IT took the biggest hit, down more than three per cent and followed closely by materials and financials.

Xero and WiseTech dragged IT down, while mining giants Rio Tinto and Mineral Resources plunged more than two per cent.

Bucking material’s dip is Magnum Mining and Exploration, rising more than two and a half per cent after kicking off investigations into historic ore stockpiles at its Buena Vista project in Nevada.

The company hopes it will provide a pathway to early production.

Shares lifted to 3.9 cents.

And Lithium Universe has made leadership changes only a day after its ASX listing.

The company has appointed two experienced chartered accountants as joint Chief Financial Officers and company secretaries.

This comes after its Non-Executive Director and secretary resigned today.

Shares in Lithium Universe were hovering around five and a half cents.

Another company to see a change in its leadership is Little Green Pharma, promoting its Chief Operations Officer, Paul Young to CEO.

Mr Young steps up into his new from the end of August, once CEO, and Founder, Fleta Solomon steps aside.

Shares last traded around 18.5 cents. 

The dykes were identified within a six-kilometre squared area of the Trieste Greenstone Belt, with high-value greenstone targets yet to be explored.

The company confirmed samples were taken for assay and geological observations.

“We are passionate about lithium and on a mission to play a part in the North American lithium supply chain,” Loyal Lithium Managing Director Adam Ritchie said.

“The discovery of five spodumene-rich dykes gives us great confidence as we accelerate our exploration activities and prepare for drilling.”

Further exploration drilling and field programs are being prepared. Loyal lithium boasts the largest landholding within the highly prospective Trieste Greenstone belt, with more than 250 square kilometres.

LLI shares shot up 18.9 per cent, trading at 53.5 cents at 12:07 pm AEST.

Their appointment is effective immediately, and both CFOs bring years of industry experience to their roles.

This development follows the resignation of Non-Executive Director and Company Secretary, George Lazarou, who has served the company for the past decade.

Mr Fayad boasts more than 40 years of experience in corporate finance as a chartered accountant, with the last 25 years focused on providing corporate and secretarial services to mining exploration firms.

Similarly, Mr Laney, also a seasoned chartered accountant, has held similar positions in other ASX-listed companies.

“We are fortunate to have Vince Fayad with such a vast array of experience particularly with local and international exploration mining experience and Kurt Laney join the team and I look forward to working with them,” LU7 Chair Iggy Tan said.

Both Mr Fayad and Mr Laney will be responsible for all communications with the ASX concerning the company’s listing matters.

LU7 last traded at 5.4 cents.

US Commerce Department data showed retail sales rose 0.7 per cent in June, nearly double the predicted 0.4 per cent rise. 

And so investors are concerned that’ll mean higher interest rates for longer. 

The S&P500 fell more than 1.1 per cent – the NASDAQ followed closely – with some of the bank stocks dropping sharply.

China’s retail sales, industrial production and investment is growing at a slower rate than analysts expected and so China-exposed mining stocks had a tough time in Europe overnight –  plunging to two-year lows.

The FTSE100 lost 1.6 per cent.

The Aussie dollar is still buying just under 65 US cents and less than 60 EURO cents.

Crude oil lost nearly one and a half per cent to around US$81 a barrel and iron ore shed nearly two per cent to US$103.5 a tonne.

Safe-haven gold continued its downward trend to be around US$1900 an ounce. 

The permits strengthen the company’s efforts to establish a domestic and recyclable titanium mineral-to-metal supply chain.

The Titan project possesses the largest repository of titanium and rare earth-rich mineral sands in the United States. It has the potential to re-establish a domestic supply chain for critical titanium and rare earth minerals vital for electrification and defence.

Among the significant permits obtained are the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System Permit and the Surface Mining Permit. These permits were issued by the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.

“Successfully securing these key permits for the Titan project – North America’s largest deposit of titanium and rare earth critical minerals – is an important milestone in our plan to re-shore critical material supply chains, with our key focus on building a sustainable and low-cost titanium mineral to metal supply chain,” IPX CEO Anastasios Arima said.

In the past year, IPX conducted a scoping study on the Titan project, revealing an annual EBITDA of approximately US$117 million, an after-tax NPV8 of US$692 million, and an after-tax IRR of 40 per cent.

The remaining regulatory obligations for the Titan project’s development are expected to be fulfilled by the end of 2023. In the meantime, the company is actively working on funding strategies through collaborations with prominent strategic partners in the industry.

IPX shares last traded at $1.06.

These anomalies go beyond the primary Heli-EM targets within the Larramore Volcanics Belt.

Currently, Revolver has completed two holes out of a planned nine-hole 2000-metre diamond drilling program.

“With every exploration activity undertaken within the Larramore Belt at Dianne the results demonstrate the potential for a system of district-scale copper-gold mineralisation,” RRR Managing Director Pat Williams said.

“The geophysical, geochemical and geological data gathered in this area over the last nine months has delivered and triangulated, the compelling evidence of this potential. We look forward to receipt of assays from the in-progress drilling of the C16, C5 and C6 targets.”

Two high-potential targets within the planned program are still awaiting drilling.

Furthermore, the company has initiated a high-resolution helicopter gravity survey covering the Larramore Belt.

RRR last traded at 17 cents.

Mr Chung will assume this additional role starting today, following his appointment as CEO in 2017.

Having served in senior executive positions within the company for a decade, including a six-month tenure as Chief Operations Officer, Mr Chung brings a wealth of experience to his new position.

TNE Chair Pat O’Sullivan said the appointment was a “natural progression” given Mr Chung’s “strong leadership” as CEO.

“Ed has led TechnologyOne through its continued growth trajectory and transformation into Australia’s leading enterprise Software as a Service (SaaS) business,” he said.

“With a passion for growth, innovation, and TechnologyOne’s people, he led the business to become one of Australia’s ASX 100 listed companies in 2023 and has long-term continued and sustainable growth plans he and his leadership team are implementing.”

TNE last traded at $15.24.

Also, Goldman Sachs put weight behind there being no further interest rate hikes this year and a first interest rate ‘cut’ in the second quarter of next year. 

On the downside, concerns continue to bubble around the state of China’s property market.

The NASDAQ climbed more than a per cent while the S&P added half a per cent.

The Dow was up – just slightly.

Chipmaker Nvidia had a strong session – up seven per cent on bullish sentiment around its AI potential. 

Chipmaker Micron Technology followed suit – up more than six per cent.

Amazon was up one and a half per cent and Google parent Alphabet lifted 1.4 per cent. 

Tesla lost more than a per cent – punished for reducing the price of some Model Y electric vehicles for the Chinese market.

Back home, two key pieces of data are being released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics today. 

The wage price index for the June quarter will show how the country’s workers and wages have been impacted by inflationary pressures and rising interest rates. 

Key housing data will provide a snapshot of accommodation and population data. 

The Aussie dollar is still below 65 US cents and under 60 Euro cents.

In commodities crude oil is down close to a per cent to around US$82 a barrel – gold dipped to about US$1907 an ounce.

And iron ore has been just under $105 a tonne.

The company has planned 3500 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling at its Morpheus, Akira and Lewis prospects with high-priority surface geochemical anomalies.

The Morpheus and Akira targets are located in the ‘Goldilocks’ zone, where “significant” intersections have been identified by Delta Lithium at the Yinnietharra lithium project neighbouring Ti Tree.

“The RC drill rig being employed has the capacity to drill deeper than previous campaigns allowing us to thoroughly examine the extents of the pegmatite swarms at each prospect and potentially vector to mineralisation at depth and undercover,” Voltaic CEO Michael Walshe said.

The company has also planned down-dip deeper drilling at the Anrada prospect to examine untested lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) potential targets.

VSR was up 2.44 per cent, trading at 4.2 cents at 1:41 pm AEST.

On-Schedule will market CCO’s products to more than 14,000 customers through the company’s online telehealth portals.

The products will be distributed to up to 2000 pharmacies and 5000 niche retailers around the country.

“This partnership unlocks multiple fresh avenues for The Calmer Co’s product distribution across Australia,” CCO CEO Anthony Noble said.

“The team at Naturally Elevated are experts in the field of medicinal cannabis distribution and we have had constructive discussions on how we might work towards bringing the DANODAN CBD products to Australia and what manufacturing models can be used to facilitate this process when regulatory approvals allow it.”

The deal will also involve the companies collaborating to explore logistical requirements for manufacturing and distributing the DANODAN range, broad-spectrum CBD tinctures, in the Australian Market.

CCO was up 11.1 per cent, trading 0.5 cents at 11:14 am AEST.

The Nasdaq and S&P slipped slightly – their second straight weekly losses and the first time the NASDAQ has dipped two weeks in a row this year.

Tech giants Tesla and Meta both closed more than a per cent lower.

While the Dow Jones was the only index in the green lifting 0.3 per cent.

There was more data in from the US with the Producer Price Index for July showing a 0.8 per cent increase in final demand year on year and only a 0.3 per cent increase from June.

Back home, is a new debutant on the ASX this morning – Lithium Universe will trade under the code LU7. It’s working to develop a spodumene-producing mine in Quebec Canada.

The Aussie dollar has slipped below 65 US cents and under 60 Euro cents.

In commodities, crude oil was down around point three of a per cent to just under US$83 a barrel.

Gold is trading at just under US$1915 an ounce – while iron ore rose nearly two per cent to US$105.5 a tonne.

IT took the biggest hit, falling more than two per cent, while the energy sector surged, up two per cent.

In company news, renewable energy and lithium producer Vulcan Energy Resources (VUL) has unveiled plans to use more sustainable lithium extraction and supply methods from its Lithium Brine project in the Upper Rhine Valley of Germany.

The Absorption Direct Lithium Extract process allows for cleaner downstream lithium processing with no need for acid, with a water wash to be used.

Vulcan was trading at just under $4.

And energy giant AGL has slipped more than 3.5 per cent after posting a $1.26 billion loss.

The company says forced plant outages and volatile energy market conditions contributed to substantial losses.

Shares were hovering around $11.14.

In materials, Raiden Resources (RDN) kicks off pegmatite and lithium sampling and mapping exploration at its Roebourne, Arrow and Mount Sholl projects in Western Australia.

Shares jumped more than 18 per cent to 1.3 cents.

Also in financials, AMP (AMP) recorded a statutory net profit after tax of $261 million for 1H23, much lower compared to the $469 million posted in 1H22.

Despite the news, shares rose around three per cent to $1.13.

Meanwhile, in healthcare, Clarity Pharmaceuticals (CU6) has gained 1.7 per cent after increasing the dosage in its prostate cancer trial and advancing to a third cohort.

Previous results from cohort two showed a “remarkable” reduction in Prostate Specific Agent levels within weeks of a single dose.

Clarity was trading around 90 cents.

We’re at the Kalgoorlie Super PITch event and I’m joined now by Chris Judd.

Now he himself has a fund, yes he’s a footballer, well he was a footballer but he has his own fund which was launched just two months ago.

So to start with Chris perhaps tell us about that.

Chris Judd:

Yeah so Cerutty Macro Fund is relatively new, so we’re two months into our existence.

So it’s myself and a young guy, who’s an analyst, Tom Galanti.

So, we’ve been really excited with the uptake so far and I guess the mandate is really broad global equities, long only and really looking to invest along sort of macro themes that we like.

Sonia Madigan:

Well, what are the macro themes that you’re seeing here at Kalgoorlie Diggers & Dealers event?

Chris Judd:

Yeah, look, I mean, the clean energy and battery metals have been a big thematic for quite a while and we’ve got some copper exposure, but we haven’t been chasing the lithium or rare earth stories.

Now, we think gold is a really interesting one at the minute.

Gold is only eight per cent of its all-time highs, but the sentiment towards gold is really quite low at the minute.

We certainly think the sanctions the US put on Russia, post the Ukraine invasion, were really significant longer term and maybe underappreciated by the market.

We think more and more countries will choose not to store their surplus in US Treasuriesgoing forward, will choose to store them in gold as we’re seeing obviously with Russia who has no choice, but with China who’s been doing the same thing since 2013.

We think more and more countries will follow suit.

So we’re interested in gold, a bit of a contrast from the Aussie gold producers and the West African ones at the minute.

The Aussie gold producers, whilst they have a more favourable jurisdiction are really getting wrecked by their cost base and some of the West Africans where you know they’re a bit fruity in the jurisdiction but are just printing cash with a much lower cost base.

Sonia Madigan:

So what do you hope to achieve by being here in Kalgoorlie for the Diggers & Dealers event?

Chris Judd:

Oh, look, it’s a good way to educate yourself on different companies that you haven’t seen.

We’re obviously based on the East Coast, so it’s really efficient to be able to catch up with a whole heap of Western Australian mining executives or investors in sort of one hit.

And just good to get a temperature check.

I remember this time last year, sitting in on Pilbara present and lithium felt like it was just all the rage, and I wasn’t sure of it at the time, but it had a really good period post that.

And funnily enough, while gold feels a bit, people are almost over gold for the time being, but I always feel that’s the most interesting thing to come out of the conference so far.

Sonia Madigan:

Now, of course, you’ve been the host of the Super PITch event, which gave companiesfive minutes to sell their story.

I’m going to give you one minute to sell your story as to why people should consider investing with your funds.

Chris Judd:

Oh, wow. There you go.

Look, we’re small, both by design and necessity.

We think there’s some advantages to being small.

You’re able to get in and out of companies that are under-researched or not researched at all, and we’re gonna embrace more market volatility than a lot of funds.

We’re not looking to manage month-to-month returns, but really looking for those long-term secular trends, withstanding some intra-month volatility, but hopefully getting some big results at the end.

Vidalia is being developed as a vertically integrated natural graphite AAM supply solution for US battery supply chains, and progress in constructing the 11.25ktpa AAM facility is a step towards AAM production for SYR.

Samsung SDI, a prominent global lithium-ion battery manufacturer, aims to support the growing electric vehicle (EV) market through this collaboration.

The agreement targets finalising a strategic deal by July 10, 2024, to produce up to 10ktpa AAM from Vidalia, starting in 2026.

The partnership will employ a floating price mechanism as SYR expands Vidalia to a 45ktpa AAM production capacity.

SYR shares rose by 8.59 per cent, trading at 69.5 cents at 11:53 am AEST.

The sell off was fuelled by credit agency Moody’s downgrade of 10 small to mid-size banks and put other major US lenders on notice for potential downgrades. 

Bank of America shares plummeted nearly two per cent, while the Bank of New York fell more than a per cent. 

The NASDAQ and Dow Jones took the biggest hits falling around 0.8 of a percent and half a per cent respectively.

While in Europe, Italy has imposed a one-off 40 per cent tax on Italian bank profits gained as a result of higher interest rates.

Back home The Commonwealth Bank of Australia announced a five per cent increase in profit for FY23. To 10.18 billion dollars in profit.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics will release its June monthly business turnover indicator, giving insights into how businesses are being impacted by inflationary pressure

The Aussie dollar is buying around 65 US cents and 59 Euro cents. 

Iron ore continued the generally negative trend shedding more than two per cent to US$104 a tonne – gold followed close behind losing more than half a per cent to hover around US$1925 an ounce.

While Crude Oil has risen more than a per cent to nearly US$83 a barrel.

That’s Market Open, Diggers and Dealers enters its final session this morning.

The Market Herald will continue to bring you interviews from the event throughout the day.

Created by Discovery Capital Partners and Corporate Storytime, this year’s event is sponsored by The Market Herald and RSM Australia

Sonia Madigan:

Welcome to the Kalgoorlie Super PITch event, I’m joined by Chris Piggott and Chrisis with Leeuwin Metals (LM1).

Now, Leeuwin only IPO’d in March and it’s the best-performing IPO so far in 2023.

Chris, are you going to be able to keep up that momentum?

Chris Piggott:

Well, we certainly hope so.

We kind of live by the motto, maintain the rage.

So I think it’s done us well so far and hence why I’ve been, you know, a well-performing stock this year since listing.

Sonia Madigan:

Now, I’m going to give you one minute to pitch your company, starting now.

Chris Piggott:

Well, I think we’ve got an EV of about 16 million, so I think we’re a pretty compellingvalue and it’s a simple story.

We’re a critical metal explorer in Manitoba, looking for lithium and nickel.

Our William Lake nickel project’s got a lot of all-grade intercepts and our Jenpeglithium project, we have a prospect there called Spodumene Island, as well as somehistoric drill holes that have 20-metre wide pegmatites with Spodumene in, and historical assays that we got reassayed at one per cent plus lithium.

So I think that’s why we’re well-performing this year.

So it’s a good start.

Sonia Madigan:

So tell us about the share price and how it’s travelled so far.

Chris Piggott:

So we listed at 25 cents at the end of March.

We raised $8 million.

Discovery Capital helped us, but Glencore’s also a 10 per cent shareholder.

They liked the nickel story and they just saw us and we kind of went to them and pitched the story and I think they liked the fact that we’re hard at it and willing to commit money on exploration in the ground.

Sonia Madigan:

Now we’re at the Kalgoorlie Diggers & Dealers, are you seeing support for nickel projects here?

Chirs Piggott:

Yeah, I think it’s you know a backdrop against a choppy market at times but Ithink we’re fortunate we’ve got projects that fit the mould and really kind of tap into that thematic.

You know we’re very fortunate that we’re in North America.

We’ve got lithium and nickel and we’ve got results out there that show you that we’ve got actual, real mineralisation and I think as well something we’ve really worked hard to do is frame a lot of news flow into the back end of the year.

So at our nickel project, we’ve got lots of assays outstanding currently in the lab.

We’ve got a slap of sulphide currently in the lab for assay, as well as seven historical holes that we’ve got in the lab for assay as well from our spodumene lithium pegmatite.

So you can see how at the back end of the year, there are quite a few press releases and news flow coming into the market.

I think that’s really appealing to investors, in this kind of time when there are lots of things out there, but people want real material and news flow, and we’ve got plenty of that.

High-grade assays from the underground resource extension and grade control drilling during 2H FY23 included 6.4 metres at 10.85 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 70.9 metres and nine metres at 7.55 g/t of gold from 72 metres.

“Our underground drilling programs are continuing to confirm the robust nature of the King of the Hills resource and reserve models, with these latest results from grade control and resource extension drilling supporting our mine plan over the next 12 months and defining extensions to the key Regal, Eastern Flanks and West Bulk mining areas,” RED Managing Director Mark Williams said.

“Despite the enormous amount of drilling completed to date, large sections of the King of the Hills orebody remain relatively undrilled, and we see outstanding potential to continue expanding the existing resource and reserve inventory to further extend the current mine life.”

These drilling results support the long-term growth potential for the mine, including possible extensions.

RED is preparing for further underground drilling to define extensions from the current mines and identify new mineralisation zones.

Red 5 shares were up 2.86 per cent, trading at 18 cents at 12:21 pm AEST.

Recruitment protocols include a thorough pre-treatment assessment process, including psychiatric evaluation, medical assessment, and psychological assessment.

Patients involved will receive treatment for nine months at the Clarion Clinic once the drugs receive final approval from authorised psychiatrists by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

The clincs aim to treat individuals suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and treatment-resistant depression.

The first clinic, located in Abbotsford Melbourne, is nearing completion.

“The recent guidance from the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists regarding PAT is part of the process toward the safe and effective provision of clinical psychedelic care to the many people who lack adequate treatment options for serious mental health conditions,” Clarion Director and Head of Psychiatry Professor Suresh Sundram said.

“The term ‘treatment-resistant’ has misleading connotations, implying that all avenues have been exhausted and that front-line treatments work well for everyone else,” Clarion Director and Chief Scientific Officer Paul Liknaitzky said.

“For people who have suffered with certain conditions that have not responded to available treatments, psychedelic-assisted therapies may provide substantial improvements to negative symptoms and quality of life.

“At Clarion Clinics, our aim is to achieve the best outcomes possible using psychedelic therapies, through tailored and extended protocols and a brilliant team.”

IHL shares were up 4.55 per cent, trading at 9.2 cents at 12:13 pm AEST.

On Thursday the US consumer price report is due for release, which’ll provide clues about the Federal Reserve’s thinking ahead of its next interest rates decision.

The NASDAQ and S&P 500 ended a four session losing streak – both adding nearly  a per cent.

The Dow Jones was the stand out, picking up more than a per cent.

Tesla was a drag after Elon Musk’s potential successor, Zachary Kirkhorn resigned as the chief financial officer after 13 years working for the company. 

Tesla lost a per cent overnight.

Back home and June’s monthly household spending indicator will be released this morning by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

This should provide insights into how interest rates are impacting households, what spending is driving inflation as well as what people are cutting back on.

The Aussie dollar was buying 65.7 US cents and 59.7 Euro cents. 

In commodities, Iron ore shed nearly two per cent over night, while Crude Oil fell around half a per cent, edging slightly over US$82 a barrel.

Gold also dipped marginally to around US$1936 an ounce as the mining community gets ready for Day two at Diggers and Dealers in Kalgoorlie.

I’m from the floor with Travis Beinke, CEO of Australian Rare Earths (AR3), and we have news out today from the company.

Travis, can you fill us in?

Travis Beinke:

Yeah, thanks.

Sonia, we’ve released today the last of our assay results from the recent drillingcampaign which was conducted from February through to June this year.

The results are promising.

It demonstrates that the mineralisation is consistent another six kilometres away from ourcurrent indicated resource and the last of those assays will inform a resourceand exploration target update a little later this year.

Sonia Madigan:

Now you’re not working in Western Australia unlike many of the people here at theconference today.

Where are you working? Can you tell us about the advantages, perhaps the disadvantages of working in South Australia?

Travis Benike:

Sure, no.

So yes, we’re in South Australia.

The project is down near Naracoorte in the southeast of South Australia.

South Australia is a great mining jurisdiction to be working in, the community down there has been very supportive in our work so far over the last couple of years as we’ve defined the current resource.

So we’ve got great access to infrastructure, roads, power, water, so you know there’sa lot of really good elements to the project that will hopefully support us in production.

Sonia Madigan:

So what would you hope to achieve by being here in Kalgoorlie for Diggers and Dealers?

Travis Beinke:

Yeah, it’s just a great opportunity to meet a lot of people and to bring them up to speedwith the projects.

I’m just looking forward, I’m only six weeks into the role here at Australian Rare Earths,so yeah, really a great opportunity for us to tell the story of where we’re at.