Resources Top 5: Gold and copper lead gains as cobalt rises from slumber

After months in the doldrums cobalt has enjoyed a resurgence thanks to a ban on exports from the world’s largest producer, the DRC.

Cobalt has woken from a long sleep but will it head back to bed? Pic: Getty Images.

• Norfolk Metals is acquiring a copper project in Chile’s Atacama region

• Goldies, including Besra and Breakthrough Minerals, are still enjoying the spotlight

• The cobalt market looks to be enjoying a resurgence thanks to a ban on exports from the DRC

Your standout small cap resources stocks for Monday, March 31, 2025.

Norfolk Metals (ASX:NFL)

While there are pockets of copper production and exploration around the world, the Andes along the Pacific coast of Chile, Ecuador and Peru is the hotspot for the highly valued electrification metal.

ASX junior Norfolk Metals is the latest to join the quest in this region after entering a binding earn-in and option agreement to acquire 100% of the Carmen copper project in the Atacama region of Chile and investors have welcomed this with shares as much as 44% higher to 18c.

The 46.6km2 concession is in Chile’s Huasco province within the Atacama region, renowned for its vast copper deposits including Escondida, the world’s largest copper mine by reserve.

With an historical NI 43-101 copper oxide resource of 5.6Mt at 0.6% copper and multiple drill-ready targets on more than 7.5km of untested strike, Norfolk Metals (ASX:NFL) believes the project is a transformational opportunity.

High-grade results outside the resource showcase dual mineralisation opportunities including 41m at 2.46% Cu from surface (oxide) and 69m at 1.37% from 43m (sulphide).

Adding to its appeal, testwork demonstrated high copper solubilities of up to 82% within the oxide ore zone, which is conducive to proven and cost-effective heap leach processing methods.

NFL executive chairman Ben Phillips said the company had secured a highly prospective, scalable, low-risk, value-accretive and easily accessible project in one of the most prolific copper producing areas of the world.

“Outside of the known Carmen resource area, which is open along strike and at depth, there is also 7.5km of highly anomalous untested strike length across the concession package hosting numerous compelling drill-ready targets,” he said.

Besra Gold (ASX:BEZ)

Gold is in a bull run that has seen prices hit a new record of US$3121.50 an ounce at the time of writing, as investors continue to flock to the safe-haven asset amidst ongoing market uncertainty.

Demand for the precious metal has been accompanied by growing interest in gold companies that has seen the ASX All Ordinaries Gold (Sub Industry) index rise 43.7% from 7493 points a year ago on April 2, 2024 to 10,767 on March 27, 2025.

While most interest has focused on gold producers, it has also started to trickle down to explorers thanks to the growing realisation that even companies with relatively small resources or formerly uncommercial ones might have a pathway to quick commercial production if the stars align in the right way.

One of these is Besra Resources which has delivered an updated mineral resource for the Jugan project in Sarawak state of eastern Malaysia.

The 13.5Mt resource at 1.7g/t gold for 721,000oz has been established based on hybrid mine development with open pit and underground components. 

Providing confidence for Besra is that 89% of the resource is represented by measured and indicated categories and investors have also shown their approval with shares up as much as 20% to a daily high of 5.4c.

Matthew Anthill, managing director of Besra’s Malaysian subsidiary North Borneo Gold Sdn Bhd, said the updated resource reflected a shift to a hybrid development strategy aligned with current expectations of local stakeholders. 

“It is far more likely to garner the future approval of State decision makers,” he said. 

“It is imperative that our proposal recognises that both community expectations and physical conditions have changed considerably since the 2012 feasibility study was completed. 

“That study adopted a large-scale open pit and adjacent wet tailings facility, which by today’s standards is considered inappropriate land usage of strategic portions of the Sarawak River floodplain and adjoining catchment area,” he said. 

Breakthrough Minerals (ASX:BTM)

Securing a high-grade gold project in WA has also resulted in a higher price for Breakthrough Minerals, as much as 40% higher to 10.5c.

The company has entered into a binding agreement to acquire a 100% interest in the Errolls Gold Project in the heart of Western Australia’s highly prospective Murchison region.

Although Errols has historical production of 5,000oz at 17.6g/t Au, there has been very limited modern exploration.

Shallow, high-grade intercepts from historical drilling include 22m at 7.46g/t Au from surface, including 5m at 31.76g/t and 3m at 51.85g/t; 20m at 2.74g/t Au from 14m, including 6m at 7.24g/t; and 11m at 6.88g/t Au from 14m, including 6m at 12.3g/t.

Multiple walk-up drill targets have been defined adjacent to historical high-grade intercepts.

A program of work has been submitted and the company intends to begin drilling immediately following completion of the transaction. 

Breakthrough has received firm commitments to raise A$1.2 million via a fully conditional placement to new and existing sophisticated investors at 7.4c per share.

“This is a genuine company-making acquisition for Breakthrough,” executive director Peretz Schapiro said.

“The Errolls Gold Project delivers exactly what investors are looking for – shallow, high-grade gold with walk-up drill targets in a world-class jurisdiction. 

This acquisition not only enhances Breakthrough’s exploration profile but positions us to rapidly add value through the drill bit.

Latitude 66 (ASX:LAT)

After months in the doldrums due to oversupply, cobalt has enjoyed a resurgence thanks to a ban on exports from the world’s largest producer, the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Although the ban imposed on February 22 is only temporary and a lifting would likely lead to the critical mineral being put back to sleep, the DRC government is considering longer-term policies to generate more value from extracting and processing the metal.

Any value-adding moves would prevent stockpiled metal flooding out of the DRC, which accounted for 75% of cobalt mined last year, to feed China’s insatiable hunger.

Adding further to western hopes of no or limited supply from the Congo, the DRC government is considering asking Indonesia, the second-largest supplier with around 11%, to “better control” supplies of the key battery metal.

Cobalt is extracted as a byproduct in both countries – mined alongside copper in the DRC and with nickel in Indonesia.

Owing to the ban, Chinese refineries are scrambling for supply, causing a price spike.

The LME price per tonne has risen from US$21,515.2 on February 25 to US$36,161.6 26 on March 20. Cobalt is 45.94% higher in the past month and is 17.72% higher than its previous 12-month best.

Latitude 66 is well-placed to benefit from cobalt upside with its flagship KSB project in northern Finland holding Europe’s third largest cobalt resource and with the high-value metals of gold and copper to boot.

The resource to date totals 7.2Mt at 2.7g/t gold and 0.08% cobalt for 650,000oz Au and 5840t Co.

LAT continues to grow the project’s potential with a trial RC drill run on two prospects at KSB North intersecting sulphides that relate to high-grade gold and copper surface samples.

Sulphide minerals, in this case pyrite, are valued by miners for a relatively straightforward separation process as a source of precious, industrial and battery metals, including gold, copper and cobalt.

Last week, a scoping study for the project confirmed a highly economic standalone gold-cobalt operation with expansion potential, as indicated by the sulphides intersected by the trial drilling.

“Following the robust scoping study results released last week, we are committed to developing the KSB project and demonstrating the potential upside opportunities both in and surrounding the current mineral resource,” Latitude managing director Grant Coyle said.

While separating minerals for sale can prove difficult, Latitude is confident that low-risk open pit mining and free-milling gravity and carbon in leach processing can deliver gold and cobalt to buyers.

And even with an ounce of gold trading at record prices, the cobalt credit may also prove interesting.

Finland is the world’s second largest cobalt refiner outside China and is throwing financial muscle behind its critical mineral projects as the EU looks to become more self-sufficient.

Latitude sees a unique opportunity to produce cobalt underpinned by high-margin gold ounces.

Cobalt Blue Holdings (ASX:COB)

Depressed cobalt pricing over a long term has seen Cobalt Blue diversify its integrated cobalt-centric strategy by earning into the Halls Creek precious and base metals project in WA’s north.

With an existing resource of 89,000t of copper, 69,000t lead, 326,000t zinc, 9.2Moz silver and 45,000oz gold, the project represents short-term production opportunities, however the cobalt resurgence breathes new life into the company’’s primary aspirations. 

The DRC export ban introduces uncertainty, potentially deterring investment in future production there, which could make projects outside the DRC more attractive.

COB has spent eight years positioning itself as a key player, with its Kwinana Cobalt Refinery in WA, which is in the final stages of permitting and funding, set to be Australia’s first and one of the largest non-China suppliers of battery-grade cobalt sulphate. 

Meanwhile, the Broken Hill Cobalt Project in far west NSW, one of the largest non-African sources, awaits better market conditions to move forward.

With supply tightening, Australia’s stable jurisdiction becomes even more appealing. 

The company has been closely tied to EV manufacturers and battery makers for years, and while it couldn’t predict the DRC-led disruption, it has always known the market would evolve, making its integrated project an investment opportunity.

COB analyst Joel Crane told Stockhead the ban had resulted in cobalt refineries – mostly based in China – scrambling to secure feedstock “putting significant upward pressure on prices”.

So much so, that Chinese state-controlled mining company MMG suspended operations at its processing plant at its Kinsevere mine in the DRC shortly after its opening due to a price slump and the export ban.

That slump was caused by a supply flood that’s drawing the ire of the DRC government. 

China Molybdenum, also known as CMOC, was the biggest culprit. It produced 114,165t last year – largely from the Tenke Fungurume mine where copper production is continuing to expand. That’s more than double its 2023 output of 55,526t and well above its 70,000t upper guidance limit.

CMOC had floated plans to produce 100,000-120,000t of the metal in 2025, with DRC stepping in to stem the bleeding.

“For the first time in recent history, a government policy has effectively frozen such a dominant share of a global commodity market,” Crane said.

“The four-month export ban has sent shockwaves through the market. After two years of oversupply and falling prices, many refiners had cut back on stockpiles.

“With supply suddenly limited, the market is under intense strain to secure material.

“Adding to the pressure is seasonality – post-Lunar New Year restocking typically drives demand, especially from the consumer electronics sector, which accounts for ~30% of cobalt use.”

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent financial advice before making any financial decisions. While Latitude 66, Norfolk Metals and Besra Gold are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

Originally published as Resources Top 5: Gold and copper lead gains as cobalt rises from slumber