Resources Top 5: How many $15m market cap explorers have a +3moz gold, +750koz copper resource? Not many.

• Canterbury locks in PNG exploration licence over 3.16 million ounce gold and 762,000 tonne copper resource
• Alliance boss buys another $3.6m worth of shares in the gold-iron ore explorer
• Tempus hits high grade gold, Brightstar picks up gold exploration tenement

Here’s your top ASX small cap resources winners in morning trade Monday, February 8.

ALLIANCE RESOURCES (ASX:AGS)

Alliance company director Ian Gandel just bought another $3.6 million worth of shares in the South Australian gold-iron ore explorer.

Gandel now holds a commanding +70 per cent of the company.

Alliance’s unique-sounding Weednanna gold-iron ore deposit contains 152,000oz of gold (at an ore grade of 4.3g/t) and 1.15 million tonnes grading 59.4 per cent iron.

The deposit could get bigger: 83 per cent of the resources occurs within 120m of surface because Alliance hasn’t really drilled any deeper.

CANTERBURY RESOURCES (ASX:CBY)

The PNG Mineral Resources Authority just granted Canterbury’s exploration license, which includes an existing 3.16 million ounce gold and 762,000 tonne copper resource. Whoa.

The tenement — ~20km from the mammoth Wafi-Golpu project owned by Newcrest and Harmony Gold — covers two significant copper-gold deposits at Idzan Creek and Wamum Creek.

Both deposits remain open.

“We are excited to announce the granting of the Wamum licence which covers two large scale Cu-Au deposits with strong potential for development,” managing director Grant Craighead says.

“Canterbury will now engage with key stakeholders, ahead of commencing a Scoping Study phase aimed at better defining the project’s economic parameters, as well as testing potential extensions to the mineralisation.”

ORION MINERALS (ASX:ORN)

(Up on no news)

Last week, the base metals explorer soared after announcing plans to acquire the Okiep copper complex (OCC) in South Africa.

A whopping +2 million tonnes of high grade copper was produced from the OCC over 150 years.

Orion said it believes it can restore mining to historical levels.

The acquisition fits well with its flagship Prieska copper-zinc project, the company says.

“This is a unique opportunity to acquire a dominant position in a historic world-class copper mining district – an exceptional growth and diversification opportunity,” managing director and chief executive Errol Smart says.

TEMPUS RESOURCES (ASX:TMR)

The explorer just hit some very thin but high grade gold at the historic Blackdome-Elizabeth project in Canada.

Five drill-holes recorded significant intersections above 5g/t gold, including a highlight 1.5m at 186g/t from 118m.

Tempus president Jason Bahnsen says these drilling results confirm the high-grade potential of Elizabeth.

“We look forward to continuing with the drilling program there in the Canadian spring, leading to an updated NI43-101 resource estimate thereafter,” he says.

BRIGHTSTAR RESOURCES (ASX:BTR)

Formerly Stone Resources, which reskinned after selling the Ben Hur gold project to Regis Resources (ASX:RRL) in a deal that reaped $10m up front plus a 1 per cent net smelter royalty.

It is now looking to its 445,000oz and growing Brightstar project near Laverton in WA.

It just picked up 16sqkm of tenements less than 15km from the flagship project, which – despite some minor historic workings – “remains largely underexplored”.

Brightstar wants to be in production at its namesake project in 2022.