** Critical metals explorer Altamin AZI.AX advances 33.3% to A$0.028, set for its strongest session since early October, 2023

** Co joins successful research project under Italy's Mission Innovation 2.0 program, and gets approved 2.825 mln euros ($3.30 mln) in eligible expenditure for the Geothermal Brines for Innovative Supply of Critical Raw Material project in Rome

** Says the project funding will support scale-up testing of a geothermal energy-powered process

** Over 4.7 mln shares change hands, 2.6x the 30-day avg

** YTD, stock is up 27.3%

($1 = 0.8550 euros)

(Reporting by Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru)

((Tanishk.Kumar@thomsonreuters.com; X: @thatstanishk http://www.x.com/thatstanishk;))