ASX All Ords mining shares were among the star performers of the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) in FY23 due to high commodity prices, the global energy squeeze, and a strong US dollar.
As we reported this week, Australia racked up a second consecutive year of record earnings from resources and energy exports in FY23.
Resources and energy delivered an estimated $460 billion to our gross domestic product in FY23.
So in this ripper year for resources, let's see which ASX All Ords mining shares outshone the rest.
These ASX All Ords mining shares had a cracker year
The ASX All Ords comprises the 500 largest listed companies by market capitalisation with plenty of mining shares — large and small — a part of the index.
The All Ords finished the year 8.85% higher, rising 655 points to 7,401.5 points on 30 June 2023.
Here are the best performers of FY23 based on share price growth, according to data from S & P Global Market Intelligence.
Latin Resources Ltd (ASX: LRS)
The most outstanding performance among ASX All Ords mining shares in FY23 was delivered by lithium small-cap miner Latin Resources. Its share price ripped up the charts by 408%.
Exciting news surrounding its flagship Salinas Lithium Project in Brazil gave the miner a huge share price boost in May, in particular. In the last few days of FY23, the company announced confirmation of a "district scale lithium corridor" within its tenements. This corridor extends up to 26 kilometres from its 45 Mt Colina Deposit at the site.
Latin Resources has a market cap of $812 million, at the time of writing.
Lindian Resources Ltd (ASX: LIN)
This small-cap ASX All Ords mining share had a cracking year with a 200% price growth in FY23.
Lindian is a bauxite miner and owns projects in Tanzania. In August 2022, the company announced the acquisition of the "globally significant" Kangankunde Rare Earths Project in Malawi. Since then, the miner has reported a series of high-grade assays that have helped continually lift the Lindian share price.
The miner has a market cap of $385 million.
Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR)
Fellow All Ords lithium share, Liontown stormed up the charts with a 168% share price gain in FY23.
The event that changed the share's trajectory over this period was a takeover approach from US lithium giant Albemarle. Liontown rejected the offer but its shares have remained substantially higher since the news broke.
The All Ords mining share ascended from a small-cap to mid-cap in FY23 with a market cap of $6 billion today.
Delta Lithium Ltd (ASX: DLI)
Known as Red Dirt Metals until its name change in May 2023, Delta Lithium shares rose by 113.8% in FY23.
Executive Chairman David Flanagan recently said the company is "drilling at a remarkable rate" and "seeing such incredible results". He added: "Our Mt Ida Project continues to surprise on the upside and the potential scale at the Yinnetharra Project remains huge". In the final month of FY23, Delta announced more exciting results at both projects and an additional $46.4 million investment from a key backer, Idemitsu Australia, which now owns 15% of the company. Idemitsu is a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese conglomerate Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
Delta Lithium has a market cap of $461 million.
Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS)
The only large-cap All Ords mining share to make the top 5 is lithium miner Pilbara Minerals. Its shares rose by 113.5% in FY23, partly due to strong profits which allowed the company to pay a maiden dividend in March. There has also been much M&A activity in the lithium industry in FY23, and this positive sentiment has lifted most ASX lithium shares higher.
Pilbara Minerals finished the year at $4.89 per share. Top broker Macquarie sees more growth ahead. It has an outperform rating on the stock and a 12-month share price target of $7.30. As my Fool colleague Tristan points out, Pilbara Minerals has a best-in-breed balance sheet with US$2.68 million in cash.
Pilbara Minerals has a market cap of $16 billion.
