Resources Top 5: Finder unlocks pathway to production in nation-building Timor-Leste oil project

• Finder Energy will remain in the driver’s seat with 66% and operatorship of the KTJ project in Timor-Leste 
• A strongly supported placement has raised $9.65 million for the US push of SNX
• RMX acquiring highly prospective Yellow Pine antimony project in Idaho’s Stibnite Mining District

Your standout small cap resources stocks for Thursday, September 25, 2025

Finder Energy Holdings (ASX:FDR)

After locking in a binding farm-in agreement with Timor-Leste’s national oil company and JV partner Timor Gap covering the KTJ project, Finder Energy Holdings (ASX:FDR) surged 170% to a record 50c.

The agreement, which will lift Timor Gap’s stake in PSC 19-11 (KTJ) by 10% to 34%, will see it tip in half the project’s development capex post-FID, up to US$338m, and also start sharing near-term costs with immediate funding support of up to US$15m.

This will keep Finder in the driver’s seat with 66% and operatorship but crucially de-risks first oil by bringing in a deeper-pocketed partner and showing government-level backing.

Finder will now look to secure the remaining balance of funding and finalise critical project elements to enable FID by mid-2026.

Completion of the transfer of the farm-in Interest is subject to receiving regulatory and third party approvals. Finder anticipates that completion will occur in or about late October 2025.

Finder welcomes greater participation from Timor Gap in the KTJ project, which will be the first 100% sovereign Timor-Leste development project which aligns with Timor-Leste’s nation building strategy.

“We are delighted to strengthen our partnership with Timor Gap through this agreement, which not only increases their participation in the KTJ Project but also demonstrates confidence in the acceleration strategy targeting FID by mid-2026,” CEO Damon Neaves said. 

“This agreement significantly de-risks the development, underpins the project’s strategic importance for Timor-Leste and marks a major milestone for the KTJ Project.”

Timor Gap is working closely with Finder at this critical phase of the project and will send personnel to Finder’s Perth office as part of the FID acceleration strategy, including the current Accelerated FEED Project and subsequent phases of the project. 

It will provide services to the KTJ project such as helicopter transport, supply boats and other services.

An Integrated Project Team is progressing all work streams to advance KTJ through assurance checks and project decision gates to adhere to FDR’s Quality Assurance System.

The current focus is transforming design concepts into a fully defined FDP to support a development decision at FID. 

Sierra Nevada Gold (ASX:SNX)

Attracting strong interest as it gears up for a US precious metals push is Sierra Nevada Gold (ASX:SNX)  as reflected in a strongly supported placement that raised $9.65 million.

The explorer secured the funds through a placement of 321.7m new shares at 3c per share/CDI, including commitments from the board and management totalling $450,000.

Proceeds from the placement, which attracted interest from existing and new shareholders, will fund drilling at the Warrier and New pass gold projects, as well as the Blackhawk silver asset in Nevada.

It will also support ongoing business development in Nevada and Saudi Arabia, where SNX received qualified bidder status to participate in tender rounds for exploration licences within the Kingdom’s Arabian Shield.

Another filip for the company is the appointment of former De Grey chairman Simon Lill as non-executive chairman.

During his 12 years at De Grey, including nearly a decade as chairman, he helped transform the company from a sub-$1 million market cap into an ASX 200 powerhouse, culminating in Northern Star Resources’ $6 billion takeover earlier this year.

He also oversaw the discovery of the Hemi gold deposit in the Pilbara, guided resource growth and delivered significant value to shareholders.

With more than 30 years of experience in stockbroking, capital raising, business development, management and analysis across a range of small-cap industries, Lill brings a wealth of expertise to Sierra Nevada Gold.

Current SNX executive chairman Peter Moore, soon to become executive director, said “we are delighted that Simon has agreed to join Sierra Nevada.

“Simon’s proven leadership and extensive background and knowledge of the resource exploration industry will be invaluable in supporting our exploration efforts as we work to further uncover the potential of Warrior and Blackhawk and commence a bulk sampling project at New Pass.”

Red Mountain Mining (ASX:RMX)

Red Mountain Mining (ASX:RMX) is doubling down on its pursuit of antimony by acquiring the highly prospective Yellow Pine project in Idaho’s Stibnite Mining District.

This district was a major source of antimony in the first half of the 20th Century with recorded production of 39,930t from the Yellow Pine and Hangar Flats deposits between 1932 and 1952.

Yellow Pine is also within 2km of Perpetua Resources’ Stibnite gold-antimony project that has a contained proved and probable reserve of 4.8Moz gold and 148Mlb antimony.

Red Mountain will have fellow ASX-lister Resolution Mining (ASX:RML) for company as the latter’s Horse Heaven antimony project is immediately west of Perpetua’s claims and 5km north of the company’s project area.

The new acquisition follows the acquisition of the Utah antimony project earlier this month.

Both are expected to benefit from the Trump administration’s focus on securing critical mineral supply chains with recent discussions mentioning a potential federal fund to provide up to US$5bn in support.

Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG)

It has been a big couple of days for Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) reflected in a 36.4% increase in shares to 15c, a four-year high.

Firstly, the company is acquiring the Central Idaho antimony project, a district-scale landholding in the Tier-1 mining jurisdiction of Idaho, USA.

This complements Trigg’s US critical minerals portfolio, including the Antimony Canyon project in Utah and Tennessee Mountain tungsten project in Nevada.

The acquisition includes a strategic placement of $5m to internationally renowned Investment firm Tribeca Investment Partners following unsolicited interest.

“It is exceptionally rare to secure a project of this scale in a Tier-1 jurisdiction, particularly with assays up to 17.6% antimony and multiple high-grade gold results confirming the presence of a robust mineralising system with potential for both high-grade, direct-shipping material and larger, bulk tonnage targets,” MD Andre Booyzen said.

Secondly, TMG has estimated an exploration target for Patented Claims at Antimony Canyon of 6.1 to 6.9 Mt at 1.4% to 2.3% Sb containing 86,000-158,000 tonnes of antimony.

Cyprium Metals (ASX:CYM)

The restart of the Nifty copper mine in WA’s Paterson Province is much closer after Cyprium Metals (ASX:CYM) raised $74m in a placement with the opportunity for another $6m in an entitlement offer.

CYM executive chairman Matt Fifield described this as a “transformational capital raise”.

The first tranche of the placement at 2.8c a share saw almost 516m shares issued and the second tranche of more than 2bn shares, including director participation, is subject to shareholder approval at a meeting next month.

Proceeds will be used to execute the phase one Cathode Project, materially strengthen the balance sheet, complete the feasibility study for the Concentrate Project and maintain the company’s extensive asset base.

The placement received cornerstone support from the company’s largest shareholder Flat Footed while new substantial institutional shareholders Tribeca and Tanmito Group are each investing to 9.9% shareholdings with Tribeca also subunderwriting the entitlement issue.

More than 20 new Australian and international institutional shareholders participated in the placement.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent financial advice before making any financial decisions. While Red Mountain Mining and Sierra Nevada Gold are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.