DY6 Metals Limited (ASX: DY6) – Multi-Front Progress in Gallium, Rutile and Heavy Mineral Sands Exploration Across Malawi and Cameroon.
- Noel Ong
- Jul 10
- 7 min read
Announcement
A Trio of Critical Minerals in Motion - Gallium, Rutile and Heavy Mineral Sands.
DY6 Metals (ASX: DY6) is pushing forward on multiple fronts across its African exploration portfolio, with material updates out of Malawi and Cameroon. The company is advancing a three-pronged strategy that spans gallium and rare earths at the Tundulu Project in Malawi, and natural rutile and heavy mineral sands (HMS) across the Central Rutile and Douala Basin Projects in Cameroon.
Currently, at the early stage of the projects, each program is delivering early signals that suggest technical merit. DY6’s approach appears credible—driven by existing datasets, reinterpreted mineral systems, and structured reconnaissance—and the latest announcements highlight progress and potential economical discovery, however, as I stressed, this is still very early stages of the work.
🔷 Gallium at Tundulu: Not Just a Rare Earths Project
On 29 April 2025, DY6 announced it had uncovered high-grade gallium mineralisation at its Tundulu Project in Malawi (Figure 1). The review of 2014 drill data found that gallium occurs from surface and at depth, with some of the most notable intercepts being:
74m @ 93.26g/t Ga₂O₃, incl. 14m @ 202.79g/t (TU043)
53m @ 72.79g/t Ga₂O₃, incl. 12m @ 145.07g/t (TU011)
30m @ 94.63g/t Ga₂O₃, from surface (TU014)
Figure 1: Gallium-TREO correlation plot at Tundulu – shows a potential positive geochemical link (source: DY6)
These intercepts also coincide with significant rare earth mineralisation, which reinforces the polymetallic nature of the carbonatite system. According to the company, just 40% of the known target area has been drill-tested, and metallurgical testwork is now underway to assess the recovery potential for gallium alongside REE and phosphate.
Given gallium’s importance in electronics, particularly semiconductors and photovoltaic cells, this discovery adds a technical and strategic dimension to the Tundulu story, especially considering China’s dominance in gallium supply.
🔷 Cameroon’s Central Rutile: Rutile Nuggets in the Regolith
A week later, on 30 June 2025, DY6 confirmed the completion of its reconnaissance exploration program at the Central Rutile Project in Cameroon (Figure 2). The company reported visible coarse rutile nuggets—up to 4cm in size (Figure 3) within both alluvial and residual settings across all five tenements.
The fieldwork involved:
9 auger drill holes
44 channel samples
13 surface grabs
3 stream sediment samples
Figure 2: Reconnaissance sampling locations at the Central Rutile project (source: DY6)
Technical Consultant, Cliff Fitzhenry, commented:
“The reconnaissance programme has been a great success, having identified visual HM and rutile mineralisation across each licence. What we have uncovered at the Bounde licence is particularly exciting. I have never seen rutile nuggets of this size before.
Figure 3: A coarse rutile nugget (~4cm) with partial thin secondary ferricrete coating was recovered from residual regolith comprising mainly fine-grained, iron-rich soil and clay near a road cutting at sample site GRMAU0012. (source: DY6)
All samples are now being analysed at a laboratory in Cape Town, with assay results expected in the September quarter. If confirmed, the potential exists for saprolite-hosted rutile deposits analogous to Sovereign Metals’ Kasiya project in Malawi—a globally significant discovery in its own right.
🔷 Douala Basin: Heavy Mineral Sands Confirmed
Just days prior, on 23 June 2025, DY6 also completed its initial reconnaissance across the Douala Basin HMS Project, located near Cameroon’s Atlantic coast (Figure 4). The Douala Basin consists of six tenements totalling 2,580km² and hosts known paleo-placer dune systems.
Highlights from the program include:
Thick zones of visually high-grade HMS in auger and channel samples
Visible rutile grains recovered from multiple sites
Visual HM concentrations of up to 6% in auger holes, notably from the Mbanga and Diwong licences
Figure 4: Reconnaissance sampling (hand auger and channel) locations at the Douala Basin HMS project. (source: DY6)
The team followed up on historical drilling by Eramet, and the early confirmation of HMS supports the broader thesis of Douala’s placer potential. Laboratory assays will be the next checkpoint, and if grades align with visual estimates, the project could emerge as a scalable HMS asset in a logistically favourable location near the port city of Douala.
🔷 Expansion to Weaver Licences: Central Rutile Project Doubles in Size
On 8 July 2025, DY6 announced the acquisition of six new exploration licences, collectively known as the Weaver Project, located immediately south of its existing Central Rutile Project (Figure 5). This expansion more than doubles the project area from 2,124km² to 4,974km².
Key highlights include:
100% acquisition of six new licences under valid application
Landholding in Cameroon increases to 7,554km², including the Douala Basin project
The new tenements are underlain by kyanite-bearing mica schist, the same host geology as the original project area
Reconnaissance sampling confirmed fine-grained HM and rutile, with up to 10% HM and 5% rutile in some channel samples
During a recent due diligence site visit, DY6 and its technical consultants observed both alluvial and eluvial (residual) sources of rutile and heavy mineral sands (HMS), confirming multiple styles of mineralisation across the project area.
Figure 5: Map of Central Cameroon showing DY6’s newly acquired six Weaver licences to the southeast which will be incorporated into the Central Rutile Project together with the company’s original 5 licences. (source: DY6)
Executive Chairman, Dan Smith, commented:
“The acquisition of this new licence package more than doubles our landholding in this highly prospective area of Central Cameroon. Desktop work as well as a recent due diligence site visit, indicates that the Weaver Project area is underlain by the same favourable geology that we have seen at our existing Central Rutile Project.
We are also highly encouraged by the results that Peak Minerals has reported to date from their Minta Project which borders us to the north and look forward to getting back in the field.”
Samso Concluding Comments
In the business of ASX small-capitalised mineral exploration, DY6 Metals is building a portfolio of critical minerals, which is somewhat unique as most ASX critical mineral stories have developed either as a one-commodity play or a necessary shift forced by the market.
DY6 has chosen to be exposed to three globally strategic minerals—gallium, rutile (titanium), and rare earths—across two mineralised provinces in Africa. For the moment, importantly, this exposure is supported by drilling data, field observations, and near-term assay programs. Is it ideal for a small cap company on the ASX? Market narratives normally see that more than one is a distraction. Personally, I think that more than one reduces risks.
The gallium discovery at Tundulu could shift investor focus from REEs alone to a broader technology metals story. Meanwhile, the Cameroon rutile portfolio positions DY6 next door to what may become a globally significant rutile province, especially if the Kasiya analogy plays out. Visual confirmation of rutile nuggets and heavy mineral sands across Central and Douala is a promising first step.
While assay results will be key in confirming grade and scale, the groundwork is being laid now—methodically, systematically, and to unlock real value. The market likes the story and
The market likes the story (Figure 5) and at a current market capitalisation of AUD $15.26M, this is not an expensive "punt". Exciting news on results could give multi-bags for shareholders, from this junction. As we write, the company is in trading halt awaiting news of a potential acquisition.
Figure 5: DY6 share price chart as of 4th July 2025. (source: Commsec)
From an investor's point of view, this is a good DYOR candidate. I know some of the management and they are seasoned participants in the industry. I do believe that the company will be able to attract some well-versed players into the register, if they are not already in the register.
Check out the story and keep your eyes and ears pinned to what is happening here as I think there could be some more upside to come.
The Samso Way – Seek the Research
This is what early-stage multicommodity exploration often looks like: data reanalysis, ground-truthing, geological intuition, and steady technical milestones. DY6 isn’t just adding buzzwords to a portfolio—it’s pursuing a methodical and evidence-based strategy that unfolds one layer at a time. Gallium, rutile, and HMS each come with their own markets, processing paths, and exploration nuances, and DY6 seems aware of the need to treat each accordingly.
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