Rise and Shine: Everything you need to know before the ASX opens

Good morning everyone, and welcome to 24 January, 2024 – a date on the calendar that strikes fear into the hearts of old ladies who never wanted to cross the road but were forced across anyway… as it was on this day in 1908 that Lord Robert Baden-Powell published a book called “Scouting for Boys”, and launched a worldwide movement that has been both a blessing and curse in some respects.

It was a blessing for generations of young lads who needed a bit of structure and guidance in their lives, or perhaps just a bit of a push to get out and about into nature, learn (allegedly) important skills such as how to tie knots, how to start bushfires and how to scald both hands equally while trying to make tea in a small metal bucket.

But, it turns out that there were more than a few bad apples who took the title of Baden-Powell’s seminal tome to be something of an instruction in and of itself, joining the movement as responsible adults who were firmly intent on actually scouting for boys.

While nowhere near as popular as it was when I was a lad, I am reliably informed that Scouting is still very much A Thing, albeit one that has had to undergo some massive changes to the way it’s all structured.

Still, I owe the Scout movement more than a small debt of gratitude – the weekends away from parental supervision where I learnt to smoke cigarettes and enjoy the assorted flavours of hastily purloined alcohol are fond memories I will cherish forever.

Speaking of which, let’s all hope together that today is a day where some fond memories will be made among us here, as we Do Our Best to make some sense of what’s happening on the market, and maybe pocket a bit of coin along the way.

To help you get your affairs in order, Reuben’s dug deep to remind us all of those wild ’90s days (read “scams”), while Earlybird Eddy’s frantically waving the bong smoke out the window and spraying something pot pourri-scented because his mum’s at the door asking for all the cannabis stock news the week has to offer.

Plus, down below, there’s all the usual numbers and letters, all lovingly arranged in such a fashion that they make sense to our weird, wet and wrinkly brains – because nothing quite says “sentient life” than 1.4kg of meat that runs on electricity.

COMMODITY/FOREX/CRYPTO MARKET PRICES

Gold: US$2,025.12 (-0.18%)

Silver: US$22.398 (-0.17%)

Nickel (3mth): US$16,060.50/t (+1.43%)

Copper (3mth): US$8,312.15/t (+0.72%)

Oil (WTI): US$74.27 (-0.34%)

Oil (Brent): US$79.42 (-0.39%)

Iron 62pc Fe: US$135.42/t (-0.34%)

AUD/USD: 0.6573 (-0.19%)

Bitcoin: US$39,647.20 (-0.58%)

WHAT GOT YOU TALKING

Battery metals are taking a battering at the moment – here’s a look at just how bad the bleeding is this week.

What’s new in battered battery metals this week? Lithium stocks took a pounding on Monday. Any improvement come Weds?

Here’s something for red metal fans: a new report predicts increasing demand for copper in EVs over the next decade. Stockhead > https://t.co/1qaCgo4vMj

— Stockhead (@StockheadAU) January 23, 2024

YESTERDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LEADERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks:

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Code Company Price % Volume Market Cap YPB YPB Group Ltd 0.002 100% 3,040,000 $790,461 RMX Red Mount Min Ltd 0.003 50% 1,772,288 $5,347,152 TMR Tempus Resources Ltd 0.007 40% 7,425,892 $3,451,450 NPR Newmark Property 1.325 37% 2,801,075 $176,198,848 TFL Tasfoods Ltd 0.03 36% 27,892 $9,616,101 FG1 Flynngold 0.071 34% 4,169,335 $7,723,385 EDE Eden Inv Ltd 0.002 33% 16,053,907 $5,517,407 SRN Surefire Rescs NL 0.012 33% 31,501,138 $17,668,420 HTG Harvest Tech Grp Ltd 0.017 31% 707,748 $9,177,523 HT8 Harris Technology Gl 0.013 30% 408,251 $2,991,355 IPB IPB Petroleum Ltd 0.014 27% 3,972,874 $6,216,347 CPO Culpeominerals 0.048 26% 4,222,129 $5,160,048 AL8 Alderan Resource Ltd 0.005 25% 13,296,334 $4,427,445 CTO Citigold Corp Ltd 0.005 25% 237,530 $12,000,000 NAE New Age Exploration 0.005 25% 1,481,689 $7,175,596 AUZ Australian Mines Ltd 0.011 22% 40,414,524 $8,505,444 HXG Hexagon Energy 0.012 20% 2,020,540 $5,129,159 IBG Ironbark Zinc Ltd 0.006 20% 1,233,333 $7,969,363 SIT Site Group Int Ltd 0.003 20% 5,035,914 $6,506,226 XRG Xreality Group Ltd 0.031 19% 93,592 $13,884,822 TG1 Techgen Metals Ltd 0.056 19% 298,111 $4,517,550 APX Appen Limited 0.335 18% 8,908,062 $62,483,933 DEL Delorean Corporation 0.035 17% 196,122 $6,471,627 KFM Kingfisher Mining 0.14 17% 86,983 $6,445,800 CDT Castle Minerals 0.007 17% 140,562 $7,346,958

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Yesterday’s Small Cap Winners included:

Newmark Property REIT was charging hard at the top of the Small Caps ladder Wednesday, up more than 38% on news that it has entered into a Bid Implementation Deed that will see BWP Management lock in an off-market, 100% takeover, as part of an a proposed all-scrip merger between the pair.

It’s an almost-impossible to turn down transaction, with BWP happy to cough up 0.40 BWP units per NPR security, to meet an implied value of $1.39 per NPR security – which is a thunderous 43.1% premium to its closing price Tuesday at $0.97 a pop.

Meanwhile, Surefire Resources (ASX:SRN) hit a home run in the lab, with the company claiming a breakthrough pre-treatment and leach process that has allowed it to extract 91% of vanadium and 88% of titanium directly from Victory Bore magnetite concentrate.

It’s big news for Surefire, and stems from the company’s strategy of teaming up with METS Engineering in May last year, specifically to look into developing a better method of extraction, specifically for vanadium – as it appears that the ”unexpected extraction” of titanium during the process is a surprise bonus for the team.

The process is, as you’d expect, commercial in confidence – so, the specifics aren’t going to be made public just yet – and Surefire says it is subject to a Provisional Patent protection and remains solely the company’s IP.

Market minnow Eden Innovations (ASX:EDE) banked a 33.3% jump on the heels of a positive quarterly, which talked up “interest from a large multi-national company” in the company’s patented, core pyrolysis tech to make hydrogen and carbon nanotubes from natural gas without all that pesky CO2 as a by-product.

Eden reports that revenue for December quarter for its EdenCrete product is up 8% on PCP, however sales of its OptiBlend have fallen dramatically, down -93% – with a caveat that there are some significant sales negotiations underway in India at the moment.

And online retailer Harris Technology (ASX:HT8) has dropped its quarterly with the news that it has generated sales revenue of $4.9m through the December quarter, with thanks to an “increased contribution from the Household and Seasonal categories in line with the busy retail season through Black Friday, Christmas and Boxing Day”.

That was enough to drive a net operating cash inflow of $235,000 for the quarter, marking the second consecutive quarter and just pipping the previous three-month result of $226,000.

Later in the day, Harvest Technology Group (ASX:HTG) spiked on news that its received both second and third orders for its Nodestream technology from its significant Five-Eyes defence customer, in the total amount of approximately $380,000 – which has reportedly been paid up-front, and in cash.

And Flynn Gold (ASX:FG1) enjoyed a late surge after lunch, after the results from an Extraordinary General Meeting were published, days out from the extended deadline of the company’s in-progress share purchase plan.

YESTERDAY’S ASX SMALL CAP LAGGARDS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks:

Swipe or scroll to reveal full table. Click headings to sort:

Code Company Price % Volume Market Cap ME1 Melodiol Glb Health 0.001 -50% 14,977,218 $9,833,237 DXN DXN Limited 0.001 -33% 1,000,000 $3,230,010 JAV Javelin Minerals Ltd 0.001 -33% 600,000 $2,450,593 NAN Nanosonics Limited 2.915 -33% 7,885,293 $1,323,364,334 MRD Mount Ridley Mines 0.0015 -25% 1,200,600 $15,569,766 VAL Valor Resources Ltd 0.003 -25% 1,825,245 $16,693,339 ESR Estrella Res Ltd 0.0045 -25% 111,602 $10,556,231 HTA Hutchison 0.031 -21% 211,779 $529,327,835 IRX Inhalerx Limited 0.02 -20% 4,615 $4,744,174 88E 88 Energy Ltd 0.004 -20% 10,982,471 $123,627,103 INP Incentiapay Ltd 0.004 -20% 99,141 $6,388,573 PRX Prodigy Gold NL 0.004 -20% 275,550 $8,755,539 WBE Whitebark Energy 0.015 -17% 550,300 $2,947,358 WEL Winchester Energy 0.0025 -17% 901,167 $3,061,266 AKN Auking Mining Ltd 0.035 -15% 431,140 $9,444,502 X2M X2M Connect Limited 0.035 -15% 57,998 $8,615,259 CCO The Calmer Co Int 0.006 -14% 778,861 $6,002,466 MOM Moab Minerals Ltd 0.006 -14% 445,958 $4,983,744 RAS Ragusa Minerals Ltd 0.03 -14% 437,162 $4,990,958 1TT Thrive Tribe Tech 0.013 -13% 16,239 $4,449,323 CRR Critical Resources 0.013 -13% 6,184,807 $26,667,754 COD Coda Minerals Ltd 0.1 -13% 214,778 $16,372,708 BUY Bounty Oil & Gas NL 0.007 -13% 204,991 $11,988,008 BXN Bioxyne Ltd 0.014 -13% 796,422 $30,426,326 ME1 Melodiol Glb Health 0.001 -50% 14,977,218 $9,833,237

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TRADING HALTS

Merchant House (ASX:MHI) – pending an announcement to the market in relation to a material asset sale from the Company’s subsidiary, Footwear Industries of Tennessee.

Cassius Mining (ASX:CMD) – pending an announcement by the Company in relation to a capital raising.

Papyrus Australia (ASX:PPY) – pending an announcement to be made to the market regarding a Share Sale & Purchase Agreement.

Matador Mining (ASX:MZZ) – “Out of an abundance of caution related to the remediation of a government clerical error relating to the status of a few of Matador’s tenements in Newfoundland.”

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