Top 5 ASX Copper Stocks (Updated December 2022)

1. Cobre

Year-to-date gain: 77.14 percent; market cap: AU$35.32 million; current share price: AU$0.165

Cobre (ASX:CBE) is targeting base and precious metals, with a focus on copper in Western Australia and Botswana's Kalahari copper belt. The company's Ngami copper project in Botswana has been the subject of extensive exploration work in 2022.

In mid-August, the company announced the fourth intersection of copper mineralisation from an ongoing drill program at Ngami, which has significantly extended the known footprint of mineralisation over more than 4 kilometres. Following the news, Cobre shares rose to a year-to-date high of AU$0.78 on August 22. More recently, Cobre closed an AU$5 million financing to help further advance exploration work in the Kalahari copper belt.

2. Far East Gold

Year-to-date gain: 56.78 percent; market capitalisation: AU$101.43 million; current share price: AU$0.47

Far East Gold's (ASX:FEG) key assets include six advanced copper and gold projects in Indonesia and Australia. Its three Indonesian assets are located on the Sunda Magmatic Arc, which hosts world class copper-gold porphyries. In Australia, Far East has three properties in Queensland’s Drummond Basin and Connors Arc regions, which are well known for gold exploration and mining.

In mid-September, the company kicked off Phase 1 drilling on the Anak Perak prospect at its Indonesia-based Woyla copper-gold project. This marked a major milestone toward de-risking the project and is an important step toward building out a maiden JORC resource. Following the news, Far East's share price shot up to a year-to-date high of AU$0.765 on September 23.

The Phase 1 drill program at the Woyla project also includes two drill rigs operating at the Rek Rinti prospect, and according to the company is slated for completion by the end of 2022.

3. Alara Resources

Year-to-date gain: 37.5 percent; market cap: AU$25.13 million; current share price: AU$0.033

Alara Resources (ASX:AUQ) is a precious and base metals explorer and developer. It has projects in the Middle East, including the Al Washi-hi Majaza copper-gold project in Oman and the Khnaiguiyah zinc-copper project in Saudi Arabia. The company’s goal is to become a mid-tier minerals producer developing its value and growth through its low-cost assets and sustainability initiatives.

Shares of Alara hit a 2022 year-to-date high of AU$0.12 on February 7. According to the company, its joint copper-gold venture in Oman is continuing to make good progress, with significant movement in the construction phase. Alara expects that project commissioning will occur early in the June 2023 quarter.

4. Cannindah Resources

Year-to-date gain: 42.83 percent; market cap: AU$137.06 million; current share price: AU$0.25

With a focus on copper and gold, Cannindah Resources (ASX:CAE) is reviewing strategies for its New South Wales-based Mount Cannindah project, which holds a large porphyry-style copper-molybdenum-gold mineralised system. The company is also looking to move forward with exploration at its Piccadilly gold project in Queensland.

In late January, Cannindah shared results from a vertical hole drilled in the northern part of Mount Cannindah. Results include 81 metres at 0.3 percent copper, 0.6 grams per tonne gold and 22.5 grams per tonne silver. In a report from mid-April, Cannindah shared that its new mining leases for the Mount Cannindah project had been renewed until 2034. The company's share price spiked to a year-to-date high of AU$0.425 on April 5.

5. Superior Resources

Year-to-date gain: 32.5 percent; market cap: AU$91.87 million; current share price: AU$0.053

Superior Resources (ASX:SPQ) is exploring for large lead-zinc-silver, copper-gold, magmatic nickel-copper-platinum-group elements and gold deposits in Australia. The company's Greenvale project includes at least three significant copper-gold porphyry and volcanogenic massive sulfide prospects, a developing high-grade gold deposit and a regionally large Voisey's Bay-style magmatic sulphide nickel-copper-platinum-group elements prospect. Superior's Nicholson project hosts several Mount Isa-style zinc-lead-silver-copper prospects. The Victor project is located 150 kilometres northwest of the prolific Mount Isa mine.

Superior's shares reached their all-time high for 2022 on January 7, coming in at AU$0.078. At Greenvale, Superior's exploration activities have identified a large-scale copper system at the Bottletree area in the southern part of the project.