well below the heights of two years ago. While gold presenters now outweigh lithium at the conference, battery minerals producers will still make their presence felt. Now in its 34th year, the forum is just as important to the Kalgoorlie economy as it is for micro-cap explorers looking to get their first project up. More than 3000 people will flock to the town, swelling its population more than 10 per cent. At Wednesday's gala night more than 1300 attendees will be catered for and a plane-load of staff flown in to serve them, given the limited staff and facilities in Kalgoorlie. Marquees will be erected to house 154 exhibitors, while 65 presenters will hold court over three days. It's no challenge for forum director Suzanne Christie, who has been organising the tricky logistics of the event from day one, Mr Walker said.
ABC News
7 minutes ago
- ABC News
Silence over Marinus Link deal defended, but it could cost Liberals government
The business case for Tasmania's biggest ever infrastructure project details significant power price increases for industrial businesses and warnings that the government may be exposed to "very significant" financial risk in the future. But it also says proceeding now "maximises the opportunities from the state's natural competitive advantages in renewable energy, improves energy security and increases economic growth". The state was signed up to Marinus Link on Thursday night by the Liberal government, which is governing in caretaker mode, and which promised — but failed — to release the business case beforehand. The project is a proposed multi-billion-dollar undersea cable connecting Tasmania and Victoria, designed to futureproof energy and communications needs on both sides of Bass Strait. Tasmanian Energy Minister Nick Duigan signed the deal on Thursday night and he and Premier Jeremy Rockliff announced it in Burnie as a summary of the whole-of-state business case was made public. A decade in the making with the federal and Victorian governments, and signed as crossbench MPs and the Labor opposition cried foul about secrecy, it can now be seen by the public. Mr Duigan said the silence was necessary during the negotiations to ensure the government did not "trade away Tasmania's advantage". Mr Rockliff said the deal that had been struck was "a bloody good deal for Tasmania". "We're not going to show our hand and give away Tasmania's best interests," he said. He said the state's portion of the investment was capped at $103 million, for 17.7 per cent of the project equity, which can be sold back to the federal government once the project is completed. Mr Duigan said the deal negotiated in recent weeks with the federal government included a $346 million GST-free grant to develop the north-west transmission lines that would feed power to the Marinus Link, which would deliver a "substantial benefit to customers". However, he could not detail how that would affect the average Tasmanian household energy bill. He did say the "typical household" would see an annual power price reduction of between $25 and $34, before the figures in the new deal were included. Mr Duigan could not put a number on how the new deal would affect household power bills, but he expected them to be "somewhat better" off. A 25-page executive summary was published by the Treasury department shortly before Mr Duigan and Mr Rockliff made their announcement. Mr Duigan said the full business case — which is about 400 pages long — was still being worked through by Treasury, which he said needed to redact certain information that was not Tasmania's to publish. The executive summary does detail how Marinus Link would affect electricity bills through the cost of building new transmission infrastructure, and wholesale energy costs. "Future government policy on the Tasmanian regulatory framework and customer rebates, together with decisions of the Tasmanian Economic Regulator, will be critical in determining the final electricity bill outcome for Tasmanian customers," the report reads. Although Mr Duigan has claimed lower power prices for households and small businesses, the report details "very large increases" for the state's major industrials — which include Bell Bay Aluminium, the Nyrstar zinc smelter and the Boyer paper mill. Together, the major industrials would see their prices rise about $20 million in the years beyond 2030 with construction of Marinus, compared with the past financial year. That is an increase of about 45 per cent on their combined spend of $42 million in 2024-25, and would come at a time "when there appears to be a range of pressures building on major industry nationwide". Mr Rockliff said the project would provide an extra $470 million to the state's bottom line each year, in the form of Hydro Tasmania's trade in electricity. He said this would allow for greater investment each year in the state's schools, hospitals and roads, and said it would create more than 2,000 jobs in the state. But the business case notes further costs and the possibility of significant risk if the project does not proceed as smoothly as is hoped. More than $100 million in equity contributions to the Marinus Link company after the final investment decision (FID) "may be required", which would need to be considered in this year's budget. And the governments involved are exposed to "increasing financial risks and potentially very significant additional equity calls" if environmental or planning approvals are not achieved. "The previously agreed sole underwriting of such risks by the Australian government fall away once notices-to-proceed are made to suppliers subsequent to a positive FID in the third quarter of 2025," the business case reads. It also notes that Hydro Tasmania would face "increased competition" in the renewable energy space in the future, which may affect its potential revenue opportunities. Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Michael Bailey welcomed the news the deal had been signed and said it would be "a pivotal moment" for the state. "Tasmania's energy generation isn't keeping up with demand. "Marinus Link will underpin new generation projects and help grow the economy and support businesses around the state that need more energy," Mr Bailey said. The Tasmanian end of the undersea cable will be in Burnie. The city's mayor, Teeny Brumby, said it was a "catalytic" moment. "It unlocks unprecedented economic, environmental and social benefits for our region," Councillor Brumby said. The announcement was also welcomed by Hydro Tasmania and the Marinus Link company, as well as by the state's telecommunications advocacy group, TasICT. However, the announcement also signalled the end of independent Braddon MP Craig Garland's potential support of a future Liberal government. Long outspoken against Marinus, Mr Garland said he now believed only Labor could deliver stable government for Tasmania. For his part, Labor leader Dean Winter said Tasmanians "won't have confidence" in Marinus until all relevant information is released, and said the Liberals had been "needlessly secretive". But Mr Rockliff said he would stand by Marinus, even if it cost him his job.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Red tape cut for farmers looking to build small on-farm abattoirs in Victoria
The Victorian government will change the state planning rules for micro abattoirs, allowing farmers to fast-track the construction of small processing facilities on their properties. On Thursday, the Victorian government tabled its response to the inquiry into the food security in Victoria report. The inquiry, which delivered its report in November, found demand for fresh fruit and vegetables was increasing as the state's population grew, and urban encroachment into farmland was making it difficult and expensive to grow food close to Victorian cities. The report made 33 recommendations and, in its response, the Victorian government said it would support in full or in part 29 of the recommendations, including the suggestion that it should be easier for small producers to access kill facilities for livestock. Small producers have faced limited options for processing their animals after large, often foreign-owned, abattoirs stopped taking small orders. In its response, the Victorian government said it would amend its planning provisions "to make it easier to establish micro abattoirs in appropriate rural and regional areas". This will mean that on most rural and agriculture-zoned land, small abattoirs will not require a planning permit. Those abattoirs will still be subject to health and environmental laws, with the Environmental Protection Authority and Victorian meat regulator Primesafe sign-off needed. Central Victoria farmer and spokesperson for the Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance Tammi Jonas said it had taken her several years to get the planning permits for her micro abattoir, but the change would substantially lower the red tape. She said the facilities were important for small businesses like hers that did not process large numbers of animals to supply farmers' markets, local cafes and restaurants. Chinese-owned abattoir Kilcoy Global Foods stopped taking small orders last year, forcing Ms Jonas to drive more than three hours to get her animals processed. "It's going to be a massive relief for everyone to hear that we won this because the access has been diminishing rapidly across Australia, not only in Victoria," Ms Jonas said. She said small-scale abattoirs on farms could provide better welfare outcomes for animals, with less travel and stress on livestock prior to processing. Ms Jonas said she knew of at least six similar small abattoir projects that, once the changes were made by the Victorian government, would face minimal planning processes. Ms Jones said she thought other states should follow suit. A Victorian government spokesperson said they hoped to make the planning amendments by the end of the year. "Micro abattoirs will soon be treated as part of a full range of farming activities on those located in farming, rural activity, and green wedge zones — this aligns with the way boning rooms on farms are already treated," the spokesperson said. "This will make it easier for small-scale producers to control their whole supply chain while continuing to meet Victoria's high food safety and animal welfare requirements and environmental protection and community amenity standards." Victorian Farmers Federation livestock president Scott Young said the farming body would be "closely watching how these planning reforms are implemented" and wanted to make sure food safety, animal welfare, and traceability systems were maintained. "We must ensure any new micro abattoir approvals uphold those standards, not create loopholes that could put markets or community trust at risk," he said. "Supporting local processing is a good thing — but it must be done right, with appropriate oversight and a level playing field for all producers."
