Top 5 ASX Gold Stocks (Updated September 2023)

Here's a look at the top-performing gold stocks on the ASX by year-to-date gains.

gold bars on top of papers showing stock exchange numbers

Australia holds the largest gold reserves of any country, and it’s clear the yellow metal is an important part of the Australian economy. With gold prices nearly reaching their 2020 peak this past May several exploration and mining companies have discovered similar gains on the ASX.

However, with gold experiencing a pullback from the US$2,000 mark and dipping below US$1,900 at the end of September, shares of gold-producing companies have been brought along for a ride during the second half of the year. Some of the top companies in our last year-to-date update have dropped off the list, while others have taken their place following positive news.

Keep reading to learn more about which Australian gold companies are seeing the highest year-to-date gains going into Q4 of 2023. All share price data was obtained on September 27, 2023, using TradingView's stock screener, and the companies listed had market caps above AU$50 million at that time.

1. Spartan Resources

Year-to-date gain: 285 percent; market cap: AU$329.11 million; current share price: AU$0.385

Formerly Gascoyne Resources, Western Australia-based Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR) changed its name and symbol in August to reflect its changed direction in recent years. According to the company, its Dalgaranga mine in the Murchison region "historically struggled with low-grade ore feed." After discovering the high-grade Never Never gold deposit at the Dalgaranga site in 2022, Spartan Resources began the process of putting Dalgaranga on care and maintenance and transforming the mine to use feed from Never Never.

The company's shares have been on an upward trajectory for much of 2023 following the completion of an AU$50 million funding package that will allow it to begin development of the high-grade Never Never gold deposit.

Spartan’s upward momentum accelerated after it announced on May 2 promising news that exploratory drilling at its Never Never site had yielded exceptional, high-grade results with a highlight of 50 metres at 6.46 grams per tonne from 144 metres, including an intersection of 10 metres at 23.7 grams per tonne.

Shares peaked at AU$0.40 on September 13 following further assays from drilling at the Never Never site that revealed more high-grade intersections of up to 33.1 metres at 8.15 grams per metric tonne from 169.4 metres.

2. Theta Gold Mines

Year-to-date gain: 120.59 percent; market cap: AU$98.71 million; current share price: AU$0.15

Theta Gold Mines (ASX:TGM) is an Australian company exploring the Eastern Transvaal gold fields northeast of Johannesburg, South Africa. The company owns a 74 percent stake in the Transval Gold Mining Estate (TGME), South Africa’s first incorporated gold mining company. The remaining 26 percent is owned by Black Economic Empowerment entities, which include local community trusts, employee trusts and a strategic entrepreneurial partner. The TGME gold mine site hosts four planned gold mines.

Shares in Theta began an upward trend in the first half of July, hitting AU$0.115 on July 26 following positive news the company had raised a AU$5 million private placement with Hong Kong Ruihua Investment Management, with funding being applied to items such as permitting and development of the TGME site. Shares climbed once again to AU$0.14 on August 6 following news Theta had completed a 3,000 tonne bulk sampling at TGME’s Frankfort mine.

Prices in Theta have continued to rise and achieved a year-to-date high of AU$0.15 on September 26. The increase comes after Theta announced significant investor and shareholder 2Invest has exercised 5,000,000 unlisted options into fully paid ordinary shares. Funds raised will allow the company to advance the bulk sampling program at its Frankfort mine site.

3. Emerald Resources

Year-to-date gain: 119.41 percent; market cap: AU$1.53 billion; current share price: AU$2.60

Domiciled in Perth, Emerald Resources (ASX:EMR) and owns the Okvau gold mine in Cambodia, which has produced more than 7,000 kilograms of gold doré since 2021. Emerald Resources also has a 60 percent stake in Bullseye Mining, which operates three mining projects in Western Australia.

The company has been trading higher since January following the announcement of record quarterly gold production of 29,640 ounces from the Okavau mine in the December 2022 quarter. This robust performance from the mine has continued throughout 2023 and led to an impressive annual report in August that saw the company deliver a record after-tax profit of AU$66.2 million and sales of 108,901 ounces of gold.

Shares in Emerald Resources reached a year-to-date high of AU$2.67 on September 20 following the approval from shareholders to take over the remaining 40 percent of Bullseye Mining. Emerald has extended the closing date for the offer to 5 pm AEST on October 6.

4. Resolute Mining

Year-to-date gain: 70 percent; market cap: AU$723.86 million; current share price: AU$0.34

Resolute Mining (ASX:RSG) is an experienced explorer, developer and mine operator, having produced more than 9 million ounces of gold in the past 30 years. The company currently has two mines in its portfolio, the Syama mine in Mali, which produced 79,731 ounces of gold in the first half of 2023, and the Mako mine in Senegal, which produced 63,843 ounces during the same period.

Shares of the company have been trading alongside gold for much of the year, with the company hitting a year-to-date high of AU$0.525 one day after gold hit its yearly high of US$2,049.92 on May 3.

Positive news in Resolute's report for its 2022 fiscal year, released at the end of February, also helped shares find support with investors. Financials were further bolstered in July as the company announced it had maintained cash reserves and decreased debt through Q2 2023.

Although gold is approaching its yearly low as of the end of September, Resolute has somewhat decoupled from the yellow metal, instead stabilizing following a September 4 announcement of a 47 percent increase in mineral resources at its Syama North project in Mali.

5. Ramelius Resources

Year-to-date gain: 57.3 percent; market cap: AU$1.65 billion; current share price: AU$1.455

Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS) is a Western Australia gold producer that operates five gold mining sites: Edna May, Penny, Marda, Tampia and Mount Magnet. The Mount Magnet mine, located in the Murchison Goldfield, is its largest mine in both footprint at 225 square kilometres and production at an average 161,000 ounces annually.

Company shares have risen throughout the year, largely tracking the price of gold during the early half of the year and hitting a year-to-date high of AU$1.51 on April 13, the day after gold hit a high price point of US$2,040.27 on April 12.

Ramelius' share price avoided the drawback on gold in the second half of the year on favourable news in the Q4 and FY2023 report released in July, which included low debt, positive cash flow and steady mining operations. Its five mines combined to produce 68,752 gold ounces for the quarter ending in June and 240,996 for its 2023 fiscal year.

Ramelius shares found additional support through news of significant acquisitions in 2023; the company finalized a takeover of Breaker Resources on May 15 and Musgrave Minerals on September 15.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Dean Belder

Investment Market Content Specialist

Dean has been writing in one form or another since penning stage plays in his youth. He is a graduate of both Emily Carr University and Simon Fraser University, with a BFA in photography and a BA in communications.

As a writer, Dean has traveled throughout BC and the Pacific Northwest covering cultural events, interviewing small business owners and working alongside fellow writers and photographers from publications like Rolling Stone Magazine, Spin and the Georgia Straight.

Dean has a keen interest in investing, and enjoys learning about the mining industry and better understanding the technical aspects of trading. In his spare time, Dean is an avid home chef, ponders the space-time continuum and makes his own cider. On weekends he can be found cycling the Seawall, exploring farmers markets or sampling the city’s local craft breweries.

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