Latest news with #EasternGoldfields
West Australian
15-05-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
Close call for Rookies 1 in second round of Eastern Goldfields netball division one competition
Close call for Rookies 1 in second round of Eastern Goldfields netball division one competition
News.com.au
14-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Five explorers leveraged to drilling success as microcaps offer big upside
As gold prices rise, exploration success is driving microcaps to massive gains At the small end of the market a rerate can be just one hole away These five juniors have drilling programs on the go All it takes is one drill hole to drastically change the fortunes of even the tiniest explorer. Just over six months ago, New South Wales explorer Koonenberry Gold (ASX:KNB) had a market capitalisation of well below $5 million. A series of wide gold hits at the Enmore gold project's Sunnyside prospect has transformed the former microcap into one of the best performing stocks this year. The first and second holes at Sunnyside returned 170m at 1.75 grams per tonne gold from 77m, including 18m at 9.95g/t gold and 172.9m at 2.07g/t gold respectively. The hits have kept on coming for Koonenberry, which now has a market cap of more than $75 million, with the company reporting on Tuesday that visible gold had been encountered in seven of the first nine holes. Results from the fourth and fifth holes are expected later this month, with the sixth expected next month. OzAurum Resources (ASX:OZM) started the year with a market cap of less than $5 million, but at the start of February, its shares surged more than five-fold off the back of a high-grade gold discovery at the Mulgabbie North project in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields. Initial results included 20m at 3.57g/t gold from surface, including 10.21g/t gold, and 10m at 6.59g/t gold from 12m, including 4m at 14.17g/t gold. The company has continued to build on the results since then and while its share price has eased from February highs, it's still up more than 150% year-to-date. We've identified a few more microcap explorers which are actively drilling right now. Asra Minerals (ASX:ASR) On Monday, Asra kicked off a 1300m drilling program at its Leonora South gold project in WA, close to tenements owned by growing mid-tier producer Genesis Minerals. The program, comprising 1000m of RC and 300m of diamond tail drilling, will target down-dip extensions of the high-grade Orion and Sapphire deposits. The company will follow up high-grade results from October last year, including 1m at 47.95g/t gold from 115.2m and 1m at 23.12g/t gold from 148.7m at Sapphire, and 0.8m at 23.97g/t gold from 161.2m at Orion. Asra, which has a market cap of just $6.7 million, expects the first assays in the next 6-8 weeks. Codrus Minerals (ASX:CDR) The $6.6 million capped Codrus will fire up the rig any day now after being granted a long-awaited drilling permit for its Bull Run gold project in Oregon. The project, briefly a producer in the 1930s, has only ever had three shallow holes drilled into it, but has returned rock chip results of up to 1040g/t gold. 'There (are) some pretty outrageous grades there, so it's really low-hanging fruit just crying out to be drilled,' Codrus executive chairman Greg Bandy told Stockhead earlier this week. Induced polarisation surveying has identified multiple anomalies, while more recent rock chipping returned grades of up to 60g/t gold, 1.5% copper and 2.5% molybdenum. Codrus is permitted for up to 14,000m of drilling, which is expected to cover multiple programs. Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R) Miramar is in the process of an 11,000m aircore program at its Gidji gold project, just 15km north of Kalgoorlie, which represents the first drilling there for three years. The company has described the 80%-owned project as 'the cheapest house in the best street', sitting right next door to Northern Star Resources' (ASX:NST) 313,000oz 8 Mile Dam deposit. Early results include a best hit of 1m at 4.45g/t gold, with drilling to date increasing the footprint of the high-priority Blackfriars target. The company says it shares several similarities to the multi-million-ounce Paddington gold deposit along strike to the north. Results are expected to flow through between now and July. With a market cap of just $3 million, Miramar is highly leveraged to success at Gidji. GreenTech Metals (ASX:GRE) The stage two diamond drilling program at GreenTech's Whundo copper-zinc project in the West Pilbara is progressing. The first two holes of the program returned a best result of 7.14m at 1.46% copper, 1.23% zinc and 0.08g/t gold from 277.16m, including 6.3m at 1.84% copper, 1.4% zinc and 0.08g/t gold from 278m. Whundo has an existing resource of 6.2 million tonnes at 1.12% copper and 1.04% zinc. The project sits on a granted mining lease and GreenTech has flagged the potential to process ore through Anax Metals' nearby Whim Creek plant or Artemis Resources' Radio Hill plant. GreenTech has success in its DNA via the recent appointment of Julian Hanna as MD, the exploration expert responsible for the early progress of Western Areas and MOD Resources. Antares Metals (ASX:AM5) Last week, Mark Connelly-chaired Antares launched its Phase 2 RC drilling at the Surprise copper project in the Mt Isa region of Queensland. The 1500m program will focus on untested targets identified by geophysics and beneath outcropping high-grade copper mineralised zones and is aiming to enlarge the known mineralised envelope of the project. The first phase of drilling, completed earlier this year, returned 11m at 1.8% copper and 1.3g/t gold from 68m, including 4m at 3.8% copper from 71m. The $4.1 million company has also identified rock chips grading up to 26% copper from artisanal workings. Drilling should be getting started any day now at West Cobar Metals' Fraser Range copper-gold project in WA after receiving approvals at the start of the month. The company plans to drill eight RC holes to depths of 200-300m to test three iron oxide-copper-gold and two Broken Hill-style targets. The program is being fully funded by MinRex Resources (ASX:MRR) under a farm-out option agreement signed in March. MinRex will earn 50% of the project if it sole funds $500,000 of expenditure.
News.com.au
09-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Resources Top 5: Forrestania a star performer with up to 25.6g/t gold
New results include the highest gold intercept seen at Ada Ann from Forrestania drilling White Cliff Minerals continues to ride high after a 175m intersection at 2.5% Cu from 7.6m Jameson has updated economic outcomes of a BFS for the Crown Mountain coal project in Canada Your standout resources stocks for Friday, May 9, 2025 Forrestania Resources (ASX:FRS) Golden drilling results from Ada Ann prospect at the Bonnie Vale Project near Coolgardie in WA's prolific Eastern Goldfields have made Forrestania Resources a star performer. Shares were as much as 54% above the previous close at a daily high of 6c and it has been a steady move northward for FRS from 0.9c on February 5, 2025. 1m drilling results from the second phase of drilling at Ada Ann have returned more encouragement after the first stage defined strong, consistent, high-grade gold with grades up to 21g/t. They have confirmed consistent mineralised structures at Ada Ann and include the highest gold intercept seen at Ada Ann from FRS drilling – 25.6g/t gold - and the second highest ever intercepted at the prospect confirming the high-grade potential. The second phase of 14 RC holes for 1017m returned best results of: 7m at 4.3g/t gold from 72m, including 1m at 25.6g/t; 3m at 7.8g/t from 74m, including 1m at 22.2g/t; and 3m at 5.9g/t from 82m, including 1m at 16g/t and 2m at 3.6g/t from 70m. The Ada Ann footprint has been extended ~60m south and ~30m north of historical mineralisation and it remains open at depth and along strike in both directions. The strike of gold mineralisation has increased to ~310m. 'These 1m results from Ada Ann are highly significant, with grades up to 26g/t Au, underlining the high-grade potential of the system. Pleasingly, we are seeing some thickening of the mineralised zones at depth,' Forrestania Resources' chairman John Hannaford said. 'The drill program extended the known mineralised zones to the north and south and the prospect continues to remain open in all directions. 'We look forward to coming back to drilling at the Bonnie Vale project later in the year.' With the Au mineralisation continuing to extend north and south, the company is hopeful of extending the mineralisation in both directions and increasing the strike extent with further drilling. The company will now focus its attention on drilling at the Lady Lila prospect, whilst continuing analysis and planning for further drilling at Ada Ann and the Bonnie Vale project. White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) A string of positive news from its projects in Canada's remote northwest, and particularly in relation to copper, has driven White Cliff Minerals to a new high of more than eight years. The company has reached 37c, an increase of 23.34% on the previous close on volume exceeding 158m. WCN has surged 185% from 1.3c on April 9. Most of the good news has come from the Rae copper project with the latest being a 175m intersection at 2.5% Cu from 7.6m while the nearby Great Bear project has also delivered encouraging survey results pointing to IOCG and epithermal potential. Results from Rae on Tuesday increased the spotlight on WCN and have seen it as one of the week's best performers. The 175m hit in hole DAN25008 also included 8.66g/t silver with a sub-section of 14m at 7.55% copper and 25.8g/t silver from 138m. This hole averaged 3.9% copper and 14.96g/t silver in the last 60m to the final depth of 182.88m and it ended in mineralisation with the last 1.5m sample returning 4.46% copper and 11.58g/t silver. 'We believe this drill hole ranks among the most significant copper intersections globally within the last 50 years and comfortably sits within the top 10 globally reported 'grade-metre' copper results,' WCN managing director Troy Whittaker said. Another hole, DAN25001, returned 52m at 1.16% copper and 3.43g/t silver from surface, including 7.6m at 3% copper and 9.5g/t silver from 18.28m. The Rae project is home to a number of historical non-JORC and 'blue sky' resource estimates, as well as up to 64.02% copper from rock chip assays indicating widespread outcropping copper throughout the 805km2 licensed area. It represents a district-scale opportunity at the pre-discovery stage, underpinned by the presence of high-grade volcanic-hosted copper-silver lodes and the prospect of a large tonnage sedimentary hosted copper deposit. Follow up diamond drilling is being planned to drill out the mineralisation boundaries at Danvers, while the next five assays along strike from DAN25008 are due in the coming weeks. Jameson Resources (ASX:JAL) Revised capital and operating costs and coal price assumptions have enabled Jameson Resources to update the economic outcomes of a bankable feasibility study (BFS) for the Crown Mountain hard coking coal project in the Elk Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Results confirm that increased coal price forecasts arising from concern about reduced supply of premium steelmaking coal significantly outweigh any capital and operating cost increases that have occurred since the BFS was completed in July 2020. Using the updated economic inputs, the review resulted in an estimated increase to pre-production capital (without contingency) of 28% to US$394m and a 15% increase in cash operating costs (FOB Vancouver) from US$89.41/t in the Yield Optimisation Study to US$102.79/t. The outcome of the increases to capital and operating costs and coal price forecasts resulted in an overall 200% increase in pre-tax NPV10 from US$469m in the Yield Optimisation Study to US$942m. 'The feasibility update has indicated significant increases to the project's high-level economics,' Jameson's chair Nicole Hollows said. "With the continued progress of the Environmental Assessment process, this update highlights the advanced position of the project compared with greenfield projects in Canada, Australia or other key producer locations. "There has been more than US$20 billion in steelmaking coal M&A in the last year highlighting that existing producers have limited options for organic growth. 'Crown Mountain's position as the most advanced steelmaking coal project in Canada and its substantial underlying value is further enhanced by the feasibility update which demonstrates the project's cost competitiveness compared to current and planned production. 'Continued progress of the regulatory process will enable the project to be developed to meet the identified shortfall in premium steelmaking coal supply in the medium and long term.' As a result of the positive review, Jameson's shares were one-third higher to 4c. Aureka (ASX:AKA) The appointment of a world-class exploration manager by Aureka (ASX:AKA) is expected to provide new impetus as it advances a suite of advanced stage high-grade gold projects across Victoria. As well as significant experience gained during more than 25 years in the field and the last four years as Barrick Gold's exploration manager, Jozef Story brings to Aureka the benefit of more than 12 years focused on numerous Victorian gold projects including early-stage Fosterville exploration. The appointment adds increased experience to Aureka's existing technical team with project assessment, exploration, planning and execution skills. While at Barrick, Story was responsible for managing, developing and exploring that company's entire +5000km2 exploration portfolio throughout Tanzania. 'We are delighted to have secured and to welcome a senior exploration manager with such credentials, to our already talented team at Aureka, which recognises the significance of our portfolio of existing and future discoveries,' AKA managing director James Gurry said. 'Jozef's time with Barrick and other projects globally, along with his experience with successful Victorian projects, ensures we have the very best opportunity for Aureka's success and growth.' Aureka's current contract exploration manager Peter de Vries will continue to consult to the company through his firm Geological, Educational & Mining Services (G.E.M.S) P/L. While Story takes responsibility for exploration strategy, de Vries will continue to oversee the practical elements of the Irvine and St Arnaud drilling programs. "I'd also like to thank Peter de Vries for his efforts in getting Aureka back drilling after its 2-year hiatus,' Gurry said. The company's shares reached 14,5c, a 31.82% increase on the previous close. Augustus Minerals (ASX:AUG) Augustus Minerals has been as much as 40.7% higher to 4.5c after executing a binding share purchase agreement to acquire ACM International's ACM Contract Mining PNG Ltd, a PNG company with a valid third in line licence application for the Mt Kare gold project. Two earlier applications for the advanced PNG project made by unrelated third parties for the same project area will be considered prior to ACMPNG's application. Mt Kare, which is about 600km northwest of Port Morseby and 145km west of Mt Hagen, is prospective for gold and silver, hosting a historical JORC 2004 mineral resource of 43Mt at 1.5 g/t Au for 2.1 Moz Au and 18 Moz Ag. Nearly 75% of this is in the higher confidence measured and indicated category, based on 454 diamond drill holes for 73,639m as at July 2013. This historical estimate has not been reported in accordance with the JORC Code 2012. The total consideration payable by Augustus under the acquisition is $250,000 in cash, excluding GST. As the application has not yet been granted and is contested ACMPNG does not have an actual or contingent right to undertake exploration and development activities, or to exploit the historical resource estimate and there is no guarantee that the application will lead to a licence being granted over the project. Based on ongoing due diligence investigations, the company understands that in excess of $2 million has been spent by ACM to date in relation to the application process. The company also understands that ACMPNG has approximately $80,000 (in PNG Kina) in funds available, resulting in the effective purchase price being approximately $170,000. The board of the company considers that the quality of the Mt Kare project places it as one of the premier gold development opportunities in the Australasia-Pacific Region. Following completion of the acquisition, Augustus intends to actively pursue the application and grant of an exploration licence.
