Neighbours has been a staple of the Australian television landscape spanning five decades, albeit with a brief hiatus between 2022 and 2023 when it was cancelled.
Its catchy theme song includes the lyrics: “That’s when good neighbours become good friends…”
So, what has this got to do with ASX-listed companies and the performance of their stocks over the past five days?
Well, this week’s Bulls N’ Bears Runner of the Week goes to Lord Resources which saw its share price jump more than 135 per cent to touch 12c from its previous close of 5.1c after announcing a deal with its neighbour and soon-to-be very good friend Mineral Resources. (MinRes)
The David and Goliath pairing executed a farm-in agreement relating to Lord’s Horse Rocks lithium project that sits within shouting distance of MinRes’ Mt Marion lithium mine that boasts a 66.1 million tonne mineral resource going 1.36 per cent lithium oxide.
Under the terms of the deal, MinRes has the right to acquire a 40 per cent interest in Horse Rocks by spending $1 million on exploration within 18 months of signing the agreement – subject to due diligence and the satisfaction of other conditions.
The Chris Ellison-led mega-miner can further increase its stake through a second and third stage farm-in option. As part of stage two, a joint venture will be created and Min Res can earn an additional 30 per cent share in Horse Rocks by shelling out $5 million in exploration within 36 months of the deal.
The third part of the agreement, if followed through, will see MinRes take a further 15 per cent stake for a total of 85 per cent by funding expenditure through to a decision to mine.
It appears to be a good deal for Lord that will allow the junior explorer to focus its attention on its nearby Jingjong lithium project which, interestingly, sits to the south of MinRes’ Bald Hill operation in a broader region that has been described as a lithium super-province between the outback towns of Coolgardie and Norseman.
Other good lithium neighbours in the region include Global Lithium with its Manna deposit, Liontown Resources’ Buldania project and Future Battery Minerals which has its Kangaroo Hills operation just east of Horse Rocks.
Taking out second place this week on the Runners of the Week podium is ADX Energy, which enjoyed a price hike of more than 117 per cent from a previous close of 11.5c to touch 25c. ADX gave punters cause for pause after hitting a stellar 115m of condensate-rich gas at its Welchau-1 well in Austria.
Management says the discovery could yield “an exceptional gas resource” not only for the company and its partner MCF Energy, but also for Austria more generally.
ADX had previously stated that its targeted depth sat between 1100m and 1800m, with the latest results appearing to be right on the money as the 115m liquids-rich gas column was recorded between 1452m and 1567m.
Keeping with the good neighbour theme, the company says the targeted Steinalm Formation is the same zone that was tested back in 1989 in the down-dip Molln-1 gas discovery well that yielded condensate-rich gas flow at a rate of 4 MMscf (million standard cubic feet) per day.
ADX is targeting Welchau-1 with a best technical prospective resource of 807 billion cubic feet equivalent (BCFE) of gas within relatively shallow reservoirs up-dip from the Molln-1 gas discovery. Once the well hits its total depth, ADX will run wire-line logs, down-hole pressure measurements, inflow testing and formation fluid sampling across the zones of interest. It will then case and suspend Welchau-1, pending further data and economic assessments.
This week’s bronze Runners of the Week medal goes to Universal Biosensors. The medtech company’s share price leapt from 16c to touch 30c after announcing it had received approval from the United States Food and Drug Administration to sell its “Xprecia Prime coagulation analyser” product to hospitals, clinics and doctors’ offices in the USA.
Universal’s product allows physicians to adjust a patient’s dose of anticoagulants - including the drug warfarin which is used to treat and prevent blood clots - to compensate for any diet and lifestyle changes.
Management says Xprecia Prime is used to monitor the dosage of vitamin K antagonists in patients to ensure its safety and efficacy, as dangerous bleeding can occur if the ideal dosage of the drug is exceeded. If the dosage is lower than required, the patient is at risk of thrombosis. The device, which is small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, is designed for fast and reliable results displayed in just seconds.
According to the company, more than 10 million patients take warfarin globally, including 6 million in the USA, which represents a major market opportunity for Xprecia Prime. The medtech says it already has a pipeline of sales and distribution contracts in the works. With the all powerful FDA approval in the bag for one of its major products, Universal is expecting to finalise these deals and generate substantial revenue.
Just missing out on a podium finish this week was Lion Energy with a nonetheless impressive share price hike of 80 per cent. Its stock topped out at 4.5c after cellar dwelling at 2.5c. The jump coincided with the company receiving development approval from the Queensland Government for its proposed hydrogen generation and refuelling hub in the Port of Brisbane.
In conjunction with the development approval, Lion has also been issued an environmental authority permit to produce more than 200 tonnes of hydrogen per year.
Lion says only a handful of green hydrogen projects have received state approval to date.
The hub is focused on supplying hydrogen to domestic public bus and truck fleets, in addition to fuel cell generator sets for the construction and mining industry. Construction of the facility is set to kick off as soon as next quarter, with commissioning expected to begin in the second half of the year.
Interestingly, hydrogen generators will be used at this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix, so while Lion narrowly missed out on a podium finish this week, it could well be looking to improve that result as it races towards the finish line with its proposed Queensland hydrogen hub.
So dear reader if you had the foresight to invest just $10k equally spread across this week’s Runners of the Week, that $10k would have magically doubled – nice work if you can get it!
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Michael Philipps
