Resources Top 5: Energy Transition Minerals enters EU critical minerals supply chain
Commissioning of interim tailings filter presses at Al Washhi Majaza copper-gold project has resulted in a production boost
High-grade gold results have been returned from rock chips at the Sir Walter Scott prospect
Your standout small cap resources stocks for Thursday, August 7, 2025
Energy Transition Minerals (ASX:ETM)
Energy Transition Minerals has a near-term production opportunity for critical minerals in Europe after winning a bid for the Penouta tin-tantalum-niobium mine in Galicia, Spain.
The offer of €5.2million (A$9.2 million) was successful for the mine and processing plant, which is being acquired within the insolvency proceedings of Strategic Minerals Spain.
Penouta last operated in 2024 and is the only developed tin-tantalum-niobium project in the European Union.
This aligns Penouta and ETM with the EU's goal to increase critical mineral production and enhance supply chain security.
ETM shares reached 5.4c, an increase of 22.73% on the pre-trading halt close, before closing at 4.8c.
The successful bid will expand ETM's strategy beyond a single asset in Greenland, its Tier-1 Kvanefjeld rare earths project, into a multi-asset, EU-based operator.
ETM said this represented a deep value opportunity, with the mine and processing plant acquired for well below the €28m (A$49.8m) cost of historical investment including processing infrastructure.
ETM managing director Daniel Mamadou said securing the Penouta tin-tantalum-niobium mine was a huge opportunity for the company as it was the only recent producer of these critical metals in Europe, making it a uniquely strategic asset.
'This acquisition represents a compelling entry point into a near-term production opportunity for tin, tantalum and niobium, all of which are critical to Europe's industrial and technological ambitions,' he said.
'Importantly, Penouta also stands as the only current source of tantalum and niobium in the European Union, adding a key ethical dimension to sourcing conflict-free critical minerals.
'The upside for tantalum, particularly as an essential input for the semi-conductor industry, further enhances the strategic value of the acquisition.'
Mamadou said ETM was drawn to Penouta due to its significant established infrastructure and its deep alignment with Spain's critical minerals strategy.
Penouta has a Foreign Mineral Resource calculated in 2021 comprising an indicated and measured resource of 76.3Mt grading 149ppm tantalum pentoxide equivalent (443ppm tin and 73ppm tantalum). It also has an inferred 43-101 resource of 57Mt at 129ppm Ta2O5.
Alara Resources (ASX:AUQ)
Successful commissioning by Alara Resources of interim tailings filter presses (TFPs) at the copper-gold processing plant of Al Washhi Majaza Copper-Gold Project in Oman has resulted in a production boost.
The project is operated by Al Hadeetha Resources LLC (AHRL), in which Alara holds a 51% interest, and AUQ shares lifted 34.3% to a high of 4.3c.
Two new TFPs were sourced from China in a bid to overcome limitations with the existing press and enhance plant output.
The units are currently operating in semi-automatic mode under supervision of the original equipment manufacturer's representatives.
Prior to the new TFPs coming online AHRL had achieved some improvements in plant performance from an earlier stage when operational efficiency was only around 50%.
Over the past six months AHRL's operations team made substantial adjustments and modifications to the original TFP, increasing plant availability to about 65%.
With the interim TFPs now in operation the plant is expected to achieve at least 85-90% of its design production capacity – due to a significant reduction in unplanned stoppages and improved throughput.
As a result, projected monthly copper-gold concentrate production is expected to increase to an estimated 3000-3200 dry metric tonnes (DMT).
Alara managing director Atmavireshwar Sthapak said: 'Commissioning of the new interim filter presses is a key milestone for the Al Wash-hi plant.
'This upgrade enhances reliability and boosts capacity, strengthening our ability to achieve consistent, high-volume production. It reflects Alara's ongoing focus on operational excellence and delivering near-term value for shareholders.'
The acquisition of a permanent TFP is in progress which, once installed, is expected to enable the plant to operate at or near full design capacity.
Alara is continuing exploration at its other Omani projects, including the Block 7 exploration licence under the Daris JV, Mullaq and Al Ajal licences under the Al Hadeetha JV, Block 8 licence under the Awtad Copper-Power Metal JV and the recently awarded Block 22B exploration licence under the Al Hadeetha Mining LLC JV.
Infinity Mining (ASX:IMI)
High-grade gold results from rock chips at the Sir Walter Scott prospect in northeast NSW have given Infinity Mining another focal point at the Cangai copper project and shares were up 30% to a daily high of 1.3c.
Twelve rock chip samples collected in July 2025 have returned nine gold assays over 1 g/t with a maximum assay of 68.6 g/t.
Sir Walter Scottt, which lies ~3km south of the historical Cangai Copper Mine, was mined in the 1890s, producing 1,790oz Au from 2,203 tonnes at an average grade of ~25g/t.
The John Bull project of Novo Resources (ASX:NVO) is ~3km along strike to the NW and has recently reported anomalous rock chip samples and drill hole intercepts containing gold.
Infinity's technical team will return to Sir Walter Scott to undertake more detailed geological/structural mapping and surface geochemical sampling in the coming months to better understand its exploration potential.
Marquee Resources (ASX:MQR)
Australia's largest undeveloped antimony deposit covering the Mount Clement and Eastern Hills projects in WA is set to grow with Marquee Resources returning strong antimony results from first phase drilling at Mount Clement.
There were 1,346 metres drilled across seven RC holes and antimony was intersected in every hole.
Best results were:
8m at 1.05% Sb and 2.85% lead from 137m, including 4m at 1.35% Sb and 3.55% Pb from 137m;
8m at 1.02% Sb from 81m, including 4m at 1.48% from 81m;
2m at 1.96% Sb from 144m; and
3m at 1.27% Sb from 24m, including 1m at 2.31% from 25m.
Mt Clement is contiguous on the eastern flank of the Eastern Hills antimony resource owned by Black Cat Syndicate (ASX:BC8).
Black Cat states that its portion of this deposit is Australia's largest undeveloped antimony project and the fourth largest antimony JORC resource in Australia comprising 794,000t at 1.7% Sb.
Marquee's maiden resource is expected to be reported before the end of August 2025 and phase 2 drilling will begin later this quarter.
TG Metals (ASX:TG6)
The foundations of Gold City prospect within TG Metals Van Uden gold project in WA have been strengthened with a series of new drill targets.
Soil assays from recent sampling have been combined with historical drill results to expand the area of interest around historical workings and generate new targets.
Historical drilling returned results such as 14m at 2.26g/t gold from a depth of 20m and 13m at 1.09g/t from 40m.
Chief executive officer David Selfe said that while Gold City was known to have gold mineralisation associated with historical workings, the new soil results demonstrated a significantly increased mineralised trend.
'The new soil results are analogous to those already seen over the mineralisation defined by historical drilling, which is clearly a positive sign,' he added.
'This potentially opens up the Gold City prospect as a significant second gold centre for the Van Uden gold project and a future expansion of our substantial resources base as we progress towards first production.'
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