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EMERGING gold explorer Dacian Gold is one step closer to defining economic ore reserves at its flagship Mt Morgans project after unveiling new high-grade drill results mid-March. A broad-spaced diamond drilling program has been testing for extensions at the south end of the Westralia gold deposit – part of the company’s wholly owned Mt Morgans gold project – 40km west of Laverton in the Goldfields region of WA. The drilling confirmed the existence of high-grade gold 450m below the existing resource boundary at Westralia, with the mineralisation remaining open at depth. Significant intersections included 17.08m grading 7.5 grams per tonne gold from 218.7m, and 0.63m grading 32.7g/t gold from 375.6m. “These very broad-spaced diamond drill intersections confirm our view that…

THE South Australian branch of the Civil Contractors Federation of Australia is calling on the state’s government to upgrade a central road transport route through and around Port Augusta to assist the growth of the resources sector. The lobby group warned that a lack of vital transport infrastructure in the state’s northern region was severely hindering its economic development. “The important transport gateway – known as Yorkeys Crossing – is in major need of redevelopment as it currently falls far short of what is required to promote an expansion of the mining, oil and gas, and other important industry sectors in the state,” the Civil Contractors Federation said in a statement. Over-size vehicles are currently not permitted to use Port…

INTEGRATED precious metal and uranium explorer Marmota Energy has applauded authorities for their final decision to approve first drill testing at its high-priority Durkin copper-nickel prospect in South Australia’s Gawler Craton. Following the government approval, Marmota announced mobilisation was set for 25 March to the rig site at Durkin, near the company’s Indooroopilly gold project and Challenger gold mine. Marmota conducted geophysical surveys in late 2012 after laboratory assays of the company’s initial surface samples confirmed copper and nickel mineralisation. Within these positive initial results, multiple coincident EM conductor, gravity and surface geochemical targets were identified for first-round drilling. The company reported that it maintained “reserved anticipation” for the mineralisation potential within several parts of the Durkin area, with multiple…

DIVERSIFIED explorer Core Exploration has initiated a follow-up drill program on an exceptional uranium discovery at its wholly owned Fitton project in northern South Australia. The 2500m reverse circulation (RC) drilling program will target down dip and strike extensions of the high-grade uranium mineralisation – including 5m at 0.25 per cent uranium oxide – which were discovered during the company’s maiden drilling program in late 2012 at the Scott Lee prospect within Fitton. Core stated that program would also follow up on an anomalous uranium intersection at Fitton’s Hamilton prospect and surface mineralisation (1400 parts per million uranium oxide) found recently at the newly discovered Bruce Lee prospect – 300m west of Scott Lee – in February this year. Assay…

AUSTRALIAN miners are fending off hits from all sides, with plunging iron ore prices and concerns about declining productivity coming to the fore in recent weeks. In late March, iron ore miners led a downward turn in the Australian sharemarket spurred by fears of declining steel production in China and a bleak outlook for iron ore prices from Goldman Sachs. The global investment bank predicted that iron ore prices would fall from US$139 per tonne in 2013 to US$80 per tonne by 2015; it also downgraded the London listings of global miners BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto, a move that had flow-on effects in Australia. The Goldman Sachs forecast saw the S&P/ASX200 close at its lowest level since early February;…