There was loads happening in December, traditionally a pretty quiet month because everyone mentally checks out ahead of the Christmas/New Year break.

Gold ended 2019 on a 14-week high to record its strongest year since 2010. Amazing stuff.

And the general feeling is that it has further to run in 2020 – hence the popularity of gold stocks right now.

An incredible 43 per cent of our top 50 small cap miners or explorers are gold focused. Copper comes in a distant second at 15.5 per cent.

Iron ore prices have subsided since that early 2019 surge but still remain at an “usually high level” to average around $US80 ($116) a tonne for the year, according to the latest Resources & Energy Quarterly report.

Furthermore –“prices are not likely to retreat much further in the short term, as iron ore markets remain tight and iron ore stocks remain near five-year lows,” the report stated.

Nickel is out of favour (again) following that heady price surge mid to late 2019, but copper bulls reckon the red metal could be the next big thing.

Beaten down battery metals will likely experience a tough year – much like 2019 – before recovering in 2021.

But who knows what’s going to happen? No one, that’s who.

>>Scroll to the end for December’s Top 50 resources performers

TOP 5 STOCKS: DECEMBER

No goldies included in our top 5 this time (just to mix it up).

#1 Gibb River Diamonds (ASX:GIB) +158%

Market Cap: $11.64m

Christmas came early for Gibb River Diamonds when it acquired the mothballed Ellendale diamond mine in the West Kimberley region of WA. At (almost) no cost.

Ellendale has already produced 1.3 million carats, which includes over 50 per cent of global annual production of ‘fancy yellow’ diamonds.

It closed in 2015 when the previous owners went into administration — but there is still “enormous potential” for a profitable diamond mining operation, Gibb River told shareholders.

“There are numerous exciting opportunities available at Ellendale which GIB has acquired for simply the cost of pegging the leases, with no legacy liabilities,” the company says.

“The company is looking forward to an active 2020.”

#2 Legend Mining (ASX:LEG) +109%

Market Cap: $194m

Legend, which counts renowned prospector Mark Creasy as a major shareholder, was tipped to have made a Nova-style nickel-copper discovery after it went into a trading halt back on November 28, and then suspension on December 2.

On December 9 the discovery was confirmed – Legend’s third hole at ‘Mawson’ had returned a 2.1m intersection grading 2.03 per cent nickel, 1.34 percent copper and 0.11 per cent cobalt from a depth of 115.5m. The stock went on a huge run.

“This discovery hole at Mawson is an outstanding exploration success and a watershed moment for all Legend stakeholders and indeed all of the Fraser Range,” managing director Mr Mark Wilson said.

“The 2.1m high-grade intercept within a 14.9m sulphide zone is within a 70m disseminated sulphide halo and has all the hallmarks of a large mineralised system.”

READ: Barry FitzGerald — Has Legend found another Nova?

#3 MRG Metals (ASX:MRQ) +109%

Market Cap: $27.6m

The share price of this heavy mineral sands explorer is now at its highest level since 2016 on some strong December news flow.

Drilling at the mammoth Koka Massava discovery in Mozambique returned high grades up to 17.64 per cent total heavy minerals near-surface, which the company said demonstrated “the robust nature of the mineralisation”.

The stock subsequently surged a little too much, prompting a please-explain from the ASX.

The company followed up with another update, announcing plans to extend the drilling footprint at Koka Massava as it looks to prove up a resource in 2020.

READ: These gems are hunting for riches in African mineral sands, NSW porphyry copper-gold

#5 EHR Resources (ASX:EHX) +100%

Market Cap: $10m

Peru focused gold-silver explorer EHR was treading water for much of the year — frustrated by permitting delays — before a surprise pivot into diamonds revitalised the stock.

In December, EHR announced it would be acquiring Canada-based Nanuk Diamonds in a $1m deal.

The 274sqkm project area contains several occurrences of diamond-bearing kimberlitic dykes that were originally found in the early 2000s but were left unexplored for the last 15 years, the company says.

“The acquisition of Nanuk Diamonds provides an excellent, low-cost, point of entry to the diamonds sector for EHX, and we look forward to progressing work at Nanuk in the northern summer of 2020, as well as seeking other opportunities in diamond exploration,” chairman Stephen Dennis says.

#9 Lithium Australia (ASX:LIT) +76%

Market Cap: $34.5m

New York fund Lind Partners invested $6.3m into disruptive battery play Lithium Australia in early December, sending the stock on a strong run.

Lithium Australia wants to make money in three ways — by producing advanced battery cathode powders, selling storage batteries in JV with a Chinese firm, and recycling old batteries through its Envirostream subsidiary.

A week later, the Envirostream Australia plant shipped first product; a high-value mixed metal dust containing cobalt, nickel, lithium and graphite.

This represented “another important milestone in terms of revenue generation”, says managing director Adrian Griffin.

WATCH: 90 Seconds With…Adrian Griffin, Lithium Australia

Here’s the top 50 mining small caps for the month of December>>>

Scroll or swipe to reveal table. Click headings to sort. Best viewed on a laptop

CODE	NAME	% RETURN	PRICE 01 DEC	PRICE 01 JAN	MARKET CAP
GIB	GIBB RIVER DIAMONDS	158	0.024	0.062	11.64M
LEG	LEGEND MINING	109	0.043	0.090	194.51M
MRQ	MRG METALS	109	0.011	0.023	27.66M
ACP	AUDALIA RESOURCES	100	0.003	0.006	3.85M
ARO	ASTRO RESOURCES	100	0.001	0.002	2.54M
EHX	EHR RESOURCES	100	0.032	0.064	10.01M
SHK	STONE RESOURCES AUSTRALIA	100	0.001	0.002	1.67M
WWI	WEST WITS MINING	80	0.005	0.009	10.31M
LIT	LITHIUM AUSTRALIA	76	0.034	0.060	34.52M
KFE	KOGI IRON	73	0.041	0.071	51.09M
VAL	VALOR RESOURCES	67	0.003	0.005	9.47M
ELT	ELEMENTOS	50	0.002	0.003	4.63M
KGM	KALNORTH GOLD MINES	50	0.004	0.006	4.47M
NTM	NTM GOLD	45	0.055	0.080	46.66M
SVL	SILVER MINES	45	0.083	0.120	104.10M
FEX	FENIX RESOURCES	43	0.037	0.053	16.17M
AML	AEON METALS	43	0.105	0.150	115.19M
SCN	SCORPION MINERALS	40	0.010	0.014	2.48M
PSC	PROSPECT RESOURCES	38	0.130	0.180	48.15M
AGD	AUSTRAL GOLD	38	0.065	0.090	50.35M
IRD	IRON ROAD	37	0.054	0.074	57.58M
ATU	ATRUM COAL	37	0.285	0.390	183.79M
TMR	TEMPUS RESOURCES	34	0.160	0.215	9.35M
SYR	SYRAH RESOURCES	34	0.350	0.470	219.15M
AYR	ALLOY RESOURCES	33	0.002	0.002	4.18M
AYM	AUSTRALIA UNITED MINING	33	0.003	0.004	7.37M
AZI	ALTA ZINC	33	0.006	0.008	19.82M
ADV	ARDIDEN	33	0.003	0.004	7.11M
GES	GENESIS RESOURCES	33	0.003	0.004	3.13M
SMI	SANTANA MINERALS	33	0.003	0.004	10.74M
NVA	NOVA MINERALS	33	0.033	0.044	44.74M
CY5	CYGNUS GOLD	33	0.033	0.044	2.59M
ABR	AMERICAN PACIFIC BORATES	33	0.260	0.345	80.38M
CHN	CHALICE GOLD MINES	32	0.170	0.225	71.26M
POD	PODIUM MINERALS	32	0.031	0.041	6.65M
KGD	KULA GOLD	32	0.028	0.037	2.18M
ARD	ARGENT MINERALS	29	0.014	0.018	11.39M
BOC	BOUGAINVILLE COPPER	27	0.255	0.325	108.29M
PGI	PANTERRA GOLD	27	0.033	0.042	8.20M
AHQ	ALLEGIANCE COAL	27	0.130	0.165	89.19M
PEC	PERPETUAL RESOURCES	25	0.036	0.045	14.94M
BSX	BLACKSTONE MINERALS	25	0.120	0.150	32.59M
CAV	CARNAVALE RESOURCES	25	0.002	0.002	2.99M
CTO	CITIGOLD CORP	25	0.004	0.005	12.01M
CZN	CORAZON MINING	25	0.002	0.002	8.35M
GGG	GREENLAND MINERALS	24	0.105	0.130	154.83M
JRL	JINDALEE RESOURCES	24	0.255	0.315	12.13M
DAV	DAVENPORT RESOURCES	23	0.035	0.043	7.00M
CMM	CAPRICORN METALS	22	1.005	1.230	401.08M
SYA	SAYONA MINING	22	0.009	0.011	33.11M