Lunch Wrap: BHP swings the axe; Droneshield keeps buzzing
BHP axes 750 employees in Queensland. Picure via Getty Images
- ASX drifts lower, retail stocks drag
- Energy jumps on oil pop, Ukraine strikes
- DroneShield lifts on US defence wins
The ASX was looking a bit groggy by Wednesday lunchtime in the east, down about 0.7%.
Overnight, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped, breaking its nine-day winning streak as traders sat on their hands waiting for Jerome Powell’s 4am sermon.
A quarter-point cut from the Fed is baked in, but the real action is in the dot plots – the Fed’s version of crystal ball gazing.
If Powell doesn’t deliver the extra cuts punters are already pricing, the party could go flat quick.
Meanwhile, the TikTok saga drags on, with Oracle, Andreessen Horowitz and Silver Lake circling as potential investors, waiting for Trump and Xi to bless the deal.
Back home on the ASX, the consumer discretionary sector was the biggest laggard this morning.
Energy kept the scoreboard respectable. Oil popped 2% overnight after Ukraine upped its drone strikes on Russian refineries, while the West threatened more sanctions.
That pushed Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS) a touch higher, but the mover in the space was Beach Energy (ASX:BPT), up 2%, and Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR), flying 4%.
Gold briefly flirted with a fresh record above US$3700 an ounce before slipping back, though the miners didn’t really join the celebration.
In other news, Iron ore ticked higher, but BHP (ASX:BHP) dipped after confirming it’s cutting 750 jobs in Queensland coal division.
Weak coal prices plus royalty rates that make the taxman grin have forced it to mothball a mine and rethink its “FutureFit” academy, the one meant to train up a more diverse mining workforce.
Cynics will note that “future fit” clearly doesn’t mean job-secure.
Tech was another sore spot, with Life360 (ASX:360) and Zip Co (ASX:ZIP) bleeding.
The only spark was DroneShield (ASX:DRO), up more than 3% after locking in almost $8 million in new US defence contracts.
Its anti-drone gadgets have now sold over 4000 units globally, from prisons to stadiums.
And given the way drones keep popping up in wars and protests, that market isn’t running out of buzz any time soon.
ASX LEADERS
Today’s best performing stocks (including small caps) intraday:
| Security | Description | Last | % | Volume | MktCap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRD | Lord Resources | 0.049 | 113% | 72,092,454 | $3,565,047 |
| RCM | Rapid Critical | 0.055 | 62% | 67,266,128 | $21,719,711 |
| CCE | Carnegie Cln Energy | 0.115 | 51% | 5,054,261 | $30,654,001 |
| HLX | Helix Resources | 0.002 | 50% | 37,950 | $5,046,291 |
| JAV | Javelin Minerals Ltd | 0.003 | 50% | 41,394,909 | $12,504,450 |
| OB1 | Orbminco Limited | 0.002 | 50% | 8,850,000 | $3,402,568 |
| TMK | TMK Energy Limited | 0.003 | 50% | 230,016 | $20,444,766 |
| TMX | Terrain Minerals | 0.003 | 50% | 511,963 | $5,290,295 |
| DMG | Dragon Mountain Gold | 0.013 | 44% | 1,572,294 | $3,552,045 |
| VFX | Visionflex Group Ltd | 0.004 | 40% | 30,602,493 | $8,419,651 |
| CNQ | Clean Teq Water | 0.350 | 35% | 282,844 | $18,782,999 |
| CZN | Corazon Ltd | 0.004 | 33% | 1,200,000 | $3,703,717 |
| FHS | Freehill Mining Ltd. | 0.004 | 33% | 130,000 | $10,241,561 |
| PIL | Peppermint Inv Ltd | 0.004 | 33% | 130,000 | $7,415,472 |
| SRN | Surefire Rescs NL | 0.002 | 33% | 2,035,050 | $5,860,289 |
| PVW | PVW Res Ltd | 0.034 | 26% | 14,314,519 | $5,370,429 |
| CNJ | Conico Ltd | 0.005 | 25% | 349,000 | $1,088,583 |
| RLG | Roolife Group Ltd | 0.005 | 25% | 2,482,373 | $7,513,982 |
| WEL | Winchester Energy | 0.003 | 25% | 1,125,000 | $2,726,038 |
| AVE | Avecho Biotech Ltd | 0.008 | 23% | 1,660,337 | $20,627,514 |
| MOH | Moho Resources | 0.008 | 23% | 5,238,026 | $4,845,191 |
| ABX | ABX Group Limited | 0.093 | 22% | 5,690,072 | $19,142,995 |
| MCO | Myeco Group Ltd | 0.018 | 20% | 432,714 | $9,024,150 |
| MRD | Mount Ridley Mines | 0.003 | 20% | 88,028 | $2,476,793 |
| WOA | Wide Open Agricultur | 0.019 | 19% | 5,246,476 | $10,471,126 |
Lord Resources (ASX:LRD) has hit a 20.2m zone of visible copper at its Ilgarari project in WA, with chalcocite and native copper logged in drillhole 25IRC006D. The interval sits 60m down-dip and 100m along strike from historic hits. Drilling is ongoing, assays are due in October, and Lord is weighing up an extension to the program.
Rapid Critical Metals (ASX:RCM) has pulled in $14m through a two-tranche placement at 3.5c a share, cornerstoned by Eric Sprott, Jupiter Asset Management and Tribeca, who together tipped in $10.5m. Proceeds will fund the acquisition of the Webbs Consol silver project in NSW, settle facility notes, and drive exploration in Australia and Canada.
Javelin Minerals (ASX:JAV) has locked in a Right to Mine deal with MEGA Resources for the Eureka gold project near Kalgoorlie, paving the way to early cashflow. MEGA will fully fund up to $25m in development and working capital, run the mining and haulage, and split profits 50/50, with Javelin also pocketing $250k a month in pre-payments once revenues start. Mining is slated for the June quarter of 2026.
ASX LAGGARDS
Today’s worst performing stocks (including small caps) intraday:
| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PAB | Patrys Limited | 0.001 | -50% | 2,000,000 | $9,167,513 |
| BMO | Bastion Minerals | 0.001 | -33% | 3,050,000 | $3,307,430 |
| PYC | PYC Therapeutics | 0.873 | -28% | 6,520,053 | $708,661,443 |
| MTL | Mantle Minerals Ltd | 0.002 | -25% | 1,212,753 | $12,894,892 |
| NGX | Ngxlimited | 0.155 | -23% | 23,734 | $18,122,368 |
| ENT | Enterprise Metals | 0.004 | -20% | 1,210,463 | $7,206,586 |
| RDS | Redstone Resources | 0.004 | -20% | 50,000 | $5,171,337 |
| NWM | Norwest Minerals | 0.012 | -18% | 8,571,476 | $14,421,497 |
| IFG | Infocusgroup Hldltd | 0.016 | -16% | 4,158,682 | $8,126,509 |
| AKN | Auking Mining Ltd | 0.006 | -14% | 1,352,415 | $5,711,975 |
| BIT | Biotron Limited | 0.003 | -14% | 50,000 | $4,645,360 |
| BLU | Blue Energy Limited | 0.006 | -14% | 352,164 | $14,900,337 |
| C7A | Clara Resources | 0.003 | -14% | 6 | $2,601,533 |
| LCL | LCL Resources Ltd | 0.006 | -14% | 50,000 | $8,394,800 |
| OM1 | Omnia Metals Group | 0.012 | -14% | 277,204 | $3,039,284 |
| KLR | Kaili Resources Ltd | 0.290 | -13% | 1,585,543 | $49,379,122 |
| FRX | Flexiroam Limited | 0.007 | -13% | 194,504 | $12,139,189 |
| QXR | Qx Resources Limited | 0.004 | -13% | 781,256 | $6,551,644 |
| RGL | Riversgold | 0.004 | -13% | 6,188 | $6,734,850 |
| KNG | Kingsland Minerals | 0.145 | -12% | 151,781 | $11,972,550 |
| ST1 | Spirit Technology | 0.523 | -11% | 27,856 | $112,204,036 |
| GLL | Galilee Energy Ltd | 0.008 | -11% | 1,010,947 | $6,364,736 |
| OLI | Oliver'S Real Food | 0.008 | -11% | 1,000,000 | $4,866,587 |
| UNT | Unith Ltd | 0.008 | -11% | 210,599 | $13,414,836 |
| BMN | Bannerman Energy Ltd | 3.340 | -11% | 1,003,650 | $770,262,225 |
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
South Australian miner Hillgrove Resources (ASX:HGO) has discovered high-grade copper and gold extensions at its Nugent orebody – which the company plans to implement as a new feed source to its Kanmantoo copper mine. Headline results included 21m at 0.85% copper and 0.98g/t gold from 135m downhole.
Javelin Minerals (ASX:JAV) has signed a monster Right to Mine contract with MEGA Resources (the Aussie offshoot of Bain Global Resources) for its Eureka gold project in Western Australia. MEGA will handle mining, project financing, and haulage services at the project that is expected to kick off mining in Q2.
Belararox (ASX:BRX) is getting academic after brokering a five-year mining collaboration deal between Australia’s Curtin University and Argentine institutions. The partnership will develop academic programs, staff exchanges, and research in San Juan’s mining sector. BRX’s interest in the region lies in its TMT project, which sits near BHP’s (ASX:BHP) $3bn Filo Del Sol copper discovery.
LAST ORDERS
Octava Minerals (ASX:OCT) has announced plans to undertake drilling at its projects in Tasmania and Western Australia.
At the Federation project in Tasmania, the company will kick off diamond drilling at the Sweeney’s prospect in eight weeks’ time. The drilling – 22 holes for 2,000m – will test extensions of known copper, zinc, silver and tin mineralisation. Ground EM geophysical surveys are also planned at Sweeney’s for October.
Federation sits 12km west of the town of Zeehan in Western Tasmania and encompasses two granted tenements across a 121sq km stretch. OCT management are particularly buoyed by the nearby amenities thanks to a number of mining centres, including processing infrastructure and hydro power stations. Interestingly, no modern geophysics have ever been conducted at Sweeney’s – or the wider Federation project for that matter.
Meanwhile in WA’s Gascoyne region, exploration target estimations are underway at the Byro project, which is prospective for rare earths and lithium. Byro is also comprised of two exploration licences and encompasses more than 550sq km. Much like Federation, nearby infrastructure is an added bonus for OCT – in this case, a commercial port and power from the NW gas pipeline.
OCT is working towards an exploration drilling program in search of a maiden resource, building off of historical exploration which highlighted critical minerals in Permian black shales.
Gold and copper explorer Alice Queen (ASX:AQX) has raised $1 million via the issue of convertible notes. The funds will be used for working capital and to continue exploration at its projects in Queensland (Horn Island on the Torres Strait), New South Wales (Lachlan Fold Belt) and Fiji (Sabeto and Viani).
Recent surface sampling over a roughly 5km strike at Viani identified high-grade gold mineralisation, with rock sampling returning up to 9.23g/t and 25.4g/t gold at the Dakuniba East Area. Meanwhile, the first two holes from a maiden drilling program intersected 17.6g/t and 26.4g/t gold, demonstrating depth continuity and high-grade gold up to 175m below surface.
The company is now planning a follow up program which will include “intensive” surface geochemical sampling.
EBR Systems’ (ASX:EBR) WiSE System device has been successfully implanted in the tenth commercial patient during a pilot launch phase in the US. The WiSE System, according to EBR, is the world’s only wireless, endocardial pacing system for clinical use in stimulating the heart’s left ventricle.
Several of the procedures were performed by Dr Rahul Doshi at HonorHealth – one of Arizona’s largest nonprofit healthcare systems, which serves 5 million patients. Additional successful implants have already been undertaken since the tenth milestone as EBR anticipates a limited market release this October.
Strata Minerals’ (ASX:SMX) West Australian gold portfolio is set to grow after the company executed a binding agreement to acquire 100% of the Zelica project. The project already hosts a shallow oxide, JORC 2004-compliant resource estimate of roughly 30,000oz of gold at 1.63g/t.
At Zelica, mineralisation is defined along roughly 1km of strike and is open along strike and at depth. Historical drilling at the project (which hasn’t been followed up on in 10 years) includes standout hits such as 9m at 8.8g/t gold from 27m, 3m at 5g/t from 29m and 7m at 4.9g/t from 26m.
SMX will finalise a works program at Zelica to verify and build on the historical drilling with the aim of updating the resource compliance to the JORC 2012 code. Company management is also assessing opportunities for early gold extraction from treating existing stockpiled ore.
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Octavia Minerals, Alice Queen, EBR Systems, and Strata Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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