Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX:PRU, TSX:PRU, OTC:PMNXF) has delivered a solid first half result, posting US$185.5 million in profit after tax and doubling its interim dividend, while simultaneously strengthening the long-term outlook of its Tanzanian growth project with a major ore reserve upgrade.
The mid-tier gold producer reported revenue of US$608.5 million for the six months to December 31, 2025, up 5% on the prior corresponding period. Profit after tax came in at US$185.5 million, supported by strong gold prices and continued operational delivery across its producing assets.
Asara Resources Ltd (ASX:AS1, OTC:GMRMF) has extended high-grade gold mineralisation at its Massan deposit within the company’s flagship Kada Gold Project in Guinea, returning 54 metres at 2.3 g/t gold from 42 metres in a step-out hole targeting a northeast-trending structural corridor.
The standout intercept from drillhole MSRC26-013 forms part of the company’s Phase 2 Inferred Extension programme and confirms the continuation of the NE–SW trending D2 structure where it intersects the primary north–south D1 trend — an area that has seen limited effective drill testing to date.
Intelligent Monitoring Group Ltd (ASX:IMB) says it is tracking to an underlying EBITDA of $19.2 million for the six months to December 31, 2025, up 9.2%, after what it described as a busy half that included a weaker first quarter in New Zealand and continued momentum in Australia.
The company said the Australian business delivered 8.3% underlying growth (before acquisition effects), while the group’s forward pipeline of installation work rose 36.0% from Q1 to $49.8 million in Q2.
88 Energy Ltd (AIM:88E, ASX:88E, OTCQB:EEENF, FRA:POQ) has been flagged by Cavendish as sitting on a roughly 500mmboe opportunity at its South Prudhoe acreage on Alaska’s North Slope, after the broker highlighted new estimates that confirm significant potential across multiple prospects and reservoir intervals.
Cavendish’s note leans heavily on location and analogues: South Prudhoe lies immediately south of the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk fields, and the broker argues the combination of deep conventional reservoirs and shallower plays creates a stacked-pay set-up with tie-back potential to existing infrastructure.
88 Energy Ltd (AIM:88E, ASX:88E, OTCQB:EEENF, FRA:POQ) shares traded up on Thursday, rising 11% to 1.23p, after it revealing it had increased the potential scale of its South Prudhoe position in Alaska, publishing an internal unrisked Prospective Resource estimate of 506.6 million barrels (2U gross) of oil and natural gas liquids across multiple stacked reservoirs.
The company said the consolidated leasehold covers around 52,269 acres on the North Slope, immediately south of the Prudhoe Bay and Kuparuk River units, and now includes maiden resource estimates for the Ivishak and Kuparuk formations alongside updated Brookian targets. On a net entitlement basis (after the 16.67% royalty), 88 Energy put the 2U total at 422.2MMbbls, with the summary table showing the largest volumes attributed to Brookian/Schrader Bluff prospects in the South-East Hub, including Donoho and Tressler, as well as Cooper Canyon.
Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF) shares fell 4% in early trading after the miner reported flat underlying earnings of $10.9 billion for 2025, with the decline also exacerbated by a broader sell-off across the mining sector that pulled the FTSE 100 lower.
Antofagasta, Glencore and Anglo American joined Rio in the sick bay.
Rio Tinto Ltd (LSE:RIO, ASX:RIO, OTC:RTNTF) reported flat underlying earnings of $10.9 billion for 2025 as stronger copper and aluminium performance offset weaker iron ore prices.
Net cash generated from operating activities increased 8% to $16.8 billion, while consolidated sales revenue rose 7% to $57.6 billion.
Sharon AI’s secondary listing on the ASX is in store after its $US731 million ($1 billion) Nasdaq debut, as investors continue to chase exposure to companies linked to data centres and digital infrastructure.
The Australian artificial intelligence infrastructure group began trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker SHAZ, positioning itself among a wave of AI-focused listings in the US. The company provides equipment that enables customers to run high-performance chips from Nvidia and AMD used in AI processing.
As copper trades near multi-year highs and major miners scramble to secure long-life supply across the Andes, Solis Minerals Ltd (TSX-V:SLMN, ASX:SLM, OTCQB:SLMFF, FRA:08WA) is preparing to test two porphyry copper systems in Peru in what shapes as a defining first half of 2026.
Arika Resources Ltd (ASX:ARI) is positioning itself as a high-growth gold explorer in one of Western Australia’s most richly endowed gold provinces, with accelerating drilling across its Yundamindra and Kookynie projects underpinning the potential for a market re-rating.
Venari Minerals NL (ASX:VMS, OTC:ASMTD) has significantly expanded the exploration horizon at its 100%-owned Red Mountain Lithium Project in Nevada, outlining a revised JORC 2012-compliant Exploration Target of between 2,020Mt and 2,690Mt grading 1,000–1,300ppm lithium.
The updated target equates to between 10.7Mt and 18.6Mt of contained lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), positioning Red Mountain among the more substantial sedimentary lithium systems emerging in the United States.
Australia’s labour market remained resilient in January, with more than 17,000 jobs created and the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.1%, reinforcing expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) will stay focused on inflation risks.
The latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data showed employment rose by 18,000 people in January, slightly below economists’ forecasts of a 20,000 gain. The jobless rate was unchanged for a second consecutive month, defying expectations of a modest rise to 4.2%.
Percheron Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:PER, OTC:PERCF) has laid out an ambitious — and carefully staged — roadmap for its lead immuno-oncology asset, HMBD-002, as it moves from phase I completion into what management hopes will be a value-defining phase II program in 2026.
In an updated corporate presentation, delivered at the Emergence 2026 Investment Conference, the company positions HMBD-002 as a potential next-generation immune checkpoint inhibitor targeting VISTA — a relatively underexplored checkpoint that has proven difficult for others to drug.
ASX Ltd (ASX:ASX) has confirmed its ASX SMIDcaps Conference will be held on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, bringing together a broad group of small and mid-cap company leaders to present their strategies and investment propositions to investors.
The conference — hosted in partnership with Bell Financial Group — will showcase a diverse range of ASX-listed small and mid-cap companies, providing executives with the opportunity to outline their growth strategies and engage directly with investors.
Elixir Energy Ltd (ASX:EXR, OTC:ELXPF) has reported initial results from wireline logging and an expanded evaluation campaign at its Lorelle-3 pilot well in ATP 2056 in Queensland’s Taroom Trough.
The program confirmed multiple hydrocarbon-bearing intervals across the Permian section, with a total of 148 metres of net pay identified across four reservoirs.
Percheron Therapeutics Ltd (ASX:PER, OTC:PERCF) has secured acceptance of an abstract for presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Annual Meeting, scheduled for April 17–22, 2026, in San Diego, California.
The abstract focuses on results from its recently completed Phase 1 study of HMBD-002 in patients with advanced cancer, with full results to be disclosed at the meeting in line with AACR embargo rules.
Greatland Resources Ltd (AIM:GGP, OTC:GRLGF, FRA:G8G, ASX:GGP) has announced the resignation of chief operating officer Simon Tyrrell, with the executive stepping down from the role as the company begins a formal process to recruit a permanent successor.
Tyrrell will remain available to Greatland until 30 June 2026 to support the transition, the miner said.
Shares in ASX-listed family tracking platform Life360 Inc. (ASX:360) edged higher on Wednesday after the company announced a deeper integration with global ride-hailing group Uber Technologies Inc (NYSE:UBER, XETRA:UT8).
Life360’s ASX-listed shares rose to $23.84, up 48 cents or 2.05% in the session, while its NASDAQ shares were up just under 0.5% following news of the deal.
Novo Resources Corp (TSX:NVO, OTCQX:NSRPF, ASX:NVO, FRA:1NOR) is tightening its focus around a diversified Australian gold and copper portfolio tapping into multiple Tier-1 jurisdictions, with a materially upgraded exploration target now anchoring its Victorian flagship.
The strategy centres on advancing a multi-district, diversified portfolio spanning Western Australia, New South Wales and Victoria, alongside a dividend-paying strategic investment.
AuMEGA Metals Ltd (ASX:AAM, TSX:AUM, OTCQB:AUMMF, FRA:FRA: MA30) has amended and upsized its institutional financing to about C$30.1 million, with the company flagging the funds will extend its runway and underpin a larger exploration push in Newfoundland, Canada.
The raise is anchored by Condire Investors, LLC, a US-based resources investor that is expected to emerge with around 19.9% of AuMEGA on a non-diluted basis once the placement completes. AuMEGA said the warrants issued to Condire include a “blocker” that prevents exercise if it would take the investor to 20% or more.
European Lithium Ltd (ASX:EUR, OTCQB:EULIF) has highlighted encouraging resampling results from the Hill Zone Deposit at the Tanbreez rare earths project in Greenland, with Critical Metals Corp (Nasdaq: CRML), in which it holds a 37.5% stake, reporting consistent total rare earth oxide plus yttrium (TREO+Y) grades across 33 historical drill holes.
The results stem from a comprehensive resampling program of 2010 diamond drilling at the Hill Zone, forming part of an ongoing quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) review and data gap analysis. While the announcement does not alter the existing mineral resource estimate, it is designed to validate and expand the project’s elemental dataset ahead of further drilling in 2026.
Orthocell Ltd (ASX:OCC, OTC:ORHHF) has confirmed it received a $3.0 million refund under the Australian Federal Government’s Research and Development (R&D) Tax Incentive for the financial year ended June 30, 2025.
The refund is a non-dilutive boost to cash reserves, taking Orthocell’s cash balance to $49.6 million following receipt.
NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED (ASX:NAB) shares touched a fresh record $47.96 in early trade after the lender delivered a strong quarterly profit, supported by growth across its home and business lending divisions.
After the initial jump, NAB was trading around $47.75, up about 5%.
Real wages have fallen for the first time since September 2023 after inflation outpaced annual wage growth, according to the latest data released on Wednesday.
With inflation running at 3.8%, annual nominal wage growth of 3.4% leaves real wages declining by 0.4% in the year to December.
Krakatoa Resources Ltd (ASX:KTA) has strengthened its technical and operational capability at the Zopkhito gold-antimony project in Georgia, appointing underground mining executive Owen Mihalop as technical consultant and regional specialist Graham Wall as country operations manager.
The appointments follow Krakatoa’s 2025 work program at Zopkhito, which confirmed a high-grade narrow vein antimony and gold system between historic underground adits and laid the groundwork for further drilling and development studies.
Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) will cut about 10% of its workforce and undertake a strategic review of its Australian integrated oil and gas portfolio after reporting a sharp fall in annual profit, as the energy major pivots from heavy project spending to cash generation.
The Adelaide-based company outlined the measures alongside its full-year results, with managing director and chief executive Kevin Gallagher saying Santos was “targeting a headcount reduction of around 10%, rightsizing the business” as key growth projects shift into steady-state operations.
Aurum Resources Ltd (ASX:AUE) is positioning itself as an emerging multi-asset gold developer in Côte d’Ivoire, underpinned by a growing 3.28-million-ounce (Moz) resource base and a strategy designed to evolve from explorer to producer within the next 12–24 months.
With a central processing hub planned at Boundiali, a second growth pillar at Napié and an in-house drilling fleet that materially lowers discovery costs, Aurum is pursuing scale in one of the world’s fastest-growing gold provinces.
St George Mining Ltd (ASX:SGQ, FRA:S0G, OTC:SGQMF) has delivered its thickest intercept to date at the Araxá Rare Earths and Niobium Project in Brazil, as ongoing drilling continues to expand the footprint of high-grade mineralisation beyond the current resource model.
The standout result from diamond hole AXDD055 returned 164.45 metres from surface grading 2.93% total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 0.39% Nb₂O₅, including 62 metres at 5.15% TREO and 0.66% Nb₂O₅ from 22 metres, and 15 metres at 8.78% TREO and 1.18% Nb₂O₅ from 55 metres.
Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR, FRA:9S70) will host an investor webinar on Friday, February 20, providing shareholders with an update on its solid-state battery evaluation program and broader strategy in next-generation energy storage.
The session will feature managing director Tim Wither alongside technical advisor Dr Alevtina Smirnova, a globally recognised solid-state battery scientist who recently joined the company. Dr Smirnova is a widely credited inventor in the solid-state battery field and brings decades of research and commercialisation experience to the role.
Greatland Resources Ltd (AIM:GGP, OTC:GRLGF, FRA:G8G, ASX:GGP) has announced a change to its senior leadership team, with chief operating officer Simon Tyrrell resigning from his role.
The company said Tyrrell has stepped down as COO but will remain available until June 30, 2026, to assist with the transition. A formal process to appoint a permanent replacement is now under way.
The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) closed at 3,641.10, down 13.90 points (-0.38%) in the previous session and down 97.60 points (-2.61%) over the past five days.
In Perth, the RIU Explorers Conference is underway and due to wrap up tomorrow. With a heavy presenting schedule across the resources sector, company news flow is a little slower than usual, but several updates are landing throughout the day.
BHP Group Ltd (LSE:BHP, ASX:BHP) used its first-half result to underline how quickly copper is reshaping the group, with RBC Capital Markets describing the numbers as a “clean, copper-led result with solid financial 1H performance”.
The Canadian bank said earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation from the world's largest miner were “modestly ahead”, alongside free cash flow, while “the 60% payout surprised positively”.
Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX:SVM, OTCQX:SVMLF, AIM:SVML, FRA:SVM) shares rose 9% to 39.75p after the miner said Traxys North America had signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding to market graphite from its Kasiya rutile-graphite project in Malawi.
Sovereign said the MOU targeted roughly 40,000 tonnes a year of graphite concentrate in stage one, years one to five, rising to up to 80,000 tonnes a year thereafter.
In a significant patent skirmish for the Australian biotech and pharmaceutical sector, AstraZeneca PLC (LSE:AZN, NASDAQ:AZN) has secured a Federal Court ruling that blocks local generics maker Pharmacor Pty Ltd from selling its cheaper versions of the diabetes drug dapagliflozin — at least until a full trial can be heard. The decision is a win for originator drugmakers in a legal landscape where innovators and generics are increasingly clashing over market access and patent rights.
Justice Kylie Downes of the Federal Court on Monday granted an interlocutory injunction restraining Pharmacor from selling, supplying or otherwise disposing of multiple dapagliflozin products in Australia before the expiry of AstraZeneca’s patent, or further order of the Court. The order also requires Pharmacor to withdraw or adjust its pending Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) listing applications for its generic products.
Magnetite Mines Ltd (ASX:MGT) has secured a significant boost for its flagship Razorback Iron Ore Project in South Australia, with the Australian Government awarding the development Major Project Status (MPS).
The designation, effective from February 11, 2026, for a three-year period, places Razorback among just 27 projects nationwide to actively hold Major Project Status — and makes it the only iron ore project currently on the federal Major Projects list.
The Reserve Bank’s February board minutes reveal a central bank increasingly concerned that inflation could remain elevated for longer than previously expected, prompting a reassessment of the policy outlook.
“Members noted the staff’s judgement that, while the larger part of the increase probably reflected less-persistent factors that would fade over time, some of it was due to underlying inflationary pressure that would be likely to persist with current policy settings,” the minutes say.
BHP Group Ltd (LSE:BHP, ASX:BHP) has surged more than 6% on Tuesday after delivering a strong first-half result, with profit lifting 28% to US$5.64 billion (about A$8 billion) on the back of an 11% rise in revenue to US$27.9 billion. The miner’s underlying EBITDA climbed 25% year-on-year to US$15.5 billion, supported by higher copper earnings and strong margins.
Copper was the standout, prompting BHP to raise FY26 copper production guidance to 1.9–2.0 million tonnes after strong output at Escondida and its other Chilean operations. Escondida’s guidance was upgraded to 1.2–1.275 million tonnes. Meanwhile, West Australian iron ore delivered record first-half production and shipments, reinforcing BHP’s position as the lowest-cost major producer, with iron ore and coal performing in line with guidance overall.
A Federal Court action brought by activist shareholder group the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) against Santos Ltd (ASX:STO) — alleging the oil and gas producer breached corporations and consumer laws through misleading “clean energy” claims — has been dismissed.
The ACCR said the proceeding was the first globally to test the accuracy of a company’s stated pathway to net zero emissions.
Resolution Minerals Ltd (ASX:RML, OTC:RLMLF, FRA:NC3) has reported further broad gold intersections and a significant tungsten hit from final assays of its 2025 drilling campaign at the Golden Gate Fault Zone within the 100%-owned Horse Heaven Gold–Antimony–Tungsten–Silver Project in Idaho, USA.
Former Reserve Bank of Australia governor Philip Lowe has convened the ASX Ltd (ASX:ASX)’s newly established corporate governance advisory body for the first time, with members agreeing to pursue a simplification of the exchange’s governance principles and setting a target to reach agreement by the end of 2026.
Lowe was appointed chair in November after the ASX disbanded its former 19-member governance council, following an internal split over proposed updates to the corporate governance principles that included expanded diversity reporting disclosures for boards.
Anson Resources Ltd (ASX:ASN, OTCQB:ANSNF) will start a uranium and vanadium drilling program in early March 2026 at its Yellow Cat U-V Project in Utah, targeting a 2,500-metre extension of mineralisation along strike of the historical resource.
The program will focus on the eastern block of the project, where mineralisation is shallow or outcropping and positioned above the water table, supporting planned drill depths of 12 metres to 40 metres. A drilling contractor has been selected, with mobilisation scheduled for early March.
Terra Metals Ltd (ASX:TM1, FRA:21V) has reported new assay results from three drill holes at the Southwest SW6 Prospect — one reverse circulation (RC) hole and two diamond tail extensions — saying the results support the scale and continuity of its platinum group metals (PGM)–copper–nickel (Cu–Ni) sulphide system.
The prospect is part of TM1's Dante Project in Western Australia’s West Musgrave region, which hosts what is described as a globally significant multi-metal discovery within the Jameson Layered Intrusion, part of the Giles Complex — a large mafic-ultramafic system the company compares in scale and style to South Africa’s Bushveld Complex.
Sovereign Metals Ltd (ASX:SVM, OTCQX:SVMLF, AIM:SVML, FRA:SVM) has signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Traxys North America LLC to market graphite from its Kasiya Rutile-Graphite Project in Malawi — linking the project to a trading house recently appointed to procure critical minerals for the United States’ new strategic reserve.
Traxys is one of only three trading houses selected to procure materials under Project Vault, the US$12 billion public-private initiative launched this month to establish a US Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve. The move places Kasiya’s planned graphite production in proximity to a government-backed stockpiling program aimed at reducing reliance on Chinese-dominated supply chains.
Riversgold Ltd (ASX:RGL, FRA:RGV, OTC:RVSGF) says objections to its application for Mining Lease M25/389, covering the Northern Zone Gold Project, have been settled.
The company is now working with its lawyers to progress the lease toward recommendation and grant.
Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR, FRA:9S70) has appointed globally recognised solid-state battery scientist Dr Alevtina (Alla) Smirnova as technical advisor, as the company moves into structured laboratory validation of its optioned battery technologies.
The appointment is intended to add independent technical oversight across CRR’s evaluation strategy, including the design of testing frameworks, benchmarking methodologies and milestone sequencing.
The ASX tech sector is trying to steady itself after a rough finish to last week — and on Monday it finally got a pulse back.
By 3:30 pm AEDT, the S&P/ASX 200 Tech Index was up nearly 5%, led by a broad rebound across the usual heavyweight software names. That’s a decent one-day move in any market — but it’s also worth keeping in perspective: the tech index had barely clawed back Friday’s drop and was still down more than 5% over the past week, a reminder of how sharp the sell-off has been.
Odessa Minerals Ltd (ASX:ODE) has appointed experienced resources executives Steve Parsons and Michael Naylor as consultants, alongside extending the consulting agreement of geologist Sam Brooks as chief technical consultant.
The appointments are designed to strengthen Odessa's exploration and acquisition strategies across its existing asset base and potential new opportunities. Parsons and Naylor are substantial shareholders of the company.
Zavier Wong, Market Analyst at eToro Group Ltd (Unlisted (US):ETRO), shares his three things to watch in Australia in the coming days.
Thursday's January employment force data lands at a critical time, just two weeks after the RBA hiked rates to 3.85% in its first increase since November 2023.
Strike Energy Ltd (ASX:STX) has received all regulatory approvals required to drill the Walyering West-1 exploration well in Production Licence L 23 (100% net to Strike) in the Perth Basin, with well pad construction now underway.
The company expects Walyering West-1 to spud by mid-April 2026.
Sunshine Metals Ltd (ASX:SHN) has outlined a potential pathway to production at its Liontown deposit in North Queensland, delivering a scoping-level mining study that points to robust cashflow from a staged open pit and underground operation.
The Liontown Mining Study — based on the November 2025 mineral resource — outlines an initial production target of about 75,200 ounces of gold at 2.96 g/t and 654,000 ounces of silver at 25.7 g/t over a 47-month mine life.