Australian Vanadium has put its hands up to build a big battery storage system in Kalgoorlie. The company plans to produce the key ingredient — vanadium electrolyte — using its own technology and plant for that battery. It believes that the Kalgoorlie battery will provide a role model for how vanadium batteries can be used elsewhere around Australia.

Graham Arvidson is Chief Executive Officer of Australian Vanadium Limited. He is a highly respected executive with more than two decades of experience across the Australian and international resource and energy sectors, spanning project studies, design, construction, commissioning and operations management.

Before joining Australian Vanadium in 2022, Graham held senior leadership roles with IGO, Primero Group and Pilbara Minerals, building a track record in successful project development, operational optimisation and mineral processing operations. His background includes direct experience in vanadium, lithium and broader energy markets, positioning him to lead Australian Vanadium’s vertically integrated “pit-to-battery” strategy.

Graham holds a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alberta, an MBA and MSc in Mineral Economics from Curtin University, and is a Chartered Professional Metallurgist and Chartered Professional Engineer.

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Australian Vanadium is competing to deliver a proposed 500MWh vanadium flow battery in Kalgoorlie, supported by a WA Government initiative designed to strengthen regional energy security. If successful, the project would become one of the largest vanadium flow batteries outside China and could establish the first commercially bankable Western model for utility-scale vanadium energy storage.

The company’s integrated structure — spanning vanadium mining, electrolyte production and battery deployment — is designed to create supply chain advantages and cost efficiencies. AVL already operates a commercial vanadium electrolyte plant in Perth, giving it a significant first-mover advantage in Australia’s emerging flow battery market.

Unlike lithium-ion batteries, vanadium flow batteries experience virtually no degradation over time, allowing them to maintain capacity across decades of operation. Graham Arvidson explains that this makes the technology particularly suited to infrastructure-grade storage applications requiring long-duration performance, high cycling capability and asset lives extending beyond 20 years.

Australian Vanadium believes vanadium flow batteries are particularly well suited to remote and high-temperature environments such as the Pilbara and northern Australia, where lithium technologies can face operational limitations. The company sees significant long-term opportunities in mining regions, regional grids and industrial energy systems that require reliable long-duration storage.

The conversation highlights growing global demand for large-scale energy storage driven by AI data centres and grid stability requirements. Vanadium flow batteries are attracting attention because of their non-flammable chemistry, scalability and ability to sustain frequent charge-discharge cycles without capacity fade — characteristics increasingly valued in critical infrastructure applications.

Firefly Metals (ASX: FFM) owns the Green Bay Copper-Gold Project in Canada. It's been one of the great success stories in this space over the past two years. Another resource update and economic studies are pending, and the company has just completed the sale of its Pickle Crow Project to Bellavista. Firefly shareholders will get a chunk of Bella Vista shares, and Firefly will be a major shareholder in Bella Vista.

Steve Parsons is the Managing Director of Firefly Metals. He has extensive experience in the mining and resources sector, with a strong track record of advancing high-quality mineral projects through exploration, development, and production stages. Parsons is widely recognised for his operational expertise and his focus on value creation through disciplined capital allocation and aggressive exploration strategies.

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Aggressive Drilling Strategy Driving Resource Growth Firefly Metals has rapidly scaled its exploration efforts from a single rig to 10 active drill rigs across the Green Bay project. This includes seven underground rigs focused on infill and step-out drilling, and three surface rigs targeting regional opportunities. The intensity of drilling underpins consistent news flow and resource expansion, a key driver of market re-rating in the resources sector.

High-Grade Core Enhancing Project Economics Within the broader ~80Mt resource base, Firefly has identified a high-grade core approaching 20Mt grading 3–4% copper, with zones exceeding 5–7%. This material is expected to be mined early, significantly boosting project NPV and early cash flow. The presence of such high-grade zones positions Green Bay as a potentially tier-one copper-gold asset.

Clear Development Path with Scalable Production Profile An upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) will outline a low-capex, 1.8Mtpa startup operation leveraging existing infrastructure, including hydroelectric power and port access. Importantly, the study will also demonstrate scalability to 3–5Mtpa or beyond, highlighting long-term growth potential and multi-decade mine life.

District-Scale Exploration Upside Remains Underexplored Firefly controls an entire volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) district, where deposits typically occur in clusters. With regional drilling set to accelerate in the second half of the year, the company is targeting repeat discoveries that could materially expand the resource base and transform the project into a globally significant mining camp.

Bellavista Transaction Unlocks Hidden Value for Shareholders The divestment of the Pickle Crow gold project into Bellavista provides Firefly shareholders with direct equity exposure via an in-specie distribution. Firefly retains ~10% ownership, maintaining upside while reallocating capital to Green Bay. The involvement of proven operators and a well-funded exploration plan increases the likelihood of value creation from this secondary asset.

As the Western world looks for non-Chinese supplies, Sky Metals has an abundance of both tin and tungsten at the Tallebung Project in New South Wales.

Guest bio Mr Davies joined SKY as a geologist in 2019. He was appointed to Exploration Manager in 2021, then to CEO in early 2022 and subsequently to Managing Director in September 2024. Prior to SKY, Mr Davies was in exploration and operational roles with Evolution Mining and Alkane Resources in NSW and Qld. Mr Davies has worked closely on several successful NSW discoveries including Evolution Mining’s significant expansion of the Lake Cowal gold resource and with Alkane’s regional exploration success at Tomingley and Boda.

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Key Insights

Tallebung is evolving into a dual-commodity development story. What was previously framed primarily as a tin project is increasingly being positioned around both tin and tungsten, with management indicating tungsten could contribute roughly half of future project revenue. That shift matters because Tallebung already reports tungsten in its mineral resource, and Sky says the existing flowsheet can recover both products with only a final dressing stage.

Tin’s supply-demand setup remains central to the investment case. Oliver Davies points to structural supply constraints and growing demand from electronics, data centres, solar technologies, and emerging battery applications as the core drivers behind stronger tin pricing. Sky’s broader corporate positioning is aligned with that thesis, describing tin as essential to semiconductors, electronics, and solar PV, which reinforces the strategic logic behind advancing Tallebung in New South Wales.

Tungsten adds strategic leverage to Western critical minerals supply chains. The episode highlights tungsten’s rising importance in defence and technology markets, particularly as Western buyers seek supply chains with less reliance on China. Sky’s own published Tallebung resource includes WO3 as a likely significant by-product, which gives investors exposure to a second critical mineral without fundamentally changing the project’s development pathway.

Tallebung’s open-pit, ore-sorting-led design points to a lower-cost development model. A key operational advantage discussed in the interview is the project’s shallow, open-pit geometry and the suitability of the mineralisation for XRT ore sorting followed by gravity separation. Sky states this approach can materially upgrade feed grade before concentration, supporting the company’s argument that Tallebung could become a near-term, low-cost tin development with added tungsten and silver credits.

Near-term catalysts are concentrated around resource growth and study work. The interview points to an updated mineral resource estimate and pre-feasibility study work as the main near-term newsflow, alongside ongoing drilling and metallurgical optimisation. That matches Sky’s stated project pathway of advancing drilling, resource confidence, metallurgical testing, and mining studies in parallel, giving the market several potential re-rating milestones rather than a single binary catalyst.

Great Western Exploration is preparing to launch a six-month drilling campaign targeting multiple copper-gold prospects near the legendary DeGrussa discovery in Western Australia.

Managing Director Shane Pike joins The Hole Truth to explain why the Yerrida Basin may host more DeGrussa-style volcanic massive sulphide deposits, and how Great Western has systematically built eight high-priority drill targets across its project portfolio.

With a market capitalisation of roughly $12 million and fresh capital raised, the company is highly leveraged to exploration success. Pike outlines the geological evidence supporting targets such as Oval, Diorama, Juggernaut and Baru, and explains why Great Western believes it may be closing in on the “CBD” — the core of a potentially mineralised system.

If successful, the program could reshape perceptions of the Yerrida Basin and demonstrate that DeGrussa is not a geological orphan.

Shane Pike is the Managing Director of Great Western Exploration Limited (ASX: GTE), a Western Australian mineral exploration company focused on copper, gold and base metal discoveries in the Yerrida Basin.

He has extensive experience in exploration geology and project development across Western Australia. Under his leadership, Great Western has assembled a portfolio of highly prospective tenements adjacent to the DeGrussa Copper-Gold Mine and is advancing systematic exploration programs targeting volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits.

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A Systematic Search for the Next DeGrussa Great Western Exploration is targeting DeGrussa-style volcanic massive sulphide (VMS) deposits in the Yerrida Basin of Western Australia. These deposits typically occur in clusters, yet the basin has seen surprisingly limited exploration specifically targeting this style of mineralisation. The company believes this represents a major geological opportunity.

Eight Drill Targets Across a Highly Prospective Basin The company has identified eight drill targets including Oval, Diorama, Juggernaut and Baru. Each target has been developed through a checklist-driven exploration process incorporating geological modelling, geophysics and geochemistry to confirm the key ingredients associated with VMS mineral systems.

Oval Target: Drilling the ‘CBD’ of the System Previous drilling at the Oval prospect intersected copper-gold mineralisation and pathfinder elements typical of VMS deposits. New gravity geophysics has identified a higher-density zone interpreted as the core of the system — effectively the “CBD” compared with earlier holes drilled in the “suburbs”.

Multiple Untested Copper Anomalies Targets such as Diorama and Juggernaut exhibit strong surface copper anomalies and favourable volcanic host rocks. Diorama hosts gossanous outcrops that may represent weathered massive sulphides, while Juggernaut contains multiple targets with visible mineralisation and VMS-style textures.

High Leverage Exploration with Tight Capital Discipline With a market capitalisation around $12 million, Great Western offers significant leverage to discovery success. More than 80% of company funds are directed into exploration, and non-executive directors receive no cash, shares or options for board roles—aligning management closely with exploration outcomes and shareholder returns.

Great Boulder Resources has just unveiled a whopping 4,434g/t gold assay at its Side Well Gold Project in Western Australia. The company already has a 1 million ounce resource and has outlined a plan to increase this to 1.5 million ounces, located right on the edge of three processing plants.

Andrew Paterson is the Managing Director of Great Boulder Resources. He is a geologist with more than 25 years of experience in the mining industry, spanning exploration, resource development and project generation across Australia and internationally. Prior to joining Great Boulder, he held senior roles with several exploration and mining companies where he was responsible for discovery and advancement of gold projects in Western Australia. At Great Boulder, he is leading the company’s exploration and development strategy at the Side Well Gold Project near Meekatharra.

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1. Exceptional High-Grade Assay Highlights Depth Potential Great Boulder recently reported an extraordinary 4,434g/t gold intercept at the Side Well Gold Project, one of the highest-grade hits recorded in the industry this year. While extremely high-grade zones are typically small, they demonstrate the presence of rich gold-bearing structures at depth and reinforce the potential for continued discovery beneath the existing resource. These “bonanza” zones occur in structural dilation points where coarse gold accumulates.

2. A 2.5km Resource Corridor With Potential to Become a Regional Super Pit The current resource extends across approximately 2.5 kilometres of strike between the Mulga Bill and Eaglehawk deposits. With only a narrow gap of limited drilling between the two areas, upcoming drilling programs aim to confirm continuity that could effectively link the deposits into a single large open pit system. At current gold prices, conceptual pit optimisations already suggest a large combined mining footprint.

3. Targeting Growth From 1Moz to 1.5Moz Resource Great Boulder currently hosts a 1 million ounce resource at Side Well, with roughly 62% in the indicated category. The company’s next strategic objective is to increase the total resource to around 1.5 million ounces, which could translate to roughly 1 million ounces of mineable inventory after studies and conversions. Achieving that scale would significantly enhance development and partnership options.

4. Strategic Location Near Multiple Processing Mills A major advantage for the project is its proximity to several operating or proposed processing facilities in the Meekatharra region. Within trucking distance are three potential mills, including Westgold’s Bluebird facility only about 25km away. This infrastructure access creates multiple potential development pathways, including toll treatment or acquisition interest from nearby operators seeking additional feedstock.

5. Accelerated Drilling and Development Pathway Underway Great Boulder is ramping up exploration with multiple drilling rigs targeting both resource expansion and new discoveries around the existing corridor. The company is simultaneously advancing mining leases, approvals and development studies to shorten the timeline from exploration success to production readiness. As resource growth and permitting progress in parallel, the project could become increasingly attractive to strategic partners or regional consolidators.

Minerals 260 (ASX: MI6) has had a stunning ten months since acquiring the Bullabulling Gold Project in Western Australia. The stock has soared on the back of its exploration success and its recent funding deal.

Luke McFadyen is Managing Director of Minerals 260. He is a mining industry executive with more than 15 years’ experience across several commodities including copper, nickel, gold, graphite, aluminium and iron ore, and has worked in multiple jurisdictions including Australia, Singapore, Brazil and Mozambique. He is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) and holds a Master of Science (Mineral and Energy Economics) and MBA from Curtin University, as well as a Bachelor of Commerce (Economics) and Bachelor of Science from the University of Notre Dame Australia. Mr McFadyen has previously worked at OZ Minerals, Syrah Resources, South32, BHP, KPMG and Deloitte.

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Rapid Resource Growth at Bullabulling Minerals 260 has rapidly expanded the Bullabulling Gold Project to a resource of approximately 4.5 million ounces, including around 3 million ounces in the indicated category. Located just 45 minutes from Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, the project has quickly emerged as one of the more significant undeveloped gold assets on the ASX.

A Transformational Acquisition The company acquired Bullabulling for around $166 million, and in less than a year the market has re-rated the company dramatically as exploration success and development progress have strengthened the investment case. This rapid value creation reflects both the scale of the asset and strong investor demand for large gold development projects.

Franco-Nevada Deal Provides Validation and Funding Minerals 260 secured a $120 million royalty funding package with Franco-Nevada, one of the world’s largest precious metals royalty companies. The deal followed extensive technical due diligence and provides development capital while reducing near-term dilution, representing a major validation event for the project.

Large-Scale Open Pit Development Potential Current planning outlines a potential 4–5km long open pit, approximately 600 metres wide and 300 metres deep, positioning Bullabulling as one of Australia’s largest future gold pits. Ongoing drilling is focused on improving project economics by targeting shallower and higher-grade mineralisation.

Fast-Tracked Path to Development Minerals 260 is progressing rapidly toward development, with reserve work, resource updates and feasibility studies advancing through 2026. Early site infrastructure work — including accommodation and water infrastructure — is already underway ahead of a final investment decision, reflecting strong confidence in the project’s economics and the supportive gold macro environment.

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PolarX has unveiled a gold discovery at its Humboldt Range project in Nevada. The question is how big it is defined. The company is now planning more drilling to see how far it extends, raising the possibility that the company could sell the project entirely to one of its big neighbours nearby.

Guest: Mark Bojanjac Company: PolarX

Mark Bojanjac is Managing Director of PolarX Limited. He is a geologist with more than 30 years’ experience in the exploration and mining industry. Mr Bojanjac has held senior executive and board positions with several ASX-listed resource companies and has been directly involved in exploration, project acquisition, development strategy and capital markets transactions across multiple jurisdictions. His experience spans gold, copper and base metals projects, with a focus on advancing assets from discovery through to development and potential monetisation.

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Links

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PolarX’s Humboldt Range project in Nevada has delivered gold in every hole drilled across an initial 800-metre section of a 3.8-kilometre-long IP and soil anomaly. Importantly, the area drilled was not selectively targeted but accessed via existing tracks, suggesting significant blue-sky potential across the broader 4km strike extent. The scale of the anomaly positions the project as a potentially material new gold system in a proven mining district.

The project is surrounded by long-life, multi-million-ounce gold operations, including Florida Canyon and the Rochester expansion. With comparable host geology and open-pit cut-off grades around 0.13 g/t Au in the district, even moderate grades at Humboldt could be economically meaningful. Proximity to infrastructure and processing capacity enhances optionality, including potential corporate interest.

Management notes geological similarities to nearby operations in the Rochester-style host rocks, with head grades in the district averaging approximately 0.45 g/t Au. PolarX believes its discovery could deliver higher grades, though drilling remains at an early stage. The geological setting supports the thesis that Humboldt Range may represent a scalable, heap-leach style gold system.

Northern Star Resources holds approximately 14% of PolarX and is earning into the Alaska Range Project under a five-year farm-in agreement. Year one drilling has been completed, with US$2 million remaining in the joint venture budget and US$6 million scheduled to be contributed at the end of March. Technical collaboration, including comprehensive historical core logging, reflects a systematic approach to unlocking value at Caribou Dome and across the broader Alaska Range tenure.

PolarX is planning at least 10,000 metres of drilling in Nevada and a further 10,000 metres in Alaska during the upcoming field season. With approximately US$8 million (~A$12 million) available across programmes, the company is well-funded to accelerate discovery definition and resource potential. The scale of planned activity signals a transformational period over the next 12 months