High 5 Australian Mining Shares This Week: Bougainville Copper Soars on Panguna Replace

Market and commodities worth round-up

The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) opened at 8,911.30 on Monday (October 13) and closed at 9,068.40 on Thursday (October 16), reflecting a 1.76 % improve over the interval. The index hit an all-time excessive of 9,109.70 throughout Thursday’s buying and selling session.

Valuable metals gold and silver each continued setting all-time highs this week.

The gold worth elevated a considerable 5.07 % in US {dollars}, climbing from US$4,018.62 on Monday to US$4,222.31 by the point the ASX closed Thursday. In Australian {dollars}, the yellow steel jumped 4.62 % from AU$6,207.56 to AU$6,494.26.

The silver worth additionally posted important features. It climbed 5.7 % in US {dollars}, beginning the week at US$50.03 and shutting at US$52.88. In Australian {dollars}, the steel demonstrated a powerful 5.25 % improve, rising from AU$77.27 to AU$81.33.

High ASX mining shares this week

How did ASX mining shares carry out in opposition to this backdrop?

Check out this week’s 5 best-performing Australian mining shares under because the Investing Information Community breaks down their operations and why these corporations are up this week.

Shares knowledge for this text was retrieved at 4:00 p.m. AEST on Thursday, October 16, utilizing TradingView’s inventory screener and displays worth actions between Monday and Thursday. Solely corporations buying and selling on the ASX with market capitalisations larger than AU$10 million are included. Mineral corporations inside the non-energy minerals, vitality minerals, course of business and producer manufacturing sectors have been thought of.

1. Bougainville Copper (ASX:BOC)

Weekly achieve: 143.16 %
Market cap: AU$649.72 million
Share worth: AU$2.31

Bougainville Copper is an independently managed firm targeted on the past-producing Panguna copper mine, situated in Bougainville, an autonomous area of Papua New Guinea.

Between 1972 and 1989, Panguna produced 3 million tonnes of copper, 306 tonnes of gold and 784 tonnes of silver. Throughout this time, Rio Tinto was Bougainville Copper’s majority shareholder, with the federal government of Papua New Guinea additionally holding important possession.

Nonetheless, the folks of Bougainville itself noticed little financial profit from the mine, which brought about important environmental harm, and division over the mine led to its closure and a civil struggle with Papua New Guinea.

Since June 2025, Bougainville Copper is 72.9 % owned by the Autonomous Bougainville Authorities and other people of Bougainville, after the Papua New Guinea authorities transferred its 36.45 % share. Rio Tinto beforehand exited its 53.8 % shareholding in 2016 with out offering remediation, however is now exploring choices to handle the mine’s influence and security.

Curiosity in reopening the mine has elevated lately as Bougainville seeks independence from Papua New Guinea, with Panguna positioned as a serious supply of potential wealth to help its efforts.

This week, shares of Bougainville surged on Thursday following an announcement that Bougainville Copper is looking out for a global mining associate to redevelop the Panguna venture.

In its quarterly report, launched after markets closed on Wednesday (October 15), the corporate acknowledged it’s presently in discussions with “a spread of worldwide mining events.”

Market Index additionally reported on the matter, saying that it “definitely excited traders,” with expectations that Bougainville may “unlock one of many world’s greatest copper-gold deposits.”

Shares of the corporate closed at AU$2.31 on Thursday.

2. Cobalt Blue Holdings (ASX:COB)

Weekly achieve: 131.82 %
Market cap: AU$150.83 million
Share worth: AU$0.255

Cobalt Blue Holdings is a minerals processing and mining firm primarily targeted on cobalt in Australia.

The corporate is creating a cobalt refinery in Kwinana, Western Australia, and is shifting in the direction of a last funding determination. It additionally holds the Damaged Hill main cobalt venture in New South Wales, and the Halls Creek polymetallic venture in Western Australia.

Damaged Hill obtained an additional three years of main venture standing in July. The extension follows the venture’s preliminary designation initially granted in March 2022 and helps the continued growth of the venture.

On Monday, Cobalt Blue supplied the date and agenda for its 2025 annual basic assembly, which can happen on November 14. Nonetheless, this didn’t clarify its shares climbed from a Monday shut of AU$0.150 to AU$0.32 at first of buying and selling Tuesday, and the achieve resulted in an ASX worth question.

In a response revealed on Tuesday, Cobalt Blue stated that it has no undisclosed info or pending launch that will have led to the surge.

The corporate famous that the spike could also be as a consequence of rising cobalt costs, including that they’re “presently buying and selling at a close to 3-year excessive of round US$19.30/lb (Cobalt Metallic commonplace grade), with a selected improve in that worth during the last week (roughly 20%)” on the time of writing.

The corporate stated the cobalt market energy could possibly be associated to current bulletins by the Democratic Republic of Congo authorities on its implementation of export controls on cobalt and associated merchandise. The nation is the world’s largest cobalt producer by a large margin.

Shares of the Cobalt Blue remained elevated via a lot of the week, with its highest shut approaching Wednesday at AU$0.305.

3. Morella (ASX:1MC)

Weekly achieve: 129.17 %
Market cap: AU$22.11 million
Share worth: AU$0.055

Established in 2000, Morella is a West Perth-based firm targeted on important mineral tasks throughout Australia and North America, concentrating on lithium, rubidium, titanium and vanadium.

The corporate’s key Australian tasks are the Mount Edon rubidium-lithium venture, Tabba Tabba lithium-tantalum pegmatite venture and Mallina lithium venture, all situated in Western Australia.

Morella revealed hydrometallurgical check work outcomes from the Mount Edon venture on Monday, highlighting its achievement of as much as 89.3 % rubidium extraction.

“We’re inspired by (the) outcomes and can now transfer towards variability testing and scoping-level financial inputs to help the venture’s development inside Morella’s broader important minerals portfolio,” Managing Director James Brown stated.

Apart from forming a key a part of Morella’s strategic important minerals portfolio, the corporate stated that Mount Edon additionally represents certainly one of Australia’s extra superior rubidium-focused exploration tasks.

The information on Mount Edon drove Morella’s shares to climb as much as a detailed of AU$0.068 on Monday, a 178 % spike from the earlier AU$0.0245 shut.

Shares of the corporate closed at AU$0.055 on Thursday.

4. Nova Minerals (ASX:NVA,NASDAQ:NVA)

Weekly achieve: 122.88 %
Market cap: AU$659.51 million
Share worth: AU$1.315

Nova Minerals is an Australian explorer and developer presently targeted on quick monitoring antimony manufacturing within the 2026/2027 fiscal yr from its Estelle gold district in Alaska, US. Its flagship Estelle gold venture presently holds a world JORC-compliant measured, indicated and inferred useful resource of 9.9 million ounces of gold.

Firstly of October, Nova’s subsidiary obtained funding of US$43.4 million from the US Division of Protection to supply military-grade antimony tri-sulphide.

Then, on October 10, Nova introduced it secured a land-use allow for an antimony refinery at Alaska’s Port Mackenzie. Within the launch, the corporate acknowledged it’s fast-tracking offtake agreements for added feedstock for the refinery, and famous it’s nonetheless progressing its gold useful resource in the direction of feasibility and manufacturing.

This week, Nova made two vital bulletins. The primary, shared on Monday, revealed that Nova was invited to temporary the Australian Authorities to organize for a Thursday assembly between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump concerning important minerals.

In line with the corporate, the temporary was instructed to incorporate “an outline of the Estelle venture, the important thing minerals recognized, deliberate growth actions, and the corporate’s engagement with US authorities businesses.”

On Thursday, Nova stated that it has undertaken a 5 for 1 ahead cut up that may lead to a ratio change to its American Depositary Receipt program. The change will have an effect on its NASDAQ itemizing, shifting from a ratio of 60 unusual shares to at least one American Depositary Share to the brand new 12 unusual shares to 1 ADS.

The corporate stated it will improve the amount of its ADSs on problem and “align its share worth with business friends.” It’s anticipated to take impact on October 29.

No updates have been shared concerning the assembly with Trump as of writing.

Shares of Nova closed at a weekly excessive of AU$1.645 on Wednesday.

5. Decision Minerals (ASX:RML)

Weekly achieve: 119.51 %
Market cap: AU$165.43 million
Share worth: AU$0.09

South Australia primarily based Decision Minerals is presently targeted on the Horse Heaven gold-antimony-tungsten venture in Idaho, US, aiming to offer an end-to-end resolution for home important minerals provide to the US protection business.

Horse Heaven was acquired by Decision Minerals in June as a part of its US technique.

Through the acquisition, Decision famous that costs for antimony, gold and tungsten are at report highs as a consequence of China’s export controls. Antimony specifically has been gaining consideration for its purposes within the protection business.

Whereas no venture updates have been shared by the corporate this week, like Nova Minerals, it was additionally invited to offer a briefing forward of the upcoming Australia and US assembly on important minerals.

The corporate shared the information Monday night time, saying that the inclusion of Horse Heaven as a part of the requested formal briefing displays rising recognition of Australian experience in advancing safe, accountable mineral provide chains.

Shares of the corporate climbed to a weekly excessive shut of AU$0.094 on Wednesday, adopted by an AU$0.090 shut on Thursday.