The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index (XSO) moved higher yesterday, gaining 25.90 points, or 0.76%, to close at 3,432.40.
Despite the daily gain, the index remains under pressure over the short term, down 128.50 points, or 3.61%, across the past five trading days.
Several ASX small-cap companies have provided operational and project updates this morning, with Askari Metals advancing stakeholder engagement in Ethiopia, Orthocell expanding humanitarian use of its Remplir™ nerve repair device in Ukraine and Nova Minerals reporting strong metallurgical results from its Korbel gold ore. You can read abourt the following and more throughout the day.
Askari Metals strengthens Ethiopia relationships
Askari Metals Ltd (ASX:AS2, FRA:7ZG) has provided an update on progress at its flagship Nejo Gold-Copper Project in Ethiopia, where the company continues to build relationships with local communities, regional government bodies and federal authorities.
Since establishing a presence in Ethiopia, Askari has taken an active approach to stakeholder engagement across all levels of government and within communities surrounding the Nejo Project.
The company said strong local partnerships and government support would be fundamental to building a successful long-term exploration and development business in the country.
Nejo is Askari’s key asset in Ethiopia and is central to the company’s strategy of exploring for gold and copper opportunities in an underexplored but highly prospective region.
Orthocell expands Remplir humanitarian program to Ukraine
Orthocell Ltd (ASX:OCC, OTC:ORHHF) has extended the global reach of its FDA-cleared collagen medical device Remplir™ to Ukraine as part of a coordinated philanthropic initiative supporting victims of war.
The regenerative medicine company first delivered an initial humanitarian shipment of Remplir to Ukraine in April 2025, coordinated through Professor Fiona Wood AO and UK defence surgeons supporting battlefield trauma programs.
Further Remplir devices are now in transit after a group of Australian corporate donors agreed to purchase 100 devices at humanitarian pricing for shipment to Ukraine.
The donor group includes Wyllie Group, Andrew Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation, Canaccord Genuity (TSX:CF, LSE:CF) Australia, Gilbert + Tobin, Device Technologies Australia, Bell Potter and Argonaut Securities.
Orthocell has also donated a further 100 devices, while the Ukraine Crisis Appeal has pledged A$10,000 to support the initiative.
Nova Minerals reports strong Korbel gold recovery
Nova Minerals Corp (ASX:NVA, NYSE-A:NVA, FRA:QM30) has reported results from bench-scale rougher flotation testing on low-grade Korbel ore, part of a broader pre-feasibility study-level metallurgical test-work program for the Estelle Gold Project in Alaska.
The company said low-grade Korbel ore grading between 0.39 and 0.42 g/t gold delivered a strong flotation response at 250 microns or finer, achieving more than 95% gold recovery.
Testing produced a low mass pull of just 2-3%, representing a 97-98% reduction in the volume reporting to downstream processing, while generating a high-grade concentrate grading between 14.7 and 26.7 g/t gold.
Nova said the application of coarse particle flotation to Korbel’s JORC-compliant resource of 1,040 million tonnes at 0.3 g/t gold for 8.65 million ounces could enhance Estelle’s PFS outcomes by upgrading low-grade ore, reducing processing intensity, lowering energy use and simplifying the flowsheet.
Further Korbel CIL test-work and coarse particle flotation studies are underway to refine the flowsheet, confirm gold recovery and gangue rejection, and optimise plant design, scale, configuration and project economics.