Lunch Wrap: ASX jumps higher, but Boss Energy smoked and coal gets legal smack
WA flexes as national economic top dog again
Coal cops a legal blow as ASX edges higher
At Monday lunchtime in the east, the ASX was edging higher by 0.25%.
And fair enough, because the spat that nearly boiled over between the US and Europe has been defused, at least for now.
Donald Trump and EU boss Ursula von der Leyen have announced a fresh trade pact, but still slaps 15% tariffs on most European exports.
But hey, at least it's not 50%, which is where Trump was originally pointing the bazooka.
Markets loved the clarity, with Wall Street futures rising and the S&P 500 chalking up yet another record last Friday.
Back to the ASX, and it was the steady-Eddie sectors doing the heavy lifting – telcos, healthcare, banks.
Energy, meanwhile, was one of the market's laggards after a court overturned approval for a coal project in the Hunter Valley.
MACH Energy's big coal expansion at Mount Pleasant has hit a wall after NSW's court of appeal overturned its approval.
It's a major legal shift that could put the brakes on future coal and gas projects across the state.
The ruling rattled coal stocks, with Whitehaven Coal (ASX:WHC) down 3.5% and Yancoal Australia (ASX:YAL) off 1.5%.
In other large cap news, WiseTech Global (ASX:WTC) has officially named Zubin Appoo as permanent CEO.
He's no stranger to the company, having worked alongside founder Richard White back in the early days and returning now after stints at InLoop, Flexischools and HICAPS. WTC's shares were down 0.4%.
And, The Lottery Corporation (ASX:TLC) has named Wayne Pickup as its next CEO, taking over from Sue van der Merwe in November. Shares edged down 0.5%.
ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS
Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for July 28 :
Security Description Last % Volume MktCap
AUK Aumake Limited 0.004 100% 10,943,487 $6,046,718
EEL Enrg Elements Ltd 0.002 100% 2,000,000 $3,253,779
JCS Jcurve Solutions 0.046 53% 755,433 $9,910,303
CZN Corazon Ltd 0.003 50% 16,815 $2,369,145
ENT Enterprise Metals 0.004 33% 185,000 $4,113,952
DGR DGR Global Ltd 0.009 29% 1,491,125 $7,305,872
MIO Macarthur Minerals 0.019 27% 2,631 $2,994,983
WBE Whitebark Energy 0.005 25% 1,652,800 $2,802,231
TR2 Tali Resources Ltd 0.635 25% 485,994 $19,127,550
HTG Harvest Tech Grp Ltd 0.017 21% 838,520 $12,726,256
CMB Cambium Bio Limited 0.320 21% 47,773 $4,844,906
SIX Sprintex Ltd 0.054 20% 5,656,968 $28,289,066
ZNC Zenith Minerals Ltd 0.036 20% 364,165 $15,883,665
AAU Antilles Gold Ltd 0.006 20% 178,623 $11,895,340
ADG Adelong Gold Limited 0.006 20% 25,356,918 $11,243,383
ALY Alchemy Resource Ltd 0.006 20% 100,000 $5,890,381
TEM Tempest Minerals 0.006 20% 5,968,892 $5,508,975
BDG Black Dragon Gold 0.051 19% 808,996 $13,672,541
CLA Celsius Resource Ltd 0.007 17% 220,101 $18,812,931
FRX Flexiroam Limited 0.007 17% 238 $9,104,392
VKA Viking Mines Ltd 0.007 17% 50,000 $8,063,692
PL3 Patagonia Lithium 0.044 16% 131,441 $4,537,594
IFG Infocusgroup Hldltd 0.019 16% 1,351,167 $4,671,027
RR1 Reach Resources Ltd 0.012 15% 7,280,085 $8,744,313
Cloud ERP provider JCurve Solutions (ASX:JCS) has locked in a $1 million strategic placement, issuing 20 million shares at 5 cents each to US-based investor Adam Riches. Riches is the founder of Netgain Solutions and a known name in the Oracle NetSuite space. As part of the deal, Riches can nominate a director, expected to be Chris Miller, pending approvals.
Tali Resources (ASX:TR2) is gearing up to kick off drilling in August across five key targets at its West Arunta Project. Fresh geophysical modelling has confirmed strong anomalies at each site, with heritage and drilling approvals already locked in. The prospects show signs of potential copper and IOCG-style systems, especially near the known Pokali copper zone.
Meanwhile, Bubs Australia (ASX:BUB) has tapped Joe Coote, ex-Darigold and Fonterra heavyweight, as its new CEO. Coote has more than 20 years in the dairy and infant nutrition game, and over $2 billion in regional sales under his belt. He replaces Reg Weine, who exits stage left after two years. Bubs' shares rose 1%.
ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS
Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for July 28 :
Code Name Price % Change Volume Market Cap
BOE Boss Energy Ltd 1.955 -43% 53,930,006 $1,410,733,137
MOM Moab Minerals Ltd 0.001 -33% 44,000 $2,811,999
TMX Terrain Minerals 0.002 -33% 352,454 $7,595,443
MTB Mount Burgess Mining 0.005 -29% 2,887,613 $2,979,468
AOA Ausmon Resorces 0.002 -25% 4,330,025 $2,622,427
EDE Eden Inv Ltd 0.002 -25% 2,625,071 $8,219,762
HLX Helix Resources 0.002 -25% 2,140,006 $6,728,387
NIM Nimyresourceslimited 0.070 -23% 3,341,865 $21,883,752
AZL Arizona Lithium Ltd 0.007 -22% 5,018,025 $48,422,830
REZ Resourc & En Grp Ltd 0.015 -21% 3,357,968 $14,201,979
ERA Energy Resources 0.002 -20% 128,350 $1,013,490,602
MRD Mount Ridley Mines 0.002 -20% 100,000 $1,946,223
TMK TMK Energy Limited 0.002 -20% 5,125,666 $25,555,958
DAF Discovery Alaska Ltd 0.013 -19% 20,001 $3,747,755
GTE Great Western Exp. 0.013 -19% 3,323,194 $9,084,127
IS3 I Synergy Group Ltd 0.009 -18% 1,768,680 $18,769,299
ASM Ausstratmaterials 0.593 -18% 2,489,026 $145,689,194
SMM Somerset Minerals 0.015 -17% 10,316,361 $11,611,449
UNT Unith Ltd 0.005 -17% 2,643,048 $8,872,713
VEN Vintage Energy 0.005 -17% 94,260 $12,521,482
ALB Albion Resources 0.096 -17% 4,075,427 $15,172,333
SUM Summitminerals 0.041 -16% 1,055,178 $4,340,228
FTI Fortifai Ltd 0.140 -15% 150,871 $24,203,497
Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) got absolutely smoked, down 42% after waving a red flag over its Honeymoon uranium project. Recent drilling revealed patchy mineralisation and leachability issues, which could throw a spanner in its production targets. That overshadowed what was otherwise a decent finish to the financial year: 349,000 pounds of U₃O₈ produced (above guidance), $224 million in cash and inventory, and steady costs of US$36/lb.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
Neurizon Therapeutics (ASX:NUZ) has submitted a formal response to the US FDA addressing a clinical hold on its investigational new drug application for lead drug NUZ-001.
Octava Minerals (ASX:OCT) has an option to acquire the Federation copper-silver-zinc project in Tasmania where historical drilling returned significant intersections.
Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) Estelle gold and critical minerals project.
LAST ORDERS
QPM Energy (ASX:WPM) has applied for debt financing for the 112MW Isaac Power Station from the Australian government's Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility. The NAIF has completed the strategic assessment phase and has moved to the due diligence stage of the process.
Magnetic Resources (ASX:MAU) has secured a new mining lease covering the entire area of the Lady Julie North 4 Deposit, the main 1.94Moz resource at the Lady Julie North gold project.
Titanium Sands (ASX:TSL) is advancing environmental studies at the Mannar heavy mineral project in Sri Lanka, with the company's environmental consultants moving to complete field investigations, technical assessments and data collection on site.
ClearVue Technologies (ASX:CPV) has promoted interim CEO Douglas Hunt to official global CEO, positioning him to lead the company's global commercialisation strategy. CPV also promoted Tao Zhang to chief operating officer, welcomed Lisa Dreher as global marketing director and tapped Christopher Cole as head of research and development.
At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While QPM Energy, Magnetic Resources, Titanium Sands and ClearVue Technologies are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.
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Resources Top 5: Newly listed Tali Resources on West Arunta copper trail
TR2 closing in on initial drilling at the West Arunta project in WA SGQ is upscaling drilling at the Araxa rare earths and niobium project in Brazil A significant quarter saw ZNC achieve key milestones Your standout small cap resources stocks for Monday, July 28, 2025 Tali Resources (ASX:TR2) One of Australia's most exciting emerging mineral regions is the West Arunta adjoining the Northern Territory border in remote WA, where an active player is newly listed Tali Resources. The company holds a large, dominant tenure position highly prospective for copper. Exploration is being undertaken using a multi-faceted and systematic approach to explore for several different styles of mineralisation and these activities are led by an experienced leadership team with a strong track record of discovery success. There are indications of a range of intrusive-related deposit styles as well as potential IOCG and sediment-hosted copper mineralisation. 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'The company remains firmly committed to its gold strategy, demonstrated through strategic initiatives including a A$3.5m entitlement offer, divestment of the non-core Kavaklitepe project and the strategic acquisition and drilling at Dulcie Far North and Red Mountain,' managing director Andrew Smith said. 'A highlight was the acquisition of exclusive subsurface rights extending approximately 3km south of the Dulcie Far North project. This acquisition considerably expands the scale and resource growth potential of Zenith's consolidated Dulcie Gold Project. 'The company also completed a 37-hole RC drilling campaign at Dulcie Far North, resulting in an updated inferred resource of 8.2 Mt at 1.15 g/t Au for 302,000oz, representing a 41% increase and further underpinning Zenith's growing gold portfolio. 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Eligible shareholders will be entitled to subscribe for one new share for every two existing shares held at an issue price 2c per share. For every two new shares subscribed, shareholders will receive one free attaching option, exercisable at 3c and expiring two years from the date of issue. The offer is underwritten by Gold Valley Yilgarn to A$2m. The underwriter has agreed to subscribe for up to 100m new shares and attaching options and is solely responsible for subscribing for any shortfall shares and options that may arise under the offer. Proceeds will be used to support the company's corporate operations and the ongoing evaluation of strategic options for its Lake Giles iron project.
