On Stockhead today, lithium vet Alex Cheeseman on Critical’s 8Mt haul, all about that $2 billion Hydrogen Headstart funding, and more inflation-busting trades.

But first, the day ahead.

 

TRADING HALTS

The following stocks went into trading halts and are expected out in the coming days:

Strategic Energy Resources (ASX:SER) – Exploration asset divestment.

Urbanise.com (ASX:UBN) – Placement to be conducted through sophisticated investors.

Butn (ASX:BTN) – Capital raising.

Frugl Group (ASX:FGL) – Placement to sophisticated and professional investors.

Peregrine Gold (ASX:PGD) – Update from the Newman gold project.

Burley Minerals (ASX: BUR) – Capital raising.

Alloggio Group (ASX:ALO) – Earnings downgrade incoming.

Respiri (ASX:RSH) – Equity raising.

Middle Island Resources (ASX:MDI) – Acquisition of a parcel of exploration tenements in the Northern Territory.
 

COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES

Gold: $US2041.53 (-0.12%)

Silver: $US25.55 (-0.14%)

Nickel (3mth): $US24,025/t (+2.02%)

Copper (3mth): $US9002.50/t (+0.27%)

Oil (WTI): $US68.58 (+0.01%)

Oil (Brent): $US782.51 (+0.32%)

Iron 62pc Fe: $US107.50/t (-0.94%)

AUD/USD: 0.6610 (+0.14%)

Bitcoin: $US29,156 (+2.24%)

 

WHAT GOT YOU TALKING?

Wholecoins.

Also, be sure to check in preopen each day for ‘Market highlights and 5 ASX small caps to watch’, and 10.30am for our daily ‘10 at 10’ column — a live summary of winners & losers at the opening bell.

 

ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:
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Westar Resources (ASX:WSR) gained more than 120% at lunchtime without a sweat.

However, after hitting that peak, quick profit takers made their hay and the trading price eased steadily to close at $0.052, a 53% gain on the back of news that it has intersected multiple thick pegmatites from the maiden drill program at the company’s Olga Rocks prospect.

It’s the first sub-surface exploration at the site, and has turned up results including 44m pegmatite from 17m, 38m pegmatite intercepted from 9m and 21m pegmatite intercepted from 57m.

The drill samples have been sent away to the lab for assays, which are expected back within six weeks.

Next best performer was WIA Gold (ASX:WIA), which rose steadily to finish the day at +42% after the release of its maiden inferred Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 1.3 million ounces at the Kokoseb Gold Project.

The MRE totals 41 million tonnes at 1.0g/t Au, at a cut-off grade of 0.5g/t Au within a US$1,800/oz pit shell, with the company boasting that the result is “one of the lowest resource discovery costs by industry standards, of US$2/oz of contained gold”.

Trek Metals (ASX:TKM)  closed out the day up 19%, leaving it at +37% for the past seven days.  It inked an option for Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) to farm-in over Trek’s Jimblebar nickel-copper project in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

 

TODAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are the least best performing ASX small cap stocks:

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