Resources Top 5: Mont Royal makes strong return to the boards after landing Canadian rare earths play

• MRZ has merged with Commerce Resources to become a Canadian-focused critical minerals developer
• The manganese prospectivity of GR8’s Doherty and Basin projects in NSW has been enhanced
• SRR has made progress in a damages claim against the government of Burkina Faso 

Your standout small cap resources stocks for Wednesday, November 5, 2025. 

Mont Royal Resources (ASX:MRZ)

Treading the boards again is Mont Royal Resources (ASX:MRZ) after completing a merger with TSX-V listed Commerce Resources.

It was a strong return post reverse takeover for the newly merged entity, with shares rocketing more than 60% above the offer price of 20c.

The deal, which creates a Canadian-focused critical minerals developer built around the Ashram rare earth and fluorspar deposit in northern Québec resulted in MRZ reaching 32c, a three-year high, before closing at 27.5c.

Ashram is one of North America’s largest monazite-dominant, carbonatite-hosted REE deposits and boasts a Tier-1 resource of 73.2Mt at 1.89% TREO and 6.6% fluorspar in the indicated category and 131.1Mt inferred at 1.91% TREO and 4% CaF2.

The project has seen significant work with more than A$50 million spent historically on development.

This acquisition gives Mont Royal a compelling opportunity to establish a new source of North American rare earths at a time of growing demand and interest in new supply sources.

With a $10m raise and a board led by ex-Primero Cameron Henry and ex-Meteoric CEO Nick Holthouse as MD, the company is starting an updated preliminary economic assessment to streamline development.

A further C$2.6m ($2.84m) is expected before the end of 2025 through the Canadian exploration tax rebate for FY25 due to Commerce Resources.

Holthouse said the relisting marked a landmark day for the company after completing a six-month transaction.

“Ashram is a globally significant rare earth asset with the potential to become a cornerstone of North America’s critical minerals supply chain,” he said.

“It has been largely forgotten over the past 15 years, despite its Tier-1 scale, excellent mineralogy and strategic importance.

“With a strong balance sheet, Mont Royal has the people, the resources and the vision to awaken this sleeping giant and develop a major new Canadian rare earths project at a time of growing need for new, Western supply sources of the rare earths required to power high-tech industries and the global energy transition.”

Great Dirt Resources (ASX:GR8)

The manganese prospectivity of Great Dirt Resources (ASX:GR8) Doherty and Basin projects in NSW is taking shape with rock chip assays returning up to 51.8% manganese oxide.

Sampling of historic workings across the Basin and Neranghi project areas has mapped large outcrops and boulders while results in the Basin (Copper Hill) area suggest mineralisation is aligned with host rock structures, hinting at a potential primary stratiform manganese system.

In parallel, the company continues to advance research and development programs designed to test the hypothesis that some primary exhalative stratiform manganese oxide deposits exist at depth, rather than as solely supergene-enriched surface formations.

This work includes new geophysical processing techniques and 3D structural modelling.

GR8’s Doherty and Basin projects are near Barraba township in northern NSW. 

The projects are prospective for high-grade manganese with both having produced metallurgical and battery grade manganese historically. 

Doherty project comprises the old Doherty and Junior mines, plus other workings and occurrences of manganese, while Basin contains several smaller manganese workings.

For two decades from 1941 mines of the Doherty project produced around 9,000 tonnes of battery and metallurgical grade manganese from opencut and underground operations. 

The battery grade ore was delivered to Eveready in Sydney for use in dry cell batteries and the metallurgical grade ore was purchased by BHP for use in steel production.

Sarama Resources (ASX:SRR)

Progress has been made in Sarama Resources (ASX:SRR) damages claim against the Government of Burkina Faso for what it says was the unlawful expropriation of the Tankoro 2 Exploration Permit.

The company has filed its written Memorial detailing the claim against the government as well as damages for the sum of US$242 million, plus interest.

This follows the submission of its Request for Arbitration to the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in December 2024.

SRR’s Memorial comprises its statement of case, witness evidence and expert reports with ICSID, a division of the World Bank Group, detailing the claim against the government.

The government is required to file its Counter-Memorial by January 31, 2026, with a case management conference scheduled for February 17, 2026, when a date for the Procedural Hearing will be set.

Bounty Oil & Gas (ASX:BUY)

(Up on no news)

Oil revenue for the quarter for Bounty Oil & Gas (ASX:BUY) from Naccowlah Block in SW Queensland was $270,000 and the start of oil production in the Surat Basin is expected to increase annual revenue above $2m in 2025-26 and rising to $3m in 2026/27.

Bounty expects to begin oil production from the Alton area, Surat Basin, SE Queensland, in early 2026.

As Australia confronts the challenge of finding more domestic oil & gas, Bounty increased its oil reserves and resources in 2025.

At the end of the September quarter Bounty group’s producing and contingent oil reserves in Queensland were 413,000bbls with Surat Basin acquisitions and Watkins North and other NFE projects exploiting the additional Cooper Basin 2023 discoveries.

Red Mountain Mining (ASX:RMX)

In a bid to increase US investor access and strengthen its ability to benefit from US federal support, Red Mountain Mining (ASX:RMX) is in the final stages of completing an OTCQB listing.

The company will have the ticker RMXFF and the move follows the appointment of a US-based markets advisory team. 

As well as providing US retail and institutional investors with direct access to the company, it will position RML alongside US peers in the critical minerals sector and enhance visibility for its antimony projects in the US and Australia.

The US Government’s drive to secure supply of critical minerals, including antimony – a metal essential for defense and technology, provides potential financial support for Red Mountain. 

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