Terry Bates

Aruma Resources is hunting for unconformity-related rare earths at its Saltwater project in WA’s emerging Pilbara province. Fieldwork will consist of detailed mapping and extensive surface sampling through an 80km prospective strike, with work to start at a 15km-long priority radiometric target. Previous results of up to 11 per cent rare earths at the project will give Aruma confidence it could have the real deal.

Octava Minerals has started drilling at its Pinnacle Well prospect in an area in Western Australia’s Pilbara region known as “lithium elephant country”. Drilling at the prospect, 10km north of the Archer deposit that has resources of 18 million tonnes at 1.0 per cent lithium oxide, will test a significant lithium anomaly, including a 1.5km pegmatite showing visible lithium mineralisation.

Emu NL has discovered a new rare earths region in WA’s Great Southern town of Jerramungup, 450km south-east of Perth. Emu has revealed significant mineralisation from 20m to 52m thick and up to 1138 parts per million total rare earths oxide (TREO) within basement granitoids and adjacent clay zones in a five-hole drill campaign at project Viper. The longest intersection was 52m at 542ppm TREO.

Quantum Graphite’s half-owned joint venture company has gained original equipment-manufacture intellectual property rights to The Sunlands Co.’s thermal energy storage battery cell. The cell is being aimed at revolutionising the grid-connected energy storage market by using long-duration energy storage techniques. Quantum says the JV company’s name will be changed from Quantum Sunlands Partnership to Sunlands Power.

Infinity Lithium is pushing closer towards mining licence and environmental authorisation submissions for its San José lithium project in Spain following positive government permitting recommendations. The finalisation of the Extremadura regional government’s Environmental Impact Assessment Scoping Document, compiled by its General Directorate for Sustainability, classes the project as compatible with environmental and land use requirements.

Octava Minerals’ joint venture partner Future Metals, which operates their Panton North project in WA’s Kimberley region, is set to start exploration drilling on an interpreted extension of the neighbouring 5-million-ounce Panton platinum group metals deposit. Mineralisation was previously traced up to the tenement boundary. Drilling will also target soil and rock anomalies at Panton West, within the joint venture’s ground.

Infinity Mining will kick off a maiden 1700m RC drilling program at its Brisbane nickel-chromium prospect in the Pilbara in early June. The company will drill 10 holes across its ultramafic basal contact target where previous rock chips returned up to 0.764 per cent nickel and 0.892 per cent chromium and also where electromagnetic survey returned a prominent conductive target that may represent nickel sulphides.

Aruma Resources has produced lithium concentrate from early metallurgical testwork at its Mt Deans project, 10km from Norseman in WA. Floatation has recovered 80 per cent of the lithium into 25 per cent of the mass with capture of tantalum, tin, potassium, rubidium and caesium giving the prospect of valuable additional by-products. Further testwork is to be undertaken with fresh outcropping pegmatite samples.

Everest Metals believes the identification of a raft new pegmatites has significantly boosted the potential of its Mt Edon mining lease near Paynes Find. Deep Ground Penetration Radar survey over 21 line kilometres shows 133 pegmatite-like anomalies prospective for lithium-tantalum and rare earths mineralisation that extends to depths greater than 50m. The discovery has sparked a new drilling program, to start within a fortnight.