The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index (ASX: XSO) closed at 3,553.10 on Friday, down 0.27% or 9.60 points for the session.
Despite the softer finish, the index remained in positive territory over the week, gaining 1.09% or 38.20 points across the past five days.
It has been a resource-intensive news morning, and you can read about the following and more throughout the day.
Far East Gold lifts Idenburg stake to 51%
Far East Gold Ltd (ASX:FEG) has completed Stage 1 of its acquisition of the high-grade Idenburg Gold Project in Papua Province, Indonesia, lifting its ownership of the project to 51%.
The milestone follows the conditional share purchase agreement announced on 9 October 2024, under which Far East Gold is acquiring the advanced gold asset.
The company has also reported further exploration progress at Idenburg, with detailed geological mapping at the Kwaplu and Sikrima prospects identifying additional gold-bearing rock boulders returning high-grade gold assays.
Far East Gold said its geologists had mapped the same distinctive geology and style of gold mineralisation previously observed at the high-grade Sua prospect, where the company is growing a gold resource.
The mineralisation style logged at Kwaplu and Sikrima is consistent with that intersected in drilling at Sua, reinforcing the broader prospectivity of the structural corridor.
The company said the latest results increased confidence that the high-grade gold-bearing shear and vein system identified at Sua may extend along an approximately 3-kilometre corridor linking the Sikrima and Sua prospects.
Lindian advances Kangankunde rare earths project
Lindian Resources Ltd (ASX:LIN, OTC:LINIF) has provided an update on construction progress at its Kangankunde Rare Earths Project in Malawi, with work continuing across construction, mining readiness, supporting infrastructure and operational preparation.
The company said Kangankunde remained on schedule to support first production in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Front-end commissioning is still targeted for October 2026, with practical completion expected by mid-November 2026.
The update reflects Lindian’s transition of Kangankunde from construction toward commissioning and operations, while the company also progresses its Stage 2 growth pathway.
A feasibility study led by DRA remains targeted for completion in December 2026.
Resolution Minerals joins US defence industry consortium
Resolution Minerals Ltd (ASX:RML, OTCQB:RLMLF, FRA:NC3) has been admitted as a member of the US Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) as it advances its US-focused antimony and tungsten strategy.
The company said the membership aligned with its focus on critical minerals relevant to US national security priorities.
The DIBC is a US Department of Defense-supported consortium established to strengthen, expand and modernise the US defence industrial base through collaboration between government agencies, industry, academia and emerging suppliers.
Operating under an Other Transaction Authority framework and managed by Advanced Technology International, the consortium provides a mechanism to accelerate research, development, prototyping and production activities that support national security objectives.
Resolution’s admission comes as antimony and tungsten continue to draw attention because of their role in defence, industrial and critical minerals supply chains.
Lightning Minerals begins Mt Turner soil program
Lightning Minerals Ltd (ASX:L1M, FRA:YZ1) has started a 600-sample soil geochemistry program at the Western Zone target within its flagship Mt Turner Gold Project in North Queensland.
The Western Zone work follows completion of the company’s Drummer Fault soil sampling campaign, which defined 5separate anomalous zones across a combined strike length of about 3.9 kilometres.
That earlier campaign confirmed continuity of mineralisation between historical oxide pits, identified extensions to known mineralisation, defined multiple gold-pathfinder anomalies and supported the company’s district-scale geological model.
Lightning said the results provided further confidence that Mt Turner may host a larger mineralised system than previously recognised.
The new Western Zone program is designed to further test the project’s gold potential and refine targets for follow-up exploration.