But not all stocks are sliding.

Below we look at 3 tiny ASX mining shares bucking the wider selling pressure today to post some outsized gains.

ASX investors reward "spectacular" copper intersections

First up is ASX resource minnow Tennant Minerals Ltd (ASX: TMS), with a market cap of around $29 million.

The ASX mining share entered a trading halt after market close on Thursday and came roaring back today after reporting "spectacular copper intersections" at its Bluebird Prospect in the Northern Territory.

Commenting on the drill results, Tennant Minerals chairman, Matthew Driscoll said:

BBDD0009 is the first hole drilled to test the Bluebird copper-gold zone below previous drilling, and to return a 50-metre intersection of high-grade copper with gold, that approximates true-width, is a spectacular result.

The Tenant Minerals share price, up more than 55% in earlier trade, is currently up 41% for the day.

ASX mining share leaps higher on copper gold intersections

The next ASX mining share heading higher today is Stavely Minerals Ltd (ASX: SVY), with a market cap more than $104 million.

The Stavely share price took off after the explorer reported "outstanding new results" from drilling at its Cayley  Lode deposit within its 100%‐owned Stavely Copper‐Gold Project in Victoria.

Those intersections include up to 19.65% copper, 8.29g/t of gold and 202g/t of silver.

Commenting on the drilling results, Stavely Minerals managing director, Chris Cairns said:

The intersection of 92.1m of inter‐fingered sulphide mineralisation may well be the longest down‐hole intersection of mineralisation recorded at the Cayley Lode to date. The significance is that, if follow‐up drilling is able to confirm the continuity of these types of widths of mineralisation along strike and up/down‐dip, there is significant capacity for these intersections to contribute material additions to the upcoming Mineral Resource Estimate.

The Stavely Minerals share price soared more than 16% higher on the news and is currently up 10% for the day.

More strong results from this ASX mining share

Not to be outdone, Estrella Resources Ltd (ASX: ESR), with a market cap of around $40 million, reported spectacular massive sulphide assay results from its 100% owned Carr Boyd Nickel and Copper Project in Western Australia.

Commenting on those assays, Estrella managing director, Chris Daws said:

The Carr Boyd project continues to produce some exceptional results, with numerous intersections of massive nickel sulphide and some very high nickel and copper assays associated with these drill hits…

The high-grade results received from hole CBDD064 beneath the historic Carr Boyd mine not only sees our geological model intact but also bolsters our confidence to unlock further massive nickel sulphides.

The ASX mining share leapt 40% in early trade. At time of writing, the Estrella share price is up 22% for the day.

The post 3 tiny ASX mining shares soaring from new discoveries appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the junior exploration company's shares are fetching for 4.3 cents, up 19.44%.

Estrella hails nickel-copper sulphides discovery

According to its announcement, Estrella advised that it has intersected a new zone of massive nickel-copper sulphides at Broonhill in Western Australia. This follows the discovery of a 12-metre zone of nickel-copper sulphides including 2-metres of basal massive sulphides.

Estrella stated that reverse circulation (RC) drill hole CBP076 bears all the hallmarks of the 2019 RC hole CBP043. The latter recorded 8 metres of 1.11% of nickel and 0.36% of copper, which led to the T5 Discovery (1.4 kilometres north of Broonhill).

As a result of the latest findings, CBP076 will be cased for downhole geophysics and ahead of diamond drilling. This is expected to commence once the downhole geophysical results have been interpreted.

It's worth noting that the RC program still has another 2 kilometres of highly prospective basal contact yet to explore. The area has had no historical drilling specifically targeting sulphides on the basal contact.

Estrella managing director Chris Daws commented:

We are extremely excited with the CBP076 intersection of massive nickel-copper sulphides on the contact, which is reminiscent of the intersection achieved by CBP043 in 2019.

It was this historic hole that led the Company to drill and locate the T5 massive sulphides at depth, so we are particularly encouraged by what may come of this find.

In addition, the intersection of further nickel-copper sulphides in an area which already hosts the historic Carr Boyd mine and our T5 Discovery illustrates the significant potential of this region for discoveries.

About the Estrella share price

It has been a disappointing 12 months for Estrella shares, plummeting by more than 71% for the period. Year-to-date, its share price has lost 35%.

Estrella presides a market capitalisation of roughly $50 million and has approximately 1.16 billion shares on its books.

The post Estrella Resources (ASX:ESR) share price jumps 19% on massive nickel discovery appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Let's take a closer look at the latest results from its 100% owned Kimberley mine.

"Massive nickel, copper sulphide potential"

Estrella's most recent drilling hole intersected a 12.9 metre long zone of massive, semi-massive, breccia, matrix and
disseminated nickel, copper and iron sulphides.

The company is seeking to become a large ore producer, and this find reinforces a previous intersection of nickel and copper sulphides found 40 metres north of the current strike zone.

According to the company's update, the sulphide and rock textures in this drilling region confirm basal contact mineralisation and "massive nickel and copper sulphide potential".

The core of these findings is now being cut away and sent for assays, which usually take one to two weeks to return an accurate grade result.

Estrella was particularly encouraged by the drilling results, as it accelerates its third phase of drilling in the region to test downhole electromagnetic targets. It's also currently looking to find additional potential zones.

Estrella management comments

Estrella managing director Chris Daws welcomed the results, saying:

I am extremely pleased with this significant intersection as it further validates our exploration strategy at the T5 Conductor. Make no mistake, our resolve to locate a world-class orebody for our shareholders is unwavering and this intersection is yet another promising sign that we are homing in on this orebody.

Phase 3 drilling in particular has been highly successful, with a 100 per cent strike rate for hitting nickel-copper sulphides.

Estrella share price snapshot

Estrella investors had the time of their life in October last year, when the Estrella share price shot from one cent to 17 cents in two days, a casual 450% rise.

Since then it's been on a downward trend back to earth, and has fallen around 30% this year-to-date despite today's huge gains.

The post Estrella (ASX:ESR) share price is exploding today, up 17%. Here's why appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

While there are once again some familiar faces, there are also a couple of very surprising additions to the top five this week.

Here's the data:

Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P)

This buy now pay later provider was the most popular share on the CommSec platform last week and accounted for 3.7% of total trades. Although just 44% of these trades came from the buy side, it was enough to lift the Zip share price by a sizeable 16.5%. The catalyst for this was news of tax cuts and a positive update from rival Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL).

Mesoblast limited (ASX: MSB)

Mesoblast shares were popular with retail investors last week. The biotech company's shares were responsible for 2.7% of trades on the platform. Almost two-thirds of these trades came from buyers, who may believe that a recent crash in the Mesoblast share price has created a buying opportunity. That decline was driven by an unfavourable decision by the US FDA at the start of the month. Mesoblast shares rose 5.6% last week.

American Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARR)

The first surprise addition to the top five was this small mineral resources company. It accounted for 1.8% of trades on the CommSec platform. The catalyst for this was news that US President Donald Trump had signed an Executive Order which declared it a national emergency for the US to increase its rare earths mining and processing capacity. The American Rare Earths share price rocketed 160% higher over the week.

Estrella Resources Ltd (ASX: ESR)

This junior exploration company is another surprise addition to the top five this week. Its shares were in demand with investors last week after announcing a significant nickel sulphide discovery at its Carr Boyd nickel project in Western Australia. Estrella Resources shares accounted for 1.6% of trades on the platform, with 60% coming from buyers. Those buyers will be pleased to learn that the Estrella Resources share price recorded a weekly gain of over 350%.

Afterpay Ltd (ASX: APT)

Afterpay was popular with investors again last week and was responsible for 1.5% of trades on the CommSec platform. And despite almost two-thirds of these trades coming from sellers, it couldn't stop the Afterpay share price from surging over 12% higher over the five days. A strong update from Sezzle and a favourable Federal Budget appeared to give its shares a lift.

The post Zip and Estrella Resources were among the most traded shares on the ASX last week appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Following a recent trading halt, Estrella's share price is trading 457% higher today, up to a price of 7.8 cents.

What's powering the Estrella share price?

The driver behind Estrella's share price gain is a significant nickel sulphide discovery at Carr Boyd. The discovery announced this morning represents a major change of fortune for the company's T5 project that was initiated in 2019. It comes after the company's drill team spent the last 7 weeks on the ground drilling and setting up at T5.

CEO Chris Daws said:

It is certainly an unprecedented time for all those involved with Estrella and the Carr Boyd Rocks Ni-Cu Project. Modern science, technology, belief, and persistence has led to this highly significant discovery which is now beginning to unlock the true potential of T5.

The company is still drilling and expects to find more high grade nickel deposits. Other miners such as Poseidon Nickel Ltd (ASX: POS) and Chalice Gold Mines Limited (ASX: CHN) have also had recent success in Western Australia.

What now

The discovery could be perfect timing for the mineral exploration company as batteries take front stage around the world. Nickel is essential in powering the electric vehicle revolution, providing higher energy capacity than other substances.

The Estrella share price is currently trading a 457% higher at the time of writing, after reaching a high of 8.4 cents in earlier trade.

The post Why the Estrella (ASX:ESR) share price has rocketed 450% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.