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Resources Top 5: The whole day through, Georgia's on the mine of Krakatoa investors
Resources Top 5: The whole day through, Georgia's on the mine of Krakatoa investors

News.com.au

time10-06-2025

  • Business
  • News.com.au

Resources Top 5: The whole day through, Georgia's on the mine of Krakatoa investors

Preparations are underway for Krakatoa's maiden drilling at Zopkhito in Georgia A VTEM survey has outlined three new trends at the Kempfield project in NSW Eclipse Metals has completed an oversubscribed placement at market price for funds of $2m Your standout small cap resources stocks for Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Krakatoa Resources (ASX:KTA) Krakatoa Resources is making moves toward its maiden drilling at the Zopkhito antimony-gold project in Georgia, which serves as a trading gateway between Europe and Asia. With exploration and drilling preparations in full swing, the company, which has an exclusive option to acquire up to 80% of the project, also made a positive move on the ASX with shares as much as 70% higher to 1.7c with more than 76m changing hands before closing at 1.2c. Local contractors have started heavy machinery access and camp repatriation work at Zopkhito following positive meetings with key stakeholders and this work will pave the way for exploration including multiple geophysical surveys and drilling. Plans for the upcoming field season include testing the known high-grade antimony and gold veins, converting the foreign resource into a JORC classification and to test the extension of the mineralised system beyond the current limits. The company plans to drill the key vein systems within the project, focused on targeting the areas where suitable drill access can be obtained, while allowing various veins to be investigated. Two diamond drill rigs will be used to complete the drilling program, which is expected to start in early July. The first rig will be a man-portable rig suitable for work on small platforms from surface with the second to be a rig designed for underground work that can drill at various azimuths and lower dips. Krakatoa Resources' current drill plan comprises an initial 100 drill holes, located on 13 platforms for a total of 14,000 metres. This design, once complete, will encapsulate around 50% of the foreign mineral resource area. However, it is envisaged that only 7000m will be achieved during the current drilling season, which is closer to 30-40% of the foreign mineral resource area. Krakatoa's CEO Mark Major said, 'This is an exciting time for Krakatoa as we embark on the first ever drill program at Zopkhito. 'We have planned for a comprehensive drilling program, with the aim to verify and expand the existing foreign resource estimate, calculated from 27km of underground exploration drives and over 15,000 channel samples. 'This work, along with detailed geophysical surveys, will enable Krakatoa to complete a JORC standard mineral resource estimate for Zopkhito and undertake a preliminary economic assessment.' Zopkhito has a non-JORC, foreign resource estimate of 225,000t at 11.6% antimony for a contained 26,000 tonnes and 7.1Mt at 3.7g/t gold for 815,119oz. Multiple geophysical surveys will also be undertaken to assist with detecting extensions of the foreign resource estimate. This will include a high-resolution drone magnetic survey over the project area which will assist with more effective subsurface drill targeting. The company will also consider a sub-audio magnetics (SAM) survey, which could be highly beneficial in delineating structures and other geology that is detected by resistive anomalies in conductive terrains. This work will begin once the camp is reestablished and road access is completed. Zopkhito covers an area of ~1,779 hectares in the northern part of Racha region in Georgia, a country which borders Eastern Europe and Asia and has Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey and Armenia as neighbours. Argent Minerals (ASX:ARD) Confident of growing the precious and base metals potential of the 142.8Moz silver equivalent Kempfield project in the Lachlan Fold Belt in NSW, Argent Minerals has revealed three new zones of mineralisation. Shares climbed 11.54% higher to 2.9c before pulling back to 2.7c. A VTEM survey has outlined the Western, Central and Eastern trends, which are extensive, distinct anomalies prospective for gold-silver-copper-lead-zinc mineralisation. These trends represent a large new exploration target area with the Western Trend stretching 2.2km in a north-south direction, the Central trend 4.1km in a northeast-southwest orientation and the Eastern trend a further 2.2km in a northeast-southwest strike. Both the Western and Eastern trends remain entirely untested by the drill bit while the Central trend has only been investigated with shallow reverse circulation drilling. 'A high-level interpretation of the VTEM data review conducted by Core Geophysics has identified multiple new drill targets, including several that were previously unknown to Argent," Argent Minerals managing director Pedro Kastellorizos said 'Significantly, three extensive EM trends have been delineated, two of which remain completely untested. 'These trends extend well beyond the current boundaries of the known Kempfield deposit, indicating strong potential for the discovery of additional mineralised zones both at depth and along strike. 'The results highlight the substantial exploration upside at the Kempfield Project, as we continue to expand the mineralised footprint well beyond the established deposit.' Apart from revealing the new prospective trends across Kempfield, Argent's interpretation of the VTEM survey data also offered insights into the Kempfield northwest zone's geology. Preliminary modelling of the data indicates the source of mineralisation in the NW Zone is likely at greater depths than previously thought. The company also identified an elevated electromagnetic response along the western margin of the Kempfield deposit, which may point to a deeper footwall position relative to known mineralisation. Kempfield has a resource estimate of 63.7Mt at 69.75g/t silver equivalent for 142.8Moz, containing 65.8Moz silver, 125,192oz gold, 207,402t lead and 420,373t zinc. Eclipse Metals (ASX:EPM) Eclipse Metals was up 26.7% to a daily high of 1.9c after completing an oversubscribed placement at market price for funds of $2m to advance the 89Mt Grønnedal rare earth project in Greenland. It later settled up 6.7% at 1.6c. Firm commitments have been received for the placement conducted at no discount to the last traded price of 1.5c with the placement cornerstoned by an existing shareholder with a $500,000 commitment, reflecting continued confidence in Eclipse's long-term strategy and the potential of its Greenland assets. The oversubscribed placement to institutional, professional and sophisticated investors was strongly supported and Eclipse scaled back applications. Proceeds will advance work at the Ivigtût and Grønnedal projects and support the evaluation of historical drill core and definition of new drill targets as Eclipse seeks to enhance its strategic role in the global rare earth supply chain. Specific use of the funds is: Exploration and resource expansion drilling at the Grønnedal REE prospect Environmental baseline and remediation planning at the historical Ivigtût pit Assessment and mineralogical analysis of historical drill core to enhance geological understanding; and General working capital and costs associated with the placement. The placement follows the recent announcement of an 89Mt mineral resource estimate at the Grønnedal REE deposit in southwest Greenland. Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) As it steps up efforts to become a key domestic supplier of critical minerals in the US, Trigg Minerals has confirmed multiple zones of massive stibnite mineralisation at the Antimony Canyon Project in Utah. Initial field mapping confirmed several zones of massive stibnite at Emma and Mammoth deposits, further highlighting the project's potential as one of the highest grade and significant antimony projects in the US. With more than 30 historical mines on-site in Utah, including the high-grade Nevada and Stebinite mines, Antimony Canyon shapes as one of the most promising undeveloped antimony assets in the US. 'We are pleased to commence this maiden phase of exploration at the Antimony Canyon Project,' Trigg Minerals managing director Andre Booyzen said. 'The confirmation of high-grade, massive stibnite zones at the Emma and Mammoth targets marks a significant milestone. 'It not only validates historical data but also strengthens our confidence in the project's potential to become a major domestic source of antimony. 'Our team is now focused on detailed mapping and systematic sampling to better define the extent and grade of mineralisation. 'We remain committed to advancing Antimony Canyon in support of the growing global demand for critical minerals essential to national security and the energy transition.' TMG was initially up 12.9% on the previous close to 10.5c before easing lower to 8.1c with more than 70m changing hands. Cazaly Resources (ASX:CAZ) Another making a strong start to trading was Cazaly Resources, which was up as much as 37.5% to 2.2c before closing slightly higher at 1.6c after being granted approvals for drilling at the Goongarrie gold project north of Kalgoorlie. First target will be the Duke of York prospect after a heritage survey was completed and program of work approvals were received for reverse circulation (RC) and aircore drilling from the WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety. Initial RC drilling, which will start after site preparation work, will follow-up anomalous drill intercepts including 8m at 10.7g/t gold, 13m at 3.5g/t, 3m at 6.3g/t and 4m at 2.7g/t. Strike extents and plunge directions of gold mineralisation will also be tested at the Star of Goongarrie prospect. Following the completion of RC drilling an initial phase of aircore drilling will be undertaken to assess the broader gold mineralised trend. This drilling is designed to identify new gold prospects over five strike kilometres of the BTZ and includes poorly tested areas between Goongarrie Lady and Jenny's Reward gold mines, and the northern extension of the BTZ north of Jenny's Reward.

ASX Runners of the Week: Eclipse, Bryah, Bastion & Codeifai
ASX Runners of the Week: Eclipse, Bryah, Bastion & Codeifai

West Australian

time06-06-2025

  • Business
  • West Australian

ASX Runners of the Week: Eclipse, Bryah, Bastion & Codeifai

The market was back this week as the ASX pushed on towards all-time highs, despite a continued backdrop of tariff trade wars and economic tensions. United States markets also neared all-time highs, with the S&P500 just 3 per cent off its peak and technology and communications stocks seeing the week's biggest gains. The market this week witnessed an interesting mix of factors propelling companies up the leaderboard and onto the Bulls N' Bears ASX Runners of the Week list. One rare earths junior unveiled a mammoth increase to its mineral resource and a junior goldie got a boost from a boardroom revolt by a major shareholder. In addition, a new management team is readying to convert a foreign mineral resource to JORC-compliant status and a tech company kicked some funds into its kitty to drive growth in its software-as-a-service revenue. ECLIPSE METALS (ASX: EPM) up 360% (0.5c – 2.3c) This week's Bulls N' Bears ASX Runner of the Week is rare earths explorer Eclipse Metals, which blasted up the charts on Tuesday after unveiling a beefed-up mineral resource estimate for its Gronnedal rare earths deposit in Greenland. The resource now clocks in at a whopping 89 million tonnes at 6363 parts per million (ppm) total rare earth oxides (TREO), packing 567,600 tonnes TREO. That's a 70-fold leap forward with grades north of 0.63 per cent TREO, putting Gronnedal among the world's elite rare earth deposits, according to its management. The Gronnedal deposit lies within Eclipse's broader Ivigtût project, targeting the high-value critical minerals of neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium. Some samples have topped 2 per cent (20,000ppm) TREO. Market punters gobbled up the upgrade, with the company's share price soaring 360 per cent from a close of 0.5 cents last week to a high of 2.3c on Wednesday, on more than $4 million worth of paper changing hands. The updated resource area is restricted to a relatively small portion of rare earths-endowed carbonatite. A 2023 exploration program included trenching and shallow drilling, but was constrained to within 12m of surface. The company last year laid its hands on 23 drill core samples from six diamond holes hammered into the site in 1950. The holes were drilled to a maximum depth of about 200m by cryolite miner Kryolitselskabet Oresund to test for a potential iron ore deposit. Laboratory analysis from the core samples returned the impressive numbers, resulting in a gargantuan leap in the mineral resource. Sitting in geopolitically stable Greenland with deep-water access, Gronnedal sits on a sliver of a massive carbonatite complex, with mineralisation open in all directions expected to stretch well past 500m deep. Eclipse is gearing up to drill deeper and wider, chasing what could be a globally critical supply of rare earths. That could be particularly significant given the US is chasing new rare earth supplies and Trump's latest musings about snapping up Greenland for its critical mineral deposits. With clean energy demand surging and only six historic drill holes underpinning the resource, Eclipse's Gronnedal could be the kind of blockbuster that sends shareholders to the moon. BRYAH RESOURCES (ASX: BYH) up 240% (0.5c – 1.7c) Gold explorer Bryah Resources had a tremendous week to come in second on the ASX Runners list. The company stormed the bourse with a cheeky 240 per cent surge in its share price, thanks to a shareholder mutiny to send the boardroom brass walking and bring in new directors to get working on its shiny new Canadian gold project. The drama kicked off with a section 249D notice from heavyweight shareholder Yu Yonglu, who holds an 11.8 per cent stake or 102 million shares in the company. Yu launched a strike to oust directors Leslie Ingraham and Ian Stuart on Monday, proposing seasoned minerals veterans Nicholas Katris and Bishoy Habib steer the ship. Katris and Habib are the golden boys behind Trigg Minerals, an ASX antimony darling whose shares ran from 0.5c to 10.25c in under a year. Surprisingly, Bryah's share price leapt a massive 200 per cent at the start of the week, on an impressive 72.8M shares traded, to close at 1.5c by Tuesday afternoon. A massive 85.3M shares were traded on Wednesday, pushing the share price to a peak for the week of 1.7c and a tremendous 240 per cent gain over two days. Fuel was added to the fire in the form of Bryah's acquisition last month of the Golden Pike project in New Brunswick, Canada, which has a foreign resource of 214,800 tonnes at an impressive 9.6 grams per tonne (g/t) for 66,300 ounces gold. The project features some stonking historic bonanza intercepts, such as 13 metres at 43.07g/t and 10m grading a little over an ounce per tonne gold. The company says plenty of upside remains at the project with untested boulders assaying up to 244g/t gold. Golden Pike now looks like a priority target for a first drilling campaign. As gold prices continue to push all-time highs, Golden Pike looks ready for the shovel in a mining-friendly region with top-notch infrastructure, potentially positioning Bryah for a company-making discovery. Yu's boardroom coup appears to have been popular, with shareholders sipping champagne on the thought the two Trigg poster boys might soon be in their corner. BASTION MINERALS (ASX: BMO) Up 167% (0.15c to 0.4c) Bastion Minerals burst from the blocks as a late runner this morning to secure third place in this week's list. After closing at 0.15c on Thursday, the company's shares opened at 0.2c and sprinted to 0.4c on massive volumes, exceeding 200M shares traded by noon. Bastion has seen its daily share volumes swing wildly during the year, ranging from one share up to 55.7M shares traded in a day. Friday's volumes appear to surpass any previous frenzied trading levels in the stock. The company recently appointed a new leadership team to review all its existing projects. It also plans to acquire some early-stage Australian gold projects. All the new non-executive directors will assume hands-on roles in the absence of a management team and look to immediately kick goals for shareholders by focusing on projects with a traditional exploration earn-in model. Bastion previously reported on a non-JORC resource at its ICE copper-gold project within Canada's Yukon Territory. The resource stands at 4.56Mt grading 1.48 per cent copper and has significant gold credits, estimated at 0.15g/t to 0.85g/t. Late last month, the company said it anticipated receipt of a commissioned report for a JORC mineral resource estimate for ICE, which could have been a catalyst for today's price action. The company went into a trading halt mid-afternoon Friday, which will last until a response to an ASX price query and an announcement on the release date for the company's maiden JORC resource for the ICE project. CODEIF AI LIMITED (ASX: CDE) Up 120% (1c – 2.2c) Coming in fourth place for the week is brand solutions technology group Codeifai Ltd, which on Tuesday morning revealed news of a $570,000 share placement to professional and sophisticated investors. Like a footballer crumbling to the turf one hour after receiving a bone-jarring bump, the share price and trading volumes initially showed little response. A delayed reaction kicked in on Wednesday with volumes jumping to 7.5M shares traded for the day, accompanied by a 100 per cent surge in Codeifai's share price. The shares ran again on Thursday, driven by almost 6M traded shares, touching a weekly high of 2.2c a share for a tasty 120 per cent gain for the week. Codeifai recently pivoted to become a brand solutions specialist that develops and sells digital solutions using QR code technology through its software-as-a-service (SaaS) offerings ConnectQR and ProtectCode. The company says its Connect QR with AI-generated QR codes can produce revenue 24/7 and its ProtectCode solution, integrated with its own cloud-based platform, provides unique QR codes for each product to ensure authenticity. It has already generated millions of codes. QR codes are used for payment gateways, and the beauty of its SaaS offering is its ability to generate 24/7 customer signups. Codeifai was also hit with a speeding ticket from the ASX constabulary late Thursday and went into a trading halt, pending its response to the price and volume surge. Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact:

Resources Top 5: Eclipse Metals soars after massive rare earths resource upgrade
Resources Top 5: Eclipse Metals soars after massive rare earths resource upgrade

News.com.au

time03-06-2025

  • Business
  • News.com.au

Resources Top 5: Eclipse Metals soars after massive rare earths resource upgrade

Eclipse Metals' giant upgrade of the Grønnedal deposit is just the beginning Sunshine Metals gains on impressive drill intercept of 10m at 31.91g/t gold at its Liontown prospect Western Yilgarn has increased its bauxite footprint with the acquisition of the Cardea 3 project Your standout resources stocks for Tuesday, June 3, 2025. Eclipse Metals (ASX:EPM) Shares in Eclipse Metals have shot up two-fold and then some following an 89Mt inferred resource leap at a grade of 6363ppm total rare earth oxides (TREO) at the Grønnedal deposit in Greenland. This update, driven by results from six diamond drill holes, underpins a 70x resource upgrade, solidifying Grønnedal's position as a high-impact strategic asset. With an average grade exceeding 6000ppm (0.65%) TREO, the mineral resource estimate positions Grønnedal amongst the highest-grade rare earth elements (REE) deposits globally according to the company. Grønnedal forms part of the broader Ivigtût project, which benefits from existing infrastructure including a power station, and is supported by nearby settlements at Kangilinnguit and Grønnedal, offering a heliport and wharf for operations. EPM chairman Carl Popal said with 89 million tonnes now defined, and evidence suggesting the company is only scratching the surface, Grønnedal REE has the scale and grade to become a cornerstone asset in global efforts to secure independent critical mineral supply chains. 'Given the current geopolitical context and growing demand for clean energy technologies, we are fast-tracking plans for further drilling to delineate the broader potential of the Grønnedal carbonatite,' he said. 'As a small company entering a much larger strategic arena, we remain focused on delivering value to shareholders and progressing responsibly, with discipline and transparency. 'What's been defined so far is just the beginning, with the resource capturing just a small portion of a vast carbonatite system identified through surface mapping, sampling, and EM surveys.' Mineralisation extends continuously from surface to depths beyond 500 metres, highlighting significant upside potential. EPM plans to conduct additional drilling to grow the resource base and unlock the full potential of the Grønnedal carbonatite complex, as the updated resource currently accounts for only 6% of the estimated carbonatite volume. Bryah Resources (ASX:BYH) (Up on no news) The gold price rally proved to be a boon for Bryah Resources – and indeed many a gold play on the ASX – today. The surprise price run follows news yesterday that Yu Yonglu, an investor who emerged with an 11.8% stake in the firm last week, launched a Section 249D application on Monday to spill the junior's board. Queensland-based Yu has proposed to remove Lesley Ingraham and Ian Stuart as directors and replace them with Nicholas Katris and Bishoy Habib. Previously, the company announced an option to acquire the advanced, high-grade Golden Pike gold project in New Brunswick, Canada, in May. The project has a historical, non-JORC resource of 66,000oz gold at nearly 10g/t with drilling returning intersections such as 13m at 43.07g/t gold and 10m at 32.26g/t gold. Golden Pike also has plenty of potential for growth given that it remains open in multiple directions and has similar targets featuring rock chips of up to 244g/t gold. The project has access to established infrastructure including ports, roads and power derived from renewable sources. Western Yilgarn (ASX:WYX) Shares in WYX rose in morning trade before an afternoon pullback, as the company strengthened its position in WA's Darling Range bauxite mineral field by acquiring the Cardea 3 bauxite asset. It follows closely on the WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety awarding exploration licences E70/6702 and E70/6703 – the Cardea 1 and 2 project areas – in late May. The newly acquired asset, a mere 17.5km from the company's 168Mt Julimar West bauxite project, has seen some historical exploration with 422 vacuum drill holes completed to date. Of these, 139 have been analysed for available alumina and reactive silica. Results from this study confirm the presence of high-grade bauxite, with available alumina (extractable under Bayer process conditions) exceeding 34.5% and reactive silica measuring 3.14%. This compares very favourably with the average mining grades of 28.7% available alumina and 1.9% reactive silica at South32's (ASX:S32) nearby Worsley Alumina Operations. Surface bauxite mineralisation has also been defined over a 3km by 1km area with a laterite profile typical of Darling Range bauxite deposits. WYX non-exec director Pedro Kastellorizos said the company is extremely pleased with the acquisition. 'The project's proximity to a multi-user railway, within trucking distance, is a key logistical advantage, especially in the current market environment of record alumina and bauxite prices,' he said. Sunshine Metals (ASX:SHN) With gold up, the timing couldn't be any better for Sunshine to drop a shiny drill intersection of 10m at 31.91g/t gold from a relatively shallow down-hole depth of 41m at the Liontown prospect within its Ravenswood Consolidated project in northern Queensland. This is the top result from the first 16 holes of a 29 hole infill drill program. Historical mined voids averaging 1-2m were intersected in predicted locations. The company expects the program to upgrade both the metallurgical testwork and the current shallow inferred resource of 21,000oz gold and 307,000oz silver at 1.8g/t gold and 26g/t silver to the higher confidence indicated category. 'The stunning intersection of gold in the shallows of the Liontown Resource is a 'Back to the Future' moment,' managing director Dr Damien Keys said. 'Liontown began as a gold mine in 1905 with an estimated 28,000oz of gold mined at a grade of 22g/t. It is certainly reassuring that the first miners did not take all of the high-grade gold mineralisation!' He added that the drill results reinforced the significance of pursuing a shallow oxide gold production strategy, which involves identifying those kind of resources for processing at potential nearby toll treating mills during a time of high gold prices. Mining studies will be fast-tracked once metallurgical and resource upgrades have been completed. Solstice Minerals (ASX:SLS) Yet another gold play revelling in the price rally, Solstice Minerals' recent Phase 2 RC drilling at its Bluetooth gold prospect in WA returned thick, near-surface intersections. Notable results include 20m at 2.18g/t gold from 28m, 20m at 2.01g/t from 20m including 4m at 6.18g/t from 28m, and 16m at 2.13g/t from 48m. The company said the results reinforce the commercial potential of this extensive, outcropping gold system by building on and extending the significant intercepts reported in the first round of drilling. They also define shallow east-dipping zones of gold mineralisation over at least 800m of strike and broadening towards a fold closure at the northern part of the prospect. Managing director Nick Castleden said the Bluetooth is quickly taking shape with the latest drilling further defining consistent broad zones of shallowly dipping near-surface oxide gold mineralisation. 'The geometry looks favourable for potential open pit extraction, so we are now planning further drilling to test down plunge on the fold to the north, repeat structures as well as specific tests for underlying fresh-rock mineralisation,' he added. 'Site prep will get underway for the next phase of RC drilling at Bluetooth as well as follow-up RC drilling at the exciting Edjudina Range gold discovery.'

Lunch Wrap: ASX pops, IDP Education erases 40pc of market cap, Eclipse Metals doubles
Lunch Wrap: ASX pops, IDP Education erases 40pc of market cap, Eclipse Metals doubles

News.com.au

time03-06-2025

  • Business
  • News.com.au

Lunch Wrap: ASX pops, IDP Education erases 40pc of market cap, Eclipse Metals doubles

ASX lifts as oil pops and wages outpace inflation Eclipse Metals doubles on rare earth news IDP Education craters 40pc, Eclipse Metals doubles The ASX 200 was up 0.6% on Tuesday morning as banks, energy and miners led a mostly green board. Not bad, considering we're coming off a fresh flare-up in Trump-Xi tariff tension. Overnight, US stocks took a shaky start in stride. The S&P 500 closed up 0.4%, Nasdaq rose 0.7%. There was mud-slinging between Washington and Beijing, along with talk of a potential call between Trump and Xi this week to smooth things over; but let's not hold our breath. Crude oil prices surged as wildfires in Canada knocked out an estimated 7% of the country's oil production. That news has boosted local energy players this morning. Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS) shot up 1.5%. Gold also rallied hard, up 3%, on good old-fashioned fear. The Aussie dollar found some swagger, too, climbing to almost US65c as the greenback weakened on trade nerves. Back to the ASX, where IDP Education (ASX:IEL) was the biggest large cap mover this morning. Not in a good way. The stock faceplanted with a 44% dip after warning that global student numbers are drying up fast – up to 30% less placements this year. Language testing volumes are also expected to drop nearly 20%. The stock's now at its lowest level since 2016, and let's just say the market didn't take the news well. This is where things stood at around lunch time, AEST: Still in the large caps space, Treasury Wine Estates (ASX:TWE) was down 0.3% after trimming its full-year earnings outlook slightly to $770m (down from $780m). The Penfolds maker blamed lower-than-expected shipments, and the sudden exit of a key distributor in California. And, Domino's Pizza Enterprises (ASX:DMP) slipped 3% as it reshuffled leadership in Japan to try and get its operations back on track. Wages go up; RBA plays it safe Meanwhile, the Fair Work Commission is lifting minimum and award wages by 3.5% starting July 1. That takes the national minimum to just under $948 a week, or $24.95 an hour. This is the first time in years that the increase has outpaced inflation (currently at 2.4%), which sounds like great news for workers. But there's a catch, experts said. It could add heat to consumer spending at a time when the RBA is trying to cool inflation down. Speaking of the RBA, the May meeting minutes were released today, and the message is: "We could've cut rates more, but let's not get ahead of ourselves." The central bank said it went with 25 basis points, and not a bigger cut, because that level struck the right balance between caution and predictability. The minutes also suggested that Trump's tariffs haven't really dented Australia just yet, and the board figured it would be riskier to overdo the cut now, and then have to slam on the brakes later. ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for June 3 : Security Description Last % Volume MktCap EPM Eclipse Metals 0.012 140% 44,462,844 $14,329,095 VAR Variscan Mines Ltd 0.007 40% 70,007 $3,914,289 BMO Bastion Minerals 0.002 33% 50,750 $1,355,441 BYH Bryah Resources Ltd 0.014 27% 24,733,813 $9,569,489 NC1 Nico Resources 0.092 26% 242,015 $8,008,142 WCE West Coast Silver 0.078 26% 2,882,262 $16,127,501 ION Iondrive Limited 0.025 25% 9,792,040 $23,656,727 CAV Carnavale Resources 0.005 25% 1,133,878 $16,360,874 ERA Energy Resources 0.003 25% 2,577,920 $810,792,482 EVR Ev Resources Ltd 0.005 25% 423,614 $7,943,347 MEM Memphasys Ltd 0.005 25% 499,000 $7,934,392 WYX Western Yilgarn NL 0.033 22% 113,076 $3,714,149 FTL Firetail Resources 0.091 21% 1,997,393 $28,502,098 MPW Metal Powdworks Ltd 1.120 20% 274,652 $94,822,106 AN1 Anagenics Limited 0.006 20% 100,000 $2,481,602 GGE Grand Gulf Energy 0.003 20% 439,921 $7,051,062 NES Nelson Resources. 0.003 20% 2,700,000 $5,429,819 SLS Solsticeminerals 0.245 20% 1,145,637 $21,305,777 PEB Pacific Edge 0.089 19% 18,968 $60,893,698 FXG Felix Gold Limited 0.160 19% 3,371,970 $55,477,952 ALM Alma Metals Ltd 0.004 17% 300,000 $4,759,036 FGH Foresta Group 0.007 17% 68,000 $15,917,439 RNX Renegade Exploration 0.004 17% 3,510,002 $3,865,090 SHP South Harz Potash 0.004 17% 20,000 $3,308,186 Eclipse Metals (ASX:EPM) unveiled a massive 89 million tonne rare earths resource at its Grønnedal project in southwest Greenland. The updated estimate shows grades averaging over 6,300ppm TREO, including high-value magnet metals like neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium – key ingredients for EVs and wind turbines. That puts it among the highest-grade rare earth deposits in the world. This new figure is more than 70 times bigger than the previous estimate, and the mineralisation still looks to extend in every direction, said EPM. Western Yilgarn (ASX:WYX) has snapped up the Cardea 3 Bauxite Project in WA's Darling Range, just 17km from its big Julimar West deposit. It paid a modest $5k upfront, and will tip in more cash and shares once the exploration licence is granted. Previous drilling at Cardea 3 shows high-grade bauxite, with standout results like 7.5m at over 48% total alumina and low reactive silica. ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for June 3 : Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap OB1 Orbminco Limited 0.001 -50% 81,733 $4,795,136 IEL Idp Education Ltd 4.430 -41% 12,916,496 $2,079,171,496 EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.001 -33% 1 $4,880,668 OVT Ovanti Limited 0.002 -33% 7,374,999 $8,380,545 RCM Rapid Critical 0.002 -33% 7,719,243 $3,734,834 VML Vital Metals Limited 0.002 -33% 1,372,063 $17,685,201 DTR Dateline Resources 0.105 -28% 62,441,707 $414,441,555 DGR DGR Global Ltd 0.003 -25% 1,225,000 $4,174,784 MTB Mount Burgess Mining 0.003 -25% 492,539 $1,406,811 RAN Range International 0.002 -25% 4,050 $1,878,581 WGR Western Gold 0.051 -23% 1,376,233 $14,149,167 RMI Resource Mining Corp 0.022 -21% 5,330,601 $20,564,694 PRX Prodigy Gold NL 0.002 -20% 2,693,864 $7,937,639 AJL AJ Lucas Group 0.005 -17% 7,861 $8,254,378 EAT Entertainment 0.005 -17% 151,516 $7,852,716 FBR FBR Ltd 0.005 -17% 736,437 $34,136,713 PIL Peppermint Inv Ltd 0.003 -17% 2,000,011 $6,828,269 TEG Triangle Energy Ltd 0.003 -17% 713,575 $6,267,702 MKL Mighty Kingdom Ltd 0.011 -15% 12,021 $6,319,842 OSLDA Oncosil Medical 1.020 -15% 7,725 $13,819,740 ODE Odessa Minerals Ltd 0.006 -14% 910,604 $11,196,728 SP8 Streamplay Studio 0.006 -14% 277,925 $8,969,552 EXT Excite Technology 0.010 -14% 1,372,089 $22,799,061 IN CASE YOU MISSED IT Titanium Sands (ASX:TSL) has finalised a corporate funding solution for the Mannar heavy mineral project, whereby CPS Capital Group will provide up to $600,000 in loan funding in two tranches. The funding will be used to finalise environmental studies, advance an industrial mining licence for the project, and for general working capital. ADX Energy (ASX:ADX) has tapped David Gilbert as non-executive director, replacing John Begg as he steps down from the board of directors. Gilbert has held senior positions in companies based in Austria and Romania, locations highly relevant to ADX's operations as the company holds projects in both countries. At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Titanium Sands and ADX Energy are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

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