Bulls N’ Bears ASX Runners of the Year

It’s been a shocking week for Australia, quite honestly.

And a pretty tame one on the ASX as well. So rather than our usual gabble, Runners this week will try to focus on the year’s bright spots.

We’ve got a Runners of the Year special heading into Christmas, in which we’ll delve into the ASX companies that saw the biggest price runs to their peaks. Multiple stories delivered generational wealth to their champions in what has been one of the more unforgettable years on the market in recent memory.

Small caps were back big time in 2025, shaking off the doldrums of a brutal multi-year divergence with large caps. Confidence had been badly rattled after the battery-metals bust — led by lithium — through 2023 and 2024, when collapsing prices and funding fatigue left Australia’s resources-heavy juniors firmly on the nose.

The year got off to a flyer with gold making one of the greatest runs in precious metals history. The safe-haven metal was destined to fly off the rails with the return of US President Donald Trump and the unsustainable debt situation he was walking into. Unfortunate wars – tariff or not – broke out almost continuously throughout the year. This saw the yellow metal take off from below A$4000 an ounce before flying up more than 65 per cent by October, smashing through a record A$6700 an ounce at one point. It has now started to move north again after a one-month breather and currently sits at A$ 6,500 an ounce.

Many of the best-performing blue-chips this year were the actual gold producers. Multi-billion-dollar majors such as Evolution Mining, Newmont Mining and even Regis Resources all saw 150 per cent or more gains.

As Trump began his tenure, tariff wars unleashed fresh mayhem across global markets. In the chaos, America moved to weaponise critical minerals supply chains — and in doing so became an unexpected windfall for Australian resources, with anything US-based and/or tied to non-Chinese critical minerals suddenly back in hot demand.

While AI dominated the US and Chinese stock exchanges, the power plants, the gas pipes and the obscure metals that go into their infrastructure saw a decent chunk of the limelight on the ASX as well.

But of course, as all things metals and mining took off, there was always bound to be a stumble somewhere else on the ASX and it was our Aussie biotech sector that took the worst beating.

Since the new financial year, household names such as Telix Pharmaceuticals, Botanix and Argenica Therapeutics have seen their valuations slashed by half or more.

Even CSL - once Australia’s biggest company - wasn’t spared, shedding 37 per cent of its value this year after announcing 3000 job cuts and low vaccine projections, wiping more than $32 billion in valuation off the ASX.

On the topic of fallen favourites, perhaps one major takeaway rule for investors should be that when the directors start selling, it’s time to hit the eject button.

After an almighty ascent that saw defence-tech darling Droneshield rocket as much as 800 per cent at one point, the wheels have since come off. The stock has slumped nearly 65 per cent after the company revealed founder and CEO Oleg Vornik had offloaded his entire holding - some $70 million worth of shares - sending shockwaves through the market.

The move was reminiscent of a major sell-down in Boss Energy last year by its ex-CEO, Duncan Craib and some of his fellow directors. Shortly after the dump, Boss went into production and hasn’t hit a positive milestone since. Since the ex-directors started heading for the exits, the stock has continued to slump and is now down 80 per cent as of yesterday – wiping out nearly $2 billion in value.

But that’s enough of the horror stories, on to our Runners of the Year. The major themes of critical minerals, gold and AI dominated the rankings, except for our top performer, Kaili Resources.

Dubbed the “King of Hot Air”, Kaili flew on little more than a tight Chinese register and some “silly bugger” trading that caused ridiculous valuations and the hottest 48 hours of trading in history.

KAILI RESOURCES LTD (ASX: KLR)

Up 39,650% (0.8c – $3.18)

Bulls N’ Bears’ Runner of the Year — scratch that, the Runner of the Century — was Kaili Resources, which waltzed straight into ASX folklore as a gobsmacking 396-bagger from the start of the year to its August peak, with virtually all of the jaw-dropping action crammed into a barely believable 48-hour trading frenzy.

Things kicked off during a lazy Friday morning on the ‘earth-shattering’ news that the junior had received approval from South Australia’s mining regulator to drill its rare earths projects in the state’s south.

Kaili’s share price closed up 500 per cent on Friday at 3.6c on just $6000 of stock traded.

The company hadn’t even hired a driller yet, which would have been tough with only $15,000 in the bank.

By Monday, it was pure chaos. Kaili opened at 4.1c to start the show and with 94 per cent of its shares locked up by its majority Chinese top 20 shareholders, the trading bots went berserk, driving the price up to a high of $3.18 per share.

Largest shareholder, Treasure Unicorn, which owns 51 per cent of Kaili’s holding company, hit a paper fortune of well over $250 million before the stock plummeted to $1.08 a share in under 20 minutes, closing the day early.

The Mad Monday was one for the record books, alright, proving that a tight structure, hot air and just $1 million in traders playing games can make meme stocks on the NASDAQ look like child’s play on the ASX.

DATELINE RESOURCES LTD (ASX: DTR)

Up 19,186% (0.35c – 67.5c)

The real undisputed ASX champion and Runner of the Year was Dateline Resources, with the perfect mix of gold, rare earths and a US postal address - up a lazy 19,186 per cent at its peak.

The company took off after it was touted by Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform earlier this year, with the leader of the free world giving his seal of approval to the company’s Colosseum project outside of Las Vegas.

President Trump referred to the developing gold project as “America’s second rare earths mine, noting it had been approved after years of stalled permitting.

Admittedly, the project is highly prospective for rare earth elements (REE) as it sits just 10km north of the globally significant Mountain Pass REE mine. However, the company has been primarily focused on Colosseum’s 1.1-million-ounce gold endowment.

Dateline, however, wasted no time also chasing down rare earths for the US commander in chief, in a region that quickly became the hottest resources address on planet earth, taking Dateline’s market cap to more than $2 billion at its peak.

LOCKSLEY RESOURCES LTD (ASX: LKY)

Up 4213% (1.6c – 69c)

Taking out the final spot on the Runners of the Year podium was critical minerals maiden Locksley Resources. Another beneficiary of the hot California critical minerals address, the US-based explorer unlocked its Mojave project outside Mountain Pass and handed its shareholders a year of epic returns.

Mojave’s prime real estate put it in exclusive company. Both its neighbours are tearing away into valuations of billions, with Mountain Pass’s owner MP Materials, ratcheting its value into the tens of billions.

Locksley, instead, took the pure critical minerals angle, with emerging antimony and rare earths discoveries, as it jostled for position in the critical minerals supply chain. Early indicator rock chips have dazzled with up to 46 per cent antimony and 1022g/t silver at the company’s Desert mine.

In what turned out to be a rare earth dual commodity treat, its adjacent El Campo prospect turned up 12.1 per cent total rare earth oxides, including 3.19 per cent magnet rare earths.

The company handed its resource-faithful followers a 42-bagger prize at its peak earlier this year. If the drill rigs hit paydirt in the new year, Mojave could be a massive boon for investors - even echoing the likes of its surging billionaire neighbours.

SUNRISE ENERGY METALS LTD (ASX: SRL)

Up 3390% (23.5c → $8.20)

Next up was critical minerals developer Sunrise Energy Metals, which sparked a market wildfire after it was backed by mining titan and co-chairman Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Capital Holdings. Ivanhoe committed $3 million to the NSW critical minerals player - this time in the ballooning scandium market.

Following the capital raise, a supercharged feasibility study and exploration program kicked off at its Syerston project, where assays unveiled substantial intersections, including 6m running 553 parts per million (ppm) scandium and 18m at 528ppm scandium in shallow laterite soils that appear to be begging for cost-efficient mining.

The grades were well above the project’s 390 ppm scandium average, within a 60.3 million-tonne resource, which now boasts some 23,554 tonnes of contained scandium.

With 99.999 per cent scandium oxide fetching $500,000 per kilogram - that’s $500 million per tonne - and demand soaring for aerospace alloys and 5G semiconductors, this critical minerals player has cracked the $1 billion mark, making Mr Friedland’s $3 million punt now worth nearly $60 million on paper.

MOUNT RIDLEY MINES LTD (ASX: MRD) Up 2400% (0.35c – 8.8c)

Things kicked off in October with a bang as the rare earths explorer revealed its namesake deposit in Western Australia, featuring a previously overlooked critical gallium resource alongside its rare earths.

Rare earths and gallium were among the market’s standout flavours this year, fuelled by hefty US and Australian government investment aimed at securing supply chains and wresting control back from China’s roughly 95 per cent stranglehold on production.

The rare earths and gallium explorer surged following maiden resource from its Esperance rare earths project - now boasting Australia’s biggest gallium resource.

Gallium is another critical mineral performer of unbelievable value, currently worth a whopping $1,000,000 per tonne.

The market needed no second invitation. Mt Ridley’s shares rocketed nearly 24 times from the year’s open at just 0.35c per share, with most of the damage being done in a little over a week.

METAL POWDER WORKS LTD (ASX: MPW) Up 2385% (20c – $4.97)

Impressive newcomer Metal Powder Works — aptly named and based in Pennsylvania — claimed IPO of the Year honours after hitting the boards to thunderous applause, fresh off a $10 million raise at 20 cents through broking outfit Morgans.

Its proprietary direct powder production method sidesteps inefficient traditional atomisation, delivering superior sphericity, flowability and purity across alloys like titanium, aluminium and superalloys - key to high-precision 3D printing.

The technology company took off on debut and never looked back, marching north to a whopping $4.97 per share and a $500 million valuation.

FORRESTANIA RESOURCES LTD (ASX: FRS) Up 2186% (1.4c – 32c)

Offering pure gold leverage in a record gold-price year, Forrestania spent 2025 methodically tightening its grip on Western Australia’s long-overlooked, previously uneconomic gold projects around Southern Cross, emerging as a serious contender for a standout 2026 development story.

Key moves included snapping up Mt Dimer and Mt Jackson tenements, securing Lake Johnston’s processing infrastructure for logistics edge and launching a conditional scrip takeover of Kula Gold’s high-grade Mount Palmer discovery - complete with historical hits begging for modern follow-up.

Gold’s exceptional surge amid economic turmoil and safe-haven inflows amplified every ounce, propelling this asset aggregator into a multi-project powerhouse with near-term cash flow potential and long-term scale.

FOCUS MINERALS LTD (ASX: FML) Up 1888% (17c – $3.38)

One of the best-performing gold developer-to-producer stories of the year was Focus Minerals.

Focus reignited underground operations at Bonnie Vale within its flagship Coolgardie project in Western Australia, capitalising on the globe’s premier gold jurisdiction.

Efficiencies in mining and processing, coupled with fresh discoveries, extended mine life, powering a textbook parabolic chart from restart onwards. The Three Mile Hill plant ramped up seamlessly, hitting design capacity amid soaring prices, ensuring a robust upward march into 2026 with expanding margins and resource growth.

Focus has one of those charts that simply pleases the soul and hip pocket. Taking a parabolic run since restart, its Three Mile Hill plant has gone from strength to strength, retaining a strong upward trajectory into the new year.

FINDER ENERGY LTD (ASX: FDR) Up 1,592% (3.9c – 66c)

The list’s lone oil and gas story was emerging Timor oil and gas developer Finder Energy, which has proven that to make money out of oil and gas, perhaps the best place isn’t a nation scared of CO2 emissions and adamant on sky-high electricity prices.

Finder, instead, kicked off its run north after striking a partnership with a newly resources-focused Timor government to advance its Timor Sea oilfield - a development that could be up and running as early as 2027.

The Timor government hiked its stake in the play from 24 to 34 per cent in return for shouldering 50 per cent of the project’s capex up to US$170 million (A$260 million).

The tie-up slashes Finder’s cash burn while locking in Timor-Leste’s sovereign backing for a project that’s been simmering since the company acquired it. Adding to its credentials, the company has even secured a boat to extract the oil.

Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@wanews.com.au