Gold Digger: When the Feds are on your side

The US Fed’s shift to cut interest rates could provide more steam for already record gold prices, with western ETFs expected to recover.

Gold's biggest influencer this week is hiding in plain sight. Pic: Getty Images

• Gold hit a new record this week ahead of US Fed rate cut

• World Gold Council looking for recovery in Western ETF demand

• Mithril leads the gains on silver and gold hits in Mexico

Our Gold Digger column wraps all the news driving ASX stocks with exposure to precious metals.

The rate cut cycle the market has long priced in has finally arrived as Jerome Powell delivered a one-two punch, announcing the US Federal Reserve's first cut since a hike cycle stretching back to March 2022 began on Wednesday.

It should have been manna from heaven for miners, and was in the Australian market at least, though gold prices retraced from record highs as chair Powell pulled back in his post meeting comments on calling an aggressive cutting program after the 50bps drop.

Gold is typically the biggest beneficiary when it comes to rate cuts.

The cost of holding it relative to cash declines, and if the market remains concerned about external factors like inflation, recession and war, bullion buying tends to come into vogue.

Yet prices came down from record highs as soft landing hopes led the US dollar up and stocks in the US were pared back.

Having struck an ATH of US$2584/oz on the London market on Monday, prices by Wednesday's close were back down to US$2570/oz, before rebounding to US$2575/oz on Thursday.

That's still a gain of around 25% YTD, not something any gold miner should be unhappy about, especially with a weak Aussie dollar pinning prices for domestic producers at around $3780/oz.

Gold prices have stunned in 2024. Pic: LBMA

Don't ETF it up

World Gold Council global head of central banks and head of Asia-Pacific ex-China Shaokai Fan said lower interest rates had the potential to bring the western ETF market back into play, a clear laggard behind central banks and eastern ETFs in gold demand in recent years.

"Lower interest rates tend to be favourable for gold, as they reduce the opportunity cost of holding the asset. While the Fed rate cut is likely already priced into various asset classes due to its well-telegraphed nature, there remains potential for increased investor interest in gold," he said.

"In particular, we may see further inflows into gold ETFs and retail gold products, especially in Western markets. This is consistent with the broader sentiment that lower rates enhance gold's appeal as a safe haven, particularly as global regulatory standards evolve, and economic uncertainty persists.

"Investors seeking diversification and capital protection in these volatile times may increasingly turn to gold, buoyed by its stability and traditional role as a hedge."

Typically gold equities have trailed the move in gold prices because, like your children, gold management teams can disappoint you.

Unlike bulk exporters such as iron ore producers, gold miners typically live on thin margins. It requires a large amount of processing to extract often imperceptible grains of gold from hard rock, meaning the gulf between the amount of ore extracted versus that which has economic value is very large.

Virtually all gold miners are also part-way refiners, operating gold rooms at the back end of their plants that pump out a ~80% pure gold dore bar, whereas other commodities miners can economically ship low-grade concentrates and even direct shipping ore.

As prices go up margins lift, but they also get chewed up as miners extend the lives of their operations by processing higher-cost ore that was previously uneconomic.

So far this year the gold miners in the All Ordinaries, the index of the top 500 companies on the ASX, are up 17.3%, trailing the gold price. But on a 12 month basis they are up a healthy 29.3%. The sub-index has around 700 points to lift to hit record levels set in August 2020, when prices hit a then record of US$2067/oz.

Winners & Losers

Here’s how ASX-listed precious metals stocks are performing:

Stocks missing from this list? Email [e-mail]

CODE	COMPANY	PRICE	WEEK %	MONTH %	6 MONTH %	YEAR %	YTD %	MARKET CAP
MRR	Minrex Resources Ltd	0.0095	0%	19%	-32%	-37%	-44%	$ 9,763,807.53
NPM	Newpeak Metals	0.017	21%	31%	90%	-81%	19%	$ 5,191,886.11
ASO	Aston Minerals Ltd	0.013	0%	44%	-7%	-68%	-46%	$ 16,835,835.50
MTC	Metalstech Ltd	0.175	6%	-5%	9%	-3%	-20%	$ 33,465,925.11
GED	Golden Deeps	0.038	-7%	19%	-12%	-34%	-17%	$ 5,909,371.61
G88	Golden Mile Res Ltd	0.009	0%	-10%	-18%	-76%	-53%	$ 3,701,005.70
LAT	Latitude 66 Limited	0.11	10%	-4%	-45%	-56%	-45%	$ 15,687,768.03
NMR	Native Mineral Res	0.021	0%	0%	5%	-60%	5%	$ 8,365,835.60
AQX	Alice Queen Ltd	0.008	-11%	14%	60%	-28%	60%	$ 9,175,120.54
SLZ	Sultan Resources Ltd	0.006	0%	0%	-54%	-77%	-73%	$ 1,185,518.93
MKG	Mako Gold	0.009	0%	0%	-31%	-53%	-10%	$ 8,386,262.14
KSN	Kingston Resources	0.082	11%	3%	9%	-4%	7%	$ 56,561,597.68
AMI	Aurelia Metals Ltd	0.175	9%	-3%	25%	75%	59%	$ 287,565,978.94
PNX	PNX Metals Limited	0.004	0%	0%	-20%	33%	33%	$ 23,880,859.02
GIB	Gibb River Diamonds	0.041	14%	11%	52%	37%	37%	$ 8,671,887.25
KCN	Kingsgate Consolid.	1.285	0%	-8%	4%	6%	-7%	$ 332,499,682.68
TMX	Terrain Minerals	0.003	-25%	0%	-33%	-25%	-40%	$ 5,298,086.41
BNR	Bulletin Res Ltd	0.042	-2%	-7%	-36%	-48%	-70%	$ 12,331,759.57
NXM	Nexus Minerals Ltd	0.044	-2%	-6%	-12%	-17%	-6%	$ 22,370,957.36
SKY	SKY Metals Ltd	0.04	25%	29%	21%	-11%	11%	$ 24,761,232.97
LM8	Lunnonmetalslimited	0.15	-8%	3%	-45%	-81%	-75%	$ 33,070,312.05
CST	Castile Resources	0.076	1%	7%	10%	36%	-7%	$ 17,900,779.60
YRL	Yandal Resources	0.11	-4%	-12%	22%	116%	33%	$ 29,458,837.54
FAU	First Au Ltd	0.0015	-25%	-25%	-25%	-57%	-50%	$ 2,717,989.92
ARL	Ardea Resources Ltd	0.4	-7%	-15%	-46%	-35%	-16%	$ 81,869,995.15
GWR	GWR Group Ltd	0.08	-2%	0%	-24%	-16%	-16%	$ 26,339,765.71
IVR	Investigator Res Ltd	0.038	12%	-7%	-10%	-7%	0%	$ 58,788,544.24
GTR	Gti Energy Ltd	0.004	0%	33%	-50%	-56%	-50%	$ 12,749,735.46
IPT	Impact Minerals	0.013	0%	-7%	-13%	8%	18%	$ 39,772,638.33
BNZ	Benzmining	0.165	32%	18%	3%	-65%	-34%	$ 16,026,888.90
MOH	Moho Resources	0.006	0%	50%	0%	-25%	-40%	$ 3,235,069.18
BCM	Brazilian Critical	0.013	-7%	-13%	-46%	-68%	-50%	$ 10,799,612.53
PUA	Peak Minerals Ltd	0.0025	25%	0%	1%	1%	1%	$ 3,711,612.43
MRZ	Mont Royal Resources	0.052	2%	-7%	-26%	-77%	-65%	$ 4,421,549.24
SMS	Starmineralslimited	0.046	35%	48%	31%	15%	15%	$ 3,125,852.10
MVL	Marvel Gold Limited	0.011	22%	10%	22%	10%	-8%	$ 9,501,697.73
PRX	Prodigy Gold NL	0.002	0%	-10%	-44%	-72%	-62%	$ 4,235,548.97
AAU	Antilles Gold Ltd	0.003	-25%	-25%	-83%	-87%	-87%	$ 5,567,228.18
CWX	Carawine Resources	0.094	4%	3%	-10%	-13%	-15%	$ 21,723,541.31
RND	Rand Mining Ltd	1.72	11%	11%	26%	26%	26%	$ 92,707,816.43
CAZ	Cazaly Resources	0.014	-7%	-18%	-22%	-66%	-52%	$ 6,458,241.87
BMR	Ballymore Resources	0.145	4%	26%	26%	32%	16%	$ 24,742,281.90
DRE	Dreadnought Resources Ltd	0.0155	3%	-14%	-9%	-71%	-48%	$ 56,070,000.00
ZNC	Zenith Minerals Ltd	0.043	23%	-10%	-57%	-54%	-71%	$ 15,152,377.97
REZ	Resourc & En Grp Ltd	0.025	14%	-4%	150%	56%	79%	$ 16,728,478.05
LEX	Lefroy Exploration	0.072	-5%	-6%	-35%	-64%	-59%	$ 15,234,844.63
ERM	Emmerson Resources	0.0495	-1%	-8%	-3%	-24%	-16%	$ 27,235,489.40
AM7	Arcadia Minerals	0.037	23%	6%	-46%	-66%	-49%	$ 4,330,853.70
ADT	Adriatic Metals	3.32	10%	10%	-11%	-11%	-17%	$ 918,153,898.32
AS1	Asara Resources Ltd	0.016	60%	33%	78%	-36%	60%	$ 12,350,454.90
CYL	Catalyst Metals	2.63	6%	23%	335%	466%	227%	$ 598,323,741.60
CHN	Chalice Mining Ltd	1.4275	24%	40%	30%	-47%	-16%	$ 571,869,378.36
KAL	Kalgoorliegoldmining	0.024	-8%	-4%	-11%	-14%	-11%	$ 5,310,639.31
MLS	Metals Australia	0.026	8%	18%	18%	-21%	-30%	$ 17,453,268.58
ADN	Andromeda Metals Ltd	0.007	0%	-56%	-70%	-71%	-72%	$ 25,452,032.07
MEI	Meteoric Resources	0.1	0%	0%	-57%	-61%	-62%	$ 222,247,487.66
SRN	Surefire Rescs NL	0.006	0%	0%	-40%	-60%	-29%	$ 11,917,846.88
WA8	Warriedarresourltd	0.058	-9%	-9%	18%	-24%	9%	$ 44,262,139.89
HMX	Hammer Metals Ltd	0.036	-5%	-14%	-3%	-32%	-31%	$ 31,910,664.56
WCN	White Cliff Min Ltd	0.02	25%	33%	43%	82%	122%	$ 32,587,748.28
AVM	Advance Metals Ltd	0.022	-4%	10%	-39%	-80%	-40%	$ 3,706,981.83
WRM	White Rock Min Ltd	0	-100%	-100%	-100%	-100%	-100%	$ 17,508,200.09
ASR	Asra Minerals Ltd	0.0055	-8%	-8%	10%	-31%	-21%	$ 13,389,347.98
MCTDB	Metalicity Limited	0.024	60%	20%	-4%	60%	-4%	$ 8,922,525.13
AME	Alto Metals Limited	0.065	5%	12%	132%	38%	51%	$ 46,177,483.01
CTO	Citigold Corp Ltd	0.005	11%	0%	25%	11%	0%	$ 15,000,000.00
TIE	Tietto Minerals	0	-100%	-100%	-100%	-100%	-100%	$ 773,881,054.43
SMI	Santana Minerals Ltd	2.15	2%	33%	73%	264%	113%	$ 449,640,351.05
M2R	Miramar	0.009	13%	29%	-47%	-81%	-55%	$ 3,571,409.57
MHC	Manhattan Corp Ltd	0.001	0%	0%	-60%	-85%	-70%	$ 3,092,533.34
GRL	Godolphin Resources	0.016	14%	23%	-50%	-62%	-59%	$ 3,422,259.54
SVG	Savannah Goldfields	0.025	-14%	4%	-17%	-61%	-50%	$ 7,027,122.90
EMC	Everest Metals Corp	0.12	9%	4%	52%	-4%	50%	$ 22,353,973.08
GUL	Gullewa Limited	0.065	0%	0%	18%	18%	18%	$ 13,310,251.50
CY5	Cygnus Metals Ltd	0.075	10%	36%	50%	-62%	-44%	$ 27,724,296.97
G50	G50Corp Ltd	0.145	7%	0%	45%	-6%	7%	$ 17,531,950.00
ADV	Ardiden Ltd	0.135	0%	13%	-18%	-48%	-23%	$ 8,439,863.31
AAR	Astral Resources NL	0.11	5%	39%	80%	51%	51%	$ 102,871,728.96
VMC	Venus Metals Cor Ltd	0.062	-2%	-7%	-28%	-52%	-38%	$ 11,763,178.35
NAE	New Age Exploration	0.004	-20%	0%	0%	-50%	-33%	$ 7,175,595.64
VKA	Viking Mines Ltd	0.009	0%	13%	-18%	-10%	-36%	$ 9,563,325.88
LCL	LCL Resources Ltd	0.011	-8%	38%	-8%	-62%	-35%	$ 9,648,780.26
MTH	Mithril Silver Gold	0.33	214%	154%	65%	65%	65%	$ 21,130,625.51
ADG	Adelong Gold Limited	0.004	0%	0%	0%	-50%	-20%	$ 4,471,955.83
RMX	Red Mount Min Ltd	0.001	0%	-33%	-43%	-71%	-62%	$ 3,873,577.31
PRS	Prospech Limited	0.038	23%	15%	6%	41%	23%	$ 11,802,482.45
TTM	Titan Minerals	0.465	13%	11%	60%	18%	66%	$ 81,343,126.89
NML	Navarre Minerals Ltd	0.019	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	$ 28,555,653.83
AAM	Aumegametals	0.045	0%	5%	13%	-20%	-4%	$ 25,256,147.57
KZR	Kalamazoo Resources	0.079	-4%	18%	-11%	-25%	-34%	$ 14,587,041.07
BCN	Beacon Minerals	0.022	-6%	-4%	-12%	-12%	-12%	$ 86,405,667.93
MAU	Magnetic Resources	1.38	3%	-13%	36%	73%	35%	$ 359,651,741.40
BC8	Black Cat Syndicate	0.365	-1%	4%	83%	49%	46%	$ 161,902,932.11
EM2	Eagle Mountain	0.046	5%	-8%	-34%	-44%	-38%	$ 17,286,496.57
EMR	Emerald Res NL	3.885	1%	-2%	39%	48%	29%	$ 2,516,128,178.41
BYH	Bryah Resources Ltd	0.005	0%	25%	-55%	-69%	-62%	$ 2,516,434.28
HCH	Hot Chili Ltd	0.8	2%	-4%	-29%	-41%	-26%	$ 115,079,542.00
WAF	West African Res Ltd	1.6825	21%	17%	60%	98%	78%	$ 1,866,579,072.44
MEU	Marmota Limited	0.036	-3%	-10%	-20%	6%	-16%	$ 39,116,820.67
NVA	Nova Minerals Ltd	0.16	3%	0%	-40%	-35%	-56%	$ 38,969,100.96
SVL	Silver Mines Limited	0.096	2%	20%	-36%	-48%	-40%	$ 149,295,589.44
PGD	Peregrine Gold	0.15	-9%	-29%	-35%	-50%	-38%	$ 10,181,763.15
ICL	Iceni Gold	0.035	0%	-17%	52%	-62%	-33%	$ 10,092,158.92
FG1	Flynngold	0.029	12%	16%	-26%	-45%	-36%	$ 7,137,661.16
WWI	West Wits Mining Ltd	0.016	7%	7%	14%	7%	33%	$ 40,667,629.02
RML	Resolution Minerals	0.002	0%	0%	-33%	-60%	-33%	$ 3,220,043.61
AAJ	Aruma Resources Ltd	0.017	-23%	21%	-6%	-51%	-37%	$ 3,997,047.10
AL8	Alderan Resource Ltd	0.003	0%	12%	-25%	-58%	-33%	$ 3,818,583.92
GMN	Gold Mountain Ltd	0.003	-14%	-14%	-25%	-57%	-45%	$ 11,722,419.55
MEG	Megado Minerals Ltd	0.016	45%	60%	45%	-58%	-54%	$ 3,816,833.37
HMG	Hamelingoldlimited	0.064	-12%	-53%	-14%	-25%	-19%	$ 10,080,000.00
TBA	Tombola Gold Ltd	0	-100%	-100%	-100%	-100%	-100%	$ 33,129,242.98
BM8	Battery Age Minerals	0.115	-8%	15%	-8%	-63%	-39%	$ 11,628,017.50
TBR	Tribune Res Ltd	4.42	14%	8%	23%	34%	50%	$ 230,859,538.80
FML	Focus Minerals Ltd	0.14	-3%	0%	-22%	-18%	-24%	$ 40,118,210.30
GSR	Greenstone Resources	0	-100%	-100%	-100%	-100%	-100%	$ 15,761,980.01
VRC	Volt Resources Ltd	0.004	0%	33%	-20%	-47%	-38%	$ 16,634,712.51
ARV	Artemis Resources	0.011	-8%	-27%	-37%	-69%	-42%	$ 24,919,471.54
HRN	Horizon Gold Ltd	0.34	-1%	19%	17%	1%	13%	$ 49,245,573.82
CLA	Celsius Resource Ltd	0.012	9%	0%	-20%	9%	0%	$ 29,134,952.92
QML	Qmines Limited	0.097	18%	70%	39%	-1%	18%	$ 25,512,614.48
RDN	Raiden Resources Ltd	0.04	33%	67%	60%	14%	0%	$ 100,196,780.83
TCG	Turaco Gold Limited	0.28	6%	12%	70%	383%	115%	$ 206,443,226.28
KCC	Kincora Copper	0.046	-8%	-6%	48%	24%	12%	$ 9,475,223.38
GBZ	GBM Rsources Ltd	0.008	0%	-11%	-11%	-53%	-11%	$ 9,253,511.11
DTM	Dart Mining NL	0.0155	3%	13%	13%	-37%	-1%	$ 4,845,616.35
MKR	Manuka Resources.	0.036	3%	33%	-51%	-22%	-53%	$ 24,952,565.41
AUC	Ausgold Limited	0.43	8%	18%	39%	23%	34%	$ 153,201,031.24
ANX	Anax Metals Ltd	0.02	0%	0%	-9%	-63%	-33%	$ 14,586,659.93
EMU	EMU NL	0.024	0%	14%	-13%	-71%	-13%	$ 3,262,978.86
SFM	Santa Fe Minerals	0.038	0%	3%	-16%	-14%	-12%	$ 2,767,113.98
SSR	SSR Mining Inc.	8.51	8%	12%	38%	-63%	-46%	$ 34,230,516.44
PNR	Pantoro Limited	0.12	4%	20%	107%	161%	111%	$ 774,483,661.68
CMM	Capricorn Metals	6.43	13%	8%	29%	44%	37%	$ 2,397,302,996.85
X64	Ten Sixty Four Ltd	0.57	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	$ 129,844,903.32
SI6	SI6 Metals Limited	0.0015	-25%	-25%	-57%	-83%	-70%	$ 4,737,718.85
HAW	Hawthorn Resources	0.056	-8%	-8%	-20%	-53%	-40%	$ 20,100,936.78
BGD	Bartongoldholdings	0.245	4%	-2%	-14%	17%	-8%	$ 53,571,435.89
SVY	Stavely Minerals Ltd	0.03	3%	15%	0%	-59%	-33%	$ 15,409,293.57
AGC	AGC Ltd	0.23	-13%	-22%	229%	297%	224%	$ 67,998,263.83
RGL	Riversgold	0.004	0%	-20%	-50%	-67%	-67%	$ 6,637,312.97
TSO	Tesoro Gold Ltd	0.033	27%	18%	14%	65%	14%	$ 45,407,421.24
GUE	Global Uranium	0.056	-5%	4%	-49%	-66%	-43%	$ 15,941,234.10
CPM	Coopermetalslimited	0.055	-19%	-24%	-59%	-62%	-84%	$ 4,309,560.75
MM8	Medallion Metals.	0.056	8%	2%	0%	-16%	-14%	$ 20,405,179.19
FFM	Firefly Metals Ltd	1.0525	20%	20%	70%	80%	67%	$ 495,129,200.86
CBY	Canterbury Resources	0.034	3%	-6%	3%	26%	36%	$ 6,712,990.46
LYN	Lycaonresources	0.325	33%	27%	86%	7%	63%	$ 17,749,915.71
SFR	Sandfire Resources	9.095	2%	4%	7%	42%	24%	$ 4,190,203,024.20
TMZ	Thomson Res Ltd	0.005	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	$ 4,881,018.47
TAM	Tanami Gold NL	0.032	3%	3%	-3%	-20%	-9%	$ 37,603,105.47
WMC	Wiluna Mining Corp	0	-100%	-100%	-100%	-100%	-100%	$ 74,238,030.68
NWM	Norwest Minerals	0.02	0%	-9%	-20%	-39%	-26%	$ 8,732,151.18
ALK	Alkane Resources Ltd	0.45	11%	3%	-22%	-29%	-31%	$ 259,969,301.10
BMO	Bastion Minerals	0.006	0%	0%	-45%	-74%	-67%	$ 3,039,074.51
IDA	Indiana Resources	0.094	0%	3%	18%	43%	18%	$ 60,265,271.22
GSM	Golden State Mining	0.011	10%	0%	10%	-72%	-27%	$ 3,073,076.93
NSM	Northstaw	0.014	-30%	-7%	-64%	-59%	-72%	$ 1,958,260.98
GSN	Great Southern	0.017	-15%	6%	-23%	-23%	-11%	$ 14,374,922.87
RED	Red 5 Limited	0.3325	9%	-6%	-5%	25%	7%	$ 2,244,816,216.06
DEG	De Grey Mining	1.3425	17%	8%	13%	5%	9%	$ 3,115,784,756.50
THR	Thor Energy PLC	0.017	13%	13%	-32%	-62%	-43%	$ 3,914,645.57
CDR	Codrus Minerals Ltd	0.023	5%	-12%	-48%	-75%	-59%	$ 3,803,912.59
MDI	Middle Island Res	0.02	82%	67%	25%	11%	25%	$ 3,931,212.37
WTM	Waratah Minerals Ltd	0.365	-5%	-1%	421%	836%	204%	$ 74,588,310.18
POL	Polymetals Resources	0.27	8%	8%	-4%	-18%	-13%	$ 50,637,772.90
RDS	Redstone Resources	0.0035	-13%	-13%	-13%	-50%	-42%	$ 3,238,824.61
NAG	Nagambie Resources	0.023	35%	53%	77%	-4%	-21%	$ 15,932,713.54
BGL	Bellevue Gold Ltd	1.2875	10%	-6%	-30%	-16%	-23%	$ 1,606,398,728.69
GBR	Greatbould Resources	0.048	7%	2%	-20%	-23%	-26%	$ 29,169,425.42
KAI	Kairos Minerals Ltd	0.012	33%	20%	-14%	-45%	-14%	$ 34,201,858.46
KAU	Kaiser Reef	0.15	3%	0%	30%	-19%	-12%	$ 29,644,364.63
HRZ	Horizon	0.043	-2%	5%	23%	5%	2%	$ 48,098,041.39
CAI	Calidus Resources	0.115	0%	0%	-30%	-34%	-47%	$ 93,678,205.58
CDT	Castle Minerals	0.0035	-13%	-13%	-42%	-68%	-63%	$ 4,118,442.32
RSG	Resolute Mining	0.7175	3%	5%	89%	102%	61%	$ 1,543,561,259.43
MXR	Maximus Resources	0.032	-3%	3%	6%	17%	-6%	$ 13,693,686.11
EVN	Evolution Mining Ltd	4.435	10%	5%	30%	20%	12%	$ 8,752,556,881.20
CXU	Cauldron Energy Ltd	0.021	5%	17%	-46%	94%	-13%	$ 25,757,143.25
DLI	Delta Lithium	0.205	0%	-2%	-36%	-74%	-56%	$ 149,815,499.82
ALY	Alchemy Resource Ltd	0.007	17%	17%	-13%	-36%	-30%	$ 7,068,457.54
HXG	Hexagon Energy	0.023	10%	53%	-15%	156%	92%	$ 11,797,065.72
OBM	Ora Banda Mining Ltd	0.635	11%	31%	149%	429%	165%	$ 1,182,546,581.44
AVW	Avira Resources Ltd	0.001	0%	0%	0%	-33%	-50%	$ 2,938,790.00
LCY	Legacy Iron Ore	0.013	0%	-7%	-7%	-13%	-24%	$ 100,276,127.41
PDI	Predictive Disc Ltd	0.27	0%	13%	17%	20%	29%	$ 646,498,045.33
MAT	Matsa Resources	0.037	28%	37%	32%	28%	42%	$ 21,452,887.60
ZAG	Zuleika Gold Ltd	0.014	0%	8%	-22%	17%	-22%	$ 10,372,318.98
GML	Gateway Mining	0.025	14%	14%	0%	-22%	0%	$ 10,281,945.05
SBM	St Barbara Limited	0.2975	21%	21%	75%	49%	42%	$ 233,227,318.67
SBR	Sabre Resources	0.014	8%	8%	-22%	-70%	-58%	$ 5,501,467.06
STK	Strickland Metals	0.093	-7%	-19%	8%	79%	-2%	$ 207,449,985.75
ION	Iondrive Limited	0.014	-7%	56%	56%	8%	17%	$ 9,919,105.01
CEL	Challenger Gold Ltd	0.057	27%	21%	-30%	-34%	-23%	$ 71,593,007.66
LRL	Labyrinth Resources	0.02	50%	103%	417%	374%	306%	$ 30,437,671.81
NST	Northern Star	15.945	6%	10%	15%	40%	17%	$ 18,168,561,348.96
OZM	Ozaurum Resources	0.04	11%	-18%	-23%	-56%	-73%	$ 6,350,000.00
TG1	Techgen Metals Ltd	0.035	-5%	9%	9%	0%	-55%	$ 4,484,639.88
XAM	Xanadu Mines Ltd	0.055	4%	-2%	-4%	-40%	-7%	$ 94,380,330.50
AQI	Alicanto Min Ltd	0.023	28%	53%	-16%	-39%	-30%	$ 17,207,288.13
KTA	Krakatoa Resources	0.012	9%	20%	20%	-45%	-67%	$ 5,665,286.64
ARN	Aldoro Resources	0.081	1%	11%	4%	-30%	-35%	$ 10,904,523.18
WGX	Westgold Resources.	2.7	-4%	-10%	13%	44%	24%	$ 2,527,533,969.20
MBK	Metal Bank Ltd	0.014	0%	-18%	-39%	-60%	-48%	$ 5,856,889.37
A8G	Australasian Metals	0.11	-8%	-8%	55%	-27%	-35%	$ 5,733,254.34
TAR	Taruga Minerals	0.0085	6%	21%	6%	-6%	-23%	$ 5,648,214.28
DTR	Dateline Resources	0.005	0%	-29%	-69%	-64%	-50%	$ 12,473,399.31
GOR	Gold Road Res Ltd	1.665	7%	-9%	7%	-3%	-15%	$ 1,787,518,528.95
S2R	S2 Resources	0.084	-5%	-20%	-33%	-52%	-49%	$ 37,587,213.42
NES	Nelson Resources.	0.003	0%	0%	0%	-40%	-25%	$ 1,840,782.98
TLM	Talisman Mining	0.22	5%	5%	22%	57%	-6%	$ 39,547,273.29
BEZ	Besragoldinc	0.075	-16%	-29%	-44%	-46%	-50%	$ 33,239,116.08
PRU	Perseus Mining Ltd	2.625	12%	4%	26%	47%	42%	$ 3,619,396,829.19
SPQ	Superior Resources	0.007	-22%	0%	-29%	-74%	-46%	$ 15,189,046.59
PUR	Pursuit Minerals	0.0025	-17%	0%	-50%	-72%	-69%	$ 7,270,799.97
RMS	Ramelius Resources	2.21	3%	6%	37%	51%	31%	$ 2,514,206,290.38
PKO	Peako Limited	0.003	0%	-14%	-22%	-35%	-22%	$ 2,635,424.60
ICG	Inca Minerals Ltd	0.005	-17%	25%	-17%	-71%	-52%	$ 4,066,093.45
A1G	African Gold Ltd.	0.041	11%	71%	30%	15%	78%	$ 14,358,380.80
OAU	Ora Gold Limited	0.007	17%	40%	27%	-13%	0%	$ 50,001,242.42
GNM	Great Northern	0.013	-7%	18%	-13%	-46%	-35%	$ 2,010,178.00
KRM	Kingsrose Mining Ltd	0.0345	-4%	-8%	8%	-37%	-16%	$ 26,373,428.17
BTR	Brightstar Resources	0.018	6%	13%	6%	50%	13%	$ 106,360,024.54
RRL	Regis Resources	2.005	12%	24%	9%	24%	-8%	$ 1,473,181,581.30
M24	Mamba Exploration	0.012	-33%	33%	-52%	-79%	-76%	$ 2,633,151.86
TRM	Truscott Mining Corp	0.07	17%	17%	50%	47%	28%	$ 12,809,899.20
TNC	True North Copper	0.033	-3%	-15%	-52%	-81%	-66%	$ 31,517,647.13
MOM	Moab Minerals Ltd	0.004	-20%	-20%	-20%	-67%	-43%	$ 3,175,256.95
KNB	Koonenberrygold	0.009	-10%	-31%	-50%	-71%	-77%	$ 2,877,874.74
AWJ	Auric Mining	0.315	11%	24%	103%	600%	163%	$ 46,794,311.87
ENR	Encounter Resources	0.43	-5%	-11%	76%	39%	48%	$ 192,026,922.95
SNG	Siren Gold	0.07	17%	-4%	25%	-4%	3%	$ 14,294,998.69
STN	Saturn Metals	0.265	26%	39%	47%	66%	56%	$ 78,765,645.42
USL	Unico Silver Limited	0.2125	21%	9%	85%	117%	70%	$ 71,977,636.31
PNM	Pacific Nickel Mines	0.024	0%	0%	-40%	-72%	-71%	$ 10,103,834.52
AYM	Australia United Min	0.002	0%	0%	-33%	-33%	-33%	$ 3,685,154.97
ANL	Amani Gold Ltd	0.001	0%	0%	0%	0%	0%	$ 25,743,441.13
HAV	Havilah Resources	0.18	0%	-8%	16%	-25%	-8%	$ 58,578,253.85
SPR	Spartan Resources	1.41	1%	6%	141%	269%	173%	$ 1,449,983,830.66
PNT	Panthermetalsltd	0.018	13%	-11%	-32%	-62%	-57%	$ 2,091,987.89
MEK	Meeka Metals Limited	0.057	14%	6%	58%	14%	43%	$ 82,717,041.12
GMD	Genesis Minerals	2.17	1%	0%	15%	37%	21%	$ 2,392,317,408.96
PGO	Pacgold	0.12	46%	20%	-17%	-43%	-37%	$ 10,097,452.80
FEG	Far East Gold	0.17	-3%	3%	36%	-3%	36%	$ 48,471,273.46
MI6	Minerals260Limited	0.135	4%	23%	-16%	-74%	-58%	$ 31,590,000.00
IGO	IGO Limited	5.065	-8%	2%	-35%	-61%	-44%	$ 3,937,792,627.60
GAL	Galileo Mining Ltd	0.16	0%	-3%	-33%	-49%	-44%	$ 32,608,112.96
RXL	Rox Resources	0.135	-4%	-4%	-18%	-37%	-27%	$ 57,483,340.18
PTN	Patronus Resources	0.052	2%	-5%	-19%	33%	-22%	$ 85,144,685.81
CLZ	Classic Min Ltd	0.001	0%	0%	-98%	-98%	-98%	$ 1,439,025.56
TGM	Theta Gold Mines Ltd	0.165	18%	10%	10%	32%	43%	$ 128,811,767.04
FAL	Falconmetalsltd	0.195	-15%	-32%	77%	50%	34%	$ 35,400,000.00
SXG	Southern Cross Gold	2.92	3%	13%	43%	244%	132%	$ 565,572,821.40
SPD	Southernpalladium	0.375	3%	-1%	10%	-23%	0%	$ 33,656,250.00
ORN	Orion Minerals Ltd	0.016	7%	0%	23%	-11%	14%	$ 109,372,335.41
TMB	Tambourahmetals	0.035	9%	-8%	-55%	-82%	-69%	$ 3,510,019.15
TMS	Tennant Minerals Ltd	0.016	-6%	-24%	-45%	-50%	-52%	$ 15,294,246.64
AZY	Antipa Minerals Ltd	0.0215	54%	95%	79%	79%	26%	$ 100,142,687.99
PXX	Polarx Limited	0.009	-10%	0%	-36%	3%	32%	$ 21,379,508.80
TRE	Toubani Res Ltd	0.255	4%	42%	113%	96%	76%	$ 55,927,066.78
AUN	Aurumin	0.04	-2%	11%	11%	60%	54%	$ 18,229,729.76
GPR	Geopacific Resources	0.025	4%	9%	47%	47%	25%	$ 25,171,364.57
FXG	Felix Gold Limited	0.089	-1%	141%	218%	13%	82%	$ 22,486,713.48
ILT	Iltani Resources Lim	0.235	12%	31%	68%	24%	47%	$ 8,672,678.78
BRX	Belararoxlimited	0.24	-4%	-13%	12%	-62%	-23%	$ 26,150,470.00
TM1	Terra Metals Limited	0.038	12%	-12%	-25%	-33%	-17%	$ 13,852,254.29
TOR	Torque Met	0.089	-19%	-19%	-41%	-74%	-60%	$ 18,843,892.60
ARD	Argent Minerals	0.0175	3%	25%	94%	46%	94%	$ 25,268,699.16

Top ASX Gold Stories This Week

$31 million capped Mithril Silver and Gold (ASX:MTH) is up ~135% over the past month, with all of that gain coming in an extraordinary week that has seen it run hot on exploration announcements from the Copalquin project in Mexico.

Its conviction is that the district under MTH’s future control, once an option to acquire the project is exercised, can mirror others along Mexico’s plentiful Sierra Madre trend.

MD John Skeet is hoping to double the size of its El Refugio resource by early next year, after clocking the highest grade intercept to date from the project, striking 33m from surface at 31.8g/t gold and 274g/t silver.

“Hole CDH-159 is a globally significant >1,000 g/t AuEq1 x metre drill hole at the maiden resource Target 1 area where we aim to 2X the (529koz @6.81 g/t AuEq1 ) resource in Q1 2025,” he said.

“The intercept includes a zone of lower grade material from surface plus a very high-grade zone from 16 metres down hole, including the typical bonanza gold and silver grades that are a hallmark of this important mining district."

Middle Island Resources (ASX:MDI) shares have been climbing as well. On what, it's anyone's guess. The explorer, once part of the consolidation story in the Sandstone gold field of WA when it was run by Rick Yeates, has punched some thus far fruitless holes into its Barkly copper and gold project in the Northern Territory. The targets are named after Flintstones characters though, so we hope there's some success on the horizon and we can one day head down the Dino decline.

It was most recently seen selling ~$1.4 million worth of shares in fellow explorer Aurumin (ASX:AUN) to raise some cash.

Antipa Minerals (ASX:AZY) shares have been on the up as the junior goldie emerged as a key cog in the consolidation of the Paterson Province.

It's cashed up after selling its minority stake in a JV to Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO)last week. But it was also an interesting pawn in the chess match between Newmont and Greatland Gold over the London-listed explorer's US$475 million acquisition of the Telfer gold mine and Havieron JV.

The deal also saw Greatland pick up Newmont's 8.6% stake in Antipa, which on Tuesday added 573,000oz to take its gold resource at the Minyari Dome project 33% higher to 2.3Moz. AZY also controls 83,500t copper, 661,000oz silver and 13,000t cobalt at the WA gold deposit.

Telfer wasn't the only gold M&A turning heads, with South African giant AngloGold Ashanti also announcing a US$2.5 billion takeover comprising both shares and cash for Egyptian gold producer Centamin, while IGO (ASX:IGO) was rumoured to be considering a move back into the precious metal, spying off Rio's large but thus far undeveloped Winu discovery to Telfer's north.

At Stockhead, we tell it like it is. While Mithril Silver and Gold and Antipa Minerals were Stockhead advertisers at the time of writing, they did not sponsor this article.

Originally published as Gold Digger: When the Feds are on your side