Resources Top 5: Trigg has eyes fixed on US critical minerals initiatives
Brightstar has declared maiden reserves of 24,000oz for the Second Fortune and Fish underground mines
Albion Resources has started RC drilling at the Yandal West gold project
Your standout small cap resources stocks for Thursday, June 24, 2025
Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG)
One of a number of ASX-listed juniors with eyes firmly on the critical minerals domestic supply chain initiatives of US President Trump is Trigg Minerals and its Antimony Canyon project in Utah.
The company is taking steps to align Antimony Canyon with US national security and federal procurement priorities and has launched initiatives aimed at achieving near-term pilot-scale antimony mining.
This has resulted in added interest among investors with Trigg hitting a three-year high of 10.5c, an increase of 26.51% on the June 25 close, and closing at 9.8c.
Reflecting the growing interest, more than 101m shares changed hands valued at almost $10 million.
The increased US focus has been supported by the appointment of key US-based executives, including Ben Harris and Wiehann Kleynhans.
Harris will serve as US Defense and Armaments advisor to support Trigg's strategy to become a secure, domestic supplier of antimony.
With more than 35 years' experience in the US defence and government sectors, Harris will advise Trigg on strategic alignment with America's defence supply chains and procurement frameworks.
Harris recently served as chief of staff for the Joint Program Executive Office Armaments and Ammunition, overseeing operations for a US$3 billion annual program, spanning procurement, R&D, testing and training for conventional ammunition and armaments.
His prior appointment was as deputy for Project Director Joint Services, where he led government-operated ammunition infrastructure and demilitarisation programs across logistics, demilitarisation and singlepoint-of-failure mitigation.
Harris will assist Trigg in engaging with US Department of Defense stakeholders, navigating defence procurement frameworks and supporting efforts to position Antimony Canyon as a critical domestic source of antimony for US defence applications.
'Ben's appointment is a major step forward for Trigg as we advance our strategic focus on becoming a key domestic supplier of antimony for US Defense and critical infrastructure,' managing director Andre Booyzen said
'His deep expertise in defence procurement, ammunition lifecycle management and federal coordination will be invaluable, and it aligns perfectly with our vision of delivering secure, conflict-free antimony to the US market.'
This appointment follows that of highly experienced antimony downstream expert Wiehann Kleynhans as vice president, US downstream operations, to bolster TMG's antimony capabilities.
Kleynhans will develop a strategy for North America, which will include options for downstream processing, form partnerships with key industry and government players in North America as well as identify and negotiate possible offtake agreements with international antimony traders.
He will also assist the company with obtaining US government funding for exploration and development while assisting with due diligence on future antimony projects.
These appointments follow the start of exploration and early-stage development at Antimony Canyon, which hosts the largest and highest-grade antimony deposit in the US.
They also build on Trigg Minerals (ASX:TMG) recent engagement with US federal funding pathways as it aims to advance studies for near-term antimony extraction.
Widespread antimony mineralisation was recently confirmed in areas previously untested by historical resource work while TMG also confirmed that mineralisation occurs throughout the vertical profile of the Flagstaff Formation, increasing the potential scale of the tenure.
Brightstar Resources (ASX:BTR)
Declaration of ore reserves is a key step toward development for a resources company as it represents ore that can be mined as opposed to resources which need further exploration, drilling and assessment to increase confidence.
Brightstar Resources' maiden reserves of 24,000oz for the Second Fortune and Fish underground mines provides further gold to underpin the Laverton Hub ore purchase agreement with Genesis Minerals during FY2026.
The establishment of maiden reserves of 52,000t grading 3.36g/t gold for 6000oz at Second Fortune and 175,000t at 3.23g/t for 18,000oz at Fish follows a recent upgrade to resources for both mines and saw BTR shares as much as 7.45% higher to 50.5c before closing at 49c.
Second Fortune has a resource of 40,000oz at 13.4g/t while Fish has a resource of 49,000oz at 4g/t. Higher confidence measured and indicated resources make up a tidy 68% of the material at both mines.
This contributes to Brightstar Resources' (ASX:BTR) belief that there is significant potential to increase ore reserves and mine life at the two mines by carrying out more surface and underground drilling, which is due to start imminently.
Under the Laverton agreement, the company can deliver, sell and process up to 500,000t of ore to Genesis Minerals' (ASX:GMD) Laverton mill over 2025 and Q1 2026.
Mining is continuing at Second Fortune and Fish with first ore from Fish expected within the next week to generate significant revenue in the September 2025 quarter.
Managing director Alex Rovira said the maiden ore reserves for the two mines underpinned the FY2026 production target under the ore purchase agreement.
'It's important to note that these two ore bodies are open at depth and along strike, and to date have lacked deeper drilling to convert known mineralised intercepts into mineral resources and potential ore reserves,' he added.
'Second Fortune has operated consistently over four years, highlighting the reliability of the gold mineralisation which shows continuity at depth with wide-spaced drilling.'
Besides the imminent start of drilling at Second Fortune and Fish as well as the start of ore mining at Fish, BTR also expects a material increase in overall group ore reserves shortly.
This will be accompanied by the finalisation and release of a definitive feasibility study which outlines the development and expansion of Brightstar's production across the Menzies and Laverton hubs.
Albion Resources (ASX:ALB)
The start of RC drilling at the Yandal West gold project in WA's highly prospective Yandal Greenstone Belt has seen Albion Resources post a 7.55% increase to 5.7c.
A program of 3000-4000m is targeting high-priority targets and will be followed by an aircore drilling program next month targeting the Barwidgee Fault, a major regional structure with limited previous drilling but strong gold potential.
RC drilling targets include historical gold workings at Collavilla, which previously returned up to 3m at 52.38g/t gold and 7m at 7.4g/t.
Drilling will also target Collavilla East, Barwidgee Central and Collavilla West – which contain some strong chargeability anomalies and visible quartz veins.
Yandal West is just up the road from Northern Star Resources' (ASX:NST) Bronzewing gold mine and the Jundee gold mine, in a multi-million ounce district producing around 300,000oz per annum.
The Bronzewing project was sold by Strickland Metals to Northern Star, providing feed for its processing plant.
Albion is targeting a similar future, confident that being close to mills offers some value for small-scale deposits.
That's not to say a large discovery isn't on the cards with the company pointing out that the Yandal West project remains relatively underexplored despite its prime position.
Locksley Resources (ASX:LKY)
Another company growing its position in the US is Locksley Resources, which in its latest move has completed its listing on the OTCQB Venture Market under the ticker symbol LKYRF.
This listing will enable Locksley to broaden its exposure to North American investors, providing enhanced access to a deeper pool of capital and aligning the company more closely with its flagship Mojave Project in California.
Locksley, which retains its listing on the ASX with the ticker LKY, reached a daily high of 8.9c, a lift of 53.45% on the previous close, before ending the trading day at 8.8c.
The OTCQB listing is part of a broader strategy to advance Locksley's critical minerals focus within a US jurisdiction which is increasingly prioritising domestic rare earth and antimony supply chains.
This platform offers improved liquidity and transparency for US-based investors and allows Locksley shares to be traded in US dollars during US market hours.
This milestone coincides with accelerating engagement in the US around downstream processing, strategic partnerships and funding pathways tied to critical mineral development.
"The successful listing on the OTCQB represents a major step forward in our US engagement strategy,' Locksley Resources chairman Nathan Lude said.
'With our Mojave Project located in California and aligned with US critical minerals priorities, this listing allows us to broaden our investor base and improve visibility in a market where our assets hold strategic relevance.
'We look forward to building relationships with US institutional and retail investors while continuing to deliver progress on the ground."
Superior Resources (ASX:SPQ)
(Up on no news)
Brisbane-based Superior Resources is focusing its efforts on its home state of Queensland with projects in the state's Greenvale Ordovician porphyry belt and nickel-copper-PGE province in the north and the Carpentaria Zinc Province in the northwest.
Most work is being carried out on the Steam Engine gold project within the Greenvale project around 210km west-northwest of Townsville.
Activities have focused on expediting the Steam Engine regulatory and mining study pathways to achieve production within two years.
The company continues to progress a feasibility study on Steam Engine, which has a mineral resource of 196,000oz at 1.5 g/t gold, with the study based on a toll treatment operation.
This resource is being revised and updated with assay results from 31 RC holes for a total of 2,218m completed in the March quarter expected to be included.
New zones of gold mineralisation were identified at the northern ends of the Steam Engine and Eastern Ridge lodes while a maiden drilling program at Windmill East, 2.5km south of the Eastern Ridge Lode, identified high-grade gold lode mineralisation.
Further drilling is planned to test highly anomalous features resembling previously unknown gold lodes, including a potential extension of the main Steam Engine Lode.
Although it has had no recent news, the company was 66.67% higher at 0.5c.
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