Top 100 resources stocks: Petratherm and Larvotto lead resources gains for 2024

Numerous small caps delivered significant returns despite a tough market cycle. Here’s a collection of the top winners and gainers for 2024.

Larvotto Resources made big gains in 2024 on wild antimony ride. Pic: Getty Images

• 2024 was a year of (in some cases face-melting) gains for these 100 resources stocks

• Petratherm had an impressive rise following its titanium discovery at Muckanippie

• Larvotto Resources wasn't too far behind, in line with antimony's ascent 

In a tough market that saw most explorers struggle and trail larger mining companies, many small-caps still generated remarkable gains, with a NSW antimony play achieving near 10-bagger status in 2024 following its purchase of the Hillgrove mine.

Described by some as the ‘deal of the year’, the acquisition not only gave Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV) 100% ownership of an advanced asset but it set the scene for a number of catalysts that would see the company’s share price climb over 800% at its peak.

(Note: As of December 31, LRV looks to be finishing 2024 with a still-very-impressive yearly gain of about 614%.)

The 668,000 ounce gold and 67,000 tonne antimony project Hillgrove was previously owned by Red River Resources, which was in the process of bringing the project into production when an underground collapse at the Thalanga mine near Charters Towers in Queensland led the company into administration.

“It was easily the hardest deal I’ve ever done,” LRV managing director Ron Heeks told Stockhead.

“It took us nine months, but we eventually ended up with a project as well as $250 million worth of plant, $150 million worth of underground development and Australia’s largest antimony resource with a lot of high-grade gold thrown in.”

Larvotto purchased the mine in October 2023 when prices for the critical mineral were at a healthy US$9000/t.

Antimony prices go berserk

Less than a year later, China banned antimony exports in a move seen to purposefully stifle its use in things like military tech, battery technologies, and semiconductors as well as protect the Middle Kingdom’s national security.

Prices went absolutely gangbusters in August this year, soaring fourfold to US$40,000/t or AUD$62,000/t.

“The ban happened just after we released our PFS and I’ve never seen so many planets align so quickly in my career to be honest,” Heeks said.

“I may have finally cracked it for being in the spot at the right time after 40 years in the industry.”

With $45m in the bank following a successful $30m equity raise and a signed offtake deal with London metals trader Wogen Resources, Larvotto will be heading into the new year cashed up and focused on finalising a definitive feasibility study, increasing drill rigs on site from two to five, and carrying out pre-development activities.

Top 100 ASX resources for 2024 (to Dec 1) >>>

These prices were taken on December 1, 2024.

CODE	COMPANY	BEGINNING OF THE YEAR PRICE	PRICE DEC 1	YEAR %	YEAR TO DATE %	MARKET CAP
LRV	Larvottoresources	0.070	0.650	550%	829%	$222,345,569
PTR	Petratherm Ltd	0.035	0.200	308%	471%	$60,696,461
CHW	Chilwaminerals	0.175	0.870	358%	397%	$44,632,407
LRL	Labyrinth Resources	0.049	0.240	469%	387%	$129,768,598
TMG	Trigg Minerals Ltd	0.010	0.045	350%	350%	$28,920,631
OSM	Osmondresources	0.095	0.425	347%	347%	$37,724,151
KP2	Kore Potash PLC	0.012	0.051	467%	325%	$34,965,605
ASL	Andean Silver	0.270	1.040	407%	285%	$163,044,705
WIA	WIA Gold Limited	0.041	0.145	339%	254%	$195,796,067
BVR	Bellavistaresources	0.120	0.420	377%	250%	$41,947,487
IPX	Iperionx Limited	1.390	4.420	227%	218%	$1,324,494,124
AKM	Aspire Mining Ltd	0.105	0.290	212%	176%	$147,214,726
SPR	Spartan Resources	0.517	1.425	181%	176%	$1,585,639,357
AGC	Australian Gold and Copper	0.071	0.195	225%	175%	$50,036,458
AWJ	Auric Mining	0.120	0.325	460%	171%	$48,312,346
YRL	Yandal Resources	0.083	0.220	147%	165%	$66,022,800
VUL	Vulcan Energy	2.850	7.100	164%	149%	$1,336,138,854
TZN	Terramin Australia	0.037	0.091	225%	146%	$192,607,208
POL	Polymetals Resources	0.310	0.760	138%	145%	$148,867,998
A1G	African Gold Ltd.	0.023	0.055	90%	139%	$20,443,336
MHK	Metalhawk.	0.135	0.310	72%	130%	$34,989,701
AGR	Aguia Res Ltd	0.018	0.040	264%	122%	$52,951,043
RIM	Rimfire Pacific Mining Ltd	0.020	0.044	340%	120%	$103,637,647
AUN	Aurumin	0.026	0.057	119%	119%	$25,977,365
OCT	Octava Minerals	0.062	0.135	90%	118%	$7,998,021
AME	Alto Metals Limited	0.043	0.092	119%	114%	$66,380,132
JBY	James Bay Minerals	0.315	0.670	76%	113%	$22,908,975
MTH	Mithril Silver Gold	0.200	0.385	93%	93%	$55,696,226
VTM	Victory Metals Ltd	0.210	0.400	74%	90%	$43,401,086
MEK	Meeka Metals Limited	0.040	0.076	90%	90%	$180,884,223
SPD	Southernpalladium	0.375	0.700	89%	87%	$63,665,000
SUM	Summitminerals	0.099	0.180	64%	82%	$15,539,038
AAR	Astral Resources NL	0.073	0.130	67%	78%	$156,309,611
TTM	Titan Minerals	0.280	0.495	52%	77%	$97,257,893
OEQ	Orion Equities	0.068	0.120	4%	76%	$1,877,907
TOK	Tolu Minerals	0.500	0.850	57%	70%	$96,318,703
TML	Timah Resources Ltd	0.026	0.043	59%	65%	$3,816,670
USL	Unico Silver Limited	0.125	0.205	95%	64%	$89,778,470
ARR	American Rare Earths	0.165	0.270	59%	64%	$135,654,291
LSA	Lachlan Star Ltd	0.055	0.090	34%	64%	$22,731,588
WAF	West African Res Ltd	0.945	1.515	66%	60%	$1,726,761,919
MAT	Matsa Resources	0.026	0.041	52%	58%	$26,653,588
SUV	Suvo Strategic	0.028	0.044	52%	57%	$44,418,678
EMC	Everest Metals Corp	0.080	0.125	47%	56%	$23,285,389
T88	Taiton Resources	0.093	0.145	-3%	56%	$7,920,559
HRN	Horizon Gold Ltd	0.300	0.460	59%	53%	$66,626,365
TGM	Theta Gold Mines Ltd	0.115	0.175	35%	52%	$148,650,010
AUE	Aurum Resources	0.250	0.375	108%	50%	$57,199,573
WTM	Waratah Minerals Ltd	0.120	0.175	361%	46%	$35,374,062
DYM	Dynamic Metals	0.140	0.200	14%	43%	$7,200,000
PRU	Perseus Mining Ltd	1.850	2.640	37%	43%	$3,630,894,548
LGM	Legacy Minerals	0.120	0.170	19%	42%	$17,927,350
SKY	SKY Metals Ltd	0.036	0.051	28%	42%	$34,593,462
GMD	Genesis Minerals	1.790	2.530	37%	41%	$2,855,227,136
SFR	Sandfire Resources	7.340	10.370	65%	41%	$4,753,612,158
MAU	Magnetic Resources	0.710	1.000	39%	41%	$20,418,862
INR	Ioneer Ltd	0.150	0.210	24%	40%	$494,691,228
FXG	Felix Gold Limited	0.049	0.068	36%	39%	$22,348,596
IDA	Indiana Resources	0.080	0.110	78%	38%	$69,945,840
CMM	Capricorn Metals	4.710	6.490	35%	38%	$2,666,944,559
TRM	Truscott Mining Corp	0.055	0.075	35%	37%	$14,358,642
MM8	Medallion Metals.	0.065	0.089	48%	37%	$36,311,560
CBE	Cobre	0.044	0.060	13%	36%	$25,639,936
NGX	NGX Limited	0.145	0.195	15%	34%	$17,669,309
BOC	Bougainville Copper	0.340	0.455	23%	34%	$182,483,438
STN	Saturn Metals	0.170	0.225	64%	32%	$69,499,099
VTX	Vertex Minerals	0.144	0.190	37%	32%	$33,591,683
FEG	Far East Gold	0.125	0.165	3%	32%	$52,731,275
RWD	Reward Minerals Ltd	0.053	0.070	3%	31%	$17,935,370
AUC	Ausgold Limited	0.320	0.420	27%	31%	$149,638,217
RHK	Red Hawk Mining Ltd	0.591	0.775	20%	31%	$154,853,896
WGX	Westgold Resources.	2.180	2.850	35%	31%	$2,687,862,617
BNZ	Benzmining	0.250	0.325	5%	30%	$40,877,305
MPK	Many Peaks Minerals	0.150	0.195	30%	30%	$15,890,099
NXM	Nexus Minerals Ltd	0.047	0.061	45%	30%	$29,665,835
NIC	Nickel Industries	0.695	0.900	25%	29%	$3,860,828,892
WA1	Wa1Resourcesltd	12.400	16.030	95%	29%	$1,085,483,889
PHO	Phosco Ltd	0.065	0.084	14%	29%	$23,666,847
NXG	Nexgenenergycanada	10.060	12.920	29%	28%	$1,323,299,346
EVN	Evolution Mining Ltd	3.960	5.060	24%	28%	$10,100,000,000
ENR	Encounter Resources	0.290	0.370	10%	28%	$168,082,880
HVY	Heavy Minerals Ltd	0.095	0.120	14%	26%	$8,045,231
CBH	Coolabah Metals Limi	0.056	0.070	8%	26%	$9,390,939
BKY	Berkeley Energia Ltd	0.275	0.345	-5%	25%	$153,799,867
YAL	Yancoal Aust Ltd	4.950	6.180	27%	25%	$8,160,315,721
RMS	Ramelius Resources	1.685	2.100	24%	25%	$2,425,498,904
AIS	Aeris Resources Ltd	0.145	0.180	50%	24%	$174,154,597
TRE	Toubani Res Ltd	0.145	0.180	33%	24%	$41,212,793
DEG	De Grey Mining	1.237	1.520	14%	23%	$3,643,071,408
MTM	MTM Critical Metals	0.068	0.082	193%	21%	$28,532,114
BRE	Brazilian Rare Earth	1.910	2.300	0%	20%	$216,650,469
EMR	Emerald Res NL	3.010	3.620	31%	20%	$2,378,504,370
BMR	Ballymore Resources	0.125	0.150	3%	20%	$26,509,588
RRL	Regis Resources	2.180	2.560	34%	17%	$1,934,022,999
PDI	Predictive Discovery	0.210	0.245	4%	17%	$575,970,986
R8R	Regener8 Resources NL	0.130	0.150	-6%	15%	$4,875,375
DME	Dome Gold Mines Ltd	0.175	0.200	38%	14%	$77,585,732
LAM	Laramide Res Ltd	0.740	0.845	14%	14%	$17,342,015
VAU	Vault Minerals Ltd	0.310	0.350	0%	13%	$2,380,865,684
LYN	Lycaonresources	0.200	0.225	41%	13%	$11,921,585

Petratherm (+814% YTD as of Dec 31) stuns with titanium discovery

Another star performer for the year was titanium explorer Petratherm (ASX:PTR), which emerged from a trading halt in November with impressive metallurgical test results of samples from its Muckanippie heavy mineral sand (HMS) project in South Australia.

Laboratory analysis of samples at the Rosewood prospect identified high titanium mineral content of ~65% titanium oxide along with other high-value minerals like rutile.

Drilling quickly followed, confirming a major heavy mineral sand discovery with results including 22m at 19.1%HM from 8m, 17m at 9.7% from 6m and 11m at 10% from 6m – sending the company’s share price from 2c pre-discovery to above 30c, valuing it at $100m.

Listed on the critical minerals list for Australia, US and the EU, titanium is used in electric vehicles, battery storage, and wind turbines and can be used as an alloy in steel for military aircraft due to its excellent corrosion resistance and ability to sustain high temperatures.

While it has been a particularly tough year for junior explorers, PTR managing director Peter Reid told Stockhead the company has navigated the challenging times with a strong project portfolio.

“The market has recognised this value,” he said.

“The discovery of high grade heavy mineral sands at Rosewood over wide intervals from shallow depths, and over a large area which remains open, garnered a strong market response and we confident we have a real discovery with significant upside potential.

“With each piece of new geological information, a better understanding of its prospectivity was gained,” Reid added.

“We are keen to maintain our momentum at Muckanippie and anticipate a busy start to 2025 with the company beginning further exploration drilling and ore characterisation studies at Rosewood early in the new year.”

Other standout performers

Chilwa Minerals (ASX:CHW) +317%, as of Dec 31

Malawi-based mineral sands and rare earth explorer explorer Chilwa Minerals ticked off several key milestones throughout the year including successfully raising $6m via private placement, expanding its mineral sands sonic drilling from 17,000m to 30,000m and acquiring the sample preparation laboratory in southern Malawi to expedite the processing of drill samples ahead of a mineral resource upgrade in Q2 2025.

The resource update will be for the Central Zone prospects, namely Mposa, Mpyupyu, Bimbi and Namasalima within the Lake Chilwa project.

Chilwa intends to use the planned updated mineral resource estimate from the Central Zone prospects to form the basis for a scoping study in 2025.

If the results are positive, the company is considering moving directly to the feasibility study phase for the Central Zone prospects.

Labyrinth Resources (ASX:LRL) +407%, as of Dec 31

It's been a busy year Labyrinth, which has taken the tried and tested approach of looking for new gold mines beneath old ones following its collection of newly acquired projects in WA's historic Goldfields from a subsidiary of Olympio Metals (ASX:OLY).

Not long after that, the company acquired two mining leases from Genesis subsidiary Admiral Gold in a deal worth $4.75m, consolidating its footprint in the Mulwarrie region with the namesake ‘Mulwarrie’ project – only 55km from Comet Vale – having received no drilling since early 2019 by Bardoc Gold.

That acquisition saw Genesis become a strategic substantial holder in the company.

Labyrinth plans to carry out drilling on Mulwarrie in the year.

Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) +290%, as of Dec 31

Another NSW antimony hunter, Trigg will be rounding out 2024 with a significant bump to its resource estimate.

The Wild Cattle Creek deposit at its Achilles project has jumped 92% in resoruces to 1.52Mt at 1.97% sb, containing 29,902t of antimony.

That’s nearly double the 2013 estimate of 0.6Mt at 2.56% Sb, containing 15,600t of antimony.

Trigg Minerals’ (ASX:TMG) Wild Cattle Creek is the second largest antimony deposit in the state. It hosts mineralisation comparable to Larvotto Resources’ (ASX:LRV) nearby 7.23 Mt at 4.5g/t gold and 1.2% antimony Hillgrove antimony-gold deposit, and is shaping up as a significant antimony deposit with high-grade and high tonnage potential.

The project also has some solid growth potential with high-grade shoots that remain open either downdip or along strike, and it’s only been drilled to 100m depth, remaining open down plunge and along strike.

The resource does not include tungsten and gold, which will be evaluated in a future update, suggesting more upside is waiting in the wings.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Petratherm and Trigg Minerals are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

Originally published as Top 100 resources stocks: Petratherm and Larvotto lead resources gains for 2024