Highlights

  • Northern Star progresses AUD225m FY26 exploration program targeting mine-life extensions.
  • West Wits granted new South African Prospecting Right to extend Kimberley Reef operations.
  • Benz Mining reports high-grade gold extensions and new lens discovery at Zone 126.

This strategic ASX-listed mining stock has surged sharply in 2025, delivering returns far ahead of the broader S&P/ASX 300 Metals & Mining index. While the sector index gained about 39% year to date, select miners recorded triple-digit price increases, driven by exploration success and project progress. The strong rally highlights growing investor interest in high-impact mining stocks and the outsized gains possible from company-specific developments.

Name

Ticker

CMP in AUD (as on 30 Dec 2025)

3-Month Change

6-Month Change

9-Month Change

YTD-Month Change

Northern Star Resources Ltd

(ASX:NST)

26.73

11.79%

42.41%

47.92%

73.12%

West Wits Mining Limited

(ASX:WWI)

0.078

73.33%

271.43%

358.82%

457.14%

Benz Mining Corp

(ASX:BNZ)

1.76

-3.03%

228.97%

402.86%

410.14%

 

Northern Star Resources Ltd Exploration Program Update
Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX:NST) continues its FY26 exploration initiatives with an unchanged budget of AUD225m, maintaining focus on near-mine growth and resource conversion across existing operations. The program aims to extend mine life, enhance capital efficiency, and support long-term production sustainability.

Drilling at Kalgoorlie yielded deeper mineralisation at Fimiston South and a new discovery, the Golden Goose prospect, at Mt Charlotte. Additional work highlighted growth potential at Hercules and Ballarat–Last Chance. Exploration at Yandal suggested possible mine-life extensions, while at the Pogo operation in Alaska, high-priority targets remained under development. The Hemi Development Project, including Mt Berghaus, also demonstrated potential upside. Updated Group Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves are expected in May 2026 following ongoing assessment.

West Wits Mining Limited Granted Prospecting Right
West Wits Mining Limited (ASX:WWI) received a new Prospecting Right, GP10839PR, for its subsidiary West Wits MLI (Pty) Ltd, awarded by South Africa’s Department of Mineral & Petroleum Resources. The new right lies adjacent to the company’s existing Mining Right (MR 10073) at the Witwatersrand Basin Project (WBP) in Johannesburg, providing a natural depth extension to the Kimberley Reef at the Qala Shallows Gold Project.

The area also extends eastward from Prospecting Right PR 10730, granted in December 2024, and is expected to support the Stage 4 Qala Deeps Project. Geological consultants Shango Solutions have been engaged to review the existing Mineral Resource Estimate across the Kimberley Reefs using historical sample and survey data. The assessment will consider potential for a lower cut-off grade reflecting the current gold price environment of around USD4,500/oz, compared with USD1,200/oz previously.

Benz Mining Corp Reports High-Grade Extensions at Glenburgh
Benz Mining Corp (ASX:BNZ) reported further high-grade gold extensions and a new lens discovery at the Zone 126 prospect within the Glenburgh Gold Project in Western Australia. Lens 4 continues to extend at depth, with the deepest and highest-grade intercept returning 15m at 12.7 g/t gold from 850m, representing a step-out of over 200m down-dip.

Additional drilling extended Lens 4 laterally, intersecting 20m at 5.0 g/t gold from 676m, while Lens 5 was identified following an intercept of 2m at 16.8 g/t gold from 528m. All five lenses at Zone 126 remain open below current drilling levels. Beyond Zone 126, NE3 and Hurricane are priority targets for future drilling, showing strong gold-in-soil anomalies and geological characteristics similar to Zone 126.