The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries (XSO) closed at 3,682.90, down 11.90 points (0.32%) yesterday but up 20.50 points (0.56%) over the past five days, reflecting modest short-term volatility across Australia’s small-cap sector.
Against this backdrop, several ASX small-cap companies delivered operational and financial updates across energy, resources, healthcare and education. You can read about the following and more throughout the day.
Celsius Resources Ltd (ASX:CLA, AIM:CLA, FRA:FX8) shares moved up in London, adding 7.7% to 1.05p, after it announced it had secured firm commitments for A$9.3 million at A$0.02 a share, a funding injection the company says will help it keep momentum on financing its flagship Maalinao-Caigutan-Biyog (MCB) copper-gold project in the Philippines while covering 2026 corporate costs.
The placement was described as oversubscribed, with pricing set at a 4.8% discount to the referenced last ASX close and broadly in line with the 30-day VWAP.
Atlantic Lithium Ltd (AIM:ALL, ASX:A11, OTCID:ALLIF) said it has ended exclusive discussions over a potential change-of-control deal, opting to wait for what it sees as a key de-risking catalyst in Ghana, ratification of the Mining Lease for its Ewoyaa Lithium Project.
The AIM- and ASX-listed developer noted that it had received a conditional, non-binding indicative proposal to acquire 100% of the company via a scheme of arrangement.
Medallion Metals Ltd (ASX:MM8) has moved to reassure investors that its pending acquisition of the Forrestania Nickel Operation (FNO) from IGO Limited remains firmly on track, after the two parties agreed to a brief extension to finalise remaining pre-completion conditions.
The company confirmed that only a minor number of conditions precedent remain outstanding — primarily third-party consents — prompting a mutual agreement to push the transaction's sunset date back by six days, from February 20 to February 26 2026.
Copper rarely commands the same headlines as lithium, rare earths or even gold. It isn’t marketed as “critical” in quite the same way, nor does it benefit from the policy spotlight that has propelled battery metals over the past decade.
Yet without copper, none of it works.
A seismic shift in the world’s most important drug regulator landed last week: the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will now, by default, accept just one high-quality pivotal clinical trial plus supporting evidence to underpin new drug approvals. The move marks a formal end to the longstanding “two-trial” standard that had guided regulatory submissions for decades.
The change was announced in a commentary published on Thursday in the New England Journal of Medicine by FDA Commissioner Dr Marty Makary and his top deputy Dr Vinay Prasad, both of whom argued that the traditional requirement for two independent “adequate and well-controlled” studies no longer reflected the science or the realities of modern drug development.
Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR, FRA:9S70) has completed a detailed desktop study at its Lammerlaw Gold Project in New Zealand's Central Otago Goldfields, identifying three high-priority exploration targets across the 410 km² permit area — and setting the stage for ground-level work once regulatory approvals come through.
Lammerlaw sits on the southwestern flank of the Central Otago Antiform, the same regional structure that hosts OceanaGold's multi-million-ounce Macraes operation on its northeastern margin. Despite the region's strong gold pedigree, which also includes Santana Minerals' emerging Bendigo-Ophir discovery, Lammerlaw has seen only scattered, reconnaissance-level exploration in modern times.
Diablo Resources (ASX: DBO) has identified a significant silver-antimony mineral system stretching more than a kilometre across the Utah desert, in results that could reshape the company's near-term drilling strategy.
Diablo announced Monday that first-pass soil sampling at its South Star prospect within the Star Range project has delineated a continuous silver-antimony anomaly exceeding 1,000 metres in length — and geologists say it remains open to the northeast, meaning the deposit could be substantially larger.
Lefroy Exploration Ltd (ASX:LEX) has crossed a defining threshold in its decade-long journey, producing its first gold from the Lucky Strike Gold Mine near Kalgoorlie and shipping three gold doré bars to the Perth Mint Refinery — marking the transformation of the company from explorer to producer.
The three bars weighed a combined 27.2 kilograms, yielding an estimated 584 ounces of gold, with a fourth bar pictured weighing 6,164 grams for approximately 178oz on its own. The shipment is the first tangible return from a mineral resource that hosts 79,600 ounces at 1.95 g/t Au across 1.27 million tonnes — and represents just the opening chapter of what Lefroy believes is a much larger value story.
Zavier Wong, Market Analyst at eToro Group Ltd (Unlisted (US):ETRO), shares his three things to watch in Australia in the coming days.
Coles Group Ltd (ASX:COL) heads into its half-year results with plenty of baggage beyond margin pressure and competition from Woolworths Limited (ASX:WOW). The ACCC's pricing case, which accuses the supermarket of artificially inflating prices before using its "Down, Down" campaign to make them appear discounted, is playing out in court right now. While CEO Leah Weckert hasn't been called to testify, she'll face her own courtroom on Friday when shareholders get their say through the numbers.
Surefire Resources NL (ASX:SRN, FRA:GBL) has moved to strengthen its leadership team, announcing the appointment of Dr Andrew Whitehead as chief executive officer effective immediately.
Dr Whitehead brings more than 15 years of experience across ASX-listed and private resource companies to the role, with a track record spanning iron ore, gold and critical minerals. He has held senior executive positions overseeing commercial strategy, governance, joint ventures, capital management and stakeholder engagement on large-scale resource development projects.
Lumos Diagnostics Holdings Ltd (ASX:LDX, OTC:LDXHF) has secured a further US$720,000 in non-dilutive funding after completing a key enrolment milestone in its ongoing US paediatric clinical study for FebriDx®, backed by the United States’ Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA).
The milestone — the sixth contemplated under the BARDA partnership — relates to the total number of patients enrolled to date in the BARDA-funded study. Its completion lifts total milestone payments received under the contract to US$1,920,000.
Aurum Resources Ltd (ASX:AUE) has lifted the total mineral resource at its flagship Boundiali Gold Project in Côte d’Ivoire to more than three million ounces (Moz), following a substantial 49% increase in higher-confidence Indicated resources.
The updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) takes Boundiali to 3.03Moz at 1.0 g/t gold, up 26% on the previous estimate, with Indicated resources rising by 450,000 ounces to 1.37Moz. The growth provides a stronger foundation for the project’s upcoming pre-feasibility study (PFS), expected by the end of the March quarter.
Greatland Resources Ltd (AIM:GGP, OTC:GRLGF, FRA:G8G, ASX:GGP) has delivered a $342.9 million net profit after tax for the six months to December 31, 2025, underscoring the cash-generating strength of its Telfer gold-copper operation as it advances the Havieron Project in Western Australia’s Paterson Province.
The dual-listed gold and copper producer reported underlying earnings (EBITDA) of $560.3 million and net revenue of $977.3 million for the half, supported by strong commodity prices and full exposure to upside in the gold market.