The Arafura Rare Earths Ltd (ASX: ARU) share price is charging higher again today.
Shares in the S&P/ASX 300 Index (ASX: XKO) rare earths miner are up 6.6% in afternoon trade on Thursday, swapping hands for 36 cents apiece.
That puts the Arafura share price up 17% in July. And we're only halfway through the fourth trading day of the month!
Here's what stoking ASX investor interest in the explorer.
Image source: Getty Images
What's piquing ASX investor interest?
The Arafura share price has been rebounding this month following a lengthy slide from the stock's ten-year closing highs of 68 cents a share on 23 February.
While there's no fresh price-sensitive news out in July, late June saw a positive financing announcement and some very positive broker coverage. It seems ASX investors may be playing a little catch-up.
On the financing front, the Arafura share price could be getting a sustained lift from potential financing of some US$300 million (AU$450 million) for its Nolans Rare Earths Project, located in the Northern Territory.
Arafura said it had received a letter of interest from Canadian export credit agency Export Development Canada to finance the funds. That interest looks to be spurred by an existing agreement between the credit agency and General Electric Co (NYSE: GE) to progress the sustainable energy transition.
And this came on the back of other recent positive financing news.
As Motley Fool analyst James Mickleboro noted:
[This potential funding] aligns with in-principle letters of support from Germany's Euler Hermes for up to US$600 million and up to a combined A$350 million from Export Finance Australia and the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility.
What else might be lifting the Arafura share price?
Atop the positive funding outlook, Arafura could be getting a sustained lift in July from some very positive coverage from Bell Potter in late June.
Noting the critical role of rare earths in a de-carbonised economy, Bell Potter added, "We anticipate production from Nolans to begin towards the end of 2025."
The broker has a speculative buy rating on the rare earths miner with a price target of 72 cents per share.
That's exactly double the current Arafura share price and would represent a new 10-year high for the stock.
