Copper-gold hits spark a rerating, while gap-downs punish the laggards

Solstice Minerals (ASX:SLS) dominated the week with a 157.14% jump after reporting its best-ever drilling intercept at Nanadie, including 22m at 2.78% copper and 1.25g/t gold. Mammoth Minerals (ASX:M79) dropped -42.22%, and Right Resources (ASX:RRE) fell -42.03%, as investors sold down smaller explorers that did not deliver an immediate “wow” result.

Drilling results drove the biggest repricings

Solstice’s move was about certainty, not just excitement. The first five RC holes produced multiple thick copper-gold intervals and showed mineralisation runs beyond the current 40.4Mt resource estimate. In plain terms, the company hit good grades and suggested the known deposit could be bigger. Buyers also seemed to accept that Solstice is funded to keep drilling, with $13.4 million cash. Selling was just as fast elsewhere. Right Resources’ first hole at its Pilot Project confirmed a large rock system, but the reported grade (42m at 0.2g/t gold from 338m) was modest. That matters because it’s harder to make money from low grades unless there is a lot of it and it is easy to mine. Mammoth Minerals was hit by sustained selling, even as it talked up Carlin-style potential in Nevada. When early gains evaporate like that, it usually means the market wanted stronger numbers now, not a longer story.

Big raises and deal-making kept gold in the spotlight

Bellavista Resources (ASX:BVR) stayed busy, pushing ahead with its Pickle Crow acquisition in Ontario and lifting the size of its placement to A$35 million from A$25 million. Investors care because the deal adds a 2.8Moz inferred resource at 7.2g/t gold, which is a high average grade. The catch is timing: completion still depends on shareholder and regulatory approvals. Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) also attracted attention after raising A$180 million to fund its Goldfields plan and progress Sandstone to a final investment decision. Raising money removes the immediate worry of “will they run out of cash?”, but it can still pressure the share price in the short term because more shares are issued.

Uranium and lithium: big plans, rough share price reactions

Lotus Resources (ASX:LOT) launched and then completed a large A$76 million placement (plus a A$5 million share purchase plan) to back the Kayelekera uranium ramp-up. The plan is steady-state production by Q2 2026, with first shipment expected in Q2 2026 and cash flow from Q3. Even with that timetable, the stock finished the week down -31.80%. That points to a simple fear: the market often sells when a company raises at a discount, even if the project plan is improving. Elevate Uranium (ASX:EL8) also fell -28.72% despite upgrading Marenica’s resource grade. Grade matters because it can lower processing cost per pound, but investors still worry about time and funding before a mine is built. In lithium, Pursuit Minerals (ASX:PUR) released a PFS with a maiden reserve and strong headline numbers, yet still ended down -21.67%. A PFS is an early design and cost estimate, not a final build decision, so prices can fall if traders were already positioned for the news.

Critical minerals upgrades kept coming

Several companies put fresh weight behind “bigger than we thought” stories. Tivan (ASX:TVN) lifted Speewah fluorite tonnage by 16% to 43.2Mt and increased contained CaF2 by 6% to 3.6Mt. VBX (ASX:VBX) reported a 108% increase in its Wuudagu bauxite Measured and Indicated resource to 131.9Mt, which can extend mine life if approvals and funding follow. Rare earths and tungsten also stayed on watchlists. St George Mining (ASX:SGQ) reported thick, high-grade rare earth and niobium mineralisation at Araxá, while Elementos (ASX:ELT) doubled its inferred tungsten resource at Cleveland and reported ore sorting testwork that lifted grade in trials. These updates matter because higher grades and better recoveries can make a smaller mine pay its way.