In afternoon trade, the ASX battery materials share is up almost 20% to 58 cents.

Why is the Kuniko share price rocketing higher?

Investors have been fighting to get hold of the company's shares on Monday following the release of a promising announcement.

According to the release, Kuniko has observed significant mineralised intervals with massive sulphides of greater than 90% in diamond drill core in preliminary logging from current drilling at the Ertelien Nickel Project in Norway.

Furthermore, assay results confirm high grade Nickel-Copper-Cobalt mineralisation from historical drill core sampled from the Ertelien Nickel Project and the nearby Langedalen Prospect, with significant intervals.

All in all, management believes that this is a "strong signal of future economic potential."

Management commentary

Kuniko's CEO, Antony Beckmand, was very pleased with the news. He said:

We are delighted that our maiden drill hole at Ertelien has delivered a great result, returning several intersections of observable massive sulphides. This, combined with the high-grade assay results from the historic drill core demonstrates this project and the Ringerike area is, as expected, highly prospective for further development.

The presence of multiple battery mineral elements identified at this project, is a strong signal of future economic potential, encouraging us to aggressively pursue our target of defining a maiden JORC resource at this site. The Ertelien Nickel Project, like our Skuterud Cobalt Project, is close to Oslo with readily available infrastructure including hydroelectric based power.

Despite today's strong gain, the ASX battery materials share is still down over 40% since this time last year, as you can see on the chart below.

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Kuniko Ltd (ASX: KNI), Dundas Minerals Ltd (ASX: DUN) and Element 25 Ltd (ASX: E25) shares are all rocketing ahead today. The ASX 200 Materials Index is up 0.94% today.

So why are these ASX mining shares having such a stellar day?

Kuniko

Kuniko shares are soaring 11% today. The company is exploring the Skuterud Cobalt project in Norway. Drill assay results showed "significant cobalt mineralisation". Copper was also identified. Kuniko plans to conduct further drilling at the site to unlock the "promising upside" of the project.

Commenting on the news, CEO Antony Beckmand said:

We are increasingly confident the results are supporting the potential for identifying cobalt-copper rich zones at a large scale.

Element 25

Element 25 shares are soaring 17% today. The company updated investors on plans to produce high purity battery grade manganese sulphate from the company's Butcherbird Project. A feasibility study is on schedule for completion in December. Element 25 is also in discussions with potential offtake partners. Furthermore, the company highlighted how it could qualify for clean energy and electric vehicle incentives in the USA Inflation Reduction Act.

Element 25 had this to say regarding the news:

Importantly for Element 25 investors, qualifying FTA countries include Australia and qualifying critical minerals include manganese.  

Dundas Minerals

Dundas shares are soaring 45% today. Earlier today, the company's share price exploded 100%. Dundas is exploring nickel, copper, cobalt and gold in Western Australia. Drilling at the site intersected with massive and disseminated sulphides along with sulphidic quartz veins.

Commenting on the news, managing director Shane Volk said:

Given the results from hole 1, we'd expect to intercept sulphides again in hole 2.

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While the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) remains down by more than 5% for the calendar year, the S&P/ASX 300 Metals & Mining Index (ASX: XMM) has charged ahead, up 7.4%.

ASX mining shares, as you're likely aware, have received some welcome tailwinds from soaring commodity prices.

That's in part due to constricted supply chains amid rising demand as the world reopens from its lengthy COVID pause. It's a situation that's been exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

But commodities aren't the only area seeing big price increases.

The broader impact of rising inflation

While rising commodity prices are adding to the leap in inflation across most of the world, there are other factors at work sending inflation figures to their highest levels in decades. Like the bill coming due to years of historically low interest rates and unprecedented quantitative easing (QE) from global central banks.

And as well as benefiting from the price rises in the commodities they dig from the ground, ASX mining shares are likely beneficiaries of this fast-rising broader inflation.

As billionaire John Hancock, adviser to New York fund manager Lind Partners, pointed out (courtesy of The Australian Financial Review), "Commodities traditionally perform well in periods of inflation".

3 ASX mining shares John Hancock is buying

Hancock named three specific ASX mining shares he believes are well positioned for not just higher inflation but also the ongoing global energy transition.

These are:

• Kuniko Ltd (ASX: KNI), a small-cap ASX mining share focused on nickel, copper, and cobalt exploration
• Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL), which is primarily focused on lithium supply solutions for the electric vehicle markets
• Aura Energy Limited (ASX: AEE), a uranium, vanadium, and gold explorer

"I'm focused on commodities, particularly those required for energy transition such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper," Hancock said.

He continued:

Commodities traditionally perform well in periods of inflation, but I'm more focused on the over-riding paradigm shift of energy transition, of which uranium has a role too. My investments in Vulcan Energy, Norway cobalt explorer Kuniko and Aura Energy, with its low cost Tiris project, reflect my views.

While these three ASX mining shares have all underperformed the benchmark in 2022, they have outperformed over the past 12 months.

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So, which three ASX mining shares were they, and by how much did their share prices increase?

MC Mining Ltd (ASX: MCM)

The first ASX mining share to look at is MC Mining. Its share price soared by 32% to 16.5 cents. The company completed a bankable feasibility study for the Makhado hard coking coal project in South Africa. The study found the project has coal resources of 296 million mineable tonnes in situ (MTIS) and contained proved and probable coal reserves of 69.3 million tonnes. The life of the mine is about 22 years. The company hopes to complete financing for the project in the third quarter and commence construction soon afterwards. Interim CEO Sam Randazzo said the study confirmed the project's "robust economics".

iTech Minerals Ltd (ASX: ITM)

The next ASX mining share is iTech Minerals. Its share price went 25.93% higher to 51 cents on the back of drilling results. The second round of results from the Kaolin Prospect confirmed significant rare earth element mineralisation in the clay-rich, weathering profile. This project is located on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.

Commenting on the news, managing director Mike Schwarz said:

The discovery of thick intervals of REEs in the weathering profile at Caralue Bluff, over a distance of 8 km, has been a highlight of iTech's maiden exploration program to date.

Kuniko Ltd (ASX: KNI)

The final ASX mining share we're looking at today is Kuniko. Its share price screamed 21.93% higher to $1.39 after the company reported it is set to start its first diamond drilling program at the Skuterud Cobalt Project on 2 May. The drilling will target three "highly prospective targets" including two "confident" cobalt and copper mineralisation targets. This follows geophysics analysis confirming the presence of conductors at the project.

Commenting on the news, CEO Antony Beckmand said:

With a prevailing and forecast undersupply for this valuable mineral, where current
sources of supply are heavily reliant on Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia and China,
Kuniko is firmly focussed on the rapid development of Skuterud project to bridge the
supply chain gap with ethically sourced, responsibly developed, net zero-carbon cobalt.

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The company reported findings from downhole geophysics surveys conducted at its Skuterud Cobalt Project in Norway.

At the time of writing, the Kuniko share price is resting at $1.44 apiece. It is rangebound after an initial spike from the open and trading volume is already at 64% of its 4-week average.

What did Kuniko announce?

The company says that findings from the most recent surveys held at Skuterud have yielded positive results.

"Specialist consultancy firm, GeoVista AB, has captured and interpreted data acquired from a downhole geophysics survey campaign targeting historic drill holes by Berkut Minerals Ltd., enabling optimisation of drill plans," it said.

Survey findings confirm the presence of 'conductors' that were previously identified by airborne studies already completed by Kuniko, it added.

Results say these conductors are "partially or fully off-hole", meaning they've actually been missed – or only partially intersected – by previous drilling attempts from the company.

Speaking on the announcement, CEO Antony Beckmand was pleased with the latest results. He went on to provide a summary of Kuniko's next moves:

With drilling set to launch in the next weeks, these latest borehole geophysics results provide further signs of the potential and opportunity at the Skuterud Cobalt Project. The downhole geophysics has confirmed the presence of the conductors we originally identified at the Middagshvile target using airborne electromagnetic and magnetic surveys in 2021, while downhole geophysics modelling identifies the conductors aligning with and corresponding to mineralization observed in the available historic core assays.

We have done our geological due diligence on the Skuterud targets, putting Kuniko in a prime position of being well prepared and having solid reasons to be confident and enthusiastic about prospects for unveiling cobalt mineralisation with our upcoming drill campaign.

With a prevailing and forecast undersupply for this valuable mineral, where current sources of supply are heavily reliant on Democratic Republic of Congo, Russia and China, Kuniko is firmly focussed on the rapid development of Skuterud project to bridge the supply chain gap with ethically sourced, responsibly developed, net zero-carbon cobalt.

Kuniko shares have soared in absolute return since first emerging on the ASX in August last year, but the share price has glided down off a high of $$3.23.

The post Here's why the Kuniko share price is surging 26% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

With the battery metals company's shares up 18% to $1.64 today, the Kuniko share price is now up over 100% since this time last week.

Why has the Kuniko share price doubled in a week?

The catalyst for the incredible rise by the Kuniko share price over the last few trading sessions appears to have been an announcement relating to the Skuterud Cobalt Project from last week.

According to the release, the Norwegian directorate of mining has approved Kuniko's application to undertake its planned seven-hole, 2,800-metre drilling campaign at the project.

Kuniko has identified three highly prospective targets, including two confident Co-Cu mineralisation targets. Though, it will still be a couple of months until drilling activities commence. The release notes that its drilling contractor, Norse Diamond Drilling, will be mobilising in the first week of May, while a preparatory site inspection by Norse is scheduled during March.

In addition, it advised that preparations for sampling across four project sites — Skuterud, Ringerike, UndalNyberget, and Nord-Helgeland — are proceeding smoothly.

What else?

The above bodes well for Kuniko given the current outlook for cobalt. As we covered here last week, the cobalt price was charging towards a new record high amid strong demand and tight supply.

Cobalt is used in the batteries of electric vehicles. So with McKinsey suggesting that one in four vehicles on the road will be electric by 2030, a lot of cobalt is going to be required to satisfy demand.

If Kuniko's drilling results are good, then it will put it in a strong position to negotiate offtake agreements with carmakers and battery manufacturers.

Stay tuned for those drilling results later this year.

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At the time of writing, the battery metals explorer's shares are swapping hands for $1.21, down 1.22%

What were the results?

Investors appear unfazed by the company's latest release to the ASX, sending the Kuniko share price lower.

In its statement, the company advised it has received the first geochemical soil sample assays from the Skuterud Cobalt Project. The encouraging results indicated a distinctive geochemical vector with arsenic, cobalt, and copper signatures towards the main 'fahlband' zone. This is believed to be extended for at least 12 kilometres in a north-western direction from the Skuterud Mine.

A more detailed assessment of the geological data will be conducted and completed by February 2022. This will allow Kuniko's technical team to identify drilling targets for the 2022 field season.

Kuniko CEO, Antony Beckmand commented:

The assay results at our Skuterud Cobalt Project offer further support that the anomaly identified by our geophysics program is on point, putting us in a prime position to firm up a drilling program for next year. The investment in the airborne geophysics, combined with the extensive soil sampling campaign, demonstrates that there is significant upside exploration potential, with drilling by pervious explorer Berkut having missed the mark.

These results and the pending assays from our Vangrofta Copper Project enable us to plan an efficient drilling program for next year.

Kuniko share price summary

Since debuting on the ASX boards on 24 August, Kuniko shares have moved in circles. The company's share price hit an all-time high of $3.60 during the first opening weeks, before gradually treading lower.

Kuniko presides a market capitalisation of roughly $51.01 million, with more than 41.47 million shares outstanding.

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Above-average trading volume has flowed through Kuniko this morning following the release of assay results from its newly acquired Nord-Helgeland Project and other battery metals projects.

Encouraging findings

Investors are bidding up shares in the relatively new ASX-listed minerals explorer this morning. Excitement has trickled through the markets as shareholders absorb the latest assay results from one of the company's exploration sites.

According to the release, Kuniko has received high-grade results for its Nord-Helgeland Project in Northern Norway. The assays have been carried out on historic mine dumps and workings across the Feøy, Romsås and Skuterud Projects. These results confirm the potential of the aforementioned projects.

Furthermore, grades of up to 14.35% copper and 1.74% nickel have been obtained from waste pit samples at Karmøy and Feøy. Positively, the mining company believes there might be scope for further exploration around the pegmatite field of its Nord-Helgeland Project. As a result, investors are pushing the Kuniko share price upwards today.

The findings are another step towards refining Kuniko's drilling targets for 2022.

CEO Antony Beckmand commented on the assay results:

These assay results are strongly encouraging, reinforcing our knowledge of the available datasets, and telegraphing the valuable potential of our portfolio of battery metals projects in Norway. Further, there is clear potential for further exploration of the pegmatites in our newly acquired Nord-Helgeland Project which may provide an opportunity to expand our interests into valuable technology metals.

Additionally, the zero carbon-focused battery metals company is likely gathering attention today on the back of the Australian government's 2050 net-zero deal. While the details of the deal aren't yet public, the move could create a tailwind for sustainably-geared investments.

Kuniko share price snapshot

Since commencing trading on the ASX, the Kuniko share price has enjoyed an enviable run. In a little more than 2 months, the mineral explorer's shares have soared 145%. For comparison, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slipped 0.7% during that time.

The post Here's why the Kuniko (ASX:KNI) share price is climbing today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the Kuniko share price is up 9.28% to $2.12.

Kuniko share price jumps on exploration license expansion

Kuniko has received an additional 59 prospective exploration licenses covering a combined area of approximately 523 km².

The exploration licenses pave the way for exploration and evaluation activities around the Ringerike area and Nord-Helgeland pegmatite field, both situated in Northern Norway.

The Ringerike Project is located 15 km northeast of the company's existing Skuterud cobalt-copper project. Its believed to be prospective for nickel, copper, cobalt and platinum group elements.

Kuniko said it will compile all historical data from the project to expand its geological understanding and development an exploration plan for 2022.

The Nord-Helgeland Project covers a substantial portion of underexplored areas of the Nord-Helgeland pegmatite field. Kuniko intends to undertake further assessments to determine which resources are prospective in the area.

The company has already completed an initial site visit and obtained 13 rock grab samples.

Management commentary

Kuniko CEO Antony Beckmand hailed the strategic expansion, commenting:

This is an excellent opportunity for Kuniko, adding a meaningful and significant expansion of exploration potential in already prospective areas for mineralisation that so far, remain largely underexplored.

This strategic expansion of our already exciting portfolio of battery metals projects enables us to consolidate our presence in the region and our footprint in Norway, while broadening the prospects of projects we can grow and develop over time, ensuring we don't miss potential value creating opportunities.

We will include the newly acquired exploration areas into our overall workstreams for further field work next year, though the immediate focus remains on finalizing analysis from our recent geochemical and airborne geophysics programs to guide the evaluation of our project portfolio and prioritisation of our next phase of exploration activities

Kuniko share price snapshot

The Kuniko share price has cooled down from all-time highs of $3.60 but is still up 150% since its ASX debut on 24 August.

Given its current price of around $2, it remains a 10-bagger for investors that managed to participate in its initial public offering, which successfully raised ~$7.8 million at an offer price of just 20 cents per share.

The post Why is the Kuniko (ASX:KNI) share price soaring 13% on Monday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Kuniko shares are now trading at $2.25 each, a 2.16% drop from the open.

Let's investigate what Kuniko announced and what this could mean for investors.

What did Kuniko announce?

Kuniko advised it has achieved a number of progress points at its prospective copper and cobalt projects in Norway.

Specifically, it states that field explorations at the company's Skuterud Cobalt and Vangrofa Copper projects are now complete.

Kuniko also explains that an "airborne geophysics program" is now underway at these two sites. The airborne program is also operating at the Undal project site.

The company collected a total of 1,202 soil samples from these field explorations, according to the announcement.

Investors can expect the "initial laboratory analysis" from these sampling programs "during September and October". Whereas data from the airborne surveys is "to be available in October 2021".

And yet, the Kuniko share price isn't reflecting the positive news.

What did management say?

Speaking on the announcement, Kuniko CEO Antony Beckmand said:

The launch of the airborne geophysics program is a milestone for Kuniko as we commence delivering on our commitment to apply modern exploration methods to historical battery metals resources at our project sites.

Regarding the upcoming results, Beckmand added:

We are also pleased with the progress made by our exploration field team who have been working efficiently and effectively on completing the geochemical survey programs… We look forward to sharing the results of our geophysics and geochemical surveys across September and October.

Kuniko share price snapshot

The Kuniko share price has shot up over 1,060% since listing in August, much to the delight of investors that subscribed to its initial public offering (IPO).

That return is well ahead of the Australian broad indices, including the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) loss of 2.4% over the last month.

The post Kuniko (ASX:KNI) share price drops following production update appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Kuniko shares are now changing hands at $1.97 apiece, a 20% jump from the open.

Let's investigate a little further.

A quick recap on Kuniko

Kuniko is in the business of minerals exploration. It has particular interests in the development of non-lithium battery metals, used in the production of electro-mobility and other modern forms of energy production.

Kuniko was formed via a spinoff from Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) earlier this year. The company completed its initial public offering (IPO) last month.

At the time of writing, Kuniko has a market capitalisation of $87 million.

What's behind the Kuniko share price lately?

The Kuniko share price has been on a wild ride since listing on the ASX back on 24 August.

Kuniko shares were originally listed at 20 cents apiece, and have since climbed to the current price. Since that time, they have experienced periods of significant volatility.

What does this mean? Well basically, Kuniko shares have fluctuated up and down consistently over the past few weeks. And the fluctuations haven't been of a small magnitude, either.

On several days across this time, the Kuniko share price has shown an intraday range that resulted in a difference in prices of over 100%, even over 300% on one day.

Even today there has been a 27% spread between the intraday highs and lows of the Kuniko share price.

Equally as interesting, is that some of these fluctuations have occurred on significant trading volume. The average 1 month trading volume on Kuniko shares is an exchange of 11.3 million shares, which is around 27% of the company's total shares outstanding. That's exquisitely high for a newly listed company.

One potential explanation for the short-term fluctuations is the appointment of the company's new CEO, Antony Beckmand.

Beckmand comes with more than 20 years of experience in the mining industry, and is "enthusiastic about (the company's) portfolio of projects in Norway".

Kuniko shares have dipped 39% into the red from a closing high of $3.23 since the company announced its new CEO.

What's next for the Kuniko share price?

There's been no market sensitive information released by the company over the last week or two.

Nonetheless, current Kuniko shareholders have recognised an 882% return on their initial investment, if they subscribed during the IPO.

Kuniko is also focused on establishing robust ESG principles in its operations, ensuring ethical sourcing of its materials, committing to a zero carbon production process, and operating in Norway, where "98% of electricity comes from renewable sources".

This may impact the Kuniko share price favourably given the current macro-narrative in corporate social responsibility.

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At the market close, Kuniko shares were changing hands at $2.29 apiece, a 14.55% drop from the open this morning.

Let's investigate further.

Quick recap on Kuniko

Kuniko is a mineral exploration company that has interests in the development of non-lithium battery metals.

The company was formed by a spinoff from Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) at the end of July, in a heavily oversubscribed initial public offering (IPO).

Located in Norway, Kuniko targets cobalt, nickel and copper prospects — three battery metals used particularly in electric vehicles.

At the time of writing, the company has a market capitalisation of $142.5 million.

What's up with the Kuniko share price lately?

There is no market-sensitive information that relates to the company today. However, Kuniko shares have been on a wild ride since floating on the ASX back in July.

Arguably, the most interesting observation in the company's journey since listing has been the volatility in its share price. Let's dive into this a bit deeper to fully understand.

Firstly, the Kuniko share price zoomed from 76 cents on 25 August to close at $2.17 the day after. That's a 186% increase on the day.

However, at one point during the day, Kuniko shares were exchanging hands at a high of $3.60, and a low of 80 cents. Taking the spread between these two prices, we see it is a 375% difference!

What's more is that this exchange occurred on a tremendous volume of almost 36 million shares, which is about 90% of Kuniko's fully diluted number of shares outstanding.

In the week following, the Kuniko share price continued its ascent northwards, with a similar display of volatility across each day.

After the company announced its new CEO on 1 September, the Kuniko share price soared 19% higher on the day to close at $3.23.

It closed at $2.94 the day after, a 9% decrease. However, before it dropped to that level, it traded in an intraday range of $2.76 to $3.38 – a 22.5% spread in prices during that session.

Now almost a week later, the Kuniko share price is back down by approximately 18%.

Foolish takeaway

Kuniko shares are displaying a great deal of volatility since listing back in July.

This volatility has caused a wide range in which the Kuniko share price has traded. Volatility is not necessarily a driver of share price changes, but is certainly a result of underlying market forces that do cause these short-term fluctuations.

The post The Kuniko (ASX:KNI) share price is on a wild ride, sliding 14% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The company announced Antony Beckmand, a seasoned mining executive, has been instated as its new CEO this morning.

Right now, the Kuniko share price is $3.13, 15.07% higher than its previous close.

Let's take a closer look at the mineral exploration company's new leader.

New CEO

The Kuniko share price is soaring today amid exciting news of the company's new CEO.

Beckmand has more than 20 years of experience in the mining industry.

Prior to being CEO of Kuniko, a position he officially started today, Beckmand was CEO of Norway's Sydvaranger iron project. He is also currently an independent director of Nordic Mining ASA and was previously managing director and CEO of formerly-ASX-listed Northern Iron.

Beckmand is based in Norway, as are Kuniko's battery metals projects.

Commentary from management

Kuniko chair Gavin Rezos commented on the company's newest appointment:

(Beckmand) is an outstanding mining executive who is enthusiastic about our exceptional portfolio of projects in Norway and fully embraces our next generation ethos of responsible, sustainable mining practices to produce ethically sourced and secure supply battery minerals for an electro-mobile society.

Antony is based in Norway and with non-executive director Birgit Liodden in Oslo, we are well placed to advance our projects in Norway whilst working closely with all stakeholders including government and local communities from an early stage of development.

Kuniko share price snapshot

Today's gains included, the Kuniko share price has gained a whopping 265% since its initial public offering (IPO) just last week.

As we reported last Tuesday, the company's shares boosted 500% on the opening of its ASX debut. Under the company's prospectus, its shares were on offer for just 20 cents apiece.

Investors who got in on the prospectus have seen their investment increase by a massive 1,455%.

At its current share price, the company has a market capitalisation of around $165 million.

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At one stage today, the battery metals explorer's shares were down as much as 29% to $1.55.

But just 90 minutes later the Kuniko share price was up 22% for the day at $2.65.

What's going on with the Kuniko share price?

The Kuniko share price has been heavily traded this week since landing on the ASX boards on Tuesday. This follows its spin off from clean lithium developer Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) with a listing price of just 20 cents.

While the company's shares took off on day one, there was particularly strong interest in them on Thursday. This was due to the release of an update that got investors excited about its future prospects.

That release reveals that Kuniko has now kicked off geochemical sampling programs with a significant schedule of activity across its projects in Norway.

What is Kuniko exploring?

The Norway based battery metals explorer is targeting three fundamental metals for electromobility: Cobalt, Nickel and Copper. It is doing this at a suite of historical producing battery metals projects, with minimal previous modern exploration.

And much like former parent Vulcan Energy, the company's extraction and production processes will aim to be carbon neutral and work in harmony with the environment. This is by harnessing the region's natural energy.

The company notes that Europe will require a large volume of battery metals to support the >800 GWh battery manufacturing capacity required by 2030 to supply the electric vehicle market.

Per annum, this equates to approximately 160,000 tonnes of cobalt, 500,000 tonnes of nickel and 1,300,000 tonnes of copper. Kuniko believes it has an advantage by being ESG compliant and meeting EU regulations.

What else is happening?

Due to the incredible rise in the Kuniko share price since listing, it was dealt a speeding ticket by the Australian share market. It also prompted a report in the AFR claiming that Kuniko shares are being pumped and dumped by stock promoters.

And while the company has acknowledged that it has appointed online investor relations company S3 Consortium, it stated that "it has no relationship whatsoever with the Telegram group [app] referred to in the AFR news article, or any intraday or meme stock promoters."

The post What's going on with the Kuniko (ASX:KNI) share 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 soaring:

Blackmores Limited (ASX: BKL)

The Blackmores share price has jumped 11% to $88.68. This follows the release of the health supplements company's full year results. For the 12 months ended 30 June, Blackmores reported a 1.3% increase in revenue to $575.9 million and a 51.7% jump in underlying net profit after tax to $25.4 million.

Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)

The Flight Centre share price is up 4% to $16.99. This morning the leading travel agent reported its FY 2021 results and revealed a 74.2% decline in total transaction value (TTV) to $3,945 million. This ultimately led to Flight Centre reporting an underlying loss after tax of $364 million. However, management stated its belief that it can reach profitability in FY 2022. This appears to have boosted its shares.

Kuniko Ltd (ASX: KNI)

The Kuniko share price is rocketing 230% higher to $2.55. At one stage today, the battery metals explorer's shares were up as much as 350% amid excitement around its exploration activities in Norway. Kuniko shares were spun out of Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) earlier this week and began trading at just 20 cents.

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN)

The Qantas share price has risen 3.5% to $5.04. This is despite announcing a $2.35 billion pre-tax loss this morning. However, news that the airline is getting ready for international flights to resume before Christmas appears to have offset this and given the Qantas share price a boost today. This is based on the theory that Australia's international borders will be cracked open when 80% of eligible Australians are vaccinated against COVID-19.

The post Why Blackmores, Flight Centre, Kuniko, & Qantas shares are soaring today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

In afternoon trade, the battery metals explorer's shares are up 96% to a record high of $1.50.

This means the Kuniko share price is now up a staggering 650% since spinning out of Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) earlier this week.

Why is the Kuniko share price rocketing higher?

Investors have been bidding the Kuniko share price higher today following the release of an update on its exploration activities in Norway.

According to the release, geochemical sampling programs are now underway, kicking off a significant schedule of activity across its projects in Norway.

The company notes that it is exploring a suite of historical producing battery metals projects, with minimal previous modern exploration.

For example, the Skuterud Mine produced over one million tonnes of cobalt from 1773- 1898, and at the time was both the world's largest cobalt producer and the largest company in Norway.

In addition, the company's Vangrøfta licence hosts the historical Fredrick IV mine, from which 30 years of small-scale production occurred up until 1908. Positively, more recent rock chip samples reported rock chip results up to 16.75% copper, 3.33 g/t gold, and 0.216% cobalt from historical mine workings and dumps at the project.

New data to augment existing data sets, and to be integrated with upcoming airborne geophysical programs, is scheduled for September. The same month the first new assay data is expected to be released.

Management commentary

Kuniko's Chairman, Gavin Rezos, commented: "Kuniko has been positioned to meet the high demand for a sustainable supply of ethically mined battery metals sourced from within the European Economic Area (EEA) in response to the EV revolution."

"Norway, which has a long history of mining and is a world leader in renewable energy production, is now looking to reinvest in its mineral deposits as it transitions away from North Sea fossil fuels production to help the EEA meet this demand."

"Kuniko aims to extend historical battery metals resources on our project sites by applying modern exploration and processing methods, whilst applying the same ESG culture to our projects to demonstrate a zero-carbon footprint that we have learnt from Vulcan, who importantly has retained a 25.85% stake in the company," he added.

The Kuniko share price began trading on the ASX at 20 cents on Tuesday.

The post Why the Kuniko (ASX:KNI) share price is rocketing 96% higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

About the Kuniko share price

Kuniko is a spin-off of Vulcan Energy Resources Ltd (ASX: VUL) and its non-core Norwegian battery metal assets.

The spin-off enables Vulcan to fully focus on the development of its core Zero Carbon Lithium project while Kuniko will focus on the development of copper, nickel and cobalt projects in Scandinavia.

Kuniko's initial public offering successfully raised ~7.8 million at an offer price of just 20 cents per share.

At the time of writing, the Kuniko share price is trading at 94 cents, or 370% higher than its offer price.

Kuniko's projects

Kuniko will be focused on exploration programs to determine the economic viability of its projects, with a strict mandate to maintain a net zero carbon footprint throughout exploration, development and production.

The focus will be on the company's 262km2 Nickel-Cobalt-Copper (Ni-Cu-Co) licence portfolio which includes:

• South-west Norway tenements: Ni-Cu-Co projects in the historically important Feøy and Romsås mining districts located in south-western Norway
• South-central Norway cobalt tenements: Copper-Cobalt-Gold project, part of the historically important Skuterud mining district of central-southern Norway, previously the largest cobalt mining area in the world
• South-central Norway copper tenements: Undal Cobalt-Zinc-Copper project and Vangrøfta Copper-Cobalt-Gold projects located in the Trondheim region of central Norway

The company has budgeted $4.15 million worth of exploration activities for the first two financial years. This could mean a number of catalysts for the Kuniko share price as geophysics, sampling and drilling results are released.

What's the hype behind the Kuniko share price?

Kuniko was created by the same team as Vulcan Energy, an emerging ASX lithium producer whose share price surged from 60 cents to $14 in the past 12 months.

Moving forward, the company has a highly credible and experienced team to progress exploration. This includes its executive chairman, Gavin Rezos, who was the non-executive chairman of Vulcan Energy.

Kuniko's prospectus also highlights that "in recent years there has been an increasing demand for battery metals including copper, nickel and cobalt, specifically in the EU as a result of change in policy by EU governments seeking to dramatically reduce carbon emissions".

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