Lunch Wrap: ASX plunges but Broken Hill Mines makes stunning debut, up over 100pc

The ASX had a rough Monday, sinking to its worst day since April as banks and CSL weighed it down, while BHM lit up the boards with standout debut.

Broken Hill Mines made stunning ASX debut. Pic: Getty Images

• ASX cops worst hit since April as banks and CSL tumble

• Copper shines, Regis Resources slips

• Broken Hill Mines makes stunning ASX debut

If you were hoping for a quiet Monday, this wasn’t it.

The ASX burst out and ran headfirst into a brick wall today, down 1% by lunch as it logged its worst day since April.

On Friday, Wall Street ended the week a bit all over the shop. The Dow dipped 0.3%, the S&P was flat, and the Nasdaq eked out a tiny gain.

Copper and aluminium rallied, with hopes of a US-China trade deal breathing a bit of life into base metals.

Gold also climbed as geopolitical jitters and a soft US dollar sparked a bit of safe-haven buying.

But back to the ASX where 9 out of 11 sectors were in the red this morning. And if you squinted just right, you could almost see the June quarter gains evaporating in real time.

Leading the charge down were the banks and healthcare sectors.

CSL (ASX:CSL), fresh off its best run since late 2021 on no real updates, dropped 1.5%.

Wesfarmers (ASX:WES) wasn’t feeling too flash either, falling 1.4% and dragging consumer stocks with it.

But it was the big banks that really got belted.

Westpac (ASX:WBC), National Australia Bank (ASX:NAB), Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX:ANZ)and Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) shed around 2% each.

Morningstar reckons ASX shares are still trading about 4% above fair value, and judging by today’s action, it looks like the market finally realised it might be time for a little trim and tuck.

Source: MarketIndex

Amid the wreckage, AMP (ASX:AMP) shares surged nearly 9% to a five-month high after the company posted its first positive net inflows in super since 2017.

South32 (ASX:S32) was another bright spot amongst the large caps this morning, jumping about 3% after nailing 102% of its full-year production guidance.

Copper production was up 20%, aluminium rose 6%, and the company returned US$350 million to shareholders while pocketing another US$176 million from its Sierra Gorda copper JV.

Regis Resources (ASX:RRL), meanwhile, is snapping up the Southern Star gold prospect from Great Southern Mining (ASX:GSN) for up to $9 million – $4 million now and the rest if gold prices pop or more gold turns up.

The site is just a stone’s throw from Regis’ Ben Hur pit, and GSN boss Matt Keane says the deal juices GSN's coffers for serious exploration, while giving Regis a clear shot at near-term upside.

ASX SMALL CAP WINNERS

Here are the best performing ASX small cap stocks for July 21 :

Security	Description	Last	%	Volume	MktCap
AIV	Activex Limited	0.024	243%	9,463,201	$1,508,518
BHM	Broken Hill Mines	0.480	129%	5,832,133	$22,594,508
IS3	I Synergy Group Ltd	0.004	100%	7,834,701	$3,412,600
RBR	RBR Group Ltd	0.002	100%	500,000	$3,120,285
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.250	35%	1,164,189	$15,696,832
AUH	Austchina Holdings	0.002	33%	250,000	$4,538,075
BLZ	Blaze Minerals Ltd	0.004	33%	21,591,132	$5,335,392
CT1	Constellation Tech	0.002	33%	33,333	$2,212,101
EEL	Enrg Elements Ltd	0.002	33%	73,603	$4,880,668
CUS	Coppersearchlimited	0.022	29%	2,688,033	$2,728,358
TVN	Tivan Limited	0.108	28%	4,450,847	$174,746,910
CRS	Caprice Resources	0.061	27%	28,004,762	$32,016,302
ANO	Advance Zinctek Ltd	1.040	25%	4,008	$51,996,269
AOK	Australian Oil.	0.003	25%	21,000	$2,075,566
QXR	Qx Resources Limited	0.005	25%	400,000	$5,241,315
IG6	Internationalgraphit	0.067	24%	370,270	$10,452,150
JAL	Jameson Resources	0.070	23%	100,000	$40,419,003
LIN	Lindian Resources	0.105	22%	5,562,640	$100,054,312
DES	Desoto Resources	0.140	22%	1,716,103	$21,473,312
OEC	Orbital Corp Limited	0.145	21%	710,425	$19,773,566
RTH	Ras Tech	1.135	21%	41,317	$43,922,171
IRD	Iron Road Ltd	0.030	20%	191,937	$20,767,319
DTI	DTI Group Ltd	0.006	20%	650,000	$4,485,514
FBR	FBR Ltd	0.006	20%	2,474,626	$28,447,261

ActivEX (ASX:AIV) has delivered a maiden gold resource at the historic Mt Hogan mine, confirming 310,000 ounces at 1.13g/t gold across 8.5 million tonnes. The resource sits on just a sliver of an 8km mineralised trend, with more upside likely across the broader Gilberton project, which also includes the Josephine and Comstock historic gold centres. MD Mark Derriman said the milestone caps off years of drilling, and marks a key step in the company’s focus on Mt Hogan’s potential.

Silver‑lead‑zinc explorer Broken Hill Mines (ASX:BHM)  made a cracking debut on the ASX today, with shares up more than 120% after completing its public listing under the ticker BHM. It’s already stuck the drill bit in at its Pinnacles Mine, kicking off a 4000m program aimed at growing both the size and grade of its current 6Mt resource, which runs at an impressive 10.9% ZnEq. BHM’s also got another 3000m of earlier drill core from Pinnacles in the queue for assays, with first results expected in the next month or so.

RBR Group (ASX:RBR) said it's right where it needs to be as Mozambique’s LNG megaprojects roar back to life. It’s the only ASX-listed company with direct exposure to the restart of TotalEnergies and ExxonMobil’s multi-billion-dollar gas plays, with construction activity expected to ramp up from mid-2025. The company said it’s got boots on the ground, offering training, labour hire and camp infrastructure.

Blaze Minerals (ASX:BLZ) has locked in its 80% stake in Congo Shining SARL, giving it control of the Loulombo Base Metals Project in the Republic of the Congo. The project covers 195km2 and includes the high-grade Mimpala Target, where early fieldwork has turned up strong results. Blaze is well into the prep work for its maiden drill campaign, with environmental and community engagement steps nearly wrapped up.

ASX SMALL CAP LOSERS

Here are the worst performing ASX small cap stocks for July 21 :

Code	Name	Price	% Change	Volume	Market Cap
GGE	Grand Gulf Energy	0.002	-33%	2,873,646	$8,461,275
VIG	Victor Group Hldgs	0.040	-27%	115,254	$35,872,467
GTR	Gti Energy Ltd	0.003	-25%	3,438,837	$14,835,762
SHP	South Harz Potash	0.003	-25%	800,000	$5,132,248
ALM	Alma Metals Ltd	0.004	-20%	11,411,588	$9,253,686
MEM	Memphasys Ltd	0.004	-20%	181,616	$9,917,991
RGL	Riversgold	0.004	-20%	289,833	$8,418,563
ROG	Red Sky Energy.	0.004	-20%	561,454	$27,111,136
TMX	Terrain Minerals	0.002	-20%	497,500	$6,329,536
VRC	Volt Resources Ltd	0.004	-20%	4,597,254	$23,424,247
RDG	Res Dev Group Ltd	0.009	-18%	824,238	$32,459,439
AUK	Aumake Limited	0.003	-17%	2,055,000	$9,070,076
MSG	Mcs Services Limited	0.005	-17%	122,300	$1,188,598
PRM	Prominence Energy	0.003	-17%	208,662	$1,459,411
SLZ	Sultan Resources Ltd	0.005	-17%	28,000	$1,388,819
DUN	Dundasminerals	0.016	-16%	119,855	$2,037,149
KPO	Kalina Power Limited	0.011	-15%	4,100,555	$38,128,944
REE	Rarex Limited	0.023	-15%	6,167,708	$24,844,429
AJX	Alexium Int Group	0.006	-14%	87,872	$11,105,001
EMT	Emetals Limited	0.003	-14%	45,000	$2,975,000
HHR	Hartshead Resources	0.006	-14%	269,666	$19,660,775
SPX	Spenda Limited	0.006	-14%	1,415,869	$32,306,508
TMS	Tennant Minerals Ltd	0.006	-14%	256,748	$7,461,233
WHK	Whitehawk Limited	0.013	-13%	434,004	$11,120,196

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Sipa Resources (ASX:SRI) has drilled 13 holes across the newly acquired Nuckulla Hill project in the hunt for gold near the 1.6Moz Tunkillia deposit.

Norfolk Metals (ASX:NFL) has secured approval to start its maiden drilling program at the Carmen copper project in Chile.

Firetail Resources (ASX:FTL) has maiden exploration underway for a high-grade gold campaign at the Excelsior project in Nevada.

LAST ORDERS

Omega Oil and Gas (ASX:OMA) has added $7.3m to the war chest with a research and development refund from the Australian Government, strengthening OMA’s balance sheet as it works to develop the Canyon oil and gas project in the Taroom Trough.

DY6 Metals (ASX:DY6) has expanded the Central rutile project in Cameroon, adding three new licences to grow the total landholding to 5901km2.

All three licences demonstrate promising geology, with rock units similar to primary sources of rutile in the region – DY6 will expand its ongoing soil sampling program to cover the new ground as well.

Red Metal (ASX:RDM) is preparing to put the drill bit to work in a proof-of-concept drilling program at the Pardoo gold project, within the fertile Pilbara Craton of WA.

The Craton is also home to the 6Moz gold Hemi gold deposit, recently acquired for A$6 billion by Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST). RDM is targeting Hemi lookalikes in the form of discrete bullseye magnetic targets with eight drill holes over about 2000m to begin in August.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Omega Oil and Gas, DY6 Metals and Red Metal 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.