White Energy Advances Specimen Hill Stake, Raises $3.7M, Boosts Coal Tech in South Africa

Capital Raising and Financial Position

White Energy Company Limited (ASX: WEC) strengthened its financial footing in the March 2025 quarter by successfully raising $3.7 million (net) through an entitlement offer. This capital injection is earmarked to support ongoing mineral exploration activities, general corporate purposes, and working capital needs. The company closed the quarter with a robust cash balance of $4.18 million, positioning it well to fund its near-term exploration and development programs.

Specimen Hill Project Earn-In Milestone

A major highlight for the quarter was White Energy achieving the first earn-in milestone under its farm-in agreement with Tectonic Gold Plc and Signature Gold Pty Ltd, securing a 51% interest in the Specimen Hill Project tenements in Queensland. This milestone required $1 million in exploration expenditure within three years, but White Energy met it in just 12 months, signaling strong operational momentum. The project area is highly prospective for copper and gold, with fieldwork confirming a large, complex mineral system exhibiting porphyry, IOCG, and skarn mineralisation styles.

Exploration efforts included detailed geological mapping, rock chip sampling, and ionic soil sampling, with recent work expanding the areas of interest west and south of the initial focus zones. The company is leveraging advanced geophysical and geochemical techniques, including deep crustal lithospheric analytics developed in partnership with the National Institute for Scientific Research (INRS) in Canada, to refine drill targets ahead of a planned 2025 drilling campaign.

Drilling and Sampling at Coronation Prospect

At the Robin Rise Project in South Australia, White Energy completed a six-hole drilling program at the Coronation prospect, totaling 1,706 metres. The drilling intersected a variety of lithologies, including magnetite-altered gabbro and granitoids, consistent with IOCG-style mineralisation. While assay results did not reveal strong anomalies across all holes, one interval showed copper concentrations 71 times above background levels, indicating potential mineralisation zones warranting further investigation.

Complementary ionic soil sampling south of the prospect returned weakly anomalous uranium values, broadly mapping basement geology and supporting the prospectivity of the area. The company has completed rehabilitation of the drill sites and is currently prioritizing exploration efforts at other projects.

Tindal Project and Advanced Geochemical Analysis

White Energy continued its extensive ionic sampling program at the Tindal project in the Northern Territory, collecting over 2,000 samples during the 2024 field season. These samples are undergoing detailed analysis alongside geophysical data interpreted in collaboration with INRS. This integrated approach aims to identify compelling drill targets by mapping lithospheric boundaries and mineralisation pathways. Exploration expenditure for Tindal during the quarter was $132,000, reflecting ongoing commitment to this large and geologically complex project.

Commercializing Binderless Coal Briquetting Technology

On the coal technology front, White Energy is advancing the commercialization of its exclusive Binderless Coal Briquetting (BCB) technology through its 51%-owned River Energy JV subsidiary in South Africa. The BCB process upgrades low-quality, high-moisture coal fines into higher energy briquettes without binders, offering environmental and operational benefits. During the quarter, White Energy supported Proterra Investment Partners in operating a small pilot plant in Johannesburg and designing a commercial-scale demonstration plant. These efforts target the reclamation and value-addition of over one billion tonnes of coal tailings in South Africa, addressing both economic and environmental challenges.

Corporate and Legal Developments

White Energy continues to pursue recovery of approximately $2.7 million owed from the sale of its former subsidiary Mountainside Coal Company Inc., which is undergoing Chapter 7 liquidation in the US. The company and its joint venture partner hold security over valuable MCC assets, with a recent auction pending court confirmation. Additionally, the company reported payments to related parties for directors’ fees, office leases, and geological services, all conducted on normal commercial terms.