These ASX companies are making their maiden voyage to establish resources this year

A maiden resource is the first substantive step to establish a viable mining operation
Until a resource has been published it is hard to value and provide confidence around a project
These 11 explorers are set to deliver maiden JORC resources in 2025

Exploration, planning, construction, production and rehabilitation are the five sequential stages the mining industry operates through and while each step is critical, nothing substantial can really happen before a resource has been established.

Whether it be gold, lithium, rare earths or uranium, maiden resources tell both the company and investors just how much of a mineral commodity is likely to be present and is an invaluable tool to determine the project’s value – the unusual $1.7bn pre-resource sale of Andover lithium project Azure Minerals to cashed up Gina Rinehart and SQM last year a curious exception.

While mineralisation is not that hard to find, the requirements for a resource extend beyond simply knowing a metal is present in the ground.

Geologists must compile their numbers to modern standards following the most recent update of the code set out by the Joint Ore Reserves Committee, a professional body currently preparing a new version of the code last formalised in 2012.

And it’s not enough to just know the metal is there. It must be calculated at a particular commodity price with parameters that show the metal within it can, theoretically, be extracted economically.

A maiden resource is a major milestone for any project. It represents the very first time a resource has been announced and can make or break companies by either exceeding investors’ expectations or disappointing them if it comes in smaller, deeper or at a lower grade than the market hopes.

We’ve identified a list of 11 ASX explorers expected to enjoy their maiden voyage into established resources in 2025.

Equinox Resources (ASX:EQN)

Equinox is one of a few ASX explorers trying their luck in Brazilian clay-hosted ttianium and rare earths, hoping it can move the Mata da Corda asset into development during the next upswing in the commodity cycle.

The project has climbed the ranks on recent drill hits, which included an intercept of 61.2m at 11.89% titanium dioxide from surface.

Over 1900 drill samples average 10.23% TiO2, with a standard deviation of just 3.3% – something EQN says shows the consistency of its grade profile.

Along with its titanium results, EQN says the Mata da Corda project has multi-commodity potential in niobium and rare earths with the results marking a pivotal achievement in the company’s efforts to deliver a maiden resource in H1 CY2025.

Drilling and test work are ongoing to provide necessary data for resource modelling and future development planning.

Iris Metals (ASX:IR1)

Iris owns a suite of battery metal projects in South Dakota’s Black Hills where two projects are primed for a maiden resource estimate this year.

The area, once considered the largest producing lithium district in the world during the 1800s to late 1900s, is undergoing a second lithium rush by explorers looking to feed US domestic demand.

Some of the largest spodumene crystals (+6% lithium) in the world are found there, with the historical Etta mine yielding pegmatites of up to 15m long at a weight of 90 tonnes.

Other companies in the area include Midwest Lithium, United Lithium and Patriot Lithium.

Iris’ Beecher project is on schedule for a maiden resource in Q1 2025 followed by a maiden resource at the newly acquired Tin Mountain project.

First Lithium (ASX:FL1)

First Lithium is chasing an upgrade from explorer to developer this year with the release of a maiden resource for its Blakala lithium asset in Mali.

The estimate comes off the back of some stellar drill hits, which included strikes in the Eastern pegmatite zones less than 150m from surface including 24m at 1.53% Li2O from 129m, 28.59m at 1.51% Li2O from 117m and 9m at 1.62% Li2O from 117m.

Anything above 1% Li2O is generally considered economic with only a handful of deposits reporting grades upwards of 1.4%.

Metallurgy is equally important – while prices have long been set on the 6% Li2O benchmark originally delivered from the Greenbushes mine, the company’s Blakala testwork has suggested it can hit a concentrate grade of as much as 6.8% lithia.

The company is awaiting drilling and assay results for the completed stage one campaign as well as licence renewals, two milestones that will allow First Lithium to take strategic actions on the next phase of the project.

Critica (ASX:CRI)

WA clay rare earth explorer Critica released some nice drilling results from its Jupiter discovery last month including a 67m intersection at 3074ppm total rare earth oxide in a hole that ended in mineralisation.

Radioactive by-products thorium and uranium have also been consistently low among the hits from its primary Brothers REE project.

Formerly the owner of the short-lived Riley iron ore mine in Tasmania, the company has refocused on rare earths under new MD Philippa Leggat after selling Riley to zero in on the strategic commodity, which has a measure of sponsorship from the Aussie government.

A maiden resource is now in the works and expected to be completed by mid-February 2025.

Perpetual Resources (ASX:PEC)

Perpetual is another strong contender in Brazil’s emerging rare earth sector with recent drilling showing Caldeira-style results from a maiden campaign last year.

Grades were intersected close to surface and compared favourably to those seen at Meteoric’s (ASX:MEI) 545Mt Caldeira asset nearby with hits such as 5m at 5591ppm TREO (35% NdPr) and 12m at 4601ppm TREO (23% NdPr).

Next steps include a detailed review of data, deeper drilling and met testing with a resource estimate due sometime this year.

PEC’s four Raptor tenements cover 380ha within the 800km2 Poços de Caldas Alkaline Complex in the Caldeira REE region of Minas Gerais – Brazil’s powerhouse mining state.

St George Mining (ASX:SGQ)

Running headfirst into Brazil’s niobium and rare earth scene last year was St George Mining following the acquisition of the Araxá project in Minas Gerais.

The project is located next door to CBMM, the world’s largest and highest grade niobium supplier with a market share of over 80%.

The move spurred a 33% re-rate in the company’s share price, with historical drilling showcasing more than 500 intercepts of niobium at a grade of >1% Nb2O5 and mineralisation starting from surface.

That work, already completed by previous explorers, has meant St George can quickly progress to maiden resource definition which it aims to do in the first half of 2025.

With commodities across the board showing signs of volatility, SGQ executive chairman John Prineas told Stockhead the company focused its attention on acquiring a project with exposure to a stable, long-term commodity.

“Araxá is that project for us. Investors understand the value of niobium and it’s a great market to be in because there’s only three suppliers at the moment,” he said.

Bastion Minerals (ASX:BMO)

In the far reaches of Canada’s northwest, BMO has recently acquired the ICE copper-gold project in Yukon which boasts a historical foreign non-JORC resource of 4.56Mt at a copper grade of 1.48%.

The acquisition was made in September last year alongside the attainment of another two projects – Mariner and Harley – in the Northwest Territories.

All three projects hold untested drill targets as well as the potential to significantly increase in size with further exploration and drilling.

Bastion intends to rehabilitate road access to the ICE asset and re-establish the project camp to support resource expansion drilling activities.

The company is aiming to define a maiden resource in the first quarter of 2025.

Prospect Resources (ASX:PSC)

Zambian copper hopeful Prospect Resources turned its attention to the red metal last year after the takeover of the Mumbezhi project.

The company acquired an 85% interest for US$6.5m in cash and scrip in late May from previous owners Global Development Cooperation Consulting Zambia (GDC).

The 356km2 landholding sits in the central African Zambian Copper Belt, one of the most prolific and prospective copper mining regions globally, with multiple infill and extensional intercepts.

PSC’s project is surrounded by several world-class copper deposits and mines in northwest Zambia including Barrick’s 120,000tpa and growing Lumwana and is surrounded by well-established regional transport, power and water infrastructure.

The project area was previously explored by Orpheus Uranium for ~10 years primarily on the Nyungu deposits, but the exploration work also identified substantial further prospectivity across several other defined deposits on the area.

The explorer says it remains on track to release a maiden resource for the Nyungu deposit in Q1.

Antares Metals (ASX:AM5)

Since rebranding from its former brand ‘NickelSearch’, the company has shifted its attention to the 2003km2 Mt Isa copper-uranium project in northwest QLD, which includes a historic mine.

The underexplored tenure hosts a multitude of identified copper and uranium exploration targets with historical drilling, alongside potential for more targets.

Having been superficially explored between the 1950s and 2010s, Antares intends to utilise modern exploration methods and targeting to systematically progress the asset and convert a 2004 JORC resource to JORC 2012 standards this year.

The Mt Isa region is a prolific, well-endowed mining location with extensive processing infrastructure.

ASX peers close to AM5 include 29Metals (ASX:29M) , Fortescue (ASX:FMG) , Austral Gold (ASX:AGD) ) and Paladin Energy (ASX:PDN).

Axel REE (ASX:AXL)

AXL made its ASX debut in July last year with a market cap on listing of $34.9m and an enterprise value of $21.1m.

Axel’s 1000km2 of REE projects are located amongst globally significant mines and REE discoveries with its flagship Caladão asset located in northern Minas Gerais, known as the ‘lithium valley’.

Funds from the IPO have been used to advance the company’s portfolio, primarily Caladão and Caldas, which sits in and around the Poços de Caldas Alkaline Complex close to Meteoric’s landholding.

The company is fully-funded and plans to fast track Caladão towards a maiden resource this year and begin extensive drilling at Caldas.

James Bay Minerals (ASX:JBY)

Previously solely focused on its original purpose exploring for lithium in the James Bay district (hence the name), JBY has revived its fortunes with the acquisition of earn in rights to claim up to 100% of the Independence gold project at Battle Mountain in Nevada.

The project contains a N43-101 standard foreign resource of close to 1.2Moz, notably the high grade Skarn deposit which holds 3.794Mt at 6.53g/t for 796,200oz of inferred resources.

A note in the announcement that accompanied the acquisition suggested JBY would look to convert the resource to JORC standards, which can be relied on by Aussie investors, by the end of the first quarter of 2025.

Five RC drill holes and a first diamond drill hole have been completed by JBY since taking on the project, testing for additional zones of mineralisation below its current oxide mineral resource. Assays are expected this quarter.

At Stockhead we tell it like it is. While Equinox Resources, Perpetual Resources, First Lithium, St George Mining, Antares Metals, James Bay Minerals and Axel REE are Stockhead advertisers, they did not sponsor this article.