Month ended May 2025

Dateline Resources produced a sharply ascending share price throughout May after recording a strong return in the last days of April (see below) pushing the company's market capitalisation from less than $30 million at the end of April to $277 million. During the month, the company continued its feasibility study but also released details of an updated scoping study covering the Colosseum gold development. The company also announced that recent exploration activity pointed to an extension of the previously defined mineralised footprint. stake  

Resource Mining Corporation share prices had been tracking lower over the preceding 12 months before a steep recovery in mid-May, although the company had not made any public disclosures which might have normally attracted such attention. Shortly before the price ascent began, the Tanzanian copper-gold explorer released a statement saying that laboratory analysis of samples already collected was about to commence, without disclosing any new information which might affect the company’s valuation. The market reaction is indicative of the high sensitivity of the share prices of such early stage companies, around the bottom of a cycle, to even apparently inconsequential results. Verdict: Sizzle.

Locksley Resources share prices had been trending lower for the past several years until a few days before directors announced that they had submitted a drill permit application covering their Mojave antimony and rare earth element project in California. Share price gains continued through the remainder of the month without any specific catalyst although investors have been supporting companies associated with the rare earth theme in the USA. Taking advantage of the share price action later in the month, the company completed a small capital raising. Verdict: Sizzle.

Resolution Minerals share prices had dropped to a historically low level by the start of May when the company announced details of its review of recently acquired mineral properties in New South Wales and Queensland. The property which received the most attention was thought to be prospective for copper-gold mineralisation. There was little impact from the statement on the company’s market value which remained around $5 million. The biggest part of the share price gain occurred very late in the month at which time the market value was lifted to $9 million, in another example of how sensitive lowly valued companies are to what is normally news of little consequence. Verdict: Sizzle.

Oceana Lithium had started May trading near historically low price points before appearing to attract moderately stronger investor interest in what had been a lightly traded stock. Mid-month, the price spiked higher when directors announced that they had received firm commitments covering a $667,000 share placement. The company had made no formal statement about its business intent or progress since it released its quarterly report in early April, well over a month earlier. The company holds tenements in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Brazil where it has made tentative efforts toward lithium exploration without having moved beyond its office space. At the end of March, the company had held cash assets of $2.6 million and reported having made no payments for exploration or development in the prior nine months. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended April 2025

DY6 Metals announced, at the very end of the month, that a review of historical drilling at its rare earth prospect in Malawi had identified gallium mineralisation. The company holds several rare earth element prospects within Malawi. A week earlier, the company had announced that it had acquired access to two rutile and heavy mineral sands exploration areas in Cameroon, without any discernible impact on investor interest. Verdict: Sizzle.

Jindalee Lithium announced that its McDermitt lithium project in Oregon had been given a Federal government designation to facilitate coordination of the permitting processes required by various government agencies. While the recognition is an acknowledgement of the significance of the project, it does not automatically advance the project along the normally required permitting steps. Verdict: Sizzle.

Native Mineral Resources had been on a rising share price trend with clearly heightened investor interest since the beginning of 2025. The northern Queensland copper and gold explorer had acquired a package of Queensland gold exploration assets from administrators in November to bulk up its pre-existing exploration portfolio.  It made several announcements subsequently about its gold development plans, leading to an acceleration in the rate of price appreciation in April. Queried by ASX about the reason for the unusually large uplift, directors said that, aside from their development efforts, they will have benefited from a stronger gold price. Verdict: Steak.

Redstone Resources had been on a sliding share price trend for several years before directors informed investors in the latter part of April that they had commenced diamond drilling within the company's West Musgrave copper project in Western Australia. The statement, with no new details, was simply a reminder of the company’s continuing existence. Verdict: Sizzle.

Dateline Resources had been hovering around historically low share prices through the early months of 2025 before a series of days in which relatively strong, but still modest, investor demand pressured the share price higher. Despite the seemingly large percentage gain, the market value at the end of April remained below $30 million. The company holds gold and rare earth element exploration interests in California. Late in April, directors announced that they had commenced a bankable feasibility study for a 75,000 ounce per year gold mine with a life of 8-9 years. The completed study was expected by the end of 2025. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended March 2025

Rarex experienced a single day share price uplift near the end of the month following its disclosure of high grade gallium assays in the upper 80 metres of the company’s Cummins Range rare earth element and phosphate deposit in Western Australia. Verdict: Sizzle.

EcoGraf attracted unusually strong investor interest throughout March after being granted a special mining licence by the government of Tanzania covering its Epanko graphite mine. The licence was an important step toward funding the development. Mid-month, the company reported completion of environmental and social planning steps needed to complete the next development stages. Closer to the end of the month, directors confirmed completion of an engineering study covering downstream processing of graphite flake materials. Verdict: Steak.

Trek Metals attracted fresh investor interest from mid-March in the absence of any proximate catalyst which might have contributed to fresh buying. Earlier in the month, directors had provided an updated exploration profile covering its Kimberley gold prospects in Western Australia. Shortly after the share price had begun its move, directors reported seeing visible gold in drill chips from the company’s ongoing drill program. Verdict: Sizzle.

Errawarra Resources had been in the midst of a share price downtrend since May 2024 when directors announced a $3 million acquisition of a Pilbara silver project. In doing so, they flagged a move to change the company’s name to reflect its newfound silver emphasis. Prior to step into silver exploration move, the company had been exploring for a range of battery related minerals including lithium and nickel. Verdict: Sizzle.

European Metals Holdings announced, near the end of the month, that its Cinovic lithium project in the Czech Republic had been given strategic project status which would likely streamline the project’s approval process and facilitate the negotiation of funding and off-take agreements. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended February 2025

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining announced a discovery of gold in a newly identified area of mineralisation north east of Kalgoorlie where the company had previously estimated mineral resources within other exploration targets. Verdict: Steak.

Caprice Resources released results from a December drilling program within tenements in the Murchison region of Western Australia. The reported high grade gold intersections from a partially completed drill program displayed increasing grades at depth within multiple stacked lodes. Verdict: Steak.

 E79 Gold Mines experienced a one day share price spike in early February before acknowledging, in response to an ASX query, the report by Kalgoorlie Gold Mining about a discovery near its own gold exploration tenements. Two days later, the company released a more detailed statement about its changed drilling priorities in response to the Kalgoorlie Gold Mining report. Subsequently, the company announced a farm-out deal over selected Murchison tenements allowing it to redirect its efforts toward the areas adjacent to the new discovery. Verdict: Sizzle.

Greenvale Energy experienced a rising share price trend extending throughout February despite there being no obvious catalyst at the time for the heightened investor interest. In mid-January, the company had announced acquisition of a 100% interest in tenements covering a north Queensland uranium discovery dating back to the 1970s. Verdict: Sizzle.

Reach Resources had experienced a moderately rising a share price trend through the first half of February before a strong mid-month price surge. It had previously informed the market that drilling had commenced over tenements prospective for gold in the Murchison. After having been queried by ASX about the reasons for the price action, directors confirmed that they did have unreported price sensitive information, including the results of assays from two out of 14 completed holes. The new results were consistent with previous preliminary analysis conducted on behalf of the company. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended January 2025

Ausquest announced, late in the month, that it had made a large-scale porphyry copper discovery in Southern Peru via zones of visible mineralisation and partial analysis of recent drilling. After three days of heightened market activity, investor interest had subsided by the end of the month. The company also holds a variety of Australian exploration interests, primarily in Western Australia, covering a range of commodity exposures. The company reported having cash assets of $2.1 million at the end of December. Verdict: Sizzle.

Cosmos Exploration was on a rising share price trend from the start of January after having announced an option agreement over a company with rights to buy Bolivian lithium brine for treatment. Cosmos owns neither the relevant brine deposits nor the technology it intends to use. Verdict: Sizzle.

First Graphene did not make any formal disclosure which might explain the strengthening investor interest through the first half of January. Queried by ASX about the reasons for the price action, directors said that they had no news to impart but drew attention to German sourced buying for “the world’s leading graphene company”, most likely responding to the company’s commercial pipeline and independent research reports drawing attention to the companies “considerable upside potential”. Verdict: Sizzle.

Western Gold Resources had been on a rising share price trend from the start of January, in the absence of any specific announcement. Late in December, directors had announced the promotion of the existing chief executive, appointed at the end of October, to the position of managing director. Western Gold is seeking to develop the Gold Duke mine near Wiluna. Verdict: Sizzle.

Koonenberry Gold attracted relatively strong investor interest through the second half of January after the company announced that Newmont had commenced a drilling program at a copper-gold project in New South Wales in which Koonenberry holds a 20% interest. Later, the company released details of field activities covering recently acquired project areas in New South Wales prospective for copper and gold. The company had also released results, early in the month, from its initial field work covering other areas from the recent acquisition activity without their having been any discernible market reaction at that time. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended December 2024

Aldoro Resources announced, at the end of November, that drilling had commenced at the company’s niobium and rare earth element exploration project in Namibia.  Within a few days, the company announced partial assay results from ongoing chip sampling at the project. Verdict: Sizzle.

MTM Critical Minerals benefited from unusually strong investor interest throughout December despite there having been no formal announcement to warrant a value reappraisal. Late in November, the company had announced an intent to partner with a US company to recover germanium and gallium from scrap materials.  A fortnight later, directors announced that over the counter trading in the company’s shares had commenced in the USA, claiming that the move would enhance liquidity by enabling a flow of new investors who would have otherwise been unable to purchase shares. The liquidity argument is somewhat spurious insofar as there is no change in the total number of shares on issue and, with modern trading platforms, cross border buying and selling is increasingly commonplace. Verdict: Sizzle.

Green Critical Minerals benefited from a surge in investor interest in the middle days of December despite no formal announcement having been made which might justify a pick-up in demand for the company’s shares. Queried by ASX about the reasons for the valuation uplift, directors said they had no fresh information to impart but pointed to generally positive attitudes toward the sector in which the company operated and progress in development of the company’s graphite block technology for energy storage. Verdict: Sizzle.

Iondrive announced that investors had committed six million dollars to a share placement aimed at funding a lithium ion recycling pilot plant. The emphasis on recycling by the company, formerly known as Southern Gold, comes after having pivoted away from its Korean gold assets since a July 2023 acquisition of a battery technology company. Verdict: Sizzle.

Black Dragon Gold, a Canadian-based company, did not make any formal disclosure prior to a surge investor interest around the middle of December. Queried by ASX about the market action, directors of the Spanish gold explorer said that they had no fresh information to impart and did not know why the price had risen. Despite the favourable market performance, the share price remained below mid-November levels (see October report) following which the price declined sharply amid delays in Spanish permitting approvals. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended November 2024

Petratherm released metallurgical test results from samples drawn from historical drilling which showed heavy mineral concentrations, with high titanium content of 12.0% and 12.5%, from shallow depths at exploration properties southwest of Coober Pedy in South Australia. The company had previously announced a high grade discovery in September 2024. Investor interest had waned considerably by the end of the month. Verdict: Sizzle.

 PhosCo announced that the Tunisian government had granted an exploration permit to allow the company to take the next steps in its ambition to build a phosphate processing hub in the country. While a necessary step along the development path, and an important precursor to any eventual value uplift, far greater risks lie ahead, as others attracted to north African mineral development have shown.  With cash assets of only $201,000 at the end of September, the value increment from this step alone represents an almost negligible change in the risk profile. Verdict: Sizzle.

Metal Hawk continued to report promising gold exploration results from its activities south of Leinster in Western Australia, prompting increased investor interest through the first half of the month. Near mid-November, and ahead of the main part of the share price rally, the company announced a $2.5 million capital raising to supplement the $1.7 million cash assets held at the end of September. Verdict: Steak.

Discovery Alaska did not make any formal disclosures which might explain the slightly stronger level of investor interest in the usually lightly traded Alaskan gold explorer. Subsequent to the share price appreciation in the first half of the month, the company completed its annual general meeting of shareholders. Verdict: Sizzle.

Variscan Mines announced that drilling had commenced at a brownfield site in northern Spain where the company is seeking to highlight extensions of already identified zinc mineralisation. The pick-up in investor interest followed a share price collapse at the end of October after the company announced that it had raised $913,000 from an entitlement offer which represented less than half the number of shares on offer. The company had reported cash assets of $223,000 at the end of September. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended October 2024

James Bay Minerals announced that that it had agreed to purchase up to 100% of a gold project in Nevada with shares valued at $2.4 million for an initial 51% holding.  The property contains a mineral resource in excess of one million ounces of gold, taking the company closer to being a producer than it had been. Near the end of the month, the company reported the result of rock chips sampling and trenching at its Quebec lithium exploration interests. Verdict: Sizzle.

Green Critical Minerals announced, at the end of the month, an acquisition of technology, based on work at the University of New South Wales, designed to convert graphite into saleable high density graphite blocks with many advanced applications covering a range of industries. Verdict: Sizzle.

Yandal Resources reported partial assay results from drilling completed at properties in the Yandal greenstone belt in Western Australia which “may represent a significant emerging gold discovery”, according to company directors. Verdict: Sizzle.

Black Dragon Gold attracted heightened investor interest shortly after mid-October. Queried by ASX about the reason for the resulting price action, directors said that they had no relevant information to impart. The company has gold exploration interests in northern Spain after having recently divested exploration interests in Western Australia. Verdict: Sizzle.

Asian Battery Metals reported asset results from southwest Mongolia where copper-nickel mineralisation was encountered in the most recent drilling by the company.   Directors described the results as pointing to “a substantial deposit” which warranted further drilling. Verdict: Steak.

Month ended September 2024

Mithril Silver and Gold released details of an airborne survey of exploration ground in Mexico prospective for gold and silver. The survey highlighted the extent of historical workings within the 70 square kilometre land area. The company subsequently released assay results from an ongoing round of drilling at its first target, confirming high grade gold intersections in preparation for a resource upgrade in early 2025. In early September, company shares were trading at a historically low point after having been suspended between November 2023 and May 2024 while undergoing a recapitalisation and relisting. Verdict: Sizzle.

Osmond Resources announced that it had agreed to a three-stage purchase of up to 80% of a company with holdings in a rutile, zircon and rare earth project in southern Spain. Prior to the transaction, the company had been promoting an aluminium oxide acquisition, also in Spain. When listed in 2022, the company’s stated targets were gold, copper and nickel mineralisation in the Gawler Craton. At the end of June, Osmond held cash assets of $3.4 million. Verdict: Sizzle.

Trigg Minerals announced that it would test the antimony potential at an area in Queensland prospective for copper-gold minerals. Later in the month, the company announced an agreement to acquire antimony projects in New South Wales before making a further acquisition with an existing antimony resource. The company had been listed with a view to developing sulphate of potash deposits in Western Australia which are no longer a priority as directors look to shorter gestation and more popular alternative business strategies. They have, so far, provided no evidence of the necessary skills to pursue the newly unveiled strategy other than having the possibility of a theoretically more rapid route to production. Verdict: Sizzle.

Petratherm announced a high grade, titanium rich, mineral sands discovery southwest of Coober Pedy in South Australia based on analysis of drill core held by the government and surface sampling. Directors subsequently announced that they had raised $1.6 million through a share placement. Prior to the announcement, the company’s price had been near its lowest level in five years after several previous strong price surges had proven unsustainable. Verdict: Sizzle.

Octava Minerals directors announced that the company would respond to the recent surge in antimony prices, after Chinese authorities foreshadowed export controls on processed metal, by revisiting historical data at the company’s nickel-copper-cobalt exploration project northeast of Geraldton in Western Australia. The company has other exploration interests in the Pilbara and east Kimberley where it is searching for lithium, gold and nickel. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended August 2024

Larvotto Resources did not make any formal disclosure which might explain the rapid mid-month share price rise. Subsequently, directors drew attention to the decision by Chinese authorities to limit exports of processed antimony from mid-September as the contributing reason. Larvotto had purchased the currently closed Hillgrove antimony mine and processing centre in New South Wales in December 2023.  The company has recently prepared a pre-feasibility study but does not have a definitive restart timetable. Verdict: Sizzle.

Australian Pacific Coal did not make any formal disclosure which might explain the share price action. Directors had previously flagged that the company would commence coal production at its Hunter Valley Dartbrook plant during August-September. Queried in mid-August by ASX about the reason for the price movements, directors said they had nothing to add to their earlier statements about a production start. The share price continued to push higher during the second half of the month.  While a price rerating was in order based on the proximity of the production start, the full extent of the rise appears to have been fuelled by subsequently unsustainable buying pressure. Verdict: Sizzle.

Felix Gold, with gold exploration interests in Alaska, had experienced a modest share price improvement in late August prior to a surge in price in a single day when the company released assay results highlighting the antimony content of mineralization on one property where it had already defined a modest gold resource. The heightened investor interest coincided with reports that Chinese authorities planned to limit exports of processed antimony after mid-September. Verdict: Sizzle.

MTM Critical Metals attracted stronger investor interest through the second half of August after announcing that it had successfully converted spodumene concentrate to lithium chloride in a single step without need for acid. The process holds out the potential for lowered capital and operating costs. Verdict: Steak.

Miramar attracted unusually strong investor interest through the second half of August but only after the market value of the company had been trending lower throughout the prior three years.  The result was no more than a return to prices which had prevailed in April. The price action occurred after the company announced it had commenced a maiden drilling campaign in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia in an area in which the company is pioneering a search for Norilsk-style nickel-cobalt-PGE mineralisation. The drilling is partly funded by the Western Australian government. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended July 2024

Infini Resources released assay results from soil samples taken at company tenements in Newfoundland prospective for uranium. The results, described by the newly listed company as better than those of any other explorer, were an important precursor to further work in identifying a bedrock source. Verdict: Sizzle.

Athena Resources announced that the chief executive of Fenix Resources had joined the board as chairman following a $1 million investment by Fenix via a convertible note issue. Athena has magnetite development assets in the midwest region of Western Australia where Fenix has successfully brought stranded iron or assets into production in a strategy which has involved acquisition and expansion of a regional transport operator. The company hopes to tap the Fenix experience and capability in improving its own development plans. Verdict: Steak.

Labyrinth Resources announced transactions which would lead to consolidation of areas prospective for future gold mining in the Menzies-Leonora-Leinster corridor where it had prior holdings. The company also has tenements in Quebec which had been the subject of a cancelled sales agreement. An associated $2 million capital raising accompanied the strategic move. Verdict: Sizzle.

Waratah Minerals reported results from drilling at its Lachlan Fold Belt exploration tenements in New South Wales. The drilling identified an open zone of shallow high grade gold-copper mineralisation. The company also retains exploration interests in Victoria (copper-gold), Western Australia (copper-nickel-cobalt) and Mozambique (graphite). Verdict: Sizzle.

Avenira experienced a rising share price in the latter part of July without having made any formal disclosure which might explain the share price action. Put into a trading halt and queried by ASX about the trading action, directors confirmed that an offshore listed company had committed capital to the company. Subsequently, directors announced a $4.5 million investment by the company's largest shareholder, a Chinese-based company, and management changes which would give the Chinese party a wider operational involvement in the company's Wonarah phosphate development in the Northern Territory. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended June 2024

NeuRizer, with plans to develop a urea fertiliser project in South Australia, sought a trading halt in mid-June following a large share price rise through the first half of the month. The company’s shares were subsequently suspended without any formal explanation and remained untraded at the end of June. Verdict: Sizzle.

MRG Metals announced that it had entered into a joint venture agreement with Chinese-based entities under which the company’s Mozambique heavy mineral sands project would be taken to development. MRG will retain a minority project equity in exchange for a 100% capital and operating expenditure contribution by the new partners. The company subsequently released an outline of ongoing exploration activity within properties in Zimbabwe without there being any further meaningful impact on investment performance. Verdict: Steak.

Encounter Resources released details of further drilling in the West Arunta region of Western Australia where it has identified near surface niobium-rich rare earth element mineralisation from aircore drilling. The latest drilling followed an initial discovery in 2023. Verdict: Sizzle.

Green Critical Minerals released the results of metallurgical test work conducted on graphite from the company's McIntosh project in the Kimberley region of Western Australia. The test work was characterised as having confirmed the suitability of a potential product for a range of applications, including in battery anode markets.  A subsequent announcement covering the company's exploration plans in Queensland, where it is seeking to test copper porphyry targets, was associated with some retracement of the earlier positive price action. Verdict: Sizzle.

Lithium Plus Minerals had experienced a rising a share price before it announced, in early June, acquisition of uranium exploration assets in the Northern Territory and rear earth element prospects in northern New South Wales. Directors said that existing Northern Territory lithium interests would be combined with the acquired properties in a newly formed corporate entity. The company’s share price pushed substantially higher after directors subsequently announced that they had lodged a mining lease application covering lithium-rich tenements south of Darwin. This letter gain, which lasted a single day, had been fully retraced by the end of June. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended May 2024

Australian Gold and Copper announced, in late April, that drilling in the southern Cobar Basin had identified high grade gold and silver mineralisation in multiple holes, prompting directors to accelerate their exploration efforts. In mid-May, the company followed up the earlier results with further essays confirming a burgeoning high grade resource. Verdict: Steak.

Kore Potash attracted progressively stronger investor buying in the latter part of the month, seemingly in the absence of any new information which might explain the market revaluation. Questioned by ASX about the reason for the share price action, directors said they had nothing to add to prior disclosures in February of a potential involvement of a Chinese entity in the construction of the company's potash project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In the course of responding, directors said they were targeting a completed agreement by the end of June after meetings of officials during May. Verdict: Sizzle.

DY6 Metals had lost 80% of its value since listing in June 2023 before a dramatic share price surge in the last days of the month when the Malawian rare earth element explorer released a statement highlighting drilling results from 2014 over an area for which a prospecting licence application had been lodged in December. The company had published prior drilling results at the time of the original announcement of the application, which is yet to be granted. Verdict: Sizzle.

Errawarra Resources had announced an exploration joint venture, at the end of April, covering ground in the western Pilbara prospective for lithium. Nearer mid-May, investor interest rose sharply, seemingly without explanation.  Queried by ASX about the reason for the unusual market activity, directors said they had been preparing a report on recent rock chips sampling activity but had not received all the necessary information for its completion. The company then reported a discovery of a large pegamatite swarm near the Andover project of Azure Minerals based on an initial assessment of the ground. Verdict: Sizzle.

Forrestania Resources had lost nearly 90% of its value since listing in September 2021 until directors announced the company’s acquisition of an option to take over exploration rights in the Yilgarn region of Western Australia adjacent to the Koolyanobbing iron ore operations of Mineral Resources. The option will allow the company three months in which to test the haematite potential of the properties.  Prior to this latest initiative, the company’s main activities involved gold, lithium and nickel exploration in Western Australia. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended April 2024

Rincon Resources attracted heightened investor interest in the latter part of the month after the company reported details of a gravity survey at its West Arunta project in Western Australia. The company highlighted similarities with a gravity anomaly identified by WA1 Resources which preceded identification of high grade niobium and rare earth mineralisation. Verdict: Sizzle.

Renegade Exploration reported a large magnetic anomaly at an exploration site near Cloncurry in Queensland. Directors compared the anomaly to a similar signature at the nearby Ernest Henry copper-gold mine. The company also highlighted a state government funding contribution. Later in the month, directors announced additional evidence of surface copper mineralisation sourced from high grade rock samples. The company then immediately raised $2.3 million to fund its intended drilling programs. Verdict: Sizzle.

Western Mines Group reported a series of geochemical analyses and drilling assays from its Mulga Tank property in the eastern goldfields of Western Australia. The results highlighted the presence of nickel-cobalt mineralisation. The associated pick up in investor interest occurred after a share price downtrend extending over the prior 12 months. Verdict: Sizzle.

Summit Minerals announced a restatement of the uranium resource at its Stallion uranium exploration project east of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia, previously prepared in 2017.  Later in the month, directors announced they had agreed to purchase a portfolio of exploration assets in Brazil prospective for niobium, rare earth elements and lithium. The company then reported on its exploration plans for the newly acquired Brazilian assets. Verdict: Sizzle.

Macro Metals issued a statement outlining plans for a start to exploration activity over ground prospective for iron ore in the Pilbara. Directors subsequently announced that, following a strategy review, they had decided to abandon a previously announced intention to acquire lithium exploration interests in Oregon (see March 2024) in favour of the Pilbara iron ore opportunities. The heightened investor interest during the month occurred after a prolonged downtrend in the company’s share price extending over the previous five years. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended March 2024

Macro Metals began March by reorganising the board and appointing a new chief executive with bulk mining experience to match the company's portfolio of Western Australian iron ore development options. The company also announced a share placement, most of which was covered by incoming members of the board. The company also holds an option to acquire an interest in an Oregon lithium exploration project, initially acquired in November 2023 and on which due diligence has been ongoing. Prior to the announced personnel changes, the company’s shares had been trading at historically low prices with little investor interest. Verdict: Sizzle.

Hexagon Energy Materials, seeking to develop an ammonia plant in Western Australia to facilitate the transport of hydrogen for power generation, announced that it had reached an in-principle water supply agreement with the Water Corporation of Western Australia. The company also controls base and precious metal exploration opportunities in the state.  Queried late in the month by ASX about the reasons of the heightened investor interest, directors said they had no explanation but drew attention to the recent news about the water access agreement. Verdict: Sizzle.

Cavalier Resources announced that it had completed a pre-feasibility study covering a 29,300 ounce gold resource near Leonora in Western Australia. Half of the price rise occurred before the mid-month feasibility study announcement. The company aims to use the initial Crawford project as a stepping stone to a larger scale gold development with regional lithium exploration opportunities. The project is expected to generate $26.4 million over 18 months prior to any necessary capital expenditures. Verdict: Sizzle.

Gold 50 did not make any formal disclosure which might explain the strengthening share price which largely occurred two weeks after a promotional webinar conducted by the company after which there was little uplift in the volume of shares traded. The company used the webinar to highlight the gallium content of base metal mineralisation in Arizona. Verdict: Sizzle.

Narryer Metals had been trading at a historically low share price before it announced an intention to acquire a 70% interest in two exploration areas in Canada's Northwest Territories where lithium bearing pegmatites have been identified. The company had previously been focused on several base and precious metal projects in Western Australia. The proposed scrip-based Canadian acquisition requires shareholder approval. The company, with cash assets of less than $1 million at the time of the purchase decision, arranged an additional equity placement of $1.0 million following on from the deal. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended February 2024

Enova Mining released a commentary, near the beginning of the month, about its exploration activities in Brazil where it had recently acquired a land package prospective for lithium and rare earth elements. Near the end of the month, the company announced that it had acquired an option to purchase tenements covering a further 153.3 square kilometres in Brazil in a location where initial drilling had pointed to clay hosted rare earth element mineralisation. Verdict: Sizzle.

Bellararox began the month with a share price near a historical low point since listing in January 2022. After an initial surge in price, which prompted a query from ASX, directors said they did not have any information which should have been released. They did, however, note that stock sales by certain shareholders, following lapse of an escrow agreement, had been depressing the market until other investors had removed the overhang. Later in the month, the company reported surface assay results from its exploration activities in Argentina which, directors said, strengthen the prospect of discovering epithermal porphyry style copper-gold mineralization. Verdict: Sizzle.

Gold Hydrogen had been experiencing a rising share price trend prior to its announcement late in the month that drilling had confirmed high-quality helium concentrations at the company’s exploration tenements on South Australia's York Peninsula. The share price continued to rise in the remaining days of the month. Verdict: Steak.

American Rare Earths announced that it had increased the size of its rare earth element resource in Wyoming by 64% to 2.34 billion tonnes. The share price continued its precipitous rise before directors announced a 13.5 million equity placement at a 25% discount to the higher share price after which the price immediately declined by approximately 44%. Verdict: Sizzle.

Wildcat Resources had announced exploration plans for the upcoming six months, in late January. The company is engaged in lithium exploration in the Pilbara region of Western Australia. Shares traded lower subsequently before commencing to rise at the start of February without any formal disclosure by the company which might explain the share price action. Verdict: Sizzle.

Month ended January 2024

Koba Resources announced an agreement with Havilah Resources under which it would acquire an 80% interest in uranium rights within a 4,000 square kilometre tenement package in South Australia. More than half the company’s share price rise occurred over the five trading days leading up to the disclosure.  Queried by ASX about the timing of the release, directors said there had been no certainty about the transaction being concluded prior to the announcement. A few days after the Havilah-linked announcement, directors said they had discovered a new set of stacked pegmatites within exploration precincts in southern Manitoba.  At the end of the month, the company also disclosed acquisition of two additional tenements covering 1,085 square kilometres immediately adjacent to the newly acquired South Australian uranium interests. Verdict: Sizzle.

Aspire Mining had been experiencing a rising share price trend since late November before a more rapid ascent late in December.  Queried by ASX early in January about the reasons for the price action, directors said they had no fresh information to impart.  Nor were they aware of the reasons for the price action. A week later, the company released the results of a study into the classification and value of a sample from the company's Mongolian coal project.  All of the price surge occurred in the first fortnight of the month and before the study results had been released. Verdict: Sizzle.

ENRG Elements did not make any formal disclosure which might explain the heightened investor interest early in the month. Queried by ASX about the price action, directors said they had no news to impart but speculated that the market might have been affected by a rise in uranium prices.  The company has uranium exploration interests in Niger. In any event, the market action came after the company’s stock price had been tracking near historically low levels following a military coup in Niger in July. Verdict: Sizzle.

Freehill Mining had benefited from a rising share price since late December without any formal disclosure having been made. Queried by ASX about the reasons for the price action, directors said they had no news to release and attributed the share price action to a lagged response to matters discussed at the general meeting of shareholders in November. Later in the month, the Chilean magnetite project developer completed a share placement. For the majority of 2023, the company had been suspended from trading pending a reorganisation of its financial position. Verdict: Sizzle.

White Cliff Mining announced that it had acquired a 3,300 square kilometre exploration area in Canada’s Northwest Territories, including historical mining locations. Prior to 1982, the area produced uranium, silver and copper. Uranium production had ceased in the 1960s. Directors, who said they were looking to divest the company’s Australian assets, highlighted the uranium potential of the acquisition.  The company had nickel-copper, gold and rare earth element exploration interests in Western Australia. Verdict: Sizzle.