At the turn of each month Star Investing will be recapping how the month has gone for those ASX-listed emerging mining and energy companies.
February was a mixed month for ASX small cap miners. Overall the sector was up 2.42 percent on the month of January.
247 stocks gained ground, 301 declined and 120 remain unchanged.
While ten companies lost 50 percent or more, 28 gained 50 percent or more.
While mining companies keep investors informed of progress with a running commentary on their operations and their progress, the biggest winners this month have walked the walk.
The biggest winner, Perpetual Resources (ASX: PEC) has finished February at 4.5 cents – triple its January share price. This result was following the signing of an option agreement to obtain a mineral sands project in Western Australia and declaring exploration would begin immediately.
Evidently investors were excited about the prospects of the project, which began only a week afterwards. A maiden Inferred Mineral Resource from a project nearby, VRX Silica’s (ASX: VRX) Arrowsmith North Project, found 98 percent silica (SiO2). Silica, has multiple uses, such as in LCD displays and optical glass.
Curiously VRX were down 4 percent in February although their share price has gone up nearly 8 times in 18 months from 1.4 cents to 12 cents.
The second biggest winner, Hot Chilli (ASX: HCH) also secured an option agreement to acquire a major project. In this instance it was a project in little known copper-gold project in an untapped area of Chile.
Newly released results described the area as, “one of the most significant set of copper-gold porphyry discovery drilling intersections since the discovery of SolGold’s Cascabel deposit located in Ecuador”.
Who were this month’s winners?
| Ticker | Name | Market Cap | Price (28-Feb) | Total Return February (%) | Resource |
| PEC | PERPETUAL RESOURCES LTD | $8,181,373.00 | 0.045 | 221% | Gold |
| HCH | HOT CHILI LTD | $26,950,296.00 | 0.032 | 188% | Copper |
| GLA | GLADIATOR RESOURCES LTD | $2,938,668.25 | 0.002 | 100% | Gold |
| TMK | TAMASKA OIL & GAS LTD | $3,920,000.00 | 0.002 | 100% | Oil and Gas |
| CUX | CROSSLAND STRATEGIC METALS LTD | $5,058,232.00 | 0.006 | 100% | Rare earths |
| E2M | E2 METALS LTD | $11,356,191.00 | 0.15 | 88% | Gold |
| LCK | LEIGH CREEK ENERGY LTD | $104,148,128.00 | 0.23 | 88% | Oil and Gas |
| CNL | CELAMIN HOLDINGS LTD | $8,692,402.00 | 0.061 | 85% | Phosphate |
| RBR | RBR GROUP LTD | $14,883,458.00 | 0.023 | 83% | Service Provider |
| LPD | LEPIDICO LTD | $104,041,432.00 | 0.029 | 81% | Lithium |
| ATU | ATRUM COAL LTD | $52,320,464.00 | 0.21 | 76% | Coal |
| FEX | FENIX RESOURCES LTD | $13,412,582.00 | 0.064 | 70% | Iron Ore |
| NML | NAVARRE MINERALS LTD | $29,820,862.00 | 0.085 | 65% | Gold |
| IRD | IRON ROAD LTD | $58,963,108.00 | 0.087 | 63% | Iron ore |
| BAU | BAUXITE RESOURCES LTD | $12,865,340.00 | 0.06 | 62% | Bauxite |
| CAZ | CAZALY RESOURCES LTD | $6,751,752.50 | 0.029 | 61% | Cobalt/Gold |
| RLE | REAL ENERGY CORP LTD | $40,717,356.00 | 0.135 | 59% | Oil and Gas |
| TDO | 3D OIL LTD | $31,822,604.00 | 0.13 | 59% | Oil and Gas |
| GLN | GALAN LITHIUM LTD | $50,463,660.00 | 0.495 | 58% | Lithium |
| G1A | GALENA MINING LTD | $131,438,912.00 | 0.37 | 55% | Lead |
The Newcomers
The ASX only gained one newcomer, African Gold (ASX: A1G). The Cote d’Ivoire gold explorer has been volatile since listing but overall has gained 25 percent since listing.
After a poor few months, its possible the success of A1G will encourage more mining companies to seek an ASX listing in the near future.
This content does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
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