Firstly, to the company's most recent news, Image Resources in late January published its quarterly report, which showed that heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) production was up 30% quarter on quarter to 73,000 tonnes.

The company said sales totalled just more than 70,000 tonnes and cash receipts were up 98% quarter on quarter to $31.5 million.

For the calendar year, the company said it had produced 174,5000 tonnes of HMC, which was a slight miss to guidance of 175,000 to 195,000 tonnes.

The company also said it had closing cash of $7.7 million.

Record quarter celebrated

The company's Chief Executive, Patrick Mutz, said the result was a record quarter for its Atlas operations.

Ore processing and ore grade increased 15% and 18% respectively quarter on quarter, which resulted in record HMC production and HMC sales which increased 30% and 44% respectively quarter on quarter. The quarter was highlighted with monthly record results in December of 30k tonnes HMC production and 34k tonnes HMC sales. "Importantly, C1 cash costs and AISC were both lower quarter on quarter and on a YTD basis, both were below the lower end of guidance. Revenue also improved substantially quarter on quarter by 25% despite softer commodity prices.

Mr Mutz said the company was on track to repay its outstanding debt in the second quarter of 2026 and was looking to further development activities.

Beyond operations at Atlas, our Development Team continues to assess the Company's options to extend mining and production in the Atlas area through mining at Atlas North or nearby Hyperion, and to advance future development options beyond Atlas at the Company's 100%-owned deposits at Yandanooka, Durack, and other Eneabba projects, as well as at Bidaminna and further into the future, the McCalls project.

Gold project options being considered

Mr Mutz said the company also in early January declared a maiden gold resource estimate of 2.1 million ounces at its Erayinia/King project, and the company was now "undertaking a strategic review to assess options to unlock value for shareholders from this asset given the current very buoyant gold market''.

Options being considered include divestiture or other commercial arrangements for all of Image's gold tenements, as well as options for the development of the Erayinia/King project, including potentially in-house.

Macquarie has had a look at the quarterly result and said that while the price the company was paid for its commodities was 20% weaker than expected, costs were also better to the tune of 20%.

They added:

Image Resources is a nimble pure-play mineral sands producer that presents growth potential with project development at Durack and Yandanooka in the medium term.

The Macquarie team has a price target of 10 cents on the stock, which would be an 81.8% return if achieved.

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Both Australia and Japan have struck framework agreements with the US in past weeks, which aim to reduce the reliance of all three nations on minerals from China, which dominates global trade in rare earths.

The recent interest in rare earths, and hence rare earths company shares, came about after China added another five rare earth elements to the list of commodities covered by export controls, bringing the total number to 12.

But the critical minerals space is much wider than just rare earths, extending to commodities such as gallium, zircon and even aluminium.

Where to invest is the question

With companies at various stages of development and share prices bouncing around as the news cycle continues to generate interest, it's worthwhile considering what the experts over at Macquarie think about investing in the critical minerals sector.

In a research note released to their clients this week, Macquarie has tipped three companies to outperform, which are St George Mining Ltd (ASX: SGQ), Meteoric Resources Ltd (ASX: MEI) and Image Resources (ASX: IMA).

On St George, a key differentiating factor, the Macquarie analysts said, was its "dual critical mineral exposure".

As they said:

St George's Araxá project could be the next niobium producer given it is located next to the world's largest niobium producer, CBMM. Its speed to market is enabled by the access to infrastructure, operational know-how, and a skilled workforce in a stable regulatory regime.

St George also has a suite of Western Australian assets where it is looking to develop lithium, cobalt and nickel operations.

Macquarie has a 12-month price target of 20 cents on St George shares, 82% higher than the closing price on Tuesday of 11 cents.

The Macquarie team like Meteoric Resources following the company ticking off several milestones over the September quarter, including a prefeasibility study, a $42.5 million capital raise and the start of their pilot plant production in Brazil, where commissioning is expected to start late this calendar year.

The company's managing director, Stuart Gale, said recently the company was "in an excellent position to capitalise on the significant momentum in the rare earth industry''.

Macquarie has a 12-month price target of 39 cents on Meteoric Resources shares, 95% higher than the closing price on Tuesday of 20 cents.

And on Image Resources, the Macquarie team said the mineral sands company's zircon interests were in the spotlight.

The company recently achieved first production at its Atlas project, and it had, "multiple development projects which could produce heavy mineral concentrate that contains zircon and titanium dioxide feedstock''.

Macquarie has a 12-month price target of 13 cents on Image Resources shares, 63% higher than the closing price on Tuesday of 8 cents.

The post Macquarie says these three critical minerals stocks deserve your attention appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The furnace began burning hotter in January as macro-economic undertones found their way into the mainstream and took markets by force.

As such, the S&P/ASX 300 Metals & Mining Index (XMM) is outstripping other sectors of the market. The XMM has climbed more than 2% this year to date, despite a correction in early March.

These three ASX mining shares are even further ahead of the pack, cruising past their 52-week highs today. Let's take a look.

Image Resources NL (ASX: IMA)

Shares in Image Resources have surged more than 30% in the past month. They have nudged past 52-week highs in early trading today at 30 cents apiece.

Investors are rallying behind the stock after Image Resources released a significant announcement on Monday.

First, it announced that it has executed and completed a definitive and binding agreement with Sheffield Resources Ltd (ASX: SFX) for the sale of its 100% owned McCalls Project.

Sheffield has received in full the cash consideration of $12 million for the sale of the project.

Image says the site consists of four exploration licences across two project areas. The company says it contains 5.8 billion tonnes of mineral resources at 1.4% total heavy minerals (THM) for 84 million tonnes of contained THM.

It also provides a "base for potential future multi-decade production opportunities at high economy of scale and consideration for value-add production of synthetic rutile with decades of consistent feedstock sourcing."

In the past 12 months the Image Resources share price has shot up nearly 64%. It is up 44% this year to date after the recent surge.

Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF)

ASX share Nufarm shot higher in early trade to bypass their previous single-year high. The Nufarm share price peaked at $5.98 in the first hour of trade before settling back to current levels.

At the time of writing, shares in the crop protection and specialist seeds business are rangebound, fetching $5.86 apiece.

This gain is despite there being no market-sensitive information from the company since February. However, agricultural commodities are spiking hard in 2022 amid the conflict in Europe, sending supply-shock jitters around the world.

Exchange traded funds (ETFs) tracking agricultural commodities have surged this year as well. Individual baskets are also setting multi-year highs, show below.

As such, Nufarm might benefit from the surge in agricultural commodities due to its position in the adjacent markets, meaning brokers are now starting to pay attention.

More than 46% of brokers have Nufram as a buy right now according to Bloomberg Intelligence. That's up from 38% around a year ago.

Bell Potter is bullish, valuing the Nufarm share price at $6.40 per share. Meanwhile, Macquarie rates it a buy too with a $6.29 price target, both in notes to clients during March.

5E Advanced Materials Inc (ASX: 5EA)

Shares in 5E Advanced Materials have themselves advanced to new highs today, currently trading at $3.47 apiece.

Whilst there's been nothing price sensitive out of the company's corner today, it did announce that its equity started trading on the NASDAQ from 15 March. It will trade under the ticker symbol FEAM.

The company's CHESS Depositary Interests (CDIs) will continue trading on the ASX under the current ticker 5EA.

Under the NASDAQ uplisting, each 5E Advanced Materials share represents 10 CDIs, per the company.

The company says it has "begun extensive investor outreach and non-deal marketing efforts in the US with assistance from its capital markets advisor."

Speaking on the NASDAQ listing, 5E CEO Henri Tausch was positive and said this was an important milestone in the company's growth narrative.

"Our NASDAQ listing delivers another important milestone for the Company, and I am incredibly proud of the team who have worked diligently to deliver a successful US listing," he said.

"We also look forward to working with US and other NASDAQ investors in our pursuit to become a vertically integrated global leader in boron advanced materials."

Trading volume of 5EA's shares today is at 163% of its four-week average volume, at the time of writing.

The post 3 ASX mining shares rocking 52-week highs today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Like most every company on the ASX, Image Resources share price was savaged by the COVID-19 panic selling earlier this year, falling 45% from 24 February through to 23 March. From there it gained 75% through to 18 September before again sliding lower.

Year-to-date the share price is down 30% despite today's strong performance, which saw shares trading 9% higher in mid-afternoon before giving up some of those gains to be 6% higher at time of writing.

What does Image Resources do?

Image Resources is a mining company primarily focused on mineral sands. The company operates an open-cut mine and ore processing facility at its 100%-owned Boonanarring Project, one of the highest-grade zircon-rich mineral sands projects in Australia. Just 80 kilometres north of Perth, the mine is well serviced by existing infrastructure.

Image Resources achieved profitability in the first quarter of 2019 and was cash flow positive in the second quarter of 2019. It is now at steady state production.

Image Resources has a market cap of $162 million.

Why is the Image Resources share price soaring higher today?

After closing on Friday at 16 cents per share, Image Resource's shares are trading at 18 cents this afternoon.

Aside from a potential lift from the broader rise of the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO), up 2.1% in intraday trading, Image Resources' share price looks to have gained a boost from the company's share buy back announcement to the ASX this morning.

The shares in question, just over 495,000 of them, had been issued to employees as part of the company's Employee Share Plan (ESP). Image Resources noted that:

Some of those employees have ceased employment with the company and the loans made to the employees to fund the issue of the shares became repayable on the cessation of employment. In accordance with the terms of the ESP, the board has determined that the company will buy back and cancel the relevant shares, with the proceeds applied to offset the loans.

The company is offering 26.7 cents per share, considerably higher than the current share price of 18 cents.

The post Why the Image Resources (ASX:IMA) share price is rocketing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

What were the quarterly highlights for Image Resources?

Image Resources reported that its overall results exceeded budget expectations including higher ore grade, which facilitated higher heavy mineral concentrate (HMC) production and higher HMC sales.

Despite reporting lower than expected revenue, driven by a weaker market price for standard grade zircon, significantly lower project operating costs resulted in substantially lower unit costs and higher unit margins.

Some of the key highlights from Image Resources results included:

• Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) (Project) of $20.2 million, at 95% of budget.
• Net profit after tax (NPAT) of 5.7 million, at 65% of budget.
• HMC production of 69.0 dry metric tonnes, at 117% of budget.
• Revenue of 42.5% of budget, at 85% of budget.
• Revenue, per dry metric tonne of HMC of $623 , at 88% of budget.
• Cash of $25.7 million, at 94% of budget.

Image Resources also noted the favourable AUD–USD exchange rate, which ended the quarter below 0.70 cents per dollar as another factor in its solid result, which also saw Image adjust its guidance upwards for calendar 2019.

The company said that adjusted guidance will be announced separately following the release of its quarterly report, which I'd be waiting to see before buying the stock.

How has the Image Resources share price performed this year?

The Image Resources share price has been a top performer on the local market this year with its share price surging 163% since the start of the year, as at the time of writing.

The company's share price is currently trading at $0.29 per share, which translates to a market cap of $282 million for the Aussie zircon miner.

While many of the ASX mining stocks have performed well in 2019 as the domestic market has lifted and commodities prices remain high, Image Resources remains an outperformer with strong cost controls and steady operational expansion.

Other big names in the sector also performing well include the likes of Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), which has seen its share price more than double so far this year on a solid half-year result and a favourable pricing environment.

The post Image Resources share price could rise on upgraded earnings guidance appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Here's a short recap of the Australian market:

• S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) higher 0.41% to 6,242.40
• ALL ORDINARIES (Index: ^AXAO) (ASX: XAO) higher 0.45% to 6,327.80
• AUD/USD at US 71 cents
• Gold at US$1,286.94 an ounce
• Brent Oil at US$69.12 a barrel

The best-performing ASX 200 share today was Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) which rose by 8.4%.

Shares of BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) declined 0.1% after admitting that its FY19 production will suffer because of the Cyclone Veronica.

The share price of Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH) jumped 16.3% today after it upgraded its FY19 revenue growth expectations.

Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) shares ended the day 3% higher after the miner announced a new mining project.

The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price ended the day down 0.9% despite, or perhaps because of, the announcement of the new Telstra Plus loyalty plan.

Shares of Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) rose nearly 2% today thanks to the company announcing a new share buy-back.

SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK) surprised everyone by hiring Ian Narev to be a key person in the management team of the business.

Finally, Image Resources NL (ASX: IMA) shares rose in value by 17.6% today, making it one of the top performers.

Here are some of today's top stories:

• Is the Afterpay share price heading to $28.00?
• How to invest when you don't like investing
• Wealth Warning: RBA leaves cash rates at 1.5% again
• Top broker slaps $20.00 price target on the Jumbo Interactive share price

The post ALL ORDINARIES finishes higher Tuesday: 8 shares you missed appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

This morning the mineral exploration company's shares stormed 15% higher to a 52-week high of 19.5 cents. This took its year to date gain to an impressive 77%.

Why is the Image Resources share price on fire today?

Investors have been fighting to get hold of Image Resources shares on Tuesday following the release of its preliminary actual average ore feed grade update for March.

According to the release, the preliminary actual average ore feed grade reported for March 2019 is approximately 2.5 times higher than expected.

The preliminary average ore feed grade for March, which remains subject to end of month reconciliation adjustments, has been reported to contain approximately 19% heavy minerals, compared to a budgeted ore grade of 7.4% heavy minerals which is based on ore reserve estimates for ore from the mined area.

Management believes this result further corroborates the existence of a very high grade horizontal core section in the eastern ore strand at its 100%-owned zircon-rich Boonanarring mineral sands project located 80 km north of Perth.

Managing director Patrick Mutz appeared to be delighted with the operational results.

He said: "Operational results for March 2019 are clearly outstanding, given the enormous uplift in the average ore grade compared to the expected ore grade as modelled in the Ore Reserve. Now that drilling has begun to delineate the high grade Core in the eastern ore strand, we eagerly look forward to understanding the significance of the ore grades in the Core on the overall Ore Reserve."

Should you invest?

Whilst it is a little too soon for me to invest, this is certainly a positive development and means I'll be keeping a close eye on how things develop at Image Resources in the coming months.

For now, though, I'll be sticking with BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO).

The post Why the Image Resources share price rocketed 15% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.