Resources Top 5: Litchfield surges to record on 104m red metal punch

• Handheld pXRF delivers 104m hit with grades of up to 1.37% copper equivalent at Oonagalabi
• 1MC testwork on Mt Edon samples achieves rubidium extraction rates of up to 89%
• Gina Rinehart powers St George Mining run with $22.5m rare earths investment

Your standout small cap resources stocks for Monday, October 13, 2025.

Litchfield Minerals (ASX:LMS)

A copper sulphide hit of 104m at the Oonagalabi copper project in the Northern Territory pushed Litchfield Minerals (ASX:LMS)  to a record 74.5c, an increase of 306% on the previous close, before retracing to 61c at the close. Still a handy 229% bump, with LMS trading at just 12c in late September.

Geological logging and handheld x-ray fluorescence readings indicate the hole 10 hit grades up to 1.37% copper equivalent, although true assays will have to await laboratory assessment – a note of caution for those who piled in today.

Assays are being rushed to the labs to quantify the presence of copper, gold, silver and other valuable elements and results are expected in about four weeks.

LMS said that its experience from previous fieldwork campaigns was that the assays were regularly returned with higher grades than the field pXRF results.

In total the preliminary pXRF analysis on the intercept showed 0.92% copper, 1.59% zinc and 0.08% lead.

It comprised the following sections:

• 21m at 2.26% CuEq from 144m (1.81% Cu, 1.58% Zn, 0.03% Pb) within a zone of 33m at 1.69% CuEq from 144m (1.34% Cu, 1.23% Zn, 0.03% Pb);
• 41m at 1.42% CuEq from surface (0.85% Cu, 1.99% Zn and 0.11% Pb); and
• 30m at 1.02% CuEq from 98m (0.58% Cu, 1.55% Zn, 0.1% Pb).

“Hole 10 is a positive milestone for proving this system hosts grades as well as volume, over 100m of copper sulphide mineralisation, with multiple high-grade zones, is an outstanding outcome,” MD Matthew Pustahya said. 

“Every hole to date has hit copper mineralisation, reinforcing the strength and continuity of this system.

“Seeing strong grades in a low-conductivity setting is particularly intriguing and broadens our search window within the wider system. 

“While drilling has been slower than planned, both rigs are on priority targets and we’re confident the coming weeks will deliver further strong results.

“We are now extremally (sic) excited to be drilling VT2 due to the large (500m+), highly conductivity anomaly found. 

“Adding to our excitement, a rock chip taken directly above the VT1 conductor returned gold, silver, copper and tellurium, pointing to the probability of this conductor containing metal.”

Morella Mining (ASX:1MC)

Testwork on samples from Morella Mining’s (ASX:1MC) Mt Edon project in Mid-West WA have achieved rubidium extraction rates of up to 89%.

The tests, which provide a path to optimisation, validate 1MC’s processing strategy, opening the way for variability testing and scoping-level economic inputs to support the project’s advancement.

As a result, 1MC surged around 360% from the October 10 close to reach 11c, a 12-month high, before whipsawing to 6.8c, a 177.6% gain.

The hydrometallurgical testwork by Edith Cowan University achieved up to 89% rubidium extraction from a representative Mt Edon sample under roast–leach conditions.

This work assessed different standard ore extraction routes and confirmed that rubidium can be effectively leached under optimised roast-leach regimes using a salt blend.

ECU’s program also demonstrated that reagent optimisation and process temperature adjustments can materially improve efficiency while reducing reagent costs. 

Independent technical feedback described the program as a strong first step that has established a technically viable route to Rb extraction, warranting further optimisation work.

“These test results are an important validation of Mt Edon’s potential to deliver a technically robust and commercially relevant rubidium product,” Morella managing director James Brown said.

“Achieving nearly 90% extraction under optimised roast-leach conditions provide a strong foundation for the next phase of process optimisation and economic assessment with ECU. 

“We are encouraged by ECU’s results and will now move toward variability testing and scoping-level economic inputs to support the project’s advancement within Morella’s broader critical minerals portfolio.”

Mt Edon is about 5km southwest of Paynes Find and represents one of Australia’s more advanced rubidium-focused exploration projects. It forms a key part of Morella’s strategic critical-minerals portfolio, complementing its lithium and battery-metal asset base.

Two of the project’s three tenements are held under a JV between Morella and Elevra Lithium (ASX:ELV), formerly Sayona Mining.

Rubidium is a rare alkali metal that typically occurs in association with lithium and caesium-bearing pegmatites. It is primarily used in specialty glass, electronics, atomic clocks, and medical imaging systems, with growing interest in its potential applications within emerging energy storage and defence technologies.

Cobalt Blue Holdings (ASX:COB)

An improving cobalt market have resulted in an increase in prices to the benefit of Cobalt Blue Holdings (ASX:COB), which increased 36.4% to 15c and has risen from 4.7c on September 25.

COB says the rally has seen the key critical metal return to the “in-tray”, as evidenced last week when Benchmark’s cobalt hydroxide CIF Asia daily price lifted by 17.6% to $39,683/t.

The primary factor has been government-imposed changes in the leading producer nation of DRC during 2025, which have tightened near-term supply.

The large central African nation this month introduced a strict quota system for cobalt replacing export bans imposed in February and exporters that violate the new system will be permanently banned.

Miners will be allowed to ship up to 18,125 tonnes of cobalt for the rest of 2025 with annual caps of 96,600t in 2026 and 2027.

The new system will equal just 7250t a month available for export while in the 17 months before the impact of the export ban, China’s cobalt imports alone averaged 16,200t per month.

St George Mining (ASX:SGQ)

Backing from Australia’s richest woman has put St George Mining firmly in the cross-hairs of investors, with the junior joining Gina Rinehart’s growing stable of critical minerals investments alongside Lynas (ASX:LYC), MP Materials and Brazilian Rare Earths (ASX:BRE).

Locking in $72.5m in an equity raising resulted in St George Mining (ASX:SGQ) rising 30.44% to 15c, a high of almost five years, with more than 307m shares changing hands. 

Since market close on August 28, SGQ has risen from 3.9c on the back of positive newsflow from Araxá rare earths and niobium project in Brazil.

The raise included an institutional placement at 10c per share for $50m which attracted significant support led by major North American and European funds.

But it’s the Gina bump that really moved the needle, with Hancock Prospecting taking up a placement of $22.5m outside the main offer.

“We are also very pleased that Hancock Prospecting has chosen to increase its existing shareholding in St George and emerge as a substantial shareholder,” SGQ executive chair John Prineas said.

“Hancock Prospecting is a company with significant experience in recognising the value in strategic commodities and backing successful critical minerals companies including MP Materials and Lynas Corporation – as well as having significant project execution and delivery experience for St George to leverage off in the future.”

Macarthur Minerals (ASX:MIO)

Macarthur Minerals (ASX:MIO), a long suffering WA iron ore hopeful, has appointed highly experienced executive and consultant Eduardo Robaina as a non-executive director.

With more than 20 years in the global energy and resources sector, Robaina has held senior leadership and engineering roles across a range of international projects and advises companies on operational and strategic development. 

He is non-executive chairman of Yari Minerals and serves as a non-executive director of New Frontier Minerals.

Robaina replaces Ryan Welker, who has retired from the board as a non-executive director.

Lake Giles iron project resources include the Ularring hematite resource, which is approved for development, and comprises indicated resources of 54.5Mt at 47.2% Fe and inferred resources of 26Mt at 45.4% Fe.

The Lake Giles magnetite resource comprises 53.9Mt in the measured category, 218.7Mt indicated and 997Mt inferred. 

Lake Giles also contains proven ore reserves of 51.9Mt and probable reserves of 184.7Mt. 

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