The Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM) share price will be one to watch this morning after the release of an update by the gold mining giant.

What did Newcrest announce?

This morning Newcrest announced that its board has approved two projects moving to the execution phase. These are Stage 2 of the Cadia Expansion Project and the Lihir Front End Recovery Project.

Newcrest’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Sandeep Biswas, believes these projects will add a lot of value.

He commented: “It is an exciting time at Newcrest as we advance our growth pipeline with both of these projects adding value to our existing large scale, long life operations while we pursue the development of Red Chris and Havieron and exploration opportunities globally.”

What will the projects add?

The Stage 2 Cadia Expansion Project will increase its plant capacity from 33mtpa to 35mtpa. This will lead to an increase in gold and copper recoveries, an increase in production, and a reduction in unit costs.

Life of Mine gold recoveries are forecast to increase by 3.5%, with Life of Mine copper recoveries increasing by 2.7%. Cadia’s all-in sustaining cost (AISC) will reduce by an estimated $22 per ounce.

The estimated capital cost for Stage 2 is $175 million, with completion expected in late FY 2022.

Mr Biswas explained: “Cadia is one of the largest, lowest cost, long life gold mines in the world due to the application of Newcrest’s industry leading block caving technology, and this investment helps Cadia maintain this industry leading position.”

Newcrest expects the Lihir Front End Recovery Project to deliver additional production through an improvement in gold recoveries over the life of the mine.

The chief executive believes that “Lihir’s long reserve life makes this improvement in gold recoveries particularly valuable” to its shareholders.

Overall, Mr Biswas appears confident on the company’s outlook and believes it is well-positioned for growth.

He concluded: “Both projects demonstrate how we are using innovation and our technical expertise to continually improve our operations. With a strong balance sheet, low cost production, a range of organic growth options and a strong exploration portfolio, Newcrest is well positioned for the future.”

More reading

• Top ASX growth shares to buy in October 2020
• ASX 200 up 0.4%: Big four banks push higher, Westpac upgraded, ARB impresses
• Why BHP, Estia Health, Newcrest, & Starpharma shares are dropping lower
• Will the Newcrest (ASX:NCM) share price fall after the Saracen merger?
• 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Tuesday

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Why the Newcrest (ASX:NCM) share price could push higher today appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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If you’re looking to make an investment in the Australian share market, then I think CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) shares would be a great option.

Three key reasons that I rate the company highly are listed below:

Australia’s highest quality business?

The first reason to consider buying CSL is its quality. In fact, I would argue that the biotherapeutics giant is Australia’s highest quality business. It is made up of two businesses – CSL Behring and Seqirus. CSL Behring is a global biotechnology leader which offers the broadest range of quality plasma-derived and recombinant therapies in the industry. Whereas Seqirus is one of the world’s leading vaccines developers with a focus on influenza. It is also supporting the efforts to develop and manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine. Combined, I believe these two businesses have positioned CSL perfectly for growth over the long term.

Attractive valuation.

Although the CSL share price has recovered from its lows, it is still trading some distance from its 52-week high. I think this has left its shares trading at an attractive level for a long-term focused investor. And while the pandemic is having a negative impact on its plasma collections, which are a key ingredient to its immunoglobulin products, I’m optimistic that this will be partly offset by increased demand for seasonal flu vaccines because of the pandemic. This could make now an opportune time to pick up shares.

Research and development pipeline.

Did you know that every year CSL invests approximately 10% to 11% of its sales into research and development (R&D) activities? So, with sales revenue in FY 2020 hitting US$8,797 million, the company is now investing almost US$1 billion each year into its R&D. This high level of investment ensures that the company has some of the most talented scientists in the industry working for it. It also means that its R&D pipeline is filled to the brim with therapies and vaccines that have the potential to generate significant revenues in the future.

Foolish Takeaway.

The CSL share price has smashed the market over the last 10 years. Due to the three reasons listed above, I’m confident it will do the same again over the next decade.

In light of this, I would class CSL shares as a strong buy.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises 1% again, Zip (ASX:Z1P) soars 8%
• ASX 200 up 0.8%: Big four banks higher, CSL rises on vaccine update, Zip rockets
• CSL (ASX:CSL) share price higher on COVID-19 vaccine update
• 3 ASX shares to buy in a US election selloff
• Federal Budget: What it means for the CSL (ASX:CSL) share price

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 CSL Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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Have you looked at the interest rate you’re receiving on your savings recently? You might be surprised to learn that there is barely even a rate to speak of.

For example, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) NetBank Saver account is offering a standard variable rate of just 0.05%. This is broadly in line with what the other big banks are offering.

This means that even if you had $1 million in one of these accounts, you would receive just $5,000 of interest each year.

If you’re an income investor, I’m sure you would agree that this is nowhere near sufficient to live from.

But don’t worry, because there are a number of quality ASX dividend shares on offer on the Australian share market to save the day. Two that I would buy for income are listed below:

Accent Group Ltd (ASX: AX1)

The first ASX dividend share to look at is Accent. It is a footwear-focused retailer which owns retail store brands such as HYPE DC and Platypus. Accent has continued its positive form in 2020 despite the pandemic. This is being driven by the popularity of its brands, its strong market position, and growing online business.

Pleasingly, I believe there’s still a lot more to come from Accent over the coming years. This is thanks to its strong online offering, expansion plans, and its focus on active and casual wear. Another positive is the tax cuts that have been promised with the Federal Budget. This will put money in consumers’ pockets and support the retail sector. 

In FY 2021, I’m expecting the company to pay a 9 cents per share fully franked dividend. Based on the current Accent share price, this equates to a 5.3% dividend yield.

Rural Funds Group (ASX: RFF)

Another ASX dividend share to consider buying is Rural Funds. It is an agriculture-focused property company which owns a portfolio of property assets which are leased to some high quality producers. One of the main attractions to the company for me is its lengthy tenancy agreements. At the end of FY 2020, Rural Funds had a weighted average lease expiry of ~11 years.

And given that the company has rental increases built into these leases, I believe it is perfectly positioned to deliver on its distribution growth target of 4% per annum over the long term. It has already committed to this in FY 2021 and plans to lift its distribution to 11.28 cents per share. Based on the latest Rural Funds share price, this equates to a 4.95% yield.

More reading

• Why ARB, Accent, Bigtincan, & Transurban shares are dropping lower today
• Buy these ASX dividend shares to smash low interest rates
• Where I’d invest $10,000 into ASX dividend shares
• 3 alternative ASX shares to buy for defensive income
• 3 strong and reliable ASX dividend shares for October

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended RURALFUNDS STAPLED. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Accent Group. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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On Thursday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was on form and charged notably higher once again. The benchmark index rose 1.1% to 6,102 points.

Will the market be able to build on this on Friday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to rise again.

The ASX 200 index could end a spectacular week with another gain on Friday. According to the latest SPI futures, the benchmark index is expected to rise 14 points or 0.25% at the open. This follows another positive night of trade on Wall Street. In late trade the Dow Jones is up 0.4%, the S&P 500 is 0.8% higher, and the Nasdaq has risen 0.5%. The Dow Jones is now trading at its highest level in over a month.

Oil prices storm higher.

It could be a good day for energy shares such as Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) after oil prices stormed higher overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 3.2% to US$41.23 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 3.35% to US$43.48 a barrel. Disruption from a storm in the Gulf of Mexico and strikes in Norway have hit supply and sent prices charging higher.

Gold price pushes higher.

Gold miners Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) will be on watch today after the gold price pushed higher. According to CNBC, the spot gold price has climbed 0.35% to US$1,897.50 an ounce. Traders were buying gold amid election uncertainty.

Domino’s on watch.

The Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) share price will be on watch today after its U.S. parent sank lower overnight following the release of its latest quarterly update. However, while the US pizza giant’s earnings fell short of the market’s expectations, it did surprise to the upside with its international operations. Domino’s Pizza Inc reported International same store sales of 6.2%, compared to consensus estimates of 1.9%. This could be good news for the locally listed Domino’s.

Platinum update.

The Platinum Asset Management Ltd (ASX: PTM) share price could come under pressure today after the fund manager revealed further fund outflows during September. Platinum’s funds under management fell almost 1% since the end of August to $21,472 million. As a comparison, earlier this week rival Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) revealed further strong fund inflows during the month of September.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises 1% again, Zip (ASX:Z1P) soars 8%
• Which ASX ETFs offer the most diversification?
• Brokers name 3 ASX shares to buy right now
• Look through short-term unpredictability for long-term ASX share price gains
• ASX 200 up 0.8%: Big four banks higher, CSL rises on vaccine update, Zip rockets

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Domino’s Pizza Enterprises Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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With the Australian share market on fire this week, it will come as no surprise to learn that a number of ASX shares have recorded strong gains.

Three which have climbed so much they have hit new highs, are listed below. Here’s why these ASX shares are scaling new heights right now:

Costa Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: CGC)

The Costa share price hit a 52-week high of $3.76 on Thursday. Investors have been buying the horticulture company’s shares this year after it returned to form in FY 2020. During the first half, Costa posted a 6.8% increase in revenue to $612.4 million and a 12% lift in net profit after tax to $45.8 million. This was driven by a very strong performance from its international business. In addition to this, improving trading conditions in the domestic market appears to indicate that the worst is now behind the company.

NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT)

The NEXTDC share price continued its positive run and hit a record high of $12.93 yesterday. This latest gain means the data centre operator’s shares are now up a whopping 98% since the start of the year. Investors have been fighting to hold of NEXTDC’s shares following a very strong showing in FY 2020 and its ever-improving outlook. Thanks partly to the accelerating shift to the cloud because of the pandemic, NEXTDC delivered a 23% increase in EBITDA to $104.6 million in FY 2020. Similarly positive growth is expected in FY 2021 as demand for data centre capacity continues to increase.

Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL)

The Super Retail share price was on form and hit a 52-week high of $11.55 on Thursday. The catalyst for this appears to have been the Federal Budget. Super Retail and its numerous retail brands look well-positioned to benefit from the tax cuts which are putting extra funds in consumers’ pockets ahead of the key holiday season shopping period. In addition to this, the prospect of higher domestic travel in the short term should be a boost to some of its brands.

More reading

• Top ASX growth shares to buy in October 2020
• Why this Federal Budget is good for many ASX shares
• Why the Coles Group (ASX:COL) share price just got upgraded to “buy”
• The latest ASX small cap buy ideas from leading brokers
• Why Costa, Qantas, Santos, & Westpac shares are storming higher today

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro owns shares of NEXTDC Limited. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of and has recommended COSTA GRP FPO and Super Retail Group Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The post Why NEXTDC (ASX:NXT) and these ASX shares are hitting new highs appeared first on Motley Fool Australia.

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I believe that the best way to generate significant wealth is to buy quality ASX shares and hold them for the long term.

It is worth noting that some of the world’s richest people, such as legendary investor Warren Buffett, have used this investment strategy to build their fortunes and there is nothing to stop readers from following suit.

With that in mind, here are three ASX shares that I think would be quality buy and hold options:

Altium Limited (ASX: ALU)

The first option to consider buying and holding is Altium. It is a printed circuit board-focused design software company which I believe is well-positioned to be a market-beater over the long term. This is because the company’s award-winning platform is exposed to the rapidly growing artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT) markets. In respect to the latter, according to a recent presentation, global technology spending on IoT is expected to reach US$1.2 trillion in 2022. As the majority of IoT devices have printed circuit boards inside them, Altium appears well-placed to benefit.

REA Group Limited (ASX: REA)

Another ASX share to consider buying and holding is REA Group. I think the owner and operator of the realestate.com.au website could be a great long-term option due to its dominant ANZ market position and growing international operations. In addition to this, cost cutting, price increases, and new revenue streams appear to have positioned the company perfectly for growth once the COVID-19 crisis eases.

SEEK Limited (ASX: SEK)

A final buy and hold option to consider is SEEK. The job listings giant has been investing heavily in future growth opportunities in recent years. Whilst this has been limiting its short term profit growth, I believe it has set up the company for strong long term growth. Combined with the job-focused Federal Budget and its rapidly growing China-based business, I believe SEEK’s outlook is looking very positive. Overall, I believe the SEEK share price could generate market-beating returns over the next decade and beyond.

More reading

• Why I think the Seek (ASX:SEK) share price is primed to surge in 2021
• Is the Altium (ASX:ALU) share price a strong buy?
• Which ASX share may benefit from the jobs-led recovery Budget?
• ASX 200 up 0.4%: Big four banks push higher, Westpac upgraded, ARB impresses
• Why a2 Milk, Afterpay, ARB, & SEEK shares are pushing higher today

James Mickleboro owns shares of SEEK Limited. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of and recommends Altium. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended REA Group Limited and SEEK Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The Kelly Partners Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: KPG) share price had a mixed trading day today. After hitting a 52-week high of $1.45 in early trading, the Kelly Partner’s share price dropped back to close flat at $1.30. Let’s take a closer look.

Why is the Kelly Partners share price on the move?

Kelly Partners announced last month it was conducting an on-market share buyback. The chartered accounting network plans to buy back up to 45.3 million shares or 10% of its shares outstanding. 

The company reported it was experiencing continued growth. Senior management also recently purchased 344,417 shares from CEO Brett Kelly to align management interests with the company’s performance. The CEO maintains a holding of 50.01%.

According to Kelly Partners, the company has experienced revenue growth of 32% per year since its inception in 2006, and revenue growth of 15% per year since its initial public offering (IPO) in 2017. Dividend growth has been at 10% per year since its IPO.

Kelly Partners said it expected to reach revenue of $80 million per year by the 2024 financial year. The company also anticipates earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $28 million per year by FY 2024. The company forecasts that it will double its net profit after tax and amortisation (NPATA) to $8 million per year by FY 2024.

About the Kelly Partners share price

Kelly Partners provides accounting services to small to medium-sized businesses and private clients. The company has offices in NSW, Victoria and Hong Kong.

In the year to 30 June 2020, Kelly Partners increased its net profit after tax to $4 million, up 64.8% compared to the prior year. The company had revenue of $46.4 million in the 2020 financial year, an increase of 16% compared to FY2019. The company’s underlying EBITDA in FY 2020 was $13.7 million, up 26.1% compared to the prior year.

In June, Kelly Partners acquired an accounting firm based in Bathurst, NSW. The acquisition was expected to deliver recurring revenue of $270,000 and add $130,000 to EBITDA. The acquired firm was set to move into Kelly Partners existing office in Bathurst. The company also announced that it was in acquisition discussions with several other firms.

The Kelly Partners share price is up 132.14% since its 52-week low of 56 cents, and has increased 30% since the beginning of the year. The Kelly Partners share price is up 34.02% since this time last year.

More reading

• iCollege (ASX:ICT) share price drops despite record performance
• ASX 200 rises 1% again, Zip (ASX:Z1P) soars 8%
• AVZ Minerals (ASX:AVZ) share price rockets 20% higher today before trading halt
• What’s driving the PayGroup (ASX:PYG) share price higher today
• Why the 4DMedical (ASX:4DX) share price is reaching new highs

Motley Fool contributor Chris Chitty has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The iCollege Ltd (ASX: ICT) share price has fallen today despite the company reporting record results in its quarterly report. The iCollege share price finished the day 4.17% lower, slumping to a price of 11.5 cents.

What iCollege does

iCollege comprises seven businesses which deliver accredited and non-accredited vocational education and training solutions throughout Australia and internationally.

iCollege is currently expanding business offerings both in terms of scope of delivery and geographical locations. It currently operates campuses in Brisbane, Gold Coast, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Canberra.

Record results

The company delivered record revenue and earnings for the quarter with revenue of $4.1 million and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of $686,000. 

Cash collections were $3.8 million which included a $602,000 contribution from JobKeeper. In a positive leading indicator of the company’s improving performance, iCollege will no longer qualify for JobKeeper payments from Q2 FY2021 as revenue continues to improve.

The company strived to focus on careful financial management as a result of uncertainty arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, iCollege delivered a cash surplus of almost $500,000 and ended the quarter with $1 million in the bank.

Despite the record results, the company did suffer some operational headwinds, such as the lack of international students. However, domestic student enrolment has come some way in making up for this with $2.3 million generated over the quarter.

Furthermore, the company announced a new campus in Perth during the quarter. The campus is in close proximity with public transport and has already seen its first enrolments.

What now for the iCollege share price?

Despite the strong results, the iCollege share price fell 4.17% in today’s trading session. This suggests that investors were expecting more from the education company.

iCollege managing director Ash Katta said:

Q2 FY2021 has commenced well and we anticipate revenue from new government-funded health, aged care and infection control training programs and other courses we have introduced. iCollege has emerged from the initial COVID–19 challenges good shape and poised to continue strong organic growth.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises 1% again, Zip (ASX:Z1P) soars 8%
• AVZ Minerals (ASX:AVZ) share price rockets 20% higher today before trading halt
• What’s driving the PayGroup (ASX:PYG) share price higher today
• Why the 4DMedical (ASX:4DX) share price is reaching new highs
• Should you fear the federal government’s $1 trillion debt bomb?

Motley Fool contributor Daniel Ewing has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) went up by 1.1% to 6,102 points today. It was a strong day for most of the share market.

Among the top performers in the ASX 200 was buy now, pay later operator Zip Co Ltd (ASX: Z1P) which jumped 8% after updates from its competitors:

Sezzle Inc (ASX: SZL)

Sezzle reported a strong set of numbers in its update in the quarter for the three months to 30 September 2020.

The BNPL operator reported underlying merchants sales (UMS) increased 231.5% year on year to US$228 million, up 21.4% quarter on quarter.

Merchant fees as a percentage improved to 5.8%, up from 5.6% from at June 2020 and 5.2% from 30 September 2019. Rising margins is a good sign for Sezzle.

Active consumers rose 178.1% year on year to 1.79 million (and was up 21.5% quarter on quarter) and active merchants rose by 178.3% year on year (and grew 29.7% quarter on quarter).

One of the most pleasing aspects of the BNPL company’s update was that its active consumer repeat usage grew to 89%, which meant that repeat usage has increased for 21 straight months. This is an important part of lowering loss rates and improving the net transaction margin. Sezzle now has an annual run rate of almost US$1 billion.

The Sezzle share price went up by 3.6% today, though it was above $8.70 earlier in the day.

Splitit Ltd (ASX: SPT)

Splitit is another high-growth BNPL operator and it reported a strong set of growth numbers.

It said that merchant sales volume (MSV) grew by 214% year on year to US$70.9 million. This helped gross revenue soar 318% to US$2.4 million.

Total merchants jumped 117% year on year to 1,400 and total shoppers grew 97% year on year to 362,000.

Splitit said that self-onboarding is now live in the US, it added over $3 billion of addressable online merchant sales in the third quarter of FY20 and it has expanded into the professional services vertical in the US and Australia.

The Splitit share price ended 4.7% lower, though it was up earlier in the day.  

CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)

ASX 200 business CSL announced that its subsidiary, Seqirus, has signed a final agreement with the Commonwealth of Australia for the supply of 51 million doses of the University of Queensland COVID-19 vaccine candidate called V451, if clinical trials are successful.

The agreement includes and up-front financial commitment from the government to support the clinical and technical development activities that CSL will need to carry out in order to progress V451.

CSL said that the large-scale phase 2b/3 clinical study for V451 is almost ready which will evaluate efficacy, immunogenicity and safety in adults aged 18 years and above. The first subject is expected to be enrolled in December 2020 with the goal of completing recruitment by March 2021.

The ASX 200 share said it’s committed to demonstrating the vaccine is safe and effective prior to availability in the market. However, CSL isn’t able to calculate the financial impact to the company relating to the vaccines.

The CSL share price went up 2.4%.

Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL)

The Netwealth share price jumped by 8.8% today after announcing its quarterly update for the three months to 30 September 2020.

Funds under administration (FUA) was $34 billion at 30 September 2020, up 8% for the quarter, which included positive market movements of $0.6 billion. FUA net inflows was $1.9 billion for the quarter, an increase of 25.4% for the quarter.

The ASX 200 share’s funds under management (FUM) was $8.1 billion at 30 September 2020. FUM net inflows for the quarter was $0.8 billion, including managed account net inflows for the quarter of $0.7 billion. The managed account balance was $6.5 billion at 30 September 2020, an increase of $3.4 billion compared to the prior corresponding period.

More reading

• Which ASX ETFs offer the most diversification?
• Look through short-term unpredictability for long-term ASX share price gains
• Why Downer, ELMO, Netwealth, & Sezzle shares are storming higher today
• BNPL ASX shares are running hot today
• ASX 200 up 0.8%: Big four banks higher, CSL rises on vaccine update, Zip rockets

Tristan Harrison has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. owns shares of CSL Ltd. and ZIPCOLTD FPO. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. recommends Sezzle Inc. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of Netwealth. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sezzle Inc. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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The AVZ Minerals Ltd (ASX: AVZ) share price went through the roof today, gaining 20% by 3pm when trading in the shares was halted at the company’s request.

Today’s run higher is enough to put AVZ’s share price up 56% since 2 January. By comparison, the All Ordinaries (INDEXASX: XAO) is down 7%.

AVZ’s share price reached a 2020 high of 10 cents per share on 21 February before falling 50% through to 17 February during the COVID driven market rout. At the time of the trading halt, shares were worth 7.8 cents.

What does AVZ Minerals do?

AVZ Minerals is a mineral exploration company with a primary focus on lithium. The company states that its Manono Project may be one of the largest lithium-rich LCT (lithium, caesium, tantalum) pegmatite deposits in the world. Manono is located in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

What next for AVZ’s share price after the trading halt?

AVZ requested the trading halt this afternoon as it prepares an announcement in response to the ASX price query it received as well as an operation update announcement.

There is no market information available about what AVZ’s pending operation update may detail. Judging by the sharp run higher in the share price today the company may have some good news to share. Whether or not that warrants today’s share price surge remains to be seen.

Longer-term the company finds itself in a good space, provided its Manono project proves successful.

The global demand for lithium, a highly conductive metal, is forecast to grow strongly over the next decade as the transition to electric vehicles and battery storage for energy grids accelerates.

Another tailwind for Australian critical mineral miners came courtesy of US President Donald Trump.

Last week Trump took the historically extraordinary step of greenlighting US government investments into critical minerals projects in Australia. This comes as Trump continues to work to move the US away from its reliance on Chinese sources.

There’s no indication that AVZ Minerals is already a direct recipient of any US funding. But the AVZ share price will certainly be one to watch when the company releases its operation update and response to the ASX, expected either tomorrow or before market open on Monday.

More reading

• ASX 200 rises 1% again, Zip (ASX:Z1P) soars 8%
• What’s driving the PayGroup (ASX:PYG) share price higher today
• Why the 4DMedical (ASX:4DX) share price is reaching new highs
• Should you fear the federal government’s $1 trillion debt bomb?
• Here’s why the Karoon Energy (ASX:KAR) share price is up 22% this week

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. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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