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

Good morning everyone, and welcome to Thursday September 26, 2024 – an important date in the history of statesmanship.

That’s because on this day in 1960, Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro turned up at the UN to give a speech, stunning everyone (including himself) by talking non-stop for 4.5 hours, until bad light stopped play and his speech was declared a nil-all draw by the umpire.

Luckily for you, you won’t actually have to sit through four hours of tedium 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$2,636.25/oz (-0.03%)

Silver: US$31.90/oz (-0.97%)

Nickel (3mth): US$16,606/t (+1.08%)

Copper (3mth): US$10,020/t (+4.26%)

Zinc: US$2,942/t (+3.69%)

Oil (WTI): US$71.35/bbl (-0.05%)

Oil (Brent): US$75.18/bbl (+0.02%)

Iron 62pc Fe: US$96.65/t (+2.02%)

AUD/USD: 0.6879 (-0.35%)

Bitcoin: US$63,837.20 (-0.69%)

WHAT GOT YOU TALKING

Who did really well yesterday? Why, it was the gold stocks, wasn’t it? Read all about it here:

WA gold stocks led the gains on the ASX, with Western Gold Resources, Labyrinth and Great Boulder all among the winners. $WGR $GBR PNN $BUR $LRL ->https://t.co/7W9YTSbPrr

— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) September 25, 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
OAR	OAR Resources Ltd	0.002	100%	80,000	$3,300,835
RNE	Renu Energy Ltd	0.002	100%	4,377,337	$804,134
LSR	Lodestar Minerals	0.002	50%	2,449,999	$3,372,329
SI6	SI6 Metals Limited	0.002	50%	1,808,315	$2,368,859
EV1	Evolutionenergy	0.038	36%	373,586	$10,095,880
LNU	Linius Tech Limited	0.002	33%	1,250,000	$8,797,861
MRQ	Mrg Metals Limited	0.004	33%	873,110	$8,134,556
YAR	Yari Minerals Ltd	0.004	33%	570,000	$1,447,073
IMI	Infinitymining	0.018	29%	327,989	$1,900,418
PNN	Power Minerals Ltd	0.115	26%	1,817,501	$10,019,558
MTH	Mithril Silver Gold	0.770	26%	9,593,691	$62,876,495
CCZ	Castillo Copper Ltd	0.005	25%	224,241	$5,198,021
CTN	Catalina Resources	0.003	0%	3,673,479	$3,096,217
ECT	Env Clean Tech Ltd.	0.003	25%	22,963	$6,343,621
1AE	Auroraenergymetals	0.047	24%	328,735	$6,804,422
AKO	Akora Resources	0.110	24%	245,208	$10,723,376
AR3	Austrare	0.085	23%	352,214	$10,899,498
LRL	Labyrinth Resources	0.016	23%	20,259,003	$50,007,235
AEI	Aeris Environmental	0.091	23%	138,899	$18,181,397
EOF	Ecofibre Limited	0.039	22%	1,456,680	$12,123,965
EMU	EMU NL	0.028	22%	135,179	$2,886,481
KOB	Kobaresourceslimited	0.120	20%	165,489	$15,856,161
MBH	Maggie Beer Holdings	0.066	20%	321,403	$19,480,446

Yesterday’s Small Cap Winners included:

ReNu Energy (ASX:RNE) doubled up (from $0.001 to $0.002) on news that it has entered into a binding Grant Deed with the Tasmanian Government for the award of up to $8 million of funding for its Tasmanian green hydrogen project, to be paid on delivery of green hydrogen to customers.

Western Gold Resources (ASX:WGR) was up after the company published a positive Scoping Study for its Gold Duke project in Western Australia, noting that the study has only assessed the economics based on mining 51% of the current published 2.9Mt at 2.07g/t for 234,000oz gold mineral resource of Gold Duke.

Lodestar Minerals (ASX:LSR) was up on news that test drilling at its Ned’s Creek site has been completed, and data from two drillholes at the Ned’s Creek project in Western Australia is due from the lab imminently. Lodestar recently completed placing of the Rights Issue shortfall, with exploration at Ned’s and inaugural Aircore drill testing on gold anomalies at Coolgardie West set to kick off shortly.

Ecofibre (ASX:EOF) was up on news that it has completed an agreement with Under Armour for the supply of NEOLAST yarns to Under Armour’s nominated knitting mills, including the purchase of associated manufacturing equipment. The initial term of the supply agreement is three years, with an expected annual revenue at full production of US$6.0 million.

Si6 Metals (ASX:SI6) announced plans to undertake a non-renounceable rights issue of one (1) fully paid ordinary share in the capital of the company for every two (2) shares held by eligible shareholders at an issue price of $0.001 per share (pre-consolidation) or $0.02, with funds raised to go towards exploration programs at the Lithium Valley (lithium), Pimento (rare earth elements) and Monument (gold) projects and for general working capital purposes.

Earlier, Great Boulder Resources (ASX:GBR) revealed that infill and extensional RC drilling at its Mulga Bill project has intersected more extremely high gold grades, extending the resource and adding thickness and grade to existing lodes. Highlights include 5m @ 43.13/t Au from 185m, including 2m @ 102.80/t Au from 186m, and 5m @ 40.61g/t Au from 256m, including 1m @ 194.50g/t Au from 258m.

In a strategic move to expand its niobium exploration tenure in Brazil, Power Minerals (ASX:PNN) has inked an option agreement to acquire the Tântalo project in Paraiba state.

It resides south of the company’s Nióbio project and adjacent to Summit Minerals (ASX:SUM) Equador niobium project, where it has seen recent success of its own. Power will make a non-refundable payment of $50,000 and carry out a 60-day due diligence period.

PNN says the acquisition would represent a major, material expansion of Power’s niobium, tantalum, REE and lithium-prospective ground position in Paraiba state, Brazil, and reinforces its position as a South American-focused explorer and developer.

$30 million capped Labyrinth Resources (ASX:LRL) was up again, with a whole bunch of executive movements bringing investors onside. Monday’s close of the deal to acquire the Vivien mine, famously worked over by Ramelius Resources, came alongside a host of management and board changes.

Alex Hewlett and Kelvin Flynn are now on the board. Their list of credits between them include Spectrum Metals, Silver Lake Resources, MinRes, Delta Lithium and Wildcat Resources, the latter where the two worked on the transformational Tabba Tabba lithium deal. Charles Hughes has flown in as CEO. A former Bellevue, Northern Star and Saracen man, the geo has led the drilling teams at Delta’s Mt Ida lithium and gold projects over the past three years.

It comes as the company reloads for a fresh assault on the gold potential at Comet Vale and Vivien, with a share consolidation upcoming and ~$2m entitlement offer in the works.

And, cancer cell therapy drug developer Chimeric Therapeutics (ASX:CHM) has struck an alliance with a US blood bank that will enable access to ‘fresher’ blood cells for its proposed immune therapies. Chimeric’s collaboration is with the Los Angeles-based Achieve Clinics, which cryopreserves product collected from apheresis: the process of dividing blood into its components of red and white blood cells, platelets and plasma.

Chimeric is now recruiting gastrointestinal cancer patients in the US for a phase I/II trial of its CHM CDH-17, “the world’s first cadherin 17- directed CAR-T cell therapy.”

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
88E	88 Energy Ltd	0.002	-33%	37,323,189	$86,801,436
ALR	Altairminerals	0.003	-25%	8,727,260	$17,186,310
BCT	Bluechiip Limited	0.003	-25%	3,678,353	$4,737,249
RIL	Redivium Limited	0.003	-25%	31,691	$10,987,419
SIS	Simble Solutions	0.003	-25%	475,000	$3,013,803
SMM	Somerset Minerals	0.003	-25%	1,000,666	$4,123,995
NPM	Newpeak Metals	0.013	-24%	766,794	$5,191,886
AIV	Activex Limited	0.004	-20%	1,990	$1,077,513
WML	Woomera Mining Ltd	0.002	-20%	3,834	$3,795,347
OCN	Oceanalithiumlimited	0.029	-17%	19,115	$2,887,430
AKN	Auking Mining Ltd	0.005	-17%	4,694,370	$2,013,421
C7A	Clara Resources	0.009	-15%	563,167	$2,651,374
HOR	Horseshoe Metals Ltd	0.006	-14%	84,040	$4,642,972
MCT	Metalicity Limited	0.030	-14%	2,117,101	$17,450,458
RFA	Rare Foods Australia	0.012	-14%	124,706	$3,807,765
BIT	Biotron Limited	0.019	-14%	471,133	$19,850,803
SMX	Strata Minerals	0.026	-13%	1,030,211	$5,634,455
8IH	8I Holdings Ltd	0.007	-13%	356,144	$2,785,287
AUZ	Australian Mines Ltd	0.007	-13%	3,451,911	$11,188,097
BNL	Blue Star Helium Ltd	0.004	-13%	110,425	$9,724,426
BUY	Bounty Oil & Gas NL	0.004	-13%	202,391	$5,994,004
VRC	Volt Resources Ltd	0.004	-13%	55,000	$16,634,713

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.