Weekly Wrap: Tariff Chaos, Gold's Record Rush, and Junior Miners Making Moves
Markets whipsaw on tariff drama, gold breaks $3,200, while Bubalus and AZ9 advance strategic projects amid the chaos
Everyone ok? Everyone survive the week? We did... barely.
What a week it was. A true masterclass in market overreaction, geopolitical whiplash, and investor psychology.
Here's what we're unpacking this week:
Markets slammed, then soared on tariff drama
Gold rockets past US$3,200 to new records
Bubalus Resources' timely soil sampling results
AZ9's drilling update points to deeper potential
Let's get into it.
Markets Slammed, Then Soared: Tariff Tantrum Turns Tail
On Monday, Australian equities copped a hiding. The ASX 200 plunged over 2.1% in a single session, marking its worst day in over a year.
The culprit was a fresh wave of sweeping tariffs on Chinese goods, effective immediately.
Trump framed the move as part of a "necessary rebalancing" of global trade relationships. Markets saw it differently, with key sectors buckling under the pressure. Mining, energy, and technology stocks bore the brunt of the selloff.
Billions vanished from Australian equities within hours.
Fortescue tumbled 6%, BHP shed 4.2%, and the Aussie dollar crashed through the US 60 cent support level.
Then came Thursday.
In a partial relief move, Trump's announcement of a 90-day pause on tariffs for countries other than China allowed markets to regain some footing. Market commentators scrambled to make sense of the whiplash.
Some viewed it as straight from Trump’s ‘Art of the Deal’ playbook – create chaos, push the other side to the brink, then offer partial relief while keeping core pressure points intact. A classic Trump negotiating strategy: using unpredictability as leverage.
Others suggested heavy internal pushback from US industry groups forced Trump's hand.
The carve-out for China meant the trade war's core tension remained, but traders seized on the breathing room offered to other nations.
The reasoning hardly mattered to traders looking at sea of green on their screens. The ASX 200 clawed back Monday's losses and kept climbing, finishing virtually flat.
While sentiment remains fragile, a growing chorus of analysts now suggest Australia's resources sector could benefit from all this chaos in the medium term.
The brief tariff scare prompted a global rethink of supply chains. Several commodity trading desks have begun positioning for increased demand in strategic metals, particularly those critical to EV production and defence applications, as buyers outside China seek to diversify their sourcing.
A Morgan Stanley analyst summed it up neatly: "The volatility is painful in the short term, but it's setting up a longer-term revaluation for assets outside of China's influence. That's bullish for Australian producers."
Watch this space.
Gold Rockets Past US$3,200: How Far Can It Go?
While equities whiplashed, gold marched on.
The yellow metal surged past US$3,200/oz this week, pushed higher by a perfect storm of global triggers: geopolitical tensions, a softer USD, stubborn inflation numbers, and the latest tariff drama. Gold's bull run shows no hint of slowing down since it kicked off last year.
Several investment banks have scrambled to revise their forecasts upward. UBS predicts gold will touch US$3,400 by Q3, pointing to hungry central banks and growing Asian retail interest. Goldman Sachs went even bolder, tipping US$3,700 if global markets take a turn for the worse.
From a technical standpoint, breaking through that US$3,175 barrier has established fresh territory, with solid support around US$3,100. The momentum crowd has piled in, pouring petrol on what was already a rather decent campfire.
Meanwhile, juniors with solid exposure are being re-rated.
One Perth-based fund manager we spoke to put it bluntly: "If you're sitting on a decent gold asset and you're not drilling it right now, you're out of your mind."
That’s why the next story makes perfect sense...
Bubalus Resources: Right Place, Right Time, Right Results
Bubalus Resources (ASX:BUS) released a sharp update on its Crosbie North prospect in Victoria this week, revealing soil sampling results that are both geochemically meaningful and perfectly timed.
The company ran 380 ultrafine soil samples across the project, a clever technique that can see through surface cover that might hide what's underneath. They were building on those earlier rock chip samples that hit up to 12.1 g/t gold (Au) and 2.02% antimony (Sb).
The standout here is the location and scale. Crosbie North sits just 18 km from Fosterville and 20 km from Costerfield - two of the most significant high-grade gold and antimony systems in Australia. The company is exploring folded and faulted Castlemaine Group sediments, the same host rock seen at Fosterville, where gold tends to concentrate in structural traps.
Bubalus has mapped out a clear path forward for the rest of 2025 that has us excited:
Drilling Crosbie South this month
Drilling Crosbie North Q3
Drilling Avon Plains Q4
The company's exploration timing couldn't be better. They've got prime Victorian gold country, encouraging early results, and a clear plan to test their targets.
This is how smart junior exploration should work.
AZ9: No Sulphide Yet, But Eyes Are on the Prize
Asian Battery Metals (ASX:AZ9) released an update on Phase 3 drilling at the Oval Cu-Ni-PGE project in Mongolia this week. While the results weren't yet the spectacular hit some investors might have been hoping for, the bigger story is what might be lurking deeper.
For those new to AZ9, the company made waves last year when they discovered massive copper-nickel sulphides at their Oval project, with grades above 6% copper in their discovery hole. They've since delivered multiple high-grade hits across a 500m strike length.
This latest drilling campaign is hunting for the source of those impressive near-surface hits.
Drillhole OVD030 found only minor traces of sulphide minerals - nothing to get excited about on its own. The real prize came after drilling, when electromagnetic surveys detected a strong anomaly about 100m deeper. This deeper target is now where geologists are focusing their attention.
Meanwhile, the second hole (OVD031) showed much more promise. It hit multiple zones containing visible copper minerals, suggesting there's a larger system at work beneath the surface. Based on these results, the team has identified what could be their most promising target yet - an extremely conductive zone that the next hole (OVD033) will test.
Let’s be clear: AZ9 hasn’t landed a headline-making intercept this week. But they’re doing the right work. The structure is taking shape. And with deeper drilling the next few months could change everything.
In a junior market where cash is tight and fluff is rampant, AZ9 is one of the few still turning the rig, with cash, refining the model, and chasing something real.
The Wrap: Momentum Meets Opportunity
This was one of those weeks where narrative and numbers collided. Markets panicked, then recovered. Gold broke records. Antimony is gaining strategic attention.
And in the middle of it all were juniors with their heads down, focused on execution rather than headlines. Bubalus methodically built its Victorian gold-antimony case while AZ9 kept the drills turning in Mongolia.
Market whiplash presents rare opportunities for the well-prepared. Companies with solid cash positions, quality assets and clear pathways can leverage these moments of chaos to advance while others retreat.
The coming months should continue to separate the genuine ASX players from the pretenders. We'll be watching those who can maintain momentum regardless of market sentiment.
See you next week.