Gold, Copper and Rare Earths Drive a Volatile Week for Materials Shares
Materials shares delivered another strong week, led by a 60.61% rise at iTech Minerals and major gains across gold, copper and critical minerals.
Investors rewarded fresh drilling results, larger mineral resources, project approvals and new supply agreements, although several heavily sold stocks showed that early buying did not always last.
- iTech Minerals (ASX:ITM) surged 60.61% after drilling found a wide zone containing gold and antimony.
- Trek Metals (ASX:TKM) fell 49.57% despite reporting a 42.3% manganese intercept at Kuro.
- QEM (ASX:QEM) rose 46.67% after progressing its acquisition of past-producing tungsten ground in Idaho.
- Gold, copper and rare earth companies dominated the strongest gains as drilling expanded known mineralisation.
- Project financing, construction approvals and supply agreements added support for developers moving closer to production.
iTech Minerals (ASX:ITM) was the week’s strongest mover, rising 60.61% after a drill hole returned 36 metres at 5.6 grams per tonne gold and 1.2% antimony. QEM (ASX:QEM) gained 46.67% as it advanced the purchase of tungsten, fluorspar and niobium projects in Idaho. Trek Metals (ASX:TKM) moved the other way, falling 49.57% despite reporting a 10-metre interval grading 42.3% manganese. The briefing does not give a company-specific reason for Trek’s fall.
Gold results drove the broadest gains
Gold explorers produced many of the week’s strongest advances. Falcon Metals (ASX:FAL) rose 37.50% after extending its Blue Moon mineralised strike beyond 850 metres, with one Jasmine Zone result reaching 98.3 grams per tonne gold.
Kalamazoo Resources (ASX:KZR) climbed 40.00% after drilling at Mt Olympus returned 36 metres at 16 grams per tonne gold, including 10 metres at 49 grams per tonne. The company has completed resource drilling and expects an updated mineral resource estimate in the fourth quarter of 2026.
Other notable gold gains came from Somerset Minerals (ASX:SMM), up 41.18%, after its first drilling confirmed thick copper-silver zones beneath glacial cover. Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR) added 32.81% as construction continued on a processing plant designed to support 75,000 ounces of annual gold production from mid-2027.
Copper and critical minerals gain ground
Copper stories also attracted buyers. Hammer Metals (ASX:HMX) rose 30.30% after a hole at Kalman returned 165 metres at 2.24% recovered copper equivalent. Austral Resources (ASX:AR1) gained 16.13% while it sought to acquire Hammer and expand its Queensland copper business.
Rare earth companies reported progress from drilling to processing. Viridis Mining (ASX:VMM) rose 28.57% after its demonstration plant recorded average magnetic rare earth oxide recovery of 78.7%, above the study target. Iondrive (ASX:ION) added 25.00% as it began a five-tonne campaign to produce mixed rare earth oxide from recycled magnets.
Funding and approvals separated the developers
Companies closer to building mines also performed well. Challenger Gold (ASX:CEL) rose 23.19% after completing an A$85 million capital raising and changing its senior leadership team. Medallion Metals (ASX:MM8) gained 9.41% after receiving the approvals needed to begin developing its Ravensthorpe project.
Supply agreements gave some projects a clearer route to customers. Element 25 (ASX:E25) rose 14.29% after signing a fixed purchase commitment with OM Materials for its planned manganese expansion. EV Resources (ASX:EVR) gained 25.00% after securing five years of ore supply for its antimony processing trial.
Not every positive announcement produced a gain. Ardea Resources (ASX:ARL) slipped 1.18% despite confirming a large nickel resource and full funding for its feasibility study. Altech Batteries (ASX:ATC) finished flat after ending its CERENERGY battery project and addressing questions about the timing of earlier disclosures. These moves show that investors still wanted evidence of construction, sales or cash flow, not only larger exploration targets.
This Week's Sector Wraps
Compare performance across the market
Bottom Line?
The next phase of the market will depend on scheduled events rather than announcements alone. Investors will be watching Kalamazoo’s updated mineral resource estimate in the fourth quarter of 2026, Element 25’s project financing and early-2027 commissioning plan, and drilling, feasibility and construction updates across the gold, copper and critical minerals groups.
Questions in the middle?
- Will Kalamazoo’s fourth-quarter 2026 resource estimate convert its high-grade drilling into a larger mine plan?
- Can Trek Metals explain the heavy selling after its strong manganese drilling result?
- Which companies can turn new resources, approvals and supply agreements into funded production?
