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Forrestania Resources has secured a ‘drill for equity’ agreement, preparing for its inaugural drilling campaign at the Bonnie Vale Gold Project in Western Australia. The company will kick off a 21-hole, 1,600-meter reverse circulation drilling program at the Ada Ann Prospect this week.

Topdrill, the drilling contractor, will receive part of its payment in shares from Forrestania, reflecting a growing trend where junior explorers offer equity in exchange for drilling services to maximize their exploration budgets. Topdrill has entered into similar arrangements with other explorers this year.

John Hannaford, Forrestania’s Chairman, announced that this is the first of several planned drill programs at Bonnie Vale, with Ada Ann, a high-grade target, being the primary focus. “We are excited to have secured a rig from Topdrill, who has consistently supported our efforts. Their willingness to accept shares as part payment underscores their belief in our project,” Hannaford said.

The drilling, set to begin on October 23, will explore extensions of known mineralization both to the north and south, as well as test deeper zones. Additionally, the program will assess a potential new mineralized zone near historic drill spoils, where previous assays returned grades as high as 49 grams per tonne of gold.

Forrestania is exploring for gold, lithium, and copper across the Eastern Goldfields, Forrestania, and Southern Cross regions. The Bonnie Vale Project, located in the Norseman-Wiluna Greenstone Belt within the Yilgarn Craton, is part of Forrestania's broader portfolio, which spans 11 exploration licenses and four applications covering a total of 1,000 km². These tenements are largely non-contiguous, scattered over a 300 km stretch along or adjacent to key greenstone belts.

estwork on International Graphite’s Springdale graphite project in Western Australia has delivered promising results for the company.

Micronising and spheroidising (milling) testwork explored various process circuit options, resulting in two spheroidised graphite products – SpG18 and SpG11 – with yields reaching up to 76%.

Purification testing achieved an impressive 99.99% yield, surpassing the industry standard of 99.97% for high-purity anode material.

David Pass, International Graphite’s technical director, noted, “The testing aimed to optimise milling processes to boost output. The results are very encouraging and suggest there’s considerable potential to exceed the projections of our initial scoping study. The purification findings confirm that Springdale graphite meets the purity levels required for producing active anode materials.”

Andrew Worland, International Graphite’s CEO and managing director, added that the purified SpG sample will be used in upcoming coating tests and to refine process flowsheet development and equipment selection for battery anode material production.

“These outcomes mark a significant milestone in our mine-to-market production strategy and demonstrate that our fully-owned Springdale Mineral Resource is a crucial asset for the rapidly growing lithium-ion battery anode market,” Worland said.

He emphasized that the expertise gained from the company’s research and development facilities in Collie is playing a pivotal role in shaping its downstream flowsheet, which will further advance feasibility studies for battery anode production.

Auric Mining Limited (ASX: AWJ) has announced the successful completion of its second gold milling campaign for 2024, generating significant revenue from the Jeffreys Find Gold Mine near Norseman, Western Australia.

Gold from the mine has been sold at the Perth Mint for an average price of A$3,697 per ounce, marking another profitable milestone for the company. The ore processing, conducted at the Greenfields Mill, is part of a contract to process 150,000 tonnes of ore, undertaken by Auric’s Joint Venture partner, BML Ventures Pty Ltd of Kalgoorlie.

As of mid-August, nearly 129,000 tonnes of ore have been delivered to the Greenfields Mill. The current milling campaign, which spans approximately six weeks, is set to conclude in early September 2024. Auric Mining has also revealed plans for additional milling campaigns in November and December at the same facility.

Looking ahead, BML Ventures is preparing to mine up to 400,000 tonnes of ore into early 2025, with a contract already in place for the processing of 300,000 tonnes at Greenfields Mill.

To date, all gross revenue from this campaign has been retained by BML to cover the costs of mining, haulage, and milling. Auric Mining is expected to receive $3.0 million within the next month, including $2.0 million as an initial surplus cash distribution from the Joint Venture and $1.0 million for the repayment of working capital contributions.

The Joint Venture agreement positions BML as the operator of the Jeffreys Find Gold Project, responsible for all mining and operational expenses. Following the sale of gold, direct costs are subtracted before the remaining profits are split equally between the partners.

Auric Mining has committed to providing regular updates on the progress of gold processing and sales as they occur.

De Grey Mining has unveiled new data indicating further expansion of its highly anticipated Hemi gold project in Western Australia.

Drilling at the Aquila and Crow deposits, located in the northern region of the Hemi project, shows promise for enhancing the Hemi mineral resource estimate (MRE) and strengthening the production profile outlined in the company’s definitive feasibility study (DFS).

The Aquila-Crow intrusive body now extends up to 1 km east-west and 0.7 km north-south. Initially, it was thought to pinch out at depth below Aquila, but more recent interpretations suggest the intrusive continues deeper.

“Drilling beneath the DFS pit shells and below the current mineral resource at Aquila-Crow demonstrates that a large mineralized system extends to depth and remains open,” said De Grey's General Manager of Exploration, Phil Tornatora.

Additionally, the nearby McLeod lodes, high-grade lodes in the southeast of the Crow deposit, exhibit different characteristics from the bulk of Hemi’s mineralization. These lodes are generally associated with smoky quartz veining with visible gold.

“The McLeod lodes in the south of Crow continue to return high-grade intercepts, and it is exciting to see similar style mineralization persisting in deeper holes below Aquila,” Tornatora added. “This extension drilling has strong potential to enhance the Hemi MRE and support conceptual studies for potential future underground mining.”

Earlier this month, De Grey announced securing over $1 billion from commercial banks and government agencies for Hemi’s development. This funding followed promising drilling results from Hemi, including extended mineralization at the Eagle deposit, which extends 200 meters down plunge and remains open at depth and potentially along strike.

Spartan Resources has released a significant update to the mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its Dalgaranga gold project in Western Australia.

"This MRE update firmly establishes Dalgaranga as an exceptional high-grade deposit, featuring an underground resource of 1.44 million ounces (Moz) at a grade of nine grams per tonne (g/t) gold," stated Simon Lawson, Spartan’s managing director and CEO.

Lawson emphasized the update's significance to the company’s reputation in the mining industry.

“The delivery of this landmark MRE update marks a pivotal moment in our journey and solidifies the high-grade Spartan brand on our key project at Dalgaranga,” he remarked.

“The Spartan team has transformed a struggling low-grade open-pit gold miner into a highly successful high-grade exploration, discovery, and development operation.”

Since its recapitalization in February 2023, Spartan has established itself as a highly investable gold mining and development company, consistently adding value for shareholders, Lawson noted.

“Since its discovery in mid-2022, the high-grade Never Never gold deposit has consistently delivered some of the most impressive drill intercepts seen in the Australian gold sector in years,” he said.

The new results were achieved through a rigorous and effective drilling strategy, combined with the team’s extensive experience in interpreting, modeling, and estimating high-grade gold resources, Lawson explained.

“This resource will support our maiden underground ore reserve, which is currently underway and scheduled for delivery in the second half of 2024,” he added.

In addition to the Never Never deposit, Spartan recently announced the discovery of the high-grade Pepper gold deposit. Located adjacent to Never Never, Pepper has added a maiden high-grade underground inferred mineral resource of 0.43Moz at 7.66 g/t gold.

Given its proximity to the development of the Never Never deposit, Pepper has become the drill team’s top priority for in-fill and extensional drilling throughout the second half of 2024, Lawson said.

“The combined underground MRE for Never Never and Pepper is 1.8Moz at 8.65 g/t gold,” he stated.

The Dalgaranga gold project’s total mineral resource estimate now stands at 16.1 million tonnes (Mt) at 4.79 g/t gold, representing a 90 percent increase in grade and a 45 percent increase in ounces from the previous estimate.

“Our journey has just begun, and we are eager to see what our team can deliver once the drill drive is in place,” Lawson concluded.

Despite a decrease in rare earth production, Lynas Rare Earths remains on track with the ramp-up of the Kalgoorlie facility in Western Australia.

In the June 2024 quarter, Lynas produced 2,188 tonnes of total rare earth oxide (REO) and 1,504 tonnes of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr). Lynas Managing Director and CEO Amanda Lacaze attributed the production decrease compared to the previous quarter to "essential maintenance" activities at Lynas Malaysia.

"During the June quarter, the ramp-up of the Kalgoorlie facility continued, and the first shipment of mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) was dispatched to Malaysia," Lacaze said. "While production volumes remain low as processes are stabilised, the ramp-up is proceeding according to plan."

Mining operations resumed at Mount Weld during the quarter. Under a five-year mining services contract awarded in March, Carey Group Holdings subsidiary Carey Mining began removing waste material above the orebody. Carey Mining also brought a new fleet of equipment, including a PC1250 excavator and 785 haul trucks from Komatsu, to the site.

"Mount Weld delivered efficient production of concentrate during the quarter," Lacaze said. "Trucking of concentrate to the Kalgoorlie facility commenced using Lynas' new 'rotainer' container system, which uses half-size containers and mechanical lifting to minimize manual handling requirements at Mount Weld and Kalgoorlie."

Construction activities for the Mount Weld expansion project continued, with Stage 1 (concentrate dewatering) complete and commissioning expected to be finished by the end of September. "The new concentrate dewatering circuit has been integrated into the existing plant. Once commissioned, it will debottleneck the current operation while the remainder of the new plant is constructed," Lacaze said.

"Construction of Stage 2 is ramping up, and the tailings storage facility is now under construction. The balance of Stage 2 (plant construction) is expected to be completed by the end of FY25. Commissioning activities for Stage 2 will progress concurrently with construction as individual circuits are completed."

Lynas ended the quarter with $136.6 million in sales revenue and $117.5 million in sales receipts, reflecting the lower average NdPr price of $US46/kg ($69).

Evolution Mining and Genesis Minerals have reported impressive gold production results as they head into the 2024–25 financial year (FY25).

Evolution Mining

Evolution Mining achieved a 14 percent increase in gold production during the June 2024 quarter, producing 212,070 ounces (oz) of gold at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of $1275/oz, which is 13 percent lower than the previous quarter. The company recorded a remarkable 171 percent increase in quarterly group cash flow, rising from $85 million to $230 million. Additionally, Evolution saw a 74 percent increase in quarterly net mine cash flow, reaching $242 million, equivalent to $1170/oz.

The Cowal gold mine in New South Wales set a new production record, producing 94,826oz during the quarter. Evolution's managing director and CEO, Lawrie Conway, highlighted the strong performance, stating, “We had an outstanding June quarter with sector-leading cash generation and low costs which showcase the quality of our portfolio.”

For FY24, Evolution generated $367 million in group cash flow and $583 million in net mine cash flow, producing a total of 716,700oz of gold and 67,862 tonnes of copper at an AISC of $1477/oz. Cowal achieved record annual gold production under Evolution’s ownership, producing 312,644oz in FY24 at an AISC of $1338/oz. Conway noted, “We achieved multiple records at an operational level, and I am particularly pleased that June was the strongest month of the quarter, which builds momentum moving into FY25. This result is a credit to our team.”

Genesis Minerals

Genesis Minerals, while accelerating its growth strategy, produced 34,617oz at an AISC of $2698/oz during the June quarter. This brings Genesis’ FY24 production to 134,451oz at an AISC of $2356/oz, meeting its FY24 guidance of 130,000–140,000oz at an AISC of $2300–2400/oz.

Genesis managing director Raleigh Finlayson described the quarter as highly successful, stating, “We met both production and cost guidance while laying the foundations to accelerate our organic growth strategy. This is designed to ensure we achieve our 325,000ozpa (per annum) production target and reduce AISC to $1600/oz ahead of the FY29 date contained in our five-year plan.”

During the June quarter, Genesis processed 10,562 tonnes (t) of third-party ore from its Leonora operations in Western Australia under its short-term ore purchase agreement with Linden Gold Alliance. Surface ore stockpiles from Leonora awaiting processing increased to about 314,000t under Genesis’ first 12 months of ownership, aligning with the company’s long-term strategy to “future-proof” the business.

On May 1, commercial production commenced at the Admiral open pit, located approximately 40km from the Leonora mill in WA. Finlayson stated, “We have successfully established a very large inventory which underpins forecast production of 3Moz (million ounces) over 10 years. We now want to unlock more of its value sooner to capitalize on this enviable position and the buoyant gold price. By accelerating our self-funded organic growth strategy, we can drive rapid growth in free cashflow generation, creating greater shareholder value in the process. We are very pleased with the way the pieces of the Genesis jigsaw are coming together.”

BHP's copper business continues to thrive, with the company reporting a nine percent increase in copper production across its assets during the June 2024 quarter.

This growth was driven primarily by record production at the Spence mine in Chile and the Carrapateena mine in South Australia, with Spence producing 255,000 tonnes and Copper South Australia producing 266,000 tonnes.

The Escondida mine in Chile, known as the world's largest producer of copper concentrates and cathodes, achieved its highest production in four years with 1,125,000 tonnes of copper produced during the quarter.

"We finished the year with a strong fourth quarter, achieving several production records and meeting current production and unit cost guidance for all commodities," said BHP chief executive officer Mike Henry.

"Our copper business delivered a robust performance globally, highlighted by the highest production in four years at Escondida and another year of record production at Spence in Chile. The successful integration at Copper South Australia has also boosted production, exceeding the annualized synergies planned at the time of the OZL acquisition."

BHP’s Western Australia Iron Ore business also showed strong performance, achieving a record 255 million tonnes for the year, marking the second consecutive year of record production.

"We continued to execute our strategy, advancing growth options in the commodities needed to meet the demands of the energy transition and population growth," Henry added.

"This includes our Jansen potash mine in Canada, where construction of Stage 1 is now more than 50 percent complete and Stage 2 is underway. We anticipate first production in 2026 and aim to be a major global producer of potash by the end of the decade."

Looking ahead, BHP will enter a transition period following the temporary suspension of its Nickel West operation in Western Australia. This will involve suspending mining and processing operations at the Kwinana nickel refinery, Kalgoorlie nickel smelter, and Mount Keith and Leinster operations, as well as halting development of the West Musgrave project.

During this period, BHP will implement a care and maintenance program to ensure the safety and integrity of its mines and infrastructure while continuing to invest in exploration to extend the resource life of Western Australia Nickel.

BHP has pledged to support its workforce and local communities during the suspension by establishing a $20 million community fund. Additionally, the company will invest approximately $450 million per annum to support a potential restart of Western Australia Nickel.

Great Boulder Resources has identified two significant gold targets through a recent soil geochemistry program at the Side Well Gold Project in Western Australia.

At Side Well South, one target spans 2.4km and features an Ironbark-style structure with peak gold values of 75 parts per billion (ppb). The other target is a 1.4km-long anomaly with bismuth and molybdenum.

The company, with a market capitalization of $33.96 million, noted that both targets are near the historic Golden Bracelet Mine, which historically produced over 1,000 ounces of gold at 27 grams per tonne.

Managing Director Andrew Paterson highlighted that surface sampling data confirmed the mineralization continues south through the tenements and the known hydrothermal system, extending over 18km of strike.

“At Side Well South, we’ve identified two new targets collectively spanning 3.8km of strike,” Paterson said. “This expands the known mineral system with the same pathfinder fingerprints as our earlier discoveries to the north. The surface anomalism has been getting stronger as we move south, so we’re excited to find these new targets and keen to drill them as soon as possible.”

Great Boulder has scheduled a heritage survey at Side Well South starting on July 22, with aircore drilling set to commence once heritage approval is received.

Additionally, the company plans to conduct further aircore drilling to explore the potential of the Polelle Gold Project after confirming strong pathfinder anomalism. The recent aircore drilling program consisted of 45 holes over 1,764 meters, targeting areas in the northwest and eastern sides of the project. The bottom-of-hole multi-element assays revealed pathfinder anomalism, with antimony values ranging from 11 parts per million (ppm) to 55ppm at Lordy Bore, and up to 12ppm antimony, accompanied by elevated levels of arsenic, copper, bismuth, tellurium, molybdenum, and lead near Bassett Bore.

Paterson noted that four lines of drilling in two areas at Polelle were completed based on heritage surveys conducted in 2022. “Unfortunately, that meant the program wasn’t optimal in terms of our priority targets, but we confirmed very high levels of antimony and other pathfinders in both locations,” he said. “Antimony is one of our key pathfinder elements for orogenic gold deposits, and it confirms we’re inside the mineralised system.”

He added that both aircore and reverse circulation drilling will be conducted to test various targets at Mulga Bill North. “The second half of the year is going to be extremely busy, and we anticipate a lot of good news in the months ahead,” Paterson said.

Great Boulder is currently exploring Polelle in Meekatharra, Western Australia, under an agreement with Castle Minerals (ASX

), giving Great Boulder an option to acquire 75% of the project. The company also received a $558,000 research and development rebate in early July, ensuring continued funding for ongoing exploration.

Great Boulder Resources is a mineral exploration company with a portfolio of promising gold and base metal assets in Western Australia.

Bellevue Gold has exceeded the midpoint of its June quarter guidance for the 2023-24 financial year (FY24) due to a continuous production ramp-up.

The Bellevue Gold Project delivered a robust quarter with 42,705 ounces (oz) of gold produced, an increase from the March quarter's 37,338 oz. This production has generated $41 million in free cash flow, a notable achievement given that commercial production was only declared in May.

For the second half of FY24, total gold production reached 80,043 oz, surpassing the company's guidance range of 75,000-85,000 oz.

"It was a successful quarter in which we ramped up production in line with our plan, met guidance, and generated strong free cash flow," said Bellevue Managing Director Darren Stralow. "Underground tonnes increased in line with the plan, and the processing plant is performing strongly. We are now well into the expansion study, which aims to leverage our current infrastructure and unlock the full value of the Bellevue asset."

Bellevue Gold is continuing its expansion studies to explore the project's potential by expanding the plant beyond its current capacity of one million tonnes per annum. A scoping study is already underway, focusing on expanding the plant to 1.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) and assessing the capital requirements for non-processing infrastructure. This study is expected to be completed in the first half of the 2024-25 financial year.

Additionally, Bellevue announced that it is on track to achieve its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for the Bellevue Project by 2026, thanks to investments in thermal and wind power technologies.