• Estrella Resources hits high-grade manganese in Timor-Leste
  • Tungsten Mining is up on, you’ll never guess what, tungsten. (Actually, a half-year report)
  • Goldies Alto and Kula also faring well amid a good week for the yellow precious metal

 

Here are some of the biggest resources winners in early trade, Friday April 5.

 

Estrella Resources (ASX:ESR)

It’s been a struggle to find any ressies bursting up on actual news this morning, but then along comes Estrella.

This WA explorer is up on manganese news of the high-grade variety, over in Timor-Leste at the Lautém project.

Results from initial rock-chip samples are in, which the company says were taken before the granting of Exploration and Evaluation Licences and Reconnaissance Permits for ESR in Timor-Leste.

The samples were then brought back to Australia for further analysis. And that turned up an assay result of 60.8% manganese – one of four samples taken during initial limited reconnaissance.

Estrella also notes that multiple manganese exposures have been documented across the 503.7km2 leases in Lautém with no modern exploration undertaken.

What next? Mapping and more sampling. Plus, a Joint Venture agreement with the state-owned outfit Murak Rai Timor (MRT) reportedly progressing.

Estrella MD Chris Daws said:

“The exploration potential across our recently granted tenure in Timor-Leste is significant. Our team have already located very high-grade manganese mineralisation at surface with work continuing.

“Estrella has over 500km2 now to explore and as seen at the recent granting ceremony in Los  Parlos, it has the full support of the Timor-Leste government.”

Manganese, by the way is a “critical mineral” with plenty of industrial usage, including EVs, in which it’s used as a stabilising component in the cathodes of nickel-manganese-cobalt lithium-ion batteries.

ESR share price

 

Tungsten Mining (ASX:TGN)

Tungsten. It’s one of the densest metals in existence, boasting the highest tensile strength of any metallic element, along with the highest melting point in excess of 3400 degrees Celsius.

And guess who’s into it? Yeah, that’s right – Tungsten Mining. A stock and a metal that very rarely makes it into the top gainers of the day.

Any news? Actually, not much. A half-year report from the $73.9m market capper, though, showing up on the ASX channels this morn.

Scouring through that, we can ascertain that, TGN, among other things:

• has been continuing the development at the Mt Mulgine project, within the Murchison region of WA, with results received from 50 RC holes identifying significant tungsten-molybdenum mineralisation.

• and has been conducting infill RC drilling at Mulgine Hill East, which has defined significant molybdenum-tungsten mineralisation over 520 metres of strike. (Drilling at Mulgine Hill North has also defined significant molybdenum-tungsten mineralisation over 320 metres of strike.)

What else? Project engagement with potential partners is reportedly progressing. For more, you’ll need to read the full report.

TGN share price

 

Alto Metals (ASX:AME)

(Up on no news)

Gold exploration junior Alto Metals, like TGN above, is also digging around in WA’s Murchison region, where it owns its flagship Sandstone Gold Project.

It’s up double digits today on nothing of note, but it did have some recent news about a week or so ago.

The company reported a 1km-long gold anomaly discovered from infill soil sampling at Sandstone North. An anomaly of up to 100ppb (0.1g/t gold), coincident with a major north-south structure.

Alto’s MD, Matthew Bowles extrapolated at the time:

“Our Sandstone North gold target is shaping up nicely, with these latest infill soil results highlighting a strong north-south trending gold anomaly that is coherent with arsenic values and correlates perfectly with a major north-south interpreted structure.

“Given the structural setting and high-grade gold results reported in historical drilling to the south, this soils program has defined a compelling target.”

AME share price

 

Kula Gold (ASX:KGD)

Kula Gold, a diverse exploration minnow operating in WA, has identified significant gold prospectivity at its Brunswick project in WA near a historical production area after rock chipping and mapping returned assays of up to 11.19g/t gold.

Brunswick sits within the Donnybrook-Bridgetown Shear Zone just 35km from Greenbushes, the world’s largest hard rock lithium mine.

KGD has made a beaut 11% intraday gain on the news, and is up an even beauter 25% over the past week. And an even beauter-er 33% over the past 30-odd days.

As we reported earlier here, while Kula Gold’s (ASX:KGD) interest in the project was initially sparked by its proximity to Greenbushes, Brunswick also hosts historical gold production with the Camilleri mine having produced some 236.7oz of the precious metal from 53t of material – or a grade of ~146g/t gold.

Previous rock chipping by the company near the Camilleri prospect, which includes the Blackwood area that produced 24oz of gold, had returned gold grades of 0.8-3.3g/t.

Camilleri is also close to the Donnybrook gold mine and is a gold trend near the intersection of the Donnybrook Shear Zone and the Darling Fault Zone.

KGD share price

 

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Kula Gold is a Stockhead advertiser at the time of writing, it did not sponsor this article. 

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