Mining news today centred on West African permitting progress and North American exploration momentum, with Cora Gold's regulatory breakthrough in Mali headlining a session that also brought a board reshuffle at Kenmare Resources, a reserve update at Phoenix Copper and fresh exploration commitments from London BTC Company, Vast Resources and Tertiary Minerals.
Cora Gold clears Mali permit hurdle at Sanankoro
Cora Gold (AIM:CORA), the West African-focused gold developer, has cleared a significant regulatory milestone after Mali's Council of Ministers approved the first interim renewal of its Sanankoro II exploration permit on 21 August. Shares in Cora rose 11.429% to 9.75p on the news, which removes one of the lingering obstacles tied to Mali's November 2022 mining permit moratorium. The 84.11 sq km permit, originally awarded in March 2021, will eventually feed into the mining permit area for the company's flagship Sanankoro Gold Project in south Mali.
The renewal follows a partial lifting of the moratorium in March 2025 that allowed renewal applications to proceed, though it stopped short of permitting new licence issuances. Two further renewals, covering the Bokoro II and Kodiou exploration permits, still need to be completed before Cora can finalise a permit reshaping exercise and progress its application for a proposed 100 sq km mining permit at Sanankoro. Alongside the permitting process, the company's Front-End Engineering Design work, announced in May, continues alongside a drill programme targeting extensions to existing deposits and greenfield targets near the mine.
"The next stage in this process is the renewal of each of the Bokoro II and Kodiou exploration permits which were not completed before the November 2022 moratorium came into effect," said Bert Monro, chief executive of Cora Gold.
The permit renewal matters beyond bureaucratic housekeeping: Cora already has the financing in place to build Sanankoro, having secured a binding $120 million gold stream in April that, combined with existing equity, fully funds the project through to production. With a 2025 Definitive Feasibility Study underpinning a probable reserve of 531koz at 1.13g/t gold and a post-tax internal rate of return of 98%, the remaining constraint has been regulatory rather than financial or technical. Each successful renewal de-risks the path to a mining permit and shortens the distance between a fully-funded project on paper and one that can actually break ground.
Phoenix Copper appoints consultants to update Empire mine reserves
Phoenix Copper (AIM:PXC), the AIM-quoted, US-focused base and precious metals producer and explorer, has appointed Hardrock Consulting, metallurgist Deepak Molhatra and Valley Science and Engineering to refresh the pre-feasibility study and open-pit mineral resources and reserves at its flagship Empire Mine in Idaho's Alder Creek mining district. Shares rose 4.274% to 0.61p as the market weighed the potential for an upgraded resource base. The updated studies will feed into final feasibility engineering and a revised Plan of Operations for the mine.
The current reserve figures date to mid-2024, when proven and probable reserves stood at 10.1 million tonnes containing 109.49 million lbs of copper, 104,000 oz of gold and 4.65 million oz of silver, equivalent to 66,467 tonnes of copper. Metals prices have moved substantially higher since that update was published, and the company expects the new figures to capture that shift. "With metals prices having strengthened since then, I look forward to seeing the impact this could have on the updated mineral reserves," said Ryan McDermott, chief executive officer.
A reserve base calculated against today's higher copper and gold prices could materially reshape the economics underpinning Empire's development case, potentially lifting contained value without a shovel being turned. For a company still working toward final feasibility, a stronger reserve statement also strengthens the hand for financing discussions ahead of any construction decision.
London BTC starts phase two of Nevada gold strategy this week
London BTC Company (LSE:BTC) is set to begin phase two of its US gold, silver and critical minerals strategy on the ground in Nevada this week, mobilising technical personnel across two parallel workstreams running through to December. Shares climbed 7.5% to 2.15p as the exploration company builds out a portfolio that already spans four Nevada projects: Teep, with grades up to 40.56 grams per tonne gold and 1,332.5 g/t silver; Black Star, up to 16.2 g/t gold and 50.5 g/t silver; Amonett-Frank, up to 143.1 g/t gold and 88.3 g/t silver; and Huntington-Whitman.
New exploration programmes across the four existing projects, rock chip sampling, geological mapping and data compilation, will run from September to late October, with samples dispatched to Nevada assay laboratories. "We believe that we are currently operating at the intersection of three of the most powerful themes in global markets today: Bitcoin, precious metals and America's drive to secure domestic supplies of critical minerals," said CEO Hewie Rattray.
The high-grade rock chip results already reported at Teep and Amonett-Frank give London BTC a credible technical basis to justify sustained exploration spend, and the timeline to December positions the company to deliver a steady newsflow of assay results through the autumn. Positioning the strategy at the crossover of critical minerals policy and precious metals gives the story a broader narrative hook than exploration alone would carry.
Kenmare replaces shareholder-nominated director
Kenmare Resources (LSE:KMR), operator of the Moma Titanium Minerals Mine in northern Mozambique and one of the world's leading producers of titanium minerals and zircon, announced a board change on 22 August that saw Issa Al Balushi step down as Non-Executive Director, with Mahmood Al Khatri appointed in his place with immediate effect. Shares dipped 0.95% to 208.0p. Both men were nominated by African Acquisition Sarl, Kenmare's largest shareholder and a vehicle controlled by the Oman Investment Authority, under a subscription and relationship agreement dating back to June 2016.
Al Khatri is a senior manager at the Oman Investment Authority, where he oversees private equity fund investments across buyouts, growth and venture capital strategies spanning North America, Europe and Asia. He brings more than 15 years of experience across public and private markets and sits on the board of Maha Ceramic SAOG, listed on the Muscat Securities Exchange, alongside other private entities held on the sovereign fund's behalf. "On behalf of the Company and Board, I would like to thank Issa for the very valuable contribution he has made during his tenure. We are grateful for his diligence and insights, and for his support as nominee of our largest shareholder, the Oman Investment Authority."
The change is a routine nominee rotation rather than a governance dispute, but it underscores how closely Kenmare's board composition remains tied to its largest shareholder's internal staffing decisions. With the Oman Investment Authority retaining its board seat and influence over strategic direction, continuity of the relationship agreement matters more to long-term investors than the identity of any individual nominee.
Tertiary Minerals confirms higher-grade zone at Mushima North target
Tertiary Minerals (TYM) reported final pXRF drill results from Target A1 at its Mushima North project, backing up the company's 15 to 30 million tonne silver exploration target and pointing to a richer copper-silver core within the wider system. Shares rose 3.448% to 0.075p on the update.
The confirmation of a higher-grade zone gives the AIM-listed explorer a tighter, more defined target for follow-up drilling, strengthening the geological case underpinning its exploration target range ahead of further work at the project.
Vast Resources joins US defense mineral consortium
Vast Resources (VAST) has been admitted to two US Department of Defense-linked bodies focused on securing critical mineral supply chains, a move that places its Tajikistan and Romania assets within the American defense industrial ecosystem. Shares gained 2.273% to 4.5p.
Membership of these consortia gives Vast a formal channel into US critical minerals policy discussions and potential funding or offtake relationships tied to defense supply chain security, broadening the strategic relevance of assets that had previously been assessed largely on their own operational merits.
Iofina completes IO#11 water upgrade, boosting output 50%
Iofina (IOF) has completed a water upgrade at its IO#11 plant, which now draws on two brine sources and has lifted output at the facility by 50%. Shares rose 2.0% to 51.0p as the iodine producer continues to expand processing capacity.
The upgrade comes as Iofina's larger IO#12 facility tracks toward a third-quarter startup, meaning the company is building incremental capacity gains at its existing plant while a bigger step-change in production capacity approaches on a separate site.
New Frontier ranks Eldorado second priority target at NWQ copper project
New Frontier Minerals (NFM) has identified the Eldorado Prospect as its top follow-up target after Big One at the NWQ copper project, supported by copper geochemistry across a 5km structural corridor in the Mount Isa copper district. Shares stood at 0.375p.
The prioritisation gives the company a clear sequencing for its next phase of exploration, concentrating follow-up work on the structural corridor most likely to extend the geochemical footprint already established around Big One.
