Founded in 1955, HMS Bergbau is a German company which specialises in the marketing and logistics of raw materials, critical mineral, and dry bulk materials.

It’s been in discussions with Surefire following an initial overture in November, expressing an interest in Victory Bore’s vanadium and titanium. The project holds a mineral resource estimate of 464 million tonnes at 0.3% vanadium oxide, 5.12% titanium dioxide, and 17.7% iron.

The latter includes a JORC probable ore reserve of 93.1Mt at 0.35% vanadium oxide, 5.2% titanium dioxide, and 19.8% iron, per a PFS published in December 2023.

Managing director Paul Burton said the agreement was an indication of the project’s strategic value and deeper investment in Germany following the formation of the German-Australian Critical Minerals Alliance, and Germany’s introduction of a €1 billion (A$1.61 billion) Raw Materials Fund in September.

“This agreement is an exciting milestone for Victory Bore,” he said. “It represents a vote of confidence in, and an underpinning of, the project as we advance development plans to provide a long-term supply of strategic and critical minerals to a rapidly emerging energy and new technologies market.”

Surefires hares have been trading flat at 0.3 cents today.

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In the wake of the invasion, uncertainty and tension saw the latter push up to a price of $120 per barrel, and this period was followed by a spate of sanctions against Russia – chiefly targeting oil, gas and coal – from the United States, Canada, the European Union and other Western entities.

(This tendency has continued too, with the EU this week signing off on its 16th sanction package, which includes bans on the provision of services and technology that could facilitate completion of Russian LNG or crude oil products.)

In a general sense, the war prompted conversations about the need for countries to ensure their supply chains are both strong and diversified.

This is then augmented by the headwinds from recent U.S. tariff policies.

But Donald Trump’s recent interventions in international diplomacy concerning the war have introduced another topic into the chat: Ukraine’s richness in critical minerals, which the U.S. President wants to get his hands on.

The idea echoes early pronouncements from Trump that the States could acquire Greenland, an autonomous territory in the kingdom of Denmark rich in uranium, rare earth minerals, and iron ore.

After that, he moved his sights to the benefits that could be yielded from Ukraine in return for U.S. military aid. Initially, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy rejected a proposal that would have handed over half of the country’s critical mineral assets to the United States.

But after meetings which began over the weekend, it appears that Ukraine’s leaders have agreed to a deal which would enable the joint development of the country’s assets in return for strengthened relations with, and military support from, the United States.

According to media reports, the deal is set to be formalised on Friday, with Zelenskyy planning to fly to Washington for this purpose.

For much of its history, Ukraine was known for its contribution to agriculture: Unsurprisingly, given it accounts for a third of the globe’s most fertile land, with wheat, maize, and sunflower oil being some of its main exports in this sector.

But the country also holds 5% of the world’s mineral resources, including 20,000 deposits of 116 different types, of which only 15% (or 3,055) were active. Of the active deposits, 147 were metallic; 4,676 non-metallic.

More specifically, Ukraine has been noted for its supply of rare earth metals, titanium, lithium, beryllium, manganese, gallium, uranium, zirconium, graphite, apatite, fluorite, and nickel.

Titanium – a metal essential for the aerospace, medical, automotive and marine industries – is a particularly attractive commodity for the U.S., and Ukraine holds the world’s largest reserves and was a key supplier to the military sector before the invasion began.

Alongside this is lithium – a commodity whose fortune has fluctuated in recent years, as oversupply in China led to a price plunge, although this is a situation expected to correct itself in the next year or so, as supply wanes again.

Ukraine is home to one of Europe’s biggest confirmed reserves of the metal (at an estimate of 500,000 tonnes), including the Shevchenkivske field and the Kruta Balka block.

Since these are in regions close to the conflict – Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia respectively – their exploitation has not been possible for several years.

The country is also the fifth largest producer of gallium – an increasingly sought-after metal, whose price rose significantly last December due to Chinese export restrictions – in addition to supplying 90% of neon gas which is essential to the U.S. chip industry.

As nations vie to secure the materials critical for the ‘electrification of the globe’ and clean energy transition, Trump’s intentions in Eastern Europe may be ethically questionable, but not surprising.

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Four holes were drilled in greenfield areas – away from the Rosewood heavy mineral sands discovery – with the work yielding titanium-rich heavy mineral (HM) mineralisation, hosted in saprolite clay.

All four returned thick and high-grade results following trial HM separation test, including 44 metres at 29.4% HM from surface to end of hole at the Nardoo prospect, 61 metres at 19.7% HM from surface to end of hole at the Duke prospect, and 45 metres at 27.0% HM from six metres at the Claypan prospect.

Petratherm is also excited about the underlying features of this area since HM mineralisation at Duke and Nardoo appear along a strong magnetic trend over 16km.

This means additional work could reveal mineralisation along the whole trend.

Titanium mineralisation at Claypan is connected to discrete magnetic features, but the company has hypothesised that untested non-magnetic zones could also pull up similar mineralisation.

CEO Peter Reid said there was a lot to be excited about, based on this discovery.

“The Titanium Heavy Minerals hosted in saprolite clays at Muckanippie represent a new style of mineralisation that we believe has tremendous upside potential,” he said.

“The drill results show that the mineralisation is regionally extensive and has potential for large tonnage free dig ore.

“Importantly intercepts occur over wide thicknesses, making them favourable for open pit free dig mining. Saprolite-hosted HM deposits have the potential to be mined and processed using very similar mining techniques to traditional HMS deposits.”

Petratherm shares were trading at 30 cents at 12:26pm today.

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Twelve holes of drilling at the Minas Gerais region play found intercepts including six metres at 19.5% TiO2 and 4,800ppm TREO from 39 metres downhole; nine metres at 21.8% TiO2 and 7,700ppm TREO from 34 metres downhole; and seven metres at 24.5% TiO2 and 11,000ppm TREO from 39 metres downhole.

Resouro has been running an infill diamond drilling program of 39 holes across the Central Block of Tiros, with further assays due later on in February.

What they have uncovered is a broad zone of high-grade mineralisation with 10% to 12% TiO2 as a typical grade range, in addition to TREO grading between 4,000 to 5,000ppm, plus narrower intervals of very high-grade mineralisation of 19% to 22% TiO2 and 9,000 to 11,000ppm TREO.

The high-grade zone was picked up in eight out of 10 holes.

“These drill hole assays are exceptional on a global scale while remaining characteristic ofTiros mineralisation,” CEO Alistair Stephens said, adding the results point to the value of the company’s titanium and rare earths mineralisation.

“Beyond the impressive tenor of mineralisation, the lateral continuity over widths of 30m to 50m further underscores the project’s significance.”

Resouro last traded at 25 cents – a sharp rise of 21.95% since market open.

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Among the intercepts taken from 45 holes in this program were: 25 metres at 7.1% HM from eight metres, including five metres at 16.6% HM from 28 metres; 19 metres at 9.3% HM from five metres, including six metres at 13.9% HM from six metres.

One notable aspect of mineralisation at Rosewood is it’s open to the north in all drill traverses, in addition to being open to the west and east, and some of the most significant and thickest high-grade intercepts occur at the end of the current drill traverses, requiring follow-up extension drilling.

Intercepts from this end-of-drill traverse open mineralisation include: 14 metres at 8.5% HM from 0m (one hole in the West), 16 metres at 12.1% HM from 14 metre (North), and four metres at 9.3% HM from 10 metres (East).

CEO Peter Reid said the news from Rosewood – which is just one part of the wider Muckanippie project – indicated an exciting new avenue for Petratherm.

“These results confirm exceptional heavy mineral grade continuity and thickness over a very large area,” he said.

“Encouraging thick, high-grade mineralisation occurs right up to the extents of current drilling and we look forward to step out exploration drilling in the coming weeks, especially to the north, which has significant potential for additional mineralisation.

“We have now strengthened our confidence of Rosewood’s large-scale potential and as a result this next round of exploration drilling will include in parallel the collection of bulk heavy mineral sample to expedite initial trial mineral separation testing using standard ore processing techniques.”

In response to this news, Petratherm shares traded higher initially, before falling to 30.5 cents at 14:38 AEDT – a drop of 22.78% since the market opened.

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Identified through a geological review of Muckanippie – based on data from the Geological Survey of South Australia (GSSA), GP2 project, state geophysical imagery, topographical features, and open-source data – the paleochannel appears to intersect recent discoveries of titanium made by Marmota and Petratherm last year.

Marmota’s discovery – made in November 2024 – included assays such as 28 metres at 10.1 % TiO2 from zero metres (from surface), 36 metres at 6.2 % TiO2 from zero metres, 39 metres at 4.6 % TiO2 from zero metres, and 24 metres at 7.5 % TiO2 from zero metres.

The channel/fluvial hosted titanium of the paleochannel stretches across the company’s Muckanippie tenement EL 6166, as well as the adjacent tenements EL 6679 and EL 6005. Marmota’s holdings in the paleochannel amount to 28 kilometres of territory.

The paleochannel itself is believed to be approximately five kilometres in width.

Marmota is now hoping to capitalise, keeping in mind titanium is on Australia’s national critical mineral list as well as the critical mineral lists of major trade partners like the U.S., the EU, India, Japan, and South Korea.

MEU has been trading at four cents.

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That titanium alloy is used for the atomisation of premium spherical powder.

The agreement has a baseline price for the 2025 calendar year, and will then increase each subsequent year of the contract according to an agreed-upon fixed percentage, in addition to a variable raw material surcharge based on a reference index market price for Ti64.

Non-binding estimates of minimum annual demand have been provided by Amaero, with updates to be provided to The Perryman Company on a quarterly basis.

Amaero chairman and CEO Hank J Holland said the agreement was a significant step for the company.

“Amaero aims to be the premium C103, refractory and titanium spherical powder producer with a vertically-integrated US domestic supply chain,” he said.

“Securing a long-term US-sourced supply agreement for titanium bar from a global leader in titanium melt and forging is an important milestone for Amaero and an important step towards securing a US domestic supply chain for additive/advanced manufacturing of titanium end-parts.”

Investors appeared impressed with this news, and at 11:27 AEDT, Amaero shares were trading at 35 cents – a rise of 6.06% since the market opened.

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Assays from 35 holes drilled at the program yielded results such as 10.2 metres at 15.0% TiO₂ (titanium dioxide) in one hole and 15m at 13.6% TiO₂ in another, showcasing significant high-grade potential.

Equinox pointed out 43 intercepts went beyond 12.0% TiO₂ across 85.6 meters, and that the highest grade titanium occurred within the top 15 metres.

The drilling was also impressive in terms of what it showed for total rare earth oxides (TREO), with strong levels of magnetic rare earth oxide (MREO) content in particular.

This included three metres at 6,847 ppm (parts per million) TREO (27% MREO), with 31 intercepts exceeding 3,000 ppm TREO totaling 53.4 meters.

Equinox is aiming to progress an MRE in the first half of the 2025 calendar year, with ongoing drilling at the Patos and Pindaibas prospects, which comprise only 1.4% of the whole Mata da Corda project area of 972 square kilometres.

Equinox shares moved up after the news, and at 13:49 AEDT, they were trading at 14.5 cents – a rise of 3.57% since the market opened.

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The company has carried out a successful program of metallurgical test work – specifically a trial HM separation test – on samples from historical drilling at Rosewood, with lab results showing that from the HM tested, titanium represented a significant fraction.

Further analysis of the HM fraction through X-Ray Diffraction showed between 19 and 21% rutile, between four and 7% anatase and between 68 and 70% pseudo rutile.

The sampling for this test work was taken from composite samples from wide spaced drill holes over 2.5 kilometres, and they returned heavy mineral HM concentrated at 12.0% and 12.5 % from shallow depths.

But Petratherm has also focused its attention away from the historically drilled samples, conducting its own drilling campaign at Rosewood across an area of eight kilometres by two kilometres.

From this campaign, 90 samples have been taken from a representative drill section trending over 1.8 kilometres, with these selected for fast-tracking HM separation analysis with results expected in three to four weeks.

CEO Peter Reid said he saw great potential for the prospect, based on what had been revealed in these tests.

“The initial metallurgical results from historic drilling at the Rosewood prospect are outstanding and beyond our expectations,” he said.

“As the Muckanippie project evolves, it continues to surprise with emerging potential to be a significant source of high value titanium minerals and transformational for the company.”

Petratherm shares jumped after the news was released, and by 13:02 AEDT, they were trading at 8 cents – a rise of 60% since the market opened.

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The placement comprised around 45.7 million fully paid ordinary shares priced at $0.035 (or 3.5 cents) each, and it attracted support from both new and existing investors. Petratherm CEO Peter Reid contributed $20,000, while directors of the company collectively have agreed to add $200,000.

Petratherm is also looking to bank another $1 million with the offer of a share purchase plan, inviting eligible shareholders to subscribe for up to $30,000 each at the same price as the Placement.

Although the proceeds will mainly be focused on upcoming drilling operations at Muckanippie, it will also be used for progressing Petratherm’s copper projects, and general working capital.

Mr Reid said the support indicated by the placement boosted the company ahead of its program of work next month, which aimed to build on previously strong data.

“The Muckanippie Project, located in the northern Gawler Craton of South Australia is highly prospective for a range of high value critical minerals,” he said.

“Mapping, surface sampling, and re-assaying of historic drilling has discovered high-grade Titanium rich heavy mineral sands.

Petratherm is now well-funded and has a solid platform for its upcoming drilling operations due to start from early October.”

Petratherm shares have risen since the news. At 12:11 AEST, they were trading at 4.7 cents – a rise of 9.30% since the market opened.

Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX:ILU) said its profit during the first half of the 2024 fiscal year had come in at $134 million, a drop of 34% from the same period last year, when it had been at $204 million.

The company’s interim fully franked dividend was 4 cps (cash per share) in the first half of 2024, compared to 3 cps during the prior comparable period – a difference of 33%.

Iluka said the lower profit figure reflected weaker movement in construction and real estate sectors, which had provided flow on effects to titanium and zircon markets.

Nevertheless, the company’s share price was trending higher after the news, reaching $5.74 by 12:30 AEST: a rise of just under one percent since the market opened.

Meanwhile, Mount Gibson Iron (ASX:MGX) told investors that a strong operation at Koolan Island had boosted its profit and revenue for the 2024 fiscal year.

Net profit for the period had risen 24% for a figure of $6.4 million, compared to $5.2 million in FY2023.

Revenues were also strong, based on 36% growth in sales of high-grade iron ore, reported at 4.1 million wet metric tonnes (at a grade of 65.3% Fe) for the 2024 fiscal year.

This brought sales revenue to $667.7 million Free on Board (FOB), compared to $450.6 million FOB for the prior fiscal year.

The company did not declare a dividend on ordinary shares for the fiscal year ending June 30.

Its share price at 12:30 AEST was 34 cents: this was up 1.52% since market open.

Logistics company Brambles Ltd (ASX:BXB) said its underlying profit for the 2024 fiscal year was US$1,262.2 million – a rise of 17% from the previous reporting period, while sales revenues had grown by 7% to US$6,545.4 million.

Brambles also said its dividend yield for the period was around 3%, for a final figure was 19 US cents per share and a total dividend of 34.00 cps.

Its shares were trading higher on the news, up 8.26% to $16.97 by 12:30 AEST.

Dominos PIZZA Enterprises Ltd (ASX:DMP) was not having a great day, with shares falling 0.81% (to $33.14) as it conceded a fall of nearly 2% profit for the 2024 fiscal year compared to the previous period.

The fast-food company said its NPAT for FY2024 had come in at $120.4 million – a fall of 1.9% from last year’s figure of $122.6 million.

Given last month’s news of store closures in Asia and Europe, this was perhaps not surprising, and indeed earnings in Asia overall were trending downwards, with EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) being 28.7% lower compared to the FY2023.

However, the same measure showed 33.8% growth for Europe overall, driven largely by strong sales in Germany.

Overall group EBIT was up 3% compared to the 2023 fiscal year, while dividend per share had fallen 3.7% compared to last year.

Finally, top energy player Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) saw its share price fall by 4.92% (to $7.44) by 12:58 AEST, as it reported a notable profit drop in its half-year results.

Santos said its underlying profit for the half year had fallen 18% to US$654 million, with this reflecting a draw back from LNG.

Santos registered 46.4 million barrels of oil equivalent during the second half of FY2024 – a 1% fall in sales volumes compared to the same period last year, driven by lower volumes in Bayu-Undan and the Cooper Basin.

However, the company also told the market that its interim dividend was at a record level: rising 49% to a declared interim dividend of 13 US cents per share.

At 14:07 AEST, Terra’s share price was sitting at 9.2 cents, a rise of 196.77 percent since the market opened.

The discovery – based on drilling of 14 holes during a continuing program of exploration at the project – confirms that multiple reefs exist hosting these precious and base metals at the Dante project, measuring 10 metres thick with a higher-grade basal layer of approximately 5 metres.

This would be the first find of its type in Australia, and has parameters notably better than other globally significant reefs – such as those found in the bushveld in South Africawhich average 1-2 metres in thickness.

The multiple Dante Reefs are gently dipping, laterally extensive, and have mineralised layerswhich outcrop from surface, running for 42 kilometres, with mineralisation at Reef 1 defined over 3 kilometres, and first assays from Reef 2 confirming another 1.5 kilometres of strike.

Territory is also important, since the project is only 15 kilometres from BHP’s$1.7 billion Nebo-Babel mine development, holding a resource of 390 million tonnes 0.30 percent copper 0.33 percent nickel and 0.23 grams per tonne PGE3.

First pass drilling at the reefs have picked up intercepts such as 6 metres at 0.40 percent copper, 0.79 grams per tonne PGE3, 0.66 percent vanadium oxide (V2O5), & 19.9 percent titanium dioxide (TiO2) from 4 metres, including 2 metres at 0.62 percent copper, 0.85 grams per tonne PGE3, 0.71 percent V2O5 and 22.3 percent TiO2 from 6 metres.

Managing Director and CEO Thomas Line said the company was elated with the find, and had a busy program ahead to delineate the mineralisation at Dante.

“We are excited to have discovered multiple Platreef-style copper-PGE sulphide reefs from a first pass-reconnaissance drilling program at the Dante Project; the first of its kind in Australia,” he said.

“Our next step is to continue to replicate these results over the extensive strike at the Dante Reefs, ensuring we are well positioned for success.

“It’s clear that there is a concentration and combination of high value metals within the same layers in the Dante Reefs. Chalcocite and bornite appear to be the dominant copper-sulphides.”

He added that Terra could learn much from projects with similar geology in other parts of the world.

“The discovery of similar style reefs in the bushveld areas of South Africa has resulted in some of the world’s largest, longest running and most profitable PGE, copper, nickel, gold, vanadium and titanium mining operations with over 100 years of ongoing production,” Mr Line said.

“The stratiform reefs of the bushveld average 1 to 2 metres in thickness and require complex underground mining operations; however, their centennial mine life exemplifies how successful these types of deposits can be.

“The 120 million tonne Platreef Deposit, which is thicker than the other reefs in the bushveld, sits 600m beneath the surface requiring immense infrastructure including one of the world’s largest hoist-shaft to extract the ore to the surface.

“The Dante Reefs, however, outcrop from surface over more than 40km of strike, with a gentle dip and an average thickness of approximately 10 metres with a higher-grade basal reef layer, and a second, upper reef layer of lower grade but similar thickness.”