In afternoon trade, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is on course to record a decent gain. At the time of writing, the benchmark index is up 0.45% to 7,784.7 points.
Four ASX shares that are rising more than most today are listed below. Here's why they are climbing:
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Catalyst Metals Ltd (ASX: CYL)
The Catalyst Metals share price is up 5% to $4.64. This morning, this gold miner announced the first stoping ore at Plutonic East. Management notes that Plutonic East is the first of three mines to be developed by Catalyst in its plan to double production across the Plutonic Gold Belt for $31 million over the coming 12 to 18 months. The company's CEO, James Champion de Crespigny, commented: "Catalyst's focus has always been about the long-term value of the Plutonic Gold Belt, not just the Plutonic main underground mine. Plutonic East coming online is the first step in realising the value of the belt. It gives more ore sources and more options to our team and lowers the operating risk profile of the business."
DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)
The DroneShield share price is up 10% to $1.07. This is despite there being no news out of the counter drone technology company today. However, it is worth noting that the company's shares have been on fire in recent weeks despite the market selloff. So much so, DroneShield's shares are up almost 70% since this time last month. Investors may believe that its shares were oversold and have been buying the dip.
Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)
The Liontown Resources share price is up 2.5% to 63 cents. This morning, this lithium miner released its first half year results since it commenced production at the Kathleen Valley Lithium Project. For the six months, the company recorded revenue of $100.4 million. This reflects spodumene concentrate sales volumes of 100,240 wet metric tonnes (wmt) from four shipments, with an average realised price of US$811 dry metric tonne (dmt). On the bottom line, Liontown posted a net loss before tax of $15.2 million. However, it still has a cash balance of almost $200 million.
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST)
The Northern Star share price is up 3% to $17.94. Investors have been buying Northern Star and other gold miners after the gold price hit a record high overnight. This has seen the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold index rise by 3.9% on Friday, which makes Northern Star a relative underperformer.
