Forrestania hits surface niobium in first-ever Malawian tilt

Forrestania Resources has hit paydirt with a first-ever drilling campaign at its Wozi niobium project in Malawi, Africa, confirming near-surface mineralisation with a block of solid intercepts across 1.5 kilometres of strike.

The company says that the remaining eight holes of a 13-hole reverse circulation (RC) program have all hit niobium, including a headline run of 36 metres grading 0.56 per cent niobium oxide right from the surface.

That intercept also contained a couple of higher-grade zones, including a 2-metre section going a handy 0.94 per cent and another 1-metre length grading 0.92 per cent niobium oxide.

Forrestania says the results have confirmed the presence of a substantial mineralised system that previous trenching and soil sampling programs had first hinted at.

Drilling has now tested a mineralised soil anomaly that stretches for more than 1.5km and is up to 400m wide, with mineralisation remaining open along strike and at depth.

Geologically, Wozi is hosted within a pyrochlore-bearing nepheline syenite, a setting recognised worldwide as highly prospective for large-scale niobium deposits.

Notably for the project’s economics, Forrestania says the mineralisation shows low levels of tantalum and uranium nasties, with strong metallurgy pointing at a conventional processing pathway to produce a low-cost ferroniobium product.

Niobium is on the United States’ critical minerals list for its role in advanced manufacturing and emerging technologies.

Generally used in small amounts, the metal is blended into steel to make it stronger, tougher, and easier to weld for high-performance applications.

Market prices for the silvery-grey element are robust, with ferroniobium currently trading at around US$45 per kilogram, or a healthy US$45,000 per tonne.

Wozi provides Forrestania with exposure to the critical minerals sector at a low cost, complementing our core focus on gold in Western Australia. As the project develops, we will look at the most appropriate way to unlock value for shareholders, including the potential to bring in a specialist partner and assess broader corporate options.

While the Malawi project adds a critical minerals string to Forrestania’s bow, the company’s core business remains its portfolio of gold projects across Western Australia’s premier mining districts.

In just over a year, Forrestania Resources has transformed from a modest gold explorer into one of Western Australia’s most aggressive mid-tier gold developers, with a market capitalisation now topping $500 million.

The company’s namesake Forrestania project lies in a world-class mineral province adjacent to the historic Bounty gold mine, which churned out more than a million ounces of gold in its heyday, underscoring the region’s prospectivity

Further north, near Coolgardie and Menzies, the company has scooped up a plethora of projects in the Eastern Goldfields’ proven mineralised corridors.

However, it was the acquisition of Kula Gold and its historically high-grade Mt Palmer project outside Southern Cross in late 2025 that looks set to be the opportunistic pick.

The friendly takeover, completed in early 2026, followed the discovery of ultra-high-grade extensions at Mt Palmer, suggesting that high-grade gold remains at depth. Historically, the prospect had churned out an impressive 150,000 ounces of gold at a whopping 15.9 grams per tonne (g/t) head grade.

Late last year, the active management also struck a deal with Horizon Minerals to buy the Lake Johnston processing facility for $35 million. Originally a nickel plant with 1–1.5 million tonnes per annum capacity, the facility is being re-engineered for gold processing, with plans targeting up to 3.2Mtpa to handle Forrestania’s ever-expanding resources.

With a recent drilling campaign confirming a large, at-surface niobium system in a Tier-1 geological setting, Forrestania has managed to get its foot on a potentially valuable critical minerals play at low cost, complementing its WA gold story.

The fact that the initial drill hits are showing solid grades from surface, coupled with favourable metallurgy, makes for a promising combination. And with a stable of WA gold projects in its back pocket, Forrestania appears to have all its bases well and truly covered.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au