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Who made the gains? December’s top 50 resources stocks

Aldoro led resources stock gains in December on strong niobium sampling results at its Kameelburg project in Namibia.

Aldoro led resources companies in December on strong niobium sampling results at its Kameelburg project in Namibia. Pic: Getty Images
Aldoro led resources companies in December on strong niobium sampling results at its Kameelburg project in Namibia. Pic: Getty Images

December 2024 has proved to be a cracker for junior resource companies, with three in the critical minerals space marking gains of more than 150%.

Niobium and rare earths explorer Aldoro Resources (ASX:ARN) leads the pack comfortably with a 332% gain for December 2024.

Surface sampling at the company’s Kameelburg project in Namibia has continued to deliver with assays confirming that the entire 262m length of Line 4 is mineralised with niobium at an average grade of 0.52% niobium oxide.

The same is true of Line 3 with 220m of the 388m length mineralised with niobium – at an average grade of 0.7%.

Diamond drilling using the company’s own equipment has also started with an initial seven holes to be drilled across the carbonatite.

Niobium is a strategic commodity in the US, Japan and EU thanks to its use in high-strength alloys, its superconducting properties and more recently in enhancing batteries.

The top 50 ASX resources stocks for December

CODE COMPANY PRICE MONTH % CHANGE MARKET CAP
ARN Aldoro Resources 0.38 332% $51,157,022
MTM MTM Critical Metals 0.26 217% $105,718,282
GCM Green Critical Min 0.014 180% $26,705,746
BDG Black Dragon Gold 0.069 116% $20,829,908
CLE Cyclone Metals 0.056 115% $59,625,607
AYM Australia United Min 0.004 100% $7,370,310
LM1 Leeuwin Metals Ltd 0.14 92% $6,559,234
AHN Athena Resources 0.005 79% $7,971,402
TVN Tivan Limited 0.1 75% $190,996,314
CMD Cassius Mining Ltd 0.012 71% $6,504,054
CRB Carbine Resources 0.005 67% $2,758,689
EPM Eclipse Metals 0.006 67% $13,727,133
5EA 5Eadvanced 0.13 65% $43,799,744
ETM Energy Transition 0.039 56% $54,939,638
PTR Petratherm Ltd 0.305 53% $94,304,960
NVA Nova Minerals Ltd 0.37 51% $103,209,122
M4M Macro Metals Limited 0.012 50% $44,807,325
GMN Gold Mountain Ltd 0.003 50% $11,902,420
MTL Mantle Minerals Ltd 0.0015 50% $9,296,169
NFM New Frontier 0.018 50% $26,167,236
OD6 Od6Metalsltd 0.048 50% $6,177,128
TX3 Trinex Minerals Ltd 0.0015 50% $2,742,978
ERA Energy Resources 0.003 50% $1,216,188,722
A11 Atlantic Lithium 0.335 49% $232,204,350
PMT Patriotbatterymetals 0.405 47% $234,314,743
CUF Cufe Ltd 0.01 43% $13,366,749
COD Coda Minerals Ltd 0.093 41% $23,146,144
BEZ Besragoldinc 0.09 41% $37,394,006
MXR Maximus Resources 0.059 40% $25,247,734
AM5 Antares Metals 0.014 40% $7,132,733
HOR Horseshoe Metals Ltd 0.014 40% $9,285,944
NYM Narryermetalslimited 0.049 40% $8,115,997
ICL Iceni Gold 0.071 39% $21,859,869
DYM Dynamicmetalslimited 0.275 38% $9,900,000
RON Roninresourcesltd 0.22 38% $8,882,502
ILT Iltani Resources Lim 0.205 37% $9,095,367
SCN Scorpion Minerals 0.015 36% $6,141,843
MM8 Medallion Metals. 0.12 35% $49,129,964
DUN Dundasminerals 0.035 35% $3,752,642
QPM QPM Energy Limited 0.056 33% $141,191,441
ESR Estrella Res Ltd 0.02 33% $38,020,771
HLX Helix Resources 0.004 33% $13,056,775
NTM Nt Minerals Limited 0.004 33% $4,843,612
RGL Riversgold 0.004 33% $6,734,850
ERM Emmerson Resources 0.077 31% $48,942,654
COY Coppermoly Limited 0.013 30% $9,199,547
RXL Rox Resources 0.2 29% $102,985,241
AKA Aureka Limited 0.135 29% $13,828,711
PEN Peninsula Energy Ltd 1.26 28% $201,140,038
CYM Cyprium Metals Ltd 0.023 28% $39,368,562

Technology a drawcard

Meanwhile, possessing innovative, proprietary technology has proven to be a real draw for investors.

MTM Critical Metals (ASX:MTM) clinched the second spot with the company progressing its Flash Joule Heating technology – a metal recovery and mineral processing method that efficiently extracts metals like lithium from spodumene, gallium from scrap and gold from e-waste.

Gallium – used in the production of semiconductors – is of particular interest as it subject to Chinese export restrictions.

The technology also promises to reduce energy consumption, reagent use, and waste.

MTM recently reached a deal with New York-listed Indium Corporation to test the tech’s ability to extract gallium, germanium and indium.

Likewise, Green Critical Minerals (ASX:GCM) has been making gains since acquiring ground breaking tech to produce very high density graphite blocks in late October 2024.

The tech is able to produce VHD graphite blocks that have amongst the highest thermal conductivity ever recorded for any bulk material and lowest electrical resistivity ever measured for any bulk graphite product.

That it can do so in just 24-36 hours at around half the temperature of the primary synthetic graphite process is a real differentiator.

VHD blocks can be used in materials for the defence and nuclear industries, electrical discharge machining, thermal energy storage, electronics, aerospace, semiconductors and heat sink appliances.

The company started construction of a pilot plant in mid-December and after month's end said it had started commissioning of the plant.

Gold plays make up a big percentage of the top 50 resources gainers in December 2024. Pic: Stockhead
Gold plays make up a big percentage of the top 50 resources gainers in December 2024. Pic: Stockhead

Gold still shining

Despite tapering off from its highs in the previous month, gold maintained a steady position well above the US$2600/oz (~$4200/oz) mark – retaining its position as one of the top performing commodities of 2024.

This strength has rubbed on juniors, with 15 of the 50 companies on our list having gold as their primary commodity.

Black Dragon Gold (ASX:BDG) took fourth spot with a 116% gain in December 2024 after investors piled in on Christmas Eve on hopes that some reputed regulatory changes in Spain’s Asturias region could be beneficial for progressing its 1.5Moz Salave gold project, currently stalled at the local council level.

In early December, the company said it was assessing the Tapia de Casariego Council’s ‘highly frustrating decision’ to knock back an application to rezone land from agricultural to industrial use.

Gold-antimony play Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA) saw a 51% gain in December after reporting first rock chip assays of up to 56.7% antimony at the Stibium prospect within its Estelle project in Alaska’s Tintina gold belt and follow-up results of up to 141g/t gold.

Estelle currently has a resource of 9.9Moz gold though there’s likely more to be found given that this is contained within a 35-kilometre-long corridor with more than 20 prospects including four known large intrusion-related gold systems.

Other small-cap standouts

Fourth-placed Cyclone Metals (ASX:CLE) made gains in December despite a lack of any critical news.

Shares in the company had already more than doubled in November 2024 after it signed a memorandum of understanding with Brazil’s Vale, one of the world’s largest iron ore producers, over a farm-in and potential JV at the Iron Bear project near Schefferville in Canada.

That 16.6Bt magnetite resource, which grades around 29.5% iron, has been shown to be capable of upgrading to a direct reduction grade concentrate in excess of 71% iron.

That would put its potential product in league with the less than 10% of seaborne iron ore products capable of being used in the low emissions DRI process, which could in turn attract a premium.

Petratherm (ASX:PTR) – also one of our top gainers for 2024 – made big gains in November 2024 after returning impressive metallurgical test results of samples from its Muckanippie heavy mineral sand project in South Australia.

It packed on the pounds again in December after assays of maiden drilling at the Rosewood prospect within Muckanippie returned bonanza-grade HM sand concentrations.

The first five step out holes returned results topping up at 22m at 19.1% HM from 8m, including 4m at 27.9% HM from 9m.

Preliminary visual analysis suggests the high value minerals leucoxene and rutile are present, which is consistent with recently reported historical results located 1km to the east.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Cyclone Metals, Green Critical Minerals, MTM Critical Minerals and Petratherm are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.

Originally published as Who made the gains? December’s top 50 resources stocks

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/stockhead/news/who-made-the-gains-decembers-top-50-resources-stocks/news-story/5fb9876b9a279c60970923b01f093581