Public Company News

The ASX fired back to life in 2025 as gold and silver hit records, copper ran hard and critical minerals took off on the back of largely US supply-chain geopolitics. Small caps delivered the kind of multi-baggers not seen in years, but biotechs took a bruising. Dollar Bill looks at the market's wild return to form and what the shifting macro picture may mean for 2026.

Horizon Minerals has pushed back its Black Swan plant conversion feasibility study near Kalgoorlie into the new year, opting to reassess project economics amid record gold prices. The company says delivery is now slated for the March quarter as it explores ramped-up throughput options buoyed by elevated gold prices exceeding A$6700 per ounce.

Aguia Resources says a new operating plan at its Santa Barbara gold mine in Colombia is starting to show through, with December batch processing lifting recoveries to about 70% and triggering expected gold sales of about $120,000. The company has cut headcount by more than half and is targeting recoveries above 80 per cent as it steadies production and lines up exploration drilling in 2026.

Red Metal Limited has advanced large-scale column heap leach testing at its Sybella rare earths project near Mt Isa in Queensland, building on earlier strong metallurgical results. The work aims to confirm low-cost sulphuric acid heap leaching of magnet and heavy rare earths, potentially paving the way for pre-feasibility studies in 2026 at the large granite-hosted discovery.

Larvotto Resources has kicked off underground mining at its 100%-owned historic Hillgrove gold-antimony project near Armidale in New South Wales, marking a major milestone in the restart of operations, which have been largely dormant since 2016, following a collapse in antimony prices. Mining contractor PYBAR Mining Services has mobilised equipment and personnel to site, with development works now underway

Reach Resources has wrapped up a 48-hole, 5,281m RC drilling campaign at its Murchison South gold project near Payne's Find in Western Australia. The program targeted areas within and adjacent to conceptual pit shells to upgrade inferred resources and improve confidence for open-pit development. Rock chip sampling across multiple prospects has also been completed, with assay and metallurgical results expected in February.

Neometals has received a third round of funding support for its Finnish Vanadium Recovery project in Pori, with EU-sponsored EIT RawMaterials committing an additional €1.5 million for technical work. The backing follows a recent €48.7 grant from the Finnish government and underlines growing institutional support for the low‑carbon project.

Peninsula Energy has begun acidification at header house 14, a gateway to its MU-4 deposit, part of its flagship Lance uranium project in Wyoming, USA. The process, which is expected to last about three months, marks a critical step towards initial production. Upon reaching the target acidity, uranium-rich fluids will be redirected to the Lance central processing plant for processing into yellowcake.

Red Metal Ltd has secured a joint venture with Artemis Resources to accelerate exploration at its Sharon Dam IOCG target in Western Australia. The deal allows Artemis to earn 60 per cent by spending $5 million, with drilling co-funded by a state grant. The underexplored project offers shallow cover and strong geophysical signatures.

Beetaloo Energy has delivered another confidence-boosting result from its flagship Beetaloo Basin gas play, with the company's Carpentaria-5H well clocking up one of the strongest flow performances ever seen in the basin. While still in clean-up mode, the well has already posted standout gas rates, reinforcing the company's strategy of prioritising long-term productivity as it prepares for pilot gas sales in 2026.

The Bulls N' Bears ASX Runner of the Year is… Kaili Resources, which ran on hot air and a tight Chinese register for a meme-stock frenzy in under 48 hours. Dateline Resources got the ultimate Trump Truth Social shout-out for its Colosseum gold-rare earths play near the Mountain Pass mine in California, Locksley Resources unlocked antimony and rare earths just next door, Sunrise Energy Metals flew on its monster scandium deposit in NSW and Mount Ridley dropped Australia's biggest gallium resource out of nowhere. IPO of the year went to the aptly named Metal Powder Works, as goldies Forrestania, Focus and a lonely oil player Finder Energy rounded out the list.

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has delivered another confidence-boosting result at its Lighthorse discovery, part of the company's Pinjin project, with fresh RC drilling almost doubling the strike length of primary gold mineralisation. The work confirms the system is sourced from depth, remains open to the north and is shaping up as a large-scale orogenic gold target within WA's prolific Laverton Tectonic Zone.