Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens

Good morning, and welcome to Rise and Shine. After a long hiatus it’s finally back.

This feels just like that time in Neighbours when Harold was washed out to sea off some rocks, presumed dead, but then waddled up again five years later in Erinsborough with inexplicable urges to demand donations to the Salvos, play the tuba, claim amnesia and insist people call him Ted. In that order.

Okay, it’s only a little bit like that. Now, how the hell do we do this column again? Ah yeah…

Welcome to April 16 – an important day in the history of mind-altering episodes that would put Hunter S Thompson, Jimi Hendrix and even Harold Bishop to shame.

That’s because it was on this day in 1943 that Swiss chemist Albert Hofmann, aka the “Godfather of Acid”, aka “The Original and Much, Much Smarter Hoff” first discovered, or at least, publicly acknowledged, the psychedelic properties of lysergic acid diethylamide – LSD.

The thing was, though, the Hoff had actually previously synthesised LSD’s compounds (which he found in ergot, a fungus affecting a six-day-old ham and cheese on rye sandwich he definitely shouldn’t have bought from a servo) in 1938.

What he was doing in those five years in between is anyone’s guess. (Our guess, though: learning the tuba while hanging out with an alcoholic monkey and shooting at pink fish in the sky.)

Luckily for you, you won’t have to bend your brain with chemical-tastic additives, or listen to the Doors on a loop, to bring good, pre-market info into focus. That’s because we’ve gathered together the fiddly little things you need below, so you don’t have to go ferreting all over the internet for your ASX info early doors this morning.

Admittedly you had to get through a long preamble first, however, which we’ll shorten next time. Honest.

COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES

Gold: US$3,222.14/oz (+0.37%)

Silver: US$32.21/oz (-0.41%)

Iron Ore: US$100.83/t (+0.13%)

Nickel (3mth): US$15,535/t (+1.49%)

Copper (3mth): US$9,172.5/t (+0.16%)

Zinc: US$2,650/t (+1.11%)

Lithium carbonate (99.5% min China spot): $9,764.85 (+0.07%)

Oil (WTI): US$61.32/bbl (-0.34%)

Oil (Brent): US$64.76/bbl (-0.18%)

AUD/USD: 0.638 (+0.15%)

Bitcoin: US$85,100 (+0.36%)

WHAT GOT YOU TALKING

China’s new export restrictions on scandium have thrown the spotlight on strategic sources of the critical mineral outside of Beijing’s direct reach. Read more here:

Australian Mines expands Flemington scoping study as #China tightens #scandium exports.#ASX #mining $AUZ https://t.co/TYgeUcMroi

— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) April 14, 2025

Also in the news…

• ASX-listed Adisyn (ASX:AI1) acquired Israeli semiconductor outfit 2D Generation (2DG), a startup with its sights firmly set on graphene’s commercial breakout, earlier this year. Read more in this excellent Eddy Sunarto piece, here.

• Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX:NEU)  and US partner Acadia have been blitzing it with the Rett syndrome treatment Daybue, exceeding expectations of two years ago when the drug was approved in the US. Read more in Dr Boreham’s Crucible, here.

• Donald Trump again has raised the prospect of a new tariff on imported pharmaceuticals, reportedly pitched at a 25% rate. Read more in yesterday’s Health Check.

YESTERDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:

Yesterday’s Small Cap Winners included:

Sensen Networks (ASX:SNS) posted record Q3 cash collections of $3.7m in its latest quarterly report, a 61% increase of the same period last year. It also marked the fourth consecutive quarter of positive cashflow for the company, leading to a net cash position of $700,000 after reducing costs by $800,000 compared to the previous corresponding period.

A $15.2m strategic investment from First Quantum Minerals lifted Prospect Resources’ (ASX:PSC) shares 30%. The new funds will support development of the Mumbezhi copper project, with phase 2 drilling set to begin Q2 2025.

New export restrictions on a range of rare earths have thrown St George Mining’s (ASX:SGQ) Araxa project in Brazil into the spotlight, as a potential strategic source of critical minerals including permanent rare earth magnet metals. The project holds a resource of 40.6Mt at 4.13% total rare earth oxides.

Dalaroo Metals (ASX:DAL) is preparing for a busy field season at its Blue Lagoon project in Greenland, where the company intends to explore for zirconium, niobium and rare earths.

A new resource at the Barra do Pacu licence of Meteoric Resources’ (ASX:MEI) Caldeira rare earth ionic clay project in Brazil has boosted the total resource by almost 400Mt to 1.5Bt at 2,359 ppm rare earths.

Melbana Energy (ASX:MAY) has transitioned to full-time production at the Block 9 PSC onshore Cuba oil asset. The company increased production at Unit 1B from 293 barrels of oil per day to 488 BOPD, a 66% increase.

Southern Hemisphere Mining (ASX:SUH) has established a “clear correlation” between the 1km by 2km Curiosity copper target and a large magneto-tulleric resistivity anomaly that implies potential for a large porphyry copper-gold deposit.

Finally, Bryah Resources (ASX:BYH) has kicked off a strategic review of its gold assets in WA, citing high gold prices as the core incentive for beginning gold-focused exploration and drilling.

YESTERDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:

Trading Halts

• Freehill Mining (ASX:FHS) – lease for new premises and cap raise
• Equity Story Group (ASX:EQS) – proposed material acquisition
• Tesoro Gold (ASX:TSO) – capital raise
• Asra Minerals (ASX:ASR) – cap raise
• Burley Minerals (ASX:BUR) – cap raise
• QMines (ASX:QML) – acquisition
• PRL Global Ltd (ASX: PRG) – significant acquisition

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Meteoric Resources, St George Mining, Australian Mines and Prospect Resources 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.