The All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is down 1.7% in late morning trade today, but that's not holding back this surging ASX gold stock.
The fast-rising miner in question is Felix Gold Ltd (ASX: FXG).
Felix Gold shares closed on Friday trading for 23 cents. In earlier trade on Monday, shares leapt to 28 cents each, up 21.7%. After some likely profit-taking, shares are changing hands for 26 cents apiece at the time of writing, up 13% in Monday's sinking market.
The ASX gold stock is not outperforming because of any positive reversal in the downward-trending gold price. The yellow metal is currently fetching US$4,416 per ounce. That sees the gold price down 1.7% overnight and down 17% so far in March.
Indeed, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) is down a sharp 6.9% today.
Here's why Felix Gold shares are heading the other way.
Image source: Getty Images
ASX gold stock leaps on US permit approval
The Felix Gold share price is surging today after the company announced a key regulatory approval.
The ASX gold stock said it has received approval from the Alaska Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for a bulk sampling trench and related handling of approximately 1,450 tonnes of antimony ore at its Treasure Creek Antimony Project.
Antimony, if you're not familiar, is often used in batteries and to strengthen other metals, including lead. The United States currently has no secure domestic antimony supply.
The miner said the DNR permit supports plans for near-term production (subject to further technical, regulatory, and commercial evaluation) by providing meaningful feedstock for advancing toll treatment options and defining US smelter development solutions.
The permit is valid through to the end of calendar year 2029.
Felix Gold said it has commenced mobilising equipment and crew. It expects operations to start in the coming weeks.
What did management say?
Commenting on the Alaskan permit approval sending the ASX gold stock surging today, Felix Gold executive director Joseph Webb said, "This is not a typical development story. We have one of the highest-grade antimony systems publicly reported in the Western world."
He noted that the antimony system is at surface, clean, and now permitted for extraction.
Webb added:
That combination is extremely rare – and it fundamentally changes the timeline. Most projects spend years studying production scenarios. With this bulk sample permit, we are now in a position to commence extracting meaningful quantities of ore and demonstrate a pathway to production…
In approving our bulk sample permit, the Alaska Department of Natural Resources acknowledged the strategic importance of domestic antimony supply, noting the absence of a primary US antimony mine since 2001, the country's reliance on imports – predominantly from China – and renewed federal efforts to secure non-Chinese sources for the US defence industrial base.
