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Good morning everyone, and welcome to September 11, 2024 – an important date in the history of hiring fly-by-night tradies for important jobs.

That’s because it was on this day in 1503 that Michaelangelo – the sculptor, not the turtle – was given a commission for a new major project; sculptures of the 12 Apostles of Jesus, for the Florence Cathedral.

Michaelangelo got started on the first one, a statue of Matthew, but shortly after work began, Pope Julius II called the artist to Rome to get started on designing his tomb – The Pope’s, not the sculptor’s… or the turtle’s.

Even that didn’t end up being finished properly. Michaelangelo – again, the sculptor, not the turtle – did manage to get a chunk of it done, featuring a massive carving of Moses, achieved by taking an even bigger massive chunk of marble, and knocking off all the bits that didn’t look like Moses.

Luckily for you, you won’t have to threaten to call A Current Affair and dob in a dodgy tradie 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$2,502.52 (+0.62%)

Silver: US$28.32 (+1.41%)

Nickel (3mth): US$15,875/t (+0.52%)

Copper (3mth): US$8,972/t (-0.45%)

Zinc: US$2,732/t (+0.33%)

Oil (WTI): US$68.53 (+1.28%)

Oil (Brent): US$71.69 (+0.90%)

Iron 62pc Fe: US$91.65/t (-0.31%)

AUD/USD: 0.6667 (-0.02%)

Bitcoin: US$57,150.00 (+3.17%)

 

WHAT GOT YOU TALKING

Turns out, it’s getting pretty fashionable to be on the Bull side of the gold debate – here’s what’s been happening, courtesy of Josh Chiat’s ball-tearing Monsters of Rock.

 

 

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:

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Yesterday’s Small Cap Winners included:

Aruma Resources (ASX:AAJ) announced that assays from initial surface sampling of rock chips at its Fiery Creek project in the Mt Isa copper belt in QLD has cropped up multiple, very high-grade copper (Cu) and antimony (Sb) grades. Mineralisation was found to be consistent across 600m of strike at the Piper prospect and include grades of up to 11.83% Cu and 10,883ppm Sb – along with high-grade silver (Ag) assays up to 31.3g/t.

The assays confirm historical rock chip samples at the target area, which contained 36% Cu, 25.4% Cu and 15.2% Cu. Fiery Creek is a freshly acquired asset, part of a portfolio expansion for early-stage projects in May this year where Aruma also snapped up an IOC-uranium project near BHP’s (ASX:BHP) prolific Olympic Dam operations and Bortala – another copper play in Queensland.

Intra Energy Corporation (ASX:IEC) has released an update to its announcement of results from a 1,960-metre reconnaissance drilling program which identified a large-scale lithium-caesium-tantalum system and a large-scale gold system at the Maggie Hays Hill project, in the Lake Johnston Greenstone Belt, Western Australia. The numbers are the same as previously reported on September 04, 2024 – the update includes drill hole details and sectional views as required by the JORC code.

Austral Gold (ASX:AGD) was rising after being reinstated to the ASX, after it was suspended for not filing its FY24 financial reports on time.

Noble Helium (ASX:NHE) was rising on news that new NHE data available for NSAI evaluation indicates better reservoir properties, higher helium concentrations and more or larger prospective structures than previously at the Western Margin of the North Rukwa basin. The company says the total Western Margin P50 Helium Prospective Resource has increased by 66%, and the Lake Beds P50 Helium Prospective Resource has increased by 31%, while the deeper Karoo P50 Helium Prospective Resource jumped 500% after mapping with the 2023 seismic.

Audeara (ASX:AUA) was climbing earlier on news that it has signed a binding Letter of Intent with prominent, Hong Kong based technology services provider Eastern Asia Technology, to deliver Audeara’s healthy hearing technology into the Chinese medical device market. Eastech has “a strong presence in China and a proven track record of successfully delivering advanced technology products and solutions, ensuring high standards of quality and customer satisfaction,” the company says.

Lotus Resources (ASX:LOT) has found some of the thickest zones of uranium mineralisation at its Letlhakane project in Botswana, with recent drilling revealing significant new intersections. The updated resource estimate shows large quantities of uranium, with drilling continuing to confirm mineralisation and enhance the project’s resource classification. The company expects to complete the drilling by September and update the resource estimate by November, while also advancing development at its other project in Malawi.

They say things come in threes and it’s no different for explorer Metals Australia (ASX:MLS), where drilling and exploration is kicking off across (you guessed it!) three projects in WA and the NT, testing for gold, lithium-pegmatite and nickel-copper-cobalt mineralisation. The tenure is just 10km from SQM and Hancock Prospecting’s Andover lithium discovery, bought in the takeover of Azure Minerals for $1.7bn back in May.

A 6000m AC drill program is also underway at MLS’ Warrambie project in WA’s Pilbara – a set of tenements straddling the Scholl Shear Zone, which is analogous to the Mallina Shear – and host to the De Grey Mining’s (ASX:DEG) monster +10Moz Hemi gold deposit. In WA’s Murchison, a 120-hole AC drill program has been permitted to follow an extensive soil sampling and gravity program underway at Big Bell North, prospective for gold as it’s along strike from Westgold Resources’ (ASX:WGX) +5Moz Big Bell deposit.

Rising in share price for a second day in a row, Stavely Minerals (ASX:SVY) has laid eyes on copper oxide minerals (azurite and malachite) and copper sulphides as part of a now-completed AC drilling campaign at its Stavely project in Victoria. While assays are pending, the visual identification of mineralisation bodes well to complement significant historical intercepts at the Junction prospect, which included 35m at 3.44% Cu and 26g/t Ag from 24m to end-of-hole.

Phase 1 drilling at New Age Exploration’s (ASX:NAE) Wagyu gold project in WA’s Pilbara – nestled between De Grey’s tenements and right near its monster +10Moz Hemi gold deposit – has just been completed. The four-week exploration program involved the drilling and sampling of 156 AC drill holes for a total of 7460m. It’s looking for the same ‘Hemi-style’ intrusive system and Phase 1 is the start of a thoroughly formulated six-month exploration program.

Phase 2 will include follow-up AC drilling and sampling based on pending results, which NAE says will be crucial to further exploration planning. Additional ground gravity and passive seismic surveys are also in the mix at Wagyu, including carrying out work on the dry Yule Riverbed.

After analysing new data that became available for auditor evaluation of Noble Helium’s (ASX:NHE) North Rukwa Western Margin helium resource, larger and higher concentrations of the finite gasseous element have been realised.

The total Western Margin P50 helium prospective resource has now increased by 66%, including Lake Beds by 31% and the deeper Karoo resource jumping a whopping 500% after mapping the 2023 seismic data.

The gas play says the revelation has significant implications for Eastern Margin and a prospective resource update is now in progress.

 

YESTERDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:

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TRADING HALTS 

Bowen Coking Coal (ASX:BCB) – pending an announcement responding to a ‘Price and Volume’ query received from the ASX.

Cauldron Energy (ASX:CXU) – pending an announcement regarding material results from drilling at Manyingee South forming part of Cauldron’s Yanrey uranium project.

 

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

 

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