1. Ausquest (ASX:AQD)

Year-to-date gain: 450 percent
Market cap: AU$59.88 million
Share price: AU$0.044

Ausquest is a mineral exploration company with polymetallic projects in Australia and Peru. In Australia, the company has a strategic alliance agreement with South32 (ASX:S32) that encompasses base metal projects across Western Australia and South Australia.

Ausquest's main focus in 2025 was its portfolio of copper-gold prospects along the southern coastal belt of Peru, which includes the Cangallo porphyry copper, Lantana and Playa Cali copper projects.

Shares of Ausquest started the year trading at AU$0.008, and soared after the company announced a major large-scale porphyry copper-gold discovery at Cangallo during its maiden drill campaign on the property on January 23. For example, hole CANRC001 returned an interval of 348 metres grading 0.26 percent copper and 0.06 parts per million (ppm) gold from 6 metres, including 26 metres at 0.36 percent copper and 0.07 ppm gold.

The company's share price reached AU$0.043 by January 28, and jumped even higher to AU$0.057 on February 6 after further drill results confirmed the significance of the porphyry copper-gold discovery at Cangallo.

More recently, on June 12, Ausquest commenced Stage 2 of its drill campaign at Cangallo.

"The Stage 2 RC drilling program is designed to extend the original copper-gold intersections by re-directing drill-holes from the original drill pads as well as stepping out to the west, south and north to help locate the centre of the porphyry system(s)," the press release states.

Ausquest's share price hit a year-to-date high of AU$0.064 on June 20.

2. Aeris Resources (ASX:AIS)

Year-to-date gain: 202.86 percent
Market cap: AU$505.14 million
Share price: AU$0.53

Aeris Resources is a mid-tier copper producer and explorer with a large portfolio of projects. The company's operating assets include the Tritton copper mine, which is one of the longest-life mines in New South Wales, and the Cracow gold mine in Queensland.

The company also has 1.3 million tonnes of copper equivalent resources across three growth projects.

Shares in Aeris traded in a range of AU$0.14 to AU$0.18 for much of the first half of 2025. Its share value really began to pick up at the end of August, rising from AU$.20 on August 26 to a year-to-date high of AU$0.60 on October 14.

The company released its financial results for its fiscal year 2025 on August 28, highlighting a 78 percent year-over-year increase in its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to AU$163.7 million, while its net profit after tax increased 286 percent to AU$45.2 million.

In the company's 2025 annual report, released October 20, Aeris reported attributable copper production of 24,900 tonnes.

3. Revolver Resources (ASX:RRR)

Year-to-date gain: 182.76 percent
Market cap: AU$24.24 million
Share price: AU$0.082

Revolver Resources has two wholly owned copper projects in Queensland, Australia: Dianne and Osprey. At both of these projects, the company is targeting Mount Isa style copper and IOCG deposits.

Revolver is advancing toward a final investment decision on bringing the Dianne copper mine into production. So far this year, it has reached some key milestones toward that end, giving its share price a boost.

In February, the firm finalised the SX/EW process for front-end engineering design, a critical technical milestone required for the AU$1.3 million grant awarded by the Queensland Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund the previous year.

In preparation for a restart of production at Dianne, Revolver launched a diamond drill program in mid-June. The following week, the company announced it had completed the site engineering design, the final requirement needed to satisfy the scope of work outlined in the grant, and as such received the remainder of the grant funding.

Revolver’s share price spiked at the end of August, right before the company gave a positive report on its advancement in bringing Dianne back into production. Its shares reached a year-to-date high of AU$0.10 on September 19.

The company is targeting a restart of mining activities at Dianne and first copper cathode production in 2026.

4. Sunstone Metals (ASX:STM)

Year-to-date gain: 133.15 percent
Market cap: AU$59.88 million
Share price: AU$0.022

Sunstone Metals has two gold-copper projects in Ecuador: the Bramaderos and El Palmar projects. Located in Southern Ecuador, Bramaderos hosts porphyry gold-copper systems. El Palmar is in Northern Ecuador within a region that is home to a number of world-class copper porphyry deposits.

After trading below AU$0.01 for much of Q1, shares of Sunstone Metals began rising at the end of March, during which time Sunstone released a corporate update discussing partnership opportunities.

On May 8, the company shared assay results from surface sampling and geological mapping at Bramaderos outlining the scope of new high-grade zones.

“At Bramaderos, we have a cluster of gold-silver epithermal systems at surface that are adjacent to several very large gold-copper porphyry deposits," Sunstone Managing Director Patrick Duffy in the press release stated. "This is an ideal scenario for considering future developments at what we expect will become a major gold-copper mining centre in southern Ecuador."

On October 14, the company announced it is now working to update the mineral resource estimate for the Brama and Alba porphyry system at Bramaderos ahead of a scoping study.

Sunstone shares hit a year-to-date high of AU$0.023 on October 1.

5. Magmatic Resources (ASX:MAG)

Year-to-date gain: 125 percent
Market cap: AU$29.90 million
Share price: AU$0.072

Magmatic Resources is a copper and gold explorer in New South Wales, Australia, and its Myall, Wellington North and Parkes projects are located in the East Lachlan region of the state. This area is home to one of Australia’s largest gold and copper producing operations, Newmont’s (ASX:NEM,NYSE:NEM,TSX:NGT) Cadia East mine.

Magmatic has a farm-in and joint venture agreement with Fortescue (ASX:FMG) subsidiary FMG Resources on the Myall copper-gold project. Under the agreement, signed in March 2024, Fortescue may spend up to AU$6 million over four years to earn a 51 percent interest in the project, after which it may spend an additional AU$8 million to bring its stake in Myall to 75 percent. Fortescue is also a cornerstone investor in Magmatic Resources with a 19.9 percent stake.

On March 25, Magmatic announced partial results from diamond drilling at Myall. Results from a hole drilled at the Calais target revealed the potential for a new copper-gold discovery, with an interval of 42.8 metres grading 0.19 percent copper and 0.03 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, including 10.8 metres at 0.39 percent copper and 0.07 g/t gold.

The company released the results for the remainder of the 12 hole drill program on June 6, including a follow-up diamond drill hole completed at the Calais target. The best assay results from this hole include 8 metres at 0.23 percent copper and 0.04 g/t gold within 26 metres at 0.14 percent copper and 0.08 g/t gold.

“The gold mineralisation intersected by recent drilling at Calais has continued to open up this second exploration front within the Myall FJVA Project and intersecting a gold-copper zone at this early stage is very encouraging. We are working closely with Fortescue on a follow-up program,” Managing Director David Richardson stated.

Magmatic’s share price hit a year-to-date high on October 9, coming in at AU$0.08 per share.