But analysts think these nine ASX All Ords shares have a bright future ahead.

Market analysts on CommSec upgraded all of them to a strong buy rating last month.

9 ASX All Ords upgraded to a strong buy rating in April

Suncorp Group Ltd (ASX: SUN)

The consensus rating on Suncorp shares was upgraded to strong buy on 29 April.

The Suncorp share price is currently $16.32, up 0.46%.

Goldman Sachs has a buy rating and a 12-month share price target of $17.54 on the ASX All Ords banking and insurance stock.

The broker says Suncorp is well-positioned for growth in today's buzzing general insurance market. Insurers are benefiting from strong renewal premium increases and higher investment yields. 

Silver Lake Resources Ltd (ASX: SLR)

Silver Lake shares were upgraded to strong buy on 26 April.

Today, the ASX All Ords gold share is trading for $1.42, up 3.04%.

A strong gold price has pushed many ASX gold stocks higher in recent months. Silver Lake was among the top 5 best performing shares last month.

Australian Unity Office Property Fund (ASX: AOF)

This ASX All Ords real estate share was upgraded to a strong buy rating on 19 April.

Today, the Australian Unity Office Property Fund share price is $1.26, down 1.94%.

Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN)

Chalice Mining shares were upgraded to strong buy on 19 April.

Today, the Chalice Mining share price is $1.10, down 6.81%.

The ASX All Ords mining share fell 2.02% on Tuesday after the company released an update.

The miner reported $107 million in cash and investments and a $7 million spend in the March quarter, down 55% on the December quarter.

The company also updated its Gonneville Project high-grade sulphide mineral resource estimate to 59Mt @ 2.0g/t 3E2, 0.20% Ni, 0.21% Cu, 0.019% Co.

Macquarie Technology Group Ltd (ASX: MAQ)

Shares in this data centre operator were upgraded to a strong buy rating on 19 April.

Today, the ASX All Ords tech share is $80.27, down 0.86%.

Last month, Macquarie completed an institutional placement to raise $100 million at $72.50 per new share.

Goldman Sachs has a buy rating on the stock with a 12-month share price target of $93.

LGI Ltd (ASX: LGI)

LGI shares were upgraded to strong buy on 18 April.

Today, the landfill gas-to-power generation stock is up 3.45% to $3.00.

The company released a new investor presentation last month.

GUD Holdings Limited (ASX: GUD)

GUD Holdings shares were upgraded to strong buy on 8 April.

Shares in the automotive aftermarket distributor are up 0.20% to $10.22 today.

Bell Potter has a buy rating and a 12-month share price target of $12.80 on GUD.

Hasting Technology Metals Ltd (ASX: HAS)

The consensus rating on Hastings Technology Metals was upgraded to strong buy on 3 April.

Today the ASX All Ords rare earths share is trading at 33 cents, down 2.99%.

The explorer released its quarterly activities report on Tuesday.

A highlight of the March quarter was signing a binding term sheet with Baotou Sky Rock for an integrated processing and offtake arrangement.

Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB)

Mesoblast shares were upgraded to strong buy on 2 April.

Today, the ASX All Ords healthcare share is $1.06, down 4.09%.

Mesoblast released its quarterly update on Tuesday. It reported royalty receipts of US$1.7 million and an operating cash outflow of US$11.6 million for the March quarter.

Mesoblast also announced the exit of chair Joseph R. Swedish, who will be replaced by Jane Bell AM.

Bell Potter has a speculative buy rating on Mesoblast.

The broker recently raised its 12-month share price target to $1.40.

The post 9 ASX All Ords shares elevated to 'strong buy' status in April appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

However, after more than a year of outperformance, all the usual names are already pretty popular.

To get you thinking outside the square, here are two mining-related stocks with smaller market capitalisations that Argonaut associate dealer Harrison Massey rates as buys:

'A big pipeline of work'

GR Engineering Services Ltd (ASX: GNG) is not a resources producer itself but provides construction and procurement subcontractor services to mining clients.

And it's handing out a mouthwatering 9.64% dividend yield that's 100% franked.

Massey told The Bull he would buy the stock now.

"The engineering services company has entered into a binding term sheet with a subsidiary of Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX: HAS) involving the construction of a plant and associated infrastructure for the Yangibana Rare Earths project worth $210 million."

He added that the outlook for GR Engineering was looking positive.

"The company continues to build a big pipeline of future work. The company's fully franked dividend yield is also appealing."

The GR Engineering share price is the same as 12 months ago.

According to CMC Markets, Euroz Securities also agrees with Massey that the stock is a strong buy.

22-bagger? Yes, please

Meteoric Resources NL (ASX: MEI) is an exploration company, for those investors comfortable with that phase.

According to Massey, the company has much potential.

"Meteoric recently announced a global mineral resource estimate of 409 million tonnes of rare earths at 2626 parts per million at its Caldeira project," he said.

"The company has planned a further 100,000 metres of air core and diamond drilling to target high-grade areas within the current resource model."

On top of this, Meteoric Resources is currently "acquiring further licences surrounding the deposit". 

"Meteoric Resources is well capitalised, with $25 million in the bank."

Believe it or not, Meteoric shares have lived up to its name by multiplying 22 times over the past 12 months.

Most of that rise has come since December, when information about the Caldeira site came to light.

The post 10% yield! 2 ASX shares to get rich from a mining boom appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Indeed, the share price of S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) miner Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) has soared nearly 400% over the last five years as demand for its products saw its profits surge.

But the ASX 200 giant isn't the only share involved in rare earths. Here are five others that haven't yet commanded such attention.

5 often-overlooked ASX shares involved in rare earths

Demand for rare earths could soar in the coming years amid the world's transition to renewable energy. The materials are a critical component of most technology ­­– including that needed to harness power from the elements and certain batteries.

With this in mind, it's likely no surprise that Lynas is far from the only ASX share working to produce the elements.

Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) is a $4 billion mineral sands miner and also works in the rare earths space. The company recently made a final investment decision on its Eneabba rare earths refinery.

Its shares are currently trading for $10.42.

Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU) is also an ASX rare earths stock. The company is working to kick off construction at its Nolans Project – located 135 kilometres from Alice Springs – in 2023.

Right now, stock in the mining developer is swapping hands for 40.5 cents.

Another ASX rare earths company is Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX: HAS). It's developing two resources in Western Australia. Its Yangibana project, in the Gascoyne region, covers around 650 square kilometres.

The company's share price is $3.70 at the time of writing.

The fourth ASX rare earths share market watchers might not have been across is Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX: ASM). As the name suggests, the company is focused on Aussie assets. Its cornerstone project is located in Dubbo, New South Wales, and is ready for construction to begin.

An investor can snap up the stock for $1.60 apiece today.

Finally, ASX share Peak Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: PEK) is, of course, working in the rare earths space.

It's developing the Ngualla project in Tanzania – one of the world's largest, highest grade, and lowest cost, neodymium praseodymium deposits. It also has the potential to build a rare earths refinery in the United Kingdom.

The Peak share price is 47.5 cents right now.

The post 5 ASX shares involved with rare earths (aside from Lynas) appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But while the market was feeling worse for wear, some ASX All Ords shares suffered even steeper falls. Let's take a look.

MoneyMe Ltd (ASX: MME)

MoneyMe took out the unfortunate title of the All Ords' worst performer in September. Its share price was nearly cut in half, tumbling by 47.8% to 46 cents.

This was triggered by a $20 million capital raising, which was priced at a 28% discount to the last traded MoneyMe share price at the time. The company intends to use this money for growth, supporting debt facilities and transaction costs.

MoneyMe announced this capital raising alongside its FY22 results, which saw revenue jump 148% to $143 million, aided by a mix of organic and acquisitive growth. 

However, the company continues to burn through cash. While its net loss after tax blew out from $8 million in the prior year to $50 million in FY22. 

Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX: HAS)

Similarly, ASX All Ords share Hastings Technology also came under pressure in September on the back of a capital raising. Hastings shares suffered a steep 36.6% fall across the month to finish at $3.46.

The company announced a $110 million two-tranche placement at an offer price of $4.40 per share. This represented a 19% discount to the last traded Hastings share price of $5.41.

Subject to shareholder approval, this will result in roughly 25 million new shares being issued, nearly one-quarter of the company's existing share count.

Proceeds from the cap raise will be used to advance the development of Yangibana, a rare earths project located in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia.

PointsBet Holdings Ltd (ASX: PBH)

Fresh off being kicked out of the ASX 200, the PointsBet share price drudged up a 35.9% loss in September. to close out the month at $1.86.

It appears investors weren't impressed with the company's FY22 results. Revenue jumped by 52% to $296 million but operating expenses went through the roof, causing PointsBet's net loss to balloon by 43% to $268 million.

PointsBet shares continue to be among the most shorted on the ASX.

Link Administration Holdings Ltd (ASX: LNK)

The Link share price was also battered and bruised last month after the $2.5 billion takeover with Dye & Durham finally collapsed.

Link shares tumbled 33.5% across the month to finish at $2.86, a long way from the takeover offer price of $4.81.

After several twists and turns over many months, the deal failed to satisfy three conditions necessary for court approval. The most significant relates to the Woodford Matters and associated approval from the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority.

Link adjourned the second court hearing multiple times but in the end, time ran out. With the outstanding conditions not satisfied, the court dismissed the proceedings and ultimately, the deal fell through.

New Century Resources Ltd (ASX: NCZ)

Finally, ASX All Ords share New Century's woes continued in September as its shares crumbled by 33.1% to $1.07.

For those unfamiliar, New Century describes itself as a mining, tailings management, and economic rehabilitation company. It's focused on sustainably producing metal from resource assets while rehabilitating legacy impacts on the environment. 

Investors didn't appear pleased with New Century's FY22 results. Revenue leapt by 47% to $408 million. But fair value adjustments and higher production costs led to the company's net loss more than doubling to $28 million.

The post These were the 5 worst-performing ASX All Ords shares in September appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Hastings shares are deep in the red, swapping hands 17.9% lower at $4.45 apiece at the time of writing, following a company announcement.

What did Hastings Technology announce?

The ASX rare earths producer advised it had received two commitments to raise $110 million via a two-tranche share placement.

The placement will seek to raise that amount by issuing approximately 25 million new ordinary shares for $4.40 apiece. It will also hope to raise $10 million via a share purchase plan (SPP).

To date, tranche 1 of the placement has successfully raised $67 million, leaving tranche 2 – still subject to shareholder approval, by the way – hoping to raise $43 million.

The company advised it would use the proceeds to advance the development of its Yangibana project in Western Australia. The project aims to produce rare earths neodymium and praseodymium.

Management commentary

Speaking on today's update, Hastings executive chair Charles Lew said that strong institutional demand for the placement was a "testament to the world-class nature" of the project, despite "soft market sentiments". He added:

The introduction of these high-quality institutions, together with the support shown by current long term shareholders, has ensured that Hastings is well-capitalised to maintain development momentum at Yangibana, which remains on track for commissioning in mid-2024.

As mentioned, tranche 2 of the placement is subject to shareholder approval. Hastings will seek this at a general meeting that's expected to be held on 10 October.

Hastings share price snapshot

The Hastings share price was a more robust $5.42 at the close of trade yesterday, and had lifted more than 20% in the past 12 months and up 28% in the past single month of trade.

Shares in the company are now down 2% in the year, and up just 4% in the month following this morning's trading activity.

The post Why is the Hastings share price plunging 18% today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This comes as the company requested that its shares be placed in a trading halt.

Currently, the emerging rare earths producer's shares are frozen at $5.42 apiece.

It's worth noting that Hastings shares have rocketed more than 26% since early last week.

Why is the Hastings share price halted?

Prior to the market opening, the company requested its share price be halted while it prepared an announcement.

According to its release, the company is in the process of a book build in relation to a capital raising.

Hastings has requested that the trading halt remains in place until this Wednesday 7 September or following the release of the announcement, whichever comes first.

Hastings to acquire interest in Neo Performance Materials

In late August, Hastings advised it had entered into a binding share purchase agreement to acquire a 22.1% stake in Neo Performance Materials.

The latter is a Canadian-listed leading global rare earth processing and advanced permanent magnets producer.

Under the deal, Neo shareholders will receive C$15 (A$16.81) per share, representing a total consideration of C$135 million (A$151.27 million).

In addition, Andrew Forrest's Wyloo Metals will provide funds of $150 million in a cornerstone investment. This will be conducted through the issuance of secured, redeemable, exchangeable notes.

Hastings stated that the acquisition enables a platform to explore potential partnership arrangements utilising its Yangibana feedstock in Neo's downstream rare earth operations.

Hastings share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the Hastings share price has predominately moved in circles despite posting a gain of 20%.

Year to date, however, the share is up around 4%.

In contrast, the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) sector is down 8% in 2022.

Hastings presides a market capitalisation of approximately $549 million with around 101 million shares outstanding.

The post Why is this ASX rare earths share price in a trading halt? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Currently China is overwhelmingly the dominant global producer of the 15 elements that make up the group of rare earths.

According to Datt Capital chief investment officer Emanuel Datt, the tense current and prospective geopolitical situation has lit a fire under the fortunes of companies that extract these valuable minerals.

"Should the Taiwan situation worsen and/or should China use force to control Taiwan, it's likely there will be sanctions on goods sold to China and restrictions of the supply of strategic materials exported by China."

Datt's worries are underlined by this week's visit of US senator Marsha Blackburn to Taipei. That marked the third visit to Taiwan by American legislators this month, which has infuriated Beijing.

China considers the democratic island a part of its country and discourages other nations from recognising its sovereignty.

"I will not be bullied by Communist China into turning my back on the island," said Blackburn.

"Taiwan is our strongest partner in the Indo-Pacific Region. Regular high-level visits to Taipei are long-standing US policy." 

If China caused a worldwide rare earths shortage…

Datt fears that a cornered China could hold the world to ransom.

"China produces around 80% of the rare earth elements globally," he said.

"And given their critical nature in the production of a wide range of modern technologies, a logical first step would be China restricting this supply to the rest of the world in which it is in disagreement."

As such, Datt has started piling into ASX shares that are involved with rare earths production.

He named five stocks that fit the bill:

• Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)
• Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU)
• Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX: HAS)
• Dreadnought Resources Ltd (ASX: DRE)
• Lanthanein Resources Ltd (ASX: LNR)

Datt himself has bought Lynas, Dreadnought and Lanthanein shares.

Lynas reported bumper annual results on Friday, sending its share up 1.46%.

The company is globally "the gold standard" for rare earths producers, according to Datt.

"It is an integrated producer with downstream processing facilities located in Malaysia and upstream operations in Western Australia," he said.

"Its customers are primarily Japanese and other nationalities who wish to diversify their supply from non-mainland Chinese sources."

The other two players are in an exploratory stage.

"Dreadnought has made a new rare earth discovery with initial results demonstrating grades almost 3 times that of Hastings' deposit which is situated a short distance to the north," said Datt.

"Lanthanein has defined similar early rock chip samples as Dreadnought, which sits in a similar geological context. However, with a superior heavy rare earth ratio."

The post 5 ASX shares that could rocket from a rare earths crisis: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This time around — instead of dairy products, seafood, or boots — Twiggy is tipping his fortunes into rare earths. These are the metals used to create the magnets used in the motors of electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Which ASX All Ords share is it?

The ASX company in question is Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX: HAS). After returning from a trading halt, shares on Friday surged 15% to $4.94 apiece — a pleasing sight for shareholders.

According to the release, the rare earths explorer has entered into a binding share purchase agreement to acquire part of Neo Performance Materials Inc. Notably, Neo is the owner of the only commercially operational rare earth separation facility in Europe.

The deal will see Hastings grab 8,974,127 shares in the Canadian-listed Neo at a total value of $150 million. This will mean the ASX All Ords share will own 22.1% of the total shares on issue in Neo following the acquisition.

So, you might be thinking: where does Twiggy come into the picture? Well, as part of the announcement, Hasting revealed a $150 million investment from Wyloo Metals, which is part of Forrest's investment holding company, Tattarang.

The rationale behind Hasting taking a stake in Neo is to potentially create a vertically integrated rare earths company. As the ASX-listed company puts it, a 'mine-to-magnet' value chain. Furthermore, this is in anticipation of Europe becoming a major hub of electric vehicle production in the future.

The deal for Twiggy

Regarding the $150 million investment from Wyloo Metals, here are the important details:

• The investment is for $150 million in exchangeable notes
• Term is over three years
• Convertible for Hastings shares at $5.50 apiece
• Wyloo is entitled to nominate a director to the Hastings board

Coincidentally, the news breaks on the same day that Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC) revealed record results.

The Hastings share price has outperformed the ASX All Ords over the past year. On Friday afternoon, the company's shares are 23.5% above where they were a year ago. Meanwhile, the All Ordinaries is down 5.3% over the same timeframe.

The post Guess which ASX All Ords share rocketed 15% on a rare earths deal with Twiggy Forrest appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Lithium (and arguably, nickel and cobalt) is typically considered the darling child(ren) of the battery metals segment. However, one often-overlooked segment has opened up a compelling value proposition.

Rare earths, which, coincidentally, aren't all that rare (in the ground anyway), have garnered attraction lately.

The group is comprised of 17 metals that are essential to technological functions in society.

Rare earths ASX mining shares open a compelling proposition

According to Dr Kingsley Jones, analyst at Jevons Global Investment Advisory, "[t]he EV market thematic is driving higher demand for rare earth metals".

In a recent note, Jones covers the market for rare earths. In it he builds a core basket of portfolio companies to gain exposure to the space.

He said that demand has accelerated for the basket of rare earths within ASX mining shares. This is due to their use in high-performance magnets used in electric motors and generators.

In particular, the "rapid uptake of EVs and the very large generators used in wind turbines to provide renewable energy" has underpinned the demand.

Aside from that, China refines and produces more than 60% of the world's unprocessed rare earth oxides.

Not to mention, rare earths are notoriously hard to extract anyways. The reason? "Host minerals are difficult to process and the rare earths are hard to separate," Jones says.

With that, the analyst and his employer suggest five companies for investors to hone in on for exposure to rare earths from mine to metal, all the way downstream.

These include Arafura Resources Limited (ASX: ARU), Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX: HAS) and Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX: ASM). I've covered the other two here.

This basket of stocks provides a diversified offering of names with exposure to rare earths at different points along the value chain, Jones says.

Take a look at the returns for each of these shares for the past 12 months on the chart below.

The post 3 ASX mining shares primed for an 'exponential' energy transition: expert appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

And for good reason.

Most of the ASX shares exploring for and producing rare earths have seen their share prices far outpace the broader index.

Here's what we mean…

ASX shares exposed to rare earths racing ahead

Over the past 12 months the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 6.47%.

Over that same time, ASX rare earths share Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX: ASM) has gained 71%. And the Iluka Resources Limited (ASX: ILU) share price has rocked 61%.

Hold on. We're not quite done yet.

Competitor ASX shares involved in rare earths include Dreadnought Resources Ltd (ASX: DRE), up 138% in 12 months; Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX: HAS), up 41%; and Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC), whose share price is up 86% since this time last year.

See what we mean?

What the heck are rare earths anyway?

To start off with, rare earths aren't really all that rare as far as how much of them you can find across the Earth. But they earn their name because they're generally only found in very low levels of concentration. Meaning to get to them, companies like the ASX shares listed above need to sort through a whole bunch of ore first. And then laboriously filter the choice bits out.

Depending on who you ask, there are either 15 or 17 rare earth elements (REEs).

Regardless of how many elements we choose to put into the category, you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who can name them all. Or even a few.

Praseodymium anyone? How about gadolinium? Or maybe ytterbium?

We'll leave off the rest of the list. (To impress your friends, you can find that list here.)

Yet, while they're hardly household names, rare earths are critical to almost every high-tech gadget you own. Including the smartphone or computer you're probably using to read this right now.

They're also important to the move to green energy, used in the construction of things like wind turbines.

But there's an arguably bigger reason ASX shares working in the rare earths space are frequently in the spotlight.

That's because these elements are crucial to modern militaries across the world. We're talking satellites, missiles, submarines, high-tech ground vehicles, and all manner of aircraft here.

Just how dependent are these military machines on rare earths?

Very.

Roughly 418 kilograms of rare earths are used to make a single F-35 Lightning II fighter jet. And some 4,100 kilograms are required before an SSN-774 Virginia-class submarine can head off to duty, according to a 2013 United States Congressional Research Service report.

Why are so many ASX shares involved with rare earths?

While the West is moving to break China's stranglehold, the Middle Kingdom still controls some 70%-80% of the REE market.

As tensions with China have increased over the past few years, the United States and other nations have been increasingly turning to Australia to fill any potential shortcomings in their REE supplies.

And Australia is well placed to do so.

According to the CSIRO's Critical Energy Minerals Roadmap, Australia has the sixth-largest deposit of economically viable rare earth elements of any nation on the planet.

And the ASX shares listed above are working hard to secure those crucial resources.

The post What even are rare earths and why are ASX shares with exposure always in the spotlight? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

• The Hastings share price is up 7% today and 25% in a week
• The miner has received a loan to construct its flagship site
• It estimates to have spent $1.3 million in exploration during the latest quarter

The Hastings Technology Metals Ltd (ASX: HAS) share price is having an impressive week.

The Australian rare earths exploration and development company has seen its shares rise by 25% since the closing bell on January 27. The increase comes amid releasing a landslide of corporate and activity news.

The majority of the news relates to the miner's long-term goal of becoming a global frontrunner in the production of neodymium and praseodymium concentrate (NdPr). The minerals are essential ingredients in the production of permanent magnets used in electric vehicles, medical devices, wind turbines, and other devices.

At the time of writing, the Hastings share price is up 7% at 30 cents.

Let's take a look at what's been happening with this particular ASX mining share…

What has sent the Hastings share price skyward?

Most recently, Hastings announced it would receive a now-approved $140 million loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) to construct its flagship site, the Yangibana Rare Earths Project.

The site is located in the Gascoyne region of Western Australia. According to Hastings, it "contains one of the most highly valued NdPr deposits in the world with NdPr:TREO ratio of up to 52%".

The loan, which is part of the $300-400 million in total debt financing required for the site, comes with a 12.5-year tenor and is subject to pre-completion conditions.

Early works are underway with equipment already on site, and transport access already cleared. Plant construction is expected to commence in September and is scheduled to take approximately 27 months.

What happened during the quarter?

On Friday, the miner released its activities report for the latest quarter.

On the subject of Yangibana construction works, Hastings announced it had received approval from the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE) to construct the site's downstream rare earths processing plant.

The miner spent an estimated "$1.3 million on exploration during the quarter, substantially on resource drilling". Director fees and salaries totalled $276,000.

Hastings remains confident in the globally-rising prices of NdPr oxide. The price went up by 40% to US$134.22 during the quarter and Hastings expects it to remain strong.

Looking at the business's financials, the miner reported $96 million in cash and equivalents as of 31 December 2021.

Since 31 December, the Hastings share price has increased by 11%.

Hastings share price snapshot

In the past 6 months, the Hastings share price has increased by 36%.

It hit a 52-week high price of 32 cents just last month. This occurred a few days before it announced it had received environmental approval from the Western Australia EPA, progressing its Yangibana site development.

To compare, it saw a 52-week low of 15 cents in June.

The company has a market capitalisation of $521 million and 1.74 billion shares issued.

The post Why has the Hastings Technology (ASX:HAS) share price soared 25% in a week? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, Hastings shares are up 2.70% to 19 cents. In comparison, the All Ordinaries Index(ASX: XAO) is up 0.3% to 7,696 points.

Hastings significantly increases Ore Reserve Estimate

In today's statement, Hastings advised that it has increased the Total Proven and Probable Ore Reserves at Yangibana. Successful exploration activities during last year have led the company to revise its estimate.

Hastings revealed that the total Ore Reserve has significantly increased to 16.7 million tonnes at 0.95% Total Rare Earths Oxide (TREO). This is a 37% improvement in the Ore Reserve tonnes compared with the previous Ore Reserve Estimate announced in 2019.

Most notably, the company stated that TREO tonnes rose 15% to 158,400 tonnes. This is exceptionally important as the ore contains Neodymium and Praseodymium (NdPr). These elements are both key components in the electric vehicle industry.

Hastings targeted 5 of the 10 deposits at Yangibana during its 2020 exploration program. Extensive drilling comprised of 341 reverse circulation (RC) holes for a total depth of 23,739 meters. In addition, 46 diamond holes totalled more than 1,605 meters.

Diamond drilling is a more efficient way for precise sampling and analysis, whereas RC drilling is used for extracting bulk samples. When it comes to speed, RC drilling is the faster method, however, diamond drilling is employed when seeking accurate results.

Based on the findings, Hastings extended the mine life to a minimum of 15 years. Ore sorting technology is expected to be sourced in Yangibana's mine development for processing the ore.

In addition, the company is aiming to secure debt financing to begin construction activities in the second-half of 2021.

What did management say?

Hastings executive chair, Charles Lew commented:

I am delighted to announce this significant increase in the Ore Reserve at Yangibana, which is the result of our successful exploration programs across existing and new deposits last year and will allow us to plan for a mine operating life of at least 15 years.

Importantly, there remains substantial mineral resource upside potential at Yangibana, which we will further assess in due course.

Hastings share price snapshot

Over the last 12 months, the Hastings share price has posted a gain of around 50%, with year-to-date up 10%.

Hastings presides a market capitalisation of roughly $330 million, with approximately 1.7 billion shares on its books.

The post Why the Hastings (ASX:HAS) share price is edging higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

But those same tensions have also boosted demand for select goods, services and commodities produced outside of China. And that's helped other ASX shares post some strongly outperforming gains over the past 12 months.

The 5 ASX shares we'll look at here have all gained between 2 and 9 times as much as the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) over the last full year. And this is over a year where the All Ords gained 24%.

What these 5 outperforming ASX shares have in common

The ASX shares we've put under the spotlight today are:

• Australian Strategic Materials Ltd (ASX: ASM)
• Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX: ILU)
• Dreadnought Resources Ltd (ASX: DRE)
• Hastings Technology Metals Ltd's (ASX: HAS)
• Lynas Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: LYC)

To see what they have in common you need only look at Lynas' full company name.

That's right. They're all involved (to varying extents) in exploring for, or producing, rare earth elements.

What are rare earth elements?

In a nutshell, there are 15 different rare earth elements. And they're not really rare in terms of their abundance in the earth. What makes them rare is they're usually found with very limited concentrations. That means you need to dig up and process a lot of rock to get to the few useful bits.

While many people can't name a single rare earth element, they're used across a growing range of modern technologies. They include powerful magnets which you'll find in wind turbines and electric motors. Other rare earth elements are crucial in making your smartphone smart, and several are increasingly important to national defence in aircraft, vessels, and high-tech ground vehicles.

How China is boosting demand for Australia's rare earth elements

Depending on the source you're using, you'll find China produces somewhere in the range of 70-90% of the global supply of rare earth elements.

But that's a statistic the West, driven by efforts from the United States, aims to change.

With tensions between China and the West rising, nations are looking beyond the Middle Kingdom to ensure a secure supply. And with Australia home to the 6th largest deposits of economically viable rare earth elements on Earth, according to CSIRO's Critical Energy Minerals Roadmap, ASX shares involved in this niche sector have been garnering increased investor attention.

According to Jeffrey Wilson, research director at the Perth USAsia Centre (quoted by msn.com):

China's monopoly over these minerals that are critical for technologies gives it a really powerful economic weapon. And indeed it has cut off supply of rare earths in the past to Japan in 2010. Of late, there have been a number of threats made that it might cut off supply to the United States in the future.

So, as China's relationships with a number of countries — Australia, Japan, the US, and Europe — has steadily gotten worse over the past 12 months, there's a present threat that China may use its monopoly to deploy the rare earths weapon to punish others if they fall into diplomatic disagreements.

When the world's 2 biggest economies get into a tug of war over a group of elements critical to their military and technological ambitions, investors tend to take note.

You can see this by looking at the performance of today's 5 ASX shares involved in the rare earth elements game.

How have these ASX shares been moving?

Beginning with the biggest of our rare earths ASX shares, with a market cap of roughly $5.6 billion, Lynas has gained 201% over the past 12 months. Lynas is the world's second largest producer of rare earths and currently remains the only "significant producer" outside China. The company's Mt Weld mine in Western Australia is amongst the highest grade rare earths mines in the world.

International mineral sands company Iluka has also strongly outperformed the benchmark over the 12 months. Iluka's rare earths projects include Eneabba in Western Australia and Wimmera in western Victoria. The Iluka share price is up 85% since this time last year.

In the small-cap space, we have Dreadnought Resources and Hastings Technology Metals.

The Dreadnought share price is up 360% over the last 12 months. And it's rocketing today, up 18% after reporting the presence of high-grade rare earths elements at its Western Australian Yin Prospect.

Meanwhile, Hastings, whose Yangibana rare earths project is under construction in West Australia, has seen its share price gain 50% in 12 months.

Leaving off with our biggest share price gainer, we have Australian Strategic Materials, up 429% year-on-year.

This ASX share is in a trading halt today pending an announcement on its Dubbo project in New South Wales. The company indicated it plans to develop Dubbo to "supply globally significant quantities of zirconium and rare earth metals, as well as contribute to the niobium and emerging hafnium industries".

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