Each week our High Voltage column wraps all the news driving ASX battery metals stocks with exposure to lithium, cobalt, graphite, manganese and vanadium.

 

INDUSTRY FOCUS

In early 2018, cobalt prices were peaking above $US90,000/t and countless explorers were jumping on the bandwagon.

Then prices started falling and everyone realised they had jumped the gun instead. The once-lauded battery metal quickly became a pariah.

Cobalt prices remained in the doldrums until August 2019, when multi commodity giant Glencore announced plans to mothball the globally significant Mutanda mine in the DRC from the end of 2019.

This will take a huge chunk of production out of the existing market, and so cobalt prices have been recovering at decent clip.

Cobalt hydroxide, sulphate and metal prices rose 20.9 per cent, 23.2 per cent and 17.3 per cent respectively in September, according to price reporting agency Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. This follows some big gains in August.

Source: Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.

But is this just another dead cat bounce? Recent cobalt price increases in April and May ran out of steam quickly, but Benchmark’s Caspar Rawles says this time is different.

“With current market dynamics it is expected that prices will be more resistant to decreases as producers are more confident of a tighter market balance moving into 2020, driven primarily by the Mutanda closure,” he says.

We bet there’s a bunch of cobalt-exposed small caps (and their investors) watching this pricing action very closely.

Because, in the background, cobalt demand forecasts have remained pretty positive. Benchmark forecasts that battery makers will need 152,000t of the stuff by 2024 — up from just 75,000t in 2019.

READ: Benchmark forecasts stronger cobalt prices going into 2020

SMALL CAP SPOTLIGHT

More than $80bn was wiped off the market last week, and it shows. The small end of the resources market did poorly, unless you were a gold explorer; then you probably did ok.

Still, we found some battery metals were beacons of hope amongst all the doom and gloom.

Here’s where all this weeks’ winners came from:

Nzuri Copper (ASX:NZC)  +17 %

Advanced copper-cobalt play Nzuri updated the market on its ongoing (and very drawn out) takeover process by Chinese firm Chengtun Mining.

The $109m all-cash offer, first announced in February, values Nzuri at 37c per share.

Last week it ticked another box in this process, which was enough to send the stock up 17 per cent.

 

Neometals (ASX:NMT) +11%

Neometals has already developed a major lithium mine in WA, a rare and impressive feat for a junior-listed company.

To accomplish this, it partnered with big company — with deep pockets — to help with the heavy financial lifting.

Now, the cashed-up explorer wants to do the whole thing again at the Barrambie vanadium-titanium project.

Neometals has just entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with big Chinese research organisation IMUMR to jointly develop the major +$600m WA project.

IMUMR’s commitment bodes well for further development of Barrambie, boss Chris Reed says. Joint test work and engineering studies will take approximately 18 months, leading to JV final investment decision around mid-2021.

Here’s a table of ASX battery metal stocks with exposure to lithium, cobalt, graphite, manganese and vanadium>>>

Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort. Best viewed on a laptop:

Code Name 1 Week Total Return % 1 Year Total Return % Share Price [intraday Monday] Market Cap
GBE GLOBE METALS AND MINING 40 62 0.021 $ 8,852,525.00
ADV ARDIDEN 33 -50 0.004 $ 6,762,081.00
PSC PROSPECT RESOURCES 29 -58 0.135 $ 30,673,728.00
KTA KRAKATOA RESOURCES 24 3 0.031 $ 4,200,000.00
CZN CORAZON MINING 20 -57 0.003 $ 6,115,082.00
HIP HIPO RESOURCES 17 -26 0.014 $ 5,411,146.50
NZC NZURI COPPER 17 2 0.315 $ 91,730,704.00
CHK COHIBA MINERALS 15 114 0.015 $ 10,633,828.00
BSM BASS METALS 14 -67 0.008 $ 22,478,996.00
NMT NEOMETALS 11 -16 0.2 $ 103,443,264.00
VRC VOLT RESOURCES 10 -48 0.011 $ 16,054,073.00
VML VITAL METALS 10 57 0.011 $ 17,426,112.00
TLG TALGA RESOURCES 8 2 0.455 $ 95,527,272.00
WKT WALKABOUT RESOURCES 8 124 0.28 $ 85,565,384.00
TON TRITON MINERALS 5 -15 0.04 $ 37,085,528.00
LIT LITHIUM AUSTRALIA 4 -55 0.047 $ 24,576,504.00
ASN ANSON RESOURCES 3 -60 0.038 $ 23,398,510.00
MZN MARINDI METALS 3 -77 0.082 $ 6,555,478.00
DGR DGR GLOBAL 3 -43 0.082 $ 49,054,552.00
SRK STRIKE RESOURCES 2 -8 0.046 $ 7,688,176.50
SEI SPECIALITY METALS INTERNATIONAL 2 220 0.05 $ 46,188,292.00
BEM BLACKEARTH MINERALS 2 -64 0.05 $ 5,682,776.00
MCT METALICITY 0 -65 0.006 $ 3,866,334.75
RLC REEDY LAGOON 0 -60 0.004 $ 1,609,086.88
BDI BLINA MINERALS 0 0 0.001 $ 5,454,882.50
SUH SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE MINING 0 -63 0.024 $ 2,123,267.25
SI6 SIX SIGMA METALS 0 -50 0.004 $ 2,580,012.50
TAR TARUGA MINERALS 0 -58 0.03 $ 4,235,017.00
BUX BUXTON RESOURCES 0 -37 0.095 $ 12,789,211.00
AMD ARROW MINERALS 0 -50 0.009 $ 7,597,246.50
HXG HEXAGON RESOURCES 0 -58 0.059 $ 17,215,220.00
POW PROTEAN ENERGY 0 -75 0.006 $ 1,868,623.50
LML LINCOLN MINERALS 0 -40 0.006 $ 3,449,902.00
SBR SABRE RESOURCES 0 -73 0.003 $ 1,426,151.00
LCD LATITUDE CONSOLIDATED 0 -33 0.014 $ 3,852,506.00
ANW AUS TIN MINING 0 -87 0.003 $ 7,093,489.00
MRR MINREX RESOURCES 0 -67 0.01 $ 958,777.25
PUR PURSUIT MINERALS 0 -80 0.01 $ 3,053,697.75
PSM PENINSULA MINES 0 -67 0.002 $ 2,033,744.13
EUC EUROPEAN COBALT 0 -34 0.033 $ 25,136,012.00
KAI KAIROS MINERALS 0 -58 0.014 $ 11,931,820.00
PM1 PURE MINERALS 0 42 0.017 $ 7,539,335.50
AZI ALTA ZINC 0 -22 0.005 $ 9,149,422.00
FEL FE 0 -6 0.015 $ 7,330,524.50
MLS METALS AUSTRALIA 0 -50 0.002 $ 5,914,395.50
PNN PEPINNINI LITHIUM 0 -63 0.003 $ 3,714,035.25
CFE CAPE LAMBERT RESOURCES 0 -77 0.005 $ 5,392,369.50
ARE ARGONAUT RESOURCES 0 -77 0.005 $ 7,771,903.00
MTB MOUNT BURGESS MINING 0 -33 0.004 $ 2,080,517.63
KDR KIDMAN RESOURCES 0 88 1.9 $ 776,185,280.00
GPP GREENPOWER ENERGY 0 -71 0.001 $ 2,302,245.25
RIE RIEDEL RESOURCES 0 -67 0.01 $ 4,180,697.00
4CE FORCE COMMODITIES 0 -45 0.018 $ 9,137,786.00
AYR ALLOY RESOURCES 0 -38 0.0025 $ 4,233,194.00
ZNC ZENITH MINERALS 0 -31 0.063 $ 13,426,226.00
LPD LEPIDICO 0 -19 0.016 $ 70,378,696.00
CGM COUGAR METALS 0 -75 0.001 $ 1,176,583.25
SVD SCANDIVANADIUM 0 -64 0.009 $ 3,166,795.00
CLA CELSIUS RESOURCES 0 -87 0.017 $ 12,872,707.00
BAT BATTERY MINERALS 0 -69 0.009 $ 11,862,824.00
KOR KORAB RESOURCES 0 -32 0.021 $ 6,978,388.50
LI3 LITHIUM CONSOLIDATED 0 -37 0.05 $ 6,202,809.50
CNJ CONICO 0 -69 0.008 $ 3,459,584.00
JRL JINDALEE RESOURCES 0 -17 0.22 $ 8,468,736.00
GME GME RESOURCES 0 -40 0.06 $ 30,374,576.00
MIN MINERAL RESOURCES 0 -16 13.2 $ 2,458,448,384.00
TNG TNG -1 -23 0.084 $ 95,586,336.00
POS POSEIDON NICKEL -2 -4 0.052 $ 137,420,496.00
CAZ CAZALY RESOURCES -2 50 0.045 $ 15,228,984.00
PLL PIEDMONT LITHIUM -2 -40 0.09 $ 73,384,232.00
CHN CHALICE GOLD MINES -2 85 0.215 $ 58,924,648.00
JRV JERVOIS MINING -2 -23 0.215 $ 137,951,024.00
E25 ELEMENT 25 -2 11 0.2 $ 17,002,846.00
VMC VENUS METALS -3 -1 0.18 $ 20,269,330.00
MNS MAGNIS ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES -3 -46 0.18 $ 106,948,800.00
AGY ARGOSY MINERALS -3 -71 0.072 $ 73,116,152.00
GPX GRAPHEX MINING -3 -38 0.17 $ 17,612,912.00
SYR SYRAH RESOURCES -3 -77 0.49 $ 202,553,456.00
LTR LIONTOWN RESOURCES -3 268 0.095 $ 162,190,576.00
BKT BLACK ROCK MINING -3 76 0.06 $ 37,353,052.00
PAN PANORAMIC RESOURCES -3 -46 0.295 $ 196,270,720.00
BSX BLACKSTONE MINERALS -3 7 0.145 $ 27,688,446.00
GED GOLDEN DEEPS -3 -38 0.028 $ 6,145,822.50
EMH EUROPEAN METALS -3 -29 0.28 $ 40,718,400.00
MZZ MATADOR MINING -4 -12 0.265 $ 25,157,996.00
HRZ HORIZON MINERALS -4 -16 0.13 $ 55,636,776.00
JMS JUPITER MINES -4 19 0.375 $ 724,826,688.00
HAV HAVILAH RESOURCES -4 -40 0.12 $ 27,281,132.00
SVM SOVEREIGN METALS -4 1 0.093 $ 34,131,000.00
AUZ AUSTRALIAN MINES -4 -48 0.023 $ 79,229,080.00
CRL COMET RESOURCES -4 -28 0.023 $ 6,660,000.00
LKE LAKE RESOURCES -5 -55 0.041 $ 20,942,300.00
FGR FIRST GRAPHENE -5 33 0.2 $ 97,316,848.00
AXE ARCHER EXPLORATION -5 70 0.1475 $ 28,578,308.00
CXO CORE LITHIUM -5 -14 0.039 $ 30,770,792.00
NXE NEW ENERGY MINERALS -5 -79 0.019 $ 2,905,013.50
BOA BOADICEA RESOURCES -5 94 0.19 $ 10,563,192.00
MEI METEORIC RESOURCES -5 229 0.056 $ 52,238,912.00
MLL MALI LITHIUM -5 -72 0.074 $ 20,168,896.00
TMT TECHNOLOGY METALS AUSTRALIA -5 -65 0.175 $ 15,321,979.00
AJM ALTURA MINING -6 -74 0.068 $ 148,829,600.00
ORE OROCOBRE -6 -45 2.44 $ 651,578,432.00
BPL BROKEN HILL PROSPECTING -6 -55 0.03 $ 3,844,968.50
CLQ CLEAN TEQ -6 -49 0.29 $ 212,741,152.00
RNU RENASCOR RESOURCES -7 -22 0.014 $ 16,147,941.00
CUL CULLEN RESOURCES -7 -33 0.014 $ 2,372,507.50
INF INFINITY LITHIUM -7 6 0.07 $ 14,811,977.00
OMH OM HOLDINGS -8 -73 0.43 $ 339,766,720.00
WCN WHITE CLIFF MINERALS -8 -66 0.006 $ 2,822,099.25
MLM METALLICA MINERALS -8 -65 0.012 $ 3,888,569.00
NWC NEW WORLD COBALT -8 -56 0.022 $ 19,313,308.00
AVL AUSTRALIAN VANADIUM -8 -76 0.011 $ 28,020,524.00
AVZ AVZ MINERALS -9 -55 0.043 $ 99,078,384.00
MQR MARQUEE RESOURCES -9 -50 0.075 $ 4,770,757.50
ARL ARDEA RESOURCES -9 -24 0.51 $ 58,391,764.00
BAR BARRA RESOURCES -9 -50 0.02 $ 10,777,815.00
TKL TRAKA RESOURCES -9 -71 0.01 $ 4,004,629.50
N27 NORTHERN COBALT -9 -75 0.03 $ 2,046,304.00
COB COBALT BLUE -10 -55 0.14 $ 21,735,866.00
AML AEON METALS -10 -62 0.135 $ 94,369,760.00
THR THOR MINING -10 -63 0.009 $ 8,216,468.50
SYA SAYONA MINING -10 -73 0.009 $ 16,648,177.00
CZR COZIRON RESOURCES -10 -40 0.009 $ 18,747,462.00
PIO PIONEER RESOURCES -10 -5 0.018 $ 27,157,658.00
HNR HANNANS -10 -25 0.009 $ 19,879,546.00
VR8 VANADIUM RESOURCES -10 -66 0.043 $ 15,141,480.00
PLS PILBARA MINERALS -11 -66 0.29 $ 572,374,208.00
GLN GALAN LITHIUM -11 -39 0.185 $ 26,684,610.00
AEE AURA ENERGY -11 -60 0.008 $ 11,708,144.00
MTC METALSTECH -11 -76 0.016 $ 1,754,308.25
KNL KIBARAN RESOURCES -11 -60 0.08 $ 23,409,678.00
LPI LITHIUM POWER INTERNATIONAL -12 5 0.29 $ 78,754,168.00
INR IONEER -13 -38 0.175 $ 272,871,936.00
GXY GALAXY RESOURCES -13 -65 0.94 $ 405,384,544.00
IDA INDIANA RESOURCES -13 -48 0.026 $ 3,848,382.00
KSN KINGSTON RESOURCES -14 -13 0.019 $ 35,318,412.00
PGM PLATINA RESOURCES -14 -67 0.025 $ 6,603,156.00
IEC INTRA ENERGY -14 -54 0.006 $ 2,326,344.25
RMX RED MOUNTAIN MINING -14 -14 0.006 $ 4,235,184.00
SO4 SALT LAKE POTASH -16 47 0.75 $ 207,349,456.00
MTH MITHRIL RESOURCES -17 -40 0.005 $ 2,451,946.00
NVA NOVA MINERALS -18 48 0.037 $ 35,417,296.00
DHR DARK HORSE RESOURCES -20 -50 0.004 $ 9,153,361.00
HWK HAWKSTONE MINING -20 -54 0.012 $ 8,974,134.00
BYH BRYAH RESOURCES -20 -33 0.06 $ 4,784,288.00
SRN SUREFIRE RESOURCES -21 22 0.011 $ 7,537,843.50
WML WOOMERA MINING -23 -76 0.017 $ 2,282,963.50
DTM DART MINING -25 -14 0.006 $ 6,104,257.00
LRS LATIN RESOURCES -33 -91 0.012 $ 2,802,584.25
Code Name 1 Week Total Return % 1 Year Total Return % Share Price [intraday Monday] Market Cap
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