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GOLD peaked to a near seven-year high of US$1579.72 after the US launched a deadly attack against Iranian military leader Major General Qassem Soleimani. The destabilising effect on the international market was swift, and was the latest in a string of contributing factors that has continued to drive investors to gold as a safe-haven metal to protect against market downturn. The price spike has come after a momentary lapse in gold’s momentum in Q4 2019, surging to its highest price since April 2013. The assassination of General Soleimani has escalated international fears that tensions between Washington and Tehran could spill over into a new war in the Middle East. The targeted attack was given the go-ahead by US president Donald...

THOR Mining (ASX:THR) has announced pleasing results at its wholly-owned Pilbara Goldfield tenement, with gold, nickel and chromium assays from preliminary geochemistry reconnaissance. After strong results from the initial gold panning, laboratory results have subsequently given support to gold potential as well as nickel and chrome at the location. Three samples assayed over 0.3g/t gold, with one at 0.9g/t gold. Visible gold was present in thirteen out of forty-four samples from sediment trap sites. Nickle and chromium anomalies were also observed at up to 1272ppm Ni and 2074ppm Cr. The program comprised stream sediment trap site sampling comprising coarse and fine fraction sediment. Executive chairman Mick Billings said he was encouraged by the results of the initial reconnaissance which led...

THE opening of The Critical Minerals Facilitation Office, announced by Resources and Northern Australia Minister Matt Canavan last week, aims to untap Australia’s rich resource of critical mineral deposits. The new facility will be led by Jessica Robinson, a former senior official in Treasury and Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Office bases its strategy targets actions in three areas: to promote investment in Australia’s critical minerals sector and downstream processing; provide incentives for innovation to lower costs and increase competitiveness; and connect critical minerals projects with infrastructure development. This will be achieved by coordinating and connecting government, industry and the research sector. Ms Robinson said her mission is to work with the sector to develop a clear, shared vision for...

LYNAS Corporation (ASX: LYC) is facing a new wave of judicial proceedings in Malaysia over its subsidiary, Lynas Malaysia’s rare earths processing facility. In a statement released to the ASX after the market had closed on Friday, the company said that three long-term opponents of the plant launched the judicial review proceedings in the Malaysian High Court, and would contest the August 2019 decision to renew Lynas’ full operating licence at the processing plant near Kuantan, Pahang, on the country’s east coast. The company said that the grounds set out in the documents “relate to the processes followed by the Government of Malaysia”. The respondents included the Prime Minister of Malaysia, 27 ministers and cabinet members, the Government of Malaysia,...

POSITIVE steps towards progressing Kogi Iron’s Agbaja steel project in Nigeria have been announced, including a recent $3.2m fundraising toward the financial completion of the feasibility study. The Project, located at Agbaja in Central Nigeria, will potentially produce 1mt of cast steel feedstock annually. A fourth lease has been granted by the Mining Cadastre Office, FRN which will deliver a contiguous tenement package on the Agbaja Plateau of around 145sqkm. Kogi Iron Limited managing director David Turvey said the company had achieved another milestone as it moved forward to becoming an integrated steel producer in Nigeria. The new funding commitments include $860,000 in new equity from current shareholders, endorsing the project’s strong potential. Board members have continued to meet with...

AUSTRALIAN miner Rio Tinto is expecting to achieve iron ore production of between 330m and 343mt for the 2020 year after its production for 2019 came in at 327mt, and 3pc lower than the 2018 year. In a statement to the ASX, Rio Tinto said its iron ore production guidance for 2020 is subject to weather and market conditions, and is framed by its expectation of general stability in global economic growth for this year. The mining company achieved an average market price for its Pilbara iron ore of $79/wet metric ton free-on-board basis in 2019, 37pc higher than the average realised price for this product in 2018. Rio Tinto chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques said its Pilbara iron ore production...

METALLICA Minerals (ASX: MLM) has confirmed the presence of high-purity silica sands at its 100pc-owned Cape Flattery silica sands project in Northern Queensland after the completion of an auger sampling program. The exploration program consisted eight hand-augured holes to an average depth of 4.75m on the eastern target area of the tenement, and the majority of the samples returned intervals of 99pc silica oxide, while drill intercepts averaged between 96.1pc and 99.1pc. Sampling was completed at about 400m spacing along existing tracks, and the company said that priority drill sites targeted sand dunes “near established and or potential export infrastructure areas”. Silica sands are used in a range of industries such as glassmaking, foundry casting, water filtration, chemicals and metals,...

AUSTRALIAN lithium developer, Core Lithium, has announced a world-class, high-grade lithium intersection of 107m at 1.70pc Li2O at the BP33 Prospect within its wholly owned Finniss Lithium Project, situated near Darwin in the Northern Territory. The discovery of the coarse spodumene crystals is an outstanding find and will add life to the Finnis project. Managing Director, Stephen Biggins, said the find of more than 100m of high-grade lithium mineralisation, located 25km from Australia’s closest port to Asia, highlighted the natural advantages the Finniss Project has regarding quality and cost. “We are confident in having the Finniss Project construction-ready in early 2020, so that we are well-positioned to be Australia’s next sustainable lithium producer as market conditions continue to improve,” he...

THE renewable battery energy market continues to make significant moves in WA as the quality and applications of battery storage becomes ever more sophisticated and economically advantageous. Australian-owned Australian Vanadium Ltd (AVL) signed a letter of intent with Hebei Yanshan Vanadium and Titanium Industry Technology Research Co Ltd, a subsidiary of HBIS Group Chengsteel, to negotiate technical services and agree on a purchase agreement for AVL’s vanadium products. Managing director Vincent Algar and chief operating officer Todd Richardson will travel to Chengde, Hebei this month for further discussions. HBIS Group is one of the world’s largest steelmakers and the world’s third largest vanadium producer. Currently 92pc of vanadium consumption is for strengthening steel. The addition of as little as 0.1pc...

BLACKROCK is the latest investor firm to call it quits on thermal coal. In a letter to its clients, the world’s biggest fund manager stated that in response to clients’ concerns about the impact that sustainability factors were having on economic growth, asset values and financial markets, it would no longer invest in companies sourcing more than 25pc of revenue from thermal coal. It marks a 180 degree turn on its previous program of aggressively buying Australian coal stocks in 2019. In outlining its reasons for a new approach to sustainability, BlackRock stated “the most significant of these factors today relates to climate change”. “Namely, how the global transition to a low-carbon economy could affect a company’s long-term profitability. “The...