• The GWR Group share price surged 17.24% today to 17 cents
• In earlier trading, the GWR share price was up by nearly 21%
• GWR reveals it has secured multiple iron ore shipments

This ASX mining share had a stellar day on the market today. The GWR Group (ASX: GWR) share price skyrocketed after the company revealed that its flagship high-grade C4 iron ore mine is back in full production.

At the market close, the GWR share price was up 17.24% to 17 cents. However, in earlier trade, the company's shares surged by as much as 20.69% to 17.5 cents.

Let's take a look at what attracted ASX investors to GWR today.

What did GWR announce to make its share price go skyward?

GWR is an iron ore producer exploring the Wiluna West Iron Ore Project and the 100% Wiluna West Gold Project in Western Australia.

The miner revealed today that its flagship iron ore mine is back in full production after it restarted operations in January.

GWR also announced that a shipment of 30,438 tonnes of iron ore left the Port of Geraldton in January. GWR sold the ore at a fixed price of US$100 per tonne, making it worth more than $3 million. The shipment was shared with iron ore and copper miner, CuFe Ltd (ASX: CUF).

In addition, GWR announced that it has secured fixed-price contracts for 1 vessel per month up to July. GWR said these contracts provide certainty for the company.

The shipments include:

• February shipment of 30,000 tonnes at US$95 per tonne (fines) and US$100 p/t (lump)
• March lump shipment at US$110 p/t
• April, May and June lump shipments at US$111 p/t
• July lump shipment at US$114 p/t.

GWR hopes to secure more fixed-price contracts by tapping into Asian markets including Malaysia, Indonesia, and China.

GWR said that its C4 mine has more than 2 million tonnes of high-grade iron ore available for mining.

Management comment

Commenting on the announcement, GWR chairman Gary Lyons said:

It is great to see the flagship C4 Iron Ore mine back in full production, having worked through the recent volatility in iron ore prices, the GWR team has been able to refine its operations focused on cost reduction and fixed priced contract shipment.

Due to the nature of our high-grade iron ore, we have been able to take advantage of alternative markets such as Malaysia and Indonesia as well as China.

There are many moving parts to our operation, and I am very pleased with our ability to tie these in all together as we continue to build our haulage fleet with long term haulage contractors supplemented by additional haulage companies.

GWR share price recap

The GWR share price has descended 45% in the past 12 months. But the miner has had a good start to the new year, with its shares up 6.25%.

For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has returned 3.8% in the past 12 months.

GWR has a market capitalisation of $51 million based on its current share price.

The post Why this small-cap ASX mining share rocketed 17% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

GWR shares are trending down after the company announced a key update regarding the future of its mining operations.

Let's take a closer look.

What did GWR announce?

GWR advised that it had "shipped approximately 660,000 tonnes of ore since February 2021" upon completion of its September consignment.

However, it also added it had "halted mining operations at the C4 Iron Ore Mine for 30 days" whilst it "monitors" volatility in iron ore markets.

The decision was made due to a rapid downturn in iron ore prices since July.

For reference, the spot price of iron ore has come off a record high of US$230/tonne in May.

It settled around US$226/tonne from June to July and now trades at US$104.50/tonne. That's a 54% decrease in a matter of weeks.

Given GWR's position as an ASX resource share that produces commodities – in this case, iron ore – it is considered a price taker. As such, its share price fluctuates alongside volatility in the broader commodity markets.

This fact appears to be weighing in on GWR Group's share price as investors sell off shares in the metals' exploration and mining company to avoid "catching the falling knife" if iron ore continues to plummet.

GWR also holds a "significant inventory of mined iron ore stockpiles". As such, it is "considering its position in regard to recommencing operations" and "may resume mining or pivot its focus as required".

What did management say?

Commenting on the announcement, GWR's chairperson Gary Lyons said:

Whilst it is disappointing that mining operations have temporarily ceased at the C4 Iron Ore Mine, it is important to note GWR remains in a strong positon to resume operations as the mine will be left in a production ready state in order to take advantage of a recovery in iron ore prices.

Lyons added:

GWR is currently engaged with other iron ore producers who have expressed interest in accessing via minegate sale the mined high grade ore in order to blend it with their product.

GWR Resources share price snapshot

The GWR Resources share price has struggled this year and has posted a loss of 74% this year to date. This extends its loss over the past 12 months to 41%.

Its price now sits well off its single-year high of 45 cents. Indeed, today sets a new 52-week low for the mining exploration company.

Both of GWR's results are well behind the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO)'s return of around 25% over the past year.

The post GWR Group (ASX:GWR) share price plunges 21% on iron ore update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The positive price movement comes as the company updates investors on recent iron ore production and its gold mining spin-off.

Let's take a closer look at today's news.

What's been driving the rocketing GWR share price?

Iron ore production

In a statement to the ASX, GWR Group told investors of recent developments in its iron ore production.

Last month, the company exported more than 116,000 wet metric tonnes of iron ore, which GWR Group labelled as a "significant milestone". The average realised price for its iron ore in June was about US$214 a tonne.

In further good news for the GWR share price, the company says it expects to ship more than 1 million tonnes of iron ore by the end of this year.

GWR Group chair Gary Lyons said:

With the financial year coming to a close I am very proud of the entire GWR team and our Alliance partners PRG, with the many challenges we have and continue to overcome. It was a fantastic achievement to export more than 325,000 WMT of iron ore mined from our flagship C4 Iron deposit.

The first month of the new financial year is shaping up to be a rewarding one for GWR shareholders.

…we already secured our first ship for the month of July which is due to commence loading at the Port of Geraldton between 16 and 20 July 2021.

The price of iron ore is 37.5% higher year-to-date.

Gold production spin-off

In other news, the company gave an update on its planned demerger of its gold assets into a new, ASX-listed company.

In what GWR says will "enable" it to focus on its more lucrative iron ore production, the Western Gold Resources (WGR) spin-off will occur on 19 July. Eligible shareholders will receive 1 WGR share for every 8.38 GWR Group shares they own.

In addition, gold projections at the company's Wiluna West site have been increased to approximately 300,000 ounces of gold.

GWR share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the GWR share price has increased by 490%. However, since reaching its 5-year high of 47 cents per share, the company's value has decreased by 23%.

Given its current valuation, GWR Group has a market capitalisation of about $110 million.

The post Why the GWR Group (ASX:GWR) share price soared 9% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Today's price action follows the miner's announcement that its first iron ore stockpile is ready for shipment.

What did GWR Group announce this morning?

According to this morning's release, GWR remains "on track to make its first historic shipment of Iron Ore from the C4 deposit in late January 2021."

The shipment announced in today's release is from the company's C4 iron ore deposit in Wiluna, which is the company's flagship project.

Product is currently being stockpiled at the Port of Geraldton Site 88 location in preparation for shipment later this month. The vessel that's been secured for the job is expected to be loaded and depart before the end of this month.

Stage 1 mining activities continue to progress on site. The company has engaged Pilbara Resource Group (PRG) for Stage 1 operations that cover the first 1 million tonnes of an estimated 21.6 million tonne resource of 60.7% Fe.

In today's announcement, GWR chair Gary Lyons confirmed the project's progress:

The Company remains on track for the first historic shipment of Iron Ore to our off take partner in late Jan 2021 in what will be the final key production milestone of Stage 1 with Cargo Ship PANAFRICAN expected to arrive at the Port of Geraldton this month.

The GWR Group share price continues creeping up

Over the past 12-month period, the GWR Group share price has blasted up over 400%.

Notably, the GWR share price had a nice boost in August when it announced its approvals for the C4 deposit were secured, jumping from a 7 cent close on 27 August 2020 to 24 cents on 31 August 2020. That's a very tidy 243% gain.

The GWR Group share price has continued an upward trend since.

The post What's moving the GWR Group (ASX:GWR) share price today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.