Queen Elizabeth I hitting Francis Drake with a sword for giving his boat a stupid name. Pic via Getty Images
Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens
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Good morning everyone, and welcome to August 20, 2024 – an important date in the history of a questionable naming rights.
It was on this day in 1578 that Sir Francis Drake renamed his favourite sailboat The Pelican, which is normally a no-no as renaming a ship is usually considered to be bad luck.
But Drake, it appears, had a firm reason for doing so, renaming his ship The Golden Hind, in honour of his patron, Sir Christopher Hatton.
I haven’t been able to find an image of Sir Christopher’s bottom to clearly ascertain its quality, “golden” or otherwise, but Drake seemed to think it was suitably magnificent, and so here we are.
Luckily for you, you won’t have to kiss someone’s butt – “golden” or otherwise – to get your hands on good pre-market info today.
That’s because – as always – we’ve worked super-hard to gather together lots of fiddly little things below, so you don’t need to go ferreting all over the internet for your ASX info this morning.
COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES
Gold: US$2,503.88 (-0.18%)
Silver: US$29.04 (+0.04%)
Nickel (3mth): US$15,902/t (-1.71%)
Copper (3mth): US$8,937/t (-.– %)
Zinc: US$2,693/t (-1.36%)
Oil (WTI): US$75.20 (-1.89%)
Oil (Brent): US$79.35 (-0.41%)
Iron 62pc Fe: US$93.75/t (+1.89%)
AUD/USD: 0.6681 (+0.02%)
Bitcoin: US$$58,411.70 (-0.14%)
WHAT GOT YOU TALKING
What has Barry FitzGerald turned his steely gaze onto this week? You’ll need to click here and find out…
Argentina’s mining sector in on a roll, and Australia’s premier resources writer Barry FitzGerald has his eyes trained on an ASX junior which could benefit once lithium prices turn #garimpeiro $PUR https://t.co/s7G2F31JP3
— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) August 16, 2024
YESTERDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:
Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:
| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VPR | Volt Group | 0.002 | 100% | 1,290,000 | $10,716,208 |
| MTB | Mount Burgess Mining | 0.002 | 50% | 375,033 | $1,298,147 |
| SFG | Seafarms Group Ltd | 0.003 | 50% | 968,365 | $9,673,198 |
| LRV | Larvottoresources | 0.260 | 44% | 23,578,060 | $55,431,803 |
| CTQ | Careteq Limited | 0.017 | 42% | 2,804,452 | $2,845,425 |
| EXL | Elixinol Wellness | 0.004 | 33% | 500,000 | $3,963,547 |
| NAG | Nagambie Resources | 0.016 | 33% | 37,157,270 | $9,559,628 |
| NRZ | Neurizer Ltd | 0.004 | 33% | 6,369,094 | $6,513,358 |
| NXL | Nuix Limited | 4.430 | 27% | 4,727,861 | $1,130,860,072 |
| CHR | Charger Metals | 0.086 | 26% | 1,957,324 | $5,264,577 |
| BML | Boab Metals Ltd | 0.110 | 26% | 594,000 | $20,305,374 |
| NVA | Nova Minerals Ltd | 0.163 | 25% | 430,095 | $31,662,395 |
| 88E | 88 Energy Ltd | 0.003 | 25% | 6,606,860 | $57,867,624 |
| ACM | Aus Critical Mineral | 0.090 | 25% | 4,898,215 | $2,543,490 |
| MOM | Moab Minerals Ltd | 0.005 | 25% | 405,000 | $3,175,257 |
| ODE | Odessa Minerals Ltd | 0.003 | 25% | 2,245 | $2,086,565 |
| PRX | Prodigy Gold NL | 0.003 | 25% | 615,118 | $4,235,549 |
| PUR | Pursuit Minerals | 0.003 | 25% | 5,257,444 | $7,270,800 |
| RDS | Redstone Resources | 0.005 | 25% | 6,350,000 | $3,701,514 |
| RIL | Redivium Limited | 0.005 | 25% | 3,761,006 | $10,923,419 |
| GED | Golden Deeps | 0.031 | 24% | 571,894 | $3,031,809 |
| USL | Unico Silver Limited | 0.200 | 21% | 400,200 | $50,168,513 |
| LIO | Lion Energy Limited | 0.023 | 21% | 513,949 | $8,302,577 |
Yesterday’s Small Cap Winners included:
Careteq (ASX:CTQ) was leading the way on Monday morning after the company announced the acquisition of the remaining 45% of Embedded Health Solutions for $2.4 million. The company says that the buyout is structured as a vendor-financed transaction, with payments spread over eight quarterly instalments, and with the Sofihub business now divested, it expects Careteq to be profitable at the group level.
Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV) was up after providing the market with an explanation of why its price has been soaring recently. The short version is this: Larvotto acquired Australia’s largest antimony deposit at the Hillgrove project in New South Wales in December 2023. Since then, China has slapped export controls on antimony, which has driven the price up 2x to about US$23,000 – leaving Larvotto in the driver’s seat as a global supplier of the critical mineral.
Dreadnought Resources (ASX:DRE) was climbing on news of high-grade niobium intercepts from its 100% owned Gifford Creek Carbonatite, part of the Mangaroon project located in the Gascoyne Region of Western Australia. Assays from four of the 19 holes drilled have returned intercepts including 50m @ 0.9% Nb2O5 from 49m, including 20m @ 1.3% Nb2O5 from 56m, and 38m @ 0.5% Nb2O5 from 58m, including 6m @ 1.2% Nb2O5 from 60m.
Prodigy Gold (ASX:PRX) was up on news that a 13 hole RC drilling program to commence in the coming weeks at the Hyperion gold deposit, which will will concentrate on targeting areas of Hyperion that have previously returned significant aircore drilling results, which were not included in the latest Mineral Resource estimate, which already boasts 8.64Mt @ 1.5g/t Au for 407,000 ounces at a cut-off grade of 0.6g/t Au.
Global software company Nuix (ASX:NXL) was up after releasing its earnings on Monday, which revealed a 20.9% rise in revenue to $220.6 million, which has contributed to a 60.2% rise in statutory EBITDA to $55.9 million and a complete turnaround in NPAT, from -$5.6 million to +$5 million.
Charger Metals (ASX:CHR) was rising on Monday after releasing a strategic update regarding its Bynoe Lithium Project in the Northern Territory, as well as merger and acquisition discussions at the corporate level. The headline news from the update is an unsolicited non-binding, conditional, indicative offer from Core Lithium for 100% of Charger, for scrip consideration coming in at around 0.9 Core shares per Charger share – which valued Charger at $0.08cm4 per share or $6.5 million.
Australian Critical Minerals (ASX:ACM) was up on news of positive results from a 46 rock-chip sampling program the company has completed across its Cooletha and Shaw Projects in the Pilbara, WA. ACM says its samples from Cooletha averaged 54.9% Fe, with the added bonus that includes a very low phosphorous content, which averages just 0.08% at Cooletha.
Control Bionics (ASX:CBL) was up on news that the US Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved a new Healthcare Common Procedure Coding System (HCPCS) code for its NeuroNode product. This means it now qualifies for a US$4,300 reimbursement that wasn’t previously available.
Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) is up this morning, but that’s alongside news that CEO Christopher Gerteisen has been invited to present at the Emerging Growth Company Conference on 21 August 2024 – which is fantastic news for Christopher and Nova, but unlikely to be the reason behind Nova’s jump this morning.
Spenda (ASX:SPX) was climbing earlier on Monday morning on news that its acquiree company Limepay has executed an agreement to process Lessn’s entire payments volumes, currently about $50 million per annum, using Limepay’s white-labelled payment widget product, to enable payment services on Lessn’s platform.
In a boon for hydrogen-focused Frontier Energy (ASX:FHE), ex-WA Premier Mark McGowan has signed onto the board as non-exec chair to help drive the development of its Waroona renewables project in WA. Stage One of the Waroona will construct a 120MWdc (megawatts of direct current) solar facility with an integrated 4.5 hour duration, 80MW/360MWh lithium-ion phosphate (LFP) battery that will supply clean electricity into the South West Interconnected System.
“Frontier’s Waroona project stands out as a significant asset in Western Australia’s transition, at a time when energy security is paramount, and the state continues to experience new demand records,” McGowan says.
YESTERDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:
Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:
| Code | Name | Price | % Change | Volume | Market Cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SVL | Silver Mines Limited | 0.099 | -36% | 58,468,186 | $233,745,620 |
| MTB | Mount Burgess Mining | 0.001 | -33% | 237,500 | $1,947,220 |
| RNE | Renu Energy Ltd | 0.002 | -33% | 124,047 | $2,178,402 |
| AUH | Austchina Holdings | 0.003 | -25% | 5,452,030 | $8,401,535 |
| ENT | Enterprise Metals | 0.003 | -25% | 100,000 | $4,413,269 |
| ICU | Investor Centre Ltd | 0.003 | -25% | 1,853 | $1,218,045 |
| LPD | Lepidico Ltd | 0.002 | -25% | 1,137,152 | $17,178,250 |
| MCM | Mc Mining Ltd | 0.105 | -25% | 77,783 | $57,961,869 |
| 8IH | 8I Holdings Ltd | 0.007 | -22% | 86,040 | $3,133,448 |
| IXU | Ixup Limited | 0.023 | -21% | 211,433 | $44,884,825 |
| SRJ | SRJ Technologies | 0.057 | -20% | 2,679,570 | $11,309,905 |
| CRB | Carbine Resources | 0.004 | -20% | 2,070 | $2,758,689 |
| CTO | Citigold Corp Ltd | 0.004 | -20% | 875,000 | $15,000,000 |
| EVR | Ev Resources Ltd | 0.004 | -20% | 180,800 | $6,981,357 |
| MVL | Marvel Gold Limited | 0.008 | -20% | 1,366,095 | $8,637,907 |
| PUR | Pursuit Minerals | 0.002 | -20% | 62,941 | $9,088,500 |
| RML | Resolution Minerals | 0.002 | -20% | 250,000 | $4,025,055 |
| SFG | Seafarms Group Ltd | 0.002 | -20% | 125,000 | $12,091,498 |
| TTI | Traffic Technologies | 0.004 | -20% | 100,000 | $4,864,426 |
| PPK | PPK Group Limited | 0.435 | -18% | 234,262 | $47,680,124 |
| SVG | Savannah Goldfields | 0.024 | -17% | 13,334 | $8,151,463 |
| MHI | Merchant House | 0.125 | -17% | 44,214 | $14,139,974 |
| CMD | Cassius Mining Ltd | 0.005 | -17% | 1,440,100 | $3,252,027 |
TRADING HALTS
Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) – pending the release of an announcement regarding the Company’s response to Charger Metals (ASX: CHR) announcement lodged earlier today and titled Strategic Update and the non-binding indicative offer made by CXO to CHR as referenced in that announcement.
Grand Gulf Energy (ASX:GGE) – pending an announcement regarding a capital raising.
Fertoz (ASX:FTZ) – pending the release of an announcement by the Company in relation to a capital raising.
Toubani Resources (ASX:TRE) – pending an announcement regarding a proposed capital raising.
Green Technology Metals (ASX:GT1) – pending an announcement regarding a strategic partnership and placement.
Auswide Bank (ASX:ABA) – pending an announcement in relation to completion of an institutional placement.
Armada Metals (ASX:AMM) – pending the release of an announcement with respect to a material transaction and capital raising.
Terra Uranium (ASX:T92) – for the purposes of finalising the intended terms of a proposed material exploration arrangement and procuring commitments under a proposed material capital raising.
Zinc of Ireland (ASX:ZMI) – an announcement to the market regarding a capital raising.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
