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Genesis Resources surges on Arltunga rock chip results

Genesis Resources (ASX: GES) jumped significantly after announcing results from a rock chip sampling program on its Arltunga and Alice Springs exploration licences within its Arltunga goldfield.

Arltunga is a historic goldfield in the Northern Territory, roughly 110 kilometres east of Alice Springs, where gold was first discovered in the late 1880s and which remains one of Central Australia's oldest mining areas.

Encouraging results were returned at Arltunga, with multiple rock chip samples grading more than 10 grams per tonne (g/t) gold across several prospect areas. The best result was 28.8 g/t from previously unnamed workings.

Rock chip samples are selective grabs taken from outcrop or old workings rather than systematic samples, so while they can flag high-grade potential, drilling is needed to establish whether grades persist at depth.

Follow-up drilling is planned at this prospect and other nearby targets defined by old workings and high-grade rock chip samples above 5.0 g/t.

GES was up a staggering 460% to 2.8¢.

Latitude 66 sells non-core royalty interests for $3.4 million

Latitude 66 (ASX: LAT) was popular after entering into a binding agreement with Vox Royalty Australia for the sale of two non-core Australian royalty interests for a total cash consideration of $3.4 million.

The transaction includes Lat66's interest in the Kalman Royalty in Queensland and the Sylvania Royalty in Western Australia.

Royalty interests entitle their holders to a share of revenue from a mine's production without any obligation to fund or carry out the underlying mining, which is why they attract specialist buyers such as royalty companies.

Managing Director Grant Coyle said the sale is a continuation of the company's strategy to unlock value from non-core assets while directing capital and management attention towards its core gold and critical minerals portfolio in Finland and Western Australia.

He said the cash proceeds from the transaction will provide additional non-dilutive funding to support Lat66's ongoing exploration and development activities, including advancing the KSB gold-cobalt project in Finland and the Laverton Gold Project in WA.

LAT jumped 48.9% to 14.0¢.

Titan Minerals identifies new mineralisation style at Dynasty

Titan Minerals (ASX: TTM) was up after identifying an extensive zone of shear and vein hosted gold-silver mineralisation in its latest diamond drilling at the Dynasty gold project in southern Ecuador.

Shear and vein hosted mineralisation forms along fault structures rather than within a single discrete zone, so deposits of this style are typically tested for repetitions and extensions along the length of a structure.

The company has now completed a 10,000m resource definition drilling program at the Cerro Verde prospect as it works towards a mineral resource update in early 2027.

"Our technical team are highly encouraged by these latest results, which have provided a breakthrough in our understanding of the major mineralisation pathways and controls at Dynasty. The discovery of this new style of shear hosted mineralisation is significant, with further drilling now planned to target repetitions and extensions to hosted mineralisation in the northwest structural corridor. Any additional mineralisation discovered in this area has the potential to materially enhance the resource," CEO Melanie Leighton said.

TTM was up 15.5% to 67.0¢.

ASX 200 opens higher

Looking more widely, the S&P/ASX 200 opened higher, gaining 25.50 points, or 0.28%, to 9,079.30, despite crossing below its 20-day moving average. The index has lost 1.19% over the last five days but sits 2.34% below its 52-week high.

Mining skills shortage warning

The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) says the nation has a real shortage of mining workers.

"We need qualified technicians, tradespeople, professionals. And so the shortage is, over the next three years alone, we need to add 2,000 mining engineers and metallurgists," MCA CEO Tania Constable said.

"We need 3,000 production managers, 4,000 automation, control and processing engineers, and more than 4,000 diesel fitters."

Ms Constable highlighted the issue of both replacing people who are retiring and growing the new skills coming through.

"It needs to be a balance of skills, but prioritising the skills that Australia needs to be able to grow the economy, that's where the priority should be. And I don't think that the government has done a good enough job at this stage consulting broadly across Australia with all industries to look at their needs," she said.

"So, we're asking for them to suspend their current suggested changes and go back and consult with all of our industries to make sure that we've got the right skills coming in. All we need over the next few years are a few thousand people with the proposed skills."

That's Thursday's HotCopper Market Trends — I'm Colin Sandell-Hay. See you for close.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.