Top 5 Australian Mining Stocks This Week: Yandal Resources Climbs on Gold Drill Results

Market and commodities price round-up

The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) posted a 1.35 percent decrease this week, opening at 8,864.90 on Monday (September 22) and closing at 8,745.20 on Thursday (September 25).

As for precious metals, the gold price spiked to a new all-time high this week in both US and Australian dollars. In US dollars, gold rose 1.52 percent from US$3,685.41 at Monday's open to US$3,741.27 by Thursday's close. In Australian dollars, gold also rose through the week, moving from AU$5,589.85 to AU$5,672.42 at a 1.48 percent increase.

The silver price also posted significant gains. It climbed 2.14 percent in US dollars, starting the week at US$43.06 per ounce and closing at US$43.98. In Australian dollars, silver rose 2.1 percent from AU$65.31 to AU$66.68.

Top ASX mining stocks this week

How did ASX mining stocks perform against this backdrop?

Take a look at this week’s five best-performing Australian mining stocks below as the Investing News Network breaks down their operations and why these companies are up this week.

Stocks data for this article was retrieved at 4:00 p.m. AEST on Thursday using TradingView's stock screener and reflects price movements between Monday and Thursday. Only companies trading on the ASX with market capitalisations greater than AU$10 million are included. Mineral companies within the non-energy minerals, energy minerals, process industry and producer manufacturing sectors were considered.

1. Yandal Resources (ASX:YRL)

Weekly gain: 75 percent
Market cap: AU$100.5 million
Share price: AU$0.28

Yandal Resources is a gold exploration company focused on Western Australia. The company is currently developing its flagship Ironstone Well-Barwidgee gold project located within the Yandal Belt.

The company is advancing the project’s Arrakis gold prospect at the Caladan target, at which it commenced reverse-circulation drilling on September 1 and finished on September 17. Yandal shared results from the drilling program on Monday. Results include significant intercepts of 54 metres at an average grade of 1.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from 108 metres, and 6 metres at 1.1 g/t gold from 180 metres.

The company requested a trading halt on Tuesday, pending an announcement. Regular trading commenced Wednesday (September 24) alongside further drill results and Yandal's annual shareholder report. The results include 50 metres at 1.3 g/t gold from 122 metres, and 16 metres at 0.7 g/t gold from 140 metres.

“As we step out and consider the whole 2.2 kilometre trend initially defined by air-core drilling, the scale of this discovery begins to look regionally significant,” Managing Director Chris Oorschot commented.

The company's annual shareholder report highlights how its exploration over the past 12 months has been primarily on early stage, large-scale target areas within the Ironstone Well-Barwidgee project, with minor activities also completed across the Mount McClure and Gordons gold projects. It also mentions the Arrakis prospect as one of its priority target areas that has seen “rapid progress” during the year.

Shares of Yandal were the highest this week a day after the announcements, closing at AU$0.285 on Thursday.

2. Podium Minerals (ASX:POD)

Weekly gain: 66.67 percent
Market cap: AU$56.75 million
Share price: AU$0.07

West Perth-based Podium Minerals aims to be Australia’s first miner and producer of platinum-group metals (PGMs) from its flagship Parks Reef project, which is currently transitioning from exploration to development.

Parks Reef is located 80 kilometres west of Meekatharra, Western Australia.

Podium Minerals states on its website that Parks Reef hosts the largest platinum resource in Australia and the only 5E PGMs mineral resource in Australia, a category that refers to platinum, palladium, rhodium, iridium and gold.

Parks Reef’s inferred mineral resource for its PGMs zone totals 183 million tonnes of ore containing 7.6 million ounces of 5E PGMs at an average grade of 1.30 g/t, plus metals copper, nickel and cobalt.

In its annual shareholder report, published on Wednesday, Podium Minerals highlighted the addition of an inferred mineral resource for Parks Reef’s Copper-Gold zone, which hosts 60 million tonnes containing 300,000 ounces of gold, 140,000 tonnes of copper, 60,000 tonnes of nickel and 11,000 tonnes of cobalt.

“The (copper-gold zone) increases the project’s scale, adds development flexibility and increases the overall value of Podium’s basket of metals,” Podium’s report reads.

Podium's shares peaked on Thursday at AU$0.070.

3. DevEx Resources (ASX:DEV)

Weekly gain: 64.89 percent
Market cap: AU$61.84 million
Share price: AU$0.155

Australia-focused DevEx Resources holds uranium assets in the Northern Territory, and one rare earth element project in Queensland. Its Northern Territory assets are the Nabarlek project, which is wholly owned and hosts the past-producing Nabarlek uranium mine, and the Murphy West project, for which it has earn-in agreements.

DevEx began field exploration at the projects in July, and has secured government co-funding of AU$160,000 for drilling at Nabarlek’s Big Radon and KP prospects.

As for the Kennedy ionic clay project, the company's website states that further metallurgical testing is underway. This project holds a resource of 150 million tonnes at 1,000 parts per million total rare earth oxide.

While DevEx did not make any announcements this week, its shares spiked to a close of AU$0.14 on Wednesday.

This resulted in a price query from the ASX, which the company responded to on Thursday, saying that there is no undisclosed information affecting its trading.

Shares of DevEx closed at AU$0.17 on Thursday.

4. Terra Critical Minerals (ASX:T92)

Weekly gain: 63.93 percent
Market cap: AU$15.39 million
Share price: AU$0.10

Terra Critical Minerals is a critical minerals explorer with a growing portfolio in the New England area of New South Wales, Australia. It also holds a portfolio of uranium assets in Canada’s Athabasca Basin in Saskatchewan, and is looking to acquire rare earth element and antimony projects in the US.

Previously focused just on uranium, the company officially changed its name from Terra Uranium to Terra Critical Minerals on Tuesday to reflect its broader focus, which includes tungsten, tin and more.

On the same day, Terra announced that it has identified further high-grade silver mineralisation as part of its review of historical rock samples at its 100 percent-owned Mole River base metals project in New South Wales.

One highlighted sample at Mole River’s Silent Grove prospect graded 400 g/t silver, 6.09 percent lead, 4 percent zinc and 0.55 percent tin. “Further review of historical datasets is ongoing,” the update reads. “A full exploration program will be developed following the thorough analysis of past work.”

Terra’s other projects in the New England area include the past-producing Ottery tin mine, the Castle Rag silver deposit and the Glen Eden tungsten-molybdenum project. The company closed its acquisition of Dundee Resources on September 16, adding the Glen Eden project and two others to its portfolio.

Shares of Terra hit a weekly high on Wednesday, closing at AU$0.10. They finished Thursday at that level.

5. Manuka Resources (ASX:MKR)

Weekly gain: 52.94 percent
Market cap: AU$50.07 million
Share price: AU$0.052

Manuka Resources is a multi-commodity developer focused on restarting precious metals production in the Cobar Basin of New South Wales. Its two prominent assets are the Mount Boppy gold mine and past-producing Wonawinta silver and base metals project, both located in the Cobar Basin.

According to the company, Mount Boppy remains fully permitted and holds an open-pit probable ore reserve of 39,000 ounces of gold. It last produced gold in 2023 and is currently under care and maintenance.

“(With) newly identified exploration potential … Manuka plans a restart based on expansion and processing upgrades,” its project page states.

At Wonawinta, Manuka is targeting a restart of silver production in 2026.

Manuka also holds the Taranaki iron-vanadium-titanium project, which is being advanced by Manuka’s subsidiary Trans-Tasman Resources. The project would extract vanadium-rich iron sands from the seabed of the New Zealand exclusive economic zone. The company has completed its updated prefeasibility study for Taranaki and entered the project in the New Zealand government’s fast-track approval process.

While Manuka had no announcements this week, its shares closed Thursday at a weekly high of AU$0.052.