The Qmines Ltd (ASX: QML) share price is trading 14% up on the day and is now changing hands at 40 cents each.
Qmines shares entered a trading halt as of 11:30 am today, however were changing hands at 39 cents apiece prior to this.
Trading has since commenced after the company gave its reasoning for the halt, as is discussed below.
It's been an impressive week for Qmines, both on the company front and with its share price.
It has gained around 60% in the past 6 days of trade, well ahead of the S&P/ASX 200 index (ASX: XJO).
Let's uncover what's been driving the Qmines share price of late.
Image source: Getty Images
Quick rundown on Qmines
Qmines is on the quest to become Australia's first zero carbon producer of copper and gold.
The company made its debut on the ASX this year at 27 cents per share. Its share price then went absolutely bonkers afterwards, soaring 77% to 48 cents in a matter of weeks post-IPO.
Its flagship project up at the historic Mount Chalmers copper and gold mine has been in production on-and-off again since 1860, under a number of former operators.
At the time of writing, Qmines has a market capitalisation of almost $39 million.
What's fuelling the Qmines share price lately?
To set the scene here we have to take a walk back into last month, to where Qmines announced it had intersected new mineralisation at the Mount Chalmers site.
Prior to this, it had exchanged 2 separate contracts to acquire just over 40 acres of land right next to Mount Chalmers.
It will expand drilling there after historical soil sampling displayed signs of copper in the ground.
And this leads us back into the present day, where the QMines share price has jumped from a low of 29.5 cents on 22 September right up to today's market price, a 32% climb.
Stepping back and taking a look at the price of copper, we see it made a substantial leap on 21 September from US$4.0255/lbs to its recent high of US$4.308 per pound a week later.
It has since come back down some and now trades at US$4.207/lbs, still 4% above its August lows.
Qmines is an ASX resource share that produces copper, meaning it is considered a price taker. As such, its share price can and does fluctuate with volatility in the commodity markets.
Earlier today, reports highlighted that the Qmines' combined projects could have up to $1 billion worth of copper underneath them, at the current pricing.
However, QMines shares went into a trading halt earlier today as mentioned – and the reason was due to the company's "statement to the in-ground valuation as this is not permitted under the JORC code".
The company requested that the $1 billion valuation reference be removed from the article, which has been completed, as per the release.
Qmines also notes that "there is no reasonable basis for making these statements under the listing rules or JORC code" that governs these kinds of statements for public companies.
The company is adamant that investors "should not rely on the retracted information as a basis for an investment decision".
Nonetheless, the commentary suggests that Qmines feels it is sitting on a plethora of copper resources.
So putting it all together, if we add Qmines' recent activity at Mount Chalmers to the recent rally in copper prices, the story begins to unfold as to what's driving the Qmines share price lately.
Qmines share price snapshot
The Qmines share price has chugged along nicely this year, having gained 30% since its first listing in May. It's jumped a further 18% into the green this past month alone, helped by last week's 32% climb.
Each of these results has outpaced the broad index's return of approximately 15% this year to date.
