Juniors on Radar: Explorers on the Move Today

The S&P/ASX 200 materials index opened -0.36% lower today, slightly better than the ASX 200, which opened -0.55% lower.  

3-month chart of the S&P/ASX 200 materials index, with the ASX 200 shown in red. 

#1 Uranium

Uranium has opened 1.48% higher, reaching a fresh 11-year high. Uranium prices have gained about 41% since the start of 2022, thanks to increased demand for nuclear fuel as many countries seek to limit imported Russian energy commodities. A broader decarbonisation trend has also bolstered prices.  

• Advale Resources (ASX: ADD) is up 8.16% at the open. The company owns the Lake Surprise uranium project in SA, which covers 396 sq.km of area prospective for sandstone hosted roll-front uranium mineralisation. 

• Okapi Resources (ASX: OKR) is up 26.67% at the open. The company today executed an agreement to acquire an option over a 51% interest in the Hansen uranium project in Colorado, USA. With the company already owning two other nearby deposits, today’s news will see Okapi add 22.2 million pounds of uranium oxide to the company’s resources. 

“Recent geopolitical events have put increased focus on the importance of the US revitalising its domestically sourced uranium, which will undoubtedly place a significant premium on US uranium assets,” says Okapi managing director Andrew Ferrier. 

Company announcements

#1 Carbine Resources

Carbine resources (ASX: CRB) has opened 26.09% higher after a maiden drilling program confirmed high grade, low impurity silica sand at the Muchea West project in WA. 

Silica sand is a granular material containing quartz and small amounts of coal, clay, and other minerals. It’s also sometimes called ‘quartz sand’ or ‘industrial sand,’ and has wide-ranging construction applications.

Managing Director Peter Batten commented:

“The overall size and quality of the Muchea sand dune system ranks highly in the silica sand market.”

“Carbine believes the quality of the Muchea West Silica Sand Project is exceptional and these results confirm that. This is not a matter of discovering sufficient material for a commercial operation, but more selecting the first development location and defining the product within that location.”

#2 Mineral Commodities

Mineral Commodities (ASX: MRC) has opened 16.67% higher after an electromagnetic and magnetic survey identified 12 priority targets for further exploration at the company’s Munglinup graphite project in WA. 

“We are excited about the results given the enormous potential to increase the resource at Munglinup and anticipate developing an exploration program on the new targets to identify the extent of mineralisation for the second half of this year,” says managing director Jacob Deysel. 

“The EPA approvals to develop the project is expected early in December quarter 2022 and will significantly advance our goal to become the largest integrated graphite anode supplier.”

Helicopter borne magnetic and electromagnetic survey. Source: New Resolution Geophysics. 

#3 Juno Minerals

Juno Minerals (ASX: JNO) has opened 14.2% higher after securing final approvals for the Mount Mason hematite project in WA.  

With the project now fully approved, Juno is currently developing a logistics solution to ensure the project can benefit from currently favourable iron ore prices.