Development costs at St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ, FRA:S0G, OTC:SGQMF))'s Araxá Project in Brazil will fall after the State of Minas Gerais signed a preferential goods tax regime covering project build-out and processing infrastructure.
Under the approved regime, equipment and other materials acquired for Araxá’s development — including items for a pilot plant and any future full-scale industrial plant — will be exempt from the State goods tax, which St George said can be as high as 18% and is typically applied at the time of purchase.
AuMEGA Metals Ltd (ASX:AAM, TSX:AUM, OTCQB:AUMMF, FRA:FRA: MA30) is looking to raise up to C$10 million through a brokered LIFE offering, with the bulk of the funds to be directed towards exploration in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The company plans to issue up to 42,553,191 flow-through shares at C$0.0470 each, 55,147,059 charity flow-through shares at C$0.0544 each and 125,000,000 common shares at C$0.040 each.
Horizon Minerals Ltd (ASX:HRZ) has lifted its consolidated gold Mineral Resource after re-reporting multiple deposits at a lower cut-off grade, effectively pulling more lower-grade mineralisation into the reported inventory as the gold price environment improves project economics.
The company’s updated group position is 34.32Mt at 1.7g/t Au for 1.88Moz, underpinned by its larger cornerstone assets at Boorara and Burbanks. While the overall grade fell due to the inclusion of more lower-grade material, Horizon is framing the update as an “ounces-first” outcome that expands optionality as it advances studies around its broader Kalgoorlie and Coolgardie footprint.
Satellite imagery shows Rio Tinto Ltd is accelerating activity at the Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, with shipments now under way and infrastructure close to completion.
Shares in the FTSE 100 miner hit an all-time high of 7,421p on Thursday, up 0.7% on the day, 22% since the start of 2026 and 47% since this time last year.
Alkane Resources Ltd (ASX:ALK, OTC:ALKEF) has established a sponsored Level 1 American Depositary Receipts (ADR) program in a move aimed at lifting its profile and liquidity among North American investors.
The company confirmed the program became available for trading in the United States on February 11, 2026, and will trade over the counter (OTC) under the ticker ALKRY. One ADR represents 10 Alkane ordinary shares.
Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok has moved up to third place among the world’s most-visited generative AI platforms, overtaking rival DeepSeek on web traffic measures, according to new data from digital analytics firm Similarweb.
As first reported by Forbes, Similarweb estimates Grok recorded roughly 314 million web visits in January 2026, compared with about 298 million for DeepSeek. That shift pushes Grok into the No. 3 spot globally, behind OpenAI (Unlisted:OPAI)’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini.
Cobre Ltd (ASX:CBE) is aiming to transform itself into a copper producer after launching a A$60 million capital raising to acquire a majority interest in the Sierra Atacama Copper Project in Chile’s Antofagasta region. The binding and exclusive agreement with Minera Salar Blanco (MSB) gives Cobre the right to earn up to 51% of the district-scale project, which spans about 40,000 hectares in one of the world’s premier copper belts.
Sierra Atacama hosts an operating underground mine currently producing about 400 tonnes of copper cathode per month via heap leach and SX-EW processing. The project also includes extensive, largely unexplored ground adjacent to major copper operations including Marimaca and Capstone Copper’s Mantos Blancos mine.
Tamboran Resources Corporation (NYSE:TBN, ASX:TBN, OTC:TBNRL) says it remains on track to deliver first gas from the Beetaloo Basin in the third quarter of 2026, with its December quarterly outlining steady drilling progress, advancing infrastructure and strengthened funding.
The company’s Shenandoah South (SS) Pilot Project remains the centrepiece of its near-term development plans, with multiple wells drilled and stimulated and compression and pipeline infrastructure nearing completion.
Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB, XETRA:AMC) will idle the remaining operating train at its Kemerton lithium hydroxide processing plant in Western Australia, placing Train 1 into care and maintenance effective immediately, in a move expected to result in about 250 job losses.
The decision follows earlier steps in 2024 to place Train 2 into care and maintenance and to abandon expansion plans for Trains 3 and 4. Albemarle said the move would improve financial flexibility and preserve optionality amid ongoing challenges in Western hard-rock lithium conversion.
Just a day after completing the acquisition of the high-grade Tillex Copper-Silver Project in Canada, Aruma Resources Ltd (ASX:AAJ) is set to start its maiden field season at the project in Ontario’s Tier-1 Timmins mining district, targeting extensions to an already substantial high-grade copper system.
The Tillex Project is a drill-defined copper sulphide asset with a 450-metre strike extent and a history of wide, high-grade intersections from more than 10,284m of diamond drilling completed by previous owners.
International Graphite Ltd (ASX:IG6, FRA:H99)'s pilot-scale purification testwork has exceeded its target specifications for producing high-quality expandable graphite, as it advances plans for a Europe-based expandable graphite facility supplying European industrial markets.
The work is being carried out by ALKEEMIA S.p.A in specialist graphite laboratories at its Port Marghera operations near Venice. International Graphite said the program draws on a mix of coarse and fine graphite concentrates sourced from operating mines in multiple jurisdictions, as well as fine graphite concentrates generated from its Springdale Graphite Project.
Yandal Resources Ltd (ASX:YRL) has mapped a primary gold-bearing structure over more than 1.2 kilometres of strike at its Arrakis Prospect, setting up a new phase of closer-spaced drilling in 2026 as the company looks to define higher-grade trends within the system.
The latest reverse circulation (RC) results from late 2025 drilling confirm fresh rock mineralisation along the Arrakis trend at the 100%-owned Ironstone Well-Barwidgee (IWB) Gold Project in Western Australia’s northern Yandal Greenstone Belt.
Novo Resources Corp (TSX:NVO, OTCQX:NSRPF, ASX:NVO, FRA:1NOR) has sharpened its focus on a multi-jurisdiction gold and antimony exploration pipeline, with an upgraded exploration target at its Victorian Belltopper project and a series of drill-ready prospects emerging across Western Australia and New South Wales.
S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries (ASX: XSO) has eased 32.10 points, or 0.85%, to 3,751.80 in the first half hour of trade, but has remained up 107.10 points (2.94%) over the past five trading days.
Against that backdrop, several small-cap names delivered company-specific updates spanning exploration, processing testwork and commercial orders. You can read about the following and more throughout the day.
Janus Electric Holdings Ltd (ASX:JNS) has received further orders in California for its heavy-vehicle electrification system via Electric Vehicle Choice (EVC), its authorised dealer in the state, as the company continues to build out its US commercial footprint.
The order comprises two Janus Conversion Modules (JCMs), three pairs of batteries and a Janus Charge and Change Station, with a total value of about A$1.6 million.
Rio Tinto Ltd returned to the broker spotlight after UBS resumed coverage with a 'Neutral' rating and lifted its 12-month price target to 6,900p from 5,800p, even as the shares traded at 7,051p.
The bank’s restart comes after Rio confirmed it does not intend to make an offer for Glencore PLC, cooling a market debate that had briefly reopened the “GlenTinto” merger narrative.
A cluster of attention-grabbing announcements from ASX-listed biotech juniors this morning touched on several key pressure points for the sector — clinical timelines, regulatory clearance, scientific credibility and US trial execution.
Updates from Racura Oncology, Memphasys, Noxopharm and Amplia Therapeutics cover noteworthy advancements including trial protocol amendments designed to pull forward key data, Australian regulatory clearance for a key product, high-impact scientific publication and the expansion of US trial sites in pancreatic cancer.
Novo Resources Corp (TSX:NVO, OTCQX:NSRPF, ASX:NVO, FRA:1NOR) has delivered a substantial upgrade to the Exploration Target at its Belltopper Gold Project in Victoria, lifting potential tonnage, grades and contained ounces following a detailed reassessment of historical data, geology and drilling.
The updated 2026 Exploration Target estimates between 460,000 ounces and 880,000 ounces of contained gold, up from the 2024 range of 320,000 ounces to 570,000 ounces. On a percentage basis, this represents a 44% increase at the low end and 54% at the high end.
Mithril Silver and Gold Ltd (ASX:MTH) says maiden drilling at Target 5 has confirmed a large, silver-rich target in the south-west of its district-scale Copalquin Silver-Gold Project in Durango State, Mexico.
The company reported high-grade silver and gold mineralisation within a series of northwest-trending banded quartz veins hosted in granodiorite, across an area extending 3.2 kilometres from El Gallo to Guamuchilito and 3.0 kilometres from El Jarillal to the Zaragoza workings (9.6 km²).
EcoGraf Ltd (ASX:EGR, OTCQX:ECGFF) has signed a cooperation agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB) covering technical assistance to help progress the company’s vertically integrated HFfree graphite business in the critical raw materials (CRM) sector.
Under the agreement, the EIB will provide technical assistance across a defined package of workstreams, including support for:
Lindian Resources Ltd (ASX:LIN, OTC:LINIF) has begun a Stage 2 resource definition drilling and mine geotechnical program at its Kangankunde Rare Earths Project in Malawi, aiming to lift resource confidence and support potential expansion planning.
The program is designed to convert approximately 20–40 million tonnes of existing Inferred Mineral Resource material to Indicated classification within the current resource footprint, subject to drilling outcomes and Competent Person review. Work is focused beneath and around the edges of the current Indicated Resource, targeting areas expected to fall within a potential Stage 2 mine design.
Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR, FRA:9S70) has started a structured, solid-state lithium-ion battery evaluation program in the United States, taking it a step beyond early-stage optioning and into laboratory-based validation of next-generation battery materials.
The six-month program is being conducted with the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology (SDM) under the National Science Foundation-supported Centre for Solid-State Electric Power Storage (CEPS), giving the company access to advanced research infrastructure typically unavailable to early-stage industry participants.
Terra Metals Ltd (ASX:TM1, FRA:21V) says drilling at its Dante Project in Western Australia has confirmed a large, thick titanium–vanadium–gallium discovery at the SW3 and SW4 prospects, significantly expanding the scale and metal mix of the Southwest corridor.
Results from recent reverse circulation drilling show the SW3–SW4 system now extends over more than 800 metres of strike and at least 400 metres of width from surface, with individual high-grade oxide reef packages reaching up to 60 metres thick. Terra says this is around 11 times thicker than the basal reef that underpins the current 148-million-tonne Mineral Resource Estimate at Dante Reefs 1 and 2.
Aruma Resources Ltd (ASX:AAJ) has completed the acquisition of the high-grade Tillex Copper-Silver Project in the Tier-1 Timmins mining district of Ontario, Canada, marking a key step in the company’s strategy to build exposure to copper assets in established North American mining jurisdictions.
Settlement has now been finalised for all four patent claims that make up the Tillex Project, with legal title formally transferred to Aruma. The claims are held under a combination of agreements with Canadian-listed Metals Creek Resources Corp (TSX-V: MEK) and private landholders, resulting in Aruma securing control of the entire project area.
D3 Energy Ltd (ASX:D3E, OTCQB:DNRGF) has been granted a new Technical Cooperation Permit (TCP273) in South Africa’s Free State Province, expanding its position in what it describes as a world-class helium province.
The newly awarded TCP273 sits adjacent to the company’s existing exploration holdings and application areas, including its flagship Exploration Right (ER315). D3 has already applied for an initial Production Right over part of the ER315 area.
NextSource Materials Inc. (TSX:NEXT, OTCQB:NSRCF) has announced plans for a private placement offering of units to raise gross proceeds of approximately C$25 million, with funds expected to support development of its United Arab Emirates battery anode facility, update its Molo technical report, and for general corporate purposes.
The company said it has engaged Stifel Canada as lead agent and sole bookrunner, with Maxim Group acting as co-agent, for a “best-efforts” offering of about 58.8 million units priced at C$0.425 per unit. Each unit will consist of one common share and one-half of one common share purchase warrant.
Cavendish Securities reiterated its 'buy' rating and 21.8p target price for 88 Energy Ltd (AIM:88E, ASX:88E, OTCQB:EEENF, FRA:POQ), highlighting the increased potential of the company’s Namibian acreage following positive regional drilling results.
The recent Kavango West-1X well, drilled by a separate operator, confirmed meaningful net pay and hydrocarbon shows, and will now progress to production testing.
European Lithium Ltd (ASX:EUR, OTCQB:EULIF) has reported a fresh set of high-grade drilling results from the Tanbreez Rare Earths Project in southern Greenland, highlighting expanding mineralisation across multiple zones and reinforcing the project’s scale and long-term development potential.
The results, drawn from the final assays of the 2025 drilling campaign, cover both the established Fjord Deposit and a newer target known as Area B, located immediately east of the Hill Zone Deposit.
Acusensus Ltd (ASX:ACE) has secured an expansion and extension to its multi-function enforcement services agreement with the WA Road Safety Commission, doubling the number of trailer-based enforcement units contracted under the deal originally signed in October 2024. The company expects the incremental value associated with the contract variation and contract extension (prior to any variable elements) to total about $13 million, excluding GST.
The variation includes six additional trailer units to be progressively deployed from July to September 2026, with two units already operating since November 2025, as Acusensus broadens regional coverage across Western Australia.
Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930) is back in the headlines this week as investors and AI hardware makers parse fresh reports that it is poised to accelerate production of next-generation high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips.
According to a Yonhap News Agency report, Samsung is preparing to begin mass production of its sixth-generation HBM4 memory chips as early as this month, with plans to ship them into the supply chain for Nvidia’s next-generation AI accelerators possibly by next week.
RaaS continues to see Provaris Energy Ltd (ASX:PV1, OTC:GBBLF, FRA:WS90) as a "unique investment opportunity" into the "clean and green" energy sector and is framing 2026 as a year where the company needs to deliver clear technical milestones to reduce risk and move closer to commercial outcomes. The broker’s focus remains on two tracks: Provaris’ compressed hydrogen storage pathway and a separate LCO2 tank opportunity, where FEED and fabrication work are the near-term markers of progress.
"As we see it, Provaris Energy Ltd (ASX.PV1) continues to represent a unique investment offering into the ‘clean and green’ energy sector, and the complementary carbon capture and storage business, through its proprietary storage tank designs. On success, the innovative designs as proposed should be viewed as a disruptor technology that can instigate and support a materially positive change to energy supply-chains and the economics of CO2 transport — simply on the basis of shipping 'more for less' cost. We view 2026 as the year to complete deliverables in both the hydrogen and LCO2 streams and note the recent ASX release, that it has '…successfully completed the Phase 1 delivery of LCO2 Tank FEED (…) on time and within budget'.
Ordell Minerals (ASX: ORD) has reported further reverse circulation results from its Barimaia Gold Project near Mount Magnet in WA, saying drilling continues to define a consistent, shallow zone of gold mineralisation at the McNabs East prospect.
The latest assays are from RC drilling completed in December 2025 over about 400 metres of strike, testing to a maximum vertical depth of about 90m, with mineralisation starting about 10 metres below surface and showing potential open pit geometry.
Omega Oil and Gas (ASX: OMA) has been awarded a large new land parcel in Queensland’s Taroom Trough, extending its operated position over the basin’s eastern flank and setting up what the company is pitching as a major 2026/27 drilling campaign.
The Queensland Government granted the 750 sq km block (PLR2025-1-9) to an Omega-led joint venture with Tri-Star E&P and Beach Energy following a competitive tender process. Omega will hold 45% and operatorship, with Tri-Star on 30% and Beach on 25%.
Cannindah Resources Ltd (ASX:CAE) has started a resource expansion drilling program at its Cannindah Breccia copper-gold deposit in central Queensland, targeting what it believes could be a higher-grade “Gap” zone within the existing 14.5Mt at 1.09% CuEq Mineral Resource Estimate.
The Gap is a 275-metre-long section within the broader 600 metre breccia strike where a combination of lower drill density, earlier sub-optimal drill orientations that did not adequately test the high-grade footwall structure, and historical sampling omissions due to high-grade cut-offs has created an apparent void in the current resource model.
The Australian Investment Council (AIC) has elected Allegro Funds founding partner Chester Moynihan as board chair, replacing outgoing chair Alicia Gregory who has retired from the role after four years.
Moynihan, who joined the AIC board in November 2017, is a founding partner at private equity manager Allegro Funds. He co-founded the firm in 2004 and has a 35-year career spanning private equity, corporate advisory and executive management.
Far East Gold Ltd (ASX:FEG) has resumed diamond drilling at its Mount Clark West (MCW) copper-gold target in Queensland after wet-season rainfall disrupted operations in December and January.
The company said it is now drilling the second diamond hole in a planned 2–3 hole program, with each hole designed to test defined geophysical targets to a depth of 600 metres. Drilling had been paused due to access constraints and site conditions associated with seasonal rainfall, but Far East Gold said logistics and land access had since stabilised.
Novo Resources Corp (TSX:NVO, OTCQX:NSRPF, ASX:NVO, FRA:1NOR) has delineated multiple compelling exploration targets at its Wyloo gold–silver–antimony project in the southern Pilbara, paving the way for the company’s first reverse circulation (RC) drilling campaign at the emerging polymetallic system.
Recent soil and stream sediment results have expanded key anomalies at both the Wyloo SE and Wyloo SW prospects, with strong multielement geochemistry highlighting prospective corridors for systematic testing in 2026.
Carnavale Resources Ltd (ASX:CAV, FRA:YBB) has cleared a key regulatory hurdle at its Kookynie Gold Project in Western Australia, with the granting of a mining lease that covers all existing project resources and supports the company’s push towards a bankable feasibility study (BFS) and near-term development.
The ASX-listed explorer said Mining Lease M40/362 — which hosts the Swiftsure and Tiptoe high-grade gold resources — has now been formally granted. The project is located around 60 kilometres south of Leonora and 180 kilometres north of Kalgoorlie, within a well-established gold mining region.
Namibia survey to enhance prospect mapping on PEL 93 ahead of future drilling campaign
88 Energy Ltd (AIM:88E, ASX:88E, OTCQB:EEENF, FRA:POQ), an oil and gas exploration company listed in London and Sydney, has said that recent exploration success in Namibia's Damara Fold Belt has strengthened the case for its planned airborne geophysical survey on Petroleum Exploration Licence 93.
Wellnex Life Ltd (ASX:WNX, AIM:WNX) has entered early-stage due diligence following unsolicited approaches for the potential acquisition of its Pain Away brand and other assets, as the health and wellness group explores a range of financing options to support its turnaround strategy.
The company said it had also received an indicative proposal from a syndicate offering convertible note funding to expand the Pain Away brand into Asian and North American markets, in line with its goal of achieving positive free cash flow and long-term profitability.
The collapse of Healthscope has been years in the making, shaped by aggressive financial structuring rather than any sudden failure in patient care.
Once one of Australia’s largest private hospital operators, Healthscope was taken private in 2019 by Brookfield Asset Management in a deal that loaded the business with substantial debt while separating hospital operations from the real estate they sit on. Rent payments to property landlords became a fixed and rising cost, even as private hospital margins came under pressure from labour shortages, rising costs and disputes with health insurers.
Xstate Resources Limited (ASX:XST, FRA:XW7) has upgraded its view of reservoir quality at the Diona gas project in Queensland’s Surat–Bowen Basin, ahead of a staged stimulation and testing program at the Xstate-operated joint venture with Elixir Energy Ltd (ASX:EXR, OTC:ELXPF).
The reassessment follows post-drilling analysis of cuttings from the Diona-1 well, which was cased and suspended in late 2025. Since then, the joint venture has focused on technical studies and operational preparation aimed at de-risking the upcoming testing campaign.
Australia’s household spending indicator fell 0.4% in February, undershooting economists’ expectations for a 0.1% rise in a Bloomberg survey, after a 1% increase in December.
The first monthly decline since March 2024 comes as households absorb back-to-back interest rate rises from the Reserve Bank, including this month’s hike.
Web Travel Group (ASX: WEB) shares rebounded sharply on Monday, recovering some of the ground lost late last week as management moved to calm investor concerns over a Spanish tax audit.
The stock rose strongly in early trade after plunging 38% on Friday, when the hotel room aggregator disclosed it was the subject of an audit involving its Spanish operations. It also produced solid numbers.
Western Yilgarn NL (ASX:WYX, OTC:WYGXF) has flagged a new high-grade gallium–tellurium target at its Ida Holmes Junction Project in WA’s Northern Goldfields after rock-chip sampling returned standout surface assays across two widely spaced exploration licences.
The early-stage discovery includes gallium grades of up to 185.5 parts per million (ppm) alongside elevated tellurium values. Western Yilgarn said the mineralisation has now been confirmed across Exploration Licences E36/1020 and E36/1046, which are about 39 kilometres apart, suggesting the potential for a large, regionally extensive system rather than isolated occurrences.
China’s SANY International Development and a group of unnamed South Korean companies have signed a deal to support feasibility studies for the proposed Western Green Energy Hub in south-east Western Australia.
Project developer Western Green Energy Hub said the agreement will fund early design work ahead of a final investment decision targeted for 2029.
Golden Dragon Mining Ltd has reported shallow, high-grade gold intersections from its first phase of RC drilling at Coodardy within the broader Cue Gold Project in WA’s Murchison, with results supporting continuity of a high-grade zone inside a wider mineralised system.
Standout intercepts included 8 metres at 7.3 grams per tonne (g/t) Au from 20 metres in 25CD001 (within 24 metres at 2.7 g/t Au), 4 metres at 4.6 g/t Au from 16 metres in 25CD004 (within 16 metres at 1.7 g/t Au), and 4 metres at 9.7 g/t Au from 24 metres in 25CD011 (within 8 metres at 5.1 g/t Au).
Pepper Money (ASX:PPM) has surged 25% in morning trade after confirming it has received a confidential, non-binding and conditional proposal from Challenger Ltd (ASX:CGF) to acquire 100% of the lender via a scheme of arrangement at $2.60 per share.
At midday, shares had come back slightly to be up 23.3% on the day to $2.17.
Fortuna Metals Limited (ASX: FUN) has reported shallow hand-auger drilling results that it says confirm high-grade rutile mineralisation at its Mkanda rutile and graphite project in Malawi.
Assays from 96 hand-auger holes, based on 0–2 metre composites, returned in-situ rutile grades of up to 1.78%, with 36 of the 96 results (37.5%) grading above 1.0% rutile and more than 20% above 1.2%, according to the company.
Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR, FRA:9S70) has outlined a growing multi-commodity discovery pipeline at its Halls Peak project in northern New South Wales, pointing to emerging gold–antimony–silver potential at the Amoco prospect, exceptionally high-grade silver at Gibsons, and progressing land access at the Mayview antimony prospect.
The update follows completed petrographic analysis of maiden drill samples from Amoco, which the company says confirms the presence of a large, structurally controlled orogenic gold–antimony–silver system overprinting earlier volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) mineralisation.