Copper prices have remained elevated through the first half of 2026, as supply chain disruptions continued to provide tailwinds for the red metal.
The most significant disruption since the start of the year has been the US-led war against Iran, which has halted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
This has led to higher energy prices around the world but has also stymied the supply of sulfur, a key component in the refining process for base metals, including copper.
The price of copper set a new record on the London Metals Exchange of US$14,097 per tonne on May 13, and while it has retreated somewhat, it remained rangebound between US$13,500 and US$14,000. Likewise, the COMEX has been trading higher after setting its own record of US$6.68 that same day.
These factors are providing support for Australian copper-mining and exploration companies in 2026.
The list below outlines the best-performing copper stocks on the ASX. It was generated on June 9, 2026, using TradingView’s stock screener. Copper stocks with market caps above AU$10 million at that time were considered.
Year-to-date gain: 210 percent
Market cap: AU$308.85 million
Share price: AU$0.31
Copper-focused Cobre has a portfolio of assets in Chile, Botswana and Western Australia.
On February 12, Cobre raised AU$60 million and entered into a binding agreement with Minera Salar Blanco to acquire up to a 51 percent stake in the Sierra Atacama copper project in the Antofagasta region of Chile. The 40,000 hectare property hosts an operational underground mine that produces around 400 tonnes of copper cathode per month.
Then, on March 26, the company announced it amended the agreement to acquire up to a 56 percent interest in the property through a staged acquisition pathway. Cobre will earn its first 45 percent stake in the project for US$28 million and will hold a call option on the remaining stake for an additional US$10 million, exercisable before December 31, 2026.
Cobre plans to optimise current operations, including expanding production to around 1,000 tonnes per month, and develop an open-pit mine. The company added that the grounds around the mine site have been largely unexplored and lie in an area that is adjacent to several significant discoveries, including Capstone Copper’s (TSX:CS,ASX:CSC,OTCPL:CSCCF) Mantos Blancos copper project.
The most recent news from the project came on April 15, when Cobre mobilized for a 40,000 metre drill program with a range of goals, including converting the project’s resource to a JORC-compliant resource and reserve. Among other things, the company will also test mineralization between known deposits with the goal of potentially increasing the scale of open-pit operations.
Additionally, Cobre was active at its Ngami copper project in Botswana last year. In August 2025, it produced a maiden resource estimate with a combined indicated and inferred resource of 11.5 million tonnes of ore containing 60,300 tonnes of copper and 4.3 million ounces of silver at average grades of 0.52 percent copper and 11.6 g/t silver.
In September, Cobre successfully produced copper cathode from Ngami drill core during bench-scale test work using solvent extraction electro winning (SX-EW).
Shares of Cobre reached a year-to-date high of AU$0.35 on June 3.
Year-to-date gain: 133.33 percent
Market cap: AU$33.52 million
Share price: AU$0.014
Alma Metals is a copper explorer focused on its flagship Briggs copper project in Eastern Queensland.
Alma owns a 51 percent share in the property, which is being explored as part of an earn-in joint venture with Canterbury Resources. Alma can increase its ownership to 70 percent by June 2031.
An updated April 2025 resource estimate shows the Briggs central deposit hosts total indicated and inferred resources of 1.1 million tonnes of copper, 34 million pounds of molybdenum and 9.2 million ounces of silver.
This metal is contained within 439 million tonnes of ore with average grades of 0.25 percent copper, 36 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum and 0.7 grams per tonne (g/t) silver.
Metallurgical test work completed in April 2025 demonstrates potential copper recoveries of up to 95 percent. Data from the resource estimate and test work were used to complete a scoping study in November 2025, which led the joint venture partners to commit to drilling to enhance the resource and to complete a prefeasibility study (PFS).
To start the year, Alma released assays from 2025 exploration work from Briggs on January 27, with the company reporting a broad interval of 620 metres from near surface grading 0.25 percent copper, 30 ppm molybdenum and 0.7 ppm silver, including a 30 metre interval of 0.35 percent copper, 17 ppm molybdenum and 0.79 ppm silver.
On April 28, the company announced it commenced an infill drilling program at Briggs as part of its work towards resource growth and the PFS. The company said it would deploy multiple rigs and test targets near mine and extension zones across the entire system at the property.
Then, on May 6, Alma reported it completed an oversubscribed share placement, raising AU$4 million at AU$0.01 per share. Proceeds would be used to fund the drilling at Briggs, and also be directed to metallurgical test work and environmental baseline studies.
Shares in Alma reached a year-to-date high of AU$0.20 on February 17.
Year-to-date gain: 88.89 percent
Market cap: AU$57.92 million
Share price: AU$0.034
Anax Metals is an exploration and development company working to advance to production its Whim Creek copper-zinc project in the Central Pilbara region of Western Australia.
The asset, which includes a processing hub, is an 80/20 joint venture between Anax and Develop Global (ASX:DVP,OTCPL:VTEXF).
On February 5, the company announced in its strategic outlook for the first half of 2026 that it was working to complete an updated definitive feasibility study (DFS) accounting for higher commodity prices and current costs. The previous DFS from 2023 was based on a copper price of US$9,223 per tonne, and silver and gold prices of US$22 and US$1,800 per ounce respectively.
The update also stated that its other goals would include pursuing funding to support a final investment decision and re-estimating project reserves.
Then on February 24, Anax released the updated DFS, which demonstrated project economics of a pre-tax net present value of US$501 million, with an internal rate of return of 98 percent and a payback period of 14 months at a base case copper price of US$11,500 per tonne.
The data was based on its 2023 mineral resource, which estimated total contained copper of 112,000 tonnes within 9.24 million tonnes of ore with an average grade of 1.22 percent. The company plans to update the resource using the same economics as the DFS.
Since then, Anax has been working to raise capital for exploration around Whim Creek and business activities, including commitments of AU$10 million announced on March 18, and another AU$6 million on June 3.
Anax also reported on March 27 that it had fully repaid a AU$3.5 million loan it had received from major shareholder Jetosea. The repayment of the loan avoids its conversion to a 2.5 percent net smelter return royalty at Whim Creek.
Additionally, in the company’s June 3 financing release, Anax announced it had hired Nick Jolly as a non-executive director. It noted that Jolly previously held the position of general manager of geology at Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR), and also worked with Northern Star Resources (ASX:NST,OTCPL:NESRF) in geology and leadership roles.
Shares in Anax reached a year-to-date high of AU$0.39 on May 13.
Year-to-date gain: 52 percent
Market cap: AU$27.41 million
Share price: AU$0.038
Raptor Metals, previously named Eastern Metals, is an exploration company with a portfolio of projects in Canada and Australia. On January 22, Eastern Metals completed its acquisition of unlisted company Raptor Resources, alongside the company’s Chester and Turgeon copper-zinc projects in the Bathurst Mining Camp of New Brunswick, Canada. Eastern changed its name to Raptor Metals and ticker symbol to RAP later that month.
Since the acquisition, the company’s primary focus is its Chester project. Chester comprises 281 mineral claims over 6,176 hectares, and contains a volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit with three zones: Stringer, Central and East.
The project hosts a JORC-compliant indicated resource of 4.87 million tonnes of ore grading 1.13 percent copper and inferred resource of 1.82 million tonnes at 1.01 percent copper.
On February 3, Raptor commenced a 2,200 metre diamond drill program at Chester, with a focus on enhancing resource confidence and extending the mineralised zone included in the current resource estimate. The company encountered visual copper in the first two holes drilled at the property.
Initial results from five of the program’s 16 drill holes were released on May 25.
Included among the highlighted results was one hole that returned multiple mineralized intercepts, which Raptor reported as combining for 25.05 metres at an average grade of 1.2 percent copper. This included one 11.02 metre interval, at a depth of 53.22 metres, that graded 1.98 percent copper, as well as a 14 metre interval starting at 13 metres of depth that graded 0.74 percent copper.
The company said the results highlight the broader-scale potential of the Chester system and noted that it is awaiting results from the remaining 11 holes.
Then on May 29, Raptor announced that it had reprocessed and interpreted historic geophysical surveys at Chester, which will be used to aid in targeting during the next phase of drilling at the site.
In addition to exploration work, the company announced on May 7 that it had entered into a binding agreement to acquire the Silverjack and Heron prospects as well as the Foghorn project. All three prospects lie within the Bathurst mining camp and have undergone historical exploration.
Raptor plans to consolidate its Turgeon project with the adjacent Heron and Silverjack prospects under a new name, the Coyote project.
Shares in Raptor reached a year-to-date high of AU$0.62 on January 30.
5. Austral Resources Australia (ASX:AR1)
Year-to-date gain: 47.37 percent
Market cap: AU$217.07 million
Share price: AU$0.084
Austral Resources is a miner, developer and explorer focused on operations in Queensland, Australia.
Its primary site is the Lady Annie mine in Queensland’s Mount Isa region, which includes the Mount Kelly heap-leach and SX-EW circuit. As of an April 2021 resource estimate, the asset’s Anthill deposit contained 47,700 tonnes of copper from 5.1 million tonnes of ore grading 0.94 percent. According to the company’s December quarterly report, released on January 27, the site produced 2,644 tonnes of copper cathode over the three month period.
Austral also owns the nearby Rocklands copper project, which hosts a mine and processing plant that is on care and maintenance. The company says it is on track to restart operations in mid to late 2027.
Once restarted, the facility has a nameplate capacity of 3 million tonnes per year and is permitted to process third-party ore from throughout the Cloncurry and Mount Isa region.
On June 4, Austral shared a range of updates, highlighting that the refurbishment of the mine was proceeding on schedule, with front-end engineering on track to be completed in July, and that an unused SAG mill was purchased and expected to be delivered later that same month.
On February 16, Austral entered into a binding document with Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTCPL:GLCNF) to acquire the Lady Loretta mine, located adjacent to Lady Annie. The mine is primarily a zinc mine and will be shuttered upon completion of the acquisition. Austral pursued the acquisition due to the prospective nature of the site, as copper mineralisation extends from Lady Annie onto the Lady Loretta tenure, which has not been previously explored for copper.
Under the terms of the agreement, which was completed on April 30, Austral will gain a 100 percent share in the property in exchange for US$40 million and a 2.5 percent net smelter return on all copper oxides and sulphides. Additionally, Austral will enter into an offtake agreement with Glencore for all copper produced from the site.
Additionally, Austral has been active at its Snow Queen prospect, located 60 kilometres west of the Rockland processing plant. On May 13, the company updated assays for a previously reported drill hole to include gold and silver results.
The highlighted result demonstrated grades of 7.52 percent copper, 9.28 grams per tonne (g/t) silver and 0.25 g/t gold over 10 metres, including an intersection of 15.98 percent copper, 16.22 g/t silver and 0.48 g/t gold over 4 metres.
Company CEO Shane O’Connell said, “The addition of meaningful gold and silver values to an already high-grade copper intersection further strengthens our confidence in the Snow Queen system. Importantly, these results continue to support our strategy of systematically advancing regional copper opportunities around the Rocklands Processing Facility.”
Shares of Austral reached a year-to-date high of AU$0.14 on January 19.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, currently hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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