Welcome to the Investing News Network’s weekly round-up of the top-performing mining stocks on the ASX.
This week’s top five gainers includes companies focused on copper, lithium, gold and more.
Read on to discover this week’s top gaining Australian mining stocks on the ASX and what drove their share prices.
Market and commodities price round-up
The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) opened at 8,684.5 on Monday (September 21) and closed at 8,702 on Thursday (September 24), ending the period up 0.2 percent.
The gold price was down this week, falling 2.14 percent in US dollars, from US$4,372.68 per ounce on Monday to US$4,279.15 as of the close of Australian stock markets Thursday. Meanwhile, a 0.87 percent decrease was seen in Australian dollars, with gold moving from AU$6,139.90 to AU$6,086.41 per ounce.
The silver price ended the period down 3.45 percent in US dollars from US$66.32 per ounce to US$64.03. In Australian dollars, the metal decreased 2.26 percent from AU$93.08 to AU$90.98.
Top ASX mining stocks this week
How did ASX mining stocks perform against this backdrop?
Take a look at this week’s five best-performing Australian mining stocks below as the Investing News Network breaks down their operations and why these companies are up this week.
Stocks data for this article was retrieved using TradingView’s stock screener and reflects price movements between the first trading day of the week and Thursday. Only companies trading on the ASX with market capitalisations greater than AU$10 million are included. Mineral companies within the non-energy minerals, energy minerals, process industry and producer manufacturing sectors were considered.
1. Arrow Minerals (ASX:AMD)
Weekly gain: 77.27 percent
Market cap: AU$50.95 million
Share price: AU$0.039
Arrow Minerals is an exploration company with copper, iron and bauxite projects in Western Australia and Guinea.
Its Yarraloola copper project is located in the West Pilbara region of Western Australia. Mineralisation at the site was first identified in 1907, and the site hosts historic copper mine operations.
On September 17, Arrow announced that it secured an application for a new iron ore tenement adjoining its Yarraloola tenements, and adjacent to the Robe River operation, owned by a 53/33/14 joint venture of Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO), Mitsui & Co. (TSE:8031,OTCPL:MITSF) and Nippon Steel (TSE:5401) .
At its closest point, the new property is located just 2 kilometres from the open-pit mine at Robe River, which produces between 20 million and 23 million tonnes per year. The acquisition will increase Arrow’s landholdings by 30 percent to 415 square kilometres.
“Our team is well aware of the tonnage and cash flow generating potential of channel iron deposits, such as those in this part of the Pilbara,” Managing Director David Flanagan said. “As proven by Rio, they often have very favourable deposit geometry and low impurities, meaning they can be low-cost, high-profit operations. Our team knows this because we have mined them in the past.”
This marks the second week in a row that Arrow was on the top gainers list. While it did not release any project-related news during the week, on Thursday (September 24) the company requested a trading halt on the ASX in response to a price query by the exchange after the company’s share price spiked during trading that day. Trading will resume pending an announcement.
2. Global Lithium Resources (ASX:GL1)
Weekly gain: 53.38 percent
Market cap: AU$284.43 million
Share price: AU$1.02
Global Lithium Resources is an exploration and development company advancing its Manna lithium project in Western Australia.
The property is located in the Goldfields region east of Kalgoorlie. It consists of a mining lease and associated tenure covering a land package of 350 square kilometres. In August, Global Lithium received approval of its mining development and closure proposal and was granted its native vegetation clearing permit for Manna.
On September 16, Global Lithium released the results of its Manna-Nova integration study. The study outlines a plan to haul ore 135 kilometres from Manna to the Nova nickel-copper processing facility, which the company agreed to acquire from IGO in July, and convert its plant to process lithium.
The study demonstrated an economic case for the project with a post-tax net present value of AU$946 million, an internal rate of return of 120 percent, and a payback period of 11 months.
Then on Tuesday (September 22) Global Lithium announced plans to be acquired through a binding scheme implementation deed with Titan Australia Mining, a subsidiary of the private Titan Lithium Group, which is based in the United Arab Emirates. Under the agreement, Titan will acquire 100 percent of Global Lithium’s shares for AU$1.15 per share in cash, valuing the company at about AU$333 million.
The deal includes a bridging loan facility to allow Global Lithium to continue its work at Manna while the agreement progresses.
On Wednesday (September 23), Global Lithium announced that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission had granted a waiver for its Nova acquisition. Completion is expected within 10 business days of either the end of IGO’s operations at Nova or November 30, whichever comes first.
3. Catalina Resources (ASX:CTN)
Weekly gain: 47.37 percent
Market cap: AU$12.06 million
Share price: AU$0.056
Catalina Resources is an exploration company advancing a portfolio of projects in Western Australia.
Its primary focus has been on its Kirkalocka gold project in the Murchison domain, about 50 kilometres south of Mount Magnet and adjacent to the inactive Kirkalocka gold mine. Catalina acquired the project in May as part of a wider Mid-West portfolio that includes the Tallering and Warriedar projects. Historical exploration at Kirkalocka identified four primary gold prospects: Highway, Capra, Avis and Two Mile Bore.
On September 7, Catalina said it had completed a program of about 1,500 soil samples at the project and planned heritage surveys for September, with additional programs being carried out at its Tallering and Warriedar properties.
On Tuesday, Catalina announced it had transferred its Nelson Bay River iron ore project in Tasmania to Newcam Minerals. The divestment allows Catalina to recover up to AU$1.29 million in rehabilitation security.
The company said the funds will support a planned 3,000 metre maiden reverse circulation drill program at Kirkalocka targeting its four priority prospects. The capital will also go toward drilling at Tallering, where Catalina is following up on tungsten mineralisation identified in historical drilling.
4. Vanadium Resources (ASX:VR8)
Weekly gain: 40.74 percent
Market cap: AU$51.17 million
Share price: AU$0.076
Vanadium Resources is a vanadium and iron exploration and development company advancing its Steelpoortdrift project and V-Iron plant in South Africa.
The property is located within the Bushveld Igneous Complex in a region that hosts iron and vanadium mining operations, including Glencore’s (LSE:GLEN,OTCPL:GLCNF) Rhovan mine.
An April 2022 resource and reserve statement shows a combined measured, indicated and inferred resource of 680.13 million tonnes of ore grading 0.7 percent vanadium pentoxide and 22.76 percent iron oxide, for contained metal totalling 4.74 million tonnes of vanadium pentoxide and 154.8 million tonnes of iron oxide. Combined proven and probable ore reserves total 76.86 million tonnes of ore grading 0.72 percent vanadium pentoxide.
On September 3, the company announced it had secured the right of first refusal for the preferred site of its V-Iron plant. Vanadium Resources said the right is in effect until July 31, 2027. The plant is being developed as a next-generation critical minerals smelter, according to the firm, and will use feedstock from Steelpoortdrift. The company will now shift its focus to completing a scoping study, which it expects by the end of September.
Then on September 11, Vanadium Resources announced it had received firm commitments from institutional and sophisticated investors for an oversubscribed AU$1 million equity placement.
The company says the placement was sized to support the next phase of development activities set to begin once work on the accelerated scoping study is completed. The study is expected to be released by the end of September. Development activities will include preparations for a definitive feasibility study and front-end engineering design, advancing offtake discussions with the company US Vanadium and partners interested in pig iron, and retaining the plant site.
5. Waratah Minerals (ASX:WTM)
Weekly gain: 36.59 percent
Market cap: AU$324.19 million
Share price: AU$0.84
Waratah Minerals is an exploration company advancing its Spur gold-copper project in New South Wales.
The property is in the East Lachlan region and comprises a land package of about 100 square kilometres. According to a September investor presentation, the site has 61,500 metres of historic drilling, and the company is performing an 80,000 metre program in 2026.
On September 16, Waratah reported results initial metallurgical test work from the Consols zone at Spur. Samples returned gold recoveries of 89 to 93 percent using gravity and conventional leaching, in line with earlier results from the Spur zone.
Then, on Tuesday, the company released results from drilling at Consols, which included what it called its best intercept to date. The intercept in question ran 46 meters with an average grade of 7.27 grams per tonne gold from a depth of 541 metres, which included a 10 metre interval grading 28.93 grams per tonne gold.
The company said the hole extended mineralisation 70 metres north and 150 metres east of previous drilling.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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