It was a positive first quarter of 2021 for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO). During the three months, the benchmark index climbed a solid 3.1%.

Unfortunately, not all shares on the index climbed higher with the market. Here’s why these were the worst performers on the ASX 200 during the first quarter:

Resolute Mining Limited (ASX: RSG)

The Resolute share price was the worst performer during the first quarter with a 44.7% decline. A softening gold price, a weak full year result, and disappointing guidance were weighing on this gold miner’s shares already prior to a bombshell announcement in the final week of the month. That announcement revealed that the Ghanaian government terminated its Bibiani Gold Mine licence. This was just weeks before the expected completion of the sale of the mine to Chifeng Jilong Gold Mining for US$105 million. There is speculation that the company may need to raise funds if the sale no longer proceeds.

Nuix Ltd (ASX: NXL)

The Nuix share price was out of form and crashed 37.5% lower during the three months. The catalyst for this was a surprisingly disappointing half year result from the investigative analytics and intelligence software provider. Nuix fell short of expectations during the half, despite listing on the market just a few weeks before the end of it on 4 December. The selloff and criticism from analysts were so severe, management put out a release defending its performance. It also noted that its full year guidance has been reaffirmed despite the weak half.

Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN)

The Kogan share price wasn’t far behind with a disappointing 36.9% decline over the period. This decline appears to have been driven largely by a combination of profit taking and concerns over rising bond yields. This offset a stellar half year result in February that saw Kogan deliver a 97.4% increase in gross sales to $638.2 million and a 250.2% jump in adjusted net profit after tax to $36.5 million.

Appen Ltd (ASX: APX)

The Appen share price was a poor performer and sank 35.9% lower during the quarter. This artificial intelligence services company’s shares came under pressure following the release of its full year results. For the 12 months ended 31 December, Appen reported a 12% increase in revenue to $599.9 million and an 8% lift in EBITDA to $108.6 million. In FY 2021, Appen is forecasting EBITDA growth of 18% to 28%. Although this is solid growth in the current environment, it fell well short of the market’s expectations. Analysts appear concerned that increasing competition could put pressure on pricing and weigh on its growth.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises, Webjet sinks, Boral climbs
• Why the JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) share price surged 19% in March
• Here’s why ASX cannabis shares are lighting up today
• Are ASX 200 value shares still good value? Why these experts are at loggerheads
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price rose 11% in March

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Appen Ltd and Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd and Nuix Pty Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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If you’re looking for exchange traded funds (ETFs) to invest some of your funds into, then you might want to take a look at the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA).

Here’s why this good be a great option for investors:

What is the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF?

The BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF provides investors with exposure to a number of the most exciting tech shares in the Asia market (excluding Japan).

BetaShares notes that this is a high-growth sector that is under-represented in the Australian share market.

Furthermore, thanks to its younger and tech-savvy population, the fund manager points out that Asia is surpassing the West in respect to technological adoption. As a result of this, the sector is expected to remain a growth sector for a long time to come.

What shares will you be buying?

Among the 50 “technology tigers” included in the fund are the likes of Alibaba, Baidu, JD.com, Meituan Dianping, Pinduoduo, Samsung, and Tencent.

Alibaba is largely regarded as the Amazon of China. Across its Alibaba, Taobao, and Tmall brands, the company has almost 800 million active customers. To put that into context, Kogan.com Ltd (ASX: KGN) reported active customers of 1.7 million during the first half of FY 2021.

Given the size of Alibaba’s reach, the company is estimated to control over half of China’s ecommerce market. The ecommerce giant also has a presence offline with a growing network of grocery stores, hypermarkets, and department stores.

Another share you’ll be buying a slice of is Pinduoduo. It is another ecommerce company with a significant reach. Pinduoduo’s platform offers a wide range of products from daily groceries to home appliances.

But rather than selling products like Kogan does, it connects distributors with consumers directly through an interactive shopping experience. This allows shoppers to team up to buy items at lower prices. At the end of September, it was serving 731 million active buyers.

How has it been performing?

The BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF has been a strong performer in recent years and during the pandemic.

According to BetaShares, the ETF has delivered an average return of 36.5% per annum since its inception in September 2018. Whereas the index it is tracking has returned an average of 29% per annum over the last five years.

More reading

• Morgan Stanley says that Chinese shares are an opportunity right now
• 3 stellar ETFs for ASX investors to buy
• 2 tech ETFs delivering strong long-term returns
• How to counter the ASX 200’s Achilles heel
• 3 top ETFs for ASX investors to buy

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Kogan.com ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Recce Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: RCE) share price has spent today in the red despite the company releasing positive data from anti-infective drug trials against bacterial sinusitis in mice.

It seems shareholders weren’t excited by the results, with the Recce share price dropping from its opening price of 98 cents to close at 97 cents.

Recce is a drug discovery and development business that produces synthetic antibiotics to address the global health challenge of antibiotic-resistant superbugs. 

Recce report shows positive sinusitis fight

Recce’s data is from a large trial involving a total of 12 groups of 10 mice each. The study was performed to reveal the efficacy of a new anti-infective formulation, called RECCE 111 (R111), against Streptococcus pneumoniae bacterial sinusitis.

Streptococcus pneumoniae, a gram-positive bacterium (a type of bacterium cell wall), is a leading cause of bacterial pneumonia and meningitis in the United States and a common cause of bloodstream infections, also known as sepsis, ear and sinus infections.

Recce 111 is the title for a wholly-owned experimental compound produced by Recce Pharmaceuticals in-house. The testing showed significant antibacterial capability with no abnormalities detected in any of the 12 groups of mice, with most of the groups administered the drug twice daily.

This news on its own wasn’t enough to send the Recce share price flying today.

Three groups were treated with varying intranasal doses twice daily. These groups showed a significant dose-dependent antibacterial effect when compared to early infection. However, the average efficacy of these doses may be why shareholders appeared uninterested in the company today.

Three groups of mice were treated with varying intravenous doses of up to 1,000 milligrams per kilogram of weight. In contrast, the remaining group of three were treated with intravenous doses up to 250 milligrams per kilogram of weight. Both of these studies revealed relatively similar results.

Azithromycin was the positive control in the study given twice daily at 200 mg/kg and showed a bactericidal effect.

What Recce management said

Recce CEO James Graham said the results were strong for a range of Recce research targets.

We’re continually excited by the potential of Recce’s anti-infective compounds and are encouraged by these positive indications. Moreover, this further enhances the breadth of Recce’s synthetic polymer platform.

Recce share price snapshot

The Recce share price has offered a one-year return of 276% but is down 3.5% this week, 8.5% this month and 9% this year to date. At its current price, Recce has a market capitalisation of $167.7 million.

More reading

• Recce Pharmaceuticals (ASX:RCE) share price tumbles despite positive update
• Here’s why the Recce (ASX:RCE) share price is racing higher today

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh 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 Bruce Jackson.

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Although headwinds associated with the pandemic have stifled the growth of a good number of companies, some have continued their strong form largely unabated.

Two ASX tech shares that are continuing to grow rapidly are listed below. Here’s why they could be worth a closer look:

Bigtincan Holdings Ltd (ASX: BTH)

Bigtincan is a provider of an artificial intelligence-powered sales enablement automation platform.

The company notes that its platform delivers a better customer experience, empowering sales and marketing teams to drive better business results.

A testament to the quality of its platform is its customer base. A number of the largest companies in the world are using Bigtincan Hub. This includes 7 of the top 10 companies on the Fortune 500 and Australia and New Zealand Banking GrpLtd (ASX: ANZ).

Strong demand led to the company reporting further strong growth with its half year results in February. At the end of December, its annualised recurring revenue (ARR) had reached $48.4 million. This was a 50% increase over the prior corresponding period. Driving this growth was a 42.9% increase in organic ARR and $8.4 million from acquisitions.

Morgan Stanley was happy with its update. In response to it, the broker put an overweight rating and $1.40 price target on its shares.

Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1)

Megaport is another company that has been growing rapidly despite the pandemic. The provider of elastic interconnection services across data centres reported Monthly Recurring Revenue (MRR) of $6.3 million at the end of the first half.

This was a 37% increase on the prior corresponding period and annualises to $75.6 million. This compares to FY 2020’s revenue of $58 million.

Management advised that this was driven by a combination of customer and ports growth and an expanding footprint. At the end of December, the company had 2,043 customers (up 11%) across 716 Enabled Data Centres (up 7%) in 130 cities.

This result went down well with Goldman Sachs. Following its release, the broker put a buy rating and $15.55 price target on its shares.

More reading

• The FINEOS (ASX:FCL) share price is now 30% off its August highs
• 3 exciting small cap ASX shares to watch
• 2 ASX tech shares growing rapidly to buy
• Bigtincan (ASX:BTH) share price continues slide despite strong underlying growth
• 2 of the best small cap ASX shares to buy

James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends BIGTINCAN FPO and MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended BIGTINCAN FPO and MEGAPORT FPO. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by 0.6% to 6,829 points.

Company announcements were the cause of the biggest movers within the ASX 200.

These are some of the highlights from the day:

Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB)

The Webjet share price fell more than 5% after announcing a convertible note offering.

It said that it has successfully priced its AU$25 million convertible notes which are due in 2026.

The notes will have a coupon of 0.75% per annum, paid on a semi-annual basis. The notes will be convertible into fully paid ordinary shares with an initial conversion price of $6.35 per share, which represents a conversion premium of 22.5% compared to the reference share price of $5.18.

The net proceeds are expected to be approximately $246 million after the deduction of commissions, professional fees and other expenses. The net proceeds are expected to be used to repay $43 million of Webjet’s existing term debt and also fund potential acquisitions.

Webjet managing director John Guscic said:

We are taking advantage of market conditions to proactively manage our balance sheet and the existing term debt. The offering also provides flexibility to pursue leadership in all our businesses. In particular, it places Webjet in a strategically advantaged position in the context of a highly fragmented B2B wholesale bedbank industry, which we believe will change significantly as a result of the pandemic. The Webjet OTA (online travel agency) has already seen meaningful market share growth as Australian domestic travel markets start to return and the offering will provide flexibility to further capture demand as bookings continue to shift online.

It was the worst performer in the ASX 200.

Boral Limited (ASX: BLD)

The Boral share price went up 6.75% after announcing it had completed the sale of its 50% share of USG Boral and it revealed an on-market buy-back.

The USG Boral sale for A$1.33 billion will result in Boral reporting a profit after tax of approximately $450 million.

Some of the money will be used to reduce the net debt position from $1.9 billion to $1.5 billion.

Boral is planning to buy back up to 10% of shares on issue over the next 12 months. The company said it believed the buy-back is the most effective method of returning the surplus capital to shareholders.

The construction business will continue to assess options to distribute any additional surplus capital.

It was the best performer in the ASX 200.

AMP Limited (ASX: AMP)

The AMP share price went up 4.75% today after it finally announced that its CEO was being replaced.

Mr Francesco De Ferrari will be replaced by the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Ltd (ASX: ANZ) deputy CEO, Alexis George. She will take over in the third quarter of this year.

Ms George has been at ANZ for seven years. She led ANZ’s $4 billion wealth divestment program, including the separation and sale of its life insurance and superannuation businesses. Before that, Ms George had spent ten years at ING.

AMP Chair Debra Hazelton said:

In Alexis George, we have a great leader and strong fit for the future of our company. On any measure, she has outstanding industry experience in wealth management and banking, and is committed to continue the transformation of AMP’s business, and importantly, our organisation’s culture. Alexis will work with our executive team to complete and build on the strategic initiatives started under Francesco’s leadership and take AMP forward to its next phase of growth.

AMP was one of the best performers in the ASX 200.

More reading

• Why the JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) share price surged 19% in March
• Here’s why ASX cannabis shares are lighting up today
• Why Computershare, Macquarie, Race Oncology, & Webjet are tumbling lower
• Are ASX 200 value shares still good value? Why these experts are at loggerheads
• Why the Telstra (ASX:TLS) share price rose 11% in March

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Webjet Ltd. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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March was not a good month for ASX growth shares, as it turns out. Over the month, the ASX followed the US markets’ lead in re-rating growth shares across the board in response to rising government bond yields.

But this might just have given ASX investors a chance to review some of the growth names out there as we start April. Lower prices mean cheaper shares, after all. And remember, before 2021, ASX growth shares had not had a major pullback since the coronavirus-induced market crash last year.

So here are two ASX growth shares to consider for April

A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M)

A2 Milk had an absolute shocker in March. As my Fool colleague reported today, the A2 Milk share price fell almost every day over the month. At the time of writing, it stands at just $7.75, which is the lowest level this company has seen since early 2018. It’s also down more than 60% from the all-time high of more than $20 a share that we saw last year.

The catalyst for this downgrade are concerns over the company’s formerly lucrative daigou suitcase-shipping channels to China. These have all but friend up in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and management is not indicating that they will return anytime soon. But perhaps this is an overreaction from investors. A2 has a long history of delivering knockout growth across multiple markets. As such, a 60% drop might be worth digging deeper into.

Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd. (ASX: DMP)

Unlike A2 Milk, Dominos actually had a decent month in March, rising roughly 6% over the month. Still, Dominos remains more than 11% off of its all-time high that it hit back in February. This company was an undisputed winner from the pandemic last year. It seems that when Aussies are locked up for weeks or months at a time, pizza consumption rises. Who would have thought!

This positive momentum appears to be continuing as well. In February, Dominos reported that for the six months ending 31 December 2020, it managed to grow revenues by a whopping 16.5% and profits by 32.8%. It’s hard to bet against the future growth prospects of pizza. As such, Dominos is another ASX growth share to check to this April. Especially at 14% off of its recent highs.

More reading

• These were the worst performing ASX 200 shares in March
• The A2 Milk (ASX:A2M) share price was down almost every day in March
• Over 1 in 4 Australians are investing in the ASX: report
• ASX 200 dips lower, Webjet drops, REA bids for Mortgage Choice
• 2 highly-rated ASX growth shares to buy

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen owns shares of A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended A2 Milk. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Dominos Pizza Enterprises Limited. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Urbanise.Com Ltd (ASX: UBN) share price soared in the first 30 minutes of opening trade, reaching 17% higher. Its meteoric rise came after the company announced a major new customer win.

During the day, however, the company’s shares have backtracked after some profit-taking by investors. At the close of trade, the cloud-based software solutions company’s shares swapped hands for 8.6 cents, up 6.17%.

A quick take on Urbanise

Established in 2001, Urbanise leverages cloud technology and the Internet of Things (IoT) to manage infrastructure, buildings, housing estates and local government structures.

It enables building operators to streamline workflow processes as they manage properties. The various functions include community and property management, asset maintenance, mobile workforce, asset monitoring, utility reporting, and more.

Milestone win

Investors are boosting the Urbanise share price today after the company revealed a milestone customer win.

In today’s release, Urbanise advised it has secured a 3-year contract with leading Dubai-based property developer, Nakheel.

The deal will see Urbanise deliver to Nakheel a fully integrated facilities management and strata solution platform.

Urbanise’s end-to-end product will provide the developer with the ability to manage several properties across its extensive portfolio. This includes customers in the residential developments, hotels and resorts, malls and corporate office premises space.

Urbanise expects the contract to generate roughly $760,000 in annual recurring revenue (ARR).

Management said this would be reflected “across both the facilities management and strata divisions and will form part of the backlog until go-live”.

Furthermore, the company will move both systems (facilities and strata management software) into a single integrated solution.

About the Urbanise share price

The Urbanise share price has gained more than 110% in the past 12 months and is up around 13% year-to-date. The company’s shares reached a multi-year high of 12 cents in late September before stabilising thereafter.

Urbanise commands a market capitalisation of just over $70 million at the current share price, with 834.3 million shares on issue.

More reading

• 2 ASX growth shares to buy in April
• 2 ASX dividend shares to buy this April
• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price and weekly news wrap
• Peel Mining (ASX:PEX) share price lifts on high-grade copper hits
• Why the Strike Energy (ASX:STX) share price powered up today

Motley Fool contributor Aaron Teboneras 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 Bruce Jackson.

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March is gone and April is here. That means autumn, jokes and Easter. But as April dawns, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is set to keep interest rates at the record low of 0.1% when it meets next Tuesday. Of course, we don’t know this for sure. But seeing as RBA governor Dr Philip Lowe has indicated rates won’t be rising until at least 2024, it’s about the surest thing we are going to get from the world of investing this month.

So with interest rates t these lows, we are once again reminded of the fact that any cash we have in the bank is not going to be making anyone wealthy. These days, you’re lucky to get an interest rate above 1% on a savings account.

Luckily, ASX dividend shares are not so held down by interest rates. So here are two high-yielding dividend shares to consider this April:

Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG)

Macquarie has perhaps the unfortunate tag of being the ASX’s ‘fifth bank’. However, unlike Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) or Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC), Macquarie isn’t your typical ASX bank. It does offer loans, mortgages and bank accounts. But these form a very small portion of Macquarie’s earnings base. Instead, Macquarie’s crown jewels are its funds management business, as well as its investment banking divisions. So if you’re thinking Macquarie is ‘just another ASX bank’, you might want to think again.

In terms of dividends, Macquarie shares have a trailing dividend yield of 2.08%. That reflects the $1.80 and $1.35 per share dividends Macquarie paid out last year. However, 2019 saw this bank pay out $3.60 and $2.50 in dividends respectively. This indicates that Macquarie could increase its dividends back to these levels in 2021 and beyond as the pandemic heads into the rearview mirror.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Another ASX dividend share to consider today is Rural Funds Group. Rural Funds is an agriculturally focused real estate investment trust (REIT). It holds a portfolio of farmland across Australia, which includes cattle farms, vineyards, as well as macadamia and almond orchards.

Farmland is a pretty stable kind of investment, and this is reflected in Rural Funds’ dividend distributions. Last year, the company managed to pay out four distributions, two worth 2.82 cents each and two worth 2.71 cents each. That in itself was an improvement on the four distributions of 2.71 cents and 2.61 cents each the previous year.

Those distributions give Rural Funds’ units a trailing yield of 4.08% on current pricing. Being a REIT, Rural Funds; distributions, unfortunately, don’t come with franking credits though.

More reading

• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price and weekly news wrap
• Why Computershare, Macquarie, Race Oncology, & Webjet are tumbling lower
• Why the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price is going around in circles
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• Macquarie (ASX:MQG) share price lower after APRA crackdown

Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended Macquarie Group Limited and RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Bruce Jackson.

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The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is slipping late afternoon trading, down 0.5%. The fall comes despite a the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) edging higher, up 0.3% at time of writing.

With the ASX closed tomorrow (and Monday) for the long Easter weekend, we take a look at how and why Commonwealth Bank shares moved this week.

How the Commonwealth share price moved this week

Yesterday, 31 March, was the only day this week that Commonwealth Bank shares gained, closing the day up 0.8%. With a loss of 0.5% on Monday and closing down 0.2% on Tuesday, it looks like CBA will close the shortened trading week down some 0.3%.

Still, Commonwealth Bank shares remain up 35% since 1 October, handily outpacing the 17% gain posted by the ASX 200 over that same time.

Another round of legal woes for CBA

Last week on Monday, March 29, Commonwealth Bank, along with Australia and New Zealand Banking Grp Ltd (ASX: ANZ), settled a lawsuit in the United States that was initiated way back in 2016. CBA shares gained 0.4% following the news.

No sooner was that settled than the Finance Sector Union accused CBA of owing thousands of workers a total of $45 million. The workers have allegedly been unable to take their contractually allowed 10-minute paid tea breaks. CBA has denied the allegations.

This week a new and potentially more damaging legal headache emerged.

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) has commenced legal action against CBA, accusing the big 4 bank of misleading or deceptive conduct as well as alleging CBA violated its Australian financial services licence requirements.

With Commonwealth Bank shares down more than twice as much as the other 3 banks in the big 4 mix today, investors may be taking note.

Why this asset manager prefers Commonwealth Bank shares

With all of the big 4 banks posting hefty share price gains as part of the recovery trade over the past half year, ASX investors are beginning to wonder how much higher, if any, they can go.

Looking ahead, Jason Teh, chief investment officer at Vertium Asset Management, says (quoted by the Australian Financial Review), “The banks may trade sideways. Now it’s all about the relative attractiveness.”

Teh isn’t selling his bank holdings though. And he prefers Commonwealth Bank and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) to National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) and ANZ.

That’s because he believes CBA’s earnings have “more to go from a mean reversion point”.

Teh added, “Given how fast the bad debt profile is rolling off, there’s probably one more result before everything normalises for the banks. I think that’s as good as it’s going to get.”

More reading

• Here’s why the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price jumped 8% in March
• Top brokers name 3 ASX shares to sell today
• ASX 200 up 0.25%: AMP names new CEO, Boral’s buyback, Webjet sinks
• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) sued over ‘misleading’ conduct
• AMP (ASX:AMP) share price on watch after announcing CEO change

Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben 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 Bruce Jackson.

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The Peel Mining Ltd (ASX: PEX) share price lifted today after the company discovered more high-grade copper hits in its Wirlong mine in western New South Wales.

At the close of trade, the Peel Mining share price was up 2% at 25.5 cents per share.

Based in NSW, Peel Mining explores and develops precious, base, and specialty metals resources. In addition to its Peel segments, which bring in the vast majority of the company’s revenue, it also has a farm-in agreement with the Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC). 

The company’s drilling update today revealed that resource definition drilling at its 100%-owned Wirlong deposit had returned further broad and high-grade copper-mineralised intercepts. Wirlong is part of Peel’s South Cobar Project, centred around 100km south of Cobar in western NSW.

Peel Mining results 

The company’s latest drilling assays show significant zones of chalcopyrite dominant mineralisation in drilling. Four out of its five zones are operated at depths less than 300 metres, with intercepts ranging up to 25g/t up to 165 metres deep.

The company was originally planning to complete its drilling results using reverse circulation (RC) drilling. However, it has now switched to diamond drilling due to significant drillhole deviation since commencement.

Mineralisation returned from the resource definition drilling is generally consistent with the position of electromagnetic conductor plates, supporting the company’s initial modelling on the mine.

What Peel management said

Peel Mining managing director Rob Tyson said the switch to diamond drilling was having a positive impact on Peel’s discoveries.

Wirlong keeps producing excellent copper hits and, encouragingly, is indicating good vertical spatial continuity between intercepts. Underlining this is drillhole WLRC083 which is positioned 90m above from WLRC073 and has returned a broad interval of copper mineralisation to end of hole including a significant very high-grade interval.

The recent switch to diamond drilling provides additional valuable information to assist with our structural and geological modeling as well as material for metallurgical testwork. Once again, these results, coupled with the visuals and XRF analyses for drillholes still to be reported, assist in our goal of defining a high-grade maiden copper resource at Wirlong.

Peel Mining share price snapshot

The Peel Mining share price is up 128% this past year, but today’s gains are against losses of 1.9% this week, 15% this month and 8.9% this year to date.

Despite this, the Peel Mining share price continues to beat its basic materials sector by 80% this year. The gains are likely a result of strong copper prices, which have surged more than US$1 per pound over the past 12 months, to their current price of US$3.98 per pound.

More reading

• Commonwealth Bank (ASX:CBA) share price and weekly news wrap
• Why the Strike Energy (ASX:STX) share price powered up today
• Why the JB Hi-Fi (ASX:JBH) share price surged 19% in March
• Here’s why the ANZ (ASX:ANZ) share price jumped 8% in March
• Why the Kangaroo Island Plantation (ASX:KPT) share price is rising today

Motley Fool contributor Lucas Radbourne-Pugh 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 Bruce Jackson.

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