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AVZ Minerals reported that an International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) tribunal has issued a partial award ordering the Democratic Republic of Congo’s (DRC) state-owned Cominière to pay A$70.7m (€39.1m) plus interest for failing to comply with emergency orders.

This ruling follows a dispute between AVZ International (AVZI) and Cominière over breaches of the Dathcom joint venture agreement (JVA) related to the Manono lithium project, one of the largest hard rock lithium deposits globally.

AVZ originally held the permit to develop the Manono project. The DRC Ministry of Mines signed the ministerial decree awarding the mining licence for AVZ Minerals’ Manono lithium project in May 2022.

The DRC Mines Ministry revoked the permit in 2023, citing delays in project development. The rights were later awarded to a subsidiary of China’s Zijin Mining, leading AVZ to seek relief through the ICC.

Cominière’s attempt to overturn the emergency orders was rejected, and the tribunal reaffirmed the injunctions issued in May and November 2023.

Firebird Metals has secured a mining lease for its wholly owned Oakover manganese project, situated 85km east of Newman in Western Australia (WA).

The step is part of the company’s strategy to develop its stage-two, low-cost manganese-based cathode material operations.

The granted lease is subject to the approval of a mining proposal by the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DEMIRS). Environmental surveys, reports and mining studies are ongoing to support the proposal.

The Oakover Project is estimated to have a mineral resource of 176.7 million tonnes (mt) at 9.9% manganese, including 105.8mt at 10.1% in the indicated category.

Firebird’s portfolio in the East Pilbara manganese province of WA includes a total resource of 234mt, offering further exploration and development opportunities.

The company’s strategy is to establish lithium manganese iron phosphate cathode production by integrating manganese sulphate from its proposed production facility in China.

Gibb River Diamonds has submitted a mining proposal to the West Australian Mines Department to advance its Edjudina Gold Project in WA.

The proposal is a move towards mining the project’s Neta Gold Prospect, which has a JORC resource of 378,000 tonnes (t) at 1.9 grams per tonne (g/t) for 24,000oz of gold and an indicated resource of 110,000t at 2.2g/t for 8,000oz of gold.

The Edjudina Gold Project is strategically located 145km north-east of Kalgoorlie in the Eastern Goldfields of WA. It features gold workings over a 13km strike with high-grade veins.

A haul road operated by Northern Star Resources intersects the project, providing direct access to the Carosue Dam milling complex 45km from the project.

The Neta Prospect is located on the M31/495 granted mining lease at the project.

The mining proposal, if granted, will enable the company to commence a mine and haul operation at the Neta Prospect.

Fenix Resources has signed a mining contract with MACA to develop the Beebyn-W11 iron ore mine in WA’s mid-west region.

This contract includes drill and blast, mining, crushing and screening operations, with site mobilisation scheduled to commence in the June 2025 quarter.

It supports the company’s strategy to increase its production capacity to four million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in 2025.

All necessary mining approvals for the project are in place, including the approval of the mining proposal by DEMIRS.

Shipments from the new mine are due to begin during the September 2025 quarter, marking the launch of Fenix’s third operating mine in the mid-west region.

A key requirement for commencing production at the Beebyn-W11 project is the construction of a private haul road. The road will link the new mine to Fenix’s existing operations at Iron Ridge and provide a direct connection to Fenix’s port facilities in Geraldton.

Terra Metals has reported outcomes from the first phase of metallurgical test-work at the Dante project in WA.

The test-work indicates the potential to produce three distinct high-grade concentrates using cost-effective processing methods.

The Dante Reefs, part of the Dante project, have been identified as a potentially significant source of various commercially viable products.

A copper-gold-platinum group metals sulphide concentrate has demonstrated concentrate grades and metal recoveries.

The second concentrate, a vanadium-magnetite product, has exceeded the grades of leading vanadium projects, with a recovery rate of 90.9%.

The third concentrate, a titanium-ilmenite product, has a high recovery rate of 65.6% titanium dioxide. These results support the potential for competitive production of high-value titanium products.