Daily Special: Terrain Minerals, 5E Advanced Materials, Anson Resources

Australian shares are lower at midday, with the S&P/ASX 200 down 0.3% to 8,643.9 at 12:34pm AEST, extending losses for a fourth straight session as weakness in the banking sector offsets strong gains in mining stocks. Investors are also digesting the federal budget, which included changes to capital gains tax treatment and negative gearing rules that are expected to weigh on housing and credit growth. Financials are the weakest sector, with Commonwealth Bank tumbling after reporting quarterly earnings below expectations due to a larger-than-expected bad debt charge, while ANZ, NAB and Westpac also trade lower. Materials are leading gains for a second consecutive session as copper prices surge to record highs above US$14,000 a tonne, lifting BHP to another all-time high alongside gains in Rio Tinto and South32. Consumer discretionary stocks are also firmer after Aristocrat reported stronger first-half profit growth and expanded its share buyback program. In healthcare, CSL steadied after recent heavy losses, while Healius slumped after downgrading earnings guidance and warning of pressure from rising labour costs and pathology funding changes announced in the federal budget.

In other company news

Terrain Minerals (ASX: TMX) commenced one of its largest induced polarisation surveys at the Smokebush Gold and Silver Project in Western Australia, targeting potential repeat Lightning-style gold structures within previously untested ground. The survey covers a broader structural corridor near the company’s Lightning discovery and the historic Black Dog gold mine. The company said the program builds on the success of earlier IP surveys that identified the Lightning and Wildflower chargeability anomalies. Terrain expects Wildflower drilling assays shortly, while a maiden Mineral Resource Estimate for the Lightning project is scheduled for July 2026 alongside new drill target generation from the latest survey work.

5E Advanced Materials (ASX: 5EA) signed its first offtake heads of agreement with a domestic industrial customer, marking a key commercial milestone for the Fort Cady Project in California. The proposed 10-year agreement supports the company’s strategy to become a vertically integrated US supplier of boric acid and advanced boron materials for energy, industrial and defence markets. The company also reported progress across several high-value boron product initiatives, including development of a new meta boric acid product and initial testing for magnet-grade ferroboron used in specialty steel and permanent magnets. 5E said customer engagement had accelerated following a recent roadshow, with additional offtake discussions underway as it advances financing readiness for the Fort Cady Project.

Anson Resources (ASX: ASN) upgraded the JORC Mineral Resource estimate at its Green River Lithium Project in Utah by 650%, increasing total contained lithium carbonate equivalent to 773,000 tonnes. The updated estimate includes an Indicated Resource of 183,000 tonnes LCE and an Inferred Resource of 590,000 tonnes LCE.The resource upgrade followed new drilling data and expanded project coverage across the Mississippian Leadville Limestone aquifer system. Anson said further upside remains through additional mineral rights applications and highlighted strong brine pressure, porosity and lithium concentrations across the project area as it advances development studies for the Green River project.