Resources Top 5: Gorilla Gold Mines beats chest after high-grade hits

Gorilla Gold Mines extends Comet Vale gold system by 400m
Sarama Resources nears closer to acquiring the Mt Venn project
European Lithium welcomes appointment of independent director to the CRML board

Your standout small-cap resources stocks on Friday, February 28, 2025.

Gorilla Gold Mines (ASX:GG8)

Junior gold explorer Gorilla Gold Mines has emerged from a trading halt with high-grade gold intercepts at the Comet Vale project, north of Kalgoorlie.

The company believes the project is turning into a top priority following the delivery of first pass exploratory drilling assays with two standout results extending the system beyond 400m.

The project itself has seen historical production of >200,000oz at >20g/t gold with underground operations occurring as recently as 2018.

Previous operators employed strategies to get Comet Vale into production as quickly as possible, which has left the project with significant growth upside.

Gorilla said its objective is to grow the high-grade 96,000oz at 4.8g/t gold resource.

“This is very early exploration still,” GG8 CEO Charles Hughes said.

“Historically, Lakeview was composed of lots of very small mining leases owned and operated by different groups and it is suspected that mining was undertaken only to the top of the water table.

“We’ve got one RC rig continuing with work and we’re looking at accelerating drilling there – the Gorilla team onsite are doing an amazing job.”

Sarama is moving closer to consolidating its position in the prolific Laverton gold district in WA after reaching a binding agreement with Orbminco to acquire a majority interest in the Mt Venn project.

The project covers 420km2 of ground, features a litho-structural setting in greenstone rocks, a regional shear zone of 50km2 strike and multiple gold targets with drill-defined gold mineralisation.

It is comprised of three contiguous exploration tenements, about 110km2 northeast of Laverton and 35km west of the Gruyere gold mine, jointly owned and operated by Gold Fields and Gold Road Resources (ASX:GOR).

“The addition of the Mt Venn project will create a major 1,000km2 area-play and significantly enhances the probability of making the next big discovery in a region that continues to deliver new deposits in previously unexplored area,” Sarama president and executive chairman Andrew Dinning said.

Sarama also owns the Cosmo project, a little further south of Mt Venn, which despite its significant prospectivity has seen virtually no modern exploration or drilling of merit due to a lack of land access persisting over a significant period.

“Soil sampling programs at the Cosmo project are progressing well, feeding into the process of bringing the Cosmo and Mt Venn Projects to account as expeditiously as we can,” Denning said.

European Lithium (ASX:EUR)

European Lithium caught a wave today after appointing independent director Michael C. Ryan to the board of Critical Metals Corp.

Ryan brings a unique blend of experience to Critical Metals Corp, serving in the US Air Force and more recently supporting the Secretary of Defence through his work as an executive at the Department of Defence for the US.

His appointment comes as Critical Metals Corp advances development of its Tanbreez project in Greenland, one of the world’s largest, rare-earth deposits containing more than 27% heavy rare earth elements crucial for defence applications.

He most recently served as deputy assistant Secretary of Defence for European and NATO Policy for the US Department of Defense.

“Rare earth elements and other critical minerals are key for bolstering national security in the West, as they are the building blocks for next-generation defence applications that help us keep our borders safe,” said he said.

“I am confident in Critical Metals Corp’s vision and the quality of its strategic critical minerals portfolio.”

Ordell Minerals (ASX:ORD)

(Up on no news)

An 8000m drilling program is in full swing at the Barimaia gold project in WA, evaluating the extensive gold zone at the McNabs East prospect.

The campaign is following up on the high-grade gold results reported at the McNabs East prospect during 2024 which returned 22.7m at 4.09g/t gold from 71.3m, including 1m at 36g/t gold from 76m and 29m at 2.52g/t gold from 81m, including 1m at 47.5g/t gold from 107m.

“It’s a great time to be a gold explorer in WA with Australian dollar gold prices at all-time highs,” ORD managing director Michael Fowler said.

“In-fill RC and diamond drilling will initially target the McNabs East Prospect to follow up a number of shallow, high-grade gold results, which were returned from the three drill programs completed since we listed.

“Aircore drilling is also planned to be completed after the RC and diamond drilling with the aim of significantly extending the gold zone associated with the Barimaia granodiorite to over 5km of strike to generate further targets for follow-up drilling later in the year,” he said.

Highfield Resources (ASX:HFR)

(Up on no news)

While HFR had no news, the company had announced in mid-January 2025 that Yankuang Energy Group had received no objection from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board in relation to its proposed subscription of up to US$376m worth of its shares.

The share subscription is an integral part of the cornerstone placement and Southey vend-in from September 2024 under which HFR will raise US$220m in equity capital from Yankuang and other strategic investors along with acquiring the Southey potash project in Saskatchewan, Canada from Yankauang.

This was followed by its announcement at the beginning of this week that no notice has been received under subsection 25.2(1) or subsection 25.3(2) of the Investment Canada Act within the prescribed period for such notice.

It satisfies the condition to completion set forth in the related implementation agreement regarding the Investment Canada Act to acquire Yancoal Canada, which owns the project.

Southey is a greenfield potash mine project ~60km north of Regina, Saskatchewan, and has been the subject of significant investment by Yancoal Canada including a feasibility study completed in 2016.

Development would be through solution mining, a proven technology which involves drilling both injection and extraction wells to the target ore body. Heated brine is then injected underground, where the water dissolves the potash layer, and the potash-rich brine is pumped back to the surface for processing.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While European Lithium is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.