Three resource hopefuls had a tough debut on the Australian Stock Exchange amid overall weakness in the sector. Only uranium and base-metal explorer Gawler Resources ended the day in line with its issue price, after trading at a 10 per cent premium earlier in the session.

Gawler Resources, the smallest of the three to list, with a market capitalisation of just under $5 million, was resilient on a day when the share prices of most resources companies struggled because of recent weakness in commodities prices.