20 Mining Companies to follow in 2026 – Part I (A-E)
2025 was a strong year for many precious metals stocks, driven by the sustained rally in the price of gold and silver, both of which reached multi-year highs. Demand for coal also hit record levels.
Gold is up more than 60pc since the start of the year, currently trading at just below $4,300. The yellow metal has performed its traditional role as a safe haven in uncertain economic and geopolitical conditions, and has also been in demand as a store of value by central banks.
Silver – with somewhat less fanfare – has done even better, soaring 120pc to more than $60 an ounce. The price has been driven by a steady increase in industrial demand, particularly for electric vehicles and computer chips. The metal has also been stockpiled after being declared a strategic commodity by the White House. There is evidence that both silver and gold are increasingly being traded as speculative assets like AI and cryptocurrencies.
Demand for copper, lithium and rare earth metals continues to rise, driven by the energy transition megatrend, multi-trillion investment in AI data centres, and reliance on uncertain Chinese supply lines.The performance of many base and industrial metals was more mixed, hit by feared – and real – US tariffs, and mixed signals from the massive Chinese market.
The IEA forecasts global coal demand will record a record high in 2025. US production rose, buoyed by political support from the Trump administration, and poor conditions for renewables have slowed Europe’s capacity to move from the fuel. The world was on track to consume 8.85 bn tonnes of coal this year, up 0.5pc from 2024. The IEA indicates coal demand is plateauing and will be well in decline by 2030. The principal uncertainty is the Chinese market, where the transition between fossil fuels and new sources of energy is finely balanced.
The overall outlook for miners in 2026 is for more of the same. Gold and silver are expected to hold their value for the foreseeable future, amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty, the continued possibility of trading wars, expectations of lower US interest rates, and continued stockpiling by central banks.
Copper and other strategic metals are likely to continue to rise as the factors that drove their value in 2025 persist. Governments are expected to continue to provide strong support to onshore supply chains. Demand may cool if the current impetus towards lower interest rates and fiscal stimulus fades towards the end of the year.
The prospectus for base metals remain unclear. China’s economic challenges, particularly property sector weakness, may dampen demand for some industrial metals.
One of this year’s most fascinating trends has been the adoption of AI by many small cap miners. Exploration is notoriously expensive and risky. Traditionally, only one target out of a thousand delivers a potentially economic deposit. This year will offer further evidence of the possibilities AI offers for transforming the risk-return equation. If it does, those companies that have already adopted AI technologies are well positioned to reap the rewards.
Here, we look how a cluster of mining small caps have fared, and how they are positioned moving into 2026. Look out for Part 2 shortly plus our specials on the small cap Oil & Gas sector and our alternative selections for 2026.
80 Mile (AIM:80M)
Formerly known as Bluejay Mining, 80 Mile (AIM:80M) rebranded last year after a bruising couple of years, diversifying from its focus on Greenland to acquire an Italian biofuels and chemical production complex. The company’s recovery, which gained momentum this year with new deals in both Greenland and Italy, has been recognised by the markets, which have pushed its value up by more than 100pc.
80M has a 30pc interest in the Jameson Land Basin opportunity in eastern Greenland. Extensive study spanning five decades has revealed anomalous helium and white hydrogen occurrences, and working liquid-rich hydrocarbon reservoirs with potential resources estimated to contain more than 2.4 to 8.1 billion barrels of liquid hydrocarbon equivalents in place.
Earlier this year 80M signed binding Heads of Terms with March GL Company for drilling at Jameson Basin, according to which March GL will fund two stratigraphic exploration wells in exchange for a 70pc interest, with operations expected to commence next year. 80M received an upfront payment of $500,000 from March GL last month. 80M’s interest was valued at $92m when the project was given a $215m valuation in September after the project partners came together to form the Greenland Energy Company to execute the venture. 80M said: ‘What we have now is one big machine that is aligned in its desire to prove the existence of one of the world’s last remaining great untapped oil occurrences … With these binding agreements we have a strong, fully financed partner with the technical and financial muscle to deliver on these stated objectives’
An independent assessment and prospective resources report published in October confirmed the Basin’s world-class potential, estimating 13.03 billion barrels (P10) of gross un-risked recoverable prospective oil resources across the upper levels of the Basin, and identifying a cumulative 58 prospects and leads. 80M’s attributable share equates to approximately 3.9 billion barrels (P10). Drilling operations are expected in H2 2026.
80M has a second significant Greenland interest through the Disko-Nuussuaq Nickel-Copper-Cobalt-PGE Project on the island’s southwest coast. The company believes historic studies and its own exploration has highlighted areas with the potential to host mineralisation similar to the world’s largest nickel-copper sulphide mine, Norilsk-Talnakh in Siberia.
A Binding Head of Terms signed last month commits USFM Corporation to invest $30m in the new project for a 51pc interest. 80M will act as operator, receiving a management fee equal to 12.5pc of the total expenditure as well as a £500,000 cash payment upon signing of definitive agreements. All funds will be directed towards new drilling, with a minimum of $10m to be spent on drilling related activities within 10 months of the signing of the Terms.
80M has a further interest in Greenland, the Dundas Ilmenite Project on the northwest coast. The project, once the company’s focus, was downgraded after an inconclusive 2022 drilling programme, but was reinstated as a viable interest last year. Dundas’s Mineral Resource Estimate is 117 million tonnes at 6.1pc ilmenite, making it the highest-grade ilmenite project globally. An independent maiden JORC exploration target estimates a potential 170 to 540 million tonnes of ilmenite-bearing material with a titanium oxide grade range of 4.7pc to 5.5pc.
80M diversified last year, taking a 49pc interest in Hydrogen Valley, owner of a biofuels and chemical production complex in Italy, with facilities including fully permitted plants suitable for biodiesel, epoxidized soybean oil and glycerine, with a capacity of up to 140,000 tonnes per year. The acquisition positions 80M to benefit from strong and growing European demand for sustainable aviation fuel, hydrotreated vegetable oil, and biodiesel across Europe.
80M went on to take 100pc ownership in October, signing an MoU with ‘one of the World’s largest integrated energy companies, a publicly listed business ranked in the top 10pc of the Fortune 500’. The new partner will supply up to 80,000 tonnes per annum of renewable feedstocks to the Ferrandina plant. Another MoU with Ludoil Energia set the framework for a biodiesel tolling arrangement under Ludoil will supply feedstock to Hydrogen Valley for processing. The structure will generate an estimated €8m net profit per year. The arrangement secures 50pc of the plant’s total capacity, ensuring stable revenues while minimising working capital exposure.
80M has strengthened its finances through 2025 to sustain momentum across its projects, raising £2m through a fundraise earlier this month, and, earlier this year, $500,000 by divesting of the non-core Kangerluarsuk zinc-lead-silver project, with a further $1.5m in cash or shares contingent on discovery of an economic deposit at the project.
80 Mile has continued to rediscover its momentum this year, and is now positioned with a strengthened balance sheet, full ownership of its highly prospective Greenland assets, and a growing industrial biofuels platform in Italy. The company currently trades at 0.50p, double its price at the start of the year, with a market cap of £26.2m.
ACG Metals (LSE:ACG)
ACG Metals (LSE:ACG) has enjoyed runaway success on the markets this year as the price of gold and copper have soared. The company is upgrading its fully-owned polymetallic mine in Turkey to to process copper and other metals in addition to the gold and silver it currently produces.
ACG took 100pc ownership of the Gediktepe copper-gold mine last autumn, the first step in the company’s transition from a SPAC to a copper-focused producer. Gediktepe is a volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit, containing multiple metals in both oxide and sulphide zones. The oxide cap is enriched in gold and silver, while the underlying sulphide zone is richer in copper, zinc and lead, with associated precious metals.
The mine currently produces gold and silver doré from oxide ore, but last November ACG announced the Sulphide Expansion Project to facilitate the mining and processing of sulphide ore in addition to the oxide ore currently being mined and processed. The mine is on track for commissioning next year, with processing infrastructure including crushers, mills, flotation circuits, thickeners and related facilities in an advanced state of preparation.
The transition is designed to make Gediktepe a long-life, low-cost copper producer, with targeted annual copper equivalent production of c 20,000–25,000 tonnes over an initial 11-year mine life. Historical data from a 2019 feasibility study on Gediktepe’s polymetallic deposit stated Total Measured and Indicated resources of approximately 27.5 Mt sulphide and approximately 2.7 Mt oxide.
Last month ACG published results of a scoping study to treat existing enriched ore at Gediktepe. The study envisages the construction of a new comminution and Sulphurisation, Acidification, Recycling, and Thickening (SART) plant that will process existing stockpiles and enriched ore, both of which would otherwise be classified as waste, to produce gold, silver, copper and zinc. SART is a proven and reliable technology for recovering gold from copper enriched ores.
ACG expects the project to allow production of an additional 57 kt copper equivalent through 2026 to 2030 with no impact on Gediktepe’s existing oxide plant or construction stage sulphide plant. The study estimates a total revenue of $562m, total EBITDA of $465m, and total free cash flow of $317m over the life of the project. It forecasts an after-tax NPV 8pc of $212m and an IRR of 185pc at consensus pricing.
ACG anticipates a two-phase project. Phase 1 will process stockpiled ore from the original construction of the mine to produce gold and silver, targeting commercial production in Q4 2026 for immediate cash flow. Phase 2 will process enriched ore to expand production to include copper and zinc, with commercial operations targeted by Q1 2029. The company expects to secure permitting next year.
ACG’s Q3 operations update reported production remains on track to full-year guidance of 36-38 koz gold equivalent. Year-to-date cash costs fell by 30pc, reflecting continued operational efficiency. The company’s net debt as of September 30 of $64m is supported by a strong cash balance of $137m. ACG raised a gross $15.5m last month to support the enriched ore project.
Since joining the LSE in March – after completing the acquisition of the Gediktepe Mine through a special acquisitions vehicle – ACG has soared to 1,070p at the time of writing, taking its market cap to £273.48m. With gold and copper prices predicted to hold their elevated ground in 2026, ACG is primed for further gains in the new year.
Altona Rare Earths (LSE:REE)
Altona Rare Earths (LSE:REE) continues to define the potential of its flagship Magnet Rare Earths Project in Mozambique, while building a portfolio of complementary projects prospective for copper and silver.
The Magnet Rare Earths Project, at Monte Muambe, in which REE holds a 51pc interest, is prospective for neodymium, praseodymium, fluorspar and gallium, resources used to make permanent magnets for transition technologies such as electric vehicles and wind turbines, and high-end electronics applications typically used in the defence sector.
The Project has a maiden JORC Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 13.6 million tonnes at 2.42pc Total Rare Earth Oxide (TREO), with almost 60pc already in the Indicated category. A Scoping Study details potential for an open-pit mining at a Life of Mine (LoM) strip ratio of 1.6, over a period of 18 years. Base case technical and economic parameters include revenue per tonne Mixed Rare Earth Carbonate (MREC) of $13,558, post tax NPV 10 of £207m, post tax NPV 8 (upside scenario) of $409.9m, net revenue LoM of $3,193m, and an operating margin of 42pc. Payback from first MREC would be 2.5 years.
Fluorspar offers opportunities for short-term revenue generation while wider exploration continues. The fluorspar market is currently under severe supply side pressure, with Chinese fluorspar deposits are depleted and prospective projects in Mexico in limbo. Fieldwork and metallurgy studies confirm the ore is suitable for the production of acid-grade fluorspar concentrate, which is mainly used to produce hydrofluoric acid, an essential precursor in most fluorine-based applications. The discovery of new fluorspar outcrops indicates potential to significantly increase the project’s resource base beyond the historic estimate.
Earlier this year REE announced the discovery of high-grade gallium of up to 232 g/t gallium. After a review of core and soil geochemistry data showing that gallium is closely associated to fluorspar mineralisation, REE announced a fluorspar drilling programme aimed at providing data for a fresh Mineral Resource Estimate and samples for a final metallurgical study to validate a fluorspar recovery flow sheet (for a processing capacity of 50,000 tonnes per annum of acid-grade fluorspar). Both elements will feed into a new scoping study for the short-term development of a fluorspar mine. The study is expected to be completed in Q1 2026 with a view to production in 2027.
An operations update earlier this month reported that 3,160 geochemical samples and three representative metallurgical samples of fluorspar-gallium ore have been dispatched to assay and metallurgical testing laboratories in South Africa. Assay results are expected in early 2026 and once received they will be rapidly used to prepare and publish the project’s MRE. ATN is ‘pleased with the completion of a very busy 2025 drilling campaign, with positive results on the ground justifying a 70pc increase of the drilled meterage, underpinning the potential for a larger MRE than originally anticipated.’
REE is in discussion with several potential off-takers, notably an ongoing engagement with the US Government. The company raised £1.5m this year to support the push towards fluorspar and gallium production. An October update announced the discovery of three new fluorspar targets. 45pc of diamond drilling core samples extracted so far show visible fluorspar mineralisation. Significant gallium mineralisation was encountered at the Python target, with grades of up to 1,154 g/t gallium.
REE is also exploring for copper and silver at the Sesana Project in northwest Botswana, located in the heart of the Kalahari Copper Belt. Field activities to identify drilling targets will commence on completion of the environmental permitting process and transfer of the licence, beginning with a high-resolution airborne magnetic survey followed by ground geophysics.
Though REE’s priorities are to advance Monte Muambe towards feasibility and Sesana to drill-ready status, the company has other interests, notably an agreement to acquire Kabompo South Copper Project in Zambia. The licence has a surface area of approximately 616 km2, and is valid for copper, cobalt, nickel, lead, zinc, gold and diamonds. A geophysical and geochemical data assessment published last month outlined a geological context favourable for Iron Ore Copper Gold (IOCG) mineralisation.
With a unique combination of critical raw materials projects, REE is well positioned to contribute to the global supply of highly sought commodities essential for clean energy, high technology, defence and industrial applications. The company currently trades at 1.26p with a market cap of £3.79m.
Aterian (LSE:ATN)
Exploration, development and trading company Aterian (LSE:ATN) is well positioned to rapidly build its mineral trading operations in Rwanda after taking full control of the highly prospective critical metals HCK Project, benefiting from substantial initial exploration by Rio Tinto. ATN is also pursuing innovative AI-led development opportunities in Morocco and Botswana.
The HCK Project, in which ATN has a 70pc stake, covers 2,750 hectares prospective for lithium, tantalum and niobium, metals in high demand for the renewable energy, automotive, and electronic manufacturing sectors. The Project’s prospectivity was sharply defined in the course of ATN’s JV agreement with Rio Tinto. Highly positive results published in July included multiple pegmatite intersections with downhole thicknesses up to 79.44 metres and notable assay results including 6.90 metres from 174.60 metres grading 2.11pc lithium oxide, which contained a higher-grade interval of 3.45 metres at 3.20pc lithium oxide from 174.60 to 178.05 metres.
After concluding the region did not have ‘the potential scale to support a lithium resource as required by a Tier-1 mining company’ Rio dropped out, opening the opportunity for ATN to develop the project on its own terms, building on the $4.73m worth of exploration already completed by Rio. Significant tantalum, niobium and lithium mineralisation potential remains untested, with only two of the 12 defined prospect areas having so far been drilled. Future exploration will focus on tantalum, niobium and associated by-products.
ATN is integrating HCK with its Rwandan mineral trading operations as it works to build a vertically integrated exploration and trading platform for critical minerals across East Africa. The company has access to a $4.5m operational trading facility following an off-take agreement with an international trading house, capital that will allow it to scale its mineral sourcing and trading volumes across Rwanda and the broader region. ATN executed its first sales of tantalum-niobium concentrates earlier this year.
ATN has a second interest in Rwanda through its 100pc owned Musasa Project, prospective for commodities including lithium, tantalum, niobium, tin and tungsten, and, further afield, a portfolio of copper-silver, gold and base metal projects in Morocco. ATN has signed a pioneering MoU with a machine learning start-up spun out from the University of Cambridge to apply AI modelling to a multi-phase mineral exploration programme across its assets in the country.
ATN is also developing prospecting licences in Botswana held by virtue of a 90pc interest in Atlantis Metals, spanning the Kalahari Copperbelt and the Makgadikgadi Pans region, prospective for copper-silver and lithium brine respectively. Several projects have advanced to late-stage development and production. Last month ATN commenced a groundwater reconnaissance and brine sampling programme at its Sua Pan Lithium Project in the country. The programme will consist of sampling from existing wells and shallow auger locations and will establish baseline hydrogeochemical data, including lithium concentrations.
ATN underlined its commitment to cutting edge technology earlier this month by signing binding Heads of Terms for a €1.4m AI-powered JV venture with Lithosquare. The partners will select eight high-potential targets across Morocco and Botswana using a combination of proprietary AI mineral-system modelling, geophysical data enhancement, anomaly mapping, and targeted scout drilling. Lithosquare will earn a 2pc net smelter return (NSR) and up to 49.9pc equity if exploration is successful.
ATN said: ‘This is a transformational step for Aterian. This AI-led exploration programme allows us to fast-track eight projects simultaneously, deploy next-generation technology at no cost to shareholders, and rapidly define high-value drill targets.’ The partnership positions the company as one of the first African exploration groups to deploy AI simultaneously across multiple copper and critical mineral licences.
The company has gone on to secure a new Prospecting Licence within the Kalahari Copper Belt, strategically located adjacent to exploration licences held by Sandfire Resources, a leading copper producer in the region. The new licence covers 396.24km2, valid for an initial three years. ATN said: ‘Coming immediately after the launch of our Lithosquare Joint Venture, this award adds further scale and optionality to a platform designed to accelerate discovery while managing capital efficiently.’
ATN enters 2026 well placed to pursue its dual mission of moving its exploration assets towards commercialisation and scaling its mineral trading for sustainable profitability. Significant progress has been made this year to establish revenue-generating mineral trading operations in Rwanda and to define the potential of its assets in Morocco and Botswana.
ATN currently trades at just under 30p, with a market cap of £4.7m.
Andrada Mining (AIM:ATM)
Andrada Mining (AIM:ATM) has impressed the markets this year as it has continued to define the potential of a cluster of mines in Namibia prospective for critical minerals, notably the flagship Uis mine, which the company believes has long-term potential to become a global lithium supplier. ATM is currently AIM’s only tin producer.
The Uis mine covers an area of some 19,700 hectares hosting numerous pegmatites with mineralisation including lithium, tin, tantalum and rubidium. Currently producing tin and tantalum, the mine’s ore also contains notable grades of lithium. ATM is investing in infrastructure and exploration with a view to establishing a major production hub.
The company’s H1 results, for the six months to 31 August, reported a continued increase in production at Uis. Ore processed from the mine increased by 10pc year-on-year to 527,583 tonnes (H1 2025: 481,504 tonnes). Plant optimisation had facilitated a higher processing rate of 143 tonnes per hour (tph) (H1 FY2025: 132 tph). Tin concentrate was up by 14pc to 858 tonnes (H1 FY2025: 752 tonnes), and tantalum concentrate by 12pc to 27.1 tonnes (H1 FY2025: 24.3 tonnes). Revenue from tantalum increased to £0.3m (H1 FY2025: £0.06m).
ATM has pressed ahead with development projects aimed at rapidly expanding existing tin and tantalum production and establishing a new lithium concentrate product. The company has set a firm schedule for the delivery of an ore sorter in H2 2026, projected to boost production of tin and tantalum concentrate by approximately 60pc and reduce the unit cost of production. It is working with a partner to develop a Jig Plant, which will process third-party high-grade ore from the region. And it is engaged in ongoing exploration.
Initial drill results published earlier in the year were highly encouraging, including high-grade intersections of up to 1.13pc tin, 1.76pc lithium oxide, and 281 ppm tantalum. ATM believes the results validate the company’s strategy to expand the mine’s resource base toward 200 million tonnes, strengthening the foundation for sustainable growth and positioning the operation to support both existing tin and tantalum output and future lithium opportunities. The company wants monetise Uis’s lithium by producing a high purity concentrate, a project progressing towards Definitive Feasibility Study phase. Discussions are underway with potential offtake and development partners with a view to fast-tracking progress towards implementation.
ATM is also focused on defining the potential of its Lithium Ridge licence, covering approximately 3,300 hectares some 35 km from Uis. Situated within the NaiNais-Kohero pegmatite belt, the location of the former tin and tantalum producing TinTan Mine, the licence hosts pegmatites with mineralisation including lithium, tin and tantalum.
ATM has secured an earn-in agreement with SQM, a global leader in the lithium industry to implement a programme designed to unlock the full potential of the mineralised ridge, and to extend exploration across the wider licence area where new spodumene-bearing pegmatites have been identified. The programme got underway in August.
An operational update for Q3 (to 30 November) reported ‘continued progress at Uis, with improved throughput, consistent recoveries, and strong tin production all underpinned by a favourable pricing environment.’
The mine’s processing rate increased by 12pc year-on-year to 146 tph (Q3 FY2025: 130tph), the tin recovery rate held steady at 73pc, exceeding the company’s targeted 70pc level for a third consecutive quarter, tin concentrate production rose 14pc to 429 tonnes (Q3 FY2025: 376 tonnes), and contained tin produced increased by 10pc to 255 tonnes (Q3 FY2025: 232 tonnes).
ATM has another interest in the region, the Brandberg West exploration licence, covering an area of approximately 35 000 hectares about 110 km from Uis. The company believes the licence is unique in offering diversification potential through tungsten and copper in addition to tin. A former mine situated within the licence produced more than 12,000 tonnes of tin and tungsten concentrate. Brandberg West’s maiden drilling results, published last year, indicated significant high grades across multiple drill holes, showing up to 10pc tin, 3.5pc tungsten and 2pc copper.
ATM currently trades at 3.3p, up 70pc this year, with a market cap of £67.33m.
Cindrigo Holdings (LSE:CINH)
Newly listed Cindrigo Holdings (LSE:CINH) offers an intriguing entry point to Europe’s rapidly growing market for renewable baseload energy. The company is flush with funds to invest in its flagship Kaipola Combined Heat and Power Plant in Finland, which in turn will generate revenue to support the development of three geothermal projects in Germany.
CINH has a 90pc holding in the Kaipola plant, near the city of Tampere in southern Finland, which has the capacity to generate 25 MW of electricity and 85 MW of steam through combustion of waste wood (with the option for a further 140 MW through the burning of oil and gas).
CINH aims to build Kaipola into a reliable and environmentally sustainable option for the delivery of baseload power across Finland and beyond. Baseload energy, the minimum level of electricity that must be continuously supplied for a power grid to function, has traditionally been secured by nuclear, coal, oil-fired and hydroelectric plants. While renewable sources such as wind and solar are compromised by their dependence on optimal weather conditions Waste-to-Energy (WtE) plants can be relied upon for constant production, burning consumer and industrial waste to generate heat to drive steam turbines.
Kaipola currently uses waste wood as its primary fuel source: there is no dependence on newly felled trees. And the plant is carbon neutral, producing no methane. The company has received the LSE’s Green Economy Mark, which recognises companies and funds deriving 50pc or more of their revenues from products and services contributing to the global green economy.
Heat production began late last year, supplied to tenants of the industrial park where the plant is located and the neighbouring village of Kaipola. CINH raised a gross £2.06m on admission which, together with the conversion of £9.3m of Convertible Loan Notes, will support a significant increase in operations.
CINH is finalising plans to take a direct interest in the commencement of wood pellet production at Kaipolan, with sales to other biomass plants in Finland and abroad targeted to begin in Q1 2026. Advanced discussions underway with potential biomass joint venture partners and funding parties to support the company’s biomass. CINH said: ‘Finland has a strong and growing biomass market, and by integrating upstream biomass production alongside heat and power generation we create greater commercial flexibility, diversify revenue streams and reduce reliance on individual off-takers. We believe this positions the Group to capture a wider range of opportunities within Finland’s expanding biomass market, while continuing to progress our geothermal portfolio in Germany … We are in advanced negotiations with potential biomass joint venture partners, as well as with parties regarding financing to support this biomass expansion’.
Kaipola will contribute to rapidly growing global demand for WtE driven by ever rising volumes of municipal solid waste and urgent demand for sustainable waste disposal solutions. Over the past 30 years the volume of municipal waste processed across the world by WtE plants has increased by more than 16 million tonnes with the market projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.3pc by 2032.
A report by Capital Partners has set an enterprise value for the plant of €156m, and a near-term (12-month) equity value of £98m equivalent to 28p per share. The report does not encompass the potential of the company’s geothermal assets. CINH has an 85pc stake in three geothermal development projects in Germany with an estimated combined heat and power resource potential of around 400 MW. Situated in the proven geothermal region of the Upper Rhine Graben thrust belt, a mature, producing field where more than 400 oil and gas and 24 deep geothermal wells have already been drilled, the projects are also prospective for lithium, as underlined by the recent commissioning of a lithium extraction optimisation plant at Worms.
CINH’s strategy targets an initial annual output of 90 MW from the three projects, to be ramped up to at least 300 MW. Revenue would fund the installation of a lithium extraction plant producing some 500 tonnes of lithium per year. The projects are ideally positioned to access support from German federal and regional governments committed to rapidly building out the country’s geothermal infrastructure, and a well developed geothermal tariff scheme. CINH has secured extensions in exploration licences for all three plants. This month the German government launched a new progamme to support the financing of geothermal drilling projects and provide insurance. Loans of up to $25m per project are available.
Kaipola has the capacity to generate further value. It may offer opportunities for a carbon capture facility, enabling CINH to charge a ‘gate fee’ for waste processing, effectively turning a cost-of-sales expense into an income credit. It can be adapted to burn a wider range of waste materials such as plastics and animal waste. Capital Partners suggest the company ‘could well be worth a lot more than Kaipola’, indicating that ‘looking ahead, and given favourable market conditions, the combination of Finland and Germany could achieve a combined valuation exceeding €500m’.
CINH currently trades at 9p with a market cap of £20m.
Contango Holdings (LSE:CGO)
2025 saw Contango Holdings (LSE:CGO) accelerate its transition from an operating company to a royalty-based business model through the sale of its majority stake in the multi-billion tonne producing Muchesco Coal Mine in Zimbabwe.
The mine covers 19,236 hectares over the highly prospective Karroo Mid Zambezi coal basin, located in the established Hwange mining district. The mine produces high-quality coking coal for industrial use across southern Africa. CGO has invested more than $20m in the mine, building on development by previous owners, defining a total mineral resource of more than two billion tonnes.
Previously focused on securing off-take agreements, CGO changed its strategy last year, selling the mine to Huo Investments, an investment vehicle with extensive mining interests across southern Africa. Under the agreement Huo took a 51pc stake in Muchesu and a 20pc holding in CGO, entitling CGO to a life of mine royalty, with guaranteed payments of at least $2m a year. The agreement allows CGO to transition into a cash generative royalty company without direct exposure to operating and capital costs, and opens the prospect for recouping its historic investment in the mine through future revenue streams.
Since the deal the investor has expanded the mine’s pit, allowing access to significantly more coking coal for extraction, and has acquired and delivered a Dense Media Separation Plant to site, which has an estimated production capacity of 3,000 tonnes of washed coal per day. Mining activities are currently focused on the mine’s Block B2, which contains an estimated 96 Mt of coking coal close to surface, minimising operating costs.
CGO has so far received $1m of royalty payments, in addition to the £567,551 received from Huo on the sale of the mine. As production at Muchesu ramps up the company ‘expects the ultimate royalty receipts to be considerably higher.’ The second $1m is expected ‘by the end of Q4 2025.’
CGO announced this autumn that Huo’s 51pc equity interest in the mine will now be held by Pacific Goal Investments (PGI), a Zimbabwe-focused investment vehicle with the same owner. PGI forms part of Pacific Goal Group, a Hong Kong-based industrial group currently developing a major mine-to-energy industrial park in the Zimbabwe, incorporating two power stations, a graphite processing plant, and a nickel smelter. PGI also operates a logistics fleet of more than 200 trucks, as well as holding interests in other mining and power-related developments in Zimbabwe.
CGO said: ‘These variations strengthen the partnership structure at Muchesu and introduce PGI, part of Pacific Goal Group, as a committed strategic investor with an established operational footprint in Zimbabwe. Their industrial investments, including power, logistics and processing infrastructure, are highly complementary to the long-term development of Muchesu.’
Progress at Muchesu has come amid record global coal demand through 2025. The US has ramped up production under the Trump Presidency, and unusually variable wind speeds have restricted Europe’s planned transition from the fuel. The IEA says global demand is likely to reach 8.85 bn tonnes this year, 0.5pc higher than 2024. Demand is likely to decline towards the end of the decade, but much depends on the performance of the massive Chinese market.
CGO currently trades at 0.75p with a market cap of £5.42m.
ECR Minerals (AIM:ECR)
ECR Minerals (AIM:ECR) is ready to make the leap from explorer to producer after dedicating 2025 to laying the groundwork for revenue generating production to begin across a set of highly prospective projects located in Australia’s historic goldfields.
While closing on near-term production and cashflow at its flagship Blue Mountain Gold Project, ECR has continued to expand its footprint in Queensland, one of the country’s most prolific mining regions, including the purchase, confirmed this month, of the exciting Raglan Project, close to Blue Mountain.
ECR operates through two wholly owned Australian subsidiaries. ECR Queensland has two approved exploration permits over the Blue Mountain project, and three approved exploration permits covering nearly a thousand square kilometres over a relatively unexplored area in the state’s Lolworth Range. The subsidiary has also submitted a licence application at Kondaparinga located within Queensland’s Hodgkinson Gold Province. ECR Australia is focused on the Bailieston, Creswick and Tambo gold projects in the state of Victoria.
Blue Mountain, ECR’s primary focus in Queensland, hosts extensive alluvial workings that have only been partially explored by historic operators. An enhanced gold recovery process last autumn produced highly encouraging results, paving the way for the installation of a production plant on site and a move to an alluvial mining operation. Results published in September confirmed extensive zones of consistent gold mineralisation. Visible coarse gold was confirmed in multiple zones following the completion of some 400 holes,and last month wash plant trials of high and low grade material conducted to clarify likely gold recovery offered further encouragement.
Observations so far support the company’s theory ‘that there is an element of coarse gold at Blue Mountain which cannot always be reliably picked up from drill samples.’ Further analysis of wash plant samples is currently being conducted. Once all the results are available ECR intends to submit a mining lease application ‘in the fourth quarter of 2025’.
Earlier this month ECR reported a ‘highly encouraging’ set of alluvial drilling results from Blue Mountain. ECR said: ‘Not only have we mapped a continuous gold-bearing corridor across the new Upper Kariboe Creek flat, we are now also consistently seeing visible coarse gold in multiple samples. That is always an exciting moment for a geologist, as coarse, nuggety particles typically indicate that you are close to the source and that the system has real strength.’
Progress has also been recorded at another Queensland prospect, the Lolworth Gold and Rare Earths Project, a large-scale exploration project prospective for gold, silver, lead and rare earth elements. The site is not a subject of native title claims, facilitating straightforward and low-cost exploration access. Assay results from a recently completed maiden drilling programme delivered multiple gold and silver intercepts, indicating that silver mineralisation may be significantly more widespread than anticipated.
ECR has announced plans to extend its footprint in Queensland through the proposed acquisition of the Raglan Project, a fully permitted alluvial gold project and operation close to Blue Mountain. With a mining licence in place and all capital equipment included, ECR believes Raglan represents a prime opportunity to fast-track its alluvial gold production plans. Operations ‘during Q4 2025’ are targeted.
ECR confirmed a legally binding sale and purchase agreement to acquire Raglan Resources earlier this month. ECR says the value alone of the plant and equipment encompassed by the acquisition are close to the purchase price, including a 60 tonne per hour gravity processing plant with jig and concentrator, a gold room, generators, loaders, a dump truck and camp facilities. The company said: ‘We now expect to enter the new year with a clear and identified path to nearer-term revenue generation. We believe that 2026 will mark the transformation of ECR from an explorer into a production company.’
ECR has also progressed its interests in Victoria. Non-binding heads of terms with Bold Gold for a proposed JV to develop the Creswick Project were agreed this autumn. Bold Gold would be responsible for all mandated expenditure on the Creswick licences, up to a limit of A$3m, for which it would earn a maximum 80pc interest in the project.
The company has other revenue generating opportunities. It has an option to access A$75m of unused tax losses incurred during previous operations (business losses available to be used to reduce taxable income), depending on its progress in Queensland. ECR says its use of the option will depend on Blue Mountain: ‘If that project performs as we expect it to, then the economic savings from utilising our tax losses there have the potential to considerably exceed the value that we may realise by selling our tax losses.’
It has also adopted a Bitcoin and Digital Asset Treasury Management Policy designed to take advantage the possibilities Bitcoin offers as a modern form of digital inventory, and a means for flexible cross-border transactions.
With funds now available, continued indications of Blue Mountain’s promise, new possibilities at Creswick, and all set fair for the Raglan acquisition, ECR is moving into 2026 in bullish mood, confident of making the hard transition ‘from explorer to producer’. Production stands to benefit from the continued strength of gold, up two-thirds this year as investors hedge against continuing economic and geopolitical uncertainty and central banks seek to diversify assets away from the dollar.
ECR currently trades at 0.26p with a market cap of £6.4m.
Empire Metals (AIM:EEE)
Empire Metals (AIM:EEE) has been one of AIM’s star performers this year for its flagship Pitfield project, a giant, sediment-hosted, hydrothermal mineral system in Western Australia with potential to become one of the world’s leading titanium mines. The project received the Exploration Discovery of the Year Award at Resourcing Tomorrow’s Outstanding Achievement Awards Ceremony earlier this month.
EEE describes the high-grade titanium discovery as ‘truly one of the natural geological wonders of the world: a district scale, giant titanium rich ore deposit which has remained hidden in plain sight until recently discovered by Empire.’ With rail links to deep-water ports providing shipping access to international markets, Pitfield has global potential, capable of supplying titanium to high-value sectors such as aerospace and defence for decades to come.
Metallurgical tests carried out this year indicate that simple, conventional processing can deliver an exceptionally pure ore grading 99.25pc titanium oxide. Process development work has confirmed Pitfield’s resource is ideally suited to conventional mineral separation and refining, with lower costs, a lower environmental impact, and higher resources than other ilmenite-based projects. EEE expects to conclude ongoing bench-scale and large-scale batch metallurgical testwork early next year. The work will feed into the design of a continuous pilot plant allowing the company to refine the commercial flowsheet and to produce bulk samples for evaluation by prospective end-users.
The much anticipated maiden Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) published in October reported 2.2 billion tonnes grading 5.1pc titanium oxide for 113 million tonnes of contained titanium oxide, confirming ‘one of the largest and highest-grade titanium resources reported globally.’
The MRE, which reported only for Pitfield’s Thomas and Cosgrove deposits, representing less than 20pc of the known mineralised surface area, highlighted a Weathered Zone suitable for low-cost mining of 1.26 billion tonnes grading 5.2pc titanium oxide for 65.6 million tonnes of contained titanium oxide. The MRE included a significant Indicated Resource category, predominantly at the Thomas deposit, of 697 million tonnes grading 5.3pc titanium oxide for 37.2 million tonnes contained titanium oxide.
The report indicates a multi-generational mine life, with an underlying geophysical anomaly extending for kilometres below the extent of the current depth of drilling. High-grade, high-purity titanium mineralisation occurs from surface, showing exceptional grade continuity along strike and down dip. Additional drilling is expected to increase the size of the maiden MRE and upgrade portions of the resource into Measured and Indicated categories. EEE has commenced engineering, environmental and marketing studies to underwrite Pitfield’s commercial viability.
The company raised £7m in October to maintain momentum across key workstreams including resource expansion and advanced metallurgical testwork, with a view to pilot-scale production in 2026. EEE joined the US OTCQB Market earlier this year to open up further revenue channels. The company’s cash position as at 30 June 2025, prior to the raise, was £6.3m.
EEE began a new diamond drilling campaign at Pitfield’s Thomas prospect last month. The programme is designed to test the site’s high-grade titanium-rich core. Assay results are expected in January 2026. Workstreams over the next three to six months will focus on advancing metallurgical testwork, initiating pilot-scale testwork, and scheduling future drilling.
The markets have richly rewarded EEE’s progress this year, injecting a 437pc increase in the company’s value. EEE presently trades at 36p with a market cap of £271m.
European Green Transition (AIM:EGT)
European Green Transition (AIM:EGT) continues to define the potential of a highly prospective rare earth element (REE) project in Sweden, while extending its mergers and acquisitions strategy to encompass companies beyond the transition economy.
EGT’s flagship venture, the Olserum Rare Earth Element Project in southern Sweden, has been designated a project of national interest by the Swedish Geological Survey. With an Indicated Resource of 4.5 Mt (million tonnes) grading 0.6pc Total Rare Earth Oxides (TREO), and an Inferred Resource of 3.3 Mt grading 0.63pc TREO, Olserum has the potential to become Europe’s first operating rare earths mine.
EGT passed a key milestone in priming the Project for sale or partnership with the successful completion of a 1,500 metre drill programme, confirming the site’s district scale potential. REE mineralisation was evident in every hole, with testwork confirming high-grade REE concentrates can be processed using conventional and relatively simple techniques. EGT has secured a four-year licence extension to June 2029, opening up time for preparing the Project farm-out.
The company’s most recent set of results reported that the project continues to attract interest. REE prices have increased in recent months as ongoing geopolitical uncertainty has disrupted critical industries such as automobiles, defence and renewables.
REE has another significant green interest, an option agreement giving it exclusive rights to investigate potential for a peatland carbon sink programme capable of generating carbon credits at the Altan farm in Donegal, Ireland, 1,370 acres of blanket peatland. EGT views the project, which the company wants to commercialise through a carbon credits revenue sharing agreement with the landowner, as the first in a portfolio of peatland sinks across Ireland, following a revenue-generating model proven in Scotland. The market for voluntary carbon credits is forecast to grow by a factor of 15 or more by 2030 as companies and governments race to meet net-zero goals. EGT is targeting corporates and technology companies looking to support Irish nature-based projects. EGT has secured a six-month extension to the option agreement on the Altan project at no additional cost to continue positive ongoing discussions with key stakeholders.
While the company continues to look out for revenue generating business in the green economy, it has widened the scope of its mergers and acquisitions strategy over the past few months, entering ongoing discussions with distressed revenue generating businesses from a range of sectors. Cathal Friel, well known for building the Raglan stable of companies, including hVIVO and Amryt Pharma, has assumed the role of Executive Chairman to draw on his extensive deal-making experience.
REE says the company has had ‘positive engagement with multiple parties regarding the sale and/or partnership of EGT’s exploration assets amid positive market tailwinds’. The company continues ‘to see a range of promising acquisition opportunities across the green economy and other sectors.’
EGT remains well capitalised with £2.9m cash (as at 30 June 2025) with no debt or committed costs. The company currently trades at 5.9p with a market cap of £8.23m.
