The Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) share price is on fire today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) lithium miner and diversified resources producer closed yesterday trading for $36.08. In morning trade on Thursday, shares are swapping hands for $41.70 apiece, up 15.6%.
For some context, the ASX 200 is up 0.1% at this same time.
Here's what's got investors excited.
(And no, it has nothing to do with the historic tax dodge allegations involving Mineral Resources founder and CEO Chris Ellison. The board will report its conclusions on that matter this coming Monday.)
Mineral Resources share price soars on asset sale
Investors are bidding up the Mineral Resources share price today after the company reported it has agreed to sell its two oil and gas exploration permits in the Perth Basin to Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting.
Hancock will pay the ASX 200 miner a total cash consideration of up to $1.13 billion.
The companies will also enter two joint venture agreements over Mineral Resources' remaining onshore Perth Basin and Carnarvon Basin exploration acreage.
Commenting on the asset sale that looks to be boosting the Mineral Resources share price today, chief executive of energy Darren Hardy said:
This transaction maximises the value of our exploration success for shareholders and again showcases our ability to unlock significant capital from MinRes' portfolio of assets.
The new exploration joint ventures with Hancock in the Perth and Carnarvon basins immediately derisk and accelerate our future exploration programs across this highly prospective onshore petroleum acreage.
The ASX 200 miner also released its quarterly update today.
What's been happening in the September quarter?
The Mineral Resources share price is also being impacted by its recent activities results.
For the three months to 30 September (Q1 FY 2025), Mineral Resources reported it had maintained volume and cost guidance across all of its operations. The miner expects higher costs in the first half.
In its cost-cutting efforts, Mineral Resources has been slashing its workforce. Over the quarter, it reported a reduction of 570 roles across its head office and various sites.
Among the bigger news of the quarter offering support for the Mineral Resources share price was the sale of the miner's 49% interest in the Onslow Iron Haul Road to Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners for up to $1.3 billion.
On the operational front, the company's mining services segment achieved an 11% quarter on quarter increase in production volumes to 68 million tonnes (Mt).
In iron ore, Mineral Resources shipped 4.5 million wet metric tonnes at an average realised price of US$82 per dry metric tonne (dmt), a 15% decrease from last quarter.
Management noted the lithium division is "focused on transitioning to lower-volume, higher-quality production to meet current market conditions".
Total lithium production came in at 157,000 dmt, with shipments of 178k dmt. The weighted average quarterly realised price was US$815/dmt, a decrease of 32% from the prior quarter.
As for its energy segment, the ASX 200 miner announced a maiden resource for its Lockyer Gas Project and Erregulla Oil Project during the quarter.
With today's intraday gains factored in, the Mineral Resources share price is down 29% in 12 months.
