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Australian manganese explorer and developer, Black Canyon Limited (Black Canyon or the Company) (ASX: BCA) is pleased to announce results from detailed mapping and pXRF analysis of rock chip samples undertaken within the manganese corridors at the Wandanya Project. The results show the scale potential of the manganese mineralisation discovered at Wandanya and potential for significant high grade iron formations, which had not been previously drilled or mapped prior to Black Canyon prospecting the targets.
- Detailed mapping and rock chip sampling completed over the Wandanya project following successful RC drill2 and previous rock chip sampling campaigns1.
- Portable XRF (pXRF) analysis confirms multiple widespread rock chip samples with consistently similar grades to the RC drilling completed at W2, ranging between 30 and 50% Mn.
- 3km overall strike of outcropping manganese mineralisation now confirmed with only 240m of this drill tested.
- Significant opportunity to expand the mineralised footprint with extensive manganese outcrops well exposed in multiple incised gulleys extending 150m cross strike and shallowly dipping to the east.
- Initial metallurgical testwork is underway to potentially produce a high-quality manganese concentrate for silico or ferro alloying and feedstock for high purity manganese sulphate (HPMSM) testwork.
- Additionally, rock chip sampling provided further evidence of widespread hematite enriched sediments that are similar to previously reported1 iron rich formations that assayed 63.3%, 63.1 and 57.6% Fe. The Company is awaiting laboratory-based iron XRF assays, as the preliminary pXRF results were beyond the accurate grade range of the pXRF
Cautionary Note in relation to visual estimates and pXRF readings: The Company cautions that visual estimates and pXRF readings should never be considered a proxy or substitute for laboratory analyses. Laboratory assays (XRF for Mn C Fe suite of elements) are required to determine representative grades of the elements associated with the visible mineralisation reported from geological mapping and pXRF readings. Further details are found within Appendix 1.
Rock chip samples have been submitted to Bureau Veritas in Perth WA with analytical results expected in early to mid-December.
Black Canyon’s Managing Director Brendan Cummins said:
“Following the successful recent RC drill program, detailed mapping and rock chip sampling assay results continue to impress. We are seeing strike extensive mineralisation along a 3km long corridor, which demonstrates the scale potential of this new and unique style of manganese mineralisation.
“Widespread outcrops and consistent high-grade manganese results from drilling and rock chip sampling are becoming a clear characteristic of the Wandanya discovery. In addition, we are eagerly awaiting the assay results from rock-chip sampling of the extensive hematite enriched iron formations also mapped in the area that look quite prospective.
“We look forward to returning with an RC rig in 2025 to further test these compelling targets along strike and down dip to determine their full-scale potential.”
Figure 1. Manganese corridors at the Wandanya Project with manganese results above 30% shown overlying topography (red=elevated) and satellite imagery. Photo locations are also shown for Figures 2-C.
W2 Prospect, Wandanya (BCA 100%)
The stratabound hosted manganese mineralisation has been traced along a 3km long corridor, is dipping shallowly to the east and remains open. The footwall and hangingwall units comprise of dolomite and calcareous siltstone respectively. The target manganese horizon is often well exposed by gulleys eroding through the hangingwall, forming continuous outcrops up to 150m cross-strike before the unit is overlain by shallow dolomite and cover sequences.
At the W2 prospect, only 240m of strike at a width of 200m has been drill tested with consistent grades and widths2 including:
- 5m @ 31.1% Mn from surface, including 2m @ 42% Mn (WDRC005)
- 6m @ 26.3% Mn from 4m, including 3m @ 40.1% Mn (WDRC021)
- 6m @ 2G.6% Mn from surface, including 3m @ 41.0% Mn (WDRC031)
- 6m @ 2G.2% Mn from 4m, including 3m @ 3G.7% Mn (WDRC032)
- 5m @ 32.4% Mn from 3m, including 3m @ 40.1% Mn (WDRC033)
To the west, multiple occurrences of hematite rich sediments were mapped and sampled, with the results from the pXRF readings exceeding the accurate range of the pXRF. Hence, these samples have been submitted to the laboratory and assay results will be reported when they have been received.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Black Canyon, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
What is the January Effect? (Updated 2024)
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What is the January effect?
The January effect is a theory based on a pattern that analysts have seen year after year: stocks seem to fare better during January than they do during other months of the year. Generally, small-cap companies are affected the most by the January effect, as large stocks are typically less volatile.
The first report of the January effect came in 1942 from Sidney Wachtel, an investment banker from Washington, DC.
Since then, experts have debated possible causes for this phenomenon. Many believe the January effect is triggered by tax-loss selling in the month of December. Tax-loss selling, or tax-loss harvesting as it is sometimes called, is an investment strategy in which individual investors sell stocks at a loss in order to reduce capital gains earned on investments. Because capital losses are tax deductible, they can be used to offset capital gains to reduce an investor’s tax liability on their tax return.
As an example of tax-loss selling for tax savings, imagine if an investor bought 1,000 shares of a company for US$53 each. They could sell the shares and take a loss of US$3,000 in the event that the shares declined in value to US$50 each. The US$3,000 loss from the sale could then be used to offset gains elsewhere in the investor’s portfolio during that tax year.
For more information about the strategy, plus the deadlines, check out our guide to tax-loss selling.
It’s worth noting that tax-loss selling or tax-loss harvesting is a trading strategy that generally involves investments with huge losses, and, because of this, these sales generally focus on a relatively small number of securities within the public markets. However, if a large number of sellers were to execute a sell order in tandem, the price of the security would fall.
Central to the January effect idea is that once selling season has come to a close, shares that have become largely oversold have an opportunity to bounce back. For example, investors who have sold losing stocks before the end of the year may be driven to repurchase those stocks, although they would have to wait for 30 days to pass, as required by the superficial loss rule.
Regardless of whether you’re buying or selling, Steve DiGregorio, portfolio manager at Canoe Financial, recommends that you act swiftly and aggressively during this time of year as “liquidity will dry up.” He has earmarked the second and third week of December as the ideal window to sell or buy at a low point. This is ahead of the “Santa Claus rally,” the trading days around the last week of December when stocks tend to rise ahead of a healthier market in January.
These circumstances have given rise to the alternate notion that stocks get a boost in January because many people receive holiday bonuses in December, providing them with greater investment income. Perhaps it’s one or the other — or perhaps, as with most things, a combination of drivers produces the January effect.
Is the January effect real?
While some say that the January effect was once an efficient market hypothesis that is now fading some mutual fund managers, portfolio managers and institutional investors say it isn’t real at all now. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) first heralded the death of the January effect back in 2017, pointing to two decades worth of analysis that showed returns diminishing in the month of January compared to historical figures going back to 1974.
Those in the “not real” camp claim that while this event may have been tangible back in the 20th century, recent data looks much more random.
Illustrating this, the graphs below from US Global Investors compare the S&P 500’s (INDEXSP:.INX) average performance by month from the 30 years through 1993 and the 30 years through 2023. While January came in first during the first period with average gains of 1.85 percent, since 1993 it has averaged gains of 0.28 percent, putting it in eighth place.
Chart via US Global Investors.
Investopedia's more recent analysis continues to support the "January no-effect" position. Looking back three decades since the 1993 inception of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (ARCA:SPY), investment advisor and global market strategist James Chen points out that in the last 31 years "there have been 18 winning January months (58%) and 13 losing January months (42%), making the odds of a gain only slightly higher than the flip of a coin."
The past two years, the markets have performed strongly in January. January 2023 saw the S&P 500 jump 5.8 percent over the course of the month after falling at the end of December. However, markets fell back down through February and March, making the rally short lived.
In January 2024, the S&P 500 dipped slightly at the start of the month but ultimately closed January up 2.12 percent higher than its open. Unlike the previous year, the index continued that upward trend through the end of March, at which point it was up 10.73 percent from the beginning of the year.
How can investors capitalize on the January effect?
It can be easy to get swept up in hearsay, and with debate still in play, the January effect is a risky business. Use your judgment, or the judgment of a professional, and don’t get sucked into chasing prices. It’s best not to base your investment strategy on the potential of a seasonal market mantra that reliable evidence shows no longer holds true.
For investors looking to capitalize on a potential rally due to the January effect, here are a few strategies to consider.
- Invest early — One approach is to invest in Q4 of the calendar year in order to essentially place your bets in anticipation of the January effect. If you’re inclined to participate in tax-loss selling, then you could time your buying period for the end of December and hope to harness both phenomena.
- Buy stocks with small market caps and micro caps — This can be a good strategy because these are the stocks that typically see the most movement during this period. As noted, larger companies are typically more stable. Still, that stability comes paired with lower risk, so risk-averse investors should stick with larger stocks.
- Buy dips in stocks you know well and feel confident will return to higher prices — It’s often a good plan to go with what you know, and it’s possible that stocks already in your portfolio will wobble due to tax-loss selling, presenting a lucrative buying opportunity. Just be sure to avoid buying stocks you sold at a capital loss during the prior 30 day period as discussed earlier, as the IRS will view that as a wash.
This is an updated version of an article first published by the Investing News Network in 2018.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
