The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is up a welcome 1.1% in afternoon trade on Thursday, with two ASX 200 mining stocks joining the rally to notch new 52-week-plus highs.
Here's what's happening.
ASX 200 mining stock riding the lithium revival
The first miner notching new one-year-plus highs today is Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR).
Shares in the ASX lithium stock closed yesterday trading for $1.465. At the time of writing today, shares are changing hands for $1.575 apiece, up 7.5%. That's the highest level since late December 2023. And it sees the Liontown share price up a whopping 94.1% over the past 12 months.
At the current share price, Liontown Resources commands a market cap of $4.6 billion.
The ASX 200 mining stock has been a clear beneficiary of resurgent global lithium prices.
Lithium carbonate prices have been on a tear since mid-October. Lithium carbonate is now trading at 14-month highs amid new support for EVs and battery storage recently announced by the Chinese government.
When the miner reported its first-quarter results in October, Liontown CEO Tony Ottaviano was optimistic about the year ahead. He noted:
With the open pit nearing completion and underground production scaling, we're entering the next phase at Kathleen Valley. As cleaner underground ore increasingly feeds the mill, recoveries will improve and we remain on track to meet our 70% lithia recovery target by the end of Q3 FY26.
Which brings us to…
The golden touch
The second ASX 200 mining stock trading at not just a new 52-week high but a new all-time high today is Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU).
Shares in the ASX gold stock closed on Wednesday trading for $5.27. At the time of writing, shares are swapping hands for $5.41 apiece, up 2.6%. That gives this Aussie gold miner a market cap of $7.3 billion.
Perseus Mining shares are now up 104.7% over 12 months. And that doesn't include the 7.5 cents per share in unfranked dividends the company paid to eligible stockholders over the year. At the current share price, Perseus shares trade on an unfranked dividend yield of 1.4%.
Like Liontown has benefited from rising lithium prices, Perseus Mining shares have benefited from the rocketing gold price.
Although slightly down from October's record highs, gold is still fetching US$4,056 per ounce today, according to data from Bloomberg. That sees the yellow metal up 54% year to date.
Looking ahead, in October, the ASX 200 mining stock reaffirmed its full-year FY 2026 production guidance of 400,000 to 440,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost (AISC) of US$1,460 to US$1,620 per ounce.
