Market and commodity price round-up

The S&P/ASX 200 index opened at 8,603.00 on Monday (July 7) and closed at 8,590.70 on Thursday (July 10), reflecting a 0.14 percent decline over the period.

As for precious metals, gold saw a slight dip in US dollar terms, going down 0.25 percent from US$3,337.32 on July 7 to US$3,328.89 by July 10 at 5 p.m. AEST. In Australian dollars, gold decreased 0.32 percent, moving from AU$5,093.25 to AU$5,076.81 over the same time period.

Silver also pulled back slightly during that time. After starting the week at US$36.94 in US dollars it closed at US$36.64,a 0.81 percent dip. In Australian dollars, silver went down 0.87 percent, going from AU$56.37 to AU$55.88.

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 we break down their operations and why these mining stocks are up this week.

Stock data for this article was retrieved at 4 p.m. AEST on July 10 using TradingView's stock screener. Only companies trading on the ASX with market capitalizations 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: 100 percent
Market cap: AU$28.14 million
Share price: AU$0.17

Yandal Resources is a gold exploration company focused on Western Australia. The company’s flagship Ironstone Well–Barwidgee project is located within the Yandal Belt and is currently under development.

On May 21, Yandal reported diamond drill results from the project’s Siona prospect, including 16.3 meters at 0.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 29.1 meters at 0.4 g/t gold. According to the company, the results demonstrate "broad, low-grade mineralisation with internal higher-grade zones."

The company is also advancing its Arrakis prospect at its Caladan target area, with reverse-circulation drilling results released April 30.

Yandal released the first results of its air-core program at the Arrakis project on Thursday (July 10), which highlighted results of 11 meters at 2.1 g/t gold and 12 meters at 1.1 g/t gold. The company stated that it has now intercepted mineralisation at the prospect over more than 800 metres in strike.

Shares of the company rose on the day of the announcement, opening at AU$0.095 and closing at AU$0.17. On July 11, shares peaked at AU$0.18.

2. Lakes Blue Energy (ASX:LKO)

Weekly gain: 71.79 percent
Market cap: AU$60.09 million
Share price: AU$1.34

Lakes Blue Energy is an oil and gas explorer with assets across Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and Papua New Guinea. The company is currently focused on the Wombat Gas Field in Victoria’s Gippsland Basin.

According to the company's description of Wombat, the project holds a gas production potential of around 20 petajoules per year, which could support a region facing natural gas shortages.

On June 18, Lakes secured AU$6.5 million in funding to support the drilling of the Wombat-5 well.

The company recommenced trading on July 4 ahead of the drilling restart at Wombat. It had been suspended from quotation in October 2023.

Most recently, on Wednesday (July 9), Lakes secured final regulatory approvals for its drilling of the Wombat-5 well. The company plans to begin drilling the well on July 31.

3. Pantera Lithium (ASX:PFE)

Weekly gain: 66.67 percent
Market cap: AU$11.37 million
Share price: AU$0.02

Pantera Lithium is a lithium brine exploration and development company based in Perth, Western Australia. Its flagship asset is its Smackover lithium brine project in the Smackover formation of Arkansas, US.

The company made headlines on July 9 when it announced a binding agreement with Energy Exploration Technologies (EnergyX) to sell Pantera’s wholly owned subsidiary Daytona Lithium, which holds the Smackover project, for AU$40 million. The total amount will be paid via AU$6 million in cash and AU$34 million in EnergyX stock.

This means Pantera will gain exposure to EnergyX’s broader lithium portfolio, including the Black Giant project in Chile and Project Lonestar in Texas, and it will still have exposure to the Smackover project as well.

Subject to shareholder approval, the transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2025. Pantera said that it plans to pursue new opportunities in the battery and critical minerals space supported by the capital injection and strategic alignment with EnergyX.

Shares of Pantera surged 116.66 percent on the day of the announcement, closing at AU$0.026.

4. TMK Energy (ASX:TMK)

Weekly gain: 50 percent
Market cap: AU$25.56 million
Share price: AU$0.003

TMK Energy is a gas exploration company focused on accelerating the development of its Gurvantes XXXV coal seam gas project in Mongolia’s South Gobi desert. The project is 8,400 square kilometres in size and six active coal mines are within its boundaries.

On Tuesday (July 8), the company signed a new drilling contract with Major Drilling Group International (TSX:MDI), the company who drilled its six existing pilot wells in the Nariin Sukhait area.

The contract covers the drilling of Lucky Fox 07 (LF-07), the final pilot production well in the current Lucky Fox complex. The company expects LF-07 to enhance gas production and provide data on reservoir pressure behavior.

Drilling is scheduled to commence in the second half of July, following Mongolia’s Naadam festival.

TMK’s 2025 work program also includes up to five exploration wells in an area 60 kilometres east of the Nariin Sukhait area. These efforts aim to expand the company’s 2C contingent resources.

5. NuEnergy Gas (ASX:NGY)

Weekly gain: 40 percent
Market cap: AU$49.86 million
Share price: AU$0.028

NuEnergy Gas is an independent clean energy company advancing its three coal bed methane production sharing contracts (PSC) in South Sumatra, Indonesia. According to the company, it aims to integrate the three into a hub.

The company is currently executing its early gas sales initiative, which aims for an initial production of 1 million standard cubic feet per day from a series of four coal bed methane wells at its Tanjung Enim PSC. It reported the start of drilling for the first well on June 19 and its completion July 4.

In late June, the company announced it extended its Heads of Agreement with Indonesia’s national natural gas distributor for gas sales through June 26, 2026.

Its most recent news came on Tuesday, when NuEnergy announced that it had begun the drilling for its second of four wells for the early sales initiative at Tanjung Enim.