Resources Top 5: Takeover bids, more uranium, and explorer goes parabolic on nickel discovery

Metal Hawk +250% after revealing a Kambalda style nickel discovery in maiden drilling
Battery metals-uranium explorer A-Cap now +170% over past month
Metalicity makes off-market, all share takeover bid for JV partner Nex Metals

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Tuesday September 14.

METAL HAWK (ASX:MHK)

Metal Hawk gained +250% in early trade after uncovering a Kambalda style nickel discovery in maiden drilling at the ‘Berehaven’ project near Kalgoorlie.

The explorer, which only listed November last year, hit 2m of massive (best stuff) and semi-massive (second best stuff) nickel sulphides from 144m to 146m at the ‘Commodore’ prospect.

Assays are due in about 3-4 weeks.

Upside abounds, because this area has never been drilled for nickel before, the company says. This is partially because of a thick layer of iron-rich laterite which has made surface EM surveys – a useful tool for finding sulphides – ineffective.

“This is a fantastic result from Metal Hawk’s first RC drilling program that has confirmed our belief in the potential for massive nickel sulphide discoveries to be made on this exciting and underexplored project,” managing director Will Belbin says.

“We look forward to ramping up our nickel sulphide exploration at Berehaven and plans for diamond drilling are well underway.”

The $30m market cap stock is up 230% on its IPO price of 20c per share.

A-CAP ENERGY (ASX:ACB)

(Up on no news)

This sleepy +80m market cap battery metals-uranium explorer is now up 170% over the past month.

A-Cap says the currently mothballed ‘Letlhakane’ project in Botswana contains one of the world’s largest undeveloped uranium deposits.

“The company’s Letlhakane uranium project remains an important project asset within the diversified minerals strategy,” A-Cap said late July.

“Currently the Botswana operations have a small team managing the administration and providing technical continuity for the project whilst waiting for market conditions to improve.

“The remaining team will keep the mining licence conditions in compliance and complete low-level desktop studies to further the project.”

NEX METALS EXPLORATION (ASX:NME)

Gold explorer Metalicity (ASX:MCT) has made an off-market, all share takeover bid for joint venture partner Nex Metals following 12 months of behind-the-scenes discussions.

NME shareholders would get 4.81 MCT shares for every NME share they own. That’s equivalent to ~4.8c per share, 30% premium to NME’s most recent closing price but a big discount from recent highs.

A successful bid would see the high grade ‘Kookynie’ and ‘Yundamindra’ gold projects (51% and operator MCT, 49% NME) owned by a single listed entity, with NME shareholders to retain an exposure through an interest of 37.5% of the combined company.

“The combination of Metalicity and Nex Metals makes logical sense,” MCT chairman Andrew Daley says.

“Rationalising the ownership of the projects into a single listed entity creates a number of compelling benefits for both groups of shareholders and allows us to better realise and maximise the value of the projects for all shareholders.

“We envisage the combined entity would be able to accelerate the development of the projects through better access to capital, reduced costs and greater efficiencies from removing the current JV structure.”

CODRUS MINERALS (ASX:CDR)

(Up on no news)

This explorer has news pending.

Spun out of battery metals play Blackstone Minerals (ASX: BSX), Codrus listed in June with a plan to attack its underexplored WA and US gold projects with a vengeance.

Maiden drilling was completed late August at the ‘Silver Swan South’ gold and nickel project near Kalgoorlie in WA, with assays due in the next couple of weeks.

Codrus managing director Shannan Bamforth said the combination of assay results and down-hole EM surveys should give the company a clear picture of the next steps at this “exciting” project.

“In the meantime, we are gearing up for the start of our next drilling campaign, with 4,000m of RC drilling planned to commence next month [September] at the Red Gate Project at Edjudina,” he says.

“This will ensure we continue to maintain a high level of exploration momentum across our portfolio.”

The $7m market cap stock is down marginally on its IPO price of 20c per share.

NEXUS MINERALS (ASX:NXM)

(Up on no news)

The explorer keeps hitting high-grade gold at the emerging ‘Wallbrook’ gold project in WA.

Earlier this month, the previously undrilled ‘Templar’ discovery delivered numerous hits like 10m @ 5.64g/t gold (within 23m @ 2.85g/t Au from 132m).

Templar and the neighbouring ‘Crusader’ target could be part of one giant system, Nexus managing director Andy Tudor says.

“These broad high-grade results received from Templar occur in the same altered and mineralised rocks we see at the Crusader prospect, 1.2km to the south,” he says.

“This has effectively linked the two prospects together into one large mineralised system.”

A 700m deep diamond drill hole at Templar is now underway.

The $86m market cap stock is up ~200% over the past month to decade highs.