JOHANNESBURG (miningweekly.com) – Exploration firm DevEx Resources on Monday announced a one-for-two nonrenounceable rights issue to raise up to $2.84-million for its lithium and copper/gold projects.

The company said it planned to fast-track drilling at its projects, including the recently identified lithium anomaly at the Dundas project in Western Australia and high-priority copper/gold/uranium targets at West Arnhem in the Northern Territory.

In October, DevEx said it would review recently released auger sampling which had identified a standout 2-km-long coincident lithium and beryllium anomaly. Following grant of the tenement application and heritage clearances, the company is planning angled reverse circulation drilling of the anomaly early this year. 

DevEx believes Dundas represents an “outstanding” walk-up drilling target and notes the identification of lithium-bearing pegmatites in the region points to an emerging lithium province, which also includes Tawana Resources’ Bald Hill lithium project, Pioneer Resources’ Pioneer Dome lithium project and Liontown Resources’ Buldania lithium project.

The West Arnhem copper/gold/uranium project is located in Alligator Rivers Uranium Province (ARUP) of the Northern Territory.

DevEx said it remained committed to advancing the uranium potential of its 5 000 km² ground position in the ARUP, which included the Nabarlek mine, previously Australia’s highest-grade uranium mine which produced 24-million pounds of triuranium octoxide (U₃O₈) at a grade of 1.84% U₃O₈.

At its Junee copper/gold project in New South Wales, the company is finalising a technical compilation of the public domain datasets for the project.

The project lies adjacent to the prospective Gilmore Suture and overlies Macquarie Arc Volcanics, which host several of Australia’s largest porphyry copper gold deposits, including Cadia and Northparkes to the north and north-west of the project area. Results to date indicate the potential for Cadia-style mineralisation within the project area.

Meanwhile, DevEx said it was still actively assessing advanced mineral exploration and further resource development acquisition opportunities, primarily in Australia.