• Astron has proposed a demerger to focus on developing large mineral sands projects
  • Mithril recently pulled up bonanza grades like 80.3g/t gold and 705g/t silver at the ‘El Refugio’ project
  • Atrum recovers some of its heavy losses in 2021 to be up 140% over the week

Here are the biggest small cap resources winners in early trade, Friday July 16.

 

ASTRON CORP (ASX:ATR)

(up on no news)

Earlier this month, Astron proposed a demerger of its China-based downstream processing and sales business to focus on developing its mineral sands projects.

If approved, Astron will retain ownership of the ‘Donald’ mineral sands project in Victoria, Australia and the ‘Niafarang’ mineral sands project in Senegal.

“The company considers it is involved in a potentially transformative event for its portfolio, its ability to progress the Donald mineral sands project to a production stage, and the associated creation of shareholder value,” chairman Gerald King says.

“If this project proceeds as planned by the company, it will represent Astron’s first, major upstream mining, concentrating and processing operation, producing mineral sands products of zircon and titania, as well as rare earth elements.”

The $60m market cap stock is up 147% year-to-date.

 

MITHRIL RESOURCES (ASX:MTH)

(Up on no news)

This $33m market cap explorer recently pulled up bonanza grades like 80.3g/t gold and 705g/t silver over 8.26 metres at the ‘El Refugio’ project in Mexico.

This extremely high-grade intercept extends the high-grade ‘clavo’ at El Refugio a further 160m down dip, the company says.

“Drilling at El Refugio has continued to consistently deliver excellent results establishing El Refugio as a significant deposit for gold and silver in the Copalquin district,” Mithril boss John Skeet says.

Deep drilling is ongoing.

 

ECOGRAF (ASX:EGR)

(Up on no news)

The EV industry is set to drive 700% growth in natural graphite demand by 2025.

Graphite stock EcoGraf reckons it is perfectly primed to take advantage of the avalanche of projected demand with three standalone businesses – mining, downstream processing and recycling.

The staged 5,000tpa to 20,000tpa Purified Spherical Graphite (PSG) processing plant in Perth – designed to be cheaper and ‘greener’ than current processes — will be the first of its kind outside China. PSG is a value-added product used to make the battery anode.

The company is targeting commencement of construction of the fully funded first phase facility by the end of the year.

The $330m market cap stock is up 330% year-to-date.

 

ATRUM COAL (ASX:ATU)

(Up on no news)

Atrum is one of a class of juniors hit by regulatory hurdles with proposed coking coal operations in the Canadian Rockies.

The most notable is Gina Rinehart’s Riversdale Resources, which copped a call from authorities that its $800 million Grassy Mountain coal mine was not in the public interest.

Atrum said at the time “it is Atrum’s expectation that the Elan Project will be judged on its own merits.”

It has recovered some of its recent heavy losses in 2021 to be up 140% over the past week.

 

KOGI IRON (ASX:KFE)

(Up on no news)

Kogi has ambitious plans to build a cast steel plant in Nigeria’s Kogi state.

The plant will be fed by the company’s iron ore deposits and supply cast steel feedstock to manufacturers in Nigeria and overseas.

The $20m market cap tiddler is down about 40% year-to-date.

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