ASX's Best Copper Stocks of 2025: A Year of Major Discoveries and Price Surges

The best copper stocks on Australia’s ASX delivered remarkable returns throughout 2025, riding a wave of robust demand and significant supply disruptions. Copper prices experienced considerable volatility during the year, yet maintained an upward trajectory driven by accelerating demand for artificial intelligence infrastructure, data centre expansion, and the global energy transition. Simultaneously, major supply interruptions—including operational challenges at Ivanhoe Mines’ Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Freeport-McMoRan’s Grasberg mine in Indonesia—created a compelling backdrop for exploration and development-stage companies to capture investor attention.

The Market Backdrop: Copper’s Bullish Run in 2025

Throughout 2025, the best copper stocks in the ASX benefited from a convergence of structural tailwinds and cyclical factors. The surge in demand from the artificial intelligence sector, coupled with the buildout of critical data centre infrastructure and accelerating energy transition investments, supported prices at elevated levels. Supply-side constraints amplified this positive environment, as two of the world’s largest copper operations faced production interruptions. This combination created an ideal environment for smaller explorers and developers to showcase their assets and attract capital.

AusQuest (ASX:AQD) – The Star Performer with a 625% Rally

AusQuest emerged as the standout performer among ASX copper stocks in 2025, with shares rallying an extraordinary 625 percent during the year. The mineral exploration company, operating polymetallic projects across Australia and Peru alongside a strategic partnership with South32, opened 2025 at AU$0.008. The catalyst came on January 23, when AusQuest announced a transformational large-scale porphyry copper-gold discovery at its Cangallo property during initial drilling operations. Assay results proved particularly encouraging, with one interval returning 348 metres grading 0.26 percent copper and 0.06 parts per million gold, including a higher-grade core of 26 metres at 0.36 percent copper and 0.07 ppm gold.

Following this breakthrough, the stock climbed to AU$0.043 by late January and further accelerated to AU$0.057 in early February as follow-up drilling confirmed the discovery’s scale. Throughout the remainder of 2025, AusQuest maintained an active exploration program spanning multiple properties, including work at Balladonia, Morrisey, and Mount Davis in Western Australia, alongside geophysical surveys at Coober Pedy in South Australia.

The company accelerated its exploration momentum as 2025 progressed. In December, AusQuest commenced its Stage 3 drilling campaign at Cangallo, planning more than 6,000 metres of reverse-circulation drilling to expand and delineate the porphyry system’s center. By December 5, the company had secured AU$10 million in placement funding to expand its RC program to 20,000 metres and advance deep diamond drilling. The shares reached AU$0.61 at their 2025 peak in late March.

Auris Minerals (ASX:AUR) and the Morck Well Opportunity

Auris Minerals captured attention with a 366.67 percent gain during 2025, positioning it among the best copper stocks on the ASX. The copper and gold explorer, focused on Western Australia’s prolific Bryah Basin, concentrated its efforts at Morck Well, a property adjacent to Sandfire Resources’ producing DeGrussa copper mine. Auris holds an 80 percent interest in the project, with CuFe owning the remaining 20 percent stake.

The stock began its ascent following a AU$3.2 million strategic placement in October. In late October, the company released quarterly results highlighting sampling work at adjacent gold prospects, though the initial market response proved muted. The stock subsequently surged to AU$0.027 shortly thereafter, a move that left management uncertain about the catalyst. By November 14, Auris released assay results from its sampling program, though gold grades proved modest at around 0.88 grams per metric ton from the Jacques prospect. Year-to-date, Auris Minerals shares peaked at AU$0.029 in early November.

Sunstone Metals (ASX:STM) – Ecuador’s Emerging Copper Leader

Sunstone Metals delivered a 216.67 percent annual return, demonstrating why it ranks among the best copper stocks in the region. The company operates two high-potential gold-copper projects in Ecuador: Bramaderos in the south and El Palmar in the north, both hosting significant porphyry systems. After trading below AU$0.01 through early 2025, shares began rallying in late March following a corporate update on partnership opportunities.

On May 8, Sunstone released encouraging surface sampling results from Bramaderos, revealing new high-grade zones across the property. Management emphasized the project’s potential, with Managing Director Patrick Duffy noting the presence of epithermal systems adjacent to large-scale porphyry deposits. By November 24, Sunstone unveiled an upgraded mineral resource estimate for Bramaderos, increasing the resource by 33 percent to 3.6 million gold-equivalent ounces from 220 million tonnes, including 220,000 tonnes of contained copper at 0.1 percent average grade.

The company capped the year with an AU$8 million capital raise in early December to fund a scoping study, signalling management’s commitment to advancing the project toward production feasibility. Sunstone shares reached AU$0.025 at their 2025 high in December.

Kincora Copper (ASX:KCC) – Partnership-Driven Growth

Kincora Copper appreciated 210.34 percent during 2025, reflecting investor confidence in its partnership-focused exploration model. Operating across the Macquarie Arc in New South Wales and a portfolio of Mongolian projects, Kincora benefited from strategic collaborations, notably with AngloGold Ashanti. Two earn-in agreements totalling AU$100 million in exploration funding provided financial support for its Northern Junee-Narromine Belt properties.

Key catalysts emerged throughout 2025. In August, Kincora announced encouraging initial drilling results from the Nyngan project, with assays supporting copper porphyry and epithermal gold potential at relatively shallow depths. By September, the company had successfully reacquired full rights to its Mongolian portfolio following its joint venture partner’s withdrawal. In October, Kincora received a AU$143,483 drilling grant for its Wongarbon project as part of New South Wales’ Critical Mineral Strategy, underlining government support for domestic copper exploration.

Shares peaked at AU$1.295 in November 2025, reflecting the company’s steady progression in exploration success and strategic positioning.

Revolver Resources (ASX:RRR) – On the Path to Production

Revolver Resources posted a 182.76 percent gain in 2025, emerging as one of the best copper stocks among companies advancing toward production. Operating two wholly owned Queensland copper projects—Dianne and Osprey—Revolver targeted Mount Isa-style copper and IOCG deposits with an explicit goal of bringing the Dianne mine into production.

The year brought several critical milestones. In February, Revolver finalised engineering design work for the leaching solvent extraction process, satisfying conditions for a AU$1.3 million grant from Queensland’s Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund. Following site engineering design completion in June, the company received the remainder of its grant funding. By late August, positive production restart updates sparked a share price rally, with management targeting first copper cathode production from Dianne in 2026.

In November, Revolver released an upgraded mineral resource estimate increasing indicated resources by 140 percent to 1.09 million tonnes and lifting the copper grade by 26 percent to 1.38 percent. The project’s total indicated and inferred resource stands at 18,047.68 tonnes of copper from 1.31 million tonnes of ore. Shares reached AU$0.10 at their 2025 high in September.

Key Takeaways for Copper Stock Investors

The best copper stocks demonstrated that 2025 belonged to explorers and developers making tangible progress on discovery and development fronts. The combination of structural demand drivers and supply constraints created an environment where quality assets with experienced teams attracted substantial capital. From AusQuest’s transformational Cangallo discovery to Revolver’s clear path toward production, these ASX copper stocks showcased the sector’s diversity and opportunity set.

Investors evaluating best copper stocks moving into 2026 should note that while 2025 delivered exceptional returns for early-stage explorers, future performance will depend on continued exploration success, commodity price sustainability, and execution on production and development timelines.