Resources Top 4: St George carves out $38m niobium deal while investors wait to buy the dip

St George grabs a Brazilian niobium-REE-phosphate play adjacent to the world’s largest producer
Diggers keep dealing and nickel seems to be back on the radar
Uranium penny stocks get a boost with acquisitions in Australia, South America and Africa

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in morning trade, Tuesday, August 6. Prices accurate at time of writing.

After more than US$3.5 TRILLION was wiped off the S&P 500 overnight, it’s relatively all quiet in the market today, not just the ressie front. And you know what they say during these tumultuous times for those with free cash? Buy the dip.

While the rest of the world is crying into their pillows, wallets are still opening on the back of news out of this year’s Diggers and Dealers mining conference in Kalgoorlie. Here’s our daily scoop of ASX resources small caps that have lit green candles today…

St George Mining (ASX:SGQ)

It looks like no one is willing, nor able, to stop the scramble for niobium (Nb) lately and SGQ has pumped on the back of news it’s just landed a deal to acquire the world-class Araxá niobium-REE-phosphate project for $38m.

It’s in the same complex as China-backed CBMM, the world’s largest producer of the material (80%) and Mosaic’s world-class phosphate mine in Brazil’s growing Minas Gerais’ critical minerals mining province.

There’s extensive, ultra-high-grade Nb2O5 intercepts of up to 8%, total rare earth oxides (TREO) of 33% and a 32% splash of phosphate to boot across the carbonatite landholding, in a region where a flurry of deals are being made to unlock its enormous critical minerals potential.

St George’s new niobium tenure and surrounding projects. Source: SGQ

SGQ is no stranger to niobium as it’s already been digging up ground across its Destiny project in the emerging world-class critical minerals district of West Arunta in WA.

‘What’s niobium’ you say? READ MORE: Niobium’s rise in West Arunta sparks ASX juniors into global hunt

Those letters and numbers may provide weight to the reasoning behind the junior asking the market for an extra $21.25m to fund the purchase and already has some firm commitments to the deal.

“We are delighted with the strong investor support for the Araxá acquisition with firm commitments received for our $21.25 million fund raising,” SGQ exec chair John Prineas said.

“St George will be fully funded to leverage the advanced status of the project and to progress to being a globally significant player in the niobium and rare earths sector.

“We also welcome Itafos Inc (TSX-V:IFOS), a global fertiliser company and the vendor of the Araxá Project, as a new and substantial shareholder of St George.”

CBMM’s flagship niobium mine abuts the south-east border of the project, whilst Mosaic’s world-class phosphate mine is immediately to the south-west.

Shares in St George pumped against the market trend in early trade today with a 26.4% rise to 4.3c.

Poseidon Nickel (ASX:POS)

(Up on no news)

With the suspension of BHP (ASX:BHP) nickel assets until 2027, investor movements into stocks with the ore in WA are gaining interest – this time for Poseidon Nickel, which owns two concentrators in the Kambalda region of the Goldfields mining district.

It’s got a ready-to-go setup with its Black Swan project that’s been laying dormant due to price depressions over the past few years.

At the helm are co-recipients of AMEC prospector of the year for 2020 for their discovery of the Cassini deposit with Mincor, which was subsequently bought out by Andrew Forrest’s Wyloo Metals.

The 28.9Mt at 0.77% Black Swan surrects a 222,000t nickel deposit and has a 2.2Mtpa mill with associated infrastructure.

The explorer also has the higher grade 3.4Mt @ 1.5% Ni Lake Johnston resource and 9.7Mt Windarra project in the wings.

Shares are bouncing up and down with POS lately and currently up 33.3% to 0.04c per share.

Aruma Resources (ASX:AAJ)

(Up on no news)

Penny stock AAJ keeps gaining interest after being approved to acquire copper and uranium projects in Queensland and South Australia.

It’s Bortala copper-gold project near Mt Isa and exploration licences in the uranium-rich Gawler Craton are both highly prospective for economic mineralisation.

It’s also conducting fieldwork at Fiery Creek, which has multiple high-grade copper prospects with up to 36% Cu being found in surface sample rock chips.

Shares in the explorer have bounced back again to trade up 116.6% and swap at 1.4c per share at time of writing.

Oar Resources (ASX:OAR)

(Up on no news)

One to watch perhaps in the yellowcake sector as OAR has bought into two exploration licenses in Namibia, home to some of the biggest uranium mines in the world.

It’s also acquired REE-uranium projects in Brazil’s burgeoning critical minerals district, pegging 880km2 of prospective tenements across the states of Parana, Paraiba, Rio Grande Do Sul and Goiás.

It recently raised $1m to kick off exploration at its new tenements and is using the funds to hit the ground running across its African and South American prospects.

Shares doubled in the $2.6m minnow today, up 100% to 0.2c per share.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While St George Mining is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.