Lunch Wrap: ASX dips but Rio has big plans for little LCL

• ASX slips as miners rally
• Challenger tells Dai-ichi to cough up
• BlueScope makes serious US dough

The S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.15% at lunchtime on Monday in Sydney.

US stocks took a tumble on Friday as oil prices went berserk following another round of Houthi attacks in the Middle East.

Back home this morning, though, miners and energy stocks were back in business after Friday’s rough treatment, while consumer staples were getting as much love as a warm beer.

Gold, copper and lithium stocks were back in fashion.

But Wednesday’s CPI numbers are lurking around the corner, and traders reckon there’s a 60% chance the RBA will whack rates up again next week.

So much for mortgage holders finally being able to afford a decent Christmas ham…

In large cap news…

Challenger (ASX:CGF) has told Japanese insurance giant Dai-ichi Life to come back with a fatter cheque after knocking back its $11.80-a-share takeover offer.

Dai-ichi already owns a decent chunk of Challenger and now wants the whole lot. But Challenger’s board reckons the price is a bit stingy.

They’re still talking, though, so the wedding isn’t off.

Meanwhile, Bluescope Steel (ASX:BSL) is making some serious dough over in America.

Stronger US steel margins have pushed its first-half underlying EBIT forecast to almost $1.1 billion, up from $860 million–$960 million.

Remember that $14.2 billion takeover offer BlueScope knocked back earlier this year?

Management must be feeling pretty smug about that one.

Over in mining, Greatland Resources (ASX:GGP) was having a ripper after digging up 70,131 ounces of gold and 2,927 tonnes of copper in the September quarter, bringing in $485 million in revenue.

Not a bad haul for three months’ work.

Elsewhere, Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO) has hooked up again with tiny LCL Resources (ASX:LCL) in Papua New Guinea.

Rio can grab 51% of LCL’s Liamu copper-gold project by spending $6 million on exploration, then potentially lift that to 80% through another $40 million or a major resource milestone.

LCL was worth just $5 million on the market, so Rio’s potential $46 million exploration spend is more than nine times that market value.

Rio clearly reckons there’s something worth digging around for.

And Capricorn Metals (ASX:CMM) has been doing exactly that at Mt Gibson in WA.

Its latest drilling delivered some cracking gold hits, including 6 metres at 57.38 grams per tonne at Lexington and 3 metres at a whopping 89.88 grams at Hornet.

Those are seriously rich grades, and they’re outside existing mine designs too.

Meanwhile, NextDC (ASX:NXT) has discovered that shareholders have a rather limited sense of humour when deadlines slip.

After power delays at its Melbourne data centre and a profit downgrade, CEO Craig Scroggie has decided to kiss his FY27 incentives goodbye.

Directors are also taking a 10% fee haircut, while chairman Douglas Flynn and director Stuart Davis are heading for the exit once the handover is sorted.

The company is now hunting for fresh board talent.

Over in healthcare, CSL (ASX:CSL) is also playing musical chairs in the boardroom.

Veteran Brian McNamee is retiring as chairman in March, with Gordon Naylor taking over after Deborah Waterhouse steps into the CEO job in February.

It’s quite the changing of the guard for a company trying to recover from a near-$3.7 billion annual loss.

And finally… Cochlear (ASX:COH) has stuck with its full-year underlying profit forecast of $330 million to $350 million.

CEO Dig Howitt reckons the long-term opportunity is still enormous, despite an ordinary year.

Investors might take some convincing, though. Cochlear have lost around half their value since April’s shock downgrade.

ASX LEADERS

Today’s best performing stocks (including small caps) intraday:

Security Description Last % Volume MktCap SPX Spenda Limited 0.002 50% 2,512,160 $1,238,901 LCL LCL Resources Ltd 0.008 23% 3,901,470 $7,835,796 TAL Talius Group Limited 0.060 20% 167,527 $17,213,615 AM5 Antares Metals 0.006 20% 3,783,264 $5,350,643 FEL Forte Energy Ltd 0.006 20% 70,000 $4,330,019 PIM Pinnacleminerals 0.049 20% 5,518,728 $4,734,000 PPL Pureprofile Ltd 0.031 19% 2,649,405 $31,452,197 IPT Impact Minerals 0.026 18% 162,642 $12,885,361 MGU Magnum Mining & Exp 0.007 17% 2,950,000 $19,278,223 SBR Sabre Resources 0.007 17% 30,001 $5,486,772 MTM Metallium Ltd 0.215 16% 4,226,634 $139,729,070 PM1 Palisade Metals Ltd 0.058 16% 198,526 $14,496,813 BNLDB Blue Star Helium Ltd 0.115 15% 50,297 $12,305,830 CDE Codeifai Limited 0.004 14% 200,197 $4,198,455 HOR Horseshoe Metals Ltd 0.016 14% 213,594 $10,500,127 NWM Norwest Minerals 0.008 14% 505,516 $9,463,203 AL3 Aml3D 0.120 14% 1,927,241 $59,581,807 ZIP ZIP Co Ltd.. 1.655 13% 33,910,952 $1,819,045,831 TBN Tamboran 0.215 13% 3,855,229 $251,647,932 AGY Argosy Minerals Ltd 0.026 13% 1,304,947 $37,734,561 WMG Western Mines 0.130 13% 6,406 $14,992,725 VTM Victory Metals Ltd 1.265 13% 89,976 $148,054,321 DTR Dateline Resources 0.080 13% 6,672,917 $285,017,812 GSM Golden State Mining 0.009 13% 35,728 $3,859,722 IPD Impedimed Limited 0.005 13% 32,992 $14,650,164

As mentioned earlier, LCL Resources (ASX:LCL) has scored a second deal with mining giant Rio Tinto in PNG, this time at its Liamu copper-gold project.

Rio can earn 51% by spending at least $6 million on exploration, then potentially lift that to 80% through another $40 million spend or a major resource milestone, while LCL initially remains operator and gets its exploration funded.

Pureprofile (ASX:PPL) has kicked off FY27 with record quarterly revenue of $18.3 million, up 14%, while EBITDA jumped 27% to $2.4 million.

Its technology platform revenue more than doubled to $8.8 million, and it’s forecasting full-year revenue of $72 million to $75 million with an EBITDA margin of 11–12%.

Pinnacle Minerals (ASX:PIM) is heading into US tungsten, striking a deal to acquire a company holding rights to five exploration projects in Utah, including sites with historical mining activity.

It’s also raising up to $1.3 million, backed by American Tungsten & Antimony, with exploration planned to kick off in January 2027, subject to approvals and completion of the deal.

Impact Minerals (ASX:IPT) is having a bit of a makeover, putting its 80%-owned Lake Hope high-purity alumina project in WA front and centre while reviewing its older metals assets and shifting exploration towards critical minerals.

It’s aiming to commission the Lake Hope pilot plant by November 30, while also refreshing its board and proposing a new company name as it works to attract institutional investors.

ASX LAGGARDS

Today’s worst performing stocks (including small caps) intraday:

Security Description Last % Volume MktCap PRM Prominence Energy 0.001 -50% 354,976 $5,415,335 WEL Winchester Energy 0.001 -33% 6,000,000 $2,569,528 TUA Tuas Limited 1.245 -32% 16,419,317 $998,081,031 OFX OFX Group Ltd 0.375 -26% 3,151,365 $118,704,091 AYT Austin Metals Ltd 0.002 -25% 250,000 $4,384,383 HIQ Hitiq Limited 0.003 -25% 70,582 $4,635,734 MAY Melbana Energy Ltd 0.003 -25% 609,500 $15,127,875 MQR Marquee Resource Ltd 0.003 -25% 201,000 $4,543,187 OVT Ovanti Limited 0.002 -25% 31,628,522 $2,363,348 SPQ Superior Resources 0.003 -25% 650,000 $10,562,683 TEM Tempest Minerals 0.003 -25% 50,000 $4,407,505 STK Strickland Metals 0.042 -23% 24,877,891 $142,652,813 PFM Platformo Ltd 0.011 -21% 80,642 $1,328,716 YUG Yugo Metals Ltd 0.042 -21% 316,772 $22,848,331 OEQ Orion Equities 0.140 -20% 67,781 $2,734,455 RKB Rokeby Resources Ltd 0.002 -20% 1,475,000 $7,441,825 VRC Volt Resources Ltd 0.004 -20% 1,515,981 $27,299,071 EPY Earlypay Ltd 0.110 -19% 15,000 $33,148,851 SIO Simonds Grp Ltd 0.135 -18% 207,986 $59,384,564 ID1 Identifai Genetics 0.400 -17% 139,804 $52,289,434 C7A Clara Resources 0.003 -17% 3,713 $7,512,534 AKA Aureka Limited 0.140 -15% 394,754 $34,538,504 FRB Firebird Metals 0.120 -14% 265,294 $25,530,596 ONE Oneview Healthcare 0.120 -14% 3,500 $117,534,745 TGH Terragen 0.012 -14% 500,000 $11,524,786

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Carnavale Resources (ASX:CAV) has completed a feasibility study forecasting $104m in pre-tax free cashflow from Kookynie’s proposed starter pits.

Everest Metals Corporation (ASX:EMC) has secured entry to the EU’s Raw Materials Mechanism for its Mt Edon critical minerals project.

Latrobe Magnesium (ASX:LMG) has signed a non-binding land acquisition LOI for its proposed 50,000tpa magnesium plant in South Carolina.

Perpetual Resources (ASX:PEC) has returned selective underground samples grading up to 12.03% tungsten oxide ahead of maiden Nevada Scheelite drilling.

Resolution Minerals (ASX:RML) has returned broad gold intercepts supporting an open-ended mineralised zone at Golden Gate North in Idaho.

Tartana Minerals (ASX:TAT) has reported selective surface samples grading up to 26.7% copper at Ortona, supporting further Queensland exploration.

White Cliff Minerals (ASX:WCN) has intersected 11.5m at 2% copper beneath historical workings at Bornite Hills, with follow-up drilling planned.

LAST ORDERS

Pacific Lime and Cement (ASX:PLA) has advanced its Central Cement Project in Papua New Guinea to the final EPC tender stage, with two leading bidders progressing from four international offers.

The project aims to replace cement imports with local production, using infrastructure established for its Central Lime Project.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Pacific Lime and Cement is a Stockhead advertiser, the company did not sponsor this article. 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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