In Case You Missed It: Iron ore royalties, rare earths and some lithium

Stockhead’s In-Case-You-Missed-It highlights today’s most interesting small cap stories that might have slipped beneath your radar.
Below is a wrap of the top 20 performing stocks, by percentage, who made announcements today.

ICYMI Leader Board

Code Company Price % Today Market Cap OEQ Orion Equities 0.15 121% $1,064,148 CUF Cufe Ltd 0.019 36% $16,045,573 SRK Strike Resources 0.062 27% $13,903,750 PAM Pan Asia Metals 0.19 23% $26,011,601 VMM Viridismining 1.62 21% $59,957,115 DY6 Dy6Metalsltd 0.12 20% $3,856,249 VTX Vertexmin 0.155 15% $8,425,125 GSS Genetic Signatures 0.46 14% $66,791,342 5EA 5Eadvanced 0.25 11% $69,223,538 AUN Aurumin 0.027 8% $8,961,077 FFG Fatfish Group 0.019 6% $23,130,511 SNT Syntara Limited 0.02 5% $15,794,954 STK Strickland Metals 0.105 5% $163,177,312 BNL Blue Star Helium Ltd 0.024 4% $44,672,101 CAA Capral Limited 9.93 3% $169,795,296 STX Strike Energy Ltd 0.49 3% $1,359,557,284 IBC Ironbark Capital Ltd 0.47 2% $50,277,769 COG Consolidated Ops Gp 1.47 2% $277,917,354 IAM Income Asset 0.076 1% $23,390,546 ANO Advance Zinctek Ltd 1.03 1% $63,680,353

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The two top players today and connected via the deal that Strike Resources (ASX:SRK) has made with Miracle Iron Holdings for the sale of its subsdiary – and owner of Paulsens East iron ore project – Strike Iron Ore for $20.5m.

As part of the deal, Miracle requested the cancellation of the royalty that is payable to Orion Equities (ASX:OEQ) subsidiary CXM for iron ore produced from Paulsens East.

CXM has agreed to terminate and provide releases to Miracle, and Miracle has agreed to pay $2m (with a further $3m payment deferred to 30 June 2024) to CXM as consideration for the termination of the Orion royalty.

Viridis Mining and Minerals (ASX:VMM) has reported the highest grades at its Colossus rare earths project in Brazil to date of up to 8,277ppm total rare earth oxides from the Capão da Onça prospect.

DY6 Metals (ASX:DY6) has secured a 6-month option to acquire an 80% interest in the Karonga lithium project located in northern Malawi.

And Vertex Minerals (ASX:VTX) has released the pre-feasibility study for its Reward gold mine in NSW, which highlights average monthly gold production of 2,169 oz over 23 months with 92% gold recovery, CAPEX of $28.5m, AISC of $1,712 per ounce, NPV at $28.3m pre tax and IRR at 77% pre tax – plus a life of mine pre-tax cash of $35.7 million at $3,000/oz gold price.