Acquisitions are a tried and true method for miners to secure additional resources or, in some cases, to fuel a complete change in direction for the company.

At the bigger end of town, the major companies are looking to grow again through acquisitions with Resolute Mining’s (ASX:RSG) recent $400m acquisition of private miner Toro Gold.

However, it is not just big companies that are making moves, here are some of the companies at the other end of the spectrum that are currently in the process of acquiring projects.

Blina Minerals (ASX:BDI) is acquiring a 50 per cent interest in Colour Minerals, a private company that owns the Barkly gold-copper project in the Northern Territory for $645,750 worth of Blina shares.

Barkly includes the Bluebird prospect, a 1.6km long gravity anomaly that hosts gold-copper mineralisation that the company believes is comparable to other Tennant Creek-style deposits.

Previous drilling has returned up to 11.5 per cent copper and 37.9 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.

Global potential

Titanium Sands (ASX:TSL) has just completed due diligence on its proposed acquisition of the tenements adjacent to its Mannar Island heavy mineral sands project in Sri Lanka.

The acquisition will increase the company’s current inferred resource by 60 per cent to about 85 million tonnes at 6.96 per cent total heavy minerals.

Read more: Ex-vanadium player Titanium Sands reborn as mineral sands explorer

Horizon Minerals (ASX:HRZ), itself the result of the recent merger between Intermin Resources and Macphersons Resources, is in the process of acquiring Focus Minerals’ (ASX:FML) Coolgardie gold project.

Coolgardie will add 2.1 million ounces in contained gold to the company’s resources, a substantial improvement over its current resource of 1.2 million ounces of gold.

It also includes the 1.2-million-tonne-per-annum Three Mile Hill processing plant that is currently on care and maintenance.

Earlier this month, Aldoro Resources (ASX:ARN) signed a binding option to acquire Altilium Metals, which holds the Penny South gold project in WA that is contiguous with Spectrum Metals (ASX:SPX) Penny West gold project and other projects.

Historical drilling at Penny South has returned impressive intersections of up to 2m at 33.98g/t gold.

Like Penny West, Penny South contains limited outcrop and is covered by up to 30m of sand and sedimentary cover.

Altilium also holds the Narndee nickel-copper-platinum group elements (PGM) project area, the Unaly Hill gold project and the Windimurra Igneous Complex that hosts nickel, copper, platinum group metals and lithium.