Neometals reports promising gold exploration results at Barrambie and advances lithium and vanadium projects with major partners, while completing a key business sale.
- High-grade gold intercepts at Barrambie’s Ironclad deposit
- Mining lease application lodged amid Native Title negotiations
- Progress on lithium chemical processing with Rio Tinto collaboration
- Vanadium recovery project advancing through equity and debt funding
- Sale of lithium-ion battery recycling business completed, boosting cash
Barrambie Gold Project Exploration Breakthroughs
Neometals Ltd has reported significant progress in its upstream exploration activities at the Barrambie Gold Project in Western Australia. The company announced results from its maiden diamond drilling program at the Ironclad deposit and the nearby Mystery prospect, revealing multiple high-grade gold intercepts. Notably, one drill hole returned 14.15 meters at 3.21 grams per tonne gold, including a 3.25-meter section grading 11.45 grams per tonne with visible gold. These results reinforce the potential of Barrambie as a prolific gold camp, with historic data suggesting a sizeable exploration target ranging between 335,000 and 775,000 ounces of gold.
Adding to this momentum, Neometals uncovered and reported assays from 61 historic reverse circulation drill holes dating back to the 1980s, which had not been previously disclosed. These historic assays include exceptional grades such as 3 meters at 95.7 grams per tonne gold, substantially enriching the existing dataset and informing future resource estimation efforts.
Advancing Towards Development
In a critical step towards project advancement, Neometals lodged a mining lease application for the Ironclad deposit. This application is currently undergoing Native Title negotiations, a key regulatory milestone. Concurrently, metallurgical test work and waste rock characterisation have commenced, laying the groundwork for future mine planning and resource updates expected in early 2026. The company is also progressing an extensive 8,300-meter reverse circulation drilling campaign to further delineate and expand mineralisation across the Barrambie gold trend.
Strategic Moves in Titanium, Vanadium, and Lithium
While exploration advances upstream, Neometals continues to manage its portfolio of downstream processing technologies. Discussions are ongoing regarding the divestment of the Barrambie Titanium and Vanadium Project, which hosts one of the world’s highest-grade hard-rock titanium resources. Meanwhile, the company’s lithium chemicals division, operating through Reed Advanced Materials, has held collaborative workshops with Rio Tinto teams from multiple continents. These meetings aim to optimise the patented ELi Process™, a low-cost, low-carbon method for producing lithium hydroxide and carbonate, with plans for pilot plant validation underway.
On the vanadium front, the Pori Vanadium Project in Finland is progressing through equity and debt funding phases, with several interested parties engaged in due diligence. This project leverages Neometals’ proprietary technology to recover vanadium from steelmaking slag, targeting a low-cost, sustainable supply of this critical metal.
Corporate and Financial Highlights
Neometals completed the sale of its lithium-ion battery recycling business to SMS Group GmbH, receiving €5 million upfront plus ongoing revenue royalties capped at €7 million. This strategic divestment allows the company to redeploy capital towards higher-value opportunities. Financially, Neometals ended the quarter with a robust cash balance of A$10.2 million, no debt, and investments and receivables totaling A$0.4 million, positioning it well to fund ongoing exploration and development activities.
Bottom Line?
Neometals’ blend of promising exploration results and strategic technology partnerships sets the stage for a pivotal 2026.
Questions in the middle?
- How will the updated resource estimates at Barrambie influence project financing and development timelines?
- What are the key milestones and timelines for the ELi Process pilot plant with Rio Tinto?
- How might the divestment of the Barrambie Ti-V Project reshape Neometals’ strategic focus and capital allocation?