CAPITAL MARKETS

Miners hammered in a red session

RESOURCE companies were hit hard today as Australian investors reacted to the High Court upholdin...

Justin Niessner

The S&P/ASX 200 fell some 20 points within the first half hour of trading before beginning a steady decline to a close 1.8% lower than yesterday at 5011 points.

Basic materials was the worst performing sector, down 2.4% as the major miners set the pace for retreat.

BHP Billiton fell 2.1% to $A34.88 and Rio Tinto lost 2.2% to close at $58.57.

Analysts have connected Australian jitters to growing speculation the US Federal Reserve will cut its stimulus measures and the effect it is having on commodity prices.

“The market’s still fretting about what the Fed’s going to do with [quantitative easing],” Fat Prophets resource analyst David Lennox told Bloomberg.

“We’re starting to hear a crescendo of comments from officials.”

Spot gold reached its lowest level in two weeks today at $US1273.55. It was last trading at $1283.68.

Gold companies struggled, with Newcrest Mining losing 4.2% to $A11.28 and Beadell Resources closing 7.1% lower at 65c.

Yellow metal juniors posting notable losses also included Alloy Resources (down 25% at 0.6c), Arc Exploration (down 25% at 0.3c) and Excelsior Gold (down 20.9% at 8.7c).

Trading also coincided with a High Court dismissal of Fortescue Metals Group’s challenge against the Minerals Resource Rent Tax.

FMG investors responded by leaving the miner 4.8% down at $3.74 in a widespread sell-off among iron ore companies.

Ironclad Mining was among the hardest hit, down 17.9% to 11.5c, followed by significant losses by Centrex Metals, Atlas Iron and Mount Gibson Iron.

Precious metal and uranium explorer Marmota Energy, meanwhile, stood out with a 17.4% slide after it reported nickel grades as high as 1.4% at its Durkin prospect in South Australia.

TOPICS:

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining News Intelligence team.

A growing series of reports, each focused on a key discussion point for the mining sector, brought to you by the Mining News Intelligence team.

MiningNews.net Research Report 2025

The MNN Research Report 2025 provides insights into critical mining themes in Australia/Oceania, including top projects, C-suite priorities, risk, ESG performance and investor sentiment.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence: Investor Sentiment Report 2025

Exclusive insights into the plans, priorities and preferences of 130+ mining investors and top factors influencing investment decisions in 2025.

editions

Mining Journal Intelligence World Risk Report 2024 (feat. MineHutte ratings)

A detailed analysis of mining investment risks across 117 jurisdictions globally, assessed across six risk categories and an industrywide survey.

editions

Mining Company ESG Index: Benchmarking the Future of Sustainable Mining

The Mining Company ESG Index report provides an in-depth evaluation of ESG performance of 61 of the world's largest mining companies. Using a robust framework, it assesses each company across 9 meticulously weighted indicators within 6 essential pillars.