Resources Top 5: Could this groundbreaking tech shake up the graphite sector?

Green Critical Minerals has entered into a binding technology purchase agreement with Cerex for graphite-processing tech
OD6 Metals acquires historical high-grade copper mine in NSW
Gold Hydrogen finds helium-3 at Ramsay project in South Australia

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in morning trade, Wednesday, October 30. Prices accurate at time of writing.

Green Critical Minerals (ASX:GCM)

GCM is moving straight into the pilot stage of proving up its graphite tech after entering into a binding technology purchase agreement with Cerex, which produces saleable graphite blocks from graphite powder.

The technology mixes graphite with pre-cursors and heating, resulting in very high-density graphite blocks (‘VHD Graphite’) which can be used in a wide variety of applications.

Given the unique properties of VHD Graphite, it is expected that the final product will be produced in a mould, allowing a large variety of graphite shapes and blocks to be manufactured.

Notwithstanding the proposed acquisition, GCM will continue to be a mineral exploration and development company with its flagship asset – the McIntosh project in WA – boasting 30.2Mt in WA following a substantial 26% grade upgrade in July.

“We believe this technology will potentially revolutionise the graphite market, with the ability to produce VHD Graphite at a fraction of the cost of pyrolytic graphite, providing GCM a significant competitive advantage,” GCM managing director Clinton Booth said.

“This agreement has been achieved on the back of an extended engagement with the inventor and made possible due to the shared vision of both the inventor and GCM to bring new and innovative products to market.”

Investors are taking shine to the stock with more than 55.98m shares changing hands and shares trading in the range of 200 to 250%.

OD6 Metals (ASX:OD6)

Rare earths explorer OD6 is the latest company on the bourse to shift its focus towards the red metal – an essential building block to modern life and the transition towards a net zero economy – following the acquisition of one of Australia’s highest grade historical copper mines.

After reviewing over 40 potential new projects, OD6 MD Brett Hazelden said the company has entered into a binding documentation to acquire the licence over the historical Gulf Creek project in NSW.

A high-grade volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit, the asset was mined at the turn of the last century, between 1896 and 1912, with very high grades averaging between 2 to 6.5% copper within the three main lodes.

“Exploration prospectivity is immense as there has been no modern exploration of substance since the mine closed, with only two drill holes completed more than 60 years ago,” Hazelden said.

The asset hosts both greenfields and brownfields potential with more than >3km of untested strike in the immediate mine stratigraphy, as well as >10km across the tenement.

A Phase 1 program consisting of 14 holes for up to 3,000m has been has been designed to test the area in and around the historical workings and is fully permitted to begin during early 2025.

The exploration license, EL8492, covers an area of 2,375ha (23.75km) and is located near the town of Barraba, approximately 400km by road to the port of Newcastle and 550km north of Sydney.

Investors are keen to get in on the story with more than 3.14m shares changing hands and shares trading in the range of 79.3% and 93.10%.

Polymetals Resources (ASX:POL)

(Up on no news)

POL is growing increasingly confident in its decision to restart the prolific Endeavor mine near Cobar in NSW after it cropped up some exceptional results from geotechnical drilling at the Upper North Lode area of the project.

The junior reckons the intercepts of up to 13.5g/t gold, 1410g/t silver, 12.5% zinc & 34.0% lead are evidence that a significant portion of Upper North Lode can support accelerated mining rates, especially after hitting into a nice, thick 67m at 517g/t silver and 2.01g/t gold mineralised zone.

The Endeavor mine is on track for an imminent restart with first cashflows in H1 2025 after an optimised mine plan demonstrated the mine could produce 260,000t zinc, 90,000t lead and 10.6Moz silver to generate a whopping $1.85 billion in revenue over an initial 10-year Stage 1 mine life.

And that doesn’t include the 13,000oz of gold that’s hosted within the the Upper North Lode that can potentially boost early revenues.

Gold Hydrogen (ASX:GHY)

GHY shares are on the up with exciting developments at the company’s Ramsay project in South Australia including the confirmation of Helium-3 within the asset area.

Helium-3 is an incredibly rare and valuable gas in high demand from the world’s largest countries for its use in nuclear fusion.

It is a non-radioactive isotope of helium, prized for its neutron absorption capabilities and its unique role in neutron detection, low-temperature physics experiments plus nuclear detection and quantum computing.

GHY said confirming Helium-3 within a land-based system could be revolutionary.

“With up to 100kg of Helium-3 potentially needed annually to power a single 1 GW fusion plant, we’re looking at the potential to participate in a substantial market forecast to be worth an estimated $1.4 billion per 1 GW fusion plant,” GHY managing director Neil McDonald said.

“This rare and recoverable resource could position Ramsay as a world-class project of strategic significance.

“There is more research, work and exploration required to understand the source and generation of the Helium, and we will press forward on this exciting opportunity.”

Kuniko (ASX:KNI)

(Up on no news)

Critical mineral explorer KNI has exploration interests in Canada as well as a suite of a key assets in Norway with recent focus residing on the Ringerike battery metals asset 40km northwest of Oslo.

A field campaign earlier this month returned significant copper results with assays grading 4.72% copper, 3.21% copper and 1.86% copper along a 20km mineralised trend throughout Ringerike.

Geological mapping conducted over the Jolinatten prospect turned up grades of up to 1.86% copper, 1.87% nickel, 0.10% cobalt, 0.43 ppm gold and 0.21ppm palladium, confirming the project’s ‘district-scale’ opportunity.

“The results show similarities to Voisey’s Bay, one of the world’s premier nickel-copper-cobalt sulphide systems,” KNI chief executive officer Antony Bechmand said.

“With continued exploration, we believe Ringerike has the potential to deliver mineralisation as good as Voisey’s Bay, making it a highly promising development for Kuniko.

“Notably, the strong copper results at multiple locations reinforce Ringerike’s potential to meet the rising demand for copper, alongside nickel and cobalt which are strategic minerals for strengthening Europe’s domestic supply chains.”

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Green Critical Minerals is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.