Premier African Minerals raises £1.2m to restart Zulu plant
Premier African Minerals (AIM:PREM) has raised approximately £1.2m before expenses through a subscription for 27.52bn new shares at 0.00436p each, funding earmarked to restart operations at its Zulu Lithium and Tantalum Project in Zimbabwe. The shares fell 16.514% to 0.00455p as the dilutive nature of the raise weighed on the stock, even as the cash injection gives the AIM-listed explorer a path back into production after a period of idle plant capacity.
The proceeds will fund working capital to remobilise mining activity and restart the processing plant for an initial 15-day operating campaign using roughly 13,000 tonnes of ore already stockpiled on the run-of-mine pad. That marks a departure from Premier's previous plan, which called for a larger stockpile build ahead of a 30-day continuous campaign the company had described as the minimum needed to fully optimise its upgraded flotation circuit. Personnel, diesel, reagents and other consumables are being mobilised, with supplier engineers due on site to support operations and further optimisation of the spodumene flotation plant. Additional blasted ore remains available within the exclusive prospecting order and could be mobilised to the pad after the initial campaign, subject to performance and available working capital.
"This represents a change from our original plan, which was to build a larger ROM stockpile before recommencing processing," said Graham Hill, Managing Director of Premier African Minerals.
The shift in strategy signals a board prioritising speed over scale, processing what is already on hand to prove plant performance rather than waiting to build a bigger buffer. For a company that has repeatedly had to manage working-capital constraints, restarting with existing ore reduces near-term cash burn and gives Premier a faster route to demonstrating throughput, recoveries and product quality, which in turn will shape investor confidence in any further capital raises needed to fund a fuller restart.
Bradda Head logs spodumene in first Whistlejacket drill holes
Bradda Head Lithium (AIM:BHL), trading at 1.8p, has completed its first three diamond drill holes at the Whistlejacket Lithium Project in Arizona, logging broad zones of visible fresh spodumene mineralisation in all three with a fourth hole already under way. The North America-focused lithium developer holds Whistlejacket under an Option to Joint Venture agreement with Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott Exploration Company, through which Bradda can earn up to a 60% interest via phased exploration spending.
The intercepts were substantial across the section drilled. Hole WSTL0020 intersected a 31.8-metre structure of visible fresh spodumene from 161.85m to 193.65m, while WSTL0021 returned two intervals of 6.41m and 19.23m, the latter running from 210.1m to 229.33m and ranking among the widest single intercepts logged so far. WSTL0022, the shallowest hole, delivered the widest structure recorded to date at 46 metres of fresh spodumene from 61.87m to 107.87m. All three holes terminated in metavolcanic host rock with no further mineralisation noted beyond the pegmatite, "these are highly encouraging visual indications from our maiden drilling programme at Whistlejacket," said Ian Stalker, Executive Chair.
Visual logging of this scale and continuity across a maiden three-hole programme is an early but meaningful signal for a project Bradda only recently earned into, and it strengthens the case for accelerating the earn-in spend under the Kennecott option. Assay results will be needed to convert these visual observations into defined grades, but the consistency across all three holes gives the company a stronger negotiating position as it works toward its 60% interest threshold.
Fulcrum Metals secures pilot site and technology deal for Teck-Hughes project
Fulcrum Metals (AIM:FMET), up at 7.0p, has secured the site for its pilot facility in Mississauga, Ontario, and signed a Pilot Scale Demonstration Agreement with Extrakt Process Solutions and Test Design Implement Solutions. The deal governs how TDI will deploy and operate Extrakt's cyanide-free metal recovery technology at the new facility for Fulcrum's Teck-Hughes programme and any subsequent agreed projects, advancing the company's platform for recovering precious and critical metals from mine waste.
Teck-Hughes is a gold tailings project in the historic Kirkland Lake camp, fully owned by Fulcrum, where a 159-hole auger programme has already confirmed gold and silver throughout the tailings alongside tellurium, gallium and other elements, feeding into a maiden NI 43-101 resource estimate now in preparation. The Mississauga premises span approximately 12,526 square feet, leased by subsidiary Fulcrum EnviroTech for an initial six-year term. "This is not a one-project pilot, a multi-project development accelerator that moves projects using Extrakt's technology from laboratory testing towards commercial development decisions without building a separate pilot facility for each project," said chief executive Ryan Mee.
Building a shared pilot facility rather than a bespoke plant for each project materially lowers the capital intensity of Fulcrum's growth model, letting it test additional tailings projects through the same infrastructure. "Securing the site and signing the Pilot Scale Demonstration Agreement are major execution milestones that move our funded pilot facility and initial Teck-Hughes programme into physical delivery," Mee added, underscoring that the company is now shifting from concept to construction on a business built around reprocessing historic mine waste.
Metlen secures second gallium supply deal as demand outpaces output
Metlen Energy Metals (LSE:MTLN), up 1.605% to 49.38p, has signed a long-term commercial agreement with a major Japanese chemical company to supply gallium covering up to 16% of total annual production from its Greek facility, which remains under construction. The deal is the second strategic gallium supply arrangement Metlen has struck, following a July agreement to supply approximately 25% of the facility's annual output to a leading US technology company, with financial terms of both deals kept confidential.
Metlen said the facility's full planned annual output of 50 tonnes is now likely to be sold out months before commercial production begins in the third quarter of 2027. "The international response to our gallium project continues to exceed expectations. The successive commercial agreements we are announcing demonstrate that global industry is actively seeking reliable, high-quality and diversified supply sources," said executive chairman Evangelos Mytilineos, adding that Greece is becoming part of a new global technology ecosystem.
Locking up more than 40% of planned capacity across two offtake deals before first production gives Metlen unusual revenue visibility for a facility still under construction, and reinforces Europe's positioning as an alternative gallium source at a time when global supply chains for critical minerals remain concentrated and politically sensitive. The scarcity implied by a sold-out facility months ahead of schedule also strengthens Metlen's hand in pricing any remaining uncommitted volume.
First Class Metals finds visible gold in new step-out from Roy discovery
First Class Metals (AIM:FCM), down 1.754% to 2.8p, has reported visible gold in a new step-out drill result extending from its Roy discovery, adding to the evidence base for mineralisation continuity at the project.
The step-out result broadens the footprint around the existing discovery, giving the company additional encouragement to pursue follow-up drilling as it works to define the extent of the gold system beyond the original Roy intercept.
First Development starts soil sampling at Lander West gold target
First Development Resources (FDR), trading at 1.75p, has commenced a soil sampling programme at its Lander West gold target, an early-stage exploration step aimed at refining drill targets.
The sampling work is designed to sharpen the company's understanding of surface geochemical anomalies at Lander West before committing to a drilling campaign, a standard de-risking step for an explorer at this stage of project development.