Latest Drilling News

Vertex Minerals’ Reward Gold Mine produced 679 ounces in its first production year, but the transition came with a A$16.4 million loss, negative operating cash flow and a formal going-concern warning. The company now faces a narrow window to prove its mechanised mining plan can lift production before debt repayments and further funding decisions bite.

Xstate Resources has secured preferred tenderer status for a 305 square kilometre block in Queensland’s Taroom Trough, with the company set to initially operate a four-party joint venture. The prospective acreage offers exposure to basin-centred gas, associated liquids and light crude, but the licence remains subject to government processes.

Beetaloo Energy has secured a 25% non-operated interest in a 305 square kilometre Taroom Trough block as part of a four-company joint venture selected as Queensland’s preferred tenderer. The position comes with no upfront consideration, while its initial two-year work program is intended to be funded from existing cash.

Cobre has completed its A$90 million capital raise, including an approximately A$17.7 million second tranche backed by its two largest shareholders and directors. The proceeds will support Sierra Atacama ownership, debt repayment, plant upgrades and exploration in Chile and Botswana.

Peregrine Gold has secured $2.25 million through a discounted placement backed by major shareholder Mark Creasy, Lion Selection Group and company directors. The funding is earmarked for maiden drilling and broader gold and iron ore exploration in Western Australia, subject to heritage and Programme of Work approvals.

Mamba Exploration has secured a $6.0 million placement, attracted a $500,000 investment from New Murchison Gold and added former Westgold founder Peter Cook as a strategic adviser. The funding will support drilling at Meeka East and a staged earn-in over the early-stage Poison Hills project, where selective rock chips returned high silver, gold, copper and lead grades.

Iltani Resources has secured firm commitments for a $4.6 million placement, anchored by a $1.5 million investment from QIC’s Queensland Critical Minerals Fund. The funding will support a 145-hole drilling program at the Orient Silver-Zinc-Indium Project before the wet season, with further work planned in 2027.

Osmond Resources’ preliminary study has put a US$2.31 billion post-tax NPV on its Spanish rare earths and mineral sands project, but the headline economics rest on a scoping-level model and a US$300 million funding requirement. The next test is whether drilling, metallurgy, permitting and financing can turn the attractive concept into a financeable mine.

Patriot Resources has completed 38 surface samples at its Tassa silver-gold project in Peru, where mapping identified a 120-metre breccia interpreted as the upper part of a preserved epithermal system. The company is now moving south into the newly acquired Tassa 5 tenement while its maiden drill permit application progresses.

Unity Metals has extended its Camp stockwork gold discovery in Cambodia by 35 metres to the northeast, with a new hole returning 1 metre at 10.2 grams per tonne gold. The mineralisation remains open at depth and along strike, although a nearby southwest test returned no significant intersections.

First Au will acquire six exploration licences in Western Australia’s Ora Banda district for A$150,000 upfront, with a further A$500,000 deferred at the seller’s discretion. The deal expands its Riverina tenure but comes with a A$250,000 drilling commitment and remains subject to completion conditions.

Dynamic Metals will sell its Lady Jane Gold Project to First Au for up to A$650,000 while retaining a 1.5% gross revenue royalty. The buyer must spend at least A$250,000 on direct drilling within two years, or Dynamic can seek to take the project back.