Closing Bell: Small caps show big heart with unlikely rise

Emerging Companies (XEC) index jumps more than 2% before trimming gains
Benchmark ASX200 down 0.15%
Greentech Metals up over 120%, in trading halt

Inspired by strength in gold and metals Aussie small caps have bounced off the canvas on Thursday, proving once and forever they could take large caps in a knife fight.

Overnight in the states the Federal Reserve jacked the federal funds rate by 75 basis points (bps), to 1.75%.

This was a big one. The biggest in 28 years, when this audio abomination ruled the earth:

The Bureau of Stats reports a 60,600 rise in May jobs, a king hit on the expected 25k.

But while unemployment was basically flat, underemployment fell to 5.7% taking unused labour down to 9.6%.

Which is its lowest since 1982. When this wonderful nonsense happened:

The Melbourne Institute Consumer Inflation expectation survey’s trimmed mean measure for June jumped 1.7pc on-month to 6.7%, its highest level since mid-2008. When Flo Rida and Huckleberry du jour T-Pain did this, but not as well as Tom Cruise did it:

In a note following the data releases RBC Capital Markets warned that in combo, along with the “increasingly front-loaded nature of Fed hiking and many other global central banks, suggest to us that the RBA will likely keep hiking in 50bp increments beyond July.”

TODAY’S BIGGEST SMALL CAP WINNERS

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

Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort.

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume
GRE	Green Tech Metals	0.345	146%	13,040,013
EVE	EVE Health Group Ltd	0.0015	50%	1,307,500
PFE	Pantera Minerals	0.13	35%	193,438
ATU	Atrum Coal Ltd	0.008	33%	767,655
CLE	Cyclone Metals	0.004	33%	1,038,002
GLV	Global Oil & Gas	0.004	33%	2,788,019
JXT	Jaxstaltd	0.0275	31%	2,705,332
AJL	AJ Lucas Group	0.052	30%	1,572,569
MXC	Mgc Pharmaceuticals	0.022	29%	10,652,370
RLC	Reedy Lagoon Corp.	0.018	29%	6,396,523
TAR	Taruga Minerals	0.024	26%	1,514,444
NXM	Nexus Minerals Ltd	0.24	26%	1,316,987
AHN	Athena Resources	0.029	26%	66,959,412
GML	Gateway Mining	0.01	25%	3,354,775
PRM	Prominence Energy	0.0025	25%	5,577,744
RR1	Reach Resources Ltd	0.005	25%	170,000
ECS	ECS Botanics Holding	0.021	24%	8,085,760
UUL	Ultima Utd Ltd	0.07	23%	7,000
STK	Strickland Metals	0.067	22%	1,603,179
EV1	Evolution Energy	0.335	22%	49,992
TYX	Tyranna Res Ltd	0.017	21%	5,524,163
NWE	Norwest Energy NL	0.04	21%	29,351,661
S3N	Sensore Ltd	0.46	21%	29,713
1MC	Morella Corporation	0.018	20%	10,636,367
WCN	White Cliff Min Ltd	0.018	20%	3,168,263

Greentech Metals (ASX:GRE) is in a trading halt.

It’s a winner, and a big one at that today, but my spidey-sense is tingling and tingling something awful – either that, I’m overdue a bath or we’re raising capital.

Because GRE has got a bunch of new rather thrilling drill hits to ponder – like 32m @ 2.43% copper – the multi-metal green machine has screamed into the halt pending an update on the original news laid out below in articulate bullet point glory by Reuben:

Other notable assay results from GRE’s 25 hole, 3,800m program include:

19m @ 1.6% Cu, 2.27% Zn and 0.51g/t Au from 21m
12m @ 9.17% Zn, 2.34% Cu and 0.62g/t Au from 52m; and
8m @ 2.65% Cu, 0.64% Zn and 0.11g/t Au from 141m

This drilling confirms that the high-grade copper and zinc at Whundo persists at depth and beyond the current resource envelope, GRE says.

Then there’s the bonus gold grades of up to 3.34g/t, which accompany the higher-grade copper zones and “further enhances the potential economics of the project”.

Whundo is at the core of a much broader copper and zinc mineralised system, GRE exec director Thomas Reddicliffe says.

“Drilling has demonstrated that the mineralisation at Whundo remains open at depth and with grades persisting,” he says.

“This and the identification of two additional mineralised horizons provides further impetus for the company to build upon the known resource.”

Assay results for three additional holes drilled at Whundo, and seven holes drilled at the nearby ‘Ayshia’ deposit are expected in the coming weeks.

Once all assays are received, GRE will look to update the existing resource at Whundo/Ayshia of 3.6 Mt @ 1.2% copper and 1.4% zinc.

The $9m market cap Artemis Resources (ASX:ARV) spinout is up 40% on its December IPO price of 20c per share. It had $4m in the bank at the end of March.

A 1,800m drilling program is due to kick off at Pantera Minerals (ASX:PFE) ‘Hellcat’ project in WA, prospective for ‘Abra’-like lead-silver deposits.

The program will test high priority gravity targets and modelled Electromagnetic (EM) conductors, PFE says.

Speaking to Stockhead, PFE CEO Matt Hansen said Hellcat is probably the best undrilled target around at the moment, and has the potential to be a company maker.

The explorer is also preparing to kick off drilling at its ‘Weelarrana’ manganese project in early or mid-July.

$7m market cap PFE is down 20% year-to-date. It had $5.8m in the bank at the end of March.

Renascor Resources’ (ASX:RNU) says its latest drill results are big stride toward an improved and accelerated mining schedule

In an updated Battery Anode Material Study, RNU has recent drilling at Siviour Graphite Deposit in South Australia intersected “widespread, high-grade graphite intersections.”

Siviour is currently the second largest reported Proven Graphite Reserve in the world and the largest Graphite Reserve outside Africa supporting a 40 year mine life with production of Graphite Concentrates of up to 150,000 tonne per annum.

Outside of the resources space it is all about Aussie and elsewhere listed European based biopharma MGC Pharmaceuticals (ASX:MXC), which has completed a successful in-vitro preclinical research study into the use of cannabinoids to treat brain cancer.

The company – which specialises in the production and development of phytomedicines, says it’s just wrapped up a three year pre-clinical in-vitro research into the use of cannabinoids in the treatment of Glioblastoma, a fast-growing and aggressive form of brain tumour and it’s delivered “outstanding results.”

Without going into further medicinal detail, the shares have gone skyward.

TODAY’S BIGGEST SMALL CAP LOSERS

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

Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort.

Code	Company	Price	%	Volume
GO2	The GO2 People	0.013	-28%	613,446
SIT	Site Group Int Ltd	0.003	-25%	120,000
CBL	Control Bionics	0.125	-24%	355,655
C29	C29 Metals Limited	0.11	-24%	348,199
TGH	Terragen	0.13	-24%	8,699
AQS	Aquis Ent Ltd	0.1	-23%	11,766
RML	Resolution Minerals	0.007	-22%	2,481,000
AYA	Artryalimited	0.56	-22%	129,517
HMI	Hiremii	0.051	-18%	465,030
CTO	Citigold Corp Ltd	0.005	-17%	5,370,588
MIO	Macarthur Minerals	0.225	-17%	79,834
IVT	Inventis Limited	0.082	-16%	24,107
PLG	Pearlgullironlimited	0.038	-16%	1,607,221
C1X	Cosmos Exploration	0.115	-15%	58,000
HUM	Humm Group Limited	0.575	-15%	2,765,797
CR1	Constellation Res	0.15	-14%	19,077
JAY	Jayride Group	0.15	-14%	178,598
GCR	Golden Cross	0.06	-14%	9,025
ILA	Island Pharma	0.12	-14%	145,910
TTB	Total Brain Ltd	0.055	-14%	80,472
EOF	Ecofibre Limited	0.235	-13%	239,097
TKL	Traka Resources	0.007	-13%	150,936
VBC	Verbrec Limited	0.105	-13%	22,250
DC2	Dctwo	0.05	-12%	187,295
IDT	IDT Australia Ltd	0.11	-12%	476,563

ANNOUNCEMENTS YOU MAY’VE MISSED

Nexion Group (ASX:NNG) jumped by almost 20% today, after announcing that non executive chairman Peter Christie has acquired more shares in the company, showing that he’s prepared to put his bonus where his mouth is and back the company to the hilt. Christie, who rose to prominence as founder of infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) for AI and cloud gaming platform Radian Arc, has snapped up an extra 189,235 shares at market price, bringing his total stake to 5,340,570 – which could be his highest score yet.

A missive from far-off Africa tells us that Walkabout Resources’ (ASX:WKT) efforts to turn its Lindi Jumbo project into a Super-Jumbo (or Mega-Lindi – either works) continue apace, with site development now well underway. Walkabout also says that long-awaited shipping of major processing equipment to the site in Tanzania is looming, after COVID clampdowns saw several shipments of much-needed gear left in limbo on the docks in China.

And last cab off the rank today is Cash Converters (ASX: CCV), which told the market that it’s signed a renewal of its loan securitisation facility with Fortress Investment Group. Cash Converters says its loan book has climbed to an unaudited gross value of over $211.3m, and the new deal has been “refinanced on competitive terms”, which – surprisingly – don’t include having to forfeit ownership of two Gibson guitars and a Playstation3 console if payments aren’t made by the end the month.