The ASX copped a haircut to round out the last week of the earnings season, with the market’s recent unwavering optimism slapped by companies fumbling their numbers in an age-old song and dance routine.
On the other side of the world Wall Street bounced, with the S&P 500 pushing record highs after Fed boss Powell hinted at rate cuts as US second quarter GDP numbers clocked in at a perky 3.3 per cent growth, shaking off first quarter’s stumble.
It was a nervous week in the office at the Fed, with Governor Lisa Cook copping a Presidential back-hander from Trump for alleged mortgage shenanigans (explain this to me - because I can’t) – but she’s now suing him and Powell. Only in the US can the president get sued like this but for the scandal to simply slide like water of the Big Don’s back. Just another day.
Nvidia crushed its quarterly numbers - again - but the market wasn’t overly impressed, giving it a small clip suggesting the AI chip king’s wild growth days may be settling down into a steadier run-slash-jog.
Gold sparkled back to A$5200 an ounce on further rate-cut chatter, firing up producers and small-cap explorers alike. With the broader Aussie resources sector thriving on the week, and iron ore prices scratching out a two-week high, perhaps Beijing’s grip may be slipping a touch. But honestly, who’s to know?
Lithium also seems to have well and truly shaken off its two-year “winter,” with Chinese mine closures projected to push spodumene prices back to US$1250/t, breathing life into Mineral Resources and Pilbara Minerals. The latter is up 6 per cent to end the week and well over 50 per cent in under a month, and that’s no small beer.
Breaking it down, and cutting through the noise, Bulls N’ Bears Runners of the Week this week is a bright selection of junior resource companies focused not only on critical minerals and copper-gold but also, happily the long-dormant oil and gas sector.
It appears, after an extended break, some of these long overlooked hydrocarbon hopefuls in the junior oil and gas space are beginning to fly their colours again. In fact, to underline the point, taking out top spot in our Runners of the Week is a once-beleaguered oil and gas listing out of the somewhat embattled nation of Zimbabwe that now appears to be reborn.
INVICTUS ENERGY LIMITED (ASX: IVZ)
Up 259% (5.15c – 18.5c)
Bulls N’ Bears’ Runner of the Week is African oil and gas hopeful Invictus Energy, which has stirred from its slumber this week with hopes of unlocking its flagship Cabora Bassa project in Zimbabwe.
The company could be something of a leviathan, having inked a blockbuster deal with Qatar’s Sheikh Mansour for a maxed out 19.9 per cent equity stake for a measly $37.8 million at 9.5c per share. The investment is accompanied by a pivotal US$500 million in conditional future funding to push Invictus’ mammoth Mukuyu gas discovery toward commercial production.
Invictus says it and Al Mansour Holdings will also form Al Mansour Oil & Gas (AMOG), a joint venture to acquire producing and near-term oil and gas assets across Africa, with Invictus handling technical and operational management and Al Mansour providing funding, what a combo.
A representative from Al Mansour will join the Invictus board to cement the partnership, as the long-dormant Cabora Bassa project in Zimbabwe’s Muzarabani Basin looks destined to finally flow gas to the African market.
Cabora holds an insane, estimated 20 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas and condensate potential – that’s trillion with a ‘T’ - making it one of Africa’s largest undeveloped gas fields.
Shares, accordingly surged 145 per cent on Wednesday’s announcement, followed by another rocketing leap of 42.31 per cent on Thursday, to a 12-month high of 18.5c, with $30 million in stock traded.
That combined uptick added nearly $36 million in paper value to Al Mansour’s holdings - not bad for a couple of days work.
If AMOG’s M&A spree delivers and Mukuyu flows, Invictus could transform from a rusted-on Zimbabwean junior to a pan-African titan.
BASIN ENERGY LIMITED (ASX: BSN)
Up 220% (2.5c - 8c)
Snagging silver is Canadian-based uranium explorer Basin Energy, after the explorer scooped up private critical minerals company in NeoDys, securing a prime position in northwest Queensland’s Mount Isa region.
NeoDys’ extensive ground lies southwest of the world-renowned Mt Isa, next to Paladin Energy’s Valhalla hard rock uranium deposit – a hefty 116-million-pound uranium deposit - and Red Metals’ giant Sybella clay rare earths deposit.
The deal offers three exploration models for Basin in the humming uranium and rare earth critical minerals. From paleochannel uranium to hard-rock rare earths and clay hosted rare earths, the deal comes with a helpful $150,000 Queensland government grant to fund exploration.
The deal was accompanied by a $1.25 million placement to fund drilling later this year.
As rare earths and uranium roar back to life, so did Basin’s share price, which rocketed 220 per cent to a high of 8c on $2.5 million in stock traded on Wednesday.
The company, which listed in late 2022, has its sights set on developing it uranium portfolio housed within the world-class Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Home to giants like Cameco’s McArthur River, Basin’s North Millennium, Geikie and Marshall projects were promised to chase shallow, high-grade uranium, with sniffs of radioactivity uncovered in 2023 before the uranium price cratered last year.
With Athabasca’s uranium pedigree and Queensland’s dual-play potential, Basin’s low-cost aircore drilling could prove potent. While uranium mining is still currently banned in Queensland, the project’s rare earths prospects could quickly turn out massive resources like Red Metal’s multi-billion tonne clay rare earths deposit next door. The upside on this new style of mineralisation remains unknown but should the economics prove positive at Red Metal, the district will be set alight in an area dominated by both Red Metal and now Basin.
ARK MINES LIMITED (ASX: AHK)
Up 192% (18.5c – 54c)
Taking bronze is Ark Mines Limited, another junior explorer targeting – you guessed it - rare earths and even heavy mineral sands to supply the West’s clean energy transition technologies.
The company received a massive boost to its potential this week in the form of a $4.5 million handout from the Queensland Investment Corp (QIC) Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund for its Sandy Mitchell project 230 kilometres northwest of Cairns.
The funding consists of a $4 million royalty-tied capital injection and a $500,000 equity investment at 16.7c - following extensive due diligence by the QIC, which manages a whopping $131.2 billion portfolio.
Ark says the cash will fast-track a stage-3 infill drilling program and a prefeasibility study at Sandy, targeting production by late 2027.
Sandy Mitchell hosts a measured resource of 71.8 million tonnes at 1732 parts per million (ppm) monazite equivalent, with an exploration target of 1.3–1.5 billion tonnes at 1286–1903 ppm.
The project’s monazite-rich sands contain key magnet REEs including neodymium and praseodymium, both vital for EV motors and wind turbines. Its shallow, open-pit-friendly deposit and Queensland’s infrastructure also support low-cost mining.
A scoping study estimates a $120–150 million development cost, with annual EBITDA of $45–53 million and approximately 80 local jobs. Shares soared 192 per cent to a three-year high of 54c on $870k in stock traded.
And while monazite-rich sands contain key magnet REEs like neodymium and praseodymium, vital for EV motors and wind turbines, and Ark’s shallow, open-pit-friendly deposit and Queensland’s infrastructure support low-cost mining, scaling a billion-tonne dream in remote terrain is no walk in the park.
Aligned with Australia’s push for supply chain security amid global REE shortages, Sandy Mitchell’s massive exploration target could make it a globally significant hub, but environmental and logistical hurdles in Cape York’s rugged landscape remain.
Caption: TechGen Metals Limited has identified two parallel high-grade copper gossans and iron quartz gold zones at its Blue Devil project, 40km northeast of Halls Creek in Western Australia. Credit: File
TECHGEN METALS LIMITED (ASX: TG1)
Up 165% (2c – 5.3c)
Rounding out this week’s Runners is copper-gold hopeful TechGen Metals, which was shot out of a cannon this week after it identified two parallel high-grade copper gossans and iron quartz gold zones, just 80m apart, at its Blue Devil project, 40km northeast of Halls Creek in the Halls Creek Orogen.
Rock chip samples along a 2km east-west corridor returned grades up to 52.3 per cent copper, 22.6 per cent copper and 5.35 grams per tonne (g/t) gold.
The Blue Devil project has never been drill-tested, giving TechGen a rare greenfield opportunity to deliver a potentially significant copper-gold discovery, with key targets stretching nearly 3km.
The company says a critically important heritage survey with the Jaru People is now complete, with tenure granting imminent and an IP survey planned to refine its 2.75km intrusion-related target in the winds.
As gold prices soared so did TechGens market cap, flying up a staggering 165 per cent to a high of 5.3c on $4.5 million in stock traded.
The mineralised hotspot is known for structural complexity and rich deposits. Notable projects include IGO’s Halls Creek copper-zinc revival.
Should Blue Devil’s high-grade surface results and undrilled status position it as a major greenfields discovery in the surging red and yellow metal sectors, the rare greenfields discovery would be accompanied with a rare share price jump for the ages??
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Andrew Todd
