Lunch Wrap: Miners muscle the ASX higher, but Telix sinks on SEC subpoena

The ASX rode the iron ore train higher thanks to China’s dam dreams, but Telix blew a tyre on SEC drama.

Telix sunks after copping a US SEC subpoena. Pic: Getty Images

• Miners lift ASX as iron ore pops again

• Telix gets US SEC subpoena, shares tank 


• Woodside flexes LNG muscle, Paladin fizzles

The ASX was up 0.6% at lunch time in the eastern states, riding a wave of momentum from the mining giants once again.

Iron ore has been on a tear since yesterday, jumping another 2% this morning to a five-month high.

Traders are frothing over fresh China’s supply-side steel reforms, as well as news they’re building mega dams up in Tibet.

Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO), BHP (ASX:BHP) and Fortescue (ASX:FMG) once again charged higher off the back this news.

Meanwhile, cancer imaging stock Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX) faceplanted straight into the dirt, down by as much as 16% after revealing it had been subpoenaed by the US SEC over disclosures tied to its prostate cancer therapies.

The company says it's cooperating fully, but investors weren’t in the mood for nuance; they dumped the stock, sending it to its lowest level since last November.

It’s not the first time Telix has looked like a stock on the cusp of global stardom. It just launched Gozellix in the US, and the Illuccix pipeline remains strong.

But an SEC inquiry, even if it’s just a "fact-finding" one, usually has a nasty habit of stopping momentum.

This is where things stood at about 1pm AEST:

Source: MarketIndex

In other large caps news, Iluka Resources (ASX:ILU) climbed 2% after hitting full-year zircon production guidance six months early.

Iluka didn’t hand out fresh guidance for next quarter though, blaming the mess of global tariffs and trade spats.

Woodside Energy Group's (ASX:WDS) quarterly update also packed some punch.

WDS said it's pushing ahead hard with its Scarborough and Trion projects (86% and 35% complete respectively) and just offloaded a 40% chunk of its Louisiana LNG venture to Stonepeak for US$5.7 billion.

CEO Meg O’Neill called it a key play in positioning Woodside as a “global LNG powerhouse.”

Uranium play Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN), on the other hand, took a hit, down 9% after releasing updated production forecasts for its Langer Heinrich uranium mine.

Paladin's guidance, 4 to 4.4 million pounds of U3O8, were decent, but the market had hoped for something flashier. Argonaut had forecast 5.83Mlb, with costs up to US$10/lb higher than its prediction.

And over at oil & gas mob Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR), CEO Julian Fowles will be stepping down by mid-2026 as the company prepares to shift its centre of gravity from Melbourne to Brazil and the US.

Karoon’s board is now hunting for a Houston-based replacement, and its shares dipped 0.6% on the news.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for July 23 :

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
GTE	Great Western Exp.	0.018	64%	5,921,161	$6,245,337
CDE	Codeifai Limited	0.027	50%	41,056,863	$8,494,218
FAU	First Au Ltd	0.006	50%	27,932,433	$8,305,165
HLX	Helix Resources	0.002	50%	64,088	$3,364,194
RBR	RBR Group Ltd	0.002	50%	4,365,000	$3,120,285
ATS	Australis Oil & Gas	0.009	29%	7,877,481	$9,226,437
OPL	Opyl Limited	0.027	29%	1,998,643	$5,161,135
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.003	25%	287,929	$5,640,850
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.006	20%	667,502	$5,890,381
AUR	Auris Minerals Ltd	0.006	20%	84,033	$2,383,130
LMG	Latrobe Magnesium	0.019	19%	7,660,479	$42,025,441
CR3	Core Energy Minerals	0.013	18%	1,226,026	$4,343,319
NOX	Noxopharm Limited	0.080	18%	601,898	$19,872,181
AON	Apollo Minerals Ltd	0.007	17%	72,800	$5,570,741
CCO	The Calmer Co Int	0.004	17%	1,050,178	$9,034,060
FMR	FMR Resources Ltd	0.378	16%	112,103	$8,781,221
RML	Resolution Minerals	0.080	16%	13,670,406	$45,909,045
SMX	Strata Minerals	0.015	15%	1,372,935	$3,183,078
PGY	Pilot Energy Ltd	0.012	15%	8,327,314	$21,586,600
ICR	Intelicare Holdings	0.016	14%	62,500	$6,806,634
IPT	Impact Minerals	0.008	14%	9,952,231	$27,953,310
KRR	King River Resources	0.008	14%	200,000	$10,372,165
CNQ	Clean Teq Water	0.240	14%	90,600	$15,170,884
AAM	Aumegametals	0.041	14%	1,159,232	$21,817,825

Codeifai (ASX:CDE) has added former Nvidia AI expert Rafael Possas to its advisory panel, as it gets ready to roll out its QuantumAI Secure platform. Possas, who helped build Alexa and now heads up machine learning at Canva, joins Codeifai’s growing panel of tech heavyweights with experience at OpenAI, WhatsApp and Binance. It’s another sharp move as Codeifai pushes deeper into AI, quantum security and global commercialisation.

First Au (ASX:FAU) has kicked off a 3000m diamond drilling program at its Nimba Gold Project in Liberia, following a month-long mapping campaign led by director Lei Shi. The drilling aims to confirm structural interpretations around a key Hamak Gold hole, and test new targets spotted during mapping. It’s targeting the dip, depth and strike of potential gold zones, with core re-logging from previous holes also underway.

Pilot Energy (ASX:PGY) has kicked off a formal farmout process for its massive WA-481P permit in the offshore Perth Basin, targeting a partner to help drill the 1.1 TCF Leander Gas Prospect. The prospect’s ready to go, with direct access to WA’s domestic gas market via existing infrastructure. With gas demand rising and delays hitting rival projects, Pilot reckons it’s got a fast-track, high-impact play on its hands.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for July 23 :

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
EEL	Enrg Elements Ltd	0.001	-50%	385,807	$6,507,557
RIM	Rimfire Pacific	0.018	-25%	735,910	$60,621,453
SCP	Scalare Partners	0.130	-24%	100,050	$7,111,954
GLL	Galilee Energy Ltd	0.009	-18%	909,666	$7,779,122
ANO	Advance Zinctek Ltd	0.915	-17%	6,274	$68,910,718
CUL	Cullen Resources	0.005	-17%	1,692,777	$4,160,411
ENT	Enterprise Metals	0.003	-17%	200,001	$4,113,952
PRM	Prominence Energy	0.003	-17%	200,000	$1,459,411
SPQ	Superior Resources	0.005	-17%	3,700,000	$14,225,896
TFL	Tasfoods Ltd	0.005	-17%	100,000	$2,622,573
ENV	Enova Mining Limited	0.006	-14%	3,195,749	$10,203,200
IPB	IPB Petroleum Ltd	0.006	-14%	10,000	$4,944,821
SPX	Spenda Limited	0.006	-14%	515,855	$32,306,508
IND	Industrialminerals	0.130	-13%	30,465	$12,048,375
HTG	Harvest Tech Grp Ltd	0.014	-13%	1,094,377	$14,544,293
OMG	OMG Group Limited	0.007	-13%	1,542,151	$5,826,359
RLG	Roolife Group Ltd	0.004	-13%	161,900	$6,371,125
EMU	EMU NL	0.021	-13%	337,322	$5,069,963
TLX	Telix Pharmaceutical	22.140	-12%	4,518,579	$8,500,584,362
AAJ	Aruma Resources Ltd	0.008	-11%	1,000,000	$2,951,465
KGD	Kula Gold Limited	0.008	-11%	3,716,355	$8,291,283
RDG	Res Dev Group Ltd	0.008	-11%	789,175	$26,557,723
ATX	Amplia Therapeutics	0.255	-11%	5,985,655	$110,771,711

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Bubalus Resources (ASX:BUS) has spotted some compelling Fosterville-style targets at the Crosbie North gold-antimony prospect within its Crosbie project in the heart of the Victorian Goldfields.

Theta Gold Mines (ASX:TGM) remains undervalued despite the potential for early gold production from its 6.1Moz Transvaal Gold Mining Estates project.

West Wits Mining (ASX:WWI)’s Qala Shallows just got a major upgrade, with revenue and cash flow surging and payback time slashed as lender talks roll on.

Codeifai (ASX:CDE) has bolstered its leadership with appointment of former Nvidia AI and machine learning specialist Rafael Possas to its recently formed strategic advisory panel, as the company accelerates its push into quantum-secure technologies. Stockhead article to come.

LAST ORDERS

Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R) has launched a share purchase plan to raise $1m, with the goal of accelerating drilling at the 8 Mile gold prospect within Miramar’s 80%-owned Gidji JV project. Management says M2R is looking to determine the scale of the 8 Mile prospect as quickly as possible.

QPM Energy (ASX:QPM) has wrapped up an oversubscribed share purchase plan after scaling the capital raise up to $7m to include interested shareholders. The fresh cash will go to accelerating the Isaac Power Station workstreams and initiatives directed at growing gas supply.

Verity Resources (ASX:VRL) has a drill rig ready to roll at the Monument gold project, poised to target a resource upgrade for the tenure’s 154,000oz resource. The drilling program will initially focus on the larger Korong deposit before moving to the Waihi deposit.

Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) is working to produce a conceptual study for processing antimony concentrate at its Antimony Canyon project using Metso’s proprietary Ausmelt TSLs melting technology. The study will assess a smelter flowsheet concept aligned to produce 3000-5000 tonnes per year of 99.65% purity antimony ingot.

ClearVue (ASX:CPV) has entered a two-year collaboration with erbas, a prominent sustainability engineering and consulting company, to integrate ClearVue solar façade solutions, working to support carbon neutral and net zero goals in the built environment.

Altech Battery's (ASX:ATC) CERENERGY battery funding is tracking well, with a major European bank close to signing on after final site visits. It’s also progressing a federal guarantee and looking for a 49% strategic partner, with offtake deals already lined up.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Miramar Resources, QPM Energy, Verity Resources, Trigg Minerals, West Wits Mining, Altech Battery and ClearVue are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article. 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

Originally published as Lunch Wrap: Miners muscle the ASX higher, but Telix sinks on SEC subpoena