Closing Bell: ASX continues its flat run; Wesfarmers makes $167b bid for Silk Laser; Clay REE grades keep coming

The S&P ASX 200 follows US markets closing fairly flat up 0.05%, while the S&P XEC is down 0.58%
Wesfarmers launched a $167m buyout proposal for non-surgical aesthetics clinic operator SILK Laser Australia
Moho Resources leads winners after hitting clay hosted REE grades up to 1890ppm in maiden drilling at Peak Charles project

It was another fairly flat day for the S&P ASX 200, which closed up 0.05% following the direction of Wall Street overnight. The S&P ASX Emerging Companies index (XEC) – a benchmark for Australia’s micro-cap companies – fell 0.58%.

Investors seemed to be digesting news the Reserve Bank of Australia is facing its biggest shakeup in decades. Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers today released “An RBA fit for the future” 294-page report with 51 recommendations following the first formal review into Australia’s central bank since the 1990s.

Six of the 11 ASX sectors were in the red today. Financials led the gainers up 1.42%, followed by Consumer Discretionary adding 1.27% and Real Estate, up 0.84%.

Leading the laggards was Materials, down 1.94% followed by Energy, which lost 0.37% and utilities down 0.34%.

On Twitter @jondvdsn1 has been following the lithium prices.

So uh.. (Source: Bell Potter) #Lithium #ASX #Auspol #FinTwit #Trading #Finance #Money #EVs #Tesla #Musk pic.twitter.com/kkSasnzCt0

— Davidson_Shrugged (@jondvdsn1) April 20, 2023

FROM THE HEADLINES

The Federal Government is pushing us to swap out our combustion engines and switch to electric vehicles as we lag behind globally. There continues to be discussion and reaction to news the government will set a fuel-efficiency standard for new cars as part of its national electric vehicle strategy.

The standard will set a maximum limit on the CO2 emissions of each car manufacturer, based on the types of vehicles they sell and aims to encourage car manufacturers to sell more low-emission vehicles, including EVs. The exact level of the CO2 limit is yet to be determined.

Australia’s EV sales have been largely lagging the rest of the world, with all-electric cars accounting for less than 4% of new car sales. In contrast, the global average for all-electric car new sales is 9% and the UK’s is 15%.

The fuel-efficiency standard is expected to help boost demand for low-emission vehicles, including EVs, and reduce the carbon footprint of Australia’s transportation sector.

However, weighing in on the debate are various stakeholders who reckon the government must set ambitious targets to ensure the success of the standard.

There seems to be consensus that investment in the necessary infrastructure, such as charging stations, will be needed support uptake of EVs in Australia but we should catch up to the rest of the world.

READ Tomorrow: ‘Mine it here, we should make it here’ – The strong case for integrated battery economy in Australia

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume	Market Cap
MOH	Moho Resources	0.027	50%	84,550,391	$3,737,920
CCE	Carnegie Cln Energy	0.0015	50%	1,020,000	$15,642,574
MEB	Medibio Limited	0.0015	50%	605,426	$4,150,594
SIT	Site Group Int Ltd	0.004	33%	13,326,920	$3,903,735
NYM	Narryer Metals	0.1175	31%	289,696	$2,743,875
HRE	Heavy Rare Earths	0.145	26%	351,703	$6,841,112
AJQ	Armour Energy Ltd	0.005	25%	4,900,633	$15,050,431
BDG	Black Dragon Gold	0.045	25%	231,385	$7,224,122
EMU	EMU NL	0.0025	25%	27,141	$2,900,043
PUA	Peak Minerals Ltd	0.005	25%	274,220	$4,165,506
TYM	Tymlez Group	0.01	25%	6,413,786	$8,737,562
SLA	Silk Laser Australia	3	24%	1,038,603	$128,553,248
TSK	Task Group Holdings	0.37	23%	467,778	$106,448,678
NAG	Nagambie Resources	0.048	20%	244,986	$21,427,752
WMG	Western Mines	0.46	19%	2,622,372	$15,797,513
APS	Allup Silica Ltd	0.062	19%	46,346	$2,000,809
1AG	Alterra Limited	0.013	18%	5,000	$7,662,078
KOR	Korab Resources	0.026	18%	2,116,546	$8,075,100
DCG	Decmil Group Limited	0.23	18%	284,261	$30,332,682
WSR	Westar Resources	0.033	18%	69,178	$2,584,085
KLI	Killiresources	0.068	17%	492,494	$1,947,350
W2V	Way2Vat	0.014	17%	236,642	$2,641,691
SFG	Seafarms Group Ltd	0.007	17%	2,443,303	$29,019,595
EMC	Everest Metals Corp	0.085	16%	660,130	$9,448,617
POL	Polymetals Resources	0.335	16%	371,338	$13,102,981

Moho Resources (ASX:MOH) is leading the winners chart today after announcing clay-hosted REE grades up to 1890ppm Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO) in maiden drilling at the Peak Charles project, in the clay REE hub of southern WA.

Follow-up drilling is now being planned, with this maiden 81-hole (av depth: 22m) campaign restricted to road reserves and existing tracks due to limited land access.

The Peak Charles is next to ground held by OD6 Metals (ASX:OD6) , which announced bonanza grades up to 6605ppm “with extensive clay thickness of between 20 and 80m”.

Stockhead’s Reuben Adam’s goes into more detail about MOH’s latest announcement in his Resources Top 5.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume	Market Cap
G1A	Galena Mining	0.1525	-34%	7,860,079	$142,424,131
AQX	Alice Queen Ltd	0.001	-33%	250,000	$3,795,431
PRM	Prominence Energy	0.0015	-25%	1,017,461	$4,849,218
CHK	Cohiba Min Ltd	0.004	-20%	6,424,742	$8,866,221
VAL	Valor Resources Ltd	0.004	-20%	19,236	$18,865,174
VBC	Verbrec Limited	0.105	-19%	134,000	$28,791,902
WEC	White Energy Company	0.085	-19%	2,536	$4,259,776
FTC	Fintech Chain Ltd	0.015	-17%	46,361	$11,713,853
LRV	Larvottoresources	0.175	-17%	1,921,269	$14,123,492
CTO	Citigold Corp Ltd	0.005	-17%	57,000	$17,241,955
IEC	Intra Energy Corp	0.005	-17%	50,000	$4,234,690
TMB	Tambourahmetals	0.115	-15%	5,955	$5,561,001
MXO	Motio Ltd	0.035	-15%	100,000	$10,718,821
BUS	Bubalusresources	0.15	-14%	36,893	$4,982,456
ADG	Adelong Gold Limited	0.012	-14%	1,447,561	$7,473,512
EDE	Eden Inv Ltd	0.006	-14%	6,275,747	$20,520,111
GNM	Great Northern	0.003	-14%	312,500	$5,981,678
PLG	Pearlgullironlimited	0.03	-14%	39,509	$5,474,568
FG1	Flynngold	0.073	-14%	768,321	$8,744,251
USL	Unico Silver Limited	0.1475	-13%	386,241	$42,390,719
FBM	Future Battery	0.1	-13%	7,234,865	$49,202,190
AVW	Avira Resources Ltd	0.0035	-13%	1,549,249	$8,535,160
LNU	Linius Tech Limited	0.0035	-13%	1,906,809	$12,918,985
XTC	Xantippe Res Ltd	0.0035	-13%	10,248,010	$42,320,399

LAST ORDERS

Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) has launched a ~$167m buyout proposal for SILK Laser Australia (ASX:SLA) through its wholly owned subsidiary Australian Pharmaceutical Industries Pty Ltd (API).

Wesfarmers owns Target, Kmart and Officeworks and has been building its own healthcare sector, starting with the buy up of Priceline pharmacy chain owner API for $763m in March 2022.

WES said it’s entered a Transaction Process Deed with SLA in relation to its non-binding, indicative proposal to acquire 100% of shares outstanding for $3.15 cash/share, by way of a Scheme of Arrangement.

SLA is one of the largest non-surgical aesthetics clinic operators in Australia and New Zealand with more than 140 clinics with CEO Martin Perelman telling Stockhead’s Eddy Sunarto the nature of its business is in fact “essential” as opposed to “discretionary” and therefore “recession resilient”.

Gas-focused Tamboran Resources (ASX:TBN) is pretty happy today announcing the Northern Territory Supreme Court dismissed Rallen Australia’s appeal regarding the Northern Territory Civil and Administrative Tribunal’s decision to grant it a land-access agreement on EP 136 in the Beetaloo Basin.

TBN said the decision validates the Land Access and Compensation Agreement approved by the NTCAT in May 2022, allowing Tamboran to conduct exploration activities in EP 136 under the corresponding Environmental Management Plans.

The Beetaloo/McArthur Basin is one of the most active exploration and production areas in Australia with TBN holding assets including EP 136, EP 143, EP 161 and EP(A) 197.