Resources Top 5: Western Mines at starting blocks for extensive Mulga Tank exploration

Western Mines is about to resume exploration at Mulga Tank, including extensive drilling, after a nine-month hiatus.

Western Mines Group is at the starting blocks for an extensive new exploration campaign at Mulga Tank. Pic: Getty Images

• Phase 4 drilling at Mulga Tank is aimed at infilling and extending the mineral resource estimate

• DY6 has identified visible natural rutile, including large residual nuggets, at Central Rutile project in Cameroon

• Six new gold anomalies have been identified at the Burbanks East project in WA’s Goldfields 

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Western Mines Group (ASX:WMG)

At the starting blocks for the resumption of exploration at Mulga Tank nickel-cobalt-copper-PGE project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields is Western Mines Group, which increased 40% to 28c.

A team has mobilised to the site on the Minigwal Greenstone Belt to prepare for a phase 4 RC drilling program aimed at infilling and extending the mineral resource estimate within the main body of the Mulga Tank Complex.

The 1.968Bt MRE for Mulga Tank contains 5.3Mt of nickel, 257,000t of cobalt, 161,000t of copper and 1.1Mt of platinum+palladium.

WMN also plans high-impact diamond drilling targeting the western margin of the complex following a prospectivity review of the basal contact.

The extensive exploration program in the second half of 2025, funded by a recent $1.287m capital raise and $440,000 in WA Exploration Incentive Scheme (EIS) grants, will include a Down Hole ElectroMagnetic (DHEM) survey and follow-up diamond drilling around MTRC046 which previously returned shallow high-grade intersections.

Two diamond holes targeting komatiite channels within tenement E39/2134 will be drilled with the aid of an EIS grant and a further EIS-funded deep diamond hole will test revised interpretation and a basal MobileMT anomaly in the centre of the complex.

A DHEM survey crew is scheduled to mobilise to site in the coming weeks to survey a number of phase 3 RC holes including MTRC046 5m that returned 1.92% Ni and 0.21% Cu from 283m, and MTRC055 with 4m at 1.16% Ni and 0.13% Cu from 182m, including 1m at 2.46% Ni and 0.43% Cu from 183m.

Ongoing exploration modelling, targeting work and results from the DHEM surveys will likely add further drill holes as the programs progress.

“The team is looking forward to getting back on site to commence further drilling at the Mulga Tank Project,” WMG MD Dr Caedmon Marriott said.

“It has been just under nine months since we completed the phase 3 RC program and the company has tried to carefully manage capital through the current trough in nickel prices.

“We’ve planned a combination of further RC and diamond drilling for the third quarter of 2025. “With a significant initial mineral resource defined, the company can now ‘swing the bat’ a bit with further diamond holes testing for basal massive sulphide accumulations in what we believe is a hybrid Type 1-2 system. 

DY6 Metals (ASX:DY6)

A strong performance from DY6 Metals, which moved 35.6% higher to 21c and has more than doubled this week, prompted a price and volume query from the ASX with the company now in a trading halt pending a response.

On June 30, DY6 announced that it had identified visible natural rutile, including large residual nuggets, at the Central Rutile project within the Bounde licence in Cameroon.

The rutile was observed in alluvial and eluvial sources in a new area during a reconnaissance sampling program with the nuggets ranging in size from 2cm to more than 4cm.

Heavy minerals and residual rutile mineralisation were encountered over a 100km2 area.

The reconnaissance program consisted of some auger drilling and the collection of channel, surface grab and stream sediment samples.

Samples are being prepped for laboratory analysis in Cape Town, South Africa, with results expected in the September quarter.

The identification of rutile across the entire tenement package is highly encouraging for DY6 as it confirms that this region is an emerging, globally significant rutile province.

“The reconnaissance program has been a great success, having identified visual HM and rutile mineralisation across each licence,” technical consultant Cliff Fitzhenry said.

“What we have uncovered at the Bounde licence is particularly exciting. I have never seen rutile nuggets of this size before.”

The target mineralisation type at Central Rutile is in-situ, residual, saprolite-hosted natural rutile analogous to Sovereign Metals (ASX:SVM) Tier-1 Kasiya deposit in Malawi  – the world’s largest primary rutile deposit at 1.8Bt at 1.0% rutile.

The project borders Peak Minerals (ASX:PUA) Minta rutile project where initial sampling revealed valuable heavy minerals up to 93% of total heavy minerals, with the dominant VHMs being rutile (up to 69.8%).

Exploration is moving to the next phase with a systematic regional soil sampling program seeking to identify areas of higher-grade residual rutile.

Future Battery Minerals (ASX:FBM)

Hitting a new 12-month high of 3.5c, a jump of 75% on the previous close, was Future Battery Minerals after an extensive review of historical exploration drilling and surface sampling data at the Burbanks East project in WA’s Goldfields identified six new gold anomalies.

Investigation into shallow aircore and rotary blast drilling conducted by companies such as Croesus Mining, Monarch Resource, Mt Kersey Mining and Cazaly Resources, highlighted a number of gold intercepts within regolith including: 

• 8m at 3.37g/t gold from 32m; 
• 6m at 1.84g/t Au from 44m; and
• 10m at 0.9g/t Au from 36m, including 2m at 3.1g/t Au. 

While most of the drilling is shallow and wide spaced, many of the anomalous intercepts are poorly understood or not closed out and remain open to future testing.

FBM managing director and CEO Nick Rathjen said Burbanks East represented a compelling exploration opportunity complementary to its existing gold focused exploration strategy at Miriam.

“We see Burbanks East adding further gold upside to the Coolgardie project and are currently undertaking a litho-structural review targeting prospective bedrock structures and intrusions to generate drill-ready targets at the project.”

Cavalier Resources (ASX:CVR)

The appointment of Colin Bald as general manager of operations for the Crawford Gold Project near Leonora in WA has seen Cavalier Resources garner some investor support with shares at 23.5c, a 17.5% lift on the previous close.

Bald brings more than 30 years of experience in the start-up, operation and closure of open pit projects worldwide, including experience in gold in WA in quarry manager and mine superintendent roles.

He will contract to CVR through his company, Quarry Management Services WA, and will transition from Perth-based work to the Crawford site as the start-up of stage 1 nears. 

Cavalier’s Leonora projects. Image: CVR

The company recently revised a PFS, incorporating higher gold prices and updating the mining and heap leach capital cost estimates, generating the following outputs:

• Stage 1 project life 18 months;
• Capital payback 9 months;
• Gross revenue A$103.6m;
• Production of 23,467 recovered ounces,
• Lowest quartile C1 AISC of A$1,574/oz, C3 AISC of A$1,793;
• NPV8 of A$51.7m; and
• IRR of 580%.

Peak Minerals (ASX:PUA)

After raising $3.5 million through a strategic placement to a European-based investor at 3.5c per share Peak Minerals reached 5.4c, a new high of more than six years and an increase of 25.6% on the previous close.

“This $3.5 million placement represents a strong endorsement of the scale and potential of the Minta rutile project and provides the funding necessary to accelerate exploration and development activities on the ground in Cameroon,” Peak Minerals CEO Casper Adson said:

"Importantly, the placement was completed with no discount to the last market closing price, which happened to be at a multi-year high, and will be subject to a voluntary escrow of 12 months from the date of issue, reflecting strong confidence in the Minta rutile project.

“The support from a strategic European-based investor highlights the increasing international interest in Peak Minerals and underscores the significance of the high-value rutile, monazite and zircon discovery at Minta.”

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent financial advice before making any financial decisions. While DY6 Metals and Future Battery Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

Originally published as Resources Top 5: Western Mines at starting blocks for extensive Mulga Tank exploration