- Lithum company Sayona, gold miner Capricorn bumrush the ASX 200
- Uranium plays Boss Energy and Deep Yellow enter the ASX 300
- Critical minerals the big theme, with rare earths, nickel, battery recycling and high grade iron ore companies among others entering ASX 300
Two uranium plays have wedged their way into the critical ASX 300 index while two miners, including a rare shining light in the gold industry, are in the ASX 200 for the first time.
$1.3 billion capped Capricorn Metals (ASX:CMM) has swum against the tide in 2022, with the Mark Clark led gold miner lifting 4.15% year to date as both gold prices and equities have faltered.
Run by the names behind the success stories of Equigold and Regis Resources (ASX:RRL), Capricorn is incredibly now worth $120 million more than Clark’s former haunt after just one full year of production at the Karlawinda gold mine in WA.
Also moving into the ASX 200 is lithium co. Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA), which is pressing ahead with plans to become the first active Canadian producer of spodumene since the market’s crash a few years ago, with the restart next year of the North American Lithium operations in Quebec.
They will be a welcome inclusion for index funds, replacing among others AVZ Minerals (ASX:AVZ). The former investor favourite has been up s**t creek with no liquidity for months after locking itself in a seemingly endless trading halt as it grapples with an attempt from Chinese mining giant Zijin to wrestle a large chunk of the Manono lithium and tin project from its hands.
And into the ASX 300
The ASX 300 is a major trigger point for the inclusion of companies in index linked funds commonly traded by superannuation and passive funds.
The big flavour in the inclusions for September is the growing desire of investors to put their money into miners linked to the energy transition.
Uranium is back in favour in places like Japan and back in fashion like a thrift shop pair of flared jeans.
Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) rebuilding the Honeymoon uranium mine in South Australia after almost a decade in mothballs, and John Borshoff’s Deep Yellow (ASX:DYL), which merged with Vimy Resources in the first major corporate deal in years in the yellowcake space, are both in the ASX 300.
Spot uranium prices have nearly tripled off their decade long lows of ~US$18/lb in 2016 to more than US$50/lb for much of the past year.
Rare earths play Arafura Resources (ASX:ARU), owner of Australia’s only undeveloped shovel ready deposit of the rare earth elements neodymium and praseodymium, also cracked the ASX 300 along with reborn nickel miner Mincor (ASX:MCR), lithium miner Argosy (ASX:AGY), battery recycler Neometals (ASX:NMT) and high grade iron ore producer Grange Resources (ASX:GRR).
A trio of African miners, Firefinch (ASX:FFX), Sierra Rutile (ASX:SRX) and Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) tumbled out of the ASX 300.
New Monstars share prices today: