Back in 2014, the electric car and battery energy storage were also driving another sector of the Australian market.

As we wrote in June 2014, Lamboo Resources Ltd (ASX: LMB) had risen 731% over the past 12 months, Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON) was up 509%, Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) up 128% and Kibaran Resources Ltd (ASX: KNL) was up 87% over the same period.

Demand for graphite and graphene was expected to be huge, with flake graphite the largest component of lithium-ion batteries, and demand for flake graphite expected to take off as a number of giant rechargeable battery 'megafactories' began production. Tesla's so-called Giga-factory was expected to consume around 93,000 tonnes of flake graphite each year alone.

But 2015 saw low demand coupled with high levels of supply push graphite prices down, although 2016 is expected to see demand soar thanks in part to the megafactories. But again, offsetting that demand is increased supply from the likes of Syrah Resources.

Lessons from the graphite sector

Unfortunately for some shareholders in the graphite companies mentioned above, they won't play any further part in the industry, while others have seen the value of their holdings crash.

Triton Minerals fell into voluntary administration in March this year (2 days after management issued an upbeat announcement too) and shareholders are unlikely to receive any value for their shares.

Lamboo Resources changed its name to Hexagon Resources Ltd (ASX: HXG) in November 2015, while its share price is down 90% since June 2014.

The Kibaran Resources share price spiked up to 50 cents in July 2014, but it's been downhill from there and the share price is now languishing at 18 cents. Since June 2014, the share price is up 16%.

Only Syrah Resources' shareholders would be happy – with the share price up 31% since June 2014.

Unfortunately, the lithium sector could be headed down the same route.

The problem for investors is choosing a lithium explorer/developer that can not only survive but prosper. Factors to consider include debt and cash levels, capital costs to develop their assets, how close they are to production and relative attractiveness of their assets.

Foolish takeaway

However, investors should be aware that until they make a profit, all lithium explorers/producers are speculative investments. Speculative means there's a high risk of the complete loss of your capital – and given the example of Triton above – you'll see that it can happen.

It may make sense for investors looking for lithium exposure to head for the largest companies in the sector – Orocobre Limited (ASX: ORE), Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) and Galaxy Resources Limited (ASX: GXY), rather than those at the bottom of the spectrum like Latin Resources Ltd (ASX: LRS), Metalicity Ltd (ASX: MCT) and Ardiden Ltd (ASX: ADV).

The post Is this the future for Australia's ASX-listed lithium shares? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The S&P / ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) finished in the red today, but that's not stopped several stocks flying out of the blocks for varying reasons.

Let's take a look at some of today's top performers and consider whether they have room to climb higher.

Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) has taken off to climb 3.1% to a multi-year high of $3.30 as it basks in the glory of its recently posted $367 million profit before tax in the first half of financial year 2015. The airline's bottom line is being supported by a major cost-cutting program and the powerful tailwind of falling fuel bills.

Up 178% over the past year the stock has hit a sweet spot, but the high fixed-cost base mean it's probably a business to enjoy as a passenger not an investor.

Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON) is a junior graphite miner that on April 1 announced a US$2 billion graphite supply agreement with a Chinese customer. The stock has been on a wild ride ever since, almost doubling in value to 61 cents before crashing back down to close at 39.5 cents, after a near 10% rise today.

Evidently the market is unsure how to value the business given the myriad future assumptions round revenue generation and investors would be advised to leave this one to the day traders for now.

Novogen Limited (ASX: NRT) is a biotech hopeful that rocketed up 43% to a record high of 32 cents today after it announced that one of its drug candidates named Anisina has seen reported success in killing melanoma cells irrespective of their mutational status.

Novogen says the results support its aim of conducting a clinical study in patients with late-stage melanoma using a combined treatment of Anisina and vincristine. Novogen also says Anisina is showing potential to be a widely-used anti-cancer drug across different cancers, although it has several major hurdles to negotiate before it can attempt to gain regulatory approval for its commercialisation.

Speculative biotech stocks are not for the faint hearted, as price swings can be wild and the science behind them difficult to understand for ordinary investors.

Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) is an agribusiness that has climbed 5.4% today despite releasing no news to the market. The business is a potential turnaround story after posting a net profit of $3 million for the year ending 30 September 2014, after a series of giant losses in prior years. Since the positive result was announced investors have warmed to the agribusiness's turnaround prospects.

Agricultural businesses have some reasonable tailwinds, but the high costs and unpredictable climatic conditions mean they don't tend to be the best bet for consistent long-term returns.

The post Here's why these 4 stocks are soaring higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Australian shares are generally lower today following a weak lead from international equity markets overnight. After the Dow Jones and NASDAQ indices lost 1.1% and 0.9% respectively, the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) has retreated a more respectable 0.5% for the day.

However, the market's poor performance didn't stop these four stocks from rallying higher:

Gage Roads Brewing Co Limited (ASX: GRB) surged 16% to be trading at 5.8 cents apiece, despite the absence of any news which would specifically explain the jump. Given that the stock fell 37.5% during March, it's likely that investors are seeing some value in the stock at its current low price.

Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON) skyrocketed as much as 112% earlier in the session to record a high of 71 cents, but it has since retreated to 54 cents – a 61.2% increase for the day. Triton Minerals, which is a junior graphite miner, managed to secure a US$2 billion 20-year binding off-take agreement for the rights to supply graphite to a Chinese company for a minimum floor price of US$1,000 per tonne. You can read more about that here.

Ausenco Limited (ASX: AAX), an engineering contractor, also rose strongly on the back of a new contract win. The stock rose by as much as 40% earlier today, although it is now sitting just 13.3% higher at 26 cents. While today's jump is certainly good for shareholders, the stock is still trading 56% lower over the last 12 months.

Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) has been one of the top performing stocks from the ASX 200 today with its shares rising 2.6% to $2.38. Prior to today, the market appeared to have cooled on the health insurance stock since the release of its interim profit results in February. The stock is by no means cheap, and investors perhaps weren't as impressed as they would have liked to have been from its results. Even at today's price, Medibank remains a pricey bet.

The post Here's why these 4 ASX stocks are soaring today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Junior graphite miner Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON) appears to have hit the jackpot after securing a minimum US$2 billion 20-year binding off-take agreement for rights to supply graphite to Chinese company Yichang Xincheng Graphite Co. Ltd.

The stock has been in a trading halt since March 30 and has today opened up 69% higher to 56.5 cents on the strength of the news. The WA-based company is the holder of the world's largest known combined graphite-vandium resource in Mozambique, Africa.

The deal will also see the Chinese company source graphite concentrate supplied by Triton from Madagascar, Malawi and Tanzania.

Notably the contract agreed with the Chinese buyer assures a minimum floor price of US$1,000 a tonne for graphite delivered, while the actual contract value may be far above that if future market prices make it so.

Investors will have to consider the potential for market prices to rise above the floor price given that graphite is an in demand commodity due to its use by global electronic and technology companies in manufacturing commonly used devices for global consumers. Graphite is also commonly required in industrial manufacturing of motorised vehicles and by the petroleum and chemical industries.

Triton has also announced an initial two-year agreement with global mining specialist AMG Mining to help develop the Triton Mozambique Graphite (TMG) project.

The next step is to get the TMG project into production and start earning a revenue stream if shareholders are to see their investment take another leg up.

The contract's length and size certainly mean it would appear to have attractive prospects if able to deliver on its potential.

However, Triton remains a speculative play and the key to speculative investing is finding the Triton of tomorrow, not today!

The post Is Triton Minerals Ltd set to explode with its US$2 billion contract win? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

6,000 here we come. Next week. Maybe…

Ok, so the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) gained 0.4% today, rising to 5,975.5, not far off the psychologically important but otherwise unimportant 6,000 mark.

These six small cap stocks soared on the market today…

Graphite and vanadium miner Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON) rocketed up 78.6% to 25 cents, after the company confirmed that Triton's Mozambique Graphite (TMG) can be expanded up to 1,000 times. The results confirm the high quality of Triton's graphite, which can demand premium prices thanks to strong market demand. Clearly a positive for Triton.

Covata Ltd (ASX: CVT) posted a 16.3% gain to close at 46.5 cents. The company announced strategic partnerships with both New York-based consulting firm Sumatics and Asia Principal Capital Group (APCG). Shares are up 42% in the past week, after the company also reported more positive news earlier this week, as we noted here.

Ziptel Ltd (ASX: ZIP) rose 11.6% to 48 cents, and has now gained 78% since the beginning of the year. Despite no news from the company today, Ziptel is one hot stock. The company has developed a communications app that allows users on very low-bandwidth mobile networks to send and receive chat, SMS and email messages. A number of companies are using the Ziptel app as a 'white label' solution, i.e. to rebrand it as their own, but pay Ziptel for use.

Nearmap Ltd (ASX: NEA) gained 10.0% to 55 cents, after The Australian today reported that the company had dropped its action against Spookfish Limited (ASX: SFI). Nearmap had reported that it had dropped the case in an ASX announcement yesterday. Now the company is clear to focus on its US expansion, and building up its profitable Australian operation. Clearly the aerial photomapping company doesn't think it's worthwhile pursuing Spookfish.

1-Page Ltd (ASX: 1PG) added 4.1% to close at $2.01. Shares have rocketed up 70% since the start of the year, as the company continues to announce potentially profitable agreements, including Amazon, Accenture and Fitness First in Australia, to use 1PG's job seeker and hiring solutions.

Ainsworth Game Technology Limited (ASX: AGI) closed at $2.90, up 5.5%. The poker machine manufacturer's share price is still down 30% since a year ago, as the company has struggled to maintain its phenomenal growth of the past few years. In the latest half, revenues fell 8%, and net profit was down 3%. Of major concern was a 34% fall in domestic revenue.

The post 6 stocks soaring on the ASX today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

An internet start-up, an east-African minerals explorer and a junior healthcare business have all been making waves of on the ASX today.

Moreover, it's fair to all three have genuine credentials to rocket higher in the future and while it's far from certain they will deliver, they are worth a closer look.

Freelancer Ltd (ASX: FLN)

The world's largest freelancing, outsourcing and crowdsourcing website has big ambitions to become a futuristic global marketplace for digital freelancers worldwide. Through its marketplace, employers can hire individuals to complete digital jobs such as website design, software development or writing and data entry tasks.

After the group hit the ASX boards in 2013 some wild excitement saw the shares shoot up to more than $1.80, however, they've now settled down to 70 cents. The business has been investing heavily on growing its scale, but only posted revenues of $11.9 million for the first half of FY 2014. If you're a believer in the Freelancer story you'd likely be a buyer at today's prices, however, if you're unconvinced you might prefer to look elsewhere.

Somnomed Limited (ASX: SOM)

Is another story stock that has been going great guns since reporting record breaking sales growth of its mouth-guard like device used to treat sleep apnea in patients. The product known as SomnoDent is marketed as the most comfortable and design effective treatment for patients who from suffer from some form of sleep disorder.

Shares have more than doubled in value in 2014 and at $2.60 investors are prepared to pay a very high price for a slice of this story stock. It might be advisable to keep this one on the watchlist until some of the heat comes out of the valuation.

Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON)

WA-based gold and graphite explorer, Triton Minerals, today saw its valuation climb more than 28% to 40.5 cents per share after it announced the discovery of the world's largest graphite and vanadium deposit in Mozambique, east Africa.

In days gone by graphite was commonly prized for its use in pencils, but now it has industrial uses in batteries that are required to power the modern-day pencils of laptops, mobile phones, and tablets.

With demand set to support graphite prices, Triton now has to get down to the real business of developing and then monetising its east-African prospects. Investors along for the ride can expect some big price volatility as the story develops.

All three of the businesses above look interesting prospects, but they haven't really developed any serious competitive advantages and are far off consistently growing profits year after year.

The post Here's why these 3 stocks have been rocketing higher today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

These four stocks have shown the index a clean pair of heels today. While the S&P /All Ordinaries Index (Index: ^AORD) (XAO) is down 0.4%, these four are all up more than 10% coming into the close.

Here's our take on why they have soared today…

Graphite explorer Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON) is up 19.5% at 46 cents. Earlier this week Triton reported that it had issues 2.6 million shares at a deemed issue price of 61 cents, and 5 million options, exercisable at 70 cents which expire in 3 years' time. The securities were issued as part consideration to acquire an 80% interest in a number of graphite projects. Triton now has 3 prospective graphite projects in the same region.

Intrepid Mines Limited (Australia) (ASX: IAU) shares have soared 10.6%, after the company announced a merger with Blackthorn Resources Limited (ASX: BTR). The combined company will then have a world class copper project in Zambia, named Kitumba, as well as more than $80 million in cash, post-merger.

Adslot Ltd (ASX: ADJ), an internet technology and marketing company has seen its shares rise 14.3% today, despite no announcements from the company. In the past month, shares in Adslot have climbed 60%, partly as a result of a flurry of agreements with some very large companies, including one with Microsoft (PDF), Nielsen Online Ratings and Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG). Investors may also be speculating that Adslot could be a takeover target for a larger tech firm.

Ausdrill Limited (ASX: ASL) shares have soared 13.5%. Yesterday, the mining services company reported an underlying net profit of $29.1 million for 2014, down 68% compared to the previous year. The company appears to be focusing on the right issues, including paying off $71 million of debt, (but still has $400m of net debt) and says it expects an improved earnings result in 2015.

With net tangible assets of $2.37 per share, Ausdrill looks very cheap. The problem is that as Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) shareholders found out today with the airline's $2.6 billion writedown – book value doesn't always equal market value.

The post 4 ASX-listed stocks rocketing ahead more than 10% today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The notion that long-term investors should be investing in un-diversified coal companies is mistaken, but there are high risk, high reward resource plays that are on the ascent – and these are sometimes worth a look (as long as you don't chase the share price). For example, as Motley Fool analyst Mike King points out, graphite miners have been making shareholders smile.

As the chart below shows Lamboo Resources Ltd (ASX: LMB), Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON), Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) and even Kibaran Resources Ltd (ASX: KNL) are up anywhere from 110% to 700% in the last year, as a speculative furore washes through the sector. Like many, I missed the gains on offer…

Now I am not saying you should dive in at these prices, but the point is, these companies are skyrocketing because they have long-term tailwinds in their favour. Why? Because graphite is a key ingredient in batteries – indeed, the recent excitement over the above four stocks is partly down to the prospect that Tesla Motors will need large amounts of graphite as it scales up electric car production.

At any rate, graphite has significant potential as a battery material and graphene – a 1 atom thick layer of graphite – has uses in nanotechnology and other applications that we haven't even imagined yet. While resource stocks (especially hyped-up ones) are not my game, at least this product has long-term demand tailwinds. Graphite miners will support the proliferation of renewable energy, which requires storage as it satisfies a higher proportion of demand.

In contrast, some commentators are "positive about the future prospects for coal from this point on" because the sector has taken an absolute beating and because: "High LNG [liquefied natural gas] prices are threatening to crimp demand as many countries are increasingly unwilling, or unable to afford these supplies…" 

This reasoning is mistaken for several reasons:

1. In many places (especially poor countries) there is no adequate electricity grid, so portable fuel such as LNG is required. Higher LNG prices strengthen the case for distributed generation, such as solar, not new coal plants.

2. When making the case for coal, some writers forget that Australia is currently building LNG export facilities capable of making us the world's biggest exporter (overtaking Qatar). The US and Malaysia also have plans to increase exports. It is reasonable to at least wait and see whether this drives down prices (as expected).

3. Where coal is cheaper than distributed renewable energy generation, it is cheaper because there are coal reserves in that location. It is not economical to import coal thousands of kilometres if a coal plant is not already built. New coal plants, where they are built, will generally be built as close as possible to coal reserves – this is simple common sense as it is easier to transport electricity than thermal coal.

We will probably see a rebound in the share prices of New Hope Corporation Limited (ASX: NHC) and WHITEHAVEN COAL LIMITED (ASX: WHC) at some point (I know not when), but over the long term, I think the businesses are in decline. To quote Warren Buffett: "It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price."

A significant proportion of Australia's coal exports are already unprofitable at current prices: they happen because of take-or-pay contracts with haulers like Aurizon Holdings Ltd (ASX: AZJ). Maybe you can make a dollar out of Whitehaven Coal, but I'd prefer to invest in a commodity with long-term tailwinds.

The post Stocks to buy for changing energy trends that can make you rich appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Producers and explorers in Australia's fledgling graphite industry have recorded astonishing share price rises over the past 12 months – and much of it is attributed to the rise of the electric car.

Lamboo Resources Ltd (ASX: LMB) is up an incredible 731% since June 2013, Triton Minerals Ltd (ASX: TON) has climbed 509% while Syrah Resources Ltd (ASX: SYR) is up a more respectable 127.7%. Micro-cap Kibaran Resources Ltd (ASX: KNL) has climbed 87% over the same period.

While graphite has traditionally been used in 'lead' pencils and steel making, the rise of lithium-ion battery-powered devices from watches to electric cars has seen demand for graphite explode.

As Lamboo CEO Richard Trevillion explained to the Australian Financial Review, "The reason why flake graphite has got into the mindset of the market is because it's the biggest bit of the lithium-ion battery", adding, "The market for lithium-ion batteries has really exploded to capture the imagination of investors."

Electric car maker Tesla is estimated to require 6 new flake graphite mines to supply its new lithium-ion battery factory. Demand is estimated to run from 93,000 to 140,000 tonnes of flake graphite each year, according to market intelligence group Industrial Minerals.

China currently produces around 75% of the world's flake graphite supply, but in December 2013, ordered one of its primary flake producing regions to stop production on environmental grounds, taking about 10% of the world's flake graphite off the market.

That's great news for ASX-listed graphite companies such as Lamboo, Triton and Syrah. Syrah certainly looks interesting, given the company's huge Balama project in Mozambique contains an estimated 117 million tonnes of graphite – more than the rest of the world's graphite reserves combined.

Like Australian bauxite miners benefitting from rising demand for aluminium, graphite miners appear to be following in their footsteps.

The post Why these graphite miners have soared more than 87% appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.