The Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM) share price is in focus today after the company announced completion of the Karlawinda Expansion Project, with the new plant hitting its targeted 6.5 million tonnes per annum throughput on schedule.

What did Capricorn Metals report?

• The Karlawinda Expansion Project (KEP) construction and commissioning completed on schedule.
• New crushing, milling, and CIL circuits now fully operational and running continuously.
• Steady state project throughput of 6.5 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) achieved.
• Expanded Karlawinda Gold Project expected to produce about 150,000 ounces of gold per year.
• Mine life exceeds 10 years based on current reserves.

What else do investors need to know?

The company credits its construction and operations teams, along with key contractors, for delivering the Karlawinda Expansion Project on time over a 12-month build. The plant is currently processing low-grade ore and will ramp up to run-of-mine grade ore in the next week as operations settle into a steady state.

Infrastructure including CIL areas and tailings storage pipeline work are also commissioned, with run-of-mine ore stockpiling underway. Ongoing optimisation of the crushing circuit is set to continue now that main construction is complete.

What did Capricorn Metals management say?

Capricorn Executive Chairman Mark Clark said:

The commencement of continuous ore processing at the Karlawinda Expansion Project on schedule is a significant milestone for Capricorn. It is the culmination of a huge effort from our construction and operations teams, supported by key contractors. We now look forward to the transition of Karlawinda into a long life operation producing around 150,000 ounces of gold per annum.

What’s next for Capricorn Metals?

Capricorn Metals plans to shift from processing low-grade ore to run-of-mine grade in the coming week to reach full steady state operations. The expanded Karlawinda Gold Project is forecast to support a long-term annual gold output of about 150,000 ounces, underpinned by a mine life of at least a decade.

The company also notes ongoing work to further optimise product size through its new crushing circuit, with the potential to enhance operational efficiency and output over time.

Capricorn Metals share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, Capricorn Metals shares have risen 24%, outperforming the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), which has declined 1% over the same period.

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The post Capricorn Metals shares: Karlawinda Expansion Project completes on time appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Laura Stewart has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips. This article was prepared with the assistance of Large Language Model (LLM) tools for the initial summary of the company announcement. Any content assisted by AI is subject to our robust human-in-the-loop quality control framework, involving thorough review, substantial editing, and fact-checking by our experienced writers and editors holding appropriate credentials. The Motley Fool Australia stands behind the work of our editorial team and takes ultimate responsibility for the content published by The Motley Fool Australia.

ASX blue-chip shares can be a great source of dividend income thanks to their stability and regular profit generation.

The two businesses I’m going to highlight have already provided investors with plenty of good passive income over the years.

In my view, the two ideas below are compelling to me.

Argo Investments Ltd (ASX: ARG)

The first ASX blue-chip share is one of the oldest listed investment companies (LICs) – it has been operating since 1946. The job of a LIC is to invest in other shares on behalf shareholders.

Argo focuses on investing in ASX blue-chip shares, so it can give us exposure to a portfolio of names and make investment decisions about which stocks to own.

At the end of August 2026, its biggest positions were BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG), Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO), Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA), Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES), ANZ Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: ANZ), Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) and CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL).

Last month, the board of directors declared a fully franked final dividend of 20 cents per share. Together with the interim dividend of 18.5 cents per share, the full-year dividend was hiked to a record high of 38.5 cents per share.

In FY27, it is changing to pay quarterly dividends and the board intends to declare a quarterly payout of 10 cents per share for the first four quarterly dividends. That’d be a year-over-year increase of 3.9% – likely more than inflation.

The expected FY27 grossed-up dividend yield is 6.2%, including franking credits, at the time of writing.

Scentre Group (ASX: SCG)

Scentre is one of Australia’s largest real estate investment trusts (REITs). It owns Westfield shopping centres across Australia and New Zealand.

The ASX blue-chip share can pay distributions from its strong net rental profits.

The FY26 half-year result was a strong example of the business’s performance, despite tougher operating conditions.

Funds from operations (FFO) – essentially the net rental profit – grew 4.4% to $612 million or 11.73 cents per security. This funded a 4.9% increase in the distribution to 9.215 cents per security.

Despite the rise of e-commerce, Scentre Group’s annual customer visits increased by 3.3% to 552 million. For the 12 months to 30 June 2026, total sales grew by $1 billion to a record $30.3 billion, up 4.2%. Specialty sales grew by 5.4%.

For the month of July, total business partner sales grew 2.7%, and specialty sales were 3.6% higher.

Rent escalations increased by 5.5% in the six months to 30 June 2026, while the ASX blue-chip share completed 1,401 leasing deals, achieving average releasing spreads of 3.7%. These are useful tailwinds for future rental profit growth.

It’s also looking to use some of its excess land to build thousands of dwellings and these plans are progressing.

The business recently upgraded its distribution guidance for 2026 to growth of 4.25% to 18.47 cents per security. That translates into a forward distribution yield of 5.4%.

The post 2 ASX blue-chip shares offering big dividend yields appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended CSL, Macquarie Group, and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BHP Group, CSL, Macquarie Group, and Wesfarmers. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

It has been a rollercoaster year for EchoIQ Ltd (ASX: EIQ) shares.

The ASX tech stock has been as low as 17 cents and as high as $1.88.

On Wednesday, the medical technology company’s shares are fetching 66 cents, down around 65% from their high.

Is this pullback a buying opportunity for investors? Let’s see what Bell Potter is saying.

What is the broker saying?

Bell Potter notes that EchoIQ is trying to help with early identification of heart failure, which is a big market.

However, things have not been going to plan, with disappointing feedback from the US FDA recently. It explains:

The unmet need for a diagnostic aid to early identification of heart failure remains acute. Tens of thousands each year progress silently from asymptomatic disease to first symptoms, which may include modestly swollen ankles and the occasional shortness of breath, through to later stage heart failure, by which time it is too late to significantly slow the disease or better yet stop its progression all together. EchoSolv HF still has the potential to fill this void. 

Providing clarification of our previous assumption, data from the Mayo Validation Study underpinned the recent 510(k) application for registration of EchoSolv HF. The Mayo Clinic Platform is a highly regarded research institution in the US and for this reason the conclusions from the 17,000 patient confirmatory study which met the clinical endpoints and reported 99.5% sensitivity and 91% specificity for detection of early stage heart failure should have been a slam dunk for regulatory approval – or so we thought. The market was caught off guard when the FDA issued a ‘Not Substantially Equivalent’ notice earlier this month.

Should you buy this ASX tech stock?

According to the note, the broker has retained its speculative sell rating and 30 cents price target on the ASX tech stock.

Based on its current share price of 66 cents, this implies potential downside of almost 55%. 

Commenting on its bearish view of the stock, Bell Potter said:

The vacuum of data relating to EchoSolv HF is a frustration. The peer reviewed paper of the Mayo Validation Study is not yet published and the company is yet to release any substantial details regarding the nature of the matters raised in the Not Substantially Equivalent notification. Accordingly there remains insufficient data from which to make an objective assessment of these factors. 

For these reasons we maintain our highly conservative valuation and Sell (Speculative) recommendation. EIQ remains adamant there is a clear path forward to obtaining FDA clearance for EchoSolv HF, however the market release of 17 September actually identifies several options. Clearly a lot of work yet to do.

The post Down 65%: Is it a good time to buy this exciting ASX tech stock? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.