Bulk Buys: Battery explorers back bulks as market cycle turns again

Leeuwin Metals has uncovered Robe River style iron ore mineralisation at its West Pilbara project
Relative stability in iron ore price makes it an interesting place for juniors, provided they’re in the right locale
M&A and board disputes headline this week’s ASX coal news

Always regarded as a tough nut to crack, the junior end of the iron ore sector has a way of getting cleaned out from time to time.

With the market effectively cornered by the big players, the glass ceiling is strongly reinforced.

Often the move for iron ore juniors is to diversify into other commodities attracting market interest like lithium, nickel and gold.

But as battery metals prices ebb, the relatively stability of the iron ore market is holding a level of attraction right now.

While lithium and rare earths prices are now well into the cost curve, iron ore continues to hit a floor in and around US$100/t, paying US$98.95/t in Singapore at 5.30pm AEST yesterday.

Responding to softness in the Chinese economy, that’s a way off the US$140/t levels seen late last year.

But it remains well above historic levels, with analysts like Commbank and miners like BHP (ASX:BHP) alike now seeing cost support at US$80-100/t.

It makes iron ore an interesting sector to make a discovery in, especially close to infrastructure in the Pilbara.

Leeuwinning

Making that move yesterday was Leeuwin Metals (ASX:LM1), which announced export quality iron ore grades and low impurities in rock chip samples from the West Pilbara Iron Ore Project.

LM1’s main game since listing has been searching for lithium in Manitoba, a frontier exploration region of Canada when it comes to the battery metal.

It has also held ground in WA for prospect generation, building up targets in the Pilbara over the past six months.

The channel iron deposit style mineralisation has been found over 1.7km either side of the highway to the port of Onslow, which is 150km away as the crow flies.

Rio’s Mesa A mine contains over 360Mt of ore at a grade of around 56% Fe, but CID deposits can be upgraded through calcining into the vicinity of the benchmark 62% Fe fines grade.

LM1 shot up 8% on the news, which included a top sample of 55.27% Fe, 62.4% Ca Fe, 2.27% Al2O3, 6.74% SiO2, 0.02% P and 11.42% LOI.

“I think the appeal is where the project is location wise,” Leeuwin MD Chris Piggott said.

“It is a great address, 13km north of Mesa A, the Rio Tinto mine.

“You have a lot of development coming through in the Onslow region, and the iron ore price is persistently high.

“It goes to show you can still find these things close to infrastructure in a region in WA which is world class in its potential for iron ore, gold and lithium.”

Close to home

There is always a risk involved in small operations, especially in iron ore, where since the Brumadinho tailings dam disaster in 2019 the gap in supply from Brazil’s Vale has been populated not by incremental gains for large producers like BHP (ASX:BHP), Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG), but by smaller marginal players at the upper end of the cost curve.

These operations have regularly been shaken out, forced to curb output or head into care and maintenance entirely thanks to volatility in iron ore prices over the past three years.

But projects in and around the Robe River area have a potential path to market, with any number of willing acquirers in the region for quality assets.

Rio is facing the prospect of declining productivity from its Robe River Joint Venture in the years to come, and has been mooted as a potential interested party in bolt-on deposits in recent years.

A Chinese-linked company called Miracle Iron and associated entities have also tried to establish a foothold in the region, planning to pay upwards of $100m for projects held by Strike Resources (ASX:SRK) and CZR Resources (ASX:CZR), with only Australian Foreign Investment Review Board approval appearing to sit in the way of the deal now.

Between them Strike and CZR had 5Mt of allocated space in a shared infrastructure deal to export ore through the Port of Ashburton.

Nearby Mineral Resources (ASX:MIN) has also recently started exports from its 35Mtpa Onslow Iron project, which is set to become a significant supplier to China of lower-grade product.

Piggott says the West Pilbara find remains at an early stage, with surface mapping and rock chipping to complete along with approvals to progress exploration further. Meanwhile, it will remain focused on its more advanced lithium exploration opportunities in Canada.

Also in the region, Red Hawk Mining (ASX:RHK) has been one of the top-performing iron ore stocks of 2024, up 32% YTD as it progresses the Blacksmith project, which used to form part of the prohibitively expensive ‘Pilbara Iron Ore Project’ championed by New Zealand’s Todd Corporation.

ASX iron ore stocks

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CODE	COMPANY	PRICE	WEEK %	MONTH %	6 MONTH %	YEAR %	YTD %	MARKET CAP
ACS	Accent Resources NL	0.006	-14%	-14%	-40%	-25%	-25%	$ 2,838,763.70
ADY	Admiralty Resources.	0.01	-9%	-9%	43%	43%	43%	$ 16,294,739.40
AKO	Akora Resources	0.115	-4%	-18%	-14%	-37%	-23%	$ 15,060,922.00
BCK	Brockman Mining Ltd	0.019	0%	-10%	-27%	-34%	-32%	$ 194,884,874.75
BHP	BHP Group Limited	40.75	-1%	-6%	-12%	-11%	-19%	$ 206,107,012,402.88
CIA	Champion Iron Ltd	5.98	2%	-8%	-26%	7%	-29%	$ 3,103,424,995.99
CZR	CZR Resources Ltd	0.265	-2%	-7%	-5%	47%	26%	$ 62,656,740.19
DRE	Dreadnought Resources Ltd	0.016	-6%	-27%	-16%	-68%	-47%	$ 55,956,666.68
EFE	Eastern Resources	0.004	0%	0%	-50%	-60%	-50%	$ 4,967,785.84
CUF	Cufe Ltd	0.009	0%	-31%	-44%	-31%	-36%	$ 10,693,398.92
FEX	Fenix Resources Ltd	0.365	-10%	-8%	46%	24%	28%	$ 257,008,630.40
FMG	Fortescue Ltd	18.16	-1%	-18%	-36%	-14%	-37%	$ 56,160,320,104.32
RHK	Red Hawk Mining Ltd	0.7825	0%	-3%	13%	42%	32%	$ 156,352,482.32
GEN	Genmin	0.11	5%	-8%	-31%	-31%	-31%	$ 75,375,237.96
GRR	Grange Resources.	0.305	2%	-19%	-31%	-41%	-34%	$ 364,561,689.87
HAV	Havilah Resources	0.18	6%	-23%	20%	-39%	-8%	$ 56,995,057.80
HAW	Hawthorn Resources	0.063	-13%	5%	-24%	-43%	-32%	$ 21,105,983.62
HIO	Hawsons Iron Ltd	0.021	5%	-16%	-42%	-46%	-55%	$ 23,379,531.46
IRD	Iron Road Ltd	0.082	3%	5%	37%	-7%	22%	$ 68,234,215.89
JNO	Juno	0.031	3%	3%	-61%	-62%	-72%	$ 5,640,303.06
LCY	Legacy Iron Ore	0.016	-6%	14%	0%	0%	-6%	$ 123,416,772.19
MAG	Magmatic Resrce Ltd	0.056	-16%	-28%	87%	-22%	14%	$ 25,857,144.27
MDX	Mindax Limited	0.05	-2%	6%	25%	-7%	-17%	$ 100,390,405.22
MGT	Magnetite Mines	0.245	-2%	-20%	-6%	-39%	-21%	$ 24,529,044.96
MGU	Magnum Mining & Exp	0.014	8%	0%	-18%	-76%	-50%	$ 11,331,059.64
MGX	Mount Gibson Iron	0.325	-3%	-24%	-35%	-22%	-41%	$ 414,240,881.22
MIN	Mineral Resources.	48.58	-7%	-16%	-14%	-29%	-31%	$ 9,774,835,362.96
MIO	Macarthur Minerals	0.061	22%	2%	-53%	-70%	-51%	$ 11,979,930.60
PFE	Panteraminerals	0.022	-15%	-33%	-59%	-71%	-58%	$ 10,233,721.20
PLG	Pearlgullironlimited	0.013	-13%	-24%	-50%	-50%	-57%	$ 2,659,043.27
RHI	Red Hill Minerals	5.1	-3%	-8%	23%	45%	26%	$ 328,974,716.25
RIO	Rio Tinto Limited	115.42	-3%	-4%	-10%	6%	-15%	$ 42,645,318,664.32
RLC	Reedy Lagoon Corp.	0.003	-25%	0%	-40%	-63%	-40%	$ 1,858,622.20
CTN	Catalina Resources	0.003	20%	0%	-25%	-40%	-33%	$ 3,715,460.68
SRK	Strike Resources	0.031	-9%	-3%	-11%	-46%	-37%	$ 8,512,500.00
SRN	Surefire Rescs NL	0.0065	8%	-13%	-46%	-61%	-24%	$ 12,911,000.78
TI1	Tombador Iron	0.014	0%	0%	0%	-39%	0%	$ 30,218,753.22
TLM	Talisman Mining	0.23	2%	-13%	31%	59%	-2%	$ 45,196,883.76
EQN	Equinoxresources	0.28	10%	-10%	12%	75%	-7%	$ 34,678,000.84
AMD	Arrow Minerals	0.003	20%	0%	-50%	0%	-40%	$ 31,618,095.29
CTM	Centaurus Metals Ltd	0.345	5%	-19%	11%	-56%	-36%	$ 181,118,719.55
LM1	Leeuwin Metals Ltd	0.079	8%	52%	-13%	-79%	-44%	$ 3,420,171.98

Stanmore seals the deal

Meanwhile, in the world of coal, Stanmore Coal (ASX:SMR) has cleaned up its acquisition of the Eagle Downs project in Queensland, where it’s secured a long-term development option beyond its Poitrel and South Walker Creek mines for a total of US$36m thanks to sellers Baowu and South32’s (ASX:S32) decisions to turn away from investing in Aussie coal.

“Stanmore is excited by the opportunity afforded by completing this acquisition. Stanmore will now seek to optimise the development plan and take a capital efficient approach to any development decision,” CEO Marcelo Matos said today.

The other big news story came at Bowen Coking Coal (ASX:BCB), the troubled Queensland company founded by former Stanmore boss Nick Jorss, where the exec chair is facing an attempt from Swiss fund iolite Partners to ouster him from the hotseat along with director Neville Sneddon.

BCB’s board claims the section 249D notice, calling for a general meeting to remove Jorss and Sneddon and replace them with iolite’s Robert Leitz, is deficient.

In a statement to the ASX, Jorss called the board putsch an ‘unnecessary and unfortunate distraction’.

“This is an unnecessary and unfortunate distraction just as the Burton mine has achieved operational steady state, we are hitting production records from Burton and the team is motivated and working hard to rebuild shareholder value,” he said.

“The Board and senior management have been in regular dialogue with the shareholder, and he has been clearly advised by the Board that this approach is unhelpful and that that the matters raised are best dealt with at the upcoming AGM.

“It’s unfortunate that he has chosen to proceed in this manner. Bowen has weathered a number of storms in recent times and the Board and management of Bowen Coking Coal stand united and positive about the Company’s operational status and future.

“We appreciate the ongoing support of our important employees, customers, financiers and other shareholders to realise the outcomes we all seek.”

Thermal coal futures have been trending up in recent weeks, hitting US$152.50/t for September deliveries yesterday.

Singapore’s contract for premium hard coking coal out of Australia was running at US$205/t.

ASX coal stocks

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CODE	COMPANY	PRICE	WEEK %	MONTH %	6 MONTH %	YEAR %	YTD %	MARKET CAP
NAE	New Age Exploration	0.004	0%	0%	0%	-33%	-33%	$ 7,175,595.64
CKA	Cokal Ltd	0.086	-1%	-1%	-14%	-22%	-28%	$ 94,947,510.24
BCB	Bowen Coal Limited	0.017	-29%	-67%	-71%	-85%	-83%	$ 54,134,403.34
SVG	Savannah Goldfields	0.031	11%	-14%	-11%	-62%	-38%	$ 6,746,037.98
GRX	Greenx Metals Ltd	0.78	-3%	-13%	-27%	-22%	-15%	$ 222,203,320.44
AKM	Aspire Mining Ltd	0.27	0%	-27%	46%	193%	157%	$ 137,061,985.95
AVM	Advance Metals Ltd	0.02	-17%	-20%	-32%	-82%	-46%	$ 2,708,248.86
YAL	Yancoal Aust Ltd	7.25	4%	0%	27%	42%	46%	$ 9,441,141,974.55
NHC	New Hope Corporation	5.08	6%	3%	-2%	-10%	-2%	$ 4,235,130,674.64
TIG	Tigers Realm Coal	0.003	-14%	0%	-40%	-50%	-45%	$ 52,266,809.47
SMR	Stanmore Resources	3.5	4%	-12%	-3%	23%	-13%	$ 3,091,773,304.62
WHC	Whitehaven Coal	7.83	7%	-9%	4%	8%	5%	$ 6,483,656,076.00
BRL	Bathurst Res Ltd.	0.69	-5%	-18%	-22%	-30%	-28%	$ 133,951,846.00
CRN	Coronado Global Res	1.36	6%	-4%	-11%	-16%	-23%	$ 2,296,741,610.10
JAL	Jameson Resources	0.061	3%	2%	110%	20%	36%	$ 29,832,911.44
TER	Terracom Ltd	0.21	17%	-5%	-18%	-52%	-50%	$ 160,193,247.00
ATU	Atrum Coal Ltd	0.004526	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	$ 12,000,798.96
MCM	Mc Mining Ltd	0.14	0%	0%	-7%	-15%	-7%	$ 57,961,868.86
DBI	Dalrymple Bay	3.09	2%	2%	11%	13%	15%	$ 1,526,945,934.36
AQC	Auspaccoal Ltd	0.12	20%	26%	32%	-12%	20%	$ 64,056,110.88