So, is Liberal leader Peter Dutton right in claiming nuclear is crucial for Australia’s future energy needs? Or, Is Labor’s Anthony Albanese being responsible in saying the costs and historical risks outweigh the reward.

Hear from the experts at this week’s WA Mining Club May event at Perth’s Optus Stadium.

The panellists you’ll see in this debate filmed by HotCopper are:

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

This finance publication had Sonia Madigan and Caroline Smith make the journey from Perth to watch the RIU Explorers addresses, meet ASX company bosses, put pen to paper, and everything in between from Tuesday.

For more coverage from RIU Explorers, read on here:

— RIU Explorer’s Conference opens with dive into global markets – and “uncertainty”

— It’s a gold rush at the 2025 RIU Explorers Conference

— From Black Cat’s first pour to a 200K ounce goal

— Hot Chili promises ‘a very large-scale porphyry is emerging’

— MD tells investors: WIN Metals already has a WA gold resource

— Gold bar gains $600,000 in just a year

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on Australia’s largest stock forum and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

The only difference from last year is this same gold bar – weighing in at 12.5kg – is worth $600,000 more than last year. Its value has gone from $1.2 million to $1.8 million.

Sonia Madigan spoke with ABC Refinery’s Mike Ward, who visited Perth from Sydney.

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on Australia’s largest stock forum and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

Sonia Madigan spoke with Jaxon Crabb from conference organiser Vertical Events.

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on Australia’s largest stock forum and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.

It has a market cap below $10 million, despite having a 357,000-ounce indicated and inferred gold resource, plus nickel and lithium resources – also in WA – which it holds for when the value of these commodities picks up.

HotCopper’s Sonia Madigan spoke with MD Steve Norregaard From the Floor.

WIN last traded at 1.8cps after adding 5.88% in value early today.

Join the discussion. See what HotCopper users are saying about WIN Metals and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

Listen to the HotCopper podcast for in-depth discussions and insights on all the biggest headlines from throughout the week. On Spotify, Apple, and more.

However, headwinds remain: Particularly uncertainties brought on by a new Donald Trump Presidency in the United States and tensions in Europe and other regions.

That was the message from Tony Brennan, chief investment strategist with Canaccord Genuity, at the RIU Explorer’s Conference in Fremantle on Tuesday.

Addressing a packed audience at the opening session, where this HotCopper writer was in attendance, Mr Brennan said things were “getting back on track for the global outlook,” but warned investors needed to watch future uncertainties.

Expanding on the first theme, Mr Brennan said we were “getting to the end of the pandemic, and back to a sustainable economy.”

He continued: “Growth is better than normal in conditions of high inflation, and it should be back to target in 12 to 18 months.”

Notably, there had been a trend continuing since the beginning of COVID-19 where services played a crucial role in offsetting subdued manufacturing data, which had been hit by higher rates and energy prices after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But barring threats from a potential trade war, Mr Brennan suggested this sector would also move to a more optimistic track in the future.

In terms of global growth in 2025, he declared, “We’re on a path that allows for steady expansion, not quick rebound.”

There are some issues to watch though – beginning with large budget deficits among many national economies. Chief among them is the U.S.

“It has one of the biggest deficits outside a (period of) war,” he said. Trump’s plan to introduce tax and spending cuts could blow this out of the water though.

“You get to a point where the debt is unsustainable: This is the uncharted territory we have to watch,” Mr Brennan said, before adding that other Trump policies – including deportations and trade wars – could also add to U.S. inflation.

But given the greater importance of underlying global fundamentals, Mr Brennan said in the opening address, the best policy was to “wait and see.”

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on Australia’s largest stock forum and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

That doesn’t mean we can’t take a stab tough – especially with the help of Lowell’s chief investment officer, John Forwood, who joined HotCopper to talk about the future of commodity sectors (from uranium and lithium to gold, copper, and iron ore) in a holiday season webinar with Sonia Madigan.

Here’s what Mr Forwood had to say on the future of the five top-watched commodities.

“The fundamentals for uranium remain excellent and the build-out of nuclear reactors in China and under contracting of utilities globally means the pressure on the uranium price could well be on the upside. We had a pullback from US$100 odd a pound earlier this year to around US$77 to US$80 a pound.

“The other factor is the curtailment of supply bans on Russian-enriched uranium, problems throughout this year there even as it produces about 4% of the world’s uranium.

“I think both supply and demand both indicate the market could get tighter.”

“We’ve hit a number of record highs in US-dollar gold in 2024. Post the U.S. election, there was a substantial pullback but we’ve seen it start to climb back. Even [just recently] there’s been great price action; the indicators have been pretty positive.

“The major buyers have been central banks and they are going to continue to buy, in my view. Factors as to why they’ve been buying haven’t gone away.”

“It’s been a very tough year for lithium, in the resources sector the share prices of lithium companies have been hit the hardest of any of the commodity sectors on the ASX so I think we have found a bottom but the consensus is that things will probably bump along here for the best part of the next 12 months now.

“Analysts are looking for an uptick around this time next year so I think lithium markets are small and it’s easy to swing from over-supplied to under-supplied quite quickly.”

“A number of analysts have called for iron ore to be significantly lower in 2025. I don’t think you could say it’s defying gravity [Editor’s note, if this is a Wicked reference from John it’s a very good one] but it’s it’s held up above around US$100 a ton for the majority of the year so that’s a very healthy price. China is the biggest off-taker of aviation oil and I think that indicates the Chinese economy isn’t as sick as you might be reading in some of the more recent news reports. That’s a positive.”

“Copper was the market darling of 2023 then it’s been fairly flat. Projections have been pushed out for the supply squeeze to not happen in 2025. BHP said it thinks that’s going to be a 2026 story, but I don’t think it’s gone away.

“Maybe we’ll see it trace sideways, but we could see more price action in ’26.”

For further analysis on how commodities will move in 2025, watch the video above.

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on Australia’s largest stock forum and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

Report Card Pty Ltd (ACN 092 598 859) trading as “HotCopper” is Corporate Authorised Representative of STK Markets Pty Ltd (ACN 644 425 810) which holds Australian Financial Services License 537 530. Any advice on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your personal financial circumstances or objectives. You should consider the appropriateness of the information prior to making any investment decisions. The information provided by this service is for use wholesale investors as defined by s708 of the Corporations Act.

Any advice given by RaaS Research Group Pty Ltd is GENERAL advice, as the information or advice given does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before acting on the advice, consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. If our advice relates to the acquisition, or possible acquisition, of a particular financial product you should read any relevant Product Disclosure Statement or like instrument. The RaaS Financial Services Guide is available at www.raasgroup.com.​

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

That’s nearly half as little as 2023 when 44 companies rang the bell. Then, two years back, in 2022, the ASX saw 104 IPOs; that number then more than doubled again to 241 in 2021 in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

From 2021 to this year’s calendar run, that’s an 89.7% drop in new arrivals.

There were some big winners, like Sun Silver’s red-hot run in May and the one that caught general punter eyes, Guzman Y Gomez, but overall it’s been quite barren.

For investors looking to find fresh opportunities, barely any new companies joining the local bourse can make things tricky – but it’s not all doom and gloom.

“It doesn’t generate a lot of interesting, but while we have seen that IPOs have been low, what we have seen is green shoots, particularly in the secondary market,” Finola Burke, managing director at RAAS Group, told HotCopper.

“For the last six to almost twelve months, we have actually seen an improvement in secondary offerings; companies coming back to raise capital again.”

Ms Burke said these capital raises – like one that sits under RAAS Group’s eye, Amaero International (ASX:3DA) – will be the key to the IPO market moving forward: Where there’s confidence in the secondary market, floats bloom.

“That’s a driver there, ultimately – the secondary market leads the IPO market.”

Ms Burke also pointed to the large “backlog of companies” that are champing at the bit to join the ASX. She believes many “will come to the market next year” which suggests 2025 may be the long-awaited turning point for what has been quite regularly declining IPO numbers through the last three or so calendar years.

There are already some companies teed up to join the bourse in the near future too, including several that had to bump back from 2024 to early next year:

“I was just recently at an IPO day and there were a lot of incoming companies that showed off what they want to bring to market,” Ms Burke added.

For further discussion on the IPOs on the ASX this year, watch the video above.

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on Australia’s largest stock forum and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

Report Card Pty Ltd (ACN 092 598 859) trading as “HotCopper” is Corporate Authorised Representative of STK Markets Pty Ltd (ACN 644 425 810) which holds Australian Financial Services License 537 530. Any advice on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your personal financial circumstances or objectives. You should consider the appropriateness of the information prior to making any investment decisions. The information provided by this service is for use wholesale investors as defined by s708 of the Corporations Act.

Any advice given by RaaS Research Group Pty Ltd is GENERAL advice, as the information or advice given does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before acting on the advice, consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. If our advice relates to the acquisition, or possible acquisition, of a particular financial product you should read any relevant Product Disclosure Statement or like instrument. The RaaS Financial Services Guide is available at www.raasgroup.com.​

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

Buy now, pay later player Zip Co (ASX:ZIP) was a clear standout on that front with nearly 34 thousand comments on HotCopper’s forums from January through to December.

Biotech-cross-resources explorer BPH Energy (ASX:BPH) ran second when it came to discussions with users logging 32 thousand comments for the year; clinical-stage immuno-oncology company Imugene (ASX:IMU) was third with 31.6K.

Interestingly, BPH was one of the smallest small-caps among popular HotCopper stocks.

The entire top ten was rounded out by darlings like LTR and Pilbara Minerals.

HotCopper’s Head of Growth Timothy Sylvester said there were “no surprises” in the top ten for anyone dialled into the forums this year.

“There’s a very common theme here where if there’s regular traction for any company doing well then discussions naturally spring up there,” Mr Sylvester said.

“What we saw here too was that the size of the companies, the size of the cap, [that] doesn’t matter… and discussions are sector agnostic too. All that matters is all the external influences into those stocks.”

Here are the stocks that got chins wagging on HotCopper the most:

Finola Burke, Managing Director at RAAS Group, pointed out Spenda specifically as one that was “unsurprisingly” highly talked about.

“They’ve made an acquisition in September to round out their tech stack and the strategy they started talking about a couple of years ago – when we started covering them – is actually finally coming into play and you can see that coming through on their numbers.”

The integrated business platform is most definitely one to watch in 2025, Ms Burke added, though warned they “may not be there quite yet.”

Four companies here were also among 2024’s most watched stocks.

For further analysis on HotCopper’s Most Discussed stocks, watch the video above.

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on Australia’s largest stock forum and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

Report Card Pty Ltd (ACN 092 598 859) trading as “HotCopper” is Corporate Authorised Representative of STK Markets Pty Ltd (ACN 644 425 810) which holds Australian Financial Services License 537 530. Any advice on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your personal financial circumstances or objectives. You should consider the appropriateness of the information prior to making any investment decisions. The information provided by this service is for use wholesale investors as defined by s708 of the Corporations Act.

Any advice given by RaaS Research Group Pty Ltd is GENERAL advice, as the information or advice given does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before acting on the advice, consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. If our advice relates to the acquisition, or possible acquisition, of a particular financial product you should read any relevant Product Disclosure Statement or like instrument. The RaaS Financial Services Guide is available at www.raasgroup.com.​

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

From gas to financial brokers, biotech operators to lithium miners, and even a gold antimony play, the stocks that drew Hotcopper users’ eyes the most ranged across a whole pile of interesting share market sectors.

On top of the heap was Strike Energy (ASX:STX) Strike’s top spot came after it netted more than 6.94 million views through its forum messaging boards across the last 12 months.

Buy now, pay later company Zip Co (ASX:ZIP) was second with 6.2 million total views.

Timothy Sylvester, HotCopper’s Head of Growth who watched the trends on the forums very closely, said it wasn’t very surprised by the spread in the end: “Some of the previously very hot areas of the markets [are there] so those stocks are going to naturally have a very large audience that’s accumulated.”

“The viewership doesn’t particularly change if it’s very highly sought after but we will see those discussions change [through the year] as things move,” Mr Sylvester added.

Here’s the full top 10 list of most watched stocks:

On how these ten much-watched companies did it, Mr Sylvester mused: “Highly watched doesn’t mean highly participated in. A good example would be Zip Co – a lot of investors have been watching that this year. They want to see where all the upside is going from here, where the risk is right now as well, etc.

“When we look at an effective way to capture investors attention it’s not just about news flow but it actually starts right at the top with awareness.”

Mr Sylvester pointed to the seven million users that log into HotCopper through every year as a perfect place sell to; “[companies need] a proper education campaign to draw interest over time and have those investors look into things.”

Four companies here were also among 2024’s most discussed stocks.

For further discussion on HotCopper’s Most Watch stocks, watch the video above.

Join the discussion: See what’s trending right now on Australia’s largest stock forum and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

Report Card Pty Ltd (ACN 092 598 859) trading as “HotCopper” is Corporate Authorised Representative of STK Markets Pty Ltd (ACN 644 425 810) which holds Australian Financial Services License 537 530. Any advice on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your personal financial circumstances or objectives. You should consider the appropriateness of the information prior to making any investment decisions. The information provided by this service is for use wholesale investors as defined by s708 of the Corporations Act.

Any advice given by RaaS Research Group Pty Ltd is GENERAL advice, as the information or advice given does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before acting on the advice, consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. If our advice relates to the acquisition, or possible acquisition, of a particular financial product you should read any relevant Product Disclosure Statement or like instrument. The RaaS Financial Services Guide is available at www.raasgroup.com.​

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

Perth-based energy and fertiliser company Strike had a rollercoaster calendar year that included everything from strong progress at its Erregulla Deep-1 discovery well to shelving a $3.3 billion project that would have supplied essential farming fertiliser because the company needed to find more gas.

That Erregulla Deep-1 well production test results came back as some of the “best ever” in the Perth basin, helping the company on to new heights again in 2024.

Today, the energy company sold at 20cps in the post-Christmas trading day.

In Strike managing director and CEO Stuart Nicholls’ eyes, all the focus Strike has had on HotCopper boils down to one thing though: It’s a “unique” play.

“We offer a very unique and competitive investment proposition to current and potential future shareholders where we’re not only Australia’s most active explorer for future natural gas suppliers, but we’ve also been a very successful developer and now producer of natural gas, having brought online the first Greenfield gas project in Western Australia in over a decade,” Mr Nicholls explained to HotCopper.

“Outside of that, we continue to break a lot of technical and operational feats, drilling the deepest well ever drilled in Australia’s history and making a major gas discovery there this year. We’ve also recently integrated some of our gas resources directly into power and so we’re a major participant in the state’s energy transition.

“I think there’s a fantastic opportunity to see the company grow from here.”

It’s not all been bells and whistles of course, with Strike hitting some major issues after a dry well in February rattled investor confidence, but Nicholls says they’ve bounced back well.

“It can’t be a straight line to success,” he explained, “or with a 100% success rate, so we have had our earlier issues this year but since this time we’ve delivered an absolutely amazing amount of great news.

“Not only have we made two new gas discoveries, [but] we’ve also taken a final investment decision at one of our flagship projects at South Arugula, we’ve maintained our status as a producer with 99% uptime, shot hundreds of kilometres of utility seismic, and honoured our fast-moving, entrepreneurial background.”

All this was talked about and followed closely on through HotCopper forums from the first trading day of the 2024 new year all the way through to the Christmas Day just gone – and that’s why it’s being so celebrated.

There were other stocks that came close of course, including Zip Co (ASX:ZIP) and Mesoblast (ASX:MSB), but Strike took out the crown in 2024.

For further analysis on most-watched Strike Energy, watch the video above.

Join the discussion. See what HotCopper users are saying about Strike Energy and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

Report Card Pty Ltd (ACN 092 598 859) trading as “HotCopper” is Corporate Authorised Representative of STK Markets Pty Ltd (ACN 644 425 810) which holds Australian Financial Services License 537 530. Any advice on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your personal financial circumstances or objectives. You should consider the appropriateness of the information prior to making any investment decisions. The information provided by this service is for use wholesale investors as defined by s708 of the Corporations Act.

Any advice given by RaaS Research Group Pty Ltd is GENERAL advice, as the information or advice given does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before acting on the advice, consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs. If our advice relates to the acquisition, or possible acquisition, of a particular financial product you should read any relevant Product Disclosure Statement or like instrument. The RaaS Financial Services Guide is available at www.raasgroup.com.​

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

More than seven million users come to HotCopper each year.

These valued HotCopper users visit the website some 17 times a month on average, and they stay for close to eight minutes each time.

According to independent data, there’s an astounding 45.3 million page views a month.

This investor activity provides a host of interesting and useful data, and so we’re able to reveal the ‘Most Watched’ and the ‘Most Discussed’ stocks of 2024. This data sheds light on what mattered to Australian investors in 2024 with a diverse list of companies both in sectors covered and the range of market caps.

The companies are ranked according to the total number of views across all the company-related threads. Of just over 2120 entities that are listed on the ASX, the Most Watched stock on HotCopper for 2024 is:

Also in the top 10 are Melbana Energy (ASX:MAY), Imugene (ASX:IMU), Liontown Resources (ASX:LTR), Raiden Resources (ASX:RDN), Invictus Energy (ASX:IVZ), Summit Minerals (ASX:SUM), and Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV).

The most discussed stock of 2024 is:

Others in the top 10 were, Liontown Resources; Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA); Mesoblast, Pilbara Minerals (ASX:PLS), Brainchip Holdings (ASX:BRN), Invictus Energy (ASX:IVZ), and Spenda (ASX:SPX).

Four of the companies we’re discussing made both the most watched and most discussed lists: Zip Co, Liontown Resources, Mesoblast, and Invictus Energy.

In this week’s webinar, we look at IPO activity, and themes for 2024 and moving into 2025 with insights from HotCoppers Head of Growth Tim Sylvester, RaaS Research Group’s Finola Burke, and Lowell Resource Fund’s CIO John Forwood.

Disclaimers: The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

Report Card Pty Ltd (ACN 092 598 859) trading as “HotCopper” is Corporate Authorised Representative of STK Markets Pty Ltd (ACN 644 425 810) which holds Australian Financial Services License 537 530. Any advice on this website is general in nature and does not take into account your personal financial circumstances or objectives. You should consider the appropriateness of the information prior to making any investment decisions. The information provided by this service is for use wholesale investors as defined by s708 of the Corporations Act. 

Any advice given by RaaS Research Group Pty Ltd is GENERAL advice, as the information or advice given does not take into account your particular objectives, financial situation or needs. You should, before acting on the advice, consider the appropriateness of the advice, having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.  If our advice relates to the acquisition, or possible acquisition, of a particular financial product you should read any relevant Product Disclosure Statement or like instrument. The RaaS Financial Services Guide is available at www.raasgroup.com.

RaaS principals, employees and associates may hold shares in companies that it covers and, if so, this will be clearly stated on the front page of each research report.  All information used in RaaS research is compiled from publicly available sources that are believed to be reliable. Opinions contained in our research represent those of the principals of RaaS Research Group at the time of publication. RaaS Research Group provides this financial advice as an honest and reasonable opinion held at a point in time about an investment’s risk profile and merit and the information is provided by the RaaS Research Group in good faith.  The views of the adviser(s) do not necessarily reflect the views of the AFS Licensee.  RaaS Research Group has no obligation to update the opinion unless RaaS Research Group is currently contracted to provide such an updated opinion. RaaS Research Group does not warrant the accuracy of any information it sources from others.  All statements as to future matters are not guaranteed to be accurate and any statements as to past performance do not represent future performance. 

Assessment of risk can be subjective. Portfolios of equity investments need to be well diversified and the risk appropriate for the investor. Equity investments in listed or unlisted companies yet to achieve a profit or with an equity value less than $50 million should collectively be a small component of a balanced portfolio, with smaller individual investment sizes than otherwise. 

The science of climate change is common knowledge and its impacts may damage the global economy.  Mitigating climate change may also disrupt the global economy.  Investors need to make their  own assessments and we disclaim any liability for the impact of either climate change or mitigating strategies on any investment we recommend.

Investors are responsible for their own investment decisions, unless a contract stipulates otherwise.  RaaS Research Group does not stand behind the capital value or performance of any investment.  Subject to any terms implied by law and which cannot be excluded, RaaS Research Group shall not be liable for any errors, omissions, defects or misrepresentations in the information (including by reasons of negligence, negligent misstatement or otherwise) or for any loss or damage (whether direct or indirect) suffered by persons who use or rely on the information. If any law prohibits the exclusion of such liability, RaaS Research Group limits its liability to the re-supply of the Information, provided that such limitation is permitted by law and is fair and reasonable. Copyright 2024 RaaS Research Group Pty Ltd (A.B.N. 99 614 783 363). All rights reserved.

Disclaimer: The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

The grade is 550 ppm, which is ‘quite healthy’, according to Managing Director Peter Batten, who is a geologist by background, during the RIU Uranium Investment Day this week in suburban Perth.

“Our intention is to expand on that and grow it into an economic volume,” he says in this interview.

He also discusses increasing interest in the commodity and talks the global demand levers.

Previously, Peter Batten was MD for Bannerman Resources (ASX:BMN) with uranium projects in Namibia and Botswana, and he was MD of White Canyon Uranium (which later became TSX listed Denison Mines). White Canyon operated an underground uranium mine in Utah.

Mr Batten was the founding Managing Director of Berkeley (ASX:BKY) and also served as a Technical Director of Kalia, before it became MCB Resources.

Join the discussion: See what HotCopper users are saying about Haranga Resources and be part of the conversations that move the markets.

Disclaimer: The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

This week it was the RIU Uranium Investment Day and for something different it was held at Claremont Football Club.

Now Claremont is in the heart of Perth’s western suburbs, smack bang in what locals like to claim as the city’s ‘golden triangle’ – and you need more than a bit of gold to live there… the state’s most expensive real estate lies in the vicinity.

With more than a week to go, the delegate list for the investment event was well over-subscribed.

But there’s another reason for the venue choice… which I didn’t realise until I spotted a portrait on the wall of the venue – and maybe not all investors are aware of Jaxon Crabb’s connection to the Claremont footy club, nor his notable playing career!

We hit him up on the topic after our interview at the event this week!

Disclaimer: The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

In this interview, he gives his view on the macro demand dynamics for uranium in Australia and globally.

Jon was at the RIU Uranium Investment Day at Claremont Football Club this week in Perth.

Disclaimer: The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

They discuss success stories, risk vs. reward, and the challenges faced by smaller companies, particularly in the race for capital.

In line with this, they also highlight the importance of good management and compliance as well as marketing by these companies, in order to build awareness and educate investors around their activities to drive engagement and market activity.

“Don’t be a shrinking violet, or, don’t be the best kept secret in the share market,” Mr North said.

“You’ve got to communicate with your shareholders, you’ve got to communicate with potential investors – globally as well these days.”

Wealth Within’s Dale Gillham and his Talking Wealth team will be working with HotCopper to bring you coverage from the 13th Australian Microcaps Investment Conference, which is in Melbourne on October 29 and 30.

They’ll be on the ground during the event, providing information and video content.

Those interested in attending the conference in Melbourne can save $300 off the normal delegate rate of $695 by entering the HotCopper discount code HOTCOPPER2024 when registering here.

Companies involved in next week’s event:

Dale Gillham is Chief Analyst at Wealth Within and international bestselling author of How to Beat the Managed Funds by 20%. He is also the author of Accelerate Your Wealth—It’s Your Money, Your Choice, which is available in bookstores and online at www.wealthwithin.com.au

Disclaimer: While Wealth Within holds an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL:226347) the information featured in this program is general in nature and therefore should not be relied upon. Before making any investment decisions, you should consult a licensed professional who can advise whether your investment decisions are appropriate for you.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice.

Viewers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. For full disclaimer information, please click here.

Decarbonate is an ESG, climate risk, and carbon advisory business helping large, mid, and small-cap company leaders work through mandatory climate reporting requirements.

The first group of companies to be impacted will be those with market caps above $500 million – they’re going to be expected to report from January 1.

I spoke with Decarbonate’s MD Brendan Tapley at the Critical Minerals and Energy Investment conference in Perth, who admits it will mean extra work for companies.

“There are ways to approach it – bite-sized chunks,” he said.

“For the companies that don’t have to report for a couple of years, it’s a matter of getting started.

“That’s understanding ‘what are the risks and opportunities’ and then having an ESG framework, ideally a sustainability report on your website to start to identify and disclose your risks, and then, doing the work – which could be a year to two of analysis (…) – budgeting for it on an annual basis to do what’s required.”

Investors will be able to see what’s being reported by companies on their websites.

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At the Critical Minerals and Energy Investment Conference in Perth, I spoke with NAB commodities investment banker Fabian Fuentes.

“NAB – like a lot of the Australian and international banks – is very much focussed on transition commodities,” Mr Fuentes said.

“We’re still very solid in gold and bulk commodities in general, but we’ve been really challenged over the last couple of years to increase our exposure to transition commodities.

“We’ve recently been doing a lot of work in the lithium space; trying to do more in rare earths; and, any commodity that’s tied to global decarbonisation and transition is something that we want to be a part of.”

He said NAB was confident in the long-term outlook for lithium, and it was working to better de-risk rare earths projects, where Chinese dominance can see the supply/cost structure ‘opaque.’

He said the bank looked at management’s track record, the commodity the company was focussed on, cost-competitiveness of projects, sponsors backing the company, off-take agreements and the ‘robustness of the feasibility study.’

“We do a lot of work with consultants interrogating feasibility studies, doing our own financial modelling, and, really picking those projects we feel can withstand the commodities’ cycles and ultimately will be able to repay our debt,” he said.

He says that audience comments on HotCopper have become valuable to the due diligence process.

“HotCopper, I think, has become a tool that now is used by a lot of bankers – a lot of industry participants – to actually learn something that may not necessarily be out in the press or in company presentations,” Mr Fuentes said.

“The community’s just getting bigger and bigger and the quality of information and the opinions I think just continues to improve and it’s just a great resource and great asset for people like me!”

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Indonesia has built itself as a leading force in nickel globally in the 2020s, tripling its already significant output to 175.6 million tonnes last year.

It’s been so big that Indonesia held half the global market share in nickel in 2023.

Now the next step is for the country to lean into the entire nickel value chain, Meidy Lengkey, secretary-general of the Indonesia Nickel Mining Association (APNI), told HotCopper’s Sonia Madigan at the Critical Minerals and Energy Investment Conference this week.

Lengkey has come to Australia looking for end products involved in battery production, ranging from stainless steel to lithium – and most crucially, graphite.

“We’re asking how to make a battery,” Ms Lengkey explained. “[In] Indonesia, we don’t have lithium, we don’t have graphite, we only have nickel manganese and cobalt. So when we say how to make a battery cell, we’re looking at graphite.”

The interest has been spurred on by Indonesia’s new elected ministry, which is expected to follow a recent energy and mining policy that banned bauxite, cobalt, and tin exports to “draw more economic benefits” from its rich natural resources. That’s put lithium and in particular graphite on Indonesia’s radar.

Ms Lengkey agreed graphite producers in Australia should “for sure” be worried.

“We have a new ministry and we hope they’ll continue the program of the downstream minerals in Indonesia, not only for nickel, but other minerals also,” she continued.

“So, [we’re here to find out] what kind of interest [there is] to invite investors, find new technologies, and [to learn] how to make good mining practices, especially for ESG. You know, we – Indonesia – we’re new players and we’re looking for a professor to make something in Indonesia.”

One big question that will always hang over any Indonesian expansion is, of course, concerns about worker safety – a question mark Ms Lengkey was quick to wave away when it was raised by HotCopper’s Sonia Madigan on Monday.

“Like I said, we’re new players,” Ms Lengkey said. “We just started, right? We’re combining our situation with our conditions. We’re trying to [ask] what is the best situation in Indonesia regarding the ESG. You are not only talking about the processing of the upstream side and downstream side including the labour, including the safety, including the environment, but we’re asking about governance.

“This is talking about geopolitics. We have a new minister and we’re waiting for him to make something better for Indonesia and how to collaborate with agencies around the world.

“You have to check with Indonesia’s situation because we are totally different.”

Ms Lengkey also spoke on the future of nickel in Indonesia at Perth’s Critical Minerals and Energy Investment conference at 10am on Tuesday morning.

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