Lunch Wrap: ASX tumbles; Apple deal lifts rare earth stocks and Lumos soars 150pc
Rare earths soar with Apple's big US deal
Gold stocks feel the pinch, but outlook still sweet
The ASX 200 took a bit of a tumble today, down 0.85% at lunch time in the east.
The market is on edge after a strong US CPI print overnight put a dampener on the idea of a Fed interest rate cut anytime soon.
The mining sector copped the biggest hit this morning, tracking iron ore prices downward after China's steel output had a hiccup.
BHP (ASX:BHP) slid 1%, and even Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), despite reporting a solid June quarter (more on this later), was down 0.3%.
But while most miners were down in the dumps, there was a party happening in the rare earths space.
Those stocks surged after Apple announced a massive $US500 million deal with an American mob called MP Materials.
MP Materials is the only rare earth mining company in the US, and this deal was a ripper.
Apple is said to be coughing up a pre-payment of $US200 million for these rare earth magnets, with deliveries set to kick off in 2027.
They're even going to team up and build a factory in the US, setting up recycled production lines specifically for the neodymium magnets needed in Apple's products.
So, while most miners were feeling the squeeze, Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU) and Lynas (ASX:LYC), our local rare earth champions, were among the top gainers this morning,
Elsewhere though, ASX gold stocks were under pressure.
Newmont Corporation (ASX:NEM), for example, dropped a chunky 5%, partly due to its chief financial officer, Karyn Ovelmen, doing a runner and a similar selloff on Wall Street.
This is despite the World Gold Council saying gold price outlook still looks strong for the back half of 2025.
And this is where things stand for the ASX at about 12:50pm, AEST:
Miners quarterly updates
A bunch of mining stocks have dropped updates this morning.
Mount Gibson Iron (ASX:MGX)
First up, Mt Gibson, primarily an iron ore miner, said it was branching out. With its Koolan Island mine winding down, Gibson has chucked $50m at Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST) for a share in the Central Tanami Gold Project.
It will join 50% partner Tanami Gold (ASX:TAM) in the project. Both count Hong Kong's APAC Resources as their major shareholder.
Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO)
Nothing too earth-shattering, but the big news is that Rio is expecting to ship 500,000 to 1 million tonnes of iron ore from Simandou in Guinea next year, with the first exports due in November.
Rio's copper output was a ripper, 13% above consensus. It's guiding copper and bauxite now to the top end of its original ranges.
The company recovered from a cyclone impacted March quarter with its strongest Q2 for iron ore shipments since 2018, though at 79.9Mt, that remained 2% below consensus. The updates come after Rio appointed iron ore chief Simon Trott as the miner's newest CEO following the resignation of Jakob Stausholm.
The Aussie lad from the small farming community of Wickepin will start on August 25, with cost discipline and M&A likely to be big focuses.
Evolution Mining (ASX:EVN)
The gold and copper miner reported quarterly and group cash flow of $308 million and $787 million respectively for the June quarter and the full financial year.
It clocked in 751,000 ounces of gold and 76,000 tonnes of copper for the year.
Its all-in sustaining costs (AISC) were $1572 an ounce for the year, with about $40-$45 of that due to higher royalty payments, a direct result of the gold price going gangbusters.
EVN has finished the year with a whopping $760 million in the bank, an 88 per cent jump from last year.
But its FY26 guidance for AISC is a bit higher, and its capital expenditure will drop by about $200 million.
Argonaut, who's a bit bearish on Evolution, reckons that capex guidance is materially higher than it expected, while Alex Barkley at RBC calling the AISC numbers for FY26 a negative. So, a bit of a mixed bag there, but mostly good news.
ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for July 16 :
Security Description Last % Volume MktCap
LDX Lumos Diagnostics 0.072 148% 42,792,405 $21,707,168
SFG Seafarms Group Ltd 0.002 100% 2,129,973 $4,836,599
SKN Skin Elements Ltd 0.003 50% 230,300 $2,150,428
MCM Mc Mining Ltd 0.130 37% 3,769 $61,150,757
CTN Catalina Resources 0.004 33% 38,241,265 $7,278,057
AT1 Atomo Diagnostics 0.021 31% 14,110,727 $12,333,519
MHM Mount Hope 0.200 29% 97,279 $4,314,425
UBI Universal Biosensors 0.027 29% 874,836 $6,259,416
NOX Noxopharm Limited 0.061 27% 308,256 $14,027,422
AR3 Austrare 0.094 27% 3,482,081 $15,687,065
BCM Brazilian Critical 0.015 25% 6,725,028 $15,726,399
ERA Energy Resources 0.003 25% 314,895 $810,792,482
HCD Hydrocarbon Dynamics 0.003 25% 36,432 $2,156,219
JAV Javelin Minerals Ltd 0.003 25% 70,732 $12,504,450
LCY Legacy Iron Ore 0.010 25% 418,918 $78,096,341
TMX Terrain Minerals 0.003 25% 850,000 $5,063,629
NHE Nobleheliumlimited 0.038 23% 2,089,899 $18,585,275
CPV Clearvue Technologie 0.200 21% 1,592,780 $45,973,153
14D 1414 Degrees Limited 0.023 21% 872,287 $5,540,878
ARR American Rare Earths 0.415 20% 4,159,055 $175,061,038
ARV Artemis Resources 0.006 20% 2,481,612 $12,678,361
AUK Aumake Limited 0.003 20% 3,293,399 $7,558,397
AZL Arizona Lithium Ltd 0.006 20% 2,222,740 $26,351,572
VFX Visionflex Group Ltd 0.003 20% 1,000 $8,419,651
Lumos Diagnostics (ASX:LDX) has just inked a massive 6-year, exclusive deal worth up to US$317m with PHASE Scientific for its FebriDx test in the US, pending a crucial CLIA waiver. Lumos pockets US$2m straightaway, with another US$1.5m coming its way once the CLIA waiver application hits the FDA, expected within three months.
CLIA waiver means a test has been deemed simple to perform, with a very low risk of getting a wrong result. If that waiver gets the green light, there's another US$5 million pre-paid purchase commitment. Lumos is pushing hard on the CLIA waiver study, with 105 of 120 bacterial positive patients already enrolled as of July 9, anticipating completion in August and submission to the FDA about a month later.
Catalina Resources (ASX:CTN) has just kicked off drilling at its Laverton project, less than 2km from Lynas's world-class Mt Weld rare earth mine. The focus is on expanding a high-grade rare earth intersection of over 10,000ppm TREO, with a cracking NdPr ratio similar to Mt Weld itself. This drilling will also chase some solid gold intercepts already found.
Noxopharm (ASX:NOX) has just kicked off its HERACLES clinical trial, giving the first patient a dose of its novel drug candidate, SOF-SKN. This trial, happening right here in Australia, is about checking the drug's safety and how well it's tolerated across four increasing doses. It's a massive step for Noxopharm, as it pushes into the over US$3 billion global lupus market.
ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for July 16 :
Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap
GMN Gold Mountain Ltd 0.002 -33% 4,240,062 $18,316,891
MOM Moab Minerals Ltd 0.001 -33% 1,100,000 $2,811,999
BLZ Blaze Minerals Ltd 0.003 -25% 400,000 $7,113,856
SHP South Harz Potash 0.003 -25% 110,045 $5,132,248
IMI Infinitymining 0.008 -20% 287,037 $4,230,158
PIL Peppermint Inv Ltd 0.002 -20% 350,000 $5,752,724
PRX Prodigy Gold NL 0.002 -20% 3,500,000 $7,937,639
SIS Simble Solutions 0.004 -20% 1,991,422 $5,411,652
CHM Chimeric Therapeutic 0.005 -17% 1,401,167 $12,091,165
IPB IPB Petroleum Ltd 0.005 -17% 68,400 $4,238,418
WSR Westar Resources 0.005 -17% 1,300,001 $2,392,349
OCT Octava Minerals 0.033 -15% 202,225 $2,379,363
PPG Pro-Pac Packaging 0.017 -15% 96,927 $3,633,754
LML Lincoln Minerals 0.006 -14% 19,269 $14,717,988
RKT Rocketdna Ltd. 0.012 -14% 399,859 $12,817,325
RMI Resource Mining Corp 0.012 -14% 2,841,511 $10,282,347
SPX Spenda Limited 0.006 -14% 185,537 $32,306,508
OSX Osteopore Limited 0.013 -13% 3,215,557 $3,107,092
EAX Energy Action Ltd 0.340 -13% 12,699 $15,202,762
DGR DGR Global Ltd 0.007 -13% 500,020 $8,349,568
LU7 Lithium Universe Ltd 0.007 -13% 10,475,916 $7,487,837
LOC Locatetechnologies 0.145 -12% 83,500 $38,803,766
IMU Imugene Limited 0.375 -12% 1,735,053 $93,345,216
AS2 Askarimetalslimited 0.008 -11% 231,814 $3,637,536
WTM Waratah Minerals Ltd 0.285 -11% 181,176 $74,723,925
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
West Coast Silver (ASX:WCE) has uncovered shallow, high-grade silver in the first two drill holes at the Elizabeth Hill project, making a solid start to its maiden drilling.
Prescient Therapeutics (ASX:PTX) has initiated its first US site for the Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma Phase 2a trial of PTX-100.
Lumos Diagnostics (ASX:LDX) has inked a US$317 million agreement with PHASE Scientific to support FebriDx commercialisation.
Javelin Minerals (ASX:JAV) has lifted the indicated resource at the Eureka Gold Project in WA 27% to 78,768oz.
LAST ORDERS
Alice Queen (ASX:AQX) has appointed Paul Williams as non-executive director, replacing outgoing director Michele Alessandro Bina, who has relocated to Europe.
Williams rings more than 30 years' legal and commercial experience, having served as chief executive officer of Eastern Corporation and general counsel at Mitsui Coal Holdings, where he was involved in the supervision of coal mining interests and business development for the Mitsui & Co group.
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Alice Queen and Lumos Diagnostics are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
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