Erris Resources PLC (LON:ERIS) chief Anton du Plessis said he was “delighted” with the latest drill results from the Abbeytown zinc-lead-silver-copper project in Ireland.
He said the underground work in County Sligo had effectively extended mineralisation south to join with the surface drilling completed last year.
Profits from Bushveld Minerals Limited’s (LON:BMN) Vametco vanadium mine in South Africa more than quadrupled last year as prices of the silvery-grey metal surged.
Vanadium prices averaged US$81.20 per kilogram (kg) in 2018 – more than twice what it was a year earlier, as demand for the metal, which can be used in batteries to store energy, surged.
Comprehensive field evaporation trials at the Lake Way project owned by Salt Lake Potash Ltd (ASX:SO4) (LON:SO4) (FRA:W1D) (OTCMKTS:WHELF) are successfully producing substantial volumes of potassium harvest salts, validating the modelled salt production process.
Field evaporation trials have to date produced over two tonnes of high-grade harvest salts at Lake Way.
Over 100,000 litres of brine from both the high-grade Lake Way playa brine and the super high-grade Williamson Pit brine have been extracted for the field trial and evaporated separately.
ECR Minerals PLC (LON:ECR) began a gold-focused drill programme at its projects in Victoria, Australia.
The exploration firm said a contract had been signed for 4,000m-6,000m of drilling in the state by its subsidiary Mercator Gold Australia (MGA).
Kore Potash PLC (LON:KP2) revealed the results of a definitive feasibility study for the Kola potash project in the Republic of Congo.
The project’s post-tax NPV at a 10% discount rings in at a chunky US$1.45bn and offers a real ungeared internal rate of return of 17% on an attributable basis.
Rainbow Rare Earths LTD (LON:RBW) said it was raising up to US$7.75mln through a combination of a US$750,000 unsecured convertible security and a 24-month equity facility of up to US$7.0mln.
There will be an immediate initial share subscription of US$100,000, meaning gross initial funds of US$850,000 will be advanced to Rainbow within five business days.
Australian explorer Pan Asia Metals, in which Metal Tiger PLC (LON:MTR) holds a 13.6% stake, is to kick off a 5-10 hole drilling campaign at its Reung Kiet lithium project in Thailand within the next few weeks.
News of the programme comes after Pan Asia was formally awarded special prospecting licences by Thai authorities. The approvals last for five years, covering the company until 2024.
Oracle Power PLC’s (LON:ORCP) consortium, which also includes Beijing Jingneng Power Company Limited (BJPC) and PowerChina International Group Limited, agreed pre-development funding for the Thar coal mine and power plant project in Pakistan.
The energy developer said the consortium had agreed to provide a minimum of US$2.5mln in funding in proportion to their intended stake in the project.
Mineral resources exploration company Oriole Resources PLC (LON:ORR) is to receive a rebate of around £500,000 from the taxman.
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs reversed its 2017 decision over value-added tax (VAT) rebates in November of last year.
Kodal Minerals PLC (LON:KOD) has acquired more ground in Mali close to its Bougouni lithium prospect.
The additional 200 sq km is contained within two licences, Mafele Ouest and Nkemene Ouest, 25km to the west of Bougouni and adjacent to the Goulamina lithium project owned by ASX listed Birimian.
European Metals Holdings Limited (LON:EMH) revealed the results from its ongoing eight core-hole resource drilling programme at the Cinovec lithium project.
Among the highlights from the drilling were 129.3 metres averaging 0.51% Li2O, 108 metres averaging 0.45% Li2O, and 89 metres averaging 0.47% Li2O.
BlueRock Diamonds PLC (LON:BRD) announced the recommencement of operations at the Kareevlei Diamond Mine in the Kimberley region of South Africa after lifting of the temporary suspension of operations imposed by the country’s mining regulator following an accident at the mine.
The AIM-listed diamond producer, which owns and operates Kareevlei, also reported that the individual involved in the accident is expected to make a full recovery.