The ASX opened slightly higher this morning as US President Joe Biden hosted high-level talks to prevent the United States from defaulting on its debts.
Tech and financials gained nearly 1 per cent, while consumer stocks and materials slid.
One to buck the downward trend was Magnum Mining and Exploration (MGU), gaining 4 per cent. The company wrapped up a shallow reverse circulation drilling campaign at its Buena Vista project in Nevada.
MGU targeted shallow, high-grade massive magnetite, where previous sampling returned grades of up to 67.8 per cent iron from mapped outcrops.
Once all assays have been received, the company will look at follow-up drilling. MGU was trading at 2.5 cents.
Azure Minerals (AZS) has secured heritage survey clearances for the next stage of drilling at its Andover nickel-copper-cobalt project in Western Australia.
With the receipt of the clearances in hand, the company will have access to high propriety targets for exploration. Azure was trading at 48.5 cents.
Staying in the materials space, Aurumin (AUN) is set to launch a drill program at its Sandstone gold project in Western Australia.
The drilling will focus on nine open pit targets, with 44 holes planned for an estimated 5000 metres.
With all permits now in hand, drilling is scheduled to begin in the first half of June. Aurumin was trading at 2.7 cents.
Meanwhile, Black Dragon Gold (BDG) has kicked off a maiden drilling program at its Padbury gold project in the Murchison region of Western Australia.
The reverse circulation program will be guided by the company’s previous geochemistry soil sampling exploration program completed last year. Black Dragon fell 15 and a half per cent, to 3.8 cents.
And in the industrials space, ClearVue Technologies (CPV) is trading higher after appointing global industry leader Martin Deil as its new CEO.
The appointment will become effective from June 1, 2023. The company was last trading at 20 cents.