Resources Top 5: Bass Oil carried higher on major gas deal with Origin
Bass Oil has locked in a three-year gas sales deal with Origin Energy covering the Vanessa field in South Australia’s Cooper Basin.
Your standout small cap resources stocks for Monday, December 8, 2025.
- BAS lands three-year gas sales deal with Origin Energy
- DAF acquiring Boulder Creek gold-silver project in Idaho
- M2R prepares to drill two high priority gold targets after $1m raise
Bass Oil (ASX:BAS)
Locking in a three-year gas sales deal with Origin Energy (ASX:ORG), covering up to 12.045 PJ from the Vanessa field in the Cooper Basin in South Australia has given Bass Oil (ASX:BAS) a considerable lift.
The company jumped 173.53% to a 12-month high of 9.3c before easing back to 6.7c at the close, a lift of 97.06%, and on volume of more than 45.5m.
Bass expects first gas in 2026 once the Vanessa acquisition is wrapped up and facilities are recommissioned, a move that underpins full commercialisation of the field.
Vanessa gives the company a low-cost pathway into the East Coast gas market and a launchpad to tap the much larger gas potential it sees in its nearby 100%-owned PEL 182 acreage.
Bass holds a majority interest in eight permits in the Cooper Basin, including the 100% owned Worrior and Padulla oil fields, and a 55% interest in a South Sumatra Basin KSO in Indonesia.
Under the binding Gas Sales Agreement, Bass will supply all gas produced from the Vanessa field to Origin, one of Australia’s largest wholesalers and retailers of gas and electricity, up to 12.045 PJ over three years starting in 2026.
The supply of gas is subject to Bass completing the Vanessa acquisition as well as returning the field to full production, for which planning has begun.
This acquisition includes a production facility and a 5km pipeline connecting to the Cooper Basin transmission network.
Vanessa was drilled in 2007 and brought online in 2018 at a rate of 3.5 million SCF per day. The well produced 1.1 BCF over two years.
“This is a key step for Bass’ entry into the East Coast Gas Market,” Bass managing director Tino Guglielmo said.
“Demand and corresponding gas pricing is increasing, which means fields such as Vanessa can be returned to production and run profitably under a low-cost structure. The team’s focus is to bring Vanessa online as quickly as possible using it as a base from which to grow a new and profitable arm to the business.”
“Importantly, we also see Vanessa as a key asset in unlocking what we believe may be a significant gas resource contained within the deep coals in our 100% owned PEL 182.”
Discovery Alaska (ASX:DAF)
Signing a binding Heads of Agreement (HOA) for an option to acquire the Boulder Creek gold-silver project in Idaho has seen Discovery Alaska (ASX:DAF) jump 28.57% to 1.8c and puts the company on a growth trajectory.
The ~640Ha Idaho State Lease is prospective for epithermal high-grade vein hosted gold-silver and disseminated gold-silver.
Historical exploration was conducted by Nerco, Inc. in the 1980s prior to its takeover by Kennecott Corporation/Rio Tinto, however no modern exploration has been carried out in the project area.
The project is in proximity to Integra Resources Corp’s DeLamar gold-silver project, where historic mining operations were conducted by Kinross Gold Corporation up till the late-1990s.
The company will review geological records and historical data to determine mineralisation trends to prepare an exploration work program, comprising;
- Discovery and review/assessment of historical data;
- Geology and regional setting assessment; and
- Exploration to confirm historical workings and assess mineralisation potential.
“The Company is excited to execute the Boulder Creek Gold-Silver Project transaction. This is a significant opportunity to advance a gold-silver project at an exciting time for the gold and silver sector, with record prices and located within a proven mining jurisdiction,” Discovery Alaska director Jerko Zuvela said.
“We are excited to progress this growth prospect, continue looking for additional potential US project opportunities and create long term value for our shareholders.”
This project opportunity provides direct leverage to gold and silver in a record high-price environment.
Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R)
Miramar Resources (ASX:M2R) has locked in $1m in funding and is preparing to drill two high-priority gold targets at its Gidji JV project early next year.
Firm commitments were received from new and existing investors priced at the last traded share price, providing a funding runway into the next phase of work.
Funds will support targeted RC drilling planned for the first quarter of 2026 in which M2R aims to complete 10-12 holes for 2,500-3,000m, focused on the Blackfriars and Highway targets beneath the Gidji paleochannel.
Despite strong geochemical indicators, neither target has been drilled with RC before.
“Since listing in 2020, we have outlined a large amount of shallow gold across multiple targets, and with the addition of recent aircore drilling, geophysical surveys and reinterpretation of multi-element geochemical data, we have refined several bedrock gold targets for deeper drilling,” executive chairman Allan Kelly said.
Anax Metals (ASX:ANX)
Raising $2.4m in a placement with Gold Valley Pilbara has seen Anax Metals (ASX:ANX) forge a partnership with the experienced mining group to progress the Whim Creek project in WA.
This was completed at 1.1c per share, a 37.5% premium to the last traded share price of 0.8c, reflecting investor confidence in the company’s strategy.
The partnership with Gold Valley also includes a right of first refusal for Gold Valley to build, own and operate the Whim Creek mine accommodation camp.
In another development for Anax, a $3.5M loan has been secured from a major shareholder, enabling repayment of the MDP Convertible Notes and providing flexibility to pursue additional funding initiatives.
Placement funds will be used to update the DFS for Whim Creek, expand Anax’s aggregate business, support the due diligence of various potential offtake and finance partners, and to provide working capital.
Austral Gold (ASX:AGD)
Stabilised operations at Guanaco in Chile and the restart of production at Casposo in Argentina have resulted in an improved gold production outlook for Austral Gold (ASX:AGD) in FY26.
Consolidated gold production guidance for the period is 26,000 to 30,000 gold equivalent ounces.
Guanaco is expected to produce 15,000-17,000oz primarily from mineralised material sourced at the heap-reprocessing project.
Guidance at Casposo, which restarted in October 2025, is 11,000-13,000oz based on six months of operations using Casposo-owned ore.
During the other six months, the plant is scheduled to process Hualilan ore under quarterly toll campaigns agreed in a toll processing agreement with Challenger Gold.
Originally published as Resources Top 5: Bass Oil carried higher on major gas deal with Origin
