The tariffs of U.S. president Donald Trump, which hit vehicle imports this week and will hit almost everything else next week, made the headlines, as did the Australian Government’s pre-election budget (yawn).

But it was European Union and U.S. policies aimed at encouraging mining investment which could be the real reason for what seems to be an awakening of Australian mining stocks.

Against a background of top end tax and tariff news, local investors won from exposure to stocks such as RareX which rocketed up this week by 162%, Belararox, which rose by 130%, and European Metals Holdings, up 123% before fading to “just” 64%.

Those moves, admittedly by small cap miners, were a positive sign that what’s happening in the U.S. and Europe could be laying the foundation for a surge of investment in the resources sector with investors not afraid to bid stocks higher, a key measure of confidence.

Perhaps the most interesting issue with the fast movers was that they are active in different minerals.

RareX, as its name implies, is a rare earth player which this week rushed from 0.8c to 2.1c on news of high-grade gallium at its Cummins Range project in WA.

Belararox jumped from 13c to 31c (before settling at 30c) after reporting significant copper mineralisation during drilling at its Tambo South project in Argentina.

Nimy Resources rose by 2.8c (44.5%) to 9.1c as news of a gallium discovery in WA was absorbed by investors.

European Metals, which stormed up by 123% from 17c to 38c (before settling at 28c, up 64%) was an Australian winner from a new EU policy designed to accelerate the development of 47 mining projects across 13 countries with its Cinovec lithium project in Czechia on the list.

Australian miners active in the U.S. are yet to enjoy a Trump “bump” similar to that evident in Europe where a rush is underway to boost growth and shield the region from the challenge of Russia encroaching from the east and the U.S. turning its back in the west.

But Trump’s executive order, called Immediate Measures to Increase American Mineral Production, is likely to produce a similar response to that being felt in Europe as it tries to move from welfare focus to warfare focus – with a heavier dependence on minerals and metals.

Germany’s trillion euro spending spree is certain to drive demand for most minerals and metals while the U.S. also seeks supplies to rebuild its manufacturing sector which has been decimated by China’s industrial revolution.

It’s early days but with the U.S. and Europe pushing the growth button at the same time and China determined to retain its manufacturing lead, the signs are the most positive for a decade that resources could be heading back to boom conditions, offsetting the miserly assistance offered to mining in the Australian Government’s budget.

What was also significant about this week’s four small stock stars (RareX, Belararox, Nimy and European Metal), was that they were not alone.

Other recent sharp upward movers include California-focused gold explorer Haranga, which has doubled from 4c to 8c over the last 10-days, and bauxite hopeful, Western Yilgarn, up from 3.6c to 5.6c (55%) before easing to 4.4c.

Action among small stocks was in contrast to another week of mixed news flow which saw the U.S. market rise, then fall, as investors tried to make sense of Trump’s tariffs which this week were dominated by confirmation of a 25% tariff on imported vehicles.

Geopolitics also took a curious twist when members of Trump’s inner circle committed a schoolboy mistake by transmitting confidential military information on a commercial chat service, a blunder which has been swept under the carpet, but which goes to the heart of a government of “frat” boys.

The importance of the chat blunder is that it restored investor interest in the commodity which is an anti-U.S. asset, gold, which had been losing altitude after hitting an all-time high of US$3054 an ounce on March 20, dipping to US$3003/oz and then bounding back to US$3034oz.

Local gold stocks reacted positively to the late revival in the gold price, aided by speculation of a takeover feeding frenzy to follow the Ramelius/Spartan deal, De Grey/Northern Star, and Gold Road v Gold Fields.

Gold moves this week included:

  • Catalyst, up 46c to $5.32 after selling its Henty project in Tasmania to Kaiser Reef (down 1c to 16c), a deal which will enable Catalyst to focus on its Plutonic project in WA.
  • Gold Road, up 51c to $2.95, edging closer to the $3.05 offered by its partner in the Gruyere mine in WA, South Africa’s Gold Fields, which lost 2% on the Johannesburg stock exchange. Bell Potter reckons Gold Road will rise to $3.20,
  • African Gold, up 4.1c (60%) to 11c after announcing a strategic partnership with the major miners, Lundin and Zijin.
  • Sun Silver, up 6c to 78c after reporting a 57 million ounce increase in the silver resource at its Maverick Springs project in Nevada.
  • Southern Cross Gold, up 70c (15.8%) to $5.12 after reporting thick and rich assays from drilling at its Golden Dyke project in Victoria, and
  • Gorilla Gold, the interestingly renamed Labyrinth Resources, up 3.5c to 48c after making a $25 placement at 38c to fund work at its WA projects. Key supporter Genesis Minerals is contributing to maintain its position in Gorilla.

Lithium stocks, after 18 months in the doghouse, were woken by news that Vulcan Energy rose by 50c in early trade this week to sell for $5.43 before fading to a 7c rise and a price of $5.04.

Vulcan is one of the winners from Europe’s big spending Critical Raw Materials Act and despite its late reversal, the initial reaction from investors was a sign that there’s a lot of money on the sidelines looking for a way back into resources.

Patriot Battery Metals also enjoyed an early boost before fading to close steady at 31c after reporting the discovery of a new spodumene cluster at its unpronounceable Shaakichiuwaanaan lithium project in Canada.

Another noteworthy lithium move was Core Lithium’s modest 0.3c rise to 8c after announcing a study into restarting its Finniss project in the Northern Territory, though for Core shareholders who once saw their stock trading at $1.67 it’s still a long way back.

Copper stocks were up though the most useful role of copper was to provide a dollar measure of what Trump’s tariffs are doing to commodity prices, which have risen rapidly in the U.S. as tariffs are applied (or threatened) on imports but barely moving in Europe.

The U.S. (Comex) copper price was up 5% this week to US$5.23 a pound, but flat at US$4.51/lb on the London Metal Exchange – a split which is an arbitrager’s dream if he can find a way to buy in London and sell in New York.

The trend for copper seems to be for a continued rise with a top commodity trader, Kostas Bintas from Mercuria telling a conference in Switzerland that copper could hit US$6/lb (US$12,000 a tonne) later this year.

Copper’s swings and roundabout moves did little to help local copper stocks. AIC Mines added 2c to 42c and could be heading up to 66c if Bell Potter’s buy tip is correct. FireFly slipped 6c lower to $1.01, well short of Shaw’s tip of $1.90.

Other news and market moves of interest this week included:

  • Fortescue Metals adding 40c to $16.29 thanks to iron ore hanging on to a price of US$102 a tonne. UBS returned as supporter of Fortescue, flipping a sell recommendation to neutral with a price forecast of $16.70.
  • Mineral Resources, which has been struggling with its road haul iron ore system, did better than FMG as confidence grows in its chance of trading profitably, rising by $2.63 to $25.42.
  • Paladin Energy, which has hammered by investors after a flood at its Langer Heinrich uranium mine in Namibia, continued to lose ground, down another 61c to $5.69. Citi reckons it will bounce back to $11.
  • Bathurst Resources rose by 7c to 80c after raising $34.4 million to expand its New Zealand metallurgical coal business, and
  • Caspin Resources edged 0.5c higher to 7c after reporting a thick (100 metre) wide tin intersection at its Bygoo North project in NSW.