Copper has hit record highs in recent years, and after setbacks at the start of 2024 its fortune has begun to turn.
Prices rebounded to an all-time high of US$5.20 per pound, or US$11,464 per metric ton, on May 20 at the beginning of Q2 on tightening supply and increasing demand from the transition to renewable energy. In the longer term, many market watchers see tight supply and higher consumption from sectors like the electric vehicle industry creating a robust outlook for copper.
Against that backdrop, the top ASX copper stocks have put on impressive year-to-date share price performances. The list below outlines the best performing copper stocks on the ASX, and was generated on June 26, 2024, using TradingView’s stock screener; all copper shares listed had market caps above AU$50 million at that time. Read on to learn more about them.
1. Encounter Resources (ASX:ENR)
**Year\-to\-date gain* 93\.1 percent; m*rket cap: AU$252\.01 million; *hare price: AU$0\.56*
Exploration-stage Encounter Resources controls a large portfolio of wholly-owned copper and niobium/rare earth projects in Australia's Northern Territory and Western Australia. The company is also advancing large-scale copper projects via partnership and farm-in agreements with South32 (ASX:S32,OTC Pink:SHTLF) and IGO (ASX:IGO).
At the Yenena project in the Paterson Province of Western Australia, IGO announced in March a significant copper anomaly discovery, south of Cyprium Metals' Nifty copper mine in Western Australia. The following month brought news out of the Jessica copper project in the Northern Territory where a South32 subsidiary completed assays on drill core confirming "the presence of copper sulphide bearing veins and alteration signatures associated with iron oxide copper gold (IOCG) style mineralisation".
Also in the Northwest Territory, Encounter reportedsignificant copper mineralisation discovered during drilling at its wholly-owned Sandover copper project in mid-May.
Encounter's share price climbed to a year-to-date high of AU$0.62 on June 24.
2. Aeris Resources (ASX:AIS)
**Year\-to\-date gain* 62\.07 percent; m*rket cap: AU$237\.04 million; *hare price: AU$0\.235*
Aeris Resources has three primary copper assets in Australia, with two currently in production: the Tritton operations, and the North Queensland operations. The company recently placed its Jaguar zinc-copper operation on care and maintenance. Its portfolio also contains the producing Cracow gold mine in Queensland.
In its first quarter 2024 activities report, Aeris reported copper production of 5.9 thousand tonnes. The company’s 2024 copper production guidance stands at 28,000 to 35,000 tonnes.
Aeris pipeline includes the Stockman copper-zinc-gold-silver project in Victoria, and its Canbelego Project copper joint venture project in New South Wales. The company expects to complete a feasibility study at Stockman in the second half of 2024. At Canbelego, Aeris’ JV partner Helix Resources’ (ASX:HLX) drill program recently intersected a large new structural zone with associated copper mineralisation.
Higher copper prices boosted Aeris’ share price to a year-to-date high of AU$0.34 on May 20.
3. Cyprium Metals (ASX:CYM)
**Year\-to\-date gain* 43\.33 percent; m*rket cap: AU$64\.04 million; *hare price: AU$0\.043*
Near-term copper producer Cyprium Metals is ocused on developing multiple copper projects throughout Western Australia. The company has projects at various stages of development. It's most advanced is the Nifty copper mine project located Western Australia's Pilbara region
In late May, Cyprium announced the completion of a positive scoping study on the restart of the Nifty copper mine, prompting a board decision to move the project to the pre-feasibility stage. "A moderate investment in the brownfield processing plant capacity can nearly double the potential throughput of the plant, enabling the surface mine to produce around 36,000 tonnes of copper metal per year by matching strong mine design, right equipment selection and expanded processing capacity," commented Cyprium Chair Matt Fifield.
Shares in Cyprium reach a year-to-date of high of AU$0.05 on June 7.
4. Bougainville Copper (ASX:BOC)
Year-to-date gain: 40 percent; market cap: AU$198.526 million; share price: AU$0.49
Bougainville Copper is working to reopen the past-producing Panguna copper complex, which ceased operations in 1989. Panguna is considered one of the largest copper deposits in the world, and according to the company, its successful restart is viewed as a critical component of future economic independence for Bougainville, which is an autonomous region in Papua New Guinea. The country's government holds a 36.5 percent share in the company.
In early February, after much deliberation, Bougainville Copper was granted a five year extension to its Panguna mining licence, which the company hoped would open the door for advanced-stage prefeasibility and feasibility exploration activities.
The news sent shares of the company spiking to their best year-to-date close of 2024: AU$0.80 on February 2. That's more than double Bougainville Copper's close of AU$0.35 the previous day.
However, the company was served with notice of class action lawsuit in late May on behlaf of Bougainville residents seeking compensation for claimed environmental and social harm associated with the past-producing Panguna mine. "The company will fully consider the matters raised in the claim and intends to vigorously defend its position," stated the press release.
5. AIC Mines (ASX:A1M)
Year-to-date gain: 21.74 percent; market cap: AU$239.769 million; share price: AU$0.42
AIC Mines owns the high-grade Eloise copper mine in North Queensland, as well as a portfolio of exploration-stage copper-gold projects in Australia. Eloise started production in 1996, and the company is looking to expand the life of the operation through the development of the nearby Jericho deposit.
In late March, the company posted a new ore reserve estimate for Jericho, followed shortly by an announcement that drilling has begun at the recently discovered Swagman prospect, located between Eloise and Jericho. Later in May, AIC announced it will start development work at Jericho via an underground link drive directly from the Eloise decline.
In Q1 2024, AIC Mines reported production of 3,066 tonnes of copper and 1,532 ounces of gold in concentrate. The company says it's on track to meet its 2024 production guidance of 12,000 tonnes of copper and 5,000 ounces of gold.
Record copper prices lifted AIC Mines’ share price to a year-to-date high of AU$0.60 on May 20.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, currently hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.