Top 8 ASX Battery Metals Stocks of 2022

Lithium

1. Core Lithium

Year-to-date gain: 69.83 percent; current share price: AU$0.98

Core Lithium (ASX:CXO) is focused on developing projects centred on lithium and other metals. The company states that its economic and efficient spodumene lithium projects position it to become Australia's next producer of the commodity. Core Lithium began construction of its Finniss lithium project in 2021, and is aiming for first production to start before the end of 2022. A recent report shows the company is still on track to kick off production by Q4 of this year.

2. Global Lithium Resources

Year-to-date gain: 36.36 percent; current share price: AU$1.20

Global Lithium Resources (ASX:GL1) is a lithium exploration company with two prospective projects in Western Australia’s Pilbara and Goldfields regions: its 100 percent owned Marble Bar lithium project, and the Manna lithium project, in which it has an 80 percent stake. In mid-June, the company announced continued positive exploration results from Marble Bar, saying that significant intervals of mineralisation are still being found.

3. Sayona Mining

Year-to-date gain: 28 percent; current share price: AU$0.16

Sayona Mining (ASX:SYA) is an emerging lithium producer with projects in Québec, Canada, and Western Australia. The company has a variety of assets in Québec, including the North American Lithium (NAL) operation. In mid-2022, Sayona and Piedmont Lithium (ASX:PLL,NASDAQ:PLL) approved the restart of NAL with a budget of about C$98 million. Production of spodumene lithium is set to begin in the first quarter of 2023.

Sayona's Western Australian tenements are concentrated in the Pilbara region and are prospective for gold and lithium. The company's lithium projects are subject to an earn‐in agreement with Morella (ASX:1MC).

Cobalt

1. Cobalt Blue Holdings

Year-to-date gain: 24 percent; current share price: AU$0.62

Cobalt Blue Holdings (ASX:COB) describes its Broken Hill project, located New South Wales, as a low-cost asset and the world’s first operation where extraction and commercial battery production can both happen onsite.

Graphite

1. Quantum Graphite

Year-to-date gain 169.7 percent; current share price: AU$0.45

Quantum Graphite (ASX:QGL) has honed its efforts on graphite and graphite products. It aims to use modern thermal energy-storing technology to provide lithium-ion batteries and long-duration batteries. The company’s goal is to ultimately develop a global platform for the processing and production of graphite products from its Uley mine. Quantum plans to continue investing in processing technologies to support the growing EV battery market.

2. Renascor Resources

Year-to-date gain 3.57 percent; current share price: AU$0.15

Renascor Resources (ASX:RNU) is dedicated to powering the future with clean energy resources. The company's current focus is on its two fully owned projects in South Australia: the Siviour battery anode materials project and the Carnding gold project.

Siviour has been granted major project status by the country's federal government, and the plan is for it to produce a globally competitive battery anode material with its mine, concentrator and production facility, which is 100 percent based in South Australia. Renascor has an eco-friendly purification process that involves a hydrofluoric acid-free alternative to help the planet.

Nickel

1. Galileo Mining

Year-to-date gain: 504.55 percent; current share price: AU$1.53

Galileo Mining (ASX:GAL) is a base metals company focused on Western Australia. It has two main projects, its fully owned Norseman project and Fraser Range, which is a joint venture with Creasy Group. The company’s Norseman project is rich with potential for cobalt, nickel and copper. In early June, the company began drilling at the Castillo discovery in the Norseman project area; the drilling has returned the property's "highest-grade assays to date."

2. GME Resources

Year-to-date gain: 44.44 percent; current share price: AU$0.09

GME Resources (ASX:GME) is an exploration and development company whose wholly owned NiWest nickel-cobalt project is located in the West Australian nickel belt. NiWest is right next to Glencore’s (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF) Murrin Murrin nickel-cobalt project. The company commenced a prefeasibility study for NiWest during the first quarter of this year; it will be an update from the original prefeasibility study completed in 2018.