Latest Exploration And Development News

Hammer Metals’ proposed acquisition by Austral Resources has cleared its first court stage, with ASIC registering the scheme booklet and an independent expert backing the scrip deal. Shareholders now face linked votes on the takeover and the demerger of Western Australian gold assets into an unlisted company.

Locksley Resources has halted active field exploration across its Mojave antimony and rare earths project after antimony prices fell more than 57% from mid-2025 peaks. The strategic reset came as the company reported a widened FY26 loss of A$15.65 million and shifted attention to copper-gold assets in New South Wales.

Rokeby Resources has shifted its centre of gravity to the Omeo Gold Project, but the strategic reset comes after a near-doubling annual loss and with substantial future funding obligations. The company ended FY2026 with A$3.39 million in cash and drilling underway at Sunnyside.

Pursuit Minerals posted an A$666,579 FY2026 profit, but the result was driven largely by a fair-value gain on its Kendrick Resources investment rather than operating revenue. The company’s more consequential development is in Argentina, where Rio Grande Sur now carries a 1.264 million tonne LCE resource, a maiden probable reserve and a pre-feasibility case for 5,000 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate.

Celsius Resources has reported a sharply wider FY2026 loss after impairing its disputed interest in the MCB copper-gold project, while an Equinaire credit bid has complicated ownership of the Philippine asset. The company is relying on a pending Opuwo sale, fresh financing and arbitration to keep its development strategy alive.

Estrella Resources has delivered a 27,371-tonne manganese stockpile and a maiden 621-million-tonne limestone resource in Timor-Leste, but the operational progress came alongside a $23.98 million FY2026 loss and a $21.13 million impairment of Western Australian assets. The next test is whether the manganese stockpile can become cash and whether Werumata can move beyond an Inferred resource.

GBM Resources has paired encouraging gold results beyond the existing Twin Hills resource with a substantially stronger balance sheet after a A$40 million placement and convertible-note repayment. The exploration-stage company finished the year with A$31.7 million in cash, but its next resource upgrade still depends on assays and further drilling.

Canyon Resources has advanced construction at its Minim Martap bauxite project, but a lender’s drawdown suspension has delayed first shipment and created material uncertainty over the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The annual report also details a recommended rejection of A2MP’s A$0.05-a-share takeover offer.

Cassius Mining reported a deeper FY2026 loss, negative net assets and a material uncertainty over its ability to continue as a going concern. The company is relying on further funding, a possible Ghana arbitration award and progress at its Soalara limestone project to support its next phase.

Apollo Minerals ended 2026 with A$7.74 million in cash and no debt after raising A$9.3 million, but remains a loss-making explorer with no JORC Mineral Resources or production. The company is now concentrating its exploration story on the reinstated Couflens tungsten-gold project in France, while carrying a conceptual zinc-lead target in Gabon.

Axel REE has more than doubled the Woolrich resource to 264.6 million tonnes and delivered its first Indicated classification at the Brazilian rare earths project. The upgrade comes as the loss-making explorer prepares a controlled in-situ recovery field validation program, with A$5.73 million in cash at year-end.

Krakatoa Resources advanced drilling at its flagship Zopkhito antimony-gold project in Georgia, but the exploration push more than doubled its annual loss and reduced cash to $739,459. The company subsequently raised $4 million, highlighting the funding needed to keep moving towards a maiden JORC-compliant resource.