Latest news with #LocksleyResources
News.com.au
4 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Kristie Batten: Locksley locks in market support for Mojave
One of Australia's top mining journalists, Kristie Batten writes for Stockhead every week in her regular column placing a watchful eye on the movers and shakers of the small cap resources scene. May was a transformational month for Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY), thanks to its Mojave rare earth and antimony project in California. Locksley has held the Mojave project for several years but due to a lack of interest in rare earths and lengthy wait times for drill permitting, the company has more recently been focused on the Tottenham copper project in New South Wales. However, Donald Trump's return to the White House changed things for the company with momentum accelerating in the past few weeks. Geologist Allister Caird joined the company three weeks ago as head of critical minerals. Caird told Stockhead Trump's March 20 executive order, aimed at increasing US minerals production, had been a game-changer for the company. 'What we were thinking, where it was initially going to take two years to get a drilling permit, has now been turned around in a matter of weeks,' he said. 'We're awaiting a drilling permit from the Bureau of Land Management, basically at any moment now. 'We've had this project that's got some pretty compelling grades, but not everything has fallen into place until right now, and it's all happened very quickly, so it's a pretty exciting time for the company.' The Mojave project is just 1.4km from MP Materials' Mountain Pass mine, the only producing rare earth mine in the US. The project's North Block hosts the historical Desert antimony mine, which was only in production for about three years almost a century ago. Surface sampling has returned grades of up to 46% antimony and 1022 grams per tonne silver. Eight surface samples returned over 17% antimony and a further 18 graded over 1.4% antimony. Surface mineralisation has been traced over 400m to date. 'There aren't a heap of drill holes on our claim, so even though we know we've got commercial grades, I guess we don't fully understand the size of the resource, so there is a bit of runway to figure that out,' Caird said. At the El Campo prospect to the south, which is surrounded by, and directly along strike from Mountain Pass, five initial rock chip samples have returned total rare earth oxide results of 3.74-9.49%, including up to 3.19% neodymium-praseodymium, over a 6m mineralised zone. Follow-up work returned 12 rock chip samples grading 1.03-12.1% TREO. Drill baby drill Locksley's field team is planning to mobilise to site this month ahead of reverse circulation drilling, planned for the September quarter. The company is planning to drill six holes at El Campo and three holes at Desert, around the historical mine. 'Whilst the program is quite focused and targeted at the moment, we can really expand it out to other parts of the claim that haven't been explored yet,' Caird said. Caird said the company had been encouraged by Trump's 'drill baby drill' comment and was hopeful the US would maintain the positive permitting momentum. 'We've already got the second phase of drill holes planned, so it's not like we're going to be caught flat-footed,' he said. 'We will already be putting in these permits for the second phase of drilling immediately, so there shouldn't be any large delays there, and especially given we've already got some environmental impact assessment permits granted, so I don't think there's a whole heap of risk there from a permitting standpoint.' Investors catching on Locksley is fully funded for the upcoming exploration program after raising $1.47 million at 4c per share last week. The stock closed at 8c on Friday, double the raising price and taking May gains to 300%. Even still, the company is only capped at $11.7 million. 'I think even though we have had quite a share price run and some good support with the capital raise there, I still think we're probably a little bit undervalued,' Caird said. Locksley's Mojave is only 7.7km from Dateline Resources' Colosseum project, which Trump described on social media as 'America's second rare earths mine'. Dateline shares surged by 870% in May, giving the company a market cap of more than $270 million. Another US antimony hopeful, Trigg Minerals, also had a productive month in May and is now worth $73.6 million. 'We're all chasing a similar resource, but comparatively, I think we're still quite good value compared to those other companies at this stage,' Caird said.
News.com.au
6 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Resources Top 5: RareX moves to set up Australian gallium supply chain
RareX and Gega will evaluate and aim to commercialise a fully integrated gallium supply chain West Coast Silver has the diamond drill spinning at Elizabeth Hill in WA's Pilbara Among the biggest movers in ASX small caps this week was Locksley Resources Your standout resources stocks for Friday, May 30, 2025. RareX (ASX:REE) The US and EU are not the only ones developing domestic supply chains to negate the influence of China and overcome its export restrictions with Australia joining in and primarily in critical minerals. There has been some action in Australia in recent times to develop integrated supply chains in future facing minerals such as lithium, rare earths and cobalt, and now there are moves for gallium to join the bunch. Gallium is seeing growing demand due to Chinese export restrictions and its vital use in semiconductors, robotics, LEDs and a range of defence applications. At the forefront of the vertically integrated gallium supply chain move is RareX, which has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Australian technology company Gega Elements. Gega, a materials science innovator focused on developing next-generation gallium refining solutions based on its proprietary research, will use its advanced methods to test gallium-bearing samples from RareX's (ASX:REE) Cummins Range and Khaleesi projects in Western Australia. The aim is to evaluate and ultimately commercialise a fully integrated gallium supply chain that will contribute to Australia's critical mineral resilience and investors have warmed to the value-add proposition with REE shares as much as 16.67% higher to 2.1c before closing at 1.9c. Gega's approach focuses on creating a cost-effective, environmentally responsible and sovereign-controlled processing pathway. 'This partnership with Gega Elements begins to position RareX as one of a select few large-scale potential gallium developments outside China,' managing director James Durrant said. 'Gallium is critical for semiconductors, 5G and defence – yet almost entirely controlled by a single jurisdiction. 'Through this collaboration, we're working to change that, leveraging RareX's resource scale and Gega's science-driven approach to build a truly sovereign supply solution.' The three-year collaboration seeks to provide technical validation of REE's gallium samples using Gega's bench-scale refining platform. Results will be integrated into techno-economic modelling for REE's broader project assessments while both companies jointly develop bespoke refining flowsheets for their resource characteristics. Both parties will also coordinate government grant applications and engagement with strategic end-users. The agreement is also aimed at building a pathway toward a binding commercial agreement upon successful demonstration of the technology. West Coast Silver (ASX:WCE) West Coast Silver has the diamond drill spinning at the Elizabeth Hill project in Western Australia's Pilbara as it tests extensions of known high-grade mineralisation. The company's highly anticipated inaugural diamond drill campaign will total around 1500m and will also investigate structural controls identified through geological modelling and fieldwork. All drill core will be transported from site and logged at the company's offices and core yard in Karratha, where preliminary pXRF analysis will be undertaken. The geological team will also carry out detailed structural interpretation, which will fast-track updates to the drill program to ensure optimal targeting and program efficiency as drilling progresses. Following this work in Karratha, samples will be sent to the laboratory in Perth for full chemical assaying. Portable XRF analysis of surface sampling in mid-May returned several elevated readings of up to 920g/t silver to the north and south of the historical Elizabeth Hill mine. 'We're extremely excited to have drilling now underway at Elizabeth Hill,' executive director Bruce Garlick said. 'It's a significant milestone for West Coast Silver as we test the additional potential of this historical, high-grade silver project with modern techniques for the first time. 'We'll soon be assessing fresh drill core – and that's when the real geological work begins. 'Our team is ready to interpret and adapt in real-time, and we're looking forward to sharing updates with shareholders as results come to hand.' Investors share the enthusiasm with WCE shares up 10.54% to 6.3c. While Elizabeth Hill does not have a defined resource, it has proven historical production of about 1.2Moz of silver at an impressive head grade of 2194g/t in a single year. The high grades enabled low processing tonnes with the 1.2Moz produced from just 16,830t of ore before the mining operation ceased in 2000 due to low silver prices. Native silver was recovered via low-cost gravity separation techniques. There is also untapped potential with the deposit open at depth while recent consolidation of the land package offers potential to discover more Elizabeth Hill style deposits. In a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction, Elizabeth Hill is on a mining lease with potential processing option at the nearby Radio Hill site. Silver has come into its own in recent years due to growing industrial demand primarily for making photovoltaic solar panels more efficient. Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) Among the biggest weekly movers amid ASX small caps was Locksley Resources, which reached 8.5c, a rise of almost 42%, to a new high of more than two years. On Friday alone the company increased 28.8% on volume of more than 60m. The primary catalyst for this week's gain was a strongly supported placement with 36.67 million shares issued at 4c each to sophisticated and institutional investors resulting in $1.47m. Funds will be used to fund upcoming exploration, including drilling, at the Mojave rare earths and antimony project in California. The company's exploration team is mobilising to site to confirm priority targets and prepare for drilling to start. It will confirm and peg drill collar locations and access routes while the company waits for Bureau of Land Management approvals to be granted. Priority activities also include access routes and the engagement of earthworks and drill contractors to complete the drilling program. In addition, the team will conduct follow-up mapping and rock chip sampling across high-priority antimony, REE, polymetallic and copper targets. Further activities will include refining geophysical targets, additional surface sampling for geochemistry and structural mapping, and starting petrological studies to inform future metallurgical testing. Drilling is expected to begin in the September quarter and will focus on the El Campo prospect where six holes will be drilled to test TREO of up to 12.1% and the Desert Antimony Mine with three holes testing high-grade antimony mineralisation of up to 46%. This comprehensive campaign is designed to progress priority targets and unlock the project's critical minerals potential. Lord Resources (ASX:LRD) Increasing on the promise of additional funds from a pro-rata 1-for-1 non-renounceable entitlement offer was Lord Resources, which climbed 23.81% to a daily high of 2.6c. The company hopes to reel in almost $1.4m before costs at 1.8c per share, which represents an 18.18% discount to the 5-day VWAP price of 2.2c. The offer will be open for all shareholders of the company with a registered address in Australia and New Zealand who hold shares as at 5pm (WST) on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. Funds raised will be used for a maiden drilling program at the Ilgarari Copper Project in Western Australia's Collier Basin. In late April the company was awarded co-funded grants of up to $306,500 under the WA Government's Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) for the Ilgarari project. This comprises $216,000 in support for a deep diamond drilling program targeting a regionally significant magnetic anomaly beneath copper mineralisation at the Alac and Main zones and another $90,500 for a Moving Loop Electromagnetic survey designed to refine drill targeting by detecting subsurface conductivity. 'We are delighted to receive support from the WA Government's Exploration Incentive Scheme for both drilling and geophysics at Ilgarari,' Lord Resources CEO Andrew Taylor said. 'The Collier Basin remains vastly underexplored, and these grants are a validation of our exploration model and provide substantial leverage for advancing exploration both at Ilgarari and potentially across the broader region.' Funding under both EIS grants is available from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026. Lord Resources is an exploration company with a highly prospective portfolio of future facing metals within Western Australia including projects providing exposure to copper, gold and lithium. Tasman Resources (ASX:TAS) Tasman Resources was 38.89% higher to 2.5c after clean technology company Eden Innovations Ltd, in which it has a 33.9% stake, recorded encouraging growth in sales of its EdenCrete® range of carbon nanotube enriched concrete admixtures. This was primarily as a result of rapid sales growth of EdenCrete®Pz7 for commercial applications in USA, Ecuador, Mexico and Canada. In the three months from mid-February 2025, the total sales of all EdenCrete products exceeded US$567,000 (~A$877,000). From the start of March 2025 to May 23 total US domestic sales of all EdenCrete products reached US$222,470 (~A$341,196) comprising: EdenCrete Pz7 – sales of US$151,890 (~A$232,900) to six ready mix plants in the Denver area that have dispensing systems installed, and EdenCrete - U$70,580 (~A$108,224). Year-on-year sales for April and May 2025 alone were 86% higher than the total sales for the whole of Q4 of FY2024 (April-June 2024). In addition, the following international orders for EdenCrete Pz7 have been received, since mid-February 2025: Holcim Ecuador placed three further orders totalling $US$275,220 for use at multiple Holcim concrete plants in Ecuador, following its first commercial orders in May 2024 for US$79,600 of EdenCrete Pz7; Holcim Mexico placed two orders for US$15,760; and Holcim Eastern Canada one order for US$6,400.
News.com.au
28-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Resources Top 5: Locksley on the charge after arming itself for Mojave drilling
Funds raised in a placement will fund upcoming exploration at the Mojave antimony and rare earths project Placement funds will enable Victory to accelerate a pre-feasibility study and development of North Stanmore Bauxite miner Metro Mining reached 6.3c, a 6.8% increase on the previous close Your standout resources stocks for Wednesday, May 28, 2025 Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) On the charge to a daily high of 7.1c, a lift of 45% on the previous close and on volume of more than 119m, was Locksley Resources after raising $1.47m in a strongly supported placement. There were 36.67 million shares issued at 4c each to sophisticated and institutional investors in the placement, which was heavily oversubscribed. Funds will be used to fund an upcoming exploration campaign, including drilling, at the Mojave antimony and rare earths project in California. The exploration team of Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) is already mobilising to site in order to confirm priority targets and prepare for drilling to start. The team will confirm and peg drill collar locations and access routes while the company waits for Bureau of Land Management approvals to be granted. Priority activities also include access routes and the engagement of earthworks and drill contractors to complete the drilling program. In addition, the exploration team will conduct follow-up mapping and rock chip sampling across high-priority antimony, REE, polymetallic and copper targets. Further activities will include refining geophysical targets, additional surface sampling for geochemistry and structural mapping, and starting petrological studies to inform future metallurgical testing. Drilling, which is expected to begin in the September quarter, will focus on the El Campo prospect where six holes will be drilled to test TREO of up to 12.1% and the Desert Antimony Mine with three holes testing high-grade antimony mineralisation of up to 46%. This comprehensive campaign is designed to progress priority targets and unlock the project's critical minerals potential. Mojave is immediately adjacent to MP Materials' high-grade Mountain Pass mine and processing facility, which is the only active REE processor in the US and produces ~15% of global REE supply. It is prospective for valuable magnet REEs such as neodymium and praseodymium, as well as antimony with rock chips having returned grades of up to 17% while sampling also returned high-grade results of between 3.74% and 9.49% total rare earth oxides within a six-metre wide mineralised zone at the El Campo prospect. 'We're extremely pleased with the strong support shown for this raise, which allows us to advance both antimony and REE drilling in one of the most strategic locations in the US,' chairman Nathan Lude said. 'This funding puts us in a strong position to execute our exploration program and deliver key value catalysts in the months ahead.' REEs and antimony are designated as critical minerals by the US government with the former – particularly magnet REEs – used to manufacture permanent rare earth magnets that are used in electric vehicle motors and wind turbines. Antimony, which reportedly cracked the US$60,000t mark recently, is used as a flame retardant and in the production of alloys, which are used in batteries, low-friction metals, small arms, tracer bullets, cable sheathing and other industrial products. Victory Metals (ASX:VTM) Another company on the move after raising funds was Victory Metals, which climbed 16.3% to a daily high of $1.00. The $4m raised will enable the company to accelerate a pre-feasibility study and development of its flagship North Stanmore rare earths project near Cue in Western Australia. Firm commitments have been received for the placement at 73c per share, which was a 15% discount to VTM's last traded price on May 26, 2025. The placement attracted strong backing from Victory's top 20 shareholders as well as directors and management, reflecting high confidence in the company and its North Stanmore project, Australia's largest clay-hosted heavy rare earth deposit. More than 5m will be issued to professional and sophisticated investors and around 340,000 shares to directors and management, pending shareholder approval. The company will also issue 1.8m unlisted options with an exercise price of $1.30 and a two-year exercise period to unrelated parties under the investor participation. Victory Metals (ASX:VTM) said this funding marked a turning point, positioning it as a global leader in critical minerals. Recent testwork recovered seven strategic metals, including gallium and other rare earths impacted by Chinese export restrictions, marking a key milestone in establishing a globally significant critical minerals platform. 'This raise will fast track our PFS and marks a pivotal moment for Victory with such strong support,' Victory's CEO and executive director Brendan Clark said. 'North Stanmore is emerging as one of the world's most advanced heavy rare earth clay projects and is already Australia's leading heavy rare earth project. 'Our MREC testwork has successfully recovered seven strategic metals currently under Chinese export restrictions, including gallium and the full suite of critical heavy rare earths. 'We are building a globally significant critical minerals platform and are proud to be leading the charge.' Settlement of the placement shares and placement options is expected to occur on Thursday, June 5, 2025, with shares to begin normal trading on the ASX on Friday, June 6. Shareholder approval for the director participation will be sought at a general meeting planned to be held in July 2025. Metro Mining (ASX:MMI) (Up on no news) ASX-listed bauxite producers and explorers have been buoyed by stronger prices and improved market fundamentals in the past few months and among them is Metro Mining, which has reached 6.3c, a 6.8% increase on the previous close, despite having no news. The primary driver of the changed markets for the key raw material for aluminium production, has been the suspension of exports from Guinea, the second largest producer globally and just behind Australia in production volume. This has seen increased demand from China for other sources as well as increased prices and the trend is expected to continue throughout the remainder of 2025. Metro Mining has operations in the bauxite region on the west coast of Queensland's Cape York. The 100%-owned Bauxite Hills Mine is on the Weipa bauxite plateau about 95 km north of Weipa, near the coast on the Skardon River. This month the company updated its ore reserve and resource estimates for Bauxite Hills, taking into account depletion from mining during 2024. The total resource estimate for Bauxite Hills is now 114.4Mt (dry), representing a decrease of 4.3Mt from the December 31, 2023, estimate. No additional resources were added as no exploration was undertaken during 2024 and there were no additional conversions from indicated to measured categories or inferred to indicated categories. The total reserve estimate is now 77.7Mt (wet). The decrease was 5.5Mt from that published in May 2024 which accounted for mining to the end of December 2024. Hawsons Iron (ASX:HIO) (Up on no news) Although it also has no news today, Hawsons Iron increased as much as 74% to 4c, a high of more than two years. Last week, testwork on ore from its namesake project in the far west of NSW supported a plan to use 100% dry processing as it is a cleaner, cheaper alternative to the traditional wet method. An independent report from Stantec Australia confirms the dry circuit is not only viable but also cuts costs and improves environmental outcomes while also opening the door to potential value-add side products like silica sand. Stantec's Project Report provides confidence for further investigation into potential secondary products (eg hematite, silica sands) and flow on optimisation of mine design, processing and logistics. Detailed analytical work completed recently demonstrates a high level of geochemical and physical material consistency, throughout the current resource, particularly within the early phase of operations, which significantly contributes towards de-risking the project during its early years of operation. The company is collating engineering and cost data with the aim of releasing an updated prefeasibility study together with maiden ore reserves for the Hawsons iron project. Pivotal Metals (ASX:PVT) After identifying bonanza-grade gold targets during a review of historical data from the Lorraine prospect in Canada, Pivotal Metals jumped 50% on the previous close to a daily high of 0.9c. The review included a result of 28m at 45.2 g/t gold and 3.2% copper in an historical underground channel sample. This and other high-grade results show potential for a significant system at the project in Quebec. Among the other results were: 9.5m at 14.1 g/t Au and 3.2% Cu; and 0.97m at 56.2 g/t Au including 0.15m at 233.9 g/t. A broad 600m strike prospective corridor has been defined with multiple signature Cu-Au quartz veining. The gold target is largely unexplored following the conclusion of copper-nickel focused mining in the 1960s and the company has started a gold focused work program, including the definition of drill targets with detailed surface mapping and sampling along with a high resolution UAV magnetic survey to inform structural controls. The Lorraine targets are a small part of the large and highly prospective Belleterre-Angliers Greenstone Belt (BAGB) project, which is close to the infrastructure-rich Abitibi mining camp. Pivotal managing director Ivan Fairhall said: 'With a large and robust shallow copper resource and clear exploration pathway in hand at Horden Lake, we are broadening our program to our BAGB projects; where bonanza Cu, Ni and Au grades are guiding us towards the next discovery. 'These gold targets at Lorraine are an exciting addition to our already attractive Cu-Ni projects at BAGB. The bonanza Au grades and their correlation over a significantly broad area provide very strong encouragement for discovery in this area which has largely unexplored for Au, with the historical focus on Cu-Ni previously mined. 'We are planning an aggressive summer field program to establish the continuity of the broad Au-Cu-quartz vein system adjacent to the Lorraine mine to develop drill targets for immediate follow up.' This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent financial advice before making any financial decisions. While Locksley Resources and Victory Metals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
Herald Sun
28-05-2025
- Business
- Herald Sun
LKY raising $1.47m for Mojave exploration
Don't miss out on the headlines from Stockhead. Followed categories will be added to My News. Locksley Resources has received firm commitments for a $1.47m placement to fund exploration at its Mojave project Proceeds from heavily subscribed placement will fund exploration including the upcoming drill program Drilling will test the El Campo prospect for rare earths and Desert Antimony Mine for high-grade antimony Special Report: Investors have demonstrated their confidence in Locksley Resources and exploration at its Mojave antimony and rare earths project by heavily oversubscribing for a $1.47m placement of shares. The funds were raised through the issue of 36.67 million shares at 4c each to sophisticated and institutional investors under the company's ASX Listing Rule 7.1 and 7.1A placement capacity. Proceeds will be used by Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) to fund the upcoming exploration campaign including drilling at the Mojave project in California. Its exploration team is mobilising to site in order to confirm priority targets and prepare for drilling to start. 'We're extremely pleased with the strong support shown for this raise, which allows us to advance both antimony and REE drilling in one of the most strategic locations in the US,' chairman Nathan Lude said. 'This funding puts us in a strong position to execute our exploration program and deliver key value catalysts in the months ahead.' Mojave drilling Mojave is immediately adjacent to MP Materials' high-grade Mountain Pass mine and processing facility, which is the only active REE processor in the US and produces ~15% of global REE supply. The project is prospective for both valuable magnet rare earth elements (REEs), such as neodymium and praseodymium, as well as for antimony. At the El Campo prospect, twelve surface samples returned high-grade REE results ranging from 1.03% to 12.1% total rare earth oxides (TREO) across a six-metre-wide mineralised zone. Surface sampling from the Desert Antimony target returned exceptional grades of up to 46% Sb, with multiple samples exceeding 17% Sb. REEs and antimony are designated as critical minerals by the US government with the former – particularly magnet REEs – used to manufacture permanent rare earth magnets used in electric vehicle motors and wind turbines. Antimony, which reportedly cracked the US$60,000t mark recently, is used as a flame retardant and in the production of alloys used in batteries, low-friction metals, small arms, tracer bullets, cable sheathing and other industrial products. Despite its strategic significance, the United States currently has no active domestic antimony production, with historical supply dominated by Chinese sources. LKY is mobilising its team to confirm and peg drill collar locations and access routes while it waits for Bureau of Land Management approvals to be granted. Drilling will target two key prospects: El Campo, where six holes are planned to test high-grade REE mineralisation of up to 12.1% TREO; and the Desert Antimony Mine, where three holes are designed to test high-grade surface antimony mineralisation of up to 46%. This article was developed in collaboration with Locksley Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions. Originally published as Locksley Resources raising $1.47m for REE and antimony exploration at Mojave
News.com.au
23-05-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Resources Top 5: Locksley sets stage for antimony, rare earths exploration at Mojave
Locksley Resources is starting field work at its Mojave antimony and rare earths project in California G50 Corp has been drilling at its Golconda project to follow up on gallium, precious metal hits Heavy Rare Earths had widespread and high-grade uranium-scandium-REE samples at its Radio Hill project Your standout resources stocks for Friday, May 23, 2025 Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY) Locksley Resources rose to the top of the charts today with a 42.42% gain after announcing that it had mobilised its exploration team to its Mojave antimony and rare earths project in California. It follows on the company appointing experienced geologist and geophysicist Allister Caird in mid-May 2025 to lead its critical minerals strategy. Field work to be carried out by the team includes confirmation and pegging of drill collar locations, follow-up outcrop mapping and rock chip sampling across antimony, REE, polymetallic, and copper prospects, and additional surface geochemistry and further structural mapping. Subject to permitting approvals by the US Bureau of Land Management, the company then expects to start reverse circulation drilling in the September 2025 quarter. This will consist of six planned holes at the El Campo prospect and three holes at the Desert antimony mine, a historical commercial-scale producer. Mojave is immediately adjacent to MP Materials' high-grade Mountain Pass mine and processing facility – the only active rare earths processor in the US that produces 15% of the global REE supply. The project is prospective for valuable magnet REEs such as neodymium and praseodymium, as well as antimony with rock chips having returned grades of up to 17%. G50 Corp (ASX:G50) (Up on no news) While G50 has no announcements out today, it had kicked off a Phase 2 RC drilling program at its Golconda project in mid-March 2025 and the share activity might be on expectations that results will be available soon. This drilling was aimed at following-up on a high-grade gallium discovery to determine both depth and strike extent while collecting samples for ongoing mineralogy and metallurgical testwork. Gallium is highly valued for its use in semiconductors, transistors, LEDs, computer chips and defence applications. The drill program was also intended to follow up on high-grade precious metal intersections from 2023 such as 25.9m grading 157g/t silver and 0.7g/t gold from a down-hole depth of 61m and 18.3m at 122g/t silver from 117m. Additionally, holes will test new precious metals and strategic minerals targets to the northwest and southeast of the existing known mineralisation. G50 has also engaged SGS Canada to start initial mineralogy and metallurgical testwork for the high-grade gallium halo at Golconda. Heavy Rare Earths (ASX:HRE) (Up on no news) HRE is up some 20% (at the time of writing) on no new news but the rally likely ties back to earlier widespread and high-grade uranium-scandium-REE findings at the Radio Hill asset in South Australia. Up to 9,068 ppm uranium oxide, 936 ppm scandium oxide and 18,899ppm TREO was received from reconnaissance rock sampling, with the new results building on earlier reported high-grade rock assays. Although Radium Hill was Australia's first major uranium mine, the by-product scandium and rare earth opportunity has never been fully evaluated. HRE says the scandium grades compare favourably with leading Australian scandium resources such as West Cobar Metals' 12Mt Newmont deposit, containing 158ppm scandium oxide, and Rio Tinto's 35.6Mt Burra, comprising 621ppm scandium oxide. With no major exploration since 1961, HRE is building a modern geological model of Radium Hill's uranium-scandium-REE system to guide drilling in the second half of the year. Fieldwork is planned to follow up these anomalous zones as a matter of priority. Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) (Up on no news) TMG shares have continued to rise from May 21 when the company announced it was hiring antimony downstream expert Wiehann Kleynhans to spearhead downstream and smelting processes at the recently acquired Antimony Canyon project. Kleynhans – a vastly experienced geologist, resource and commodity analyst and dealmaker with deep knowledge of the antimony sector – was head of business development at Strategic & Precious Metals Processing in Sohar, Oman between 2021 to 2024. During this time, he was instrumental in driving expansion and growth of international sourcing and supply chains for raw antimony as a member of the executive management team. This included playing his part in the development of the largest antimony smelter outside China and Russia. As the company's vice president, US downstream operations, Kleynhans will develop a strategy for North America, which will include options for downstream processing, forming partnerships with key industry and government players in North America as well as identifying and negotiating possible offtake agreements with international antimony traders. He will also assist the company with obtaining US government funding for exploration and development while assisting with due diligence on future antimony projects. Antimony Canyon is the largest and highest-grade antimony project in the US with a non-JORC resource estimate of 12.7Mt at 0.79% antimony, or 100,300t of contained antimony. It includes several historical producing mines such as Emma, Mammoth and Nevada. Aurumin (ASX:AUN) Early this week, Aurumin reached an agreement with Newcam Minerals to advance its non-core Johnson Range and Mt Dimer gold projects towards production. Under the joint venture, Newcam will pay more than $4m in staged expenditure to earn a 50% interest in the gold rights for the two projects. Aurumin also has the option to be free carried to net profit with its share of joint venture costs during the free-carry period being g paid back out of net profits. Johnson is 200km north of Southern Cross and includes the Gwendolyn deposit – a near-term development opportunity with a current inferred resource of 64,700oz gold at 2.51g/t gold on a granted mining lease. Newcam is also acquiring the non-gold mineral rights of the Sandstone tenure for $1m, which will be a welcome cash injection for Aurumin. Central Sandstone currently has a resource of 886,000oz gold as well as iron ore opportunities.
