Resources Top 5: These copper and lithium stocks are finishing the year on a high

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Friday December 30.

LEPIDICO (ASX:LPD)

(Up on no news)

LPD improved the economics of its Phase 1 lithium project, based on an integrated mine, concentrator and 5,600tpa hydroxide plant. It plans to build the mine and concentrator in Namibia and the chemical conversion plant in Abu Dhabi.

The original release from November 22 was updated in December to include “additional JORC-related disclosures in Annexure 1” which … who knows, might be important new info.

Mostly though, it was an opportunity to run through the improvements LPD had made on its original 2020 DFS.

The base case NPV8% of US$530m and IRR of 42% at a long-term lithium hydroxide price of US$22,840/t is a big improvement on DFS data of US$221m and 31% respectively.

LPD says the capital cost estimate including contingency for the chemical plant is US$203m and for the concentrator US$63m for a combined US$266m.

The next step for LPD is to lock in financing.

GREENX METALS (ASX:GRX)

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Investors still have their tail up on GreenX’s announcement that arbitration hearings in London have been completed in its claim against the Polish Government.

Before it turned into a “green metals” company, focused on exploring the Arctic Rift project in Greenland, ASX and London listed GreenX was a coal explorer called Prairie Mining.

It reckons the decision of the Polish Government to block the development of its Jan Karski and Debiensko coking coal projects violated the Poles’ obligations under treaties and deprived it of the “entire value of its investments in Poland”.

PURSUIT MINERALS (ASX:PUR)

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Pursuit entered an agreement to acquire Argentina-focused lithium company, Trilogy Minerals on December 14.

Trilogy holds the rights to acquire over 9,233ha at the Rio Grande Sur Project, which hosts a resource of 2.1Mt LCE at an average grade of 370mg/Li to a depth of 100m.

Surveys have identified lithium enriched brines to a depth of 500m, and planned drilling to this depth is expected to significantly increase the resource, the company says.

The next steps for the project are to carry out a Bankable Feasibility Study.

More recently, the company raised $1.5mn of the $2mn raise set out on December 14 from commitments received by sophisticated and professional investors which will be spent towards future work programs focused on converting its resource base to mineral resources and ore reserves.

PROSPECT RESOURCES (ASX:PSC)

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This battery metals explorer sold its 87% interest in the Arcadia Lithium Mine to Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt for US$378m in April 2022, giving back a chunk of that cash to shareholders.

It then entered an earn in agreement with Osino Resources to acquire up to 51% in the Omaruru Lithium Project in Namibia.

Omaruru hosts multiple LCT-style pegmatites at surface confirmed by several walk-up targets where previous drilling has returned outstanding intersections including 3m at 0.76% Li2O from 2m, 10m at 1.06% Li2O from 2m, and 8m at 1.20% Li2O from 145m.

PSC says the project comprises an exclusive exploration licence which hosts numerous lithium, tin, tantalum, rubidium, and caesium targets, including 60 Lithium-Caesium-Tantalum (LCT) pegmatite outcrops visible at surface.

ALVO MINERALS (ASX:ALV)

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ALV is chasing high grade copper VMS prospects in central Brazil at the Palma project and is a stock favourite of Discovery Capital Partners’ Adam Miethke.

The project boasts a resource across the C1 and C3 deposits of 4.6Mt at 1% copper, 3% zinc, 0.4% lead and 20ppm silver for 44,000t Cu, 179,000t Zn, 20,000t Pb and 3Moz Ag.

Drilling in early December identified new shallow, high-grade copper zones of supergene mineralisation after hitting 29m at 2% copper, 0.3% zinc, 0.1% lead, 7.6% silver and 0.03 g/t gold from 28m.

Diamond drilling is ongoing at the C3 cluster testing extensions to high-grade mineralisation at depth and along strike and testing the high-priority conductive regional targets.

The company expects strong news flow over the festive season.