Azzet reports on three ASX miners with market-moving updates to share today.
Catalina Resources soars on REE drilling update
Shares in Catalina Resources (ASX: CTN) were up around 67% at the open to $0.005 after the smallcap explorer told the market it had commenced RC drilling at its WA Laverton Project, targeting high-grade rare earth elements and gold deposits.
The Laverton project is located near the world-class Mt Weld REE Mine, and the drilling aims to explore extensions of significant REE intersections previously identified.
Given that Catalina’s initiative aligns with the increasing global demand for sustainable REE supply chains, today’s update appears to have captured the same excitement dished out to Canada-based AuKing Mining (ASX: AKN) yesterday.
Catalina’s executive director, Ross Cotton told the market today that MP Materials’ (NYSE: MP) agreement to supply Apple with recycled rare earth magnets underscores the accelerating global push to secure resilient and sustainable REE supply chains.
With the U.S. Department of Defense now backing MP Materials through direct equity investment, Cotton said the urgency to secure Western-aligned REE supply has never been greater.
Cotton also reminded the market that follow-up drilling is now targeting extensions to the standout intercept located directly adjacent to the Mount Weld mine — one of the world’s premier rare earth operations.
“The mineralisation style, host geology and proximity to Mt Weld suggest a strong structural link, and our current program is designed to test that theory aggressively,” said Cotton.
“Catalina is exceptionally placed — both geologically and geopolitically — to contribute to that demand, with drilling underway adjacent to the Weld Range REE project in one of Australia’s most prospective rare earth corridors.”
Notable intercepts from earlier aircore drilling include:
- LVAC049: 28m @ 1.09g/t Au from 57m.
- Additionally, anomalous rare earth element (REE) intersections were returned from aircore drilling in the vicinity of LVAC049.
- A high-grade REE intersection in hole LVAC037 over 10,000ppm TREO (1%) near the Mt Weld REE Mine intersected:
- LVAC0037: 9m @ 7,565ppm TREO from 47m, including: 4m @ 13,406ppm (1.34%) TREO from 49m.
The upcoming drilling program is designed to assess the continuity and scale of gold and REE mineralisation along strike and at depth.
During the quarter ended 31 March, it raised $2.77 million through a rights issue to advance exploration.
Catalina has a market cap of $12.1 million; the share price is up 77% in one year and up 33% year to date.
The stock’s shares appear to be in a near-term downtrend confirmed by the relationship between the 5 and 20-day moving averages.
Consensus does not cover this stock.
Rio Tinto trades flat after announcing new CEO, updating guidance
Shares in Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) were trading lower at the open (down 0.40%) after making two key market updates today.
In addition to confirming the appointment of new CEO Simon Trott today, the mining giant told the market that Pilbara iron ore production came in at 83.7 million tonnes in the three months to 30 June, up 5% on the previous period, which was a beat against market expectations.
Shipments of 79.9 million tonnes were flat on the previous period but up 13% on the March quarter. They missed consensus expectations of 83 million tonnes by 2%.
However, the iron ore realised price of US$83/tonne was in line with market expectations.
Copper-equivalent output was up 13% year-on-year, underpinned by record bauxite volumes and a surging Oyu Tolgoi - one of the largest known copper and gold deposits in the Umnugovi province of Mongolia.
Bauxite production reached a fresh quarterly record, driven by strong performance at Amrun and improved plant reliability at Gove and Rio now expects full-year output at the upper end of its guidance range.
Meantime, while full year iron ore shipment guidance remains unchanged at the lower end of its 323 million tonnes-338 million tonnes, Rio upgraded it copper production guidance to the higher end of the $780-850 tonne range.
Given that newly appointed CEO Simon Trott appears to align better with the board’s strategic expectations than outgoing CEO Jakob Stausholm, analysts see his appointment as a relatively “safe and low-risk option”.
“We delivered excellent operational performance from our mine operations with record production from our bauxite business and from Oyu Tolgoi as it ramps up to become the world’s fourth-largest copper mine before the end of the decade,” Stausholm said.
The mine sets new handling records and is on track to reach 500,000 tonnes of annual output by 2028.
Rio Tinto has a market cap of $40.7 billion; its share price is down around 6% in one year and up 3.31% in the last month.
The stock’s shares appear to be in a strong near-term rally within a longer-term bearish trend.
Consensus is Moderate Buy.
Mount Gibson Iron jumps on news of its expansion into gold
Shares in Mount Gilson (ASX: MGX) were up around 10% at the open after the smallcap miner – best known for the direct shipment of hematite iron ore - announced a binding conditional agreement with Australian gold producer Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST).
The market was clearly excited by the miner’s potential expansion into gold after discovering that it is acquiring Northern Star's 50% interest in the Central Tanami Project Joint Venture (CTPJV) in the Northern Territory for $50 million, plus extensive wholly-owned exploration landholding adjacent to the CTPJV.
A 50:50 joint venture between Northern Star and ASX-listed gold explorer Tanami Gold NL (ASX: TAM), the CTPJV is located around 650 kilometres northwest of Alice Springs and encompasses a total landholding of approximately 2,100 sqkm in the Tanami region.
The CTPJV is understood to have reported mineral resource estimate of 13.8 Mt grading 3.6 g/t gold for 1.6 Moz of contained gold.
The exploration tenements being acquired from Northern Star cover about 3600 square kilometres, providing Mount Gibson with exposure to a dominant land position in a major established gold region with a history of substantial gold production.
Management told the market that the CTPJV offers an attractive near-term development project, building on its remote-site operating strengths, with the ability to fast track permitting and technical work to position for a potential development decision within the next 12-18 months.
The miner added that the deal equates to an attractive resource multiple of $61 per ounce for a 50% interest in the project’s mineral resources.
Commenting on today’s announcement, Mount Gibson's CEO Peter Kerr told shareholders that the acquisition represents a compelling opportunity to enter the gold sector at an attractive price, with the sector having strong fundamentals.
“Involvement in the Central Tanami Gold Project provides Mount Gibson with an opportunity to leverage the success of its Koolan Island iron ore operation to establish the foundations of a gold production business,” he said.
“We have already commenced the Foreign Investment Review Board application process and look forward to progressing to completion in the coming months.”
At the end of the quarter to 31 March, the company had group cash and investments of $460 million, including its $22 million holding in Fenix Resources Limited.
There are no bank borrowings and total cash and investment reserves equate to around $0.39 per share.
Mount Gibson has a market cap of around $390 million; the share price is down 24% in one year and up 22% in the last month.
The stock’s shares appear to be in a long-term bearish trend confirmed by a falling 200-day moving average. However, there are rallies occurring in shorter timeframes.
Consensus does not cover this stock.
This article does not constitute financial or product advice. You should consider independent advice before making financial decisions.
