The S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index fell sharply on Friday, losing 75.70 points, or 2.24%, to close at 3,306.20.
The index was down 86.30 points, or 2.54%, over the past five trading sessions, reflecting broad weakness across the smaller end of the Australian share market.
It's a slow start to the week woith regartd to newsflow so far and with the Noosa Mining Conference starting on Wednesday, it could be a slow week. However, several ASX-listed companies have this morning delivered operational, corporate and exploration updates spanning energy, critical minerals, gold and technology. You can read about the following and more throughout the day.
Tamboran completes largest Beetaloo stimulation program
Tamboran Resources Corporation (NYSE:TBN, ASX:TBN, OTC:TBNRL, FRA:O8R) has completed stimulation, cleanout and completion activities at the Shenandoah South 3H, 4H and 5H wells in the Northern Pilot Area of the Beetaloo Basin.
The campaign represented the first three-well zipper stimulation program undertaken in the basin and the largest stimulation campaign completed in the Beetaloo to date.
Liberty Energy’s frac fleet placed 178 stimulation stages across approximately 30,000 feet of horizontal well sections within the Mid Velkerri B Shale.
The program averaged 6.7 stages per day and set new Beetaloo operating records, including pumping for more than 20 hours in a day and delivering 12 stages during a single 24-hour period.
Critical Resources strengthens cooling technology expertise
Critical Resources Ltd (ASX:CRR, FRA:9S70) has appointed Eric Martinez Gurrea as technical adviser to support the development of its licensed thermal management technology portfolio.
The appointment follows the company’s acquisition of an exclusive worldwide licence covering two-phase cooling technologies designed for lithium-ion batteries, central processing units and graphics processing units.
The technology is being evaluated for use in high-density electronics and data centre infrastructure, where rapidly rising computing requirements are increasing demand for efficient thermal management systems.
Critical Resources said the appointment would strengthen its technical capability as it advances the evaluation and development of the licensed portfolio.
Rokeby completes Omeo Gold Project acquisition
Rokeby Resources (ASX:RKB) has completed the acquisition of the Omeo Gold Project near the town of Omeo in northeast Victoria.
The acquisition gives Rokeby 100% ownership of the project’s mining licences and establishes Omeo as the company’s flagship asset.
The project contains the Maude and Sunnyside deposits and is supported by a historical, non-JORC 2012 estimate of 2.4 million tonnes at 4.02 grams per tonne gold for approximately 320,000 ounces.
Rokeby will now focus on advancing and validating the project’s existing geological information as it evaluates the potential to define a compliant mineral resource.
Sky Metals extends Tallebung growth potential
Sky Metals Ltd (ASX:SKY) has reported further shallow, high-grade tin, tungsten and silver drilling results from its wholly owned Tallebung Project in New South Wales.
The latest assays were received after the cut-off date for the project’s recently updated mineral resource estimate and were therefore not included in the current resource model.
Sky Metals said the results provided additional evidence that mineralisation at Tallebung remained open and that further drilling could support continued resource growth.
The company is advancing Tallebung as a polymetallic project targeting metals considered important to advanced manufacturing, renewable energy technologies and global supply-chain security.
Iondrive appoints former BHP innovation executive as CEO
Iondrive Ltd (ASX:ION) has appointed Dr Grant Caffery as chief executive officer, effective August 1, 2026, completing a planned executive transition as the company advances the commercialisation of its IONSolv™ metal extraction platform.
Caffery most recently served as head of innovation at BHP, where he led the development and commercial application of new technologies across the global resources group.
His experience spans technology commercialisation, innovation management and the formation of partnerships between industry, research organisations and technology developers.
Iondrive is developing IONSolv as a selective metal extraction technology capable of recovering critical minerals from multiple feedstocks, with the company now focused on scaling the platform towards commercial production.