Gold has set records in nearly every currency this past year, and it smashed through Australian records on April 22 when it reached AU$3,638.01.
The price has seen a pullback since that time but continues to trend near historical highs. As for gold’s US dollar price, it hit an all-time high of US$2,450.05 on May 20.
The meteoric gains of 2024 come on the back of several factors including continued purchases by Central Banks in Asia, an improving economic situation in the United States and continued geopolitical instability including the potential for regional escalation of tensions between Israel and Lebanon.
On a more local level, Australia’s inflation rate ticked up to 4 percent in May not only eliminating the chance for a cut but increasing the possibility of another hike from the Reserve Bank.
How have these factors affected gold stocks on the ASX? Read on to learn about the biggest gainers in Q2.
Data for this article was retrieved on June 26, 2024, using TradingView’s stock screener, and only companies with market capitalisations greater than AU$50 million are included.
1. Australian Gold and Copper (ASX:AGC)
Year-to-date gain: 326.47 percent; market cap: AU$67.74 million; share price: AU$0.29
Australian Gold and Copper is an exploration company that has spent 2024 focused on advancing its Achilles gold-silver discovery in its South Cobar project in New South Wales, Australia.
The company has made several advancements at the project through its exploration programs in 2024, including the identification of new targets at its Achilles zone as it reported on April 23.
Its subsequent announcement on May 15 caused shares to soar when the company reported follow-up assay results from Achilles with a highlighted drill result of 2.2 grams per tonne (g/t) gold over 43 metres, including 16.9 g/t gold over 5 metres.
The most recent announcement from its exploration program came on June 17 when the company reported further results with highlights of 0.6 g/t gold and 64 g/t silver over 24 meters, including 2 g/t gold and 257 g/t silver over 4 metres.
In its news release, the company said it would be starting a follow-up drill program with up to 20 reverse circulation holes and 10 diamond core holes with the intent to extend the strike length and depth of the deposit.
Shares in Australian Gold and Copper reached their year-to-date high of AU$0.56 on May 22 alongside a rally in the gold price.
2. WIA Gold (ASX:WIA)
Year-to-date gain: 123.81 percent; market cap: AU$279.17 million; share price: AU$0.05
WIA Gold is an exploration company focused on developing projects in Africa.
The company’s primary goal is to advance the Kokoseb deposit at its Damaran gold project. Kokoseb is located on WIA’s Okombahe exploration licence, which consists of 12 tenements across a 2,700 square kilometre area within the Damaran Belt in Northwest Namibia. WIA Gold holds an 80 percent stake in the exploration licence, with the remaining 20 percent owned by Namibian state-owned mining company Epangelo.
On April 16, the company released an updated resource estimate for Kokoseb, reporting 2.12 million ounces of gold from 66 million tonnes at 1 g/t gold with a cut off of 0.5 g/t gold.
The company also owns the early stage Bouafle project in Côte d’Ivoire, which has been granted two exploration permits, with a third under application. On May 27, WIA reported that it had commenced RC drilling at the site with the intention to test the 10 trends previously identified. It said it had planned for an initial 6,000 metres with an optional 4,000 metres depending on results.
Shares of WIA Gold reached a quarterly high of AU$0.125 on May 21 with the gold price.
3. Southern Cross Gold (ASX:SXG)
Year-to-date gain: 75.38 percent; market cap: AU$432.45 million; share price: AU$2.20
Southern Cross Gold is an exploration company that is working to advance its flagship Sunday Creek project located north of Melbourne, Australia. The property covers an area of 19,385 hectares and hosted previous gold mining between 1880 and 1920. More recently, it has seen exploration work during the 1990s that was focused on shallow, previously mined workings. Since being spun out by Mawson Gold (TSXV:MAW,OTC Pink:MWSNF) in 2021, Southern Cross has drilled 110 holes for a total of 44,083 metres along 1,200 metres of strike.
To date, the company has not prepared a resource estimate for Sunday Creek, but exploration at the site has revealed high-quality assays. On March 5, the company reported the best hole drilled so far, with an interval of 7.2 g/t gold over 455.3 metres, including an intersection of 2,318 g/t gold over 1 metre.
The most recent exploration results from Sunday Creek came on April 15, when the company reported eight intervals over 50 g/t, including 327.7 g/t gold over 0.9 metres. Southern Cross said exploration at the site will continue as it works on an additional 10 holes focused on demonstrating the district-scale potential of Sunday Creek.
Shares of Southern Cross reached a quarterly high of AU$3.21 on May 9.
4. Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR)
Year-to-date gain: 74.19 percent; market cap: AU$936.05 million; share price: AU$0.90
Spartan Resources is a gold exploration and development company whose core assets are located in Western Australia. Its flagship operation, the Dalgaranga gold mine, produced 71,153 ounces of the metal in 2022 before being placed on care and maintenance as low grades reduced the mine’s viability.
Spartan has since turned its focus to increasing the grade and expanding its mineral resource. This has largely focused on its Never Never deposit, which it discovered in 2022. In its most recent estimate on December 2023, the company reported it had increased its total resources by 43 percent, with contained gold resources of 925,900 ounces of gold at a grade of 5.74 g/t at the Never Never deposit, as well as 739,800 ounces of gold from Gilbey’s Complex.
Exploration from the site has continued into 2024, and on April 18 Spartan reported the discovery of a new lode, dubbed the Pepper prospect, 90 metres south of the main Never Never deposit. The company said Pepper has similar mineralization and grades to Never Never, with one assay showing 15.86 g/t gold over 17.52 meters, which included an intersection of 27.89 g/t gold over 9.22 meters.
Spartan has continued to explore the Pepper prospect, and on June 11 the company announced it continued to encounter high-grade mineralization at depth. Assays included an intercept of 12.12 g/t gold over 30.97 meters, including 92.19 g/t gold over 3.47 meters.
Shares in Spartan reached a year-to-date high of AU$0.915 on June 24.
5. Aurelia Metals (ASX:AMI)
Year-to-date gain: 72.73 percent; market cap: AU$312.94 million; share price: AU$0.19
Aurelia Metals is a mining and exploration company with two operating gold mines in New South Wales, Australia.
Its Peak mine is located in the northern portion of the Cobar Basin and began production in 1992. The site consists of two underground mines and an 800,000 tonne per year processing plant. In its quarterly activities report for the quarter ending March 31, Aurelia reported the mine had processed 148,000 tonnes of ore and produced 5,343 ounces of gold, bringing the total for the first three quarters of its financial year 2024 to 19,591 ounces.
Aurelia’s Dargues mine is located in the Southern Tablelands region and hosts an underground mine and three-stage crushing, ball milling, flotation and dewatering circuits. In the company’s financial Q3 period, Dargues processed 88,000 tonnes of ore for gold production reaching 9,205 ounces for the quarter. The mine has produced 26,621 ounces of gold over the three-quarter period.
Gains in Aurelia share prices have tracked along with the price of gold through the start of 2024 and reached a year-to-date high of AU$0.21 on May 20.
FAQs for ASX gold stocks
How to invest in gold on the ASX?
As Australia is a top gold-mining jurisdiction and the country’s government is supportive of mining, there are plenty of options for investing in gold on the ASX. Between gold miners operating major projects and gold explorers hunting for the next significant gold discovery, investors can choose what kind of company matches their risk appetite and portfolio.
When looking for a gold company to invest in, be sure to do your due diligence and learn about the company’s key characteristics, including its leadership team, its finances and the geology of its projects.
How to buy gold on the ASX?
Once you’ve selected a company or multiple companies to invest in, you can buy gold stocks using trading apps with access to ASX stocks, or you can get the help of a stock broker.
How to buy gold ETFs on the ASX?
For investors who prefer broader exposure to a sector, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a good option, and the ASX is home to multiple gold-focused ETFs. Because they are traded on exchanges like stocks, you can buy ETFs using the same methods described above. ASX-listed gold ETFs to consider include:
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
