The share prices of Victory Goldfields Ltd (ASX: 1VG), ABX Group Ltd (ASX: ABX), and Gascoyne Resources Ltd (ASX: GCY) are all in the green today.

Let's take a look at what these explorers have discovered.

Gascoyne Resources

Gascoyne shares are soaring 15% today on the back of news from the company's Dalgaranga Gold Project in Western Australia.

Reverse Circulation drilling intercepted with thick, high-grade gold. This included 50 metres at 4.58 grams per tonne gold (g/t) from 191 metres including 24 metres at 7.3 g/t.

Managing director Simon Lawson said:

Wherever we drill to test the extends of this beast we hit more gold.

These outstanding new results clearly demonstrate that we are dealing with a wide, high-grade and potentially very large gold system at Never Never.

ABX Group

The ABx Group Ltd (ASX: ABX) share price is surging 16% today. The company announced a "major expansion" of a rare earth discovery at the Deep Leeds project in Tasmania.

Drilling assays showed the extent of rare earth elements mineralisation has expanded 230% to 4.01 square kilometres. The company has started working on a maiden REE resource estimate for the project.

Commenting on the results, CEO Dr Mark Cooksey said:

The southwest trending channel delineated by holes DL403, DL450 and DL453 has been extended 750m westwards by hole DL520 that intersected 5m thickness of ionic adsorption clay REE mineralisation averaging 2,170 ppm TREO from 3m dept.

Victory Goldfields

The Victory Goldfields share price has risen as high as 22% today. Investors are buying up the ASX mining share after drilling results showed widespread REE mineralisation. This is at the company's wholly-owned North Stanmore Project.

Results included:

• 4 metres at 2414 parts per million (ppm) Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO) from 28 metres
• 8 metres at 1876 ppm TREO from 24 metres
• 12 metres at 1319 ppm TREO from 24 metres.

Executive director Brendan Clark said:

Victory is very excited to confirm the significant extension of a high grade rare earth element mineralisation that now covers an area of about 1km.

The Victory Goldfields share price has since declined to be trading flat in late trading today.

The post 3 ASX mining shares leaping on mineral discoveries appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY)

Australian-based spodumene (lithium) miner Galaxy Resources is in a good position to benefit from the anticipated boom in lithium demand. With an already-established mine at Mt Cattlin currently producing spodumene, and guaranteed volume and price agreements with a Chinese buyer, Galaxy has ticked most of the boxes required to become financially stable. Improved recovery processes and a renegotiation of the current price agreement after 2017 see potential for both lower production costs and higher realised prices.

The downside is that it is very difficult to tell whether the forecast growth in demand for lithium will be enough to keep prices high, given the surge in supply that I can virtually guarantee is coming.

Equator Resources Ltd (ASX: EQU)

A high-risk, early-stage cobalt explorer in Canada, Equator's main drawcard is several promising silver-cobalt and nickel-cobalt prospects, as well as newly-appointed Chairman Paul Matysek, who has a track record of growing small miners. With a market capitalisation of just $50 million (including escrowed shares), Equator is reasonably priced if it is able to discover a meaningful amount of cobalt with decent prospects for extraction.

The downside is that the company has limited funds, and that some of its tenements have already been abandoned by previous silver miners. This could affect both the amount of cobalt available, as well as making it less likely that Equator can produce silver or nickel as a 'by-product', which would reduce the average cost of cobalt extraction.

Australian Bauxite Ltd (ASX: ABX)

Another high-risk prospect, my investment in Australian Bauxite ('ABX') is a cautionary tale for all get-rich-quick buyers of small miners should consider. This is a company that ticks many boxes, with high quality, low cost resources, adjacent rail and port facilities, fiscally prudent management, and a no-cost off-take partnership with a large-scale bauxite miner.

Yet in the ~2 years since I first recommended the company to readers, ABX has been unable to sell large quantities of bauxite due to several factors, including a glut in the metallurgical bauxite market. That could be about to change, with ABX currently stockpiling ore, and several customers in the concrete and fertiliser industries conducting trials with company bauxite. I remain confident in the company's prospects, but patience is the name of the game.

Foolish Takeaways

There are 5 things that all investors should keep in mind when buying speculative miners.

1) Most will be unprofitable (if not outright unsuccessful), especially in the early years.

2) Most will require additional capital (diluting shareholders), be bought out by larger miners, or be forced to strike unfavourable 'partnership' arrangements that can erode their potential. Alternatively, they'll wind down to nothing and then reinvent themselves as technology companies.

3) It can take a lot longer than you think to actually start mining minerals and making money.

4) Even with less transparent markets like bauxite, pricing is visible enough that times of high demand (read: high prices) spur huge increases in production from miners all around the world. Soon enough, supply catches up to demand and prices normalise – and the opportunity vanishes, especially if you paid a high price for shares.

5) As ever in the mining industry, long-term success will to go the most shrewdly operated player; those with the best resources and the lowest costs.

The post 3 speculative mining shares that could make you a fortune appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But how do Australian companies, big and small, stack up when it comes to communicating with ordinary shareholders? I recently emailed a number of Investor Relations ("IR") departments privately, in my role as an ordinary – or prospective – shareholder, and here's how they performed:

Australian Bauxite Ltd (ASX: ABX) – NAUGHTY

During a chance conversation with a chemical engineer in the fertiliser industry the engineer told me he'd never even heard of bauxite being used in fertiliser and nor could I find information about it on the web. ABX doesn't have an investor relations email listed, so I emailed their corporate email over a month ago. Since this is an important prospective sales channel for ABX, I contacted them to ask about it, but have not received a reply.

A2 Milk Company Ltd (Australia) (ASX: A2M) – NAUGHTY

A2 doesn't have an investor relations email listed on their website, so I submitted a general query via a website form. I received a reply informing me that my query had been transferred to someone who was better equipped to answer my questions. It's been 3 weeks since then and I'm no closer to learning about the quality of the company's oversight of its contractors and their behaviour.

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) – VERY NICE

CSL's investor relations impressed me, and were a definite standout even among the generally high standard of replies I received. In addition to answering a number of questions about competition and potential future uses for certain treatments, the person who responded to my email also quoted the Chief Science Officer's answers to analyst questions at the recent Annual General Meeting.

Insurance Australia Group Ltd (ASX: IAG) – NICE

I had a number of technical questions for IAG about the way that rising interest rates would affect the value of the company's bond investments and similar. The answer I received was technical, yet phrased in a simple and clear manner, which resolved my queries instantly.

Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX: SRX) – NICE

I contacted Sirtex with a number of questions about the way they calculate market share, and a breakdown of the way their doses were sold. Despite (I imagine) being very busy in the wake of their recent downgrade, I received a quality response to my questions later the same afternoon. That said, Sirtex has faced criticism from some in the market over the questionable content of its updates recently, so investors may want to consider multiple views on the topic.

Tower Limited (Australia) (ASX: TWR) – REASONABLY NICE

I emailed Tower with a number of questions about their IT systems and the structure of the business that I needed to clarify before making an investment. I didn't receive a response for just over two weeks – it seems the Investor Relations person was on holidays. Yet when they did reply the response was comprehensive and informative.

Yowie Group Ltd (ASX: YOW) – NAUGHTY

I've contacted Yowie four or five times via email with a number of questions regarding their plans for international expansion, among other things, and didn't receive a reply. After the second failed attempt, I sent a third email briefly asking 'are you alive?' or similar, and received a response very quickly. Yet subsequent emails with my full list of questions have either been ignored or lost in the ether.

Foolish Takeaway

Bigger companies handle more queries, receive much more pressure to answer questions, and generally have much more experience with IR. However, small companies are often eager for the publicity and generally happy to answer questions for smaller shareholders as well.

Readers who are considering contacting management should first try to read all of a company's presentations and reports from the past 12 months at least – you don't want to be fobbed off as an amateur. Yet equally, don't be ashamed to ask questions about things you don't understand. One of the best ways to improve your understanding of a company is to reach out to their Investor Relations people. They can't give you material information that isn't otherwise available to other shareholders, but they can clarify concerns or point you in the right direction for your analysis.

The post Naughty or Nice: How does your company treat shareholders? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

" Feasibility studies are progressing as planned for the South of Embley bauxite project, a 22.8 Mt/a (Mt/a = Million tonnes per annum), tier one investment opportunity in Cape York, Queensland, with mining costs expected to be in the first quartile. Required regulatory permits are in place and the project is expected to be presented to the board for final approval by the end of 2015" (emphasis added).

Readers may have seen articles in Fairfax media and on popular brokerage websites referencing the potential expansion opportunity, which looks extremely attractive for Rio.

'First quartile' costs means that the project is expected to be in the cheapest 25% of all bauxite produced globally, in line with a number of other low-cost Rio assets. Rio shareholders can expect to benefit in two ways, both from higher third-party bauxite sales, as well as ongoing low cost material for the company's Gove alumina* smelter.

*Bauxite is the main ingredient in alumina, which is the main ingredient in aluminium

The news has potential fallout for a number of other companies however, mostly junior start-ups like Bauxite Resources Limited (ASX: BAU) and Metro Mining Ltd (ASX: MMI), both of which have sizeable bauxite tenements.

One major uncertainty however, is whether the Rio expansion is targeting high-temperature (poorer quality) or low temperature 'Gibbsitic' (good quality) bauxite. I have not yet been able to verify which is the case, but adjacent projects such as 'Metro Mining' Bauxite Hills contain low-temperature bauxite.

A low-temperature bauxite expansion of that magnitude would put significant pressure on both Metro Mining and Australian Bauxite Ltd (ASX: ABX), which recently commenced exporting gibbsitic bauxite from its Tasmanian mine.

There is significant uncertainty over a number of factors, such as how long the Rio project will take to develop, and whether its bauxite will compete directly with other Australian bauxite producers or whether it is intended primarily for the Gove Alumina refineries. It's also possible, given the contractual nature of the bauxite market, that first movers can lock in a better deal.

Whatever the case may be, this is a development that is good news for Rio Tinto, and bears closer watching by bauxite shareholders.

The post What does Rio Tinto Limited's bauxite expansion mean for shareholders? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time, I liked the high quality of its tenements, its nearness to production, the attitude of management, and the macro factors working in favour of bauxite miners. At the same time I was also cognisant of the risks, some of which, e.g. increased supply in other nations and a decline in aluminium prices, have come to pass.

In return for funding the development of its mine, Australian Bauxite formed an agreement with Noble Resources that saw Noble lend it the money in return for the rights to buy and distribute ABX's bauxite.

I felt that the agreement was unfavourable and that ABX was disadvantaged in negotiations by its status as a speculative explorer.

However, as it turns out, Australian Bauxite announced this morning that "as a result of successful fundraising in November 2014 and as a result of capital costs coming in 45% below budget, ABX has raised sufficient funds to obviate the need to draw down funds under the proposed Loan Facility and the Term Sheets came to an end on 30 June 2015."

'Term Sheets' are a set of broad agreements that guide two parties' interactions while they finalise a binding agreement. As I understand ABX's announcement, due to an inability to finalise a mutually-agreeable arrangement and as a result of being able to fund development itself, ABX has decided to go it alone.

This decision is supported by the establishment of a long-term off-take agreement (also announced today) that will see ABX send its first shipment of bauxite into China later this quarter.

While the details of the agreement and the off-take partner are withheld as 'commercial-in-confidence', the arrangement is a step towards vindicating the initial confidence I felt in Australian Bauxite.

Bauxite sales at today's prices should see the company making decent margins and I continue to hold my shares in the belief that the company will reward shareholders well over the next few years.

The post Why speculative miner Australian Bauxite Ltd soared 10% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

It's true that I'm strongly contemplating a purchase in Woolworths at today's prices, but there are a number of small-cap stocks that I'm relying on to drive my portfolio into the future as well.

The first one is Yellow Brick Road Holdings Ltd (ASX: YBR), an emerging non-bank lender and wealth management specialist headed up by Mark Bouris. Part-owned by Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), Yellow Brick Road has experienced rapid revenue growth thanks to acquisitions and growing market awareness of its offering.

Back in January I wrote that the company posted its first ever operating cash surplus, which could be a step on the road to legitimate profitability either later this year or in 2016. Yellow Brick Road also boasts a growing suite of high-quality financial products that have delivered above-benchmark results to customers so far.

As the company continues its journey to become a fully-fledged financial services provider, I believe investors can expect strong performance in coming years, and recent weakness in the share price is tempting me to add to my holdings.

Lifehealthcare Group Ltd (ASX: LHC) is a small-cap company enjoying a period of strong performance recently. After a lacklustre Initial Public Offering (IPO) launch, shares began soaring after full-year results came in ahead of expectations.

A recent acquisition at an attractive valuation has further supported the share price, and provides a high likelihood of the company continuing to grow profits in 2016. Investment bank UBS has placed a $3.70 price target on the stock, and while I believe it will get there sooner rather than later, I'm not sure that shares are an appealing prospect at current prices.

Finally Australian Bauxite Ltd (ASX: ABX) is a junior bauxite miner that sits just above the line separating 'small cap' from 'micro-cap' stocks. I initially identified ABX as an appealing speculative buy back in September 2014, and so far the stock has performed as expected; successfully gathering funds and commencing production in Tasmania.

With 119 million tonnes of Direct Shipping Ore identified for mining so far, Australian Bauxite has many years of production ahead and ample opportunity to add mine sites and ramp up production (which it is doing already).

Successful exploration shows the company can continue to upgrade its resources, while extensive tenements that are unencumbered with environmental, cultural or other concerns help to simplify operations, reduce costs, and provide plenty of room for future expansion.

I'd happily buy shares in Australian Bauxite and Yellow Brick Road at today's prices. However, since I already own shares in all three small-caps, I'm casting my net a little wider.

The post 3 small-cap stocks I'm counting on to grow my portfolio appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.