Okay, who poked the S&P/ASX Emerging Companies index (XEC) this morning?

Someone woke the sleeping Spinosaurus – the largest carnivorous dinosaur on this planet – that lies at the heart of our beloved small cap thermometer.

It started rising at the open and hasn’t stopped, up close to 1.8%. The ASX 200 index – more of a plant-eating Ankylosaur – is up just 0.4%.

Gains flowed largely from strength in the resources and commodities space. Energy led throughout the day with big names like Whitehaven (coal) and Paladin (uranium) rising sharply.

On Wall Street, all three of the major indices gave away 0.3% overnight, although it’s hard to believe that despite war, rising interest rates, toppy inflation, the terrible virus and just the unyielding universe of DRAMA that is 2022, both the Dow and the S&P 500 are  only ~7% beneath their post-New Year January record highs.

 

TODAY’S BIGGEST SMALL CAP WINNERS

(Stocks highlighted in yellow rose after making announcements during the trading day).

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Up around 90% on Wednesday is Eddy Sunarto’s medtech of the month, OncoSil Medical (ASX:OSL), which surged this morning after its first ever pancreas treatment happened in Europe.

The procedure performed at the Hospital Universitario de Fuenlabrada, in Madrid, must’ve been pretty good because the stock has just kept surging – 40% ahead of lunch and heading to 100% before the close.

Spanish hospitals can negotiate for a specified number of special treatments every year, where procurement for devices (such as OncoSil’s device) is done via a formal tender process.

OncoSil has been training Spanish med teams to use its device, which is a single-use brachytherapy used to deliver a dose of beta radiation directly into cancerous tissue.

NeuroScientific Biopharma (ASX:NSB) is also climbing into double digits following a successful human study of lead drug, EmtinB, free from major adverse effects or toxicology findings.

Recent IPO Firetail Resources (ASX:FTL) earlier today was no exception was looking comfy up around 35%. The explorer has a swag of tenements in Queensland and WA prospect for gold, lithium, rubidium, nickel, cobalt, and copper.

Over in digging town, Black Canyon (ASX:BCA) and JV buddy Carawine Resources (ASX:CWX) lifted their manganese resource by circa 600% — to 104 million tonnes at 10.5% manganese — at the ‘Flanagan Bore’ project in the Pilbara.

Manganese is an essential steel-making ingredient, accounting for more than 80% of end user demand.

But Reuben says, increasingly manganese producers are looking to find a niche in supplying high purity stuff to the EV market, where the metal is a major component in long range nickel-cobalt-manganese batteries.

The resources defined at Flanagan Bore’s ‘LR1’ and ‘FB3’ deposits were based on results from a maiden 4,312m drill program completed in December.

“The company is very fortunate that from our first drill program at Flanagan Bore, we have been able to deliver a large-scale, high quality manganese mineral resource,” BCA exec director Brendan Cummins says. “In my experience, this is uncommon and is testament to the robustness of the mineralisation we have discovered at FB3 and LR1,” Cummins said.

TODAY’S BIGGEST SMALL CAP LOSERS

(Stocks highlighted in yellow rose after making announcements during the trading day).

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ANNOUNCEMENTS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

International Graphite Limited (ASX: IG6) says it’s started trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange as (FSE:H99) at 8am CET on Tuesday, 12 April 2022, which was a few hours ago, although my grasp on time -check with our editor – is pretty shaky.

IG6 says it aims to pursue sales contracts for its battery anode graphite and to capture a share of Europe’s progressive battery market, estimated at €250 billion pa by 2025.

The company is also investigating advanced technology from Germany and has commenced discussions with German downstream battery technologies companies for testing of its graphite concentrates.

And Swift (ASX:SW1) says it has secured four new agreements with existing customers Shell Prelude, Western Areas, Anglo Gold, and McKenzie Aged Care.

The new contracts include ongoing subscriptions to Swift’s proprietary engagement, communications, and entertainment platform, while the $3.4 million in Total Contract Value, revenues will commence in Q4 FY22.

Waste management firm M8 Sustainable (ASX:M8S) had some good news in afternoon tarde, after flagging a deal with a WA-based waste management firm Brajkovich Demolition & Salvage (BDS) in connection with M8S’ Gingin Landfill Facility.

The deal will see BDS supply Gingin — a fully permitted landfill with approved capacity of 150,000 tonnes per annum — with a minimum of 40,000 tonnes and up to 60,000 tonnes of waste per calendar year, over a five year term.
“This is an exciting development for the Company as it places Gingin on the path to achieving its targeted tonnage of waste. There is a shortage of landfill facilities, especially in Perth’s Northern Metropolitan Corridor, and we think Gingin will be a very strategic asset,” M8S managing director Tom Rudas said.
Elsewhere, environment services company Environmental Group (ASX:EGL) got on the M&A trail, announcing a deal to acquire gas fitting company Ignite Services in a cash and share deal for $2.7m.
The deal is a ~4x multiple of Ignite’s normalised FY21 core earnings of $700,000. EGL will pay $1.65m in cash, along with $850K in EGL shares at completion and another $200,000 in cash payable in 12 months from completion.
The deal “will add further strength to our earnings while complimenting the Tomlinson Energy Services (TES) business with an expanded offering”, EGL chief Jason Dixon said.
“With Ignite Services’ focus on combustion technologies and waste treatment technologies, both EGL Waste and Water will benefit from the knowledge and experience Ignite brings to the Group.”

TRADING HALTS

Black Cat Syndicate (ASX:BC8) –  proposed acquisition of the Coyote and Paulsens Gold Operations from Northern Star Resources, and an associated capital raising.

New Zealand King Salmon (ASX:NZK) – finalising full year financial statements, capital raising

Carawine Resources Limited (ASX:CWX) – drilling results relating to the Big Freeze prospect

Tempest Minerals Limited (ASX:TEM) –  capital raising.

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