With more than 600,000 average monthly users on the HotCopper forums, individual discussions there can move markets, which is why staying ahead of the day's hottest trends matters for traders. In this daily HotCopper Trends column, the most actively discussed Australian stocks are broken down through each trading day.

RareX (ASX: REE)

RareX rose on news that a maiden RC drilling program is underway at the Khaleesi Alkaline Intrusive Complex (KAIC) in Western Australia.

The approximately 3,500m program marks the first drill test of RareX's geological interpretation of the district-scale Khaleesi complex, which is considered prospective for gallium, rare earth elements and niobium. That commodity mix has drawn heightened interest in recent years, as gallium and rare earths sit among the critical minerals that Western governments have flagged for supply-chain diversification, with China currently the dominant global producer of gallium.

"Getting the rig turning at Khaleesi is another important step in advancing our broader exploration strategy," Managing Director and CEO James Durrant said.

"We're now testing five targets across a project we believe has genuine scale potential for gallium and niobium-REE, built on a strong technical foundation of geophysics, geological reinterpretation and historical exploration data."

REE closed up 16.7% at 1.4c.

Azzuro Resources (ASX: AZ9)

Azzuro Resources drew attention on positive final assay results from its 2026 drilling program at the Red Hill copper-gold Volcanogenic Massive Sulphide (VMS) project in Mongolia. VMS deposits — formed by seafloor volcanic activity — are a well-understood deposit style globally, typically hosting copper, zinc, lead, gold and silver, which can make them attractive targets for junior explorers seeking near-surface mineralisation.

A new, additional zone of high-grade copper mineralisation was intersected north of the shallow gold mineralisation corridor. Shallow gold mineralisation has also been confirmed, infilling the broad 600m gold mineralisation corridor in the northern part of Red Hill, which remains open along strike.

"We have completed this final batch of assays on a high note. Not only have we confirmed mineralisation in the copper-rich massive sulphide and shallow gold zones, we have also identified additional mineralised areas for copper exploration to the north of previously identified mineralisation and a new area with gold," Managing Director Gan-Ochir Zunduisuren said.

AZ9 was up 11.5% to 1.5¢.

Black Horse Mining (ASX: BHL)

Black Horse Mining delivered an immediate exploration result, opening access to a historical exploration crosscut that had been closed off for more than a century. The access has provided 3D geological information within the mineralised zone at Mount Egerton. Re-entering historic underground workings is a technique explorers have long used in Western Australia's goldfields, where legacy mining districts often retain only incomplete paper records of the geology encountered by earlier operators.

"This latest work has allowed us to unveil some of the secrets Mt Egerton has been hiding for over a century," Managing Director David Frances said.

"It has delivered high-grade gold from a structure that was intersected and ignored during historical mining, and it confirms our interpretation that Mt Egerton hosts west-dipping fault lodes alongside the bedding-parallel style — effectively broadening our target inventory across the whole project.

"Getting underground has given us the kind of direct structural measurement, and the ability to sample it, that simply cannot be obtained from inherited plans, and with the rig mobilising shortly we intend to put it to use quickly."

BHL jumped 14.6% to 23.5¢.

Broader Market News

Looking wider, the S&P/ASX 200 opened lower, dropping 24.40 points, or 0.27%, to 9,051.60. The index's bottom performers were Pinnacle Investment Management Group and NextDC, down 9.96% and 4.78% respectively. The index has lost 1.23% over the last five days and sits 2.64% below its 52-week high. The softer open for the broader index contrasted with the sharp gains in the small-cap explorers above, where share prices often react strongly to exploration news given their early-stage nature.

Elsewhere, Australia's current account balance fell to a deficit of $27.2 billion in the June quarter 2026, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The current account measures the balance of trade in goods and services plus income and transfer flows between Australia and the rest of the world, and a widening deficit reflects imports outpacing exports over the quarter.

"Trade in goods and services continued to drive the current account deficit, recording the second trade deficit in a row, led by record values of fuels and passenger vehicle imports," said Jonathon Khoo, ABS head of international statistics.

"Imports of goods and services rose 4.0 per cent, led by a 6.9 per cent rise in goods," Mr Khoo said.

"Fuel prices continued to surge to record highs as the ongoing conflict in the Middle East tightened global supply and output," Mr Khoo said. "This was the major contributor to the terms of trade falling 1.6 percent."

That's Tuesday's HotCopper Market Trends from Colin Sandell-Hay — see you for the close.

The material provided in this article is for information only and should not be treated as investment advice. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult a certified financial advisor before making any investment decisions.