This morning, the gold miner dropped a bombshell announcement that revealed that receivers have been called in despite the sky-high gold price.

Which ASX gold stock is going bust?

This morning, it was revealed that Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI) is on the brink and has called in administrators.

In a very brief statement from the administrators, it says:

Notice is hereby given that Hayden White and Daniel Woodhouse of FTI Consulting (Administrators) were appointed as joint and several voluntary administrators. […] It should be further noted that Richard Tucker and John Bumbak of KordaMentha were appointed as Receivers and Managers by the senior secured creditor Macquarie Bank to Calidus Resources, Keras (Pilbara) and Calidus Blue on 28 June 2024.

This will no doubt come as a big surprise to shareholders. Particularly given how the ASX gold stock only recently raised $22.5 million from investors and restructured its operations.

Commenting at the time, Calidus' managing director, Dave Reeves said:

This financial restructure will deliver a host of substantial benefits to Calidus, headlined by increased production and cashflow this year. This will in turn help us achieve our target of producing 120,000oz per annum within three years.

What's going on?

It remains unclear what has triggered the voluntary administration. However, it is worth noting that the company owes Macmahon Holdings Ltd (ASX: MAH) a sizeable amount.

In fact, Macmahon shares are sinking on the news. It responded to the receivership bombshell, commenting:

Macmahon understands that the appointment of the Receivers and Managers had been made in response to the decision by Calidus' Board of Directors to appoint Voluntary Administrators on 28 June 2024 as outlined in the ASX announcement by KordaMentha dated 1 July 2024.

Macmahon provides mining and drill and blast services to Calidus at their Warrawoona mine. Macmahon's preliminary assessment of net current exposure under the contract is circa $33.9 million. Macmahon also holds an equity interest in Calidus listed shares with a value of $5.7 million at the close of trading on 28 June 2024.

One positive for the ASX gold stock is that receivers want to keep its mine operating during the process. It said:

Macmahon has received confirmation from the Receivers and Managers that Macmahon's ongoing services are required. These ongoing services during the receivership will be governed by purchase orders and payment from the Receivers and Managers, thereby minimising any increase in net current exposure. Macmahon will continue to monitor developments and update the market as necessary.

Here's hoping the gold stock finds a way out of this mess.

The post ASX gold stock goes bust despite soaring precious metal price appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Four ASX shares that are not letting that hold them back are listed below. Here's why they are rising:

Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI)

The Calidus Resources share price is up 14% to 20.5 cents. This follows news that Calidus has agreed to acquire the Nullagine Gold Project in the Pilbara from Novo Resources (ASX: NVO). Calidus has also agreed to licence the use of the Nullagine camp infrastructure to Atlas Iron. Management believes it is "an outstanding deal which will deliver substantial benefits to Calidus in terms of production and its cash position."

Cromwell Property Group (ASX: CMW)

The Cromwell Property share price is up 4% to 42.7 cents. This morning, the property company announced its next quarterly distribution. It will be paying shareholders 0.75 cents per share in February, with its shares trading ex-dividend for this next week on 28 December. This equates to a distribution yield of 1.75%.

Integrated Research Limited (ASX: IRI)

The Integrated Research share price is up 14% to 36 cents. This afternoon, this performance management and analytics provider announced the signing of a significant new contract with Fiserv Inc. (NYSE: FI). According to the release, the five-year contract has a total contract value of US$6.6 million (A$10.1 million).

WA1 Resources Ltd (ASX: WA1)

The WA1 Resources share price is up 26% to $12.27. This appears to have been driven by an update from the niobium explorer yesterday which revealed further strong results from drilling at the 100% owned West Arunta Project in Western Australia. Management noted that assay results from the P2 discovery confirm the potential for a large mineralised carbonatite system to be present.

The post Why Calidus, Cromwell Property, Integrated Research, and WA1 shares are pushing higher appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Why are Latin Resources shares halted?

This morning, Latin Resources requested a trading halt so that it could undertake a capital raising of its own.

The request from the Brazil-focused lithium explorer states:

The Company requests the trading halt until the earlier of the Company releasing the announcement, or commencement of trading on Tuesday, 24th October 2023. The Directors of Latin Resources Limited are not aware of any reason why a trading halt should not be granted and there is no other information necessary to inform the market about the trading halt.

It appears that the company wants to lock in funds now for the development of the Salinas Lithium Project just in case any further weakness in the lithium industry drags its shares lower.

Latin Resources shares are down 29% since the start of September despite some encouraging drilling results from the project.

As things stand, it is unclear how much the company is seeking to raise and at what price.

Which other ASX lithium shares are halted?

Joining Latin Resources shares in a trading halt are Atlantic Lithium Ltd (ASX: A11) and Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI).

Atlantic Lithium has asked for its shares to be offline until Tuesday so that it can prepare "the release of an announcement to the market regarding the permitting of the Ewoyaa Lithium Project."

This appears to be good news for shareholders, thankfully. News reports in Ghana, where the mine is located, claim that the government has signed its first-ever lithium lease agreement with Atlantic Lithium for mining at Ewoyaa.

In respect to Calidus Resources, it has requested a halt until Tuesday "pending the release of an announcement in relation to a significant transaction in relation to Pirra Lithium Pty Ltd."

The post Why are Latin Resources and these ASX lithium shares in trading halts today? 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:

Baby Bunting Group Ltd (ASX: BBN)

The Baby Bunting share price has crashed over 21% to $3.07. This follows the release of a trading update at the baby products retailer's annual general meeting. Although Baby Bunting delivered double-digit sales growth financial year to date, its earnings have fallen due to significant gross margin weakness. This has been partly driven by intense price competition and rising inflation.

Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI)

The Calidus Resources share price is down a further 23% to 36.5 cents. Investors have been selling this gold miner's shares this week following a disappointing update. That update revealed softer than expected gold production during the latest quarter.

Pointsbet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

The Pointsbet share price is down 8% to $1.94. This is despite there being no news out of the sports betting company on Tuesday. However, it is worth noting that a number of tech shares are falling today after a poor night of trade on the NASDAQ index. This has seen the S&P/ASX All Technology Index drop 0.8% this afternoon.

South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

The South32 share price is down 2% to $3.70. Investors have been selling this mining giant's shares following the release of a broker note out of Goldman Sachs. According to the note, the broker has downgraded South32's shares to a neutral rating and cut the price target on them by 21% to $3.70. This follows a sharp reduction in its earnings estimates to reflect lower commodity price forecasts.

The post Why Baby Bunting, Calidus, Pointsbet, and South32 shares are falling appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Although the ASX 200 index charged notably higher over the period, some lithium stocks absolutely smashed the market return.

For example, the four shares listed below all recorded gain of over 25% last month. Here's why investors were buying their shares in March:

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price was on form last month and recorded a 79% gain. The key driver of this was an announcement at the beginning of the month which revealed that Core has signed a binding agreement with electric vehicle giant Tesla. The agreement will see Core supply up to 110,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate to Tesla from the Finniss Lithium Project near Darwin over a four-year period. This, and positive drilling results from the Carlton deposit, offset the surprise news that the company's CEO is leaving.

AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ)

The AVZ Minerals share price was a positive performer last month and raced 35% higher. There were a couple of catalysts for this strong gain. One was rising lithium prices which boosted the whole sector, the other was news that S&P Indices added the lithium developer to the illustrious ASX 200 index at the March quarterly rebalance.

Ioneer Ltd (ASX: INR)

The Ioneer share price bounced back from a poor start to finish the month 30% higher. Almost all of this gain was made in the final days of March following the announcement of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NexTech Batteries. It is a leader in proprietary lithium-sulphur battery technology based in Nevada. The two parties are looking at using lithium from Ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project to manufacture next generation solid-state batteries that are "poised to revolutionise the automotive industry."

Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI)

The Calidus Resources share price continued its positive run in March and rose a further 27%. This was driven by news that its 50% owned Pirra Lithium business has identified a "substantial lithium-bearing pegmatite with a mapped strike length of more than 1km" in the Eastern Pilbara. Management commented: "It is already clear that we are in the early stages of an exciting lithium discovery with both scale and strong grades."

The post These were the best performing ASX lithium stocks in March appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

One area of the market that thoroughly outperformed the ASX 200 index was the lithium sector. Thanks to sky high prices, a number of lithium stocks recorded very strong gains.

Here's why these were the best performing lithium stocks on the All Ordinaries during the quarter:

Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO)

The Core Lithium share price was the best performing lithium stock during the quarter with a whopping 119% gain. The main catalyst for this was the announcement of a binding agreement with electric vehicle giant Tesla. The two parties have signed an agreement for the supply of 110,000 tonnes of lithium spodumene concentrate across a four-year period from Core's Finniss Lithium Project near Darwin. In addition, drilling results from the Carlton deposit of the project got investors excited. Management advised that eight of the nine holes intersected spodumene bearing pegmatite mineralisation. It expects this to underpin an upgrade to the mineral resource of the project.

AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ)

The AVZ Minerals share price was some way behind as the next best performing lithium stock. It recorded a quarterly gain of 59.4%. Its shares were given a boost by their addition in the illustrious ASX 200 index. In addition, there were a number of positive developments at its Manono Lithium and Tin Project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Investors appear to believe these developments and sky high lithium prices will make the impending final investment decision on the project an easy one for management.

Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI)

The Calidus Resources share price was on form and raced 52% during the quarter. While Calidus has made progress with its gold operation this year and expects production to commence imminently, it appears to have been its lithium potential that has got investors most excited. In March, Pirra Lithium, which is 50:50 owned by Calidus and Haoma Mining, identified a "substantial lithium-bearing pegmatite with a mapped strike length of more than 1km" in the Eastern Pilbara. Management commented: "It is already clear that we are in the early stages of an exciting lithium discovery with both scale and strong grades."

Piedmont Lithium Inc (ASX: PLL)

The Piedmont Lithium share price was a strong performer and charged 27% higher over the period. This was driven largely by the release of its 2022 development plans. The lithium stock revealed that it expects to double its US lithium hydroxide production to 60,000 tonnes per year. All in all, the company plans to produce or have offtake rights to an estimated 500,000 tonnes per year of SC6 production in the future. Management believes this leaves the US-based lithium miner well-placed to meet demand for the white metal in North America.

The post These are the best ASX lithium stocks so far in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Investors are responding well to a company announcement from Calidus today regarding a discovery by its 50%-owned subsidiary, Pirra Lithium.

Pirra Lithium, owned equally by Calidus and Haoma Mining NL, was formed last month to explore potential lithium assets over the Pilbara region of Western Australia. The Calidus share price has taken off since late 2021, as shown below.

Why is the Calidus share price tracing higher?

The company entered a trading halt on Monday pending an announcement about its lithium exploration results. Today, it emerged from the trading halt with the news that has sent the Calidus share price soaring.

The company advised the team at Pirra Lithium has identified a "substantial lithium-bearing pegmatite with a mapped strike length of more than 1km" in the Eastern Pilbara.

It collected 34 rock-chip samples and assay results show 0.66%-2.34% lithium oxide (Li2O). Two samples of "metasomatised country rock adjacent to the pegmatite" yielded 2.78% and 2.91% Li2O, respectively.

"Along each traverse, samples were collected 3-12m apart to ensure that all the main components of the pegmatite, including lepidolite- and spodumene-poor zones, were sampled," the company said.

With lithium prices up 600% year-on-year to all-time highs, even a whisper of potential lithium discovery has seen ASX lithium players shoot higher in recent times.

Lithium spot has gained 29% in the past month for instance, and is up 77% this year to date alone.

Following its latest findings, Calidus has planned an initial 2,500-metre reverse circulation (RC) drilling program to further test the pegmatite.

After initial discoveries, the company says it identified another possible separate body north-east of this location. As a result, an additional 40 rock-chip samples were collected and have been sent to the laboratory for priority assay.

Calidus also notes it has made applications for Programs of Work (PoW) and lodged heritage surveys to facilitate drilling, "targeting the June quarter of 2022".

Management commentary

Speaking on the results fuelling the Calidus share price today, managing director Dave Reeves said:

It is already clear that we are in the early stages of an exciting lithium discovery with both scale and strong grades. There is a compelling business case to accelerate exploration now we have confirmed lithium grades for this significant outcropping pegmatite.

Despite the pegmatite being located close to the Hillside – Marble Bar Road, there is no record of geological mapping or sampling in the area and the area has never been drilled. These results highlight the immense prospectivity of the large tenement package and rights owned by Pirra Lithium.

Calidus share price snapshot

The Calidus share price has soared more than 101% over the past 12 months and 32% this year to date.

During the past month, its shares prices have shot north by 26%. As a result, Calidus is front-running the broader indexes this year by a country mile.

The post Calidus Resources (ASX:CAI) share price leaps 5% on 'significant' find appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Initially fuelled by the spectre of rising inflation and more recently by Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, gold has soared from US$1,829 at the beginning of the year to US$1,929 today.

That 5.5% boost has helped propel the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) to a 4.4% year-to-date gain, even as the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has fallen 5.7%.

While not all ASX gold shares have matched those gains, some have done much better.

Below we take a look at 3 little-known junior gold miners whose share prices are going gangbusters.

ASX gold share nears first gold pour

Our first outperforming junior gold miner is Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI).

The Calidus share price has leapt 23.9% since the opening bell on 4 January. That gives Calidus a market cap of $326 million.

Investors have rewarded the miner following a series of positive exploration and production announcements this year.

The most recent boost came on 28 February, when the ASX gold share reported it was on track for its first gold pour, approximately 10 weeks down the road.

Junior gold miner with a foothold in lithium

Our second booming ASX gold share is Castle Minerals Limited (ASX: CDT), which also has exposure to lithium.

The Castle Minerals share price has leapt 42.5% this year, giving the miner a market cap of $52 million.

Castle Minerals has released a number of positive announcements in 2022, including exploration license approvals and the identification of 4 high priority gold and lithium targets at its Beasley Creek project in Western Australia.

This ASX gold share leads the pack

Leading the pack of the 3 ASX gold shares under our spotlight today is West Wits Mining Limited (ASX: WWI).

The West Wits share price has surged 50% since the opening bell on 4 January. It now has a market cap of $81 million.

In February, West Wits reported that its Witwatersrand Basin Project in South Africa had successfully produced its first ore. The company said the project "is enroute to becoming a large gold mine in South Africa, ultimately targeting production of up to 95,000 ounces" of gold per year.

The post 3 ASX junior gold mining shares going gangbusters in 2022 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In such turbulent times, an old investing axiom says gold can be a safe haven.

Whether that's wise or not is up for debate, as some experts dislike how unproductive gold is as an asset.

But if you decide the precious metal is right for you, there are many ASX shares that can give you exposure.

Fortunately for you, The Motley Fool has dug up a couple of expert "buy" recommendations for you to consider.

Big risk for big reward in Africa

Shares for gold miner Turaco Gold Ltd (ASX: TCG) have doubled since May.

Argonaut associate dealer Harrison Massey is a fan of the business which operates gold projects in the West African country of Cote d'Ivoire.

"The company is progressing its 9000-metre air core drilling program, testing 3 kilometres of northern and southern strike extensions at Nyangboue," he told The Bull.

"The company is led by an experienced mining team."

As Turaco is in an exploratory stage, Massey acknowledges the risk involved in these shares.

If the company hits gold, shareholders will be bathing in returns. If it doesn't and goes broke, then the stock could go to zero.

"Recently, the shares have been enjoying favourable momentum, rising from 9.8 cents on September 30 to close at 15 cents on October 14," he said.

"Explorers carry risk but any encouraging results should paint a brighter outlook."

Turaco shares were trading for 14 cents on Monday morning.

Digging for gold in Western Australia

Closer to home, Calidus Resources Ltd (ASX: CAI) is in a more mature stage than Turaco.

TradeDirect365 technical consultant Braden Gardiner rates it as a "buy" while the business is building the "Warrawoona" mine in the east Pilbara of Western Australia.

"It has regulatory approvals and finance. The company is on schedule to produce gold in the June quarter of 2022."

Calidus shares were trading for 60 cents on Monday morning, which is more than 38% up in the past 6 months.

"Buyers supporting higher price levels provide an encouraging outlook," Gardiner said. 

"We expect positive momentum to drive the price through 75 cents."

The post 2 gold ASX shares experts are loving right now appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Below, we take a look at the ASX gold share's latest project finance announcement.

What did Calidus Resources report?

The Calidus share price remains flat in morning trade after the company reported final agreements have been executed with Macquarie Bank for a $110 million project loan. Calidus initially provided the terms of the loan to the market on 30 November last year.

The ASX gold miner also reported its Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Zenith Energy Limited has been completed. That agreement will see Zenith provide 8 megawatts (MW) of power for the company's Warrawoona Gold Project. This will occur via a "10.74MW installed capacity high-efficiency LNG fuelled reciprocating generation facility". Zenith will also provide an 8 MW backup diesel generator.

Calidus also highlighted that the deal with Zenith is part of its continuing efforts to introduce renewable energy sources at its Warrawoona project.

Management commentary

Commenting on the twin agreements, Calidus' managing director, Dave Reeves said:

We are very pleased to have executed final debt financing agreements with Macquarie. The timing of which coincides with GR Engineering mobilising to site to begin civil works at Warrawoona and the execution of the PPA with Zenith Energy.

Calidus is fully funded and focused on successfully developing the Warrawoona Gold Project and becoming a leading independent gold producer, with first production on schedule for early 2022.

Argonaut was the financial advisor while Herbert Smith Freehills was the legal advisor for the debt financing agreement with Macquarie.

Share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Calidus Resources share price has outperformed the broader All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO). Calidus shares have gained 74% over the past full year while the All Ords are up 34% at the same time.

So far, 2021 hasn't been as kind to Calidus shareholders, with shares down 20% year-to-date.

At the current share price of 40 cents per share, Calidus has a market cap of $135 million.

The post What's going on with the Calidus Resources (ASX:CAI) share price? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the Calidus share price is 1.04% lower to 47.5 cents. In comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is following a similar fate, down 0.6% to 16,401 points.

What did Calidus announce?

Calidus told the market today it has bought a 1.25% profit royalty over two tenements located in the Warrawoona Gold Project.

The company paid $45,000 and issued 750,000 Calidus shares to the executors of the estate for life of mine royalty.

Calidus said there remained one other 1.25% profit royalty over the tenements. This is the only non-statutory royalty on granted mining leases at Warrawoona.

More on the Warrawoona Gold Project

Situated in the East Pilbara district of the Pilbara goldfield region of Western Australia, the project has been marred historically with disjointed ownership.

Now controlled by Calidus, the entire Warrawoona Greenstone Belt covers a total of 780sq km. The project itself is regarded as one of the highest margins and significant gold projects within Australia.

Callidus managing director Dave Reeves, welcomed the purchase decision, saying:

The purchase of this life of mine royalty not only generates additional cash flow for the company but reduces the amount of time required to administer the royalty, allowing more focus on the core aspects of production.

The parties associated with the royalty have a long association with Warrawoona and we welcome them as shareholders to Calidus.

Calidus share price snapshot

The Calidus share price has climbed higher since the beginning of last year, reflecting gains of more than 90%.

The company's shares reached a multi-year low of 17 cents in March in the COVID-19 fallout. However, moving in small peaks and troughs, the Calidus share price gradually regained ground to hit a high of 73 cents in mid-October.

The post Why the Calidus (ASX:CAI) share price is dipping today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What was in the announcement?

According to the company, construction works at the Warrawoona project will begin next month. Initially, an access road and 240 person accommodation village will be constructed with the main project construction to begin in 2021. Calidus will use part of the proceeds from its recent $25 million placement, completed in July, to fund the initial construction. Environmental permits have been granted for the initial works, which are also subject to a final objection period.

Calidus Resources announced that it has appointed experienced mining executive, Don Russel, as its General Manager of Operations.

The company's Managing Director, Dave Reeves, commented on the project, stating;

"The early works programme will ensure gold production starts as soon as possible at Warrawoona. Constructing access roads, the accommodation village and supplying communications to site paves the way for the main development works to kick off in earnest in the new year. As part of our development preparations, we are delighted to welcome Don Russel as General Manager for Warrawoona. Don has extensive operating experience at gold mines across Australia in his 30-year career and his skills will be invaluable as we move ahead with this project."

About the Calidus share price

Calidus Resources is a gold exploration company that listed on the ASX in 2017 at a price of 2 cents per share. It controls the Warrawoona gold project in Western Australia. According to the company, the project is a 1.2 million ounce resource.

In its quarterly report to June 2020, Calidus set out that its updated pre-feasibility study demonstrated that the Warrawoona project is set to produce 85,000 ounces of gold per year at an all in sustaining cost of $1,251 per ounce. At 30 June, Calidus Resources held $5.7 million in cash and $1.4 million in listed investments.

The Calidus share price is up 2262% since its 52 week low of 2.1 cents and has returned 132% since the beginning of the year. The Calidus share price is up 71% since this time last year.

The post Calidus share price edges higher on Warrawoona announcement appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.