• Graphite stocks are still in the limelight today after the weekend’s big news out of China. LML and SYR are notable performers
  • There’s some boardroom musical chairs happening at WA lithium hunter Errawarra
  • And a rock the ancient Romans once digged is on the ASX radar today, too

Here are the biggest resources winners in early trade, Tuesday October 24.

 

Lincoln Minerals (ASX:LML)

This small Aussie graphite explorer is surging so far today after coming off a trading halt and announcing the completion of a $1.7m (at 0.6c per share) placement led by Sequoia Wealth Management.

This comes, too, amid a surge this week for local graphite stocks as news hits that China is curtailing its exports of the crucial battery metal. Read yesterday’s Resources Top 5 and particularly Josh Chiat’s Monsters of Rock for a bit more nuance on this.

And also, per The Australian today: 

Australian graphite stocks surged on Monday after China announced late last week it would soon implement export controls on two types of the mineral which are crucial for battery manufacturing.

China produces about two thirds of all natural graphite used globally and refines more than 90 per cent of graphite battery anode material.

Graphite is used as the anode material in lithium-ion battery manufacturing and is therefore used in virtually all electric vehicle batteries.

The Chinese move follows the US imposing new limits on the types of semiconductors which can be sold to Chinese firms, and the EU announcing last month it would investigate whether to impose tariffs on Chinese-made EVs, which the European Commission says are benefiting from government subsidies.

Lincoln Minerals is focused on development of the Kookaburra Gully graphite project, on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.

The aim for this fresh funding is to accelerate exploration at the company’s flagship project, including upcoming drilling programs at both the Kookaburra Gully and Koppio graphite deposits.

The company notes that strong support for the placement came from existing major shareholders including Julian Babarczy’s Vaucluse Investment Holdings, which increases its stake to 18.1%.

Lincoln Minerals management and directors also participated for $61,200, subject to shareholder approval. 

Regarding the upcoming drilling operations, Lincoln says it expects to confirm “strong graphite grades and  increase and upgrade the company’s mineral resource”.

In other stonking graphite-surging moves, by the way, Syrah Resources -SYR (ASX:) is a late-breaking +20% surger today.

Shaw and Partners analyst Peter Kormendy, who leads Shaw’s graphite coverage, has a $1.30 price target and buy rating on it. He’s buy rated on Evolution Energy Minerals (ASX:EV1) and Black Rock Mining (ASX:BKT) as well.

Yesterday, Syrah added more than 40 per cent, and is up another 23% at the time of writing.

LML share price

 

SYR share price

 

Errawarra Resources (ASX:ERW)

WA focused explorer (mainly nickel and lithium at present, but also gold and graphite), is up, following news of a board change. Namely, non-exec director Jonathan Battershill’s resignation and Bruce Garlick’s appointment into a similar role.

Garlick is a finance executive with more than 30 years’ experience under his belt in the fields of mining, exploration and engineering. Handy.

On October 19 Errawarra provided a “boots on ground” update on its lithium hunt in the Pilbara, at its highly prospective Andover West project, which adjoins big gun projects belonging to Azure Minerals (ASX:AZS)  and Raiden Resources (ASX:RDN).

Essentially:

• Multiple pegmatites have been identified from ongoing reconnaissance rock chip sampling at Andover West.

• Follow-up sampling will be focused on four pegmatite zones where anomalous lithium results were previously returned.

• And the project area “continues to display potential for lithium bearing pegmatites as more are identified”.

ERW share price

 

Native Mineral Resources (ASX:NMR)

A coveted rock/stone of the Roman Empire, porphyry is still highly prized as a landscaping and building material today, and it’s on the radar of at least a couple of ASX surgers today, NMR included. 

The Aussie explorer (which recently also delivered good news regarding its Canadian lithium hunt) has announced the first batch of assays from its diamond-drilling program at the Maneater Hill project in far north Queensland. 

The company notes that the 57 assays cover an interval between 237 and 294 metres, and initial results “expand the large low grade silver, lead, zinc mineralisation found within the Maneater tenement area”. 

Mineralised, altered porphyry has reportedly been found near the bottom of hole MPD005, which indicates “the presence of an intrusive body that “could be the source for the low grade mineralisation seen in the drilling to date”.

A second batch of 75 assays, that cover the 125 metres to the bottom of MPD005 are currently being assessed. 

NMR’s MD,  Blake  Cannavo,  said:  “Drilling at Maneater remains ongoing, and although the initial assays received do not indicate high-grade mineralisation so far, they do provide our technical team with a much better geological understanding of the project area. 

“We are also noting some early stage similarities to the notable Red Dome and Mungana deposits with both deposits being associated with mineralised porphyries.”

NMR share price

 

Superior Resources (ASX:SPQ)

(Up on… recent news)

Copper, gold, molybdenum and (like NMR above) porphyry. These are the superior resources Superior Resources is focused on at present, and they have some news since we last updated you on the company’s movements.

Specifically, the company is focused on the minerals in a Phase 2 diamond-core drilling campaign at its flagship Bottletree prospect within its 100%-owned Greenvale project, some 210km west of Townsville, Queensland. 

We’re not 100% sure if the SPQ share price is related to the company’s last significant update to the ASX on October 19, but, per that, it noted:

The planned program comprises a total of 10 diamond core holes ranging from 350m to 500m total depths for a total of 4,250 metres.

And the drilling is targeting “a central interpreted intrusion centre of the  large-scale Cu-Au-Mo porphyry alteration system discovered during the 2022 program and strike extensions to wall rock porphyry zone associated with the Discovery Outcrop area”. 

SPQ share price

 

Australian Critical Minerals (ASX:ACM)

(Up on no fresh news)

Australian Critical Minerals was up near 30% a short time ago at the time of writing. Why? Good question – there’s not a lot of immediately obvious news regarding the WA-based diverse minerals, rare earths and battery metals explorer, but let’s dig around.

The company is a joint venture partner of Kula Gold (ASX:KGD), which is also up nicely so far today (+16% at time of writing) after releasing a positive cash flow report on October 20 and recently announcing a significant management shift amid plenty of exploration activity (more on that here).

ACM, though, recently completed a 249 hole auger drilling program to guide future drilling over the northwestern portion of the rare earths anomaly at its Rankin Dome project and is carrying out a 900m reverse circulation drill program to test areas of rare earths anomalism in soils.

And earlier this month, it delivered this news, too – a loyalty options offer to eligible sharehodlers…

ACM share price

 

 

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Native Mineral Resources is a Stockhead advertiser at the time of writing, it did not sponsor this article. 

 

Read MoreGraphite

Featured Companies

You might be interested in