Ardea Resources (ASX: ARL) is an ASX-listed resources company involved in mineral exploration and development in Western Australia and NSW.
The miner’s shares hit new highs on Friday. The Ardea share price has seen a relatively stable 12 months until now. Hence, last week, the miner released a positive report regarding its Western Australia exploration site. This great news pushed its share price up by as much as an impressive 58%.
ARL has since settled down to close today at 71 cents, which is still an increase of 54.35% year-to-date.
So, what is so exceptional about this announcement that made the Ardea share price skyrocket?
Let’s dive into it.
Substantial drill discovery
Ardea is a multi-commodity miner with interests in Western Australia. The company’s primary focus is to export its resources to the lithium-ion battery sector. Thus, Ardea seeks to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles and storage.
The miner’s main interests are the Kalgoorlie Nickel Project and the Goongarrie Hub, both being the largest source of nickel-cobalt in the developed world. Furthermore, Ardea holds interest in projects and exploration of nickel sulphide within the Eastern Goldfields.
On Friday, Ardea announced that it had confirmed a high-grade massive Nickel-Copper-PGE sulphide discovery. This extends its resources and capacity at its Emu Lake site within the Eastern Goldfields.
Ardea has successfully found 2.72m at 5.42% nickel and 0.85% copper from a drill hole at 391.04 metres.
According to the miner, the drill site has increased massive nickel, copper sulphide grade and thickness on an intact, basal dacite contact.
More explorations and discoveries in progress
It is not just the sulphide discovery that has Ardea excited. On top of that, Ardea has also opened an exploration incentive scheme. This is to test the down-plunge extension from the recent discovery. It is worth noting that the exercise has been co-funded by the WA government.
Ardea is set to commence exploration once a rig is made available. Moreover, CSIRO is set to study the mineralisation of the nickel sulphite found at Emu Lake. This is to determine the massive sulphide within site.
And finally, the miner has found a precise new fertile target to pursue — deemed the Western Ultramafic-Dacite contact — in which it controls 20 kilometres of strike.
Ardea share price performance
Before today, the Ardea share price saw its most significant spikes of the last twelve months in February and June 2021.
The first jump came after the miner announced the sale of its Bedonia East project to Moneghetti Minerals Ltd to focus on its Kalgoorlie site. The Ardea share price rose 15% in a few days before dropping again, although the company announced a 60 million tonne at 1% nickel resource estimate at Goongarrie. Prices surged again in June after the miner reported a significant interception of nickel sulphide at Emu Lake. The ARL shares were priced at 60 cents and 59 cents at these two high points, respectively.
Ardea has approximately $70 million in market capitalisation and over 138 million shares issued.
Investors Also Asked These Questions
What are the best mineral stocks to invest in ASX?
Along with Ardea, we also like Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR), Pilbara (ASX: PLS), and Lynas (ASX: LYC), which are our top picks.
Who are the core competitors of Ardea Resources?
The top competitors are Liontown and Pilbara, which have significant capacity and resources. These companies could be quite a challenge for Ardea.
What is the best mining stock to invest in?
We like Liontown. Hence, during the 12 months of 2021, the company’s share price latched onto the booming enthusiasm towards the electric battery material. This proved rewarding for shareholders, with shares gaining 388% in the year.
