POP goes the… everything.
It was bubble trouble galore this week, as all things tech, AI, crypto and precious metals took a proper hiding.
The yanks are pulling their ripcords after the mega AI darlings turned in a nasty three-day losing streak thanks to some sobering revenue outlooks and eye-watering capex numbers. A reminder that even the most revolutionary technology needs actual power plants and endless data centres to keep the lights on.
Nvidia has shed 10 per cent for the week, with the rest of the mega caps piling in behind. Amazon dropped more than 7 per cent, and Tesla sank over 6 per cent as the dreaded bubble-pop rumour mill ramped up.
Back home, our energy and materials-heavy exchange isn't exactly throwing a party either.
Traders took their lunch breaks at 10:01am today as the ASX shed nearly 2 per cent in early trade to close the week.
Topping the headlines were gold prices, which posted the largest single-weekly drop on record. After blasting to all-time highs around US$5,600 (A$8,000) an ounce a week ago, the yellow metal came crashing back to earth with up to 17 per cent wiped off in the panic selling. Silver joined the bloodbath, plunging roughly 35 per cent from its peak near US$121 (A$175).
Commodities boffins blame the unwind on fading inflation hedges, a steadier US dollar and maybe a touch of central bank buying fatigue after the wild run.
If you are reeling from your precious metals stash, too, spare a thought for our new age crypto bros this week.
The Bitcoin bath makes precious metals look like a pin prick, down a brutal 36 per cent in under a month – and a bone-rattling 52 per cent from its October highs.
Amid the bloodshed, the decentralised diehards tried to stretch out a hopeful hand to the US Treasury this week, only for Secretary Scott Bessent to quickly swat away any ideas of a non-USD currency bailout.
He made it crystal clear: the government isn't treating crypto like some too-big-to-fail Wall Street bank, which cued even more digital carnage on Friday – BTC down 10 per cent!
Our Runners cavalcade this week is, let's just say, a bit sparser than usual, with absolutely no green in sight this Friday. In a market handing out bruises to all factions, the survivors are predominantly copper-based - the one remaining winner from an AI datacentre bottleneck.
SOLSTICE MINERALS LTD (ASX: SLS)
Up 178% (45c – 125c)
Topping the leaderboard and claiming Bulls N’ Bears Runner of the Week is WA copper junior Solstice Minerals, which stormed ahead after unveiling an emerging monster copper-gold discovery at its Nanadie project in the Goldfields.
Early assays from the first five holes of a 23-hole reverse circulation (RC) program delivered some mouth-watering high-grade intersections that have the WA copper market a buzz – whispering sweet nothings about the fabled DeGrussa discovery from perhaps another unloved greenstone belt.
The company says its early deep holes show wide zones of disseminated chalcopyrite - copper sulphide - mineralisation, with several higher-grade hits extending right to end of hole (EOH) – and in mining circles, those three letters are usually music to punters ears.
Standouts hits included a 62m plunge running a handy 1.55 per cent copper and 0.66 grams per tonne (g/t) gold to EOH, featuring a higher-grade 22-metre slice of 2.78 per cent copper and 1.25g/t gold. Another star hit returned 97m at 0.73 per cent copper and 0.30g/t gold to EOH from 203m.
Solstice says its intercepts punched well beyond the current mineral resource, strongly suggesting the system remains completely open at depth, with clear potential for higher grades and material expansion.
Nanadie already sits on a JORC-compliant resource of 40.4 million tonnes running 0.4 per cent copper and 0.1g/t gold for 162,000 tonnes of contained copper and 130,000 ounces of gold.
The fresh assays provide strong support for continued drilling to grow the resource, with a phase two RC program that is already in the works.
The remaining balance of phase one results has yet to land and will help prioritise targets, but for now, the deposit is finding plenty of signs of life at depth.
The results show this isn’t some narrow, single-zone setup either – it’s a broad stack of mineralised mafic intrusive rocks, each carrying disseminated sulphide-style copper-gold over substantial intervals.
The buying has remained strong all week and will no doubt continue into next week as this low-grade deposit reveals its hidden high-grade chops.
ALMA METALS LTD (ASX: ALM)
Up 118% (1.1c – 2.4c)
Strutting into second place on the week was another red metal player in Alma Metals.
With no news on the week, this long-time copperhead instead rode the momentum from the release of final assays last week from a 2025 drilling program at its flagship Briggs copper project in Central Queensland.
Briggs is another historically low-grade copper player that, at current sky-high prices, is seeing its day in the sun thanks to a revival by Alma Metals' exploration team.
The project is under an earn-in joint venture (JV) with Canterbury Resources, under which Alma can earn up to a 70 per cent interest by spending A$7m before mid-2031.
The standout hit from last week was a whopping 620m at 0.25 per cent copper and 30ppm molybdenum from just 9m downhole – the longest mineralised intersection recorded at the project to date.
The intercept included higher-grade zones such as 189m at 0.28 per cent copper and 50ppm moly from 52m, coupled with shorter punchy sections of up to 30m at 0.90 per cent copper from 35m.
With copper markets still showing resilience amid global supply tightness, Briggs stands out as one of Australia’s largest undeveloped copper projects, boasting a whopping 439Mt resource at 0.25 copper and 39ppm moly for some 2Mt of contained copper, 73 million pounds of molybdenum and 16.5 million ounces of silver.
A recent scoping study has the JV partners eyeing a large-scale, low-cost open-pit operation at a potential 30 million tonnes per annum processing rate, with Alma saying it has enough confidence to push the project straight into prefeasibility studies.
The fresh assays confirm strong mineralisation exactly where the geological model predicted, bolstering continuity and scale as planning gets underway for the 2026 drilling season.
Drilling is slated to kick off again in roughly two months following the Queensland wet season, setting up a steady stream of copper updates for the year.
RBR GROUP LTD (ASX: RBR)
Up 110% (1.9c – 4c)
Rounding out the podium is labour hire and training specialist RBR Group, which caught a nice kick-back from the Mozambique government’s decision to approve the full restart of the TotalEnergies-led Mozambique LNG project after years of force majeure.
The project is one of Africa's biggest energy developments, a massive LNG venture led by French giant TotalEnergies in northern Mozambique, tapping into the enormous gas reserves discovered in the Rovuma Basin offshore.
A final investment decision, worth around US$20 billion (A$29 billion), landed at the project in 2019, making it the largest private investment ever on the continent at the time.
The development is finally back on track after a rocky few years, with the restart in 2026 marking a big step towards turning Mozambique's gas riches into economic prosperity.
Construction is also now back in full swing, both onshore and offshore at the Afungi Peninsula, with more than 4000 workers already mobilised and headcount set to climb sharply.
The green light allows Tier 1, 2 and 3 contractors to ramp up procurement, tendering and mobilisation across the LNG supply chain – precisely the environment RBR has been positioning itself for over several years through local partnerships and infrastructure.
The company’s latest quarterly flagged expressions of interest and tenders across training, labour services and camp accommodation already topping US$80 million (A$115 million).
While nothing is locked in yet, the lifting of force majeure and official government nod materially lifts the odds of converting those into contracts for RBR.
FIRST AU LTD (ASX: FAU)
Up 73% (1.1c - 1.9c)
Bringing up the rear and kicking the otherwise gold downturn is WA explorer First Au.
The company unveiled a $5.6 million placement for its latest directive, including $600,000 from directors and management – always reassuring when the brass puts skin in the game.
The raise forms part of a strategic refocus on gold, with funds earmarked for advancing exploration at its Gimlet gold project in WA’s Eastern Goldfields.
The company released fresh assays from its latest flagship, with results from Phase 3 infill drilling returning eye-catching high-grade hits, including 14m at 3.28g/t gold from 47m, 10m at 8.47g/t from 44m and 14m at 7.58g/t from 33m.
The program aimed to strengthen geological confidence and support an upgrade of the existing 119,600-ounce resource, which grades a handy 3.19g/t gold.
With more assays pending, the company is eyeing a refreshed mineral resource estimate to guide future development and mining studies. As producing gold even at a reduced US$4800 (A$6900) an ounce has been a recipe for success in the WA goldfields of late.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
