THE BOURSE WHISPERER: St George Mining (ASX: SGQ) has received good news from an ongoing technical review of the company’s Mt Alexander project, located south‐southwest of the Agnew‐Wiluna belt in Western Australia.

According to the company, the review – being conducted by St George’s technical team in conjunction with global nickel expert Dr Martin Gole – has endorsed the potential of the Mt Alexander project for the discovery of economic nickel sulphide mineralisation.

St George’s technical team had previously identified untested EM conductors in the Cathedrals Shear Zone, which it considers to be outstanding targets for the discovery of further nickel‐copper sulphide mineralisation.

The company said the latest findings by Dr Gole have highlighted the prospectivity of the underexplored Western Ultramafics in the Mt Alexander Greenstone belt, and the potential of the broader project area to host economic nickel sulphide mineralisation.

An evaluation of historical exploration results at the project has also been undertaken, which has recognised the ultramafics with massive nickel‐copper sulphides at Cathedrals are likely to have been part of the Western Ultramafics sequence.

The company is of the opinion that this association, together with the numerous occurrences of nickel‐copper sulphides identified in the Western Ultramafics by wide‐spaced historic drilling, support the potential for the discovery of economic nickel‐copper sulphides within the Western Ultramafics.

“The results of the Technical Review are very favourable and, with drilling to start very soon, provide further reassurance that the EM conductors to be tested will result in exploration success,” St George Mining executive chairman John Prineas said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The finding of enhanced nickel sulphide prospectivity for the broader Mt Alexander project area is also very important, and supports the potential of Mt Alexander to develop into a new nickel mineral field.”

Website: www.stgm.com.au

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Lithium Australia (ASX: LIT) has been granted a Mineral Exploration Licence in the Northern Territory.

The new licence, Mineral Exploration Licence 30897, is situated in the Bynoe Pegmatite Field.

Known as the Bynoe project, it is located 50 kilometres south-southwest of Darwin nearby to the infrastructure offered by the territory’s capital city.

Acknowledging the Bynoe project’s favourable location, Lithium Australian also noted it had been subject to a relatively small amount of expoloration, until recently, which has been restricted and of narrow focus with little work undertaken on lithium.

“The latest exploration has targeted spodumene (a lithium silicate) and lithium micas and activity levels rival that of similar pegmatite fields such as Pilgangoora in Western Australia,” Lithium Australia said in its ASX announcement.

The Bynoe project lies within the Bynoe Pegmatite Field, which is part of the larger Litchfield Pegmatite Belt.

The Litchfield Pegmatite Belt is located along the western margin of the Palaeoproterozoic age Pine Creek Orogen.

It is almost 200 kilometres long and has been intruded by a suite of highly differentiated ‘S-type’ granites, believed to be the source of the pegmatites.

Lithium Australia explained that of the more than 100 pegmatites currently identified in the Bynoe Pegmatite Field many have been exploited, in the past, for their tin and tantalum mineralisation.

“Initially, Lithium Australia will undertake a desktop study of the Bynoe project, with a view to identifying and evaluating lithium mineralisation,” the company said.

“Fieldwork will commence during the northern dry season, once surface water has dissipated and access is easier.”

Email: info@lithium-au.com

Website: www.lithium-au.com

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Metals of Africa (ASX: MTA) has agreed with a number of parties to jointly acquire a micronizing and spheronizing mill to produce spherical graphite in the United States as part of a battery production and testing facility.

MTA explained the production of spherical graphite is a critical step in the production of anodeready material that is used in Lithium Ion batteries.

The company’s partners in this collaborative initiative are:

Elcora Advanced Materials Corp (TSXV: ERA);

Northern Graphite Corporation (TSXV: NGC);

Nouveau Monde Mining Enterprises Inc. (TSXV: NOU);

Coulometrics LLC; and

A private industry partner.

MTA said the purchase of this mill will enable it, and its project partners, to produce and test Coated Spherical Purified Graphite (C-SPG) from ‘end-to-end’ within North America, using flake graphite concentrate to be produced at the MTA’s Montepuez Central and Balama Central graphite projects in Mozambique.

C-SPG is processed into battery ready anode material for end users.

The mill will enable MTA to supply lithium-ion battery manufacturers with a fully qualified test product that can be traced 100 per cent back to its source, providing vital technical verification on the material and other key supply chain metrics such as environmental best-practice, which is currently being legislated in the US and Europe.

“We were selected to participate in the development of a next generation graphite facility, tasked to produce high yield battery grade spherical graphite that can provide significant cost savings and reduced environmental impact,” Metals of Africa managing director Cherie Leeden said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“We look forward to being a key contributor to the initiative via test material from our superior graphite.”

Email: admin@metalsofafrica.com.au

Website: www.metalsofafrica.com.au

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Intermin Resources (ASX: IRC) has struck an agreement with Metaliko Resources (ASX: MKO) to purchase 100 per cent interest in the latter’s Kalgoorlie – Menzies gold projects, situated in the Goldfields of Western Australia around Kalgoorlie.

The project comprises 66 exploration, prospecting, mining and miscellaneous licenses and covers a total area of 141 square kilometres.

This covers project areas on the Bardoc Tectonic zone, Zuleika and Kunanulling shear zones and the Bullabulling shear zone.

Metaliko will pick up 5 million fully paid ordinary shares in Intermin Resources, which hold a current value of approximately $375,000.

With Intermin and Metaliko having executed a formal Tenement Sale Agreement, Intermin indicated it would commence a detailed database review to validate previously identified targets yet to be followed up and generate new exploration targets in the area of interest.

“This latest acquisition is another important step in our strategy of consolidating the Menzies to Kalgoorlie corridor and conducting systematic exploration to grow mineral inventory to support a mine development plan and processing plant in the Menzies region,” Intermin Resources managing director Jon Price said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“Data integration and project review is now underway with exploration drilling anticipated in the next Quarter following the drill campaigns under way at Teal and Menzies.”

Email: iadmin@intermin.com.au

Website: www.intermin.com.au

THE BOURSE WHISPERER: Pioneer Resources (ASX: PIO) has entered into an Option Agreement and Strategic Alliance with TSX-listed company International Lithium Corp. (ILC) to earn up to an 80 per cent interest in the Mavis lithium project, located in the Canadian Province of Ontario.

Pioneer suggested the deal was encouraged by the recent interest in lithium, which it described as having the fastest consumption growth-trajectory of all strategic metals due to its use in the clean, hybrid-fuel automotive industry and the home power storage industry.

The agreement gives Pioneer immediate, direct exposure to the lithium sector through equity in the Mavis lithium project, as well as the ability to increase its lithium portfolio through further acquisitions and an offtake strategy through ILC.

The deal is subject to a three month due diligence period, after which Pioneer intends conducting a drill targeting program at the project, which will include ground magnetic surveys and soil geochemistry prior to a diamond drilling program this year.

The agreement expands Pioneer’s asset portfolio into another key demand-driven commodity – adding to its high-grade gold assets and nickel properties in Western Australia, which the company said it remains committed to.

Pioneer has also received firm commitments for a Placement at an issue price of one cent per share to raise $1.58 million to fund exploration in Canada and Australia.

“We are excited by the opportunity that our Joint Venture with International Lithium Corporation provides,” Pioneer Resources managing director David Crook said in the company’s announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange.

“The option to acquire up to an 80 per cent interest in these highly prospective lithium prospects in an established lithium province with an experienced technical team to drive exploration and development is a significant achievement especially, coming as it does, when the demand for lithium related products is so strong.

“We are also delighted with the response to our latest capital raising, the proceeds of which will be used to advance the lithium assets and also for the next phase of a drilling program at the Acra gold project, which remains a centre-piece of our project portfolio.”

The Mavis lithium project is located in north western Ontario, Canada, and covers an area of 2624 hectares.

Pioneer will manage exploration at the project utilising ILC’s existing Canadian-based technical team.

Diamond drilling has intersected high-grade lithium in spodumene-pegmatites over a strike length of 800m at the Fairservice prospect and has confirmed lithium endowment at the Mavis Lake prospect.

Outcrops vary in strike length from 11m to more than 240m and range in thickness up to 12m, within an initial 4.8km long target zone.

The project is well located relevant to key infrastructure requirements.

Website: www.pioresources.com.au