By Barry FitzGerald | Newly listed explorers James Bay Minerals and Pioneer Lithium lead the charge at the junior end. Plus, some light finally at the end of the tunnel for the struggling rare earths sector, which is good news for juniors like Codrus.

By Tim Treadgold | Uranium starred again this week against the backdrop of a flat Australian market as the price of the nuclear fuel hit US$70 a pound, a 12-year high, driving local uranium stocks to fresh price peaks while also masking a series of significant deals in other sectors.

Trigg Minerals has received a $1 million boost as it looks to progress its stalled Lake Throssell sulphate of potash project in the northern Goldfields (reports The West Australian).

When Russia invaded Ukraine, panic gripped Europe’s nuclear experts—the civilian variety, that is (reports The Economist).

As with many executives, Evion Group’s Tom Revy believes his company is undervalued, and while he’s not game to say exactly where the emerging graphite producer should be capitalised today, he left the audience at the MiningNews Select conference in Perth with a clear idea of where he sees the company heading (reports MiningNews).

Deal makers are on alert for a round of consolidation in the flagging rare earths sector and in other critical metals as capital markets turn off the tap on exploration companies (reports The Australian Financial Review).

Astral Resources delivered a promising scoping study for its Mandilla gold project last week, but according to managing director Marc Ducler the best for the project outside Kalgoorlie in Western Australia is probably yet to come (reports MiningNews).

Significant levels of gallium are present at Kingsland’s Leliyn graphite discovery, which could represent a lucrative by-product that improves the project’s economics (reports Stockhead).

Canada-focused explorer Pioneer Lithium is enjoying a solid debut on the ASX after raising $5 million in an oversubscribed initial public offering (reports The West Australian).

By Barry FitzGerald | Spartan and Astral among those attracting attention; Plus, Boss chief says uranium price has to rise much further to encourage new supply.

Uranium went from red hot to white hot this week as investors piled into a revival story being driven by doubts about future supplies of energy for a global economy which is electrifying everything.

By Tim Treadgold.

Astral Resources (ASX: AAR) has continued to expand its Kamperman gold prospect with further drilling success within the 100%-owned Feysville gold project located 14km south of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

Reports Small Caps

Astral Resources has scoped a 100,000 ounce per annum gold development near Kalgoorlie (called Mandilla) that it says will cost $191 million to bring into production and has a net present value of $442 million using a $2750/oz gold price (reports MiningNews).

Recent diamond drilling at Nordic Nickel’s (ASX: NNL) flagship Pulju project in Finland has expanded the footprint of the key Hotinvaara prospect (reports Small Caps).

Exploration junior RareX (ASX: REE) has commenced a magnetic and gravity survey at its wholly-owned Cummins Range rare earths and phosphate project in the Kimberley region of Western Australia (reports Small Caps).

Critical Resources claims to have confirmed a breakthrough in its understanding of the Mavis Lake lithium project in Canada’s Ontario province, with ongoing drilling validating its understanding of the emerging Swell zone (reports MiningNews).

Australian Rare Earths has again delivered a massive boost to the endowment of its Koppamurra rare earths project in South Australia’s sector of the Murray Basin, increasing the clay-hosted resources by another 84%, less than six months after its last upgrade (reports MiningNews).

New World Resources plans to resume exploration drilling next month at its high-grade Antler copper project in Arizona, USA (reports Stockhead).

Develop Global boss Bill Beament has lashed out at an independent expert finding that its takeover offer for lithium hopeful Essential Metals is “not fair but reasonable” (reports The Australian Financial Review).

By contrast, Beament’s offer for Essential is a straightforward push to make real action. Plus, Ausgold takes key step towards development of 3Moz gold project and uranium stocks soar as price hits 12-year high.

By Barry FitzGerald.