BCI Minerals shares closed up 1.3% yesterday, trading for 38.5 cents each, giving the company a market cap of $1.1 billion.

That sees shares in the ASX miner, which is primarily focused on producing potash and salt, up 42.6% year to date. To put those gains in some context, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 4.9% over this same period.

And according to wealth manager Euroz Hartleys, which has as speculative buy rating on the ASX All Ords share, the stock is well-placed to deliver more outperformance in the year ahead.

If you're not familiar with BCI Minerals, the miner owns the Mardie Salt Project, located in Western Australia. The project spans around 115 kilometres on the Pilbara coast. It will the third largest salt project in the world on completion, and the largest in Australia.

The company is targeting its first salt shipment in the fourth quarter of calendar year 2026.

Should you buy the surging ASX All Ords share today?

BCI reported its first quarter (Q1 FY 2026) results on 23 October.

Commenting on those results, which saw the ASX All Ords share close up 2.7% on the day, BCI Minerals managing director David Boshoff said, "During the September quarter, we delivered strong operational performance and solid construction momentum at Mardie, with all ponds approaching capacity."

He added, "We embedded new technology on site, providing valuable data in real time, allowing us to monitor operations and better plan for the future."

Euroz Hartleys was also pleased with the results.

The wealth manager noted, "Salt development construction now 74% complete, with total expenditure of $1,221m to date. On track for First Salt on Ship (FSOS) milestone end-CY26."

On the cost front, Euroz Hartleys said, "Importantly BCI outlines remaining estimated construction cost at $441 million, covered comfortably by available funding of $676 million."

And Euroz Hartleys expects BCI will be able to achieve higher future prices for its salt exports.

According to the wealth manager:

Salt import pricing (CFR: US$50/t to Asia ex-China, US$48/t to China) through the Jun'Q remained robust, although slight decrease QoQ (~-5%) due to lower freight costs (to Indonesia from Australia) and lower quality product (to China from India) impacting average prices. We assume LT US$60/t CFR with US$11.2/t freight costs

Connecting the dots, Euroz Hartleys said, "BCI is at an attractive entry point just over 12 months out from first salt sales, with the major development executing nicely, on track of timing schedule and budget."

The wealth manager has a price target of 47 cents on the ASX All Ords share. That's more than 22% above Thursday's closing price.

The post Why this buy rated $1 billion ASX All Ords share is tipped to leap 22% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Then you might want to look into ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) listed BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI).

That's according to wealth manager Euroz Hartleys, which recently initiated BCI with a speculative buy rating.

The ASX All Ords mining stock is primarily focused on producing potash and salt.

The company's flagship asset is its 100%-owned Mardie Salt Project, located in Western Australia. The Mardie project covers some 115 kilometres on the Pilbara coast. On completion, it will be the third-largest solar salt project in the world.

Euroz Hartleys points out that the project is globally significant, fully permitted, with a 60-plus year 5.35 million tonne per year production profile.

How has the ASX All Ords mining stock been tracking?

The BCI share price is down 1.4% in early afternoon trade today, with shares changing hands for 34.5 cents apiece.

That sees shares in the ASX All Ords mining stock up 27.8% year to date. ASX investors have sent the BCI share price up 56.8% since the recent 10 April lows.

And Euroz Hartleys foresees some significant outperformance on the horizon, atop some potential future dividend payouts.

The wealth manager has a price target of 44.0 cents on BCI shares. That's more than 27% above current levels

Why BCI shares could keep charging higher

Commenting on the first reason to buy the ASX All Ords mining stock, Euroz Hartleys analyst Declan Bonnick said:

We believe BCI is at a key inflection point in its development. Construction is >60% complete, fully funded to first salt, and fully permitted post receipt of final Commonwealth approvals in April 2025, with first salt on track for end-CY 2026.

And the wealth manager expects BCI to offer investors long-term returns.

"Given the unlimited reserves life (seawater) and uniqueness as a resources project without orebody risk, once operational we view Mardie as a low risk, annuity-like cash generator," Bonnick said.

He added that strong market dynamics, driven by southeast Asian industrialisation, should support long-term salt prices.

Digging into the financials, Euroz Hartleys said it forecasts the ASX All Ords mining stock will deliver $250 million earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) and $190 million in free cash flow (FCF) generation per year. That's on its base case of US$60 per tonne LT salt pricing.

The wealth manager added, "We view it likely the company integrates a shareholder return/dividend payout policy once operational, providing a foundation for strong long-term returns."

As for the third reason this mining stock is a buy, BCI could boost its earnings outside of its pending salt production.

Bonnick noted:

Upside exists through the planned production of sulphate of potash (SOP), a by-product of salt via low-risk flowsheet additions. SOP integration could lift EBITDA to ~$320m and FCF to ~$240m.

A final investment decision on SOP production is targeted for CY 2026, following completion of FEED studies.

And the fourth reason Euroz Hartleys is bullish on the ASX All Ords mining stock is its quality management, which it noted is "backed by a high-quality, long-term shareholder base including Wroxby (Kerry Stokes, 36%), Australian Super (32%), and Ryder Capital (10%)."

The post 4 reasons to buy this surging ASX All Ords mining stock today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

One miner is seeing its share price slipping while the other two are marching higher after releasing their quarterly updates this morning.

Which All Ords mining shares are we talking about?

Read on!

ASX All Ords mining share slips on sales slowdown

The Grange Resources Ltd (ASX: GRR) share price is down 1.4% currently, with shares swapping hands for 34.5 cents apiece. That sees the Grange Resources share price down a painful 32% so far in 2024.

Grange Resources operates an iron ore mining and pellet production business.

Investors are bidding down the All Ords mining share today after the company reported a 14% quarter on quarter decrease in pellet sales. Pellet sales came in at 483,000 tonnes, with adverse weather delaying two shipments at the end of June into early July.

The miner reported cash and liquid investments of $289.6 million and trade payable of $5.4 million, compared with cash and liquid investments of $272.0 million and trade receivable of $30.4 million for the March quarter.

On the plus side of the ledger, concentrate production increased 15% from the prior quarter to 675,000 tonnes. This helped drive a 10% decrease in unit cash operating costs.

Which brings us to…

Two ASX miners gaining on results

The first ASX All Ords mining share moving higher following its results is Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX: ILU). The Iluka Resources share price is up 2.0% at $6.28. That leaves the Iluka share price down 5% in 2024.

Investors are bidding up the global mineral sand and critical minerals miner after the company reported on ongoing successful progress with its major projects. This includes Eneabba, in Western Australia, where Iluka is building Australia's first fully integrated refinery for the production of separated rare earth oxides.

The miner will also be catching some tailwinds today with its Zircon sand sales increasing 23% quarter on quarter to 59,000 tonnes. Management noted that the increase came following a "relatively strong first quarter" for Zircon sales.

Which brings us to the third ASX All Ords mining share making a big move following its quarterly update, BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI). The miner is primarily focused on producing potash and salt.

In earlier trade today, the BCI Minerals share price was up 8.3%. After some likely profit-taking, shares are currently changing hands for 25 cents apiece, up 4.2%. That leaves the BCI Minerals share price down 11% so far in 2024.

The All Ords Mining share is enjoying a strong run today after reporting on the progress at its Mardie Salt & Potash Project in Western Australia. The miner said that the salt first component of the project was 44% complete at the end of June. BCI is targeting its first salt on ship in Q2 FY 2027.

The quarter also saw the All Ords Mining share sign a $598 million transhipment services agreement with CSL Australia Pty Ltd for a term of 21 years.

"BCI Minerals has made solid progress this quarter in infrastructure construction, regulatory approvals, and community engagement. These milestones underscore our dedication to progressing the Mardie Project," BCI managing director David Boshoff said.

The post 3 ASX All Ords mining shares on the move following quarterly updates appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are climbing more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are rising:

BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI)

The BCI Minerals share price is up 4.5% to 22.5 cents. This morning, this mineral resources company announced the execution of a term sheet with Itochu for the supply of high-purity salt from the Mardie Project. Itochu is one of Japan's largest trading and investment companies.

Collins Foods Ltd (ASX: CKF)

The Collins Foods share price is up almost 17% to $9.17. This follows the release of the KFC restaurant operator's full-year results. Collins Foods reported a 14.2% jump in revenue to $1,349.5 million and an underlying net profit after tax of $51.9 million. While the latter was down 12% year on year, it was ahead of expectations.

DEXUS Property Group (ASX: DXS)

The DEXUS share price is up 3% to $7.86. This is despite there being no news out of the property company on Tuesday. However, it is worth noting that most property shares are rising this afternoon. This has led to the S&P/ASX 200 Real Estate index climbing a sizeable 2.2% at the time of writing.

Sonic Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SHL)

The Sonic Healthcare share price is up 2.5% to $35.61. This follows news that the healthcare company has made an acquisition in Switzerland. Sonic is acquiring the Swiss laboratory network of SYNLAB Group for ~A$250 million. In other news, Ord Minnett upgraded the company's shares to a hold rating from lighten this morning.

The post Why BCI Minerals, Collins Foods, Dexus, and Sonic shares are rising today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Right now, the All Ordinaries is down 0.61% following a rough night on Wall Street.

Major New York indices tumbled overnight amid concerns about further rate hikes. The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) fell 2.25%, the S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) plunged 2.5%, and the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) plummeted 3.2%.  

Fortunately for ASX fans, there are plenty of pockets of green on the Aussie bourse today.

We've rounded up three that are positively outperforming – beating the index by as much as 4.6%.

3 ASX All Ordinaries shares taking off today

The All Ordinaries is tumbling today, but its downturn hasn't upset the Catapult Group International Ltd (ASX: CAT) share price.

The sports analytics technology company's stock is leaping 2.7% to trade at 76 cents at the time of writing.

It's the second day in a row the stock has posted a notable gain. It lifted 4.2% in Thursday's session. There's been no news from the company since November.

Meanwhile, the 4.03% gain posted by the Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ) share price is easier to explain. The All Ordinaries company announced it's found a buyer for its East Cost Rail business – and it's expecting to walk away with $425 million cash.

The sale of the business was a condition imposed by the competition watchdog on Aurizon's acquisition of One Rail Australia earlier this year.

Right now, the Aurizon share price is $3.87.

Finally, the share price of All Ordinaries mineral developer BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI) is outperforming the broader market, gaining 1.92% to trade at 26.5 cents.

Like Catapult before it, there's been no news from the stock to explain its Friday rise.

However, it's worth mentioning the minerals share has been relatively volatile lately. It gained on Monday and Wednesday this week and posted falls on Tuesday and Thursday.

The post 3 ASX All Ordinaries shares smashing the market on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Most of the sector indices finished in the green today, although the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) was the worst performer, closing 0.39% lower.

The top indices were the S&P/ASX 200 Telecommunication Services Index (ASX: XTJ), which gained 0.81%, and the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ), closing 88% higher.

Let's discover which ASX All Ords thrashed these mediocre results by the market on Friday.

Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU)

The Arafura share price closed 13.58% higher to 46 cents apiece.

There's no fresh news to explain why Arafura's share price rallied strongly today.

However, its shares have been on a bull run since Wednesday, when they gained 17.14% in a single trading session. The momentum from this massive green candle may have carried over into the price action today.

Arafura's rally this week follows the mineral explorer's announcement on Tuesday that it had received approval for its mining management plan to get its Nolans project off the ground in the Northern Territory.

The agreement authorises Arafura to legally operate its Nolans project with the end goal of producing rare earth elements (REE) neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr).

Audio Pixels Holdings Ltd (ASX: AKP)

The Audio Pixels share price also had a great run, surging 9.65% to close at $12.50 on Friday.

Like Arafura, Audio Pixels also had no announcements to report on today.

In fact, its most recent update came on 28 October when it posted its quarterly activities and cash flow report.

The digital speaker developer advised it used $1.23 million in operating activities for the reported period and $3.69 million over the last nine months.

Taking into account its cash balance and cash burn rate, Audio Pixels has an estimated 1.6 quarters of funding available.

One highlight of Audio Pixel's operations is that it's working towards making its product suitable for mass production.

BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI)

And finally, the BCI Minerals share price rocketed on Friday. It gained a hefty 10.6% to 26 cents per share.

Again, like the other shares on this list, the company had no news to report today, despite its share price surging into the green.

BCI Mineral's most recent announcement was posted on 28 October in the form of its September 2022 quarterly report.

The company reported its Iron Valley mine contributed $3.5 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) during the reported period.

It also finished the quarter with a strong balance sheet. BCI Minerals said it has no debt on its books but has $188 million in cash.

This balance sheet, alongside $100 million in convertible notes, will mean BCI Minerals will not need to take on additional debt to fund its construction projects for its Iron Valley mine.

The post 3 ASX All Ords shares that had a cracking run on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are falling more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are dropping:

Andromeda Metals Ltd (ASX: ADN)

The Andromeda Metals share price has continued to sink and is down a further 15% to 9.8 cents. Investors have been selling this kaolin explorer's shares this week following the release of a bitterly disappointing definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the Great White Kaolin Project in South Australia. Management revealed an internal rate of return (IRR) of 36% and a 5.9 years payback, which compares unfavourably to previous estimates of 175% and 15 months, respectively.

ARB Corporation Limited (ASX: ARB)

The ARB share price is down 5% to $39.39. Part of this decline is attributable to the 4×4 parts manufacturer's shares trading ex-dividend this morning for its interim dividend. Eligible shareholders can now look forward to receiving this fully franked 39 cents per share dividend later this month on 22 April.

BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI)

The BCI Minerals share price is down 7% to 44.2 cents. This follows the release of an update on its Mardie project this morning. Comments around costs appear to have spooked investors. Management commented: "Cost pressures are evident across the mining and construction sectors in Western Australia. We are closely monitoring and managing our contracts and are reviewing the inflationary impact on the total Mardie capital cost."

WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)

The WiseTech share price is down 6% to $49.59. This appears to have been driven by weakness in the tech sector today following another very poor night of trade on the Nasdaq index on Wall Street. It isn't just WiseTech that is tumbling today. At the time of writing, the S&P ASX All Technology index is down 3.1%.

The post Why Andromeda Metals, ARB, BCI Minerals, and WiseTech shares are tumbling lower appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At market close, BCI Minerals finished the day trading for 44 cents, up 2.33%.

BCI Minerals share price lifts on strong growth across the board

The BCI Minerals share price is bucking yesterday's heavy 15.69% fall to push higher today. For the 12-month period ending 30 June 2021, the company delivered strong earnings. Here are some of the key numbers.

• Total revenue increased 108% to $160.5 million (FY20 $77.2 million);
• Earnings before interest, tax depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rocketed 248% to $28.9 million (FY20 $8.3 million);
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) exploded 5,400% to $22 million (FY20 $0.4 million); and
• No final dividend declared for the full-year.

What happened in FY21 for BCI Minerals?

During the financial year, BCI Minerals focused on completing the Optimised Feasibility Study (OFS) and progressing funding, approvals, tenure and offtake aspects for the Mardie Project.

In addition, the company conducted de-risking activities during the optimisation phase to increase confidence in Mardie estimates and value potential. This included geotechnical work, flowsheet and equipment design, process piloting and progress with funding.

The optimisation results confirmed Mardie can become a Tier 1 asset with a minimum life of 60 years.

In December, the Federal Government's Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) approved a 15-year $450 million loan for the Mardie Project. The NAIF loan is expected to sit alongside other debt tranches. A number of commercial banks and other lenders are working through credit approval processes.

Engagement with potential buyers of Mardie's salt and sulphate of potash (SOP) products continued over the course of the year. Two additional non-binding Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) were signed with Chinese chemical companies for up to 0.5 million tonnes per annum of salt. This brings currently 16 MOUs in place, covering 100% of 3-year salt production and 80% of 3-year SOP production.

What's the outlook for BCI Minerals?

Looking ahead, BCI Minerals advised it is in a strong capital position to advance the Mardie Project to Final Investment Decision (FID) later this year.

The company has a cash balance of $110 million, with nil debt and ongoing Iron Valley royalty earnings.

In the interim, the company plans to continue investing its cash reserves in developing the Mardie Project. Construction of embankment trial walls is currently underway.

BCI Minerals plans to secure any remaining approvals, tenure, as well as $1.2 billion in funding for the Mardie Project. If successful, this will allow the main construction of the site to commence in early 2022.

The post BCI Minerals (ASX:BCI) share price advances following 108% increase on revenue appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

While the BHP share price is up a solid 15% year to date, these smaller players have delivered even better year-to-date returns against their large-cap peer. 

Mining shares beating the BHP share price this year

Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) 

Champion Iron is a $3.7 billion market cap explorer and development company with major projects in southern Labrador Trough, Canada's largest iron ore producing region.

The company is highly profitable, generating earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $598.5 million in the last 12-months.

Champion's profitability is underpinned by its high-grade 66.3% Fe iron ore and ongoing phase II construction which is expected to double production in the short-medium term. The company believes the completion of phase II will position it as one of the largest high-grade iron ore producers in the world. 

The Champion Iron share price is up almost 50% year to date, far outpacing the returns of the BHP share price. 

Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) 

Mineral Resources is a diversified mining services provider, iron and lithium producer and a major holder of highly prospective gas permits. 

The company's recent financial performance has been driven by its record iron ore production, taking advantage of today's sky-high prices.

Over the next five years, Mineral Resources is eyeing a number of revenue-growth initiatives. These include plans to double revenue from its mining services and ramp up iron ore production from 20Mtpa to 90Mtpa. Mining services currently accounts for approximately one-third of the company's overall revenues.

The Mineral Resources share price has more than doubled in the last 12-months and has climbed by around 20% year to date. The company's strong cash flow translated into a 355% increase on 1H20 dividends to $1.00 per share. This compares to the $1.311 interim dividend paid out by BHP shares. 

BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI)

BCI Minerals is a much smaller company, boasting a market cap of just ~$260 million. The company's main iron ore asset is its Iron Valley Mine which is mined under royalty payments from Mineral Resources. The mine has contributed record EBITDA for the company in FY21, with a $20.2 million contribution in 3Q21.

The BCI share price was relatively stagnant for most of 2021, bouncing around the 30 cents level. It's finally broken above its trading range and is currently trading close to its 6-year high at 41.5 cents, or a year-to-date return of 38%.

While iron ore continues to be a significant earner for the company, it has also made a $60 million investment to accelerate its Mardie project to produce salt and potash. 

Arguably though, BCI represents a much more speculative stock compared to BHP shares, which are considered blue chip.

The post These iron ore miners are outperforming the BHP (ASX:BHP) share price in 2021 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) 

The Mineral Resources share price has retreated 4% to $46.25 at the time of writing. Despite the sharp move down, its shares are still sitting within record territory with year-to-date returns of around 20%.  

Mineral Resources could represent the best of both worlds, eyeing a significant ramp up in iron ore production while diversifying into lithium. 

Over the next five years, the company plans to double the revenue of its mining services, which currently account for approximately one-third of the company's revenues, and ramp up its iron ore production from 20Mtpa to 90Mtpa. 

Mineral Resources has partnered with one of the world's largest lithium producers, Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co Ltd to operate the Mt Marion Spodumene project. 

Mount Gibson Iron Limited (ASX: MGX) 

Mount Gibson operates the Koolan mine, located in the Buccaneer Archipelago, Western Australia. The former BHP mine boasts one of Australia's highest-grade hematite ore reserves which average 65.5% Fe.

The company is eyeing a FY21 guidance of 2.8 to 3.3 million wet metric tonnes (Mwmt). This comprises of 1.2 Mwmt of material sold from its now-completed low-grade sales program in its Mid-Western Australia projects and the remainder comprising of its Koolan Island fines products, which are expected to total approximately 1.8 Mwmt. 

BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI) 

BCI Minerals is another iron ore junior that has soared more than 25% in the last two weeks. The company's main iron ore asset is its Iron Valley Mine which is mined under royalty payments from Mineral Resources. 

The company is targeting an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) of $37 million between Q1 to Q3 FY21 from its Iron Valley royalties. The company has used its cash proceeds from iron ore to help drive its Mardie salt and sulphate of potash fertilities project in Western Australia. 

The post ASX shares to take advantage of sky high iron ore prices appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The bull run in the sector is triggered by the surge in commodity prices. Iron ore, copper and other metals have either broken new records or are close to setting fresh highs.

This is why the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price, Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price and BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) share price have outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (Index:^AXJO) in the past year.

Smaller ASX miners could provide better value

But most experts are loath to recommend you chase these big miners higher. Talk about FOMO!

On the other hand, those willing to look at the smaller end of the market could still find a nugget or two.

One possible small ASX miner is the BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI) share price. While the shares have doubled over the past 12-months, Bell Potter reckons it could go much higher.

Salt and fertilizer provides boost

The broker bolstered it 12-month price target on the BCI share price to $0.57 from $0.50 after management provided an update on its projects.

The miner released its Mardie Salt and SOP project Optimised Feasibility Study (OFS) highlighting a 20% increase in plant throughput capacity.

The upgrade will lift steady-state salt production to 5.35 million tonnes per year (Mtpa) from 4.5Mtpa. SOP production is expected to increase to 140,000 tonnes a year (ktpa) from 120ktpa.

"BCI combines an iron ore royalty-like business with a large scale salt and fertiliser project," said Bell Potter.

"BCI's current EV is around 4x its 2022 iron ore EBITDA alone. The optimised Mardie Salt and SOP Project has the potential to add significant value."

Beating on two fronts

Meanwhile, Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is urging investors to buy the Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) share price after it posted a better-than-expected quarterly production report.

"Production and shipments of ~2.0mt were above our forecasts in 4QFY21, and cash costs also came in 7% lower than our expectations," said Macquarie.

"Despite the COVID-19 interruptions in 1QFY21, CIA has produced and shipped at a rate higher than the current nameplate capacity of 7.5mtpa."

The lower costs are noteworthy as many of its peers are struggling with cost inflation.

Macquarie's 12-month price target on the Champion Iron share price is $8 a share.

The post Not too late to buy these small ASX mining shares for the commodities boom appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Despite securing a large loan, the contracts are currently funded from BCI's existing strong cash reserves and continuing royalty income from its Iron Valley holdings.

The contract for initial ponds is awarded to WBHO Infrastructure, the Australian subsidiary of international civil construction expert, WBHO Construction. The contract for the Project Management Contractor (PMC) role awarded to reputable WA-based
project and construction management company, Engenium.

Engenium brings local expertise to the role, with offices and teams currently based in Perth and Karratha. Neither of these companies are ASX listed. All of these contract prices fall within BCI's July 2020 Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) cost estimates.

BCI Minerals share price strong on Mardie project

The BCI Minerals share price has risen over 100% over the past 12 months on strong iron ore prices, but the potash industry allows the company to further diversify.

Mardie is a West Australian region just south of Karratha, which BCI earned a $450 million loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to mine in December last year, for a period of 15 years.

 The construction contracts include initial construction of the large-scale trial pond scheduled to commence in April, as well as construction of evaporation ponds 1 and 2. The total earthworks volume in this scope is approximately 800,000 cubic metres over an area of 24 square kilometres. 

Commenting on the contracts, BCI's managing director Alwyn Vorster said:

The award of the initial earthworks contract in particular represents a key milestone in BCI's progress toward main construction and demonstrates Board confidence in Mardie's development pathway. These contracts will be initially funded from BCI's healthy cash balance and strong Iron Valley royalty income.

Salt and potash

Potash is expected to become a particularly valuable industry for Australia due to its use in horticulture. BCI believes Mardie "will be a globally significant Tier 1 salt and sulphate of potash project that is forecast to generate robust cash flows over an operating life of at least 60 years."

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility launched an independent assessment, which forecasted significant benefits to the northern Australian region over Mardie's construction and operating life. Mardie will have a peak construction workforce of approximately 500 people and a permanent operating workforce of around 200 people.

At the time of writing, the BCI Minerals share price is sitting at 32 cents a share.

The post Here's why the BCI Minerals (ASX:BCI) share price just jumped 5% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What's driving the BCI Minerals share price higher?

The BCI Minerals share price was on the move today after investors digested the company's positive announcement.

According to BCI Minerals, the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) board has approved a $450 million loan facility for the company's Mardie Salt & Potash Project.

The agreement follows 18 months of ongoing discussions between both parties, which included a feasibility study in July 2020.

The Mardie Project, located in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, contains salt and sulphate of potash (SOP). BCI Minerals plans to develop the site with construction of large ponds and crystallisers over a 100sq km area. In addition, the company will build two process plants and a new port facility to export the minerals.

It's estimated the life of the project will be 60 years, and it will become a tier 1 salt and SOP project.

Terms of the loan

Under the terms, the borrowing of the loan will be under BCI Minerals' subsidiary, Mardie Minerals Pty Ltd, which owns the Mardie project. The loan will be senior secured on an equal footing with a commercial bank, including any senior secured debt tranches.

The loan, pending various conditions to be fulfilled, will be used to fund the construction of the Mardie Project. This will allow BCI Minerals to bring the development up to speed while covering financing fees and costs. While draw down isn't expected until the second half of FY22, the company will use capital to initially fund future works.

What did management say?

BCI Minerals managing director Mr Alwyn Vorster commented on the positive news, saying:

We are pleased to receive conditional NAIF Board approval for a A$450 million long tenor loan. This loan will be the largest NAIF allocation to a WA based company to date and recognises the potential long-term benefits which Mardie will bring to the region, including new port infrastructure available to third party users.

Importantly, the loan will also provide significant momentum for BCI to secure the remaining debt and equity funding components required for Mardie's development. We acknowledge the strong support from various Federal and WA State Government ministers and departments.

Further adding to his comments, BCI Minerals CEO Mr Chris Wade said:

We are delighted to be able to support the development of the Mardie Salt & Potash Project which by supplying agricultural and chemical industries across Asia offers exciting export opportunities. Locally, the Project will also bring significant economic benefits to the Karratha, Dampier and Onslow areas.

BCI Minerals share price summary

The BCI Minerals share price has been trekking higher over the past 12 months, up more than 76% from the 17 cents level at which it finished 2019.

The company's shares reached a 52-week low of 9.7 cents during March 2020, before surging upwards to today's multi-year high.

BCI Minerals has a market capitalisation of $176.5 million and a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 311.

The post Why the BCI Minerals (ASX:BCI) share price reached a multi-year high today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The APA Group Ltd (ASX: APA) share price is up 2.7% to $8.93 today as the gas pipeline business adjusts to public life after the federal government blocked its proposed takeover at $11 a share by Chinese group CKI Consortium. On November 21 APA informed the market that it still expects to post between $1,550 million to $1,575 million profit in FY 2019. It also expects to still pay a partly franked 46.5 cents per share in dividends over the year placing it on a yield of 5.2%.

The Kogan.Com Ltd (ASX: KGN) share price is up 1.9% to $3.31 despite the online retailer releasing no specific news to the market. The buying might be the result of bargain hunters moving into a stock that has collapsed in half over 2018 ahead of the key Christmas selling season. Kogan is also attempting to diversify into financial services via credit cards and home loan products.

The BC Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI) share price is up 7.4% to 14.5 cents today despite the iron ore miner releasing no specific news to the market. Recently BCI announced it will sell its Kumina iron ore project to Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) for $35 million. BCI is also planning to diversify into salt and potash mining in order to capitalise on what it reports is rising Asian demand.

The Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) share price is up 27 cents or 2.3% to $11.76 today after a series of share price falls since its November 21 listing. Some analysts have put negative ratings on the shares and it even has 1.7% of its shares shorted as at November 29. However, today analysts at Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) reportedly put an "outperform" rating on Coles shares, which may be helping the Coles share price higher today.

The post Why Coles Group Ltd is among 4 shares rising today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Due to its size it can be very hard to keep up to date with what is going on in the sector on a daily basis.

So to give investors a hand, I thought I would give a quick summary of the things you might have missed.

Avz Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ)

Despite being included in the All Ordinaries (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) at the March rebalance, the lithium-focused mineral exploration company's shares have tumbled 4% lower. Earlier this week AVZ Minerals signed a memorandum of understanding with Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology for a potential investment in the company and off-take opportunities from the Manono Lithium Project.

BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI)

This afternoon BCI Minerals announced that it has contracted Core Drilling Services for an upcoming major drilling program at the Kumina Tenements of its Buckland Iron Ore Project. Management advised that it has identified multiple higher grade Kumina iron ore targets to support the Buckland Project development case.

Blackham Resources Ltd (ASX: BLK)

This gold miner's shares have continued to surge higher following the release of its latest operational update. On Thursday Blackham advised that it achieved record monthly gold production of 6,713 ounces during February and a lowly all-in sustaining cost of A$912 per ounce. During the month, the average realised gold price was A$1,670 per ounce.

Clean TeQ Holdings Limited (ASX: CLQ)

This morning Clean TeQ announced that it has successfully completed its $150 million institutional placement. These funds, which were raised at $1.15 per share, will be used to support the accelerated development of the Clean TeQ Sunrise Nickel/Cobalt/Scandium Project. This could make the now well-funded Clean TeQ worth a closer look in my opinion.

Ramelius Resources Limited (ASX: RMS)

This morning the gold miner provided the market with an update on its resource development and exploration drilling program at its Edna May and Mt Magnet gold operations in Western Australia. Drilling results at Edna May have been very encouraging according to the release and Mt Magnet drilling has revealed "highly encouraging gold intersections."

The post Here's what is happening in the resources sector today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The amount of the steel making ingredient shipped from Port Hedland hit a record in December with 46.2 million tonnes being loaded onto ships for export at Australia's largest iron ore port.

This is 12% more than in November and eclipses the previous record of 44.1 million tonnes, according to a report in Fairfax Media Limited (ASX: FXJ).

This milestone is even more significant because it flies in the face of predictions of a slowdown in China's iron ore consumption as many industries in that country, including steel manufacturing, shut down or cut production during winter.

If demand is strong despite the seasonal weakness, it could well mean that any pullback over the next few months might be relatively shallow and short-lived.

That is great news for our iron ore producers like BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO). As I wrote last week, the sector is poised for a significant upgrade in valuation if spot prices remain firm this year.

It isn't only the two mining giants that will benefit. Other smaller players like Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO), Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) and BCI Minerals Ltd (ASX: BCI) could also produce a pleasing profit result next month.

But if you are tempted to buy Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) for the same reason, you might want to hold off until it hands in its quarterly production report at the end of this month as there is some uncertainty over its contribution to the December record export volume.

The miner's October and November export volumes were weak and that could be due to the pollution controls imposed by the Chinese government, which has driven the market towards higher grade and less polluting ore.

Fortescue's ore is of a lower quality and investors will be keen to see if this dip is temporary.

But mining isn't the only growth game in town. The experts at the Motley Fool have picked another winning sector that is tipped to make a big splash this year.

Click on the link below to claim your free report on what this sector is and the stocks that should be on your radar for 2018.

The post Could the iron ore price hit US$100 in 2018? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

According to Metal Bulletin, the benchmark 62% fines spot price climbed a further 3.8% to US$64.71 a tonne last night.

This means the base metal is trading at its highest level in almost two months and is up 21% from the one-year low of US$53.56 a tonne it set in the middle of the month.

Lower grade iron ore also climbed overnight. The spot price of the 58% fines increased 2.3% to US$43.17 a tonne.

Although in early trade the Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price and the Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price have fallen, they are both up sharply over the last five trading sessions.

The same can be said for the shares of junior iron ore producers Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO), Mount Gibson Iron Limited (ASX: MGX), BC Iron Limited (ASX: BCI), and Grange Resources Limited (ASX: GRR).

Where next for iron ore?

Opinion is largely split on the future direction of iron ore. In one corner you have the bears that think that increased supply and growing stockpiles will weigh heavily on prices moving forward.

Then there are the bulls that believe that the insatiable Chinese appetite for the base metal will drive prices higher over the next few months.

I'm more inclined to side with the bears at this stage. Because of that I'll be staying away from Fortescue and its peers no matter how tempting they are at current prices.

But if you are bullish on iron ore prices, then Fortescue could prove to be dirt cheap.

The post Iron ore is in a bull market: Time to invest? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing the iron ore giant's shares are up 3.5% to $5.41.

Elsewhere, BC Iron Limited (ASX: BCI), Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO), Sims Metal Management Ltd (ASX: SGM) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) are also up sharply on the news.

Why did iron ore prices jump?

According to Metal Bulletin, the spot price for the benchmark 62% fines increased 1.8% to US$62.69 a tonne on Friday. This puts it at its highest level in over two weeks and around 4% higher than its six-month low of US$60.15.

Prices have rallied strongly since Chinese data revealed that its steel mills produced a record 72.8 million tonnes of steel in April. This was up by almost 800,000 tonnes on the previous month, which had been the previous record.

It would appear as though traders are speculating that demand for the steelmaking ingredient will increase, offsetting the new supply which is expected to hit the market this year and next.

Will iron ore prices continue to rebound?

With Chinese iron ore futures pointing higher, it looks likely that iron ore prices will continue to climb higher overnight.

But how long this can last is the million dollar question. I'm reasonably sceptical that there is sufficient demand to offset the increasing supply and expect prices to remain under pressure for some time to come.

It is for this reason that I'm avoiding the sector at the moment.

However, if you're bullish on iron ore prices and want exposure to the resources sector, then I do think Fortescue could be a great option at its current share price.

The post Iron ore hits a two-week high: More gains to come? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In lunchtime trading, here's how Australia's iron ore stocks are travelling.

Source: Google Finance

Iron ore fell 5.1% to US$65.20 a tonne overnight, but futures are lower again and point to falls of nearly 7% for the spot metal.

As usual, the smaller iron ore miners, with their higher costs and lower profit margins, are getting hit the hardest.

There could be more pain to come, with iron ore prices likely to sink even further, since hitting a high of US$94.86 a tonne in February 2017. It seems an oversupply of the metal, which is expected to get even worse is the main culprit for sinking prices.

According to the China Iron & Steel Association, oversupply isn't easing as steel output falls and port stockpiles remain at elevated levels. Steel prices have also been falling.

But Rio Tinto's boss Jean-Sebastien Jacques told reporters recently that he isn't all that worried about China and the demand for iron ore over 2017 and says 2018 is looking positive.

Australia's iron ore miners generally produce much higher quality iron ore, which the steel mills like, so demand for our ore should continue.

Foolish takeaway

Predicting the direction of commodity prices is a tough game and one I'd prefer to avoid. As a result, I'm not tempted by the recent falls in the share prices of the miners.

The post Iron ore miners are getting crushed appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In morning trade the following shares have taken a sharp tumble:

• The Atlas Iron Limited (ASX: AGO) share price is down 3% to 3.1 cents.
• The BC Iron Limited (ASX: BCI) share price is down 2.5% to 20 cents.
• The BHP Billiton Limited (ASX: BHP) share price is down 2.5% to $24.05.
• The Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) share price is down 5% to $6.28.
• The Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) share price is down 2.5% to $60.06.

Why have the iron ore miners fallen?

According to Metal Bulletin the iron ore price dropped 4.3% to US$87.59 a tonne overnight, the biggest percentage drop in 2017.

This drop has led many to believe that the latest stockpile build from Chinese steel mills could be coming to an end, potentially putting the price of iron ore in a precarious position moving forward.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the iron ore price tumble from here if demand from China weakens, especially with increased supply expected to hit the market this year.

Almost all investment banks have forecast for iron ore prices to weaken substantially in the second-half of 2017, which wouldn't be good news for the miners listed above.

Although many of them will still have profitable operations even if there is a severe correction in prices, the bumper profits they have enjoyed which has driven share prices skywards could come to an end. This would undoubtedly put pressure on share prices like we have seen today.

It is for this reason that I think the prudent thing to do right now is to avoid the iron ore miners. When iron ore prices normalise then I think Fortescue Metals could be worth a good look at, but at this point in time I feel there is far more downside risk than upside potential.

The post Why BHP Billiton Limited and the iron ore miners have been smashed today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.