Large cap mining and energy stocks ended a week of extraordinary gains and commodity price movements on a whimper as the Russian invasion of Ukraine kicked into another gear.
Materials, the sector index largely populated by the ASX’s major mining stocks finished the week up 8.14% while energy soared 8.85%, the only sectors to record week trading gains as commodity prices spiked as the BDS movement against Russian goods ramped up.
They were down 0.35% and 1.08% on Friday, respectively, with higher iron ore prices doing little to spark BHP (ASX:BHP), Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) or Fortescue (ASX:FMG) investors into action.
Thermal coal prices dipped today after hitting record highs of US$400/t a day earlier on news customers were looking to shift away from Russian cargoes.
At US$370/t the getting is still good for miners like Terracom (ASX:TER), which announced a further US$20 million debt repayment today.
From renegotiating its finance last year to hopefully being debt free and potentially paying dividends by the end of June, it’s been quite a glow up for the Blair Athol mine owner.
The big movers continue to be nickel, aluminium and palladium, three commodities Russia produces at a hefty rate despite sanctions being very much at the shadow level still.
LME nickel is pushing US$27,000/t, its strongest price point since February 2011. If it keeps going and breaks through US$30,000/t we could be looking at the strongest nickel market since 2008.
Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN) moderated its losses after a fire at a major nuclear plant in Ukraine under Russian attacks turned out to be less serious than first thought.
But it still lost 14.53% for the day as the whole uranium sector was hammered by investor fears.
Monsters share price today:
Resolute up on long term African outlook
One sector the gods were smiling on today was gold, up 0.2% to US$1940/oz at the time of writing.
Most major companies were in the green, with even recent disaster artist Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) enjoying some love.
RSG produced 316,464oz of gold at its West African mines in 2021 at an all in sustaining cost of US$1370/oz, generating a whopping net loss after tax of US$367.5m including a US$227.5m non-cash impairment charge.
$300 million Resolute has shed 55% of its value in the past 12 months, but is now heading on the comeback trail.
It was up almost 2% after a life of mine plan update, setting a long term goal of producing an average 370,000ozpa over five years to 2026 at lower all in sustaining costs of US$1191/oz.
Looking further into the future Resolute says it will produce 3.5Moz at US$1110/oz out to 2033.
A key plank of that is a larger oxide resource base at Syama and its satellite deposits which will extend oxide production from 2023 to 2026 and defer the US$80-100m development of the Tabakoroni sulphide deposit to 2026.
Drilling has seen Resolute increase its resources by 1Moz to 9.5Moz and maintain its 4.1Moz reserve base despite depletion and the sale of the 2.5Moz Bibiani mine last year.