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

Good morning everyone, and welcome to August 28, 2024 – an important date in the history of people finding new places to live.

That’s because it was on this day in 1835, the city of Melbourne was founded by Batman.

Not that Batman. The far more boring one, John Batman – although the mental image of a masked vigilante exploring the Yarra in a rowboat, trying to decide where to build a new village is a delightful one.

WHAMMO! POW! I reckon that could be a good spot for a general store, Robin. BLAMMO!

There are a few noteworthy parts to this story, but the highlights include Batman’s insistence that he had the local Wurundjeri people sign a contract of sale for the land, which I imagine was a fairly one-sided negotiation that ended with Batman and his cronies dumping a bunch of semi-useful stuff on the ground, before doing the whole “sign here… and initial here… and here… and again on this page, and sign here…” thing.

Batman also sent a group of men in a rowboat up the Yarra River, noting in his journal at the time : “So the boat went up the large river… and… I am glad to state about six miles up found the River all good water and very deep. This will be the place for a village”, before sketching out the massive casino and entertainment complex that remains a massive eyesore on the site to this day.

And, for the record, all rumours that the alleged founder of Melbourne is any relation to Stockhead’s very own Rob “It’s Badman” Badman have turned out to be false, so you can stop emailing him about it, please and thank you.

Luckily for you, you won’t have to have an awesome name and be the founding father of a city that continues to labour under a perennial urge to just be better than everyone else in order 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$2,517.40/oz (+0.59%)

Silver: US$29.56/oz (+1.49%)

Nickel (3mth): US$16,972/t (+2.07%)

Copper (3mth): US$9,233/t (+1.08%)

Zinc: US$2,812/t (-2.48%)

Oil (WTI): US$74.65/bbl (+0.19%)

Oil (Brent): US$77.67/bbl (-1.24%)

Iron 62pc Fe: US$101.80/t (+0.88%)

AUD/USD: 0.6804 (+0.17%)

Bitcoin: US$$59,724.90 (+1.05%)

WHAT GOT YOU TALKING

Stockhead’s ‘Garimpeiro’ Barry FitzGerald has turned his laser-focus onto Arvind Misra, Managing Director at Belararox, to find out what’s on the horizon in the hunt for clean energy minerals.

Stockhead’s ‘Garimpeiro’ columnist Barry FitzGerald is back in the studio for another instalment of The Explorers Podcast, this time speaking with Arvind Misra, Managing Director at Belararox. https://t.co/sZ5wZfZcNZ @Belararox #ASX $BRX

— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) August 28, 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
MCM	MC Mining Ltd	0.140	278%	5,651,835	$15,318,494
IVX	Invion Ltd	0.004	100%	5,007,555	$13,275,731
LSR	Lodestar Minerals	0.002	100%	46,091,655	$2,600,780
ECG	Ecargo Hldg	0.005	67%	1,221,930	$1,845,750
HYT	Hyterra Ltd	0.050	61%	60,791,322	$28,869,137
NXD	Nexted Group Limited	0.185	54%	980,231	$26,582,013
EXL	Elixinol Wellness	0.004	33%	2,500,043	$3,963,547
FGH	Foresta Group	0.004	33%	544,870	$7,066,137
OAR	OAR Resources Ltd	0.002	33%	1,818,624	$4,951,252
TMK	TMK Energy Limited	0.004	33%	1,440,193	$20,764,836
UCM	Uscom Limited	0.016	33%	60,000	$2,992,134
LGM	Legacy Minerals	0.275	31%	285,980	$22,145,549
ASQ	Australian Silica	0.030	30%	255,315	$6,482,789
EMN	Euromanganese	0.057	30%	3,477,707	$9,590,875
MWY	Midway Ltd	0.830	26%	101,791	$57,641,907
AYT	Austin Metals Ltd	0.005	25%	200,000	$5,296,765
RGL	Riversgold	0.005	25%	129,009	$5,309,850
VML	Vital Metals Limited	0.003	25%	20,000	$11,790,134
BTH	Bigtincan Hldgs Ltd	0.145	21%	2,488,892	$98,601,112
SNS	Sensen Networks Ltd	0.042	20%	40,000	$27,226,806
BM8	Battery Age Minerals	0.150	20%	308,018	$11,628,018
BXN	Bioxyne Ltd	0.012	20%	3,256,000	$20,466,454
JAV	Javelin Minerals Ltd	0.003	20%	283,333	$10,692,115
ROG	Red Sky Energy.	0.006	20%	30,662,690	$27,111,136
SLZ	Sultan Resources Ltd	0.006	20%	563,817	$987,932

Yesterday’s Small Cap Winners included:

HyTerra Limited (ASX:HYT) surged after announcing a $21.9m investment from Andrew Forrest’s $60 billion resources giant Fortescue (ASX:FMG), which will take a near 40% stake in the hydrogen and helium explorer. The deal will, for starters, treble the scale of a drilling campaign at its Nemaha project in Kansas from two to six wells.

South African coal stock MC Mining (ASX:MCM) surged over 200% after exiting a trading halt to announce a US$90m deal for Chinese coal miner Kinetic Development Group Limited to take a 51% via a two tranche subscription agreement which will back the development of its Makhado steelmaking coal project.

Lodestar Minerals (ASX:LSR) said drilling is about to start at the Ned’s Creek Gold Project. The initial phase will involve drilling two holes, each 250 meters deep, to explore gold deposits in areas identified as high-potential targets. This drilling aims to uncover gold in a geological setting similar to the Wallaby deposit, which has produced millions of ounces of gold. Ned’s Creek is situated in Western Australia’s Yilgarn Craton, an area known for significant gold and copper deposits. The project focuses on four main targets where previous drilling has already revealed high-grade gold.

For FY24, education stock Nexted Group (ASX:NXD) achieved a 9% revenue increase, driven by growth in International Vocational and Go Study segments. EBITDA fell due to fewer Technology & Design students and higher visa rejection rates. Despite a drop in net profit after tax to $0.2 million, the company added 800 students, introduced new accredited courses, and saved costs by reducing leased spaces and non-teaching staff.

OAR Resources (ASX:OAR) said it has discovered significant uranium mineralisation at its Amorinópolis Project in Brazil. Surface scans revealed uranium levels up to 131.5 ppm, with two main prospects identified. Historical drillholes from the 1970s were found, and the company plans to expand sampling to map these anomalies and set drilling targets. The largest prospect covers about 1.9km2 and shows strong uranium readings. OAR intends to conduct detailed soil sampling to further explore these promising areas.

Euro Manganese (ASX:EMN) has applied to have its Chvaletice Manganese Project recognised as a Strategic Project under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act. This designation aims to secure essential materials for Europe’s economy and green transition. If approved, the project could benefit from easier access to financing and streamlined permitting processes. The European Commission is expected to announce the initial list of Strategic Projects in December.

Software company, Bigtincan (ASX:BTH), reported a record EBITDA of $11.3 million for FY24, a significant increase from $4.9 million in FY23. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $16.2 million from $8.3 million. The company achieved positive free cash flow of $5.4 million in the second half of the year and an operating cash flow of $6.2 million for the full year. Annual recurring revenue reached $116 million, driven by its Multi-Hub and GenieAI products.

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
TAS	Tasman Resources Ltd	0.003	-40%	122,000	$4,026,248
ECT	Env Clean Tech Ltd.	0.002	-33%	19,496	$9,515,431
ICR	Intelicare Holdings	0.014	-30%	305,475	$5,819,993
ASH	Ashley Services Grp	0.195	-28%	721,330	$38,873,494
FTC	Fintech Chain Ltd	0.006	-25%	10,000	$5,206,157
SIS	Simble Solutions	0.003	-25%	4,943,759	$3,013,803
VPR	Voltgroupltd	0.002	-25%	869,406	$21,432,416
SWP	Swoop Holdings Ltd	0.195	-22%	142,657	$52,052,234
EEL	Enrg Elements Ltd	0.002	-20%	9,729	$2,612,540
LML	Lincoln Minerals	0.004	-20%	19,846,168	$10,281,298
LPD	Lepidico Ltd	0.002	-20%	1,044,333	$21,472,812
PRX	Prodigy Gold NL	0.002	-20%	9,041,668	$5,294,436
NC6	Nanollose Limited	0.017	-19%	355,511	$3,612,134
SPA	Spacetalk Ltd	0.030	-19%	1,384,181	$17,559,935
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.007	-19%	2,565,351	$15,425,928
DES	Desoto Resources	0.110	-19%	82,158	$8,580,938
FFG	Fatfish Group	0.009	-18%	1,409,674	$15,472,303
POD	Podium Minerals	0.027	-18%	771,643	$15,006,644
CTT	Cettire	1.090	-18%	9,965,039	$507,046,833
BNL	Blue Star Helium Ltd	0.005	-17%	2,040,439	$11,669,312
LNR	Lanthanein Resources	0.003	-17%	33,064	$7,330,908
W2V	Way2Vatltd	0.010	-17%	1,089,594	$10,591,410
S2R	S2 Resources	0.105	-16%	51,572	$56,607,249

TRADING HALTS

Change Financial (ASX:CCA) – pending an announcement to the market in relation to a capital raising.

ReNu Energy (ASX:RNE) – pending the release of an ASX announcement regarding a proposed capital raise.

Enlitic (ASX:ENL) – for the purposes of undertaking a proposed equity raising.

Narryer Metals (ASX:NYM) – pending an announcement in relation to a potential capital raising.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While HyTerra and Belararox were Stockhead advertisers at the time of writing, 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.