Iron ore explorer Athena Resources (ASX:AHN) shares went on a run yesterday after it named John Welborn its new non-executive Chairman and Garry Plowright as non-executive director.
The junior explorer climbed as much as 150% to an intra-day peak of $0.005.
Both Welborn and Plowright currently sit on the board of Fenix Resources (ASX:FEX), as Chairman and director respectively, and their appointment follows the issue of $1 million worth of convertible notes to Fenix.
If Fenix decides to exercise the convertible notes, it can raise its stake in Athena to over 30%.
Welborn and Plowright replace Ed Edwards and Hau Wan Wai.
Athena is investigating the potential to leverage Fenix’s capabilities and experience to advance its Byro Magnetite Project in Western Australia’s Mid West, where Fenix is already producing iron ore from its 1.3-million-tonne-per-annum Iron Ridge Mine.
Fenix also owns Newhaul, a transport logistics business that includes a road haulage logistics business, rail sidings, and on-wharf storage and loading infrastructure at Geraldton Port.
Athena says it will also immediately begin a comprehensive review of its operations, strategy and funding arrangements, which will consider a restructure and the appointment of a new CEO.
Future-facing commodities hopeful Pure Resources (ASX:PR1) rose over 74% to an intra-day high of $0.15 after revealing it has picked up an option to acquire the Reedy Creek Garnet Project in northeast Western Australia.
The project sits on an already granted mining lease and has returned historic drill results including 6m @ 78% garnet from surface, 10m @ 65% garnet from 2m and 8m @ 49% garnet from surface.
Executive Chairman Patric Glovac says the project has the potential to be one of only three commercially viable hard rock garnet mines in the world.
“Industrial garnet is used in a wide variety of applications including water filtration, high-precision jet cutting and abrasive blasting to name a few, and is an industrial mineral with excellent long-term growth market potential of up to 7.5% CAGR,” he says.
Pure Resources has paid a non-refundable option fee of $30,000 and has three months to exercise the option. If the company decides to exercise the option it will make payments totalling $662,500 and issue about 3.1 million shares in three stages.
The company will also be required to grant the vendors a 2% gross revenue royalty over all garnet and calcium carbonate extracted from the Reedy Creek Project. Pure Resources can buy back 1% of the royalty for $500,000.
Red Mountain Mining (ASX:RMX) and Antilles Gold (ASX:AAU) also advanced on Thursday, both on no news.
Red Mountain, which is exploring for lithium in the US and Australia, doubled to a high of $0.002, while Antilles, which has a project in Cuba, climbed over 33% to $0.004. Both, however, retreated to close level with the prior day’s closing price.
Graphite explorer Volt Resources (ASX:VRC) was up 12.5% at $0.0045 yesterday.
The company, which has a market capitalisation of $16.6 million, did not release any news, though earlier in July Volt said it was witnessing increased interest from lithium-ion battery anode makers in its “ultra high purity” graphite product.
Tankers
Gold explorer Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R) slid 30% yesterday to an intra-day low of $0.007 on no news.
The company this week closed a $1.6 million rights issue and was granted $450,000 in Junior Minerals Exploration Incentive credits for the 2025 financial year to distribute back to shareholders.
Argosy Minerals (ASX:AGY), which has a market capitalisation of $71.3 million, lost nearly 25%, with shares slipping to $0.037 after announcing it would suspend operations at the 2,000-tonne-per-annum Rincon Lithium facility in Argentina.
The company is “resetting” its strategic focus on the value-upside of its Rincon Project given the current lithium market conditions and short-term forecast prices.
Argosy will now prioritise the completion of the 10,000-tonne-per-annum project pre-development engineering works to reach a construction-ready stage and de-risk the project.
Javelin Minerals (ASX:JAV), meanwhile, edged back 25% to $0.015 after completing the issue of new shares under placement and entitlement offer.
The $5.5 million diversified explorer also revealed it would undertake a further placement to raise $100,000 after receiving binding commitments from sophisticated and professional investors.
Critical minerals explorer Trinex Minerals (ASX:TX3) also lost more ground on Thursday despite a day earlier announcing the discovery of numerous conductors at its Gibbons Creek Uranium Project in the northern Athabasca Basin of Saskatchewan.
Shares in the $5.5 market capitalised junior dipped 20% to a low of $0.002.
Iris Metals (ASX:IR1) declined 22% yesterday to an intra-day low of $0.195.
Last week the company, which has a market capitalisation of $35.1 million, announced the sale of its Kookynie Gold Project to NEX Metals (ASX:NME) would not go ahead.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Athena Resources, Unsplash, Argosy Minerals
