Resources Top 5: Here are the graphite, gold and copper stocks rising above the pack on Monday

Graphite stock Lincoln Mineral preps for 6000m drilling campaign
Minerals 260 hits more copper-gold at emerging Mynt discovery
MetalsGrove, Globe Metals & Mining, and SI6 Metals up on no news

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Monday February 27.

LINCOLN MINERALS (ASX:LML)

In January, the graphite explorer rose, Lazarus-like, from over two years in bourse purgatory.

It has performed fairly well since then, currently up ~290% on its pre-suspension price of 0.8c.

LML’s main game is the advanced Kookaburra Gully project in South Australia, which has a 3.88Mt resource grading 12.6% TGC for 489,360t of contained graphite.

In March, a ~6000m drilling campaign will kick off to grow resources at the Kookaburra Gully deposit (2.03Mt) and the nearby historic Koppio graphite mine (1.85Mt).

The main target is the +2km-long Kookaburra Gully Extended prospect, which (as its name suggests) is along strike from the main Kookaburra Gully resource.

“The company believes further drilling to infill the existing broad spaced drilling, as well as the strike continuity, which is open to the north, south and at depth, will potentially bolster the potential for the Kookaburra graphite project to become a world-class graphite resource,” it says.

Meanwhile, Quantum Graphite’s (ASX:QGL) ‘takeover attempt that won’t go away’ has been extended for the fourth time.

The all-share offer (1 QGL share for every 40 LML Shares held, currently valuing LML at 1.35c per share) has already been rejected by the board and substantial shareholders in the company.

“Lincoln’s board has pointed out that the offer on the table is basically a textbook lowball,” says Stockhead’s Gregor Stronach.

“Any lower, in fact, and it’d need a jungle-strength support jock to prevent unsightly gravel rash.”

$165m market cap QML says Kookaburra Gully has synergies with its nearby mothballed, century-old ‘Uley’ graphite mine, one of the largest high-grade natural flake deposits in the world.

MINERALS 260 (ASX:MI6)

MI6 was spun out of lithium project developer Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR) with a focus on copper, gold, nickel and PGEs in the Julimar mineral province of south west WA.

Early-stage drilling at Mynt, part of the wholly owned Moora project, is dialling in +1km long copper-gold trend “which is open both along strike and down-dip”.

Highlight results from the latest campaign include 21m @ 1.3% Cu and 0.4g/t Au from 119m, including: 5m @ 2.4% Cu and 0.8g/t Au from 121m and 4m @ 2.3% Cu and 0.7g/t Au from 129m.

Assays are also pending from a recently completed diamond hole drilled ~90m below MRRC0040, which returned 14m @ 2.9% Cu and 1.1/t Au from 100m back in March last year.

MI6 says this new hole hit a ~35m thick zone of strong sulphide mineralisation similar to that observed in the holes reported above.

“Mynt continues to develop into what appears to be a significant mineralised system, with recent drilling delivering new wide copper-gold intercepts on either side of the discovery hole and strong visual indications from deeper drilling,” managing director Dave Richards says.

“We are pleased that the latest results have validated the geological observations that led to us to proceed with the second phase of drilling at Mynt, and we look forward to receiving the next round of assays and planning follow-up drilling.”

Assays are pending for another 14 holes at Mynt, as well as 26 holes across the wider Moora and adjacent Koojan JV areas as part of an 82-hole/12,959m RC program testing multiple targets.

The $70m capped stock is flat year to date. It was cashed up with ~$21m in the bank at the end of December.

METALSGROVE MINING (ASX:MGA)

(Up on no news)

This recently listed minnow has been busy across a portfolio of lithium, rare earths, base metal and manganese projects in WA and the NT.

First results from a maiden 4200m drilling campaign at the Upper Coondina lithium project in the Pilbara are due in the current quarter.

The main target here is Chola, a pegmatite corridor measuring ~4km x 2km.

In Q2, +6000m of drilling will kick off at the Bruce (lithium and rare earths), Box Hole (base metals and rare earths) and Edwards Creek (copper and gold) prospects, part of the Arunta project in the NT.

The rig then trundles back across the border in Q3 to punch 2500m into the Woodie Woodie manganese project, also in the Pilbara, where 12 targets have been defined.

The $5.5m capped stock is flat year-to-date. It had $4.5m in the bank at the end of December.

GLOBE METALS & MINING (ASX:GBE)

(Up on no news)

GBE says its Kanyika project in Malawi will be the first niobium mine in 50 years when it comes online.

Niobium, which captured investor hearts last year thanks to a spectacular discovery by WA1 Resources (ASX:WA1) in WA’s Kimberley region, is mostly used in the manufacture of high strength alloy steels.

GBE has working on updating project studies and getting approvals since releasing its Feasibility in August 2021.

The initial project study envisaged a 23-year mine life producing 3,250t of niobium and 140t of tantalum for average annual cashflow of $US225m.

It would cost $US250m to build according to the study, which GBE is now updating with a phased approach to construction and commencement of operations to reduce up-front costs.

“It is anticipated that these endeavours will take until Q3 2023, whereafter the company will need to raise further funding for work to commence on both the mine and refinery sites, with a view to being in production by Q3 2024,” the company says.

The $33m capped stock is up 10% year-to-date. It had $1.2m in the bank at the end of December.

SI6 METALS (ASX:SI6)

(Up on no news)

The baby explorer is building resources at the 154,000oz Monument gold project in WA, directly along strike of the ~2Moz Mt Morgan’s project owned by ambitious goldie Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD).

GMD and producer St Barbara are expected to merge as part of GMD’s consolidation of mines and projects around SI6 in mineral-rich Laverton.

“Recent corporate activity within the area proximal to [Monument] highlights the prospectivity of the region e.g. Genesis’s takeover offer for Dacian as well as St Barbara and Genesis’ merger proposal,” SI6 says.

New drilling at Monument is pulling up respectable numbers, including a highlight 24m @ 3.24g/t Au from 44m including 12m @ 6.35g/t Au.

The $4m capped stock had $1.7m in the bank at the end of December.