In Tasmania, Proto Resources & Investments has been granted a mining lease for its Barnes Hill nickel development near Beaconsfield.

It hopes to start mining in early 2013.

Jameson Resources has exercised its option agreement to earn a 90% interest in the Crown Mountain coal project in the US and will pay $C25,000 ($A24,619) to the vendor.

Back to Australia and Kagara has signed formal agreements to mine the Baal Gammon polymetallic deposit in Queensland and form a strategic alliance with Monto Minerals for tin and other base metals.

Under the deal Kagara will issue Monto $6 million worth of Kagara shares and will be required to pay a 2.5% net smelter royalty on all metals for the first 550,000 tonnes of ore processed, before dropping back to a 2% NSR.

As part of the alliance, both parties will investigate the technical feasibility and commerciality of implementing a tin extraction circuit at Kagara’s Mt Garnet processing facility.

Zenith Minerals has increased the overall exploration target at its Mount Alexander magnetite iron play in Western Australia to between 750 million tonnes and 1.43 billion tonnes following a new target outlined at the Mount Alexander West prospect of 150-230Mt grading 20-25% iron.

This is in addition to the previously announced target of 600Mt to 1.2Bt at 25-35% iron.

On the exploration front, results keep coming for Carrick Gold at the Brilliant deposit at Kurnalpi, one of three project areas making up its flagship LKK property in WA.

Best results included 14 metres at 4.85 grams per tonne gold including 1m at 30.5gpt gold from 2m, 1m at 7.1gpt gold from 7m and 1m at 5.5gpt from 9m and 34m at 2.87gpt from 2m including multiple hits at more than 5gpt.

The company is targeting initial reserves by December and first production by late next year.

Further substantial high-grade intersections by Uranex have expanded the mineralised zone at the Likuyu North prospect within its wholly owned Mkuju uranium project in southern Tanzania.

Significant hits included 33m at 419 parts per million uranium oxide from 28m depth including 5m at 1150ppm uranium from 39m; 12m at 1068ppm uranium oxide from 60m including 2m at 4100ppm from 62m; and 7m at 1008ppm uranium oxide from 58m including 1m at 2756ppm uranium from 60.5m.

In Botswana, results have confirmed copper-silver mineralisation in the Mid Kalahari Zone at Discovery Metals’ Ophion prospect, located 40km northwest of its Boseto copper project, which is due to start production early next year.

A total of 22 holes have intersected copper-silver mineralisation at depths of between 45m and 150m below surface and along a strike length of about 28km.

Results included 6m at 1.2% copper and 12gpt silver and 4m at 1.2% copper and 14gpt silver; 1m at 1.3% copper and 13gpt silver and 3m at 2.1% copper and 20gpt silver; 1m at 1.6% copper and 10gpt silver, 5m at 1% copper and 9gpt silver, 3m at 0.8% copper and 9gpt silver and 3m at 1.5% copper and 17gpt silver; and 15m at 0.6% copper and 6gpt silver including 4m at 0.8% copper and 8gpt silver.

Infill and extension drilling at Southern Cross Goldfields’ Marda gold project in WA has returned a series of thick, near-surface, high-grade hits at the Python deposit.

Python is one of four deposits located at Marda Central and hosts a resource of 859,000t at 1.9gpt for 52,000oz.

Results from the first 23 holes from the 63-hole program included 30m at 6.5gpt gold from 22m including 17m at 10.1gpt gold; 19m at 6.9gpt gold from 17m including 13m at 9.2gpt gold; 13m at 5.4gpt gold from 13m including 7m at 8.7gpt gold; 14m at 4.9gpt gold from 30m including 12m at 5.5gpt gold; 23m at 3.2gpt gold from 9m including 6m at 5.3gpt gold; 30m at 3gpt gold from 39m including 4m at 9.3gpt gold; and 23m at 3gpt gold from 24m including 11m at 4.9gpt gold.

Turning to the Philippines and high-grade gold, silver and base metal assays have been returned from Lindian Resources’ Masapelid project.

Underground sampling of the Davaoeno mine returned 65.48gpt gold, 102gpt silver, 1.68% copper, 9.31% lead and 7.13% zinc.

A new zone of gold mineralisation was discovered at the Lunar-Magbanua gold prospect with results from seven surface samples returning gold grades of 3.21gpt, 6.87gpt, 2.68gpt, 4.78gpt, 3.75gpt, 7.45gpt and 8.41gpt.

High-grades were also confirmed from the Uyajan prospect with three assays from rock sampling returning 5.75gpt gold, 66.77gpt gold and 77.14gpt gold.

Finally, high-grade mineralisation has been intersected in drilling at both ends of the Darcy zinc deposit within Overland Resources’ Yukon base metal property in Canada.

Results included 16m at 8% zinc from 49m; 13m at 4.7% zinc from 111m; and 6.3m at 9.1% zinc from 9.7m.

Drilling of the Andrew zinc deposit to test for easterly extensions also intersected thick zones including 12m at 3.5% zinc from 123m and 6m at 4% zinc from 157m.