It was a big day for Ortac Resources (LON:OTC) as the company started working underground at its Šturec deposit in Slovakia. Shares gained 10%.
The move marks the return of mining to Šturec after a break of nearly two decades and follows last week's inspection and approval by the District Mining Bureau.
It also satisfies the company's obligations to the Slovak Republic for maintaining the validity of its Mining Licence Area.
Shares in Mosman Oil & Gas (LON:MSMN) rose over 36% after the group said the lower-lying Cobden limestone of its Cross Roads-1 well in New Zealand had been classed an oil discovery.
While oil shows were found in the Cobden, more detailed petro-physical analysis was required.
This was carried out consultants, including SRK, which performed a lot of the early analysis of the acreage, and it has now been deemed the Cobden limestone meets the official definition of a discovery.
The drill-rig has already moved to the next target, Crestal-1, on this incredibly shallow Petroleum Creek licence.
Flow testing will be completed on Cross Roads’ Cobden and Eight Mile limestones later this year.
Leni Gas & Oil’s (LON:LGO) second development well on the Goudron field in Trinidad has found another chunk of net oil pay, this time in the Gros Morne Sandstone.
Electrical logs at well GY-666, which went down to a total depth of 3,357 feet, indicated the presence of at least another 209 feet of net oil pay, making a total of 394 feet of net oil pay including the 185 feet already announced in the shallower Goudron Sandstone. Shares rose 10%.
Empyrean Energy (LON:EME) edged up slightly after it said total production increased by 50% year-on-year at its flagship Sugarloaf asset in the year to end-March.
Production rose to 335,305 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) from 223,500 boe in the preceding 12 months.
Enegi Oil (LON:ENEG) said work so far on the Phoenix discovery on Block 22/12b in the Central North Sea has been “very encouraging".
Seismic, well data and detailed subsurface analysis confirmed the presence of oil bearing Forties reservoir around the previously drilled 22/12a-10 exploration well.
This means the target has effectively been de-risked, with minimum case reserves being identified within a four-way dip-closed depth structure, Enegi said.
Mariana Resources' (LON:MARL) first deep hole at its Soledad prospect in Peru has found further strong indications of copper, silver and gold.
SDH-09, drilled in Breccia 1 pipe at a steep angle, intersected 174 metres (m) at 1.2% copper, 0.7 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 114 g/t silver from 92m.
There were also three zones of much more concentrated quartz-tourmaline-sulphide mineralisation, with the metal traces 50m deeper than the historic drilling carried out by the previous owner.
Bullabulling Gold’s (LON:BGL, ASX:BAB) directors have changed their recommendation on the bid from Norton Gold Fields and now advise shareholders to accept.
In a statement, the board said while they still believe the A8c (4.2p) per share final offer materially undervalues the company, Norton effectively is in control already with 41.35% acceptances.
StratMin Global Resources (LON:STGR), the Madagascan graphite production company, has signed its first sales contract.
The contract, with a US-based established graphite trading company, is for the delivery of 54 tonnes of +40 mesh graphite, 19 tonnes of -40+80 mesh and 38 tonnes of +60mesh.
StratMin said further sales contracts are expected.
Marketing studies have confirmed the Middle East as a potential market for pig iron from its Tete project in m Mozambique, Baobab Resources (LON:BAO) said.
The combination of low cost, high quality Tete pig iron and competitive freight rates to the Middle East give it a production cost advantage over local produced direct reduced iron.
That makes it an ideal raw material source as the region boosts rebar manufacturing capacity, Baobab said.
The marketing results have been used in discussions with potential strategic partners in northern Asia and the Middle East.