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

Scroll down for a table showing the recent performance of 200 ASX battery metal stocks >>

INDUSTRY FOCUS

“There is no e-sound. It has to be invented,” said the head of acoustics at Porsche recently.

Electric vehicles are deathly quiet, and that’s a safety problem that needs solving.

Carmakers have been working on artificial noises that warn unsuspecting punters that a few tonnes of metal is headed their way.

Some make tinny artificial engine noises,  some a relaxing whistling sound (which could defeat the purpose?) … and then there’s Mercedes-AMG, which is currently collaborating with rock band Linkin Park on a “potent” artificial sound.

Here’s a better option:

We’ll keep you posted.

How do we tell if a battery metals project is any good?

It is much harder for investors to evaluate how good a battery metals project is compared to more “conventional” minerals such as gold, coal or iron ore.

And exploration companies aren’t making it any easier, especially the ones that report results in a misleading way, says Dr Andrew Scogings of minerals consultancy KlipStone.

“Competition for scarce investment dollars has inspired innovative exploration approaches, as well as ‘creative’ ways to tell the story of exploration success,” he told delegates at the Paydirt 2019 Battery Minerals conference last week.

“Graphite and lithium projects are a more opaque and not as easy to evaluate based solely on the reported tonnage and grade.

“It should be quite clear by now to investors evaluating the merits of graphite or lithium pegmatite projects that ‘looks can be deceiving’ when it comes to these commodities and that the investor should be aware of potential pitfalls.”

SMALL CAP SPOTLIGHT

Of the companies on our list, 71 lost ground, 60 were ahead and 61 were steady this week.

Here’s how that looks for the year so far:

Junior explorer Strike Resources (ASX:SRK) jumped 90 per cent last week to 8c after securing the Solaroz lithium brine project in Argentina’s Lithium Triangle.

Strike had spent the best part of eight years focussing on its pretty decent iron ore project in Peru – but market conditions were not their friend, and the company effectively shelved those projects in 2014.

The explorer then spent some time in the wilderness – fending off a low-ball takeover offer, briefly investigating a number of “technology related ventures” – before buying a Queensland graphite project in 2016.

At Solaroz they will be smack bang in the action zone; directly adjacent to or surrounded by ground held by ASX-listed Orocobre (ASX:ORE) and TSX-listed Lithium Americas (TSX:LAC).

With cobalt in the doghouse, Northern Cobalt (ASX:N27) has been diversifying its project portfolio.

In addition to its cobalt project (Wollogorang) in the Northern Territory, they have a lithium project (Arunta) in the Northern Territory and a gold and vanadium project in Alaska (Snettisham).

Last week, it told investors a helicopter magnetic survey over their vanadium-gold Snettisham project had identified a mammoth magnetic anomaly.

Its near surface, 2.5km long, 600m wide and 2km deep, and this news sent the share price up 14 per cent to 6.5c.

Now they just have to go out and drill it.

Poor Galan Lithium (ASX:GLN) copped a thrashing last week, down 54 per cent to 28.5c.

A March 11 release can be blamed for the precipitous fall.

Drill hole number two at the Candelas lithium brine project in Argentina wasn’t replicating the success of the first just yet, Galan told investors.

The maiden drill hole had brine starting at about 200m and extending to the bottom of the hole at 401 metres, and included an “exceptional intercept” of 192 metres at 802 mg/l Li.

Hole 2, about 9.5km south of hole 1, had been drilled to about 465m and hit nothing so far.

via GIPHY


Galan managing director Juan Pablo Vargas de la Vega says the market is overreacting.

“The bottom line is that we are still drilling hole 2 — and we are still drilling because we believe the brines could be down there,” he told Stockhead.

“Is hole 2 a dud? Until we get there we aren’t going to know.”

Either way, Candelas is large project, and Galan took a bit of a gamble drilling so far away from the successful first hole.

“Yeah, it was a bit ballsy — I’ll take that,” Mr Vargas de la Vega says.

“The potential is there for hole 2 to be a success, but if that doesn’t work out then it just means we drill elsewhere.

“…That’s what exploration is about.”

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

Ticker Name 1 Week Price Change % 1 Year Price Change % Share Price [March 18] Market Cap
KLH KALIA 100 -50 0.004 $10,057,390.00
SRK STRIKE RESOURCES 90 38 0.08 $15,260,098.00
BMT BERKUT MINERALS 83 0 0.15 $7,875,916.50
SRN SUREFIRE RESOURCES 33 -77 0.004 $2,203,268.25
MEI METEORIC RESOURCES 30 -70 0.013 $5,744,557.50
MZN MARINDI METALS 25 -50 0.005 $9,923,794.00
CZN CORAZON MINING 25 -58 0.005 $5,061,133.50
HMX HAMMER METALS 24 -43 0.026 $8,486,021.00
AYR ALLOY RESOURCES 20 -50 0.003 $4,731,233.00
GPP GREENPOWER ENERGY 20 -81 0.003 $3,130,740.75
N27 NORTHERN COBALT 14 -85 0.065 $3,232,744.50
VMS VENTURE MINERALS 14 -32 0.025 $11,974,076.00
AXE ARCHER EXPLORATION 13 -18 0.076 $14,593,411.00
AOU AUROCH MINERALS 13 -30 0.068 $6,834,240.50
GED GOLDEN DEEPS 12 -27 0.037 $6,341,089.00
E25 ELEMENT 25 12 -42 0.19 $16,792,870.00
ENT ENTERPRISE METALS 11 -44 0.01 $3,880,627.50
AJM ALTURA MINING 11 -65 0.155 $265,635,232.00
CMC CHINA MAGNESIUM 10 -12 0.022 $10,173,648.00
GWR GWR GROUP 10 -45 0.11 $27,886,918.00
AZI ALTA ZINC 10 -22 0.005 $7,940,001.00
TON TRITON MINERALS 10 -45 0.045 $40,794,068.00
CHK COHIBA MINERALS 9 20 0.012 $7,975,371.00
AEE AURA ENERGY 8 -41 0.013 $15,632,709.00
RTR RUMBLE RESOURCES 8 0 0.054 $19,636,558.00
RDS REDSTONE RESOURCES 8 -3 0.014 $6,122,536.00
BAT BATTERY MINERALS 8 -64 0.028 $28,955,460.00
KDR KIDMAN RESOURCES 7 -37 1.34 $536,356,544.00
PM1 PURE MINERALS 7 -12 0.015 $4,086,927.75
ESR ESTRELLA RESOURCES 7 -35 0.015 $7,378,249.50
ANW AUS TIN MINING 7 -42 0.015 $31,810,732.00
TRT TODD RIVER RESOURCES 7 -26 0.08 $12,115,860.00
FEL FE 7 -61 0.016 $6,158,047.50
IDA INDIANA RESOURCES 7 -29 0.049 $5,193,749.00
SO4 SALT LAKE POTASH 6 -7 0.575 $115,511,528.00
RNU RENASCOR RESOURCES 6 -50 0.017 $19,608,214.00
NVA NOVA MINERALS 6 -58 0.015 $13,194,281.00
EMH EUROPEAN METALS 6 -8 0.35 $51,324,780.00
PGM PLATINA RESOURCES 6 -45 0.072 $19,281,216.00
KAI KAIROS MINERALS 6 -49 0.018 $15,340,911.00
TNG TNG 6 -42 0.096 $91,529,408.00
SUH SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE MINING 5 -45 0.039 $3,450,309.25
KSN KINGSTON RESOURCES 5 -13 0.02 $24,463,968.00
TNO TANDO RESOURCES 5 10 0.105 $19,383,708.00
BDC BARDOC GOLD 5 -57 0.045 $46,223,940.00
EUR EUROPEAN LITHIUM 5 -62 0.091 $48,739,684.00
VRC VOLT RESOURCES 5 -43 0.023 $30,565,042.00
BUX BUXTON RESOURCES 4 -4 0.12 $16,326,652.00
POW PROTEAN ENERGY 4 -70 0.012 $3,114,372.50
DEG DE GREY MINING 4 -25 0.097 $38,507,176.00
BEM BLACKEARTH MINERALS 4 -60 0.074 $4,785,288.00
DGR DGR GLOBAL 4 42 0.135 $79,713,648.00
JRV JERVOIS MINING 4 -48 0.245 $53,583,120.00
MLM METALLICA MINERALS 3 -39 0.03 $9,379,975.00
AUR AURIS MINERALS 3 -54 0.03 $12,260,430.00
CHN CHALICE GOLD MINES 3 22 0.155 $42,650,900.00
ORN ORION MINERALS 3 -24 0.032 $65,580,672.00
CLQ CLEAN TEQ HOLDINGS 3 -75 0.325 $231,361,072.00
SGQ ST GEORGE MINING 3 -20 0.165 $49,189,176.00
FGR FIRST GRAPHENE 3 -20 0.165 $66,188,640.00
BOA BOADICEA RESOURCES 3 0 0.19 $10,040,583.00
DEV DEVEX RESOURCES 2 -46 0.044 $4,137,306.75
MIN MINERAL RESOURCES 2 -5 15.93 $2,996,215,040.00
OMH OM HOLDINGS 2 6 1.32 $949,131,008.00
ERX EXORE RESOURCES 1 42 0.078 $35,846,764.00
RIO RIO TINTO 1 35 91.65 $133,135,122,432.00
BSX BLACKSTONE MINERALS 1 -74 0.097 $10,883,862.00
CZI CASSINI RESOURCES 1 34 0.098 $32,823,174.00
S32 SOUTH32 1 18 3.81 $19,429,103,616.00
JMS JUPITER MINES 0 376 0.335 $656,262,016.00
SEI SPECIALITY METALS 0 13 0.034 $16,646,293.00
EME ENERGY METALS 0 8 0.105 $22,016,748.00
IEC INTRA ENERGY 0 0 0.014 $5,428,136.50
AUT AUTECO MINERALS 0 0 0.006 $6,317,252.50
BDI BLINA MINERALS 0 0 0.001 $4,543,882.50
BAU BAUXITE RESOURCES 0 -5 0.06 $12,865,340.00
A4N ALPHA HPA 0 -8 0.125 $68,052,000.00
CXO CORE LITHIUM 0 -8 0.057 $39,584,600.00
VML VITAL METALS 0 -11 0.008 $13,940,890.00
NZC NZURI COPPER 0 -17 0.32 $93,210,232.00
ARE ARGONAUT RESOURCES 0 -18 0.018 $27,978,852.00
KOR KORAB RESOURCES 0 -21 0.027 $8,339,111.50
PLS PILBARA MINERALS 0 -23 0.715 $1,273,494,784.00
ADN ANDROMEDA METALS 0 -25 0.006 $8,132,995.50
PLL PIEDMONT LITHIUM 0 -31 0.11 $77,093,744.00
NMT NEOMETALS 0 -31 0.23 $125,114,080.00
SXX SOUTHERN CROSS EXPLORATION 0 -33 0.006 $6,461,059.00
DTM DART MINING 0 -36 0.005 $4,640,214.00
HAV HAVILAH RESOURCES 0 -39 0.165 $36,011,092.00
KTA KRAKATOA RESOURCES 0 -40 0.024 $2,820,000.00
HXG HEXAGON RESOURCES 0 -43 0.135 $39,390,760.00
BYH BRYAH RESOURCES 0 -43 0.08 $4,868,009.50
RMX RED MOUNTAIN MINING 0 -44 0.005 $3,890,184.00
LCD LATITUDE CONSOLIDATED 0 -48 0.016 $4,402,864.00
BSM BASS METALS 0 -52 0.012 $33,137,350.00
MCT METALICITY 0 -58 0.013 $7,832,028.50
OAR OAKDALE RESOURCES 0 -60 0.012 $805,052.25
PSM PENINSULA MINES 0 -67 0.004 $3,451,488.25
MTB MOUNT BURGESS MINING 0 -67 0.004 $1,807,517.63
CAD CAENEUS MINERALS 0 -67 0.001 $18,619,644.00
SI6 SIX SIGMA METALS 0 -69 0.004 $1,830,012.63
TKM TREK METALS 0 -70 0.006 $1,873,821.63
ZNC ZENITH MINERALS 0 -70 0.06 $12,765,728.00
SBR SABRE RESOURCES 0 -71 0.005 $2,034,868.00
TAR TARUGA MINERALS 0 -71 0.064 $9,034,703.00
CUL CULLEN RESOURCES 0 -71 0.012 $2,033,577.88
DHR DARK HORSE RESOURCES 0 -79 0.004 $7,904,346.50
LRS LATIN RESOURCES 0 -82 0.002 $6,482,506.50
RIE RIEDEL RESOURCES 0 -85 0.01 $4,180,697.00
CGM COUGAR METALS 0 -86 0.001 $1,065,472.13
NXE NEW ENERGY MINERALS 0 -89 0.029 $4,375,968.00
NWC NEW WORLD COBALT 0 -89 0.01 $5,515,176.50
RLC REEDY LAGOON 0 -89 0.005 $2,011,358.50
GXY GALAXY RESOURCES -1 -43 2.05 $823,198,528.00
SVM SOVEREIGN METALS -1 -32 0.082 $28,534,168.00
INF INFINITY LITHIUM -1 -39 0.082 $15,594,031.00
GME GME RESOURCES -1 -54 0.075 $36,160,516.00
ARU ARAFURA RESOURCES -2 -59 0.049 $36,070,156.00
ORE OROCOBRE -2 -44 3.35 $886,596,864.00
HIG HIGHLANDS PACIFIC -2 21 0.105 $114,737,056.00
ASN ANSON RESOURCES -3 -27 0.077 $37,152,176.00
CRL COMET RESOURCES -3 -62 0.032 $7,422,400.00
PIO PIONEER RESOURCES -3 -42 0.0145 $21,057,570.00
LIT LITHIUM AUSTRALIA -3 -49 0.086 $41,034,924.00
VMC VENUS METALS -3 -10 0.14 $12,672,057.00
AML AEON METALS -4 -2 0.275 $158,778,832.00
WKT WALKABOUT RESOURCES -4 47 0.135 $41,073,716.00
LPD LEPIDICO -4 -44 0.027 $90,616,728.00
IRC INTERMIN RESOURCES -4 -42 0.125 $29,423,558.00
ARL ARDEA RESOURCES -4 -70 0.5 $50,949,804.00
LPI LITHIUM POWER INTERNATIONAL -4 -49 0.215 $56,440,488.00
POS POSEIDON NICKEL -5 11 0.042 $110,993,480.00
BPL BROKEN HILL PROSPECTING -5 -73 0.021 $3,697,085.00
EUC EUROPEAN COBALT -5 -79 0.021 $15,995,644.00
LTR LIONTOWN RESOURCES -5 -48 0.02 $27,190,534.00
AVL AUSTRALIAN VANADIUM -5 -59 0.019 $41,450,720.00
HWK HAWKSTONE MINING -5 -44 0.018 $10,265,724.00
PSC PROSPECT RESOURCES -5 -61 0.018 $34,783,956.00
INR IONEER -5 -64 0.18 $272,871,936.00
CNJ CONICO -6 -56 0.017 $5,979,890.50
VXR VENTUREX RESOURCES -6 7 0.225 $58,190,912.00
MXR MAXIMUS RESOURCES -6 -35 0.075 $2,361,295.25
ARM AURORA MINERALS -6 -50 0.015 $1,756,999.25
TMT TECHNOLOGY METALS AUSTRALIA -6 -44 0.22 $20,137,458.00
GBE GLOBE METALS AND MINING -7 -22 0.014 $6,522,913.00
TKL TRAKA RESOURCES -7 -75 0.014 $4,638,494.50
AVZ AVZ MINERALS -7 -86 0.041 $93,611,136.00
CAZ CAZALY RESOURCES -7 -46 0.027 $6,286,114.50
SYR SYRAH RESOURCES -7 -72 1.08 $395,172,384.00
AUZ AUSTRALIAN MINES -7 -73 0.027 $83,897,736.00
CGN CRATER GOLD MINING -7 -32 0.013 $16,694,942.00
MZZ MATADOR MINING -8 -26 0.185 $11,046,083.00
FCC FIRST COBALT -8 -83 0.185 $62,774,536.00
GPX GRAPHEX MINING -8 -25 0.23 $20,083,628.00
PNN PEPINNINI LITHIUM -8 -89 0.0035 $2,456,023.25
OAU ORA GOLD -8 -54 0.011 $7,107,054.50
AMD ARROW MINERALS -8 -66 0.011 $3,459,946.75
AGY ARGOSY MINERALS -8 -71 0.105 $102,200,288.00
KNL KIBARAN RESOURCES -9 -35 0.1 $28,193,096.00
4CE FORCE COMMODITIES -9 -89 0.01 $4,245,158.50
COB COBALT BLUE -9 -86 0.145 $18,689,030.00
LKE LAKE RESOURCES -10 -64 0.057 $22,018,608.00
BKT BLACK ROCK MINING -10 27 0.065 $33,925,796.00
HNR HANNANS -10 -55 0.009 $17,891,590.00
MNS MAGNIS ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES -11 -48 0.25 $152,784,000.00
BAR BARRA RESOURCES -11 -38 0.031 $17,783,394.00
TLG TALGA RESOURCES -12 -29 0.55 $125,460,776.00
CZR COZIRON RESOURCES -13 -61 0.007 $12,498,859.00
CDT CASTLE MINERALS -13 -70 0.007 $1,566,571.88
MQR MARQUEE RESOURCES -14 -87 0.051 $2,265,447.00
THR THOR MINING -14 -53 0.019 $13,621,110.00
LI3 LITHIUM CONSOLIDATED -14 -52 0.05 $4,995,216.50
PAN PANORAMIC RESOURCES -14 -26 0.395 $195,338,560.00
CLA CELSIUS RESOURCES -14 -84 0.018 $14,387,144.00
HGM HIGH GRADE METALS -14 -90 0.007 $3,170,565.00
BGS BIRIMIAN -15 -66 0.17 $42,321,620.00
SVD SCANDIVANADIUM -15 -57 0.011 $3,870,527.00
MLS METALS AUSTRALIA -17 -38 0.003 $5,854,494.50
PMY PACIFICO MINERALS -17 -44 0.005 $8,232,189.50
SYA SAYONA MINING -17 -76 0.015 $27,540,160.00
MTC METALSTECH -17 -87 0.025 $2,806,893.25
MTH MITHRIL RESOURCES -17 -88 0.005 $2,534,335.25
WCN WHITE CLIFF MINERALS -17 -96 0.005 $2,822,081.25
OKR OKAPI RESOURCES -20 -60 0.16 $5,838,287.50
MRR MINREX RESOURCES -20 -83 0.012 $1,150,532.75
PUR PURSUIT MINERALS -23 -82 0.02 $3,927,601.25
ADV ARDIDEN -25 -82 0.003 $5,030,640.50
WML WOOMERA MINING -26 -79 0.035 $4,846,290.50
SCI SILVER CITY MINERALS -27 -80 0.008 $2,349,682.00
LML LINCOLN MINERALS -29 -84 0.005 $3,449,902.00
GLN GALAN LITHIUM -54 159 0.285 $34,294,648.00
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