We’re just getting tremendous results and they keep coming in,” Steve Hughes of AIM quoted Asiamet Resources (LON:ARS) told Proactive Investors this week.
Drills are currently turning on Asiamet’s Beruang Kanan Main copper project in Indonesia (BKM), as part of an extensive push towards the completion of feasibility studies.
Among the highlights were 4.8 metres of 1.07% copper and 26.85 metres at 2.34% copper from one hole, and 4.35 metres at 4.93% copper from another.
But these numbers are just part of a much more detailed picture of BKM and its potential that’s now emerging.
As it stands, 70 holes of the current programme have been completed, but a further 48 or so are still to come.
“The drilling will finish early in April,” says Steve. “After that all data will be sent to the consultant.”
A resource statement should follow within about a month, and should really begin to flesh out Asiamet’s existing plans to put an initial 25,000 tonnes per year operation together.
It was one of a number of releases from the junior diggers this week.
Another highlight was from European Metals Holdings Limited (LON:EMH), which expects to upgrade the resource for its Cinovec lithium deposit in the Czech Republic this month after receiving the final assays from its latest drill programme.
As with previous results, the lithium content was higher and the width of mineralisation greater than expected.
Located between the western edge and historic central vein, Hole CIW-25 for example contained the company's longest intercept to date at 361.5m averaging 0.43% lithium dioxide. That included a high grade interval of 14.7m averaging 0.93% Li2O.
Gold trading was under the spotlight this week as Wishbone Gold PLC (LON:WSBN) told investors it had shifted 25 kilos of the precious a week in December as demand for the precious metal remained strong in the wake of Donald Trump’s presidential victory.
This was below its target of 100 kilos a week, but in line with its budget said the company.
In a clarification after the original RNS, Wishbone said: “The budget has thus been exceeded while the target was missed by the failure of one supplier to ship on time.
“There is no reason to believe that these shipments will not take place in the future.”
Wishbone is a gold shipper based in Dubai that matches buyers with small producers in Africa and South America.
Over to the Russian Far East and Amur Minerals PLC (LON:AMC) revealed it now has more than one million tonnes of nickel classified at its Kun-Manie project after the latest resource upgrade.
Robin Young, chief executive, said that was based on this information it could produce 40,000 to 60,000 nickel tonnes a year, which would place it at number eight in the list of the world’s nickel producers.
The total resource at Kun-Manie is 101.3mln ore tonnes at a grade of 1.03%, which equates to 1.04mln tonnes with a value of US$10.5bn at current prices.
This latest estimate saw a 38% increase in the total tonnage following an extensive drill programme at two of the possible five targets, Maly Kurumkon/ Flangovy, over the summer.
Elsewhere, Harvest Minerals Ltd. (LON:HMI) narrowed its losses in the final six months of 2016 ahead of what its chief executive, Brian McMasterman, hopes will be a ‘ripper year’ for the Brazil-focused potash explorer.
The firm this week said it booked a pre-tax loss of US$1.43mln for the six months to 31 December 2016, compared to the US$1.53mln loss it recorded for the same period in 2015.
During the period, Harvest made significant headway at its Arapua fertilizer project.
It was awarded a trial mining permit by the Brazilian authorities for the Maximus prospect at Arapua, while it also signed a contract with local coffee producer Veloso.
An updated resource estimate at the project is expected to be completed by mid-February.
On Wednesday, Scotgold Resources Limited (LON:SGZ) had some good news for investors after revealing it had been granted permission to extend the bulk processing trial at its Cononish mine.
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Planning Authority accepted the Scottish gold miner’s application to extend operations to March 2018.
The original permission ran for nine months and was due to finish in a few weeks' time at the end of February.
The additional time will allow Scotgold to fully explore the best ways to utilise the pilot plant and optimise the production process, it said.
Also this week, West Africa-focused explorer Kodal Minerals PLC (LON:KOD) told investors that its Bougouni lithium project in Southern Mali continues to exceed its own expectations.
The final assay results from the first reverse circulation (RC) drilling programme at the Ngoualana prospect continued to return wide, high-grade intersections.
Some of the highlights include hole KLRC002 which intersected 28 metres (m) at 1.85% lithium from 72m below surface, as well as hole KRC004 which intersected 22m at 1.64% lithium from 48m below the surface.