Resources Top 5: Austral surges 177pc on Casposo gold restart

• Commercial production resumes at refurbished Casposo plant
• COB inks MoU with LGM to evaluate strategic options for cobalt and other products
• RML to hold a briefing before Albanese and Trump meeting

Your standout small cap resources stocks for Tuesday, October 14, 2025.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Austral Gold (ASX:AGD)

The resumption of gold production at the Casposo mine in Argentina following a plant refurbishment has sent Austral Gold (ASX:AGD) to a four-year high of 13c.

Shares surged almost 177% to that figure before closing at 11.5c, an increase of 144.68%.

Commercial production at Casposo enhances Austral Gold’s production profile, with two active mines operating in Argentina and Chile.

Refurbishment of the Casposo plant has been completed, including the commissioning phase, which formally started at the end of 2024 after the company received a US$7 million bank loan.

It represents a major step forward for AGD after the Casposo plant was placed on care and maintenance in 2019 and supplements production from the Guanaco mine in Chile.

Initial production at Casposo is being sourced from the company’s existing stockpiles and there are plans to transition to open-pit mining through a collaborative operating arrangement. 

Austral is negotiating with a local contractor and expects to finalise an agreement soon. Under this structure, the contractor will provide mining services under the company’s supervision.

During the commissioning, 230 gold equivalent ounces (GEOs) of doré were produced and these were smelted from residual plant material and historical samples returned to Casposo by Argentine customs authorities.

Production this quarter is forecast to be 4,000 to 6,000 GEOs, including the 230 GEOs from commissioning.

The restart is supported by updated mineral resource and reserve estimates and is complemented by a Toll Milling Agreement with ASX-listed Challenger Gold.

Proven and probable reserves are estimated to be 2.149Mt grading 1.31g/t Au and 58.5 g/t silver and containing ounces recoverable of 80,000oz Au and 3.276Moz Ag.

Measured and indicated resources are estimated to be 2.258Mt grading 1.48g/t Au and 59.91g/t Ag while inferred resources are estimated at 173,000t grading 7.52g/t Au and 68.54g/t Ag.

“We are pleased to announce the restart of operations at Casposo, marking a significant milestone for the company as we expand our production base along existing mining operations at Guanaco,” Austral Gold’s CEO Stabro Kasaneva said.

“This development positions us to generate improved cash flow and strengthen our financial position.”

Cobalt Blue Holdings (ASX:COB)

Following a 36.4% jump on Monday, Cobalt Blue Holdings (ASX:COB) surged another 140% to 36c, a two-year high, on inking an MoU to evaluate strategic options for cobalt and other products produced by Legacy Minerals (ASX:LGM) at the NiCo Young cobalt-nickel project in central NSW.

The MoU revolves around COB’s planned Kwinana Cobalt Refinery, its processing technology  and its Broken Hill cobalt project, and the potential synergies available with LGM’s assets.

Cobalt Blue owns the Broken Hill project in NSW and plans to construct and operate a refinery at Kwinana in WA, in a joint venture between COB (70%) and Iwatani Australia (30%).

“This is a significant step for the NiCo Young project towards assessing potential pathways towards commercialisation,” LGM CEO and MD Christopher Byrne said.

“Cobalt Blue, which holds the Broken Hill cobalt deposit and is developing the Kwinana cobalt refinery, not only possesses expertise in these types of ores but also has strategically positioned itself to potentially refine this type of ore in the future.

“The companies propose to evaluate the opportunities for commercialisation of nickel-cobalt from the NiCo Young deposit, which would align with Australia’s Critical Minerals Strategy and the Commonwealth Government’s ‘A Future Made in Australia’ ambitions.”

NiCo Young has a resource of 167.8Mt grading 0.59% nickel and 0.06% cobalt, or contained metal of 1Mt nickel and 100,000t cobalt.

A review by LGM of historical work has identified an historical scandium resource at NiCo Young that was not included in the latest resource.

While NiCo Young already hosts one of the largest nickel and cobalt deposits in the state, the review could add a nationally significant deposit of a critical mineral used in specialty semiconductor applications and in alloys for the aerospace, automotive and defence sectors.

LGM also intends to carry out dedicated assaying for scandium in the deposit and is planning metallurgical leach tests and a scandium domaining study to see if any discrete, near-surface resources can be reported.

Resolution Minerals (ASX:RML)

Visibility of the Horse Heaven antimony project of Resolution Minerals (ASX:RML) is set to increase with company executives to hold a briefing before the meeting between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump in Washington DC on October 20, 2025.

RML will provide an update on the Idaho project, its scale and prospective expansion plans and this is aimed at strengthening Australia’s strategic position with the US on critical mineral relations.

Horse Heaven covers about 59km2 of exploration ground adjacent to Perpetua Resources’ Stibnite gold project, which has received $80m in Department of Defense funding and recently secured development approval under the FAST-41 approvals fast-track program.

The unsolicited selection of RML’s project reinforces its relevance to America’s critical minerals supply chain.

European Lithium (ASX:EUR)

As the spotlight on the critical minerals bounty of the Tanbreez REE project in Greenland intensifies and interest in part-owner Critical Metals Corp (CRML) lifts, ASX-listed European Lithium (ASX:EUR) is well-placed to benefit.

EUR and CRML, which is ~68% held by EUR, own 7.5% and 42% of the project with a resource of 45Mt grading 0.38% TREO at the Fjord deposit. 

In an off-market transaction, CRML has sold a further 3.85m shares to a US institutional investor at US$13 per share for net proceeds of US$50m.

“The recent price increase and large trading volumes on the Nasdaq shows the demand for CRML shares is huge,” EUR chairman Tony Sage said.

“The remaining 56m shares held by EUR in CRML, using the $US14.98 closing price on the Nasdaq on Friday, values the company’s holding at approximately $US854m ($A1.294bn), well above the current market capitalisation of EUR. 

“EUR also holds a direct 7.5% interest in the Tanbreez project and given the current market valuation of CRML ($A2.3bn), this equity interest is very strategic.”

Australian Strategic Materials (ASX:ASM)

(Up on no news)

A review and optimisation of the management team structure is being carried out by Australian Strategic Materials (ASX:ASM) to best support its current priorities and growth plans.

This follows the resignation of chief operating officer Chris Jordaan who will step down to pursue other, non-competing opportunities, effective November 9, 2025.

During his time with ASM, Jordaan has overseen significant operational developments in Korea and Australia.

At the Korean Metals Plant, the company has progressed multiple international product validation processes, onboarded new global customers and expanded its metallisation capability with the first commercial sale of heavy rare earth metals terbium and dysprosium.

In Australia, Jordaan has worked with the Dubbo Project team to deliver the Rare Earth Options Assessment, resulting in delivery of the Heap Leach Scoping Study and a potentially more capital and operating cost-effective development.

The COO position will be replaced with the roles of VP Operations Metals and VP Operations Australia and these will be filled on an interim basis by Peter Finnimore and Wayne Dicinoski, respectively.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent financial advice before making any financial decisions. While European Lithium is a Stockhead advertiser, it did not sponsor this article.