Closing Bell: ASX pops on material gains, but the market’s down for the week

• ASX rebounds on Friday, but not enough to erase Thursday’s dip
  
• Nine of 11 local sectors higher, which means two of them didn’t make it
  
• IND, AGY and ASQ lead small caps on a merry dance for a Friday arvo
  

The benchmark bit back on Friday. Big miners providing the sharpest incisors.

At match out, the S&P/ASX200 closed higher, gaining 60.10 points or 0.76% to 7,921.30

Friday. It’s hard not to love when the ASX lets its hair down. Local markets spent the day rediscovering its mojo after Thursday’s mini-out sparked by mega tech losses on Wall Street overnight.

24 hours ago oil, iron ore and copper were in full retreat, leading most commodity prices lower and the ASX into a right funk.

This afternoon, with bright sunlight spilling over the harbour city, the Australian sharemarket is bathed in mining companies.

A good lead out of Wall Street always helps – though it was less fun for mega tech in New York – as the clear signals of a resumed rotation into broader market opportunities made itself apparent.

The modest rise by the Dow and the resurgent wins for small caps on The Russel 2000 were, in the kind and doddering words of my dear colleague Dr Gregor Stronach: “Enough to get Aussie investors up off the couch this morning, and heading off looking for value.”

The materials, energy and property sectors are outperforming.

Rio Tinto leads an electric performance from the local iron ore sector, after futures in Singapore popped about 3% from four-month lows.

Among the lithium plays, Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) has trimmed some of its fatter morning gains, but will take the 3.5%  while it can. Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS) will likewise accept the 4% for a decent days work.

Bt it was Liontown which took the Li2o cake for the day, adding 5.5%. The other major to go 5.5%+ was karoon.

All the iron ore majors are surging.

Here’s a few of the biggest diggers just ahead of the close on Friday. Ending the week making up for how it all began.

The benchmark index has lost 0.63% over the week and now sits more than 2% below its recently reset record high.

Nine of the 11 ASX sectors are higher to end the session. Materials, the best performer, gaining +1.6%.

It’s still down about the same from Monday morning.

ASX Sectors on Friday

Little Diggers on Friday

Courtesy of Eddy ‘The Eagle’ Sunarto, we’re watching Red Hawk Mining (ASX:RHK) and a fistful of other local miners.

Red Hawk says it’s done a geological re-evaluation and resource estimation for the Eagle deposit at its 100%-owned Blacksmith Iron Ore Project.

“This updated assessment has revealed an additional Direct Shipping Ore (DSO) mineralization, including canga, Dales Gorge Member, CID, and other detrital materials, totalling 71.1 million tonnes with an iron content of 57.4% Fe.”

As a result, THK reports the total DSO Mineral Resource estimate for the Blacksmith Project is now up to 243 million tonnes at 59.3% Fe.

Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) has successfully completed its NASDAQ public offering, raising about US$3.3 million.

The offering included 475,000 units, each with one American Depositary Share (ADS) and one warrant, priced at US$6.92 per unit. Each warrant can be exercised for one ADS at US$7.266, valid for five years. The ADSs and warrants began trading on NASDAQ on July 24, 2024, under the symbols “NVA” and “NVAWW.”

The funds will go straight into exploration, feasibility studies, and working capital.

PVW Resources (ASX:PVW) is snapping up a major portfolio of ionic clay REE projects in Brazil, covering 952 km².

“This positions PVW in a key REE region with promising exploration potential. Due diligence has confirmed REE presence at key sites. Luis Azevedo and Celeste Queiroz will join the PVW team to help develop this new venture,” PVW says.

And Chilwa Minerals (ASX:CHW)has received new high-grade mineral sands assay results from 40 drillholes at the Mposa project, part of a 17,000-meter drilling program. Significant findings include multiple intervals with grades up to 62.4% Total Heavy Minerals (THM). These results are aimed at improving the confidence level of the current Mineral Resource Estimate, which is already high.

The drilling continues to reveal high-grade zones, with more assay results expected soon.

Finally, Horizon Minerals (ASX:HRZ) has received an independent JORC (2012) Ore Reserve report for its Boorara project, confirming its financial viability.

The open-pit mine is set to produce 1.24 million tonnes of ore at a grade of 1.24g/t Au, yielding 49.5koz of gold over about 14 months. With a binding Ore Sale Agreement ensuring 45.8koz recovered at a 92.5% recovery rate, the project is expected to generate $19.9 million in free cash flow at a gold price of A$3,300/oz.

HRZ says all the various permits are in place, mining and haulage contracts are nearly done, and a development decision is expected soon, with mining potentially starting in September.

NOT THE ASX

Around the hood, everyone’s wobbling. South Korea leads the equities sell-off following the big tech falls in New York, although shares have also fallen in Japan, India, Indonesia and Malaysia.

Apart from some mad late selling, Wall Street stabilised a bit overnight, as investors reasserted the rotation to small caps.

The Dow ended the session up 0.20%, while the heroic small cap index, the Russell 2000 kicked ahead again by 1.33%. The S&P500 and the Nasdaq were both in the red after a failed rear-guard action for mega tech ended in blood.

The S&P500 was lower by 0.5%. the Nasdaq Composite was down 0.95%.

US Q2 GDP data overnight showed that the red, white and blue economy expanded at a 2.8% annualised rate –  much better growing than the expected 2.1%.

The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation,  Core Personal Expenditure prices, were up 2.9% for the quarter, suggesting the US economy is stronger than expected and that side stepping a recession could be achieved with a soft landing.

. This is the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation and hopes of a US rate cut in September – but not earlier – firmed after the data.

Tonight, the monthly PCE will be released for June, giving a more up-to-date reading of inflation.

The mood is bouyant with a tinge of crazy.

At the close on Friday US Futures were pretty damn positive…

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are today’s best performing ASX small cap stocks.

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

A lot happening on Friday:

Brining it home though is Industrial Minerals (ASX:IND) jumping all arvo on results from High Purity Quartz Processing Testwork1 completed by North Carolina State University’s Mineral Research Laboratory, where a maiden sample from the Mukinbudin Project achieved >99.991% SiO2 from a simple processing flow sheet, which is a Good Thing.

Also up there is Argosy Minerals (ASX:AGY)  on the back of a decent quarterly, with the company’s flagship Rincon lithium project getting EIA regulatory approval for development of a 10,000tpa LCE production operation expansion, and the company’s finances looking in pretty good order, to boot.

Australian Silica Quartz (ASX:ASQ) dropped an absolutely thorough quarterly update on Friday.

Quickly: ASQ have a Maiden 17Mt JORC Resource at 99.04% SiO2 at Quartz Hill Project.  And the Koolyanbobbing Metals Project, which ASQ considers underexplored and prospective for gold, high purity silica in hardrock quartz, nickel, lithium, and copper. ASQ also has the Gingin Silica Sand Project consisting of of one application exploration licence, 20km north of Perth, and the Albany Silica Sand Project – with one granted exploration licence 80 km east of the Port of Albany.

The Company has completed a Mineral Resource Estimate on a property 70km east of Albany totalling 11.6 Mt with >99.9% SiO2 and <50 ppm Fe2O3 and extends over a strike length of 1,650m and has a maximum width of 1,565m.

Voila.

Elsewhere, E79 Gold Mines’ (ASX:E79) initial reconnaissance sampling program at Mountain Home has returned some promising rock chip assays, with the company announcing it’s found samples clocking in at 28.9% Cu, 0.16 g/t Au, and 0.11% Cu, 11.75 g/t Au.

Eastern Resources (ASX:EFE) was up on news that it has retained Nagom, an experienced lithium consultancy in Perth, to handle a fresh round of metallurgical testwork on samples taken from its Lepidolite Hill project, which has already returned some positive samples earlier in the year, including 13m at 1.47% Li2O from 19m.

And eMetals (ASX:EMT) has jumped Friday morning on news that it has inked a deal to buy 80% of the ordinary shares in Sifang, which is the 100% legal and beneficial owner of the Mubende Gold Project and four exploration license applications located in central Uganda.

NZ-based ikeGPS (ASX:IKE) climbed higher on Friday, after revealing that it has signed a contract for significant product expansion with a longstanding partner in the United States, which the company says should result in revenue of $19 million over the next 36 months.

Dynamic Group (ASX:DDB) has revealed that it has received notice of an on-market takeover offer from Australian Meat Industry Superannuation (AMIS), with the latter offering $0.28 per share for the percentage of the company that it doesn’t already own.

AMIS is a 19.9% stakeholder in Dynamic, and says its $38.9m offer is in line with its strategy to deploy capital to maximise members’ long term returns.

Shares are 21% stronger to $0.28.5 cents this arvo, a smidge above the AMIS offer.

ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are the day’s least performing ASX small cap stocks.

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

Trading Halts

Energy Resources of Australia (ASX:ERA) – pending an update in relation to the Jabiluka lease renewal application.

Aeon Metals (ASX:AML) – pending the release of an announcement in relation to the status of funding of the company’s operations.

Talga Group (ASX:TLG) – pending an announcement in relation to a capital raising.

Warriedar Resources (ASX:WA8) – the release by Warriedar of an announcement in relation to a capital raising.

Melodiol Global Health (ASX:ME1) – pending an announcement regarding a capital raising.

Triangle Energy (ASX:TEG) – pending an announcement relating to a proposed capital raise.

PVW Resources (ASX:PVW) –  pending the release of an announcement regarding a significant transaction for the acquisition of an REE project and associated funding via a placement.

Dotz Nano (ASX:DTZ) – pending the release of an announcement relating to a proposed equity capital raising.

Medical Developments International (ASX:MVP) – pending the release of an announcement about a potential capital raising.

ICYMI – PM Edition

Challenger Gold’s (ASX:CEL) resource drilling at the Colorado-V project in Ecuador have returned initial assays with >500m intersections of gold, silver and copper mineralisation. This drilling will be used to define a maiden resource.

D3E Energy (ASX:D3E) has kicked off production testing for helium and methane at the historical RBD03 borehole within its ER315 license in Free State, South Africa.

Lithium Energy (ASX:LEL) has appointed highly experienced Australian company director Peter Turnbull to chair the board of Axon Graphite, the new soon to be listed vehicle that will drive development of its and Novonix’s (ASX:NVX) merged graphite assets in North Queensland.

Magnetic Resource (ASX:MAU) has indicated that its Lady Julie North 4 deposit is ideally suited for open pit mining as mineralisation from 30m to 400m shows very high ounces per vertical metre – 3700ozpvm with an internal zone from 100-300m at 4700ozpvm.

Many Peaks Minerals (ASX:MPK) is selling its 80% ownership in two Queensland exploration permits to EMX Broken Hill, a local subsidiary of Canadian listed EMX Royalty Corp (TSX.V:EMX). This will allow the company to focus on its large-scale opportunities in Côte d’Ivoire.

Meteoric Resources (ASX:MEI) has raised $27.5m through an institutional placement of shares priced at 11c per share to accelerate development of its Caldeira ionic adsorption clay-hosted rare earths project in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Challenger Gold, D3 Energy, Lithium Energy, Magnetic Resources, Many Peak Minerals and Meteoric Resources are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.