More than 600 junior explorers have now filed their March quarterly reports. Garimpeiro does not pretend to have read all of them.

And why would he when 400 or so of them would have been a waste of time. But there were some gems, and a notable theme that emerged – the step up in the reporting of maiden mineral resource estimates (MRE).

MREs are an indication that exploration has not been a waste of time as the company has actually created an asset. The reporting of an MRE does not necessarily mean that there will be cashflow from a mine development one day.

What it does mean is that the company is having success with the drill bit and is on the exploration-development-production pathway. Again no guarantees that the ultimate goal of owning a profitable mine – or of getting taken over – will be achieved.

But at least the journey has begun. The research desk at Bell Potter have sifted through the March quarterlies in its universe of stocks and come up with a list of six whose exploration programs have led to new MREs, or pending updates of MREs.

If only Garimpeiro was so industrious.

Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1): Trading mid-week at 65c. Bell Potter (BP) valuation, $1.38. A busy March quarter for the lithium explorer, with a maiden resource of 4.5Mt grading 1.01% lithium at its Root project in Ontario. It is the start of the story at Root. The resource estimate carries GT1’s Ontario resource base to 14.4Mt at 1.03% across Root and the flagship Seymour project. BP said to watch out for news of a preliminary economic assessment into an integrated development.

Delta Lithium (ASX:DLI): Trading mid-week at 55.5c. BP valuation, 85c. This one was mentioned last week by Garimpeiro in response to chatter that Chris Ellison’s Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) was buying up shares. Is it as takeover target? Time will tell. BP noted five drill rigs are working on upgrading the mineral resource estimate at the Mt Ida project, and that the early stage Yinnetharra project was generating some impressive results.

Dreadnought (ASX:DRE): Trading mid-week at 5.4c. BP valuation, 19c. Another one that has a lot on the go. It has been kicking goals on the rare earths front in the Gascoyne region at its Mangaroon project. BP also noted the declaration of a small but high grade MRE for the Metzke’s Find prospect in the central Yilgarn. It views the estimate as a starting point for additional discoveries in the region.

Rumble (ASX:RTR): Trading mid-week at 21c. BP valuation, 60c. Another one mentioned by Garimpeiro recently following its maiden MRE estimate for its Earaheedy zinc/lead project. It came in at 94Mt at 3.1% combined zinc/lead. Garimpeiro reckons it’s on its way to becoming a world-scale discovery. BP was more circumspect but noted less than 35% of the 45km prospective zone has been drill tested. Because it is zinc/lead, BP reckons its “value is likely to be recognised later in the project development as study results are reported, or as larger miners take an interest”.

Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL): Trading mid-week at 63c. BP valuation, $1.05. Drilling by the uranium explorer/developer under way at its key projects – Tumas in Namibia, and Mulga Rock in WA. BP sees the company as being a long-term play on the uranium market with its attractive portfolio of advanced assets.

Santana (ASX:SMI): Trading at 63c mid-week. BP valuation, $1.45. Garimpeiro confesses he has heard of the band but not the company. It has a 2.9Moz resource across four deposits at its Bendigo-Ophir gold project in New Zealand. BP said to watch out for an updated resource estimate in the December half. BP was a joint lead manager to a recent $15.5m raising at 62.5c a share.
 
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