It was a big week on the boards. We locked in our first investment for 2025 (more on that below), metals caught a serious bid and the usual chaos – geopolitical flare-ups and wild price action – kept things interesting.
Copper’s running. Silver’s having a moment. And sovereign risk is front and centre again, thanks to a gold heist in Mali that reads more like an Ocean’s 11 script than a quarterly update.
Through it all, small-cap explorers and developers are holding strong and shaping up for what could be a big second half of the year.
- Our first investment for 2025: FMR Resources, targeting giant copper in Chile
- Copper surges after Trump’s tariff moves, supply scramble intensifies
- Silver shoots to a 13-year high, renewables demand driving fresh momentum
- $117 million in gold stolen as Mali’s army seizes mine, sovereign risk on display
ASX Copper Play FMR Resources Joins our 2025 Portfolio
We’ve kicked off the new financial year with a bang, backing FMR Resources (ASX: FMR) as our first portfolio addition for the year.
The article we published on Wednesday is already our second-most read – a sign there’s serious interest building around this story.
FMR is chasing a large copper porphyry system in Chile, a country that produces nearly a quarter of the world’s copper and remains one of the best addresses on the planet for major discoveries.
FMR’s focus is the Southern Porphyry Target at its Llahuin Project, which has all the hallmarks of a potential company-maker: a strong structural setting, serious scale and promising surface results that point to something much bigger beneath. What’s remarkable is this 1.5km by 1.5km target has never been properly drilled at depth.
Chile’s copper pedigree, combined with FMR’s tight capital structure and experienced team, puts the company in a strong position to move quickly if drilling confirms what the data suggests. At just a $12 million market cap, any meaningful discovery gets amplified fast.
We believe FMR is one of the few ASX juniors with the potential to deliver a genuine discovery surprise. Backed by billionaire prospector Mark Creasy, the company has both funding and technical muscle to give the target a proper test.
The next few months will be key as initial drilling results start to shape the narrative. We’re invested and will be covering the action as it unfolds.
You can read the reasons for our backing here
Copper Price Spikes on Tariff News, Supply Crunch Builds
Copper hit record highs this week – and of course, Trump lit the match.
Donald’s call for a 50% tariff on copper imports sent markets into a spin, lighting a fire under an already stretched supply chain and putting a target squarely on China’s refining dominance.
Traders and producers are now in a frantic rush to secure long-term offtake and lock down reliable sources. Everyone’s suddenly very aware just how little copper is going around and how much more we’re going to need as electrification and the energy transition ramp up.
Explorers and small-cap miners stand to benefit most. Juniors sitting on large-scale, undeveloped copper systems are now suddenly front and centre.
If the price stays high, it clears a path for funding, partnerships and drill programs to move faster. That’s why two of our investments, FMR Resources and Asian Battery Metals (ASX: AZ9) are copper explorers.
We’re already seeing major end-users of copper and smelters (the people who produce the final product) move upstream, taking stakes in mining projects to guarantee supply. It’s not a new trend, but the tone has shifted. There’s now a real sense that waiting might cost more than acting.
For investors, it’s another reminder that copper is no longer just a cyclical metal but a critical enabler of global growth and decarbonisation.
Expect more price volatility – and potentially more deals – as this story continues to unfold.
Silver Hits 13-Year High on Renewables Demand Surge
Silver cracked US$39 an ounce this week – the highest it’s been since 2011.
Often cast as gold’s less glamorous cousin, silver’s now edging back into a leading role.
The price rally reflects both safe-haven buying and structural demand from the renewable energy sector.
Silver’s a key input for solar panels, electronics, and other green tech and as decarbonisation picks up speed, that demand looks set to climb.
For explorers and smaller producers, a rising silver price means better margins and more attention.
The sector’s been mostly ignored. But this move could shift things. With solid fundamentals and real-world uses, silver’s back on the radar.
We were early on this. Sun Silver (ASX: SS1) made our Top 10 picks last year at 54 cents. It ran to $1.02 in October, and now sits at 80c. The company holds a large, high-grade silver resource in Nevada, and with silver now pushing multi-year highs it’s one of many back in focus.
The sector had been largely overlooked, but the recent spike could reignite market attention. With strong fundamentals and growing end-use cases, silver’s momentum looks set to continue.
$117M Gold Heist in Mali Highlights Sovereign Risk for Miners
Barrick’s Loulo-Gounkoto gold mine made global headlines this week – not for drill results, but because the Mali military turned up and walked away with US$117 million worth of gold. Good work if you can get it.
It’s a fresh reminder that geology is only half the equation. The other half (jurisdiction) matters just as much.
Mali’s long been rich in resources (there’s no shortage of gold or lithium in the region). But frequent coups, shifting alliances, and blurred lines between government and military have made it a hard place for Western capital to stick around.
For most investors, the attention’s shifting back to jurisdictions where the rules are clearer and no one’s showing up in camo to collect their idea of a quarterly dividend.
The ASX Small-Cap Wrap
Our first investment is locked in for 2025, and we suspect it won’t be the last. We’ve got a few on the watch list at the moment and with commodity prices and sentiment both trending in the right direction, things are getting interesting.
The metals are moving, the majors are circling, and the juniors with decent assets in stable jurisdictions are starting to get noticed.
It was a week where Trump dropped a tariff-shaped hand grenade into the copper market, silver punched through US$39 and suddenly small-cap explorers are back on the radar.
If this keeps up, 2025 could be a breakout year for the right names.
Until next week.
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