That Was The Week That Was … In Australia

By Our Man in Oz

Minews. Good morning Australia. Your market seems to have had a fairly good week.

Oz. Fairly is one way of describing what was actually a pretty flat week. Most mining stocks gained a few cents, and the mining index was up a healthy three per cent, but there wasn’t a great deal of excitement because much of the credit for the rise belonged to just two companies, the big bullies of mining, BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto.

Minews. So, the optimism at the Explorer’s Conference we covered during the week didn’t flow into the market?

Oz. Not really. The mood was certainly buoyant and executives from companies represented certainly enjoyed themselves but by the end of the week there hadn’t been much to show in the way of higher share prices.

Gold Road (GOR) is an example. Its chairman Ian Murray was pleased with the event but his company slipped A1 cent lower on the market over the course of the week to close at A36.5 cents.

Vimy (VMY), one of the local uranium hopefuls led by former iron ore executive, Mike Young, performed the same trick. Good conference, share price down A1 cent to A34.5 cents.

Some companies which exhibited or delivered presentations at the conference gained a little ground, but not much. Talisman (TLM) added A1 cent to A17 cents, and Doray (DRM), put on A1.5 cents to A49 cents.

The exception, and it’s good there was one, was Blackham Resources (BLK) which is re-developing the old Wiluna gold project in Western Australia. It found a few friends and enjoyed a share price rise of A3.5 cents (33 per cent) to A14 cents.

Minews. Keep an eye on Blackham, it sounds interesting. Time now for prices, starting with any other eye-catching moves, whether the company was at the conference, or not.

Oz. There’s weren’t many but one is closer to you than me. Wolf Minerals (WLF), the Devon tungsten project developer, took off last week after an upbeat report on progress at its Hemerdon mine, adding A11 cents (41 per cent) to A38 cents, its highest since March last year.

Mirabela (MBN), the once troubled Brazilian-focussed nickel miner, continued its strong recovery, adding another A4.6 cents to A8.5 cents, a 117 per cent rise which looks spectacular but really only takes the stock back to where it was last September.

Minews. Let’s shuffle along to the sectors to get a feel for the overall market, starting with gold.

Oz. An interesting choice because it was probably the flattest of a flat market with most share-price moves a few cents either way, and a lot of gold stocks not moving at all.

The two best rises among the gold stocks were Northern Star (NST) and Medusa (MML). Northern Star put on A29 cents to A$2.36 after announcing plans for another gold mine acquisition while Medusa added A13 cents to A98 cents.

Other gold moves included Endeavour (EVR), down A2.5 cents to A58 cents, Kingsrose (KRM), up A3 cents to A29 cents, Evolution (EVN), down A6 cents to A84.5 cents, Troy (TRY), up A1 cent to A55.5 cents, and Regis (RRL), down A2 cents to A$1.90.

Minews. The base metals next, please, starting with nickel.

Oz. Good choice because nickel was the best performing base metal last week helping Panoramic (PAN) rise by A7.5 cents to A60 cents, and Independence (IGO) add A36 cents to A$5.69. Other nickel moves included: Sirius (SIR), up A8 cents to A$3.20, Poseidon (POS), up A1.5 cents to A13.5 cents, and Mincor (MCR), up A1 cent to A67.5 cents.

Copper stocks were mixed but moves were minor, either way. Sandfire (SFR) slipped A5 cents lower to A$4.39. OZ (OZL), added A6 cents to A$3.81. Stavely (SVY) lost half-a-cent to A17.5 cents, and Mithril rose by two-tenths of a cent to A0.8 of a cent as interest grows in its exploration program.

Zinc stocks firmed modestly. Aurelia (AMI) added half-a-cent to A26 cents. Ironbark rose by seven-tenths of a cent to A10.5 cents, and Energia (EMX) gained six-tenths of a cent to A4.6 cents.

Minews. Iron ore next, please.

Oz. More of the same really. A few up and a few down. Iron ore stocks to rise included: Mt Gibson (MGX), up A1 cent to A25 cents, Mineral Resources (MIN), up A12 cents to A$7.87 and Fortescue (FMG), up A4 cents to A$2.49. Those to lose ground included: Atlas (AGO), down A1 cent to A19 cents, BC Iron (BCI), down A4 cents to A49 cents, and Crusader (CAS), down A1 cent to A24 cents.

Minews. Uranium, coal and graphite next, please.

Oz. Coal saw a bit of action but most uranium and graphite stocks barely moved.

What triggered the coal action was a takeover bid for Coalspur (CPL), an ASX-listed but Canadian-focussed coal stock which accepted a takeover bid pitched at A2.3 cents, valuing the company at A$15 million, which is quite a fall from the A$1 billion value of a few years ago.

Atrum (ATU), which is also busy in Canada, enjoyed a rub-off benefit, adding A13 cents to A$1.40. Bathurst (BRL) rose by A1.7 cents to A5.4 cents, and New Hope (NHC) put on A5 cents to A$2.57.

All uranium moves were a cent, or less, either way. Paladin (PDN) lost half-a-cent to A39.5 cents. Toro (TOE) added one-tenth of a cent to A8.4 cents, and Bannerman (BMN) put on three-tenths of a cent to A6.3 cents.

Graphite stocks showed a bit more life, but only just. Syrah (SYR) added A15 cents to A$4.43. Kibaran (KNL) rose by A1.5 cents to A17 cents, and Talga (TLG) gained half-a-cent to A42.5 cents.

Minews. Minor metal to close, please.

Oz. Wolf, mentioned earlier, was the pick of the minor metals as interest grows in tungsten stocks. King Island (KIS) was A1.5 cents stronger at A15 cents.

Titanium stocks were mixed. Mineral Deposits (MDL) added A2 cents to A77 cents. Base (BSE) slipped half-a-cent lower to A12 cents.

Fertiliser stocks have been making waves over the past few weeks. South Boulder (STB) reported progress at its Colluli project in Eritrea and added A3 cents in the process to A26.5 cents. Highfield (HFR) was also in the news, but steady on the market at A90 cents.

Minews. Thanks Oz.