Southern Cross Gold has reported its highest-grade shallow gold intersection to date at the Apollo prospect, part of its Sunday Creek project in Victoria, signalling further upside in near-surface mineralisation. The result comes from ongoing diamond drilling targeting epizonal gold–antimony veins, with Apollo sitting along strike from the Rising Sun and Christina prospects within the same structural corridor. For mine planners and geotechs, the shallow, high-grade nature of the intercept strengthens the case for potential open-pit starter scenarios and tighter geotechnical characterisation of vein-hosted ground conditions.

Loop Hydrometallurgy has unveiled a new copper processing technology aimed at replacing parts of conventional smelting–refining flowsheets with a hydrometallurgical route, targeting lower-temperature leaching and electrowinning rather than high-energy flash smelting. The process is designed to treat complex copper concentrates and potentially higher-arsenic feeds that challenge traditional smelters, using closed-loop reagent recovery to cut reagent consumption and waste volumes. For mine operators and project designers, this signals growing scope to permit smaller-footprint plants and reconsider concentrate transport versus on-site refining economics.

ABx Group has secured roles in two Federal Government-backed research initiatives to advance rare earths extraction from its ionic adsorption clay deposits in northern Tasmania and bauxite-hosted resources in Queensland. The grants, awarded under national critical minerals and industry growth programmes, will fund testwork on low-acid leach processes, beneficiation flowsheets and pilot-scale recovery of magnet rare earths such as neodymium and praseodymium. Outcomes could materially affect project economics, tailings chemistry and permitting pathways for clay-hosted rare earths developments in Australia.