Bulls N' Bears (Commercial Content)

The Bulls N' Bears ASX Runner of the Year is… Kaili Resources, which ran on hot air and a tight Chinese register for a meme-stock frenzy in under 48 hours. Dateline Resources got the ultimate Trump Truth Social shout-out for its Colosseum gold-rare earths play near the Mountain Pass mine in California, Locksley Resources unlocked antimony and rare earths just next door, Sunrise Energy Metals flew on its monster scandium deposit in NSW and Mount Ridley dropped Australia's biggest gallium resource out of nowhere. IPO of the year went to the aptly named Metal Powder Works, as goldies Forrestania, Focus and a lonely oil player Finder Energy rounded out the list.

Kalgoorlie Gold Mining has delivered another confidence-boosting result at its Lighthorse discovery, part of the company's Pinjin project, with fresh RC drilling almost doubling the strike length of primary gold mineralisation. The work confirms the system is sourced from depth, remains open to the north and is shaping up as a large-scale orogenic gold target within WA's prolific Laverton Tectonic Zone.

Perth-based gold explorer Aurum Resources has delivered another batch of encouraging high-grade gold intercepts from its BMT3 target in the company's flagship Boundiali gold project in Côte d'Ivoire, West Africa. The best grade was obtained from an intercept of 2.20 metres at 23.65 grams per tonne (g/t) gold from just 93.6 metres downhole.

St George Mining has delivered its thickest high-grade intercept to date at the company's 100 per cent-owned Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Minas Gerais, Brazil. One vertical diamond drill hole returned a massive run of 139.45m assaying 4.05 per cent total rare earth oxides and 0.55 per cent niobium pentoxide from surface.

Terrain Minerals has called a brief festive timeout on drilling at its Smokebush gold project in Western Australia, wrapping up a productive end to 2025 at its Lightning prospect. With more than a third of the current RC program completed, a newly granted mining licence and strong funding support, the company says it is well placed to hit the ground running when drilling resumes in January.

Ora Banda Mining has drilled into wide, high-grade gold at its Sand King underground mine in WA's Goldfields, confirming a growing northerly mineralised corridor, which is likely to boost ounces significantly. Peak intercepts included bonanza grades up to 146 grams per tonne (g/t) from drilling that has stretched mineralisation well beyond current resource boundaries.

Buru Energy says it is courting global capital to fund a flow test and an independent resource certificate at the company's onshore Rafael gas discovery in Western Australia's Canning Basin. With approvals secured, multiple suitors running the rule over the opportunity and a development partner already locked in, the company believes it is steadily closing in on long-term gas cashflows from 2028.

Estrella Resources has rolled out another set of manganese-rich results from its Ira Miri project in Timor-Leste, with several high-grade intervals hinting at the potential for multiple stacked manganese horizons. The company says it has also wrapped up drilling at its adjacent Werumata limestone project, which exposed thick carbonate layers and a fresh limestone unit at depth, with promising early commerciality indications.

American West Metals will kick off its first gallium and indium-focused drilling program at the company's flagship West Desert project in the US state of Utah next year. The move comes after recent re-sampling of historical diamond drill core uncovered high-grade mineralisation across a suite of critical metals. The fully permitted program will test an array of drill-ready targets for the vital critical minerals.

Middle Island Resources has wasted no time putting an experienced hand on the tiller, appointing seasoned explorer and company builder Peter Spiers as chief executive officer. With more than three decades across discovery, development and corporate growth, Spiers steps in just as the company's Serbian assets begin to deliver the kind of results that can change a junior's trajectory.

Horizon Minerals has intersected stunning visible gold in drilling at its Burbanks project south of Coolgardie in Western Australia, including a whopping intercept grading up to 5.848 kilograms per tonne gold from 259m depth. The results form part of the company's monster two-stage 30,000m drilling program at the project, which kicked off in late June with focused infill drilling to upgrade confidence around its existing gold resources.

Norfolk Metals has laid the groundwork for a busy new year drilling blitz at its Carmen copper project in Chile, with environmental permitting and studies progressing ahead of a news-packed Christmas period. The company says a five-year permit will clear the path for a broader drilling assault across its 46.6 square kilometre concession package, including follow-up work from a high-impact diamond drilling program currently underway.

Lindian Resources has locked in delivery of its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi by awarding the design and construction contract for the stage-one processing plant to Obsideo. The move has significantly de-risked execution, with recent plant optimisation likely to lift throughput, while keeping capex broadly in line, as the company targets first production in late 2026.

Great Southern Mining is onto what is starting to look like a major new gold discovery at its Amy Clarke prospect in WA's Duketon gold belt that now stretches across 4.7kms. A new round of aircore drilling has nailed the widest gold intersection yet just 8kms from Regis Resources' Garden Well mill, with a 17-metre hit grading 1.4 grams per tonne from just 20 metres.

Dateline Resources has struck thick, high-grade gold beneath the North and South pits at the company's Colosseum project in California, improving continuity and delivering grades above the current resource. The latest drilling supports an early mine plan and strengthens the project's economics as the company sharpens its gold feasibility study at record prices.

The Bulls N' Bears ASX Runners of the Week are… Bass Oil, which soared on a freshly inked three-year gas deal with Origin Energy in a Cooper Basin comeback, Marmota, which confirmed its “spectacular gold discovery” at Greenewood in the Gawler craton, Alvo Minerals, which extended its Touro massive sulphide streak in Brazil as copper hits all-time highs and Alchemy Resources, which hit premium 65 per cent iron hematite on its granted mining lease in the Bryah Basin.

Estrella Resources has delivered another set of exceptional assay results assaying up to 58 per cent manganese from its Ira Miri prospect in Timor-Leste, confirming the project as an emerging high-grade sedimentary manganese system. The company's drilling has returned multiple intervals above 50 per cent manganese with low impurities, including standout manganese results of 58.02 per cent in one hole and 55.1 per cent in a second.

Moonlight Resources has stayed true to its name, working after hours to set the rods spinning at its Queensland Clermont gold project just as the company made its debut on the ASX. Armed with $10 million from a heavily subscribed IPO, the explorer is primed to accelerate exploration across a cluster of advanced structural gold targets spread along a strongly mineralised 4km trend.

Neometals Limited and Kalgoorlie-based mining group BML Ventures have joined forces, with the two firms inking a letter of intent to negotiate a joint venture to develop Neometals' Ironclad gold deposit in WA, owned by subsidiary firm Avanti Exploration. BML will fund and manage all mining and haulage operations upfront, arrange toll-milling and split the profits 50:50 after the recovery of all costs.

Norfolk Metals has taken stock of initial assays from its maiden drilling program at the Carmen project in Chile's copper-rich Huasco Province, delivering 53m at 1.1% copper from only 62m downhole. Carmen sits tantalisingly close to mining giant Newmont's multi-billion-dollar joint venture development of the Relincho and Fortuna deposits, which host 16.6 billion pounds of copper.

Lindian Resources has shifted its Kangankunde rare earths project into high gear after awarding every major non-process infrastructure contract, clearing the decks ahead of full-scale mine construction in Malawi. With work already underway across multiple packages, contractors mobilised and the mining fleet rolling in, the company says the milestone materially boosts execution confidence ahead of first production in 2026.

Beetaloo Energy has cleared the last hurdle to development at its Carpentaria pilot project in the Northern Territory, taking a final investment decision on its mammoth Beetaloo Sub-basin. The move caps off a string of regulatory wins for the company, which is on a fast track to deliver gas into a hungry NT gas market facing acute supply shortages.

Aurum Resources has delivered another set of strong gold intercepts from its ongoing drilling at the Napié gold project in Côte d'Ivoire. The results continue to confirm wide, high-grade mineralisation that remains open along strike and at depth. With drilling ramping up and major resource updates planned, Aurum is building momentum in a strengthening gold market.

Lindian Resources has taken complete control of its Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi by making an early payment of the final US$10 million tranche to acquire the remaining 33 per cent of the project from Malawian vendor, Rift Valley Resource Developments Limited. The transaction now takes the company to 100% ownership of the project, well ahead of the original July 2026 final payment deadline.

Horizon Minerals has inked a land use agreement with the Marlinyu Ghoorlie Native Title Claimant group across almost all of the company's 240 tenements in Western Australia's Eastern Goldfields. The voluntary agreement provides a flexible solution to manage how land and resources can be used by setting out the rights and interests of both parties.

Rio2 Limited is acquiring the Condestable copper-producing mine in Peru for a total of US$217 million (A$327M), instantly transforming the company from a single-asset Chilean gold developer into a diversified Latin American precious-and-base-metals producer with immediate cash flow. Under the deal signed with private owner Southern Peaks Mining, Rio2 will pay an initial sum of US$180 million (A$271M) on closing, with a further US$37 million (A$56M) in deferred payments between 2027 and 2030.

Pilot Energy is in the final stages of a farm-out process for its wholly-owned WA-481-P gas exploration permit, with offers from short-listed parties due to close before the end of the month. The company's 8605 square kilometre offshore tenure extends between Cervantes and Geraldton and is the biggest Commonwealth offshore exploration license in Australia, embracing 130 graticular blocks in shallow water along Western Australia's Mid West coast.

Beetaloo Energy has landed the final watershed approval in the Northern Territory, clearing the decks to sell appraisal gas from its Carpentaria 5-H well and kick off pilot production. In a first-of-its-kind decision on Aboriginal Freehold land, gas will soon flow directly into the local market, sharpening the company's pathway to early revenues and commercial sales.

St George Mining has delivered its thickest-ever high-grade rare earths and niobium diamond drill hit in the short but spectacular history of the company's 100%-owned Araxá project in Brazil, boring through a staggering 115.65m from surface. Latest assays confirm the carbonatite host system is not only enormous but continues to grow in scale, continuity and quality, with the new results set to drive a substantial resource upgrade in 2026.

Lindian Resources has kicked off a drilling campaign at its North Knoll prospect. The target, which returned rock chips assaying of up to 7.15 per cent total rare earths (TREOs), is one of several high-grade carbonatite-rich lenses previously identified near the company's world-class Kangankunde rare earths project in Malawi.

The Bulls N' Bears ASX Runner of the Week is… Phoslock Environmental Technologies, which resurrected this week, flicking the switch on its Chinese factory after four years in the dark. Freshly minted Black Horse Mining galloped out of the IPO gates in a revival at the heart of Victoria's 80-million-ounce goldfields, DGR Global reminded everyone of its 6.8% stake in SolGold and its copper-gold monster in Ecuador, which copped a bid and African Gold got proposed to by its Canadian sugar-daddy Montage in a $264 million all-scrip merger in Côte d'Ivoire.

Meeka Metals has delivered more high-grade gold hits from the prolifically mineralised Fairway Shear Zone, which forms part of the company's Murchison gold project in Western Australia. Rosapenna is a new drill target within the shear, with a best hit of 23m grading 1.05g/t gold, including 4m running at 4.67g/t gold. The mineralisation remains open in three directions and highlights the potential for a new discovery.