There are plenty of good news stories to be found in the small cap end of the market at the end of FY22’s first quarter, despite rollercoaster rises and falls in the stock market overall.
The ASX small ordinaries index, AXSO, sat at 3,515 points at the close of trade on Monday, a gain of more than 4% in the September quarter.
That compares favourably with the S&P/ASX200 and the All Ordinaries indices, which have gained 1% and 1.5% respectively.
The top five movers
Miners dominate the top five movers and shakers in the September quarter.
According to data gathered by Proactive from Market Index, Aura Energy Ltd (ASX:AEE, AIM:AURA), a uranium miner, has been the biggest gainer, up 488%.
But that is because, just last week, it was finally reinstated to the ASX after a 16-month layoff. It has “undertaken sufficient exploration on its projects in line with its proposed expenditure commitments”, satisfying conditions to return to the market.
Hannans Ltd (ASX:HNR), Nexus Minerals Ltd (ASX:NXM), Red Hill Iron Ltd and Ikwezi Mining Ltd (ASX:IKW), from the integrated mining, gold, steel and coal sectors, round out the top five.
Nexus Minerals moves on gold findings
Nexus Minerals Ltd gained 386% in the September quarter, its shares fetching 32 cents at close on Monday.
Shares rose more than 56% recently after returning multiple high-grade gold intersections from 13 reverse circulation (RC) holes at the Templar Prospect within its Wallbrook Gold Project in the Eastern Goldfields of Western Australia.
The results of up to 10 metres at 5.64 g/t gold within 23 metres at 2.85 g/t from 132 metres effectively link the Templar and Crusader prospects together, into one large mineralised system.
Nexus managing director Andy Tudor said at the time: “These broad high-grade results received from Templar occur in the same altered and mineralised rocks we see at the Crusader prospect, 1.2 kilometres to the south."
“This has effectively linked the two prospects together into one large mineralised system."
“Nexus is the first company to drill the Templar prospect and we are very proud of the work our exploration team has contributed leading to this discovery.”
Other three-figure rises
Pan Asia Metals Ltd (ASX:PAM) has gained 256% in the past three months, its shares closing at 46 cents on Monday.
The battery metals and critical exploration company closed a raise early due to heavy oversubscription with more than two weeks left on the original deadline.
Target subscriptions of $2 million, or 33% of the funds raised in the private placement, were easily met by shareholders within weeks of opening with applications received totalling more than $2.5 million.
It also received positive assay results from seven more drill holes completed at the Reung Kiet Lithium Project in southwest Thailand.
The drilling has defined extensive pegmatite dyke-vein swarms containing lithium mineralisation associated with lepidolite (lithium mica), highlighted by 13.5 metres at 0.85% lithium oxide, 519 ppm caesium, 2.31% potassium, 0.34% rubidium, 571p pm tin and 201 ppm tantalum from 2.8 metres.
Eclipse Metals (ASX:EPM) Ltd, a multi-commodity explorer with a large portfolio of assets prospective for cryolite, fluorite, siderite, quartz, rare earth elements, gold, platinum group metals, manganese, palladium, vanadium and uranium mineralisation in the Northern Territory, Queensland and Greenland, gained 200%, its shares closing at 6.2 cents on Monday.
It received approval from the Greenland Government for an initial fieldwork program at the lvittuut Project, which has near-term cryolite, fluorite and rare earth production potential.
This approval will enable Eclipse to assess access, ground conditions and confirmation of geological features at Ivittuut.
NSW and Western Australian gold explorer Okapi Resources Ltd (ASX:OKR, FRA:260) saw its shares rise 185% in the September quarter, closing at 52 cents on Monday, thanks to a highly successful start to its maiden drilling program at the Enmore Gold Project in northern NSW.
Okapi encountered thick, shallow high-grade gold intersected, including 174 metres at 1.83 g/t gold from the surface.
Last week, it made the decision to proceed with acquiring the Enmore Gold Project in northern New South Wales after satisfying a series of expenditure and drilling requirements.
The gold explorer first tabled its play for the precious metals asset in December 2020, when it entered a binding heads of agreement with Providence Gold and Minerals Pty Ltd.
However, to complete the acquisition, Okapi was required to tap into the project’s untested potential by expending $200,000 and completing at least 1,000 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling.
Fast forward to September, and Okapi achieved these milestones, meaning it will hand over $300,000 worth of OKR shares to the vendor to earn its 100% stake.
Tech plays
While resources companies dominated across the board in September, technology businesses made their presence felt as well.
Cybersecurity company Indentitii Ltd was the biggest gainer, up 194%, its shares closing at 25 cents on Monday.
Education technology was another hot theme, with KNeoMedia Ltd (ASX:KNM), a software-as-a-service publishing company delivering education and assessment products around the globe via its KneoWorld portal, gained 160% in the past three months.
The online education publisher is focused on bringing its tech-centric offering to the Big Apple and beyond through an initiative that delivers education technology to public school students.
Through its KneoWorld brand, the ASX-lister collaborated with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Dell Technologies to advance the New York-centred initiative, which aims to bring education technology to every public school student.
Financially speaking, this activity bolstered revenue by 44.2% to around A$234,000, while deferred revenue increased more than nine-fold to nearly A$470,000.
Success was achieved primarily through the ‘Connect All Kids’ educational initiative being rolled out in conjunction with the NAACP and Dell.
The ‘Connect All Kids’ educational initiative is a New York City Councillors project that has already committed US$5 million to education programs within New York City. Three deployments were confirmed during the year.
- Daniel Paproth