S&P/ASX 300 Metal & Mining Index (ASX: XMM) stocks are 0.65% lower on Monday as earnings season continues.
Mining shares are in the midst of a great run, with the XMM Index rising 42.5% over the past 12 months.
If you're looking for investment inspiration, here are two ASX mining stocks with buy ratings from the experts.
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Santana Minerals Ltd (ASX: SMI)
The Santana Minerals share price is steady at 99 cents today, but is up 67% over the past 12 months.
Santana Minerals owns the large-scale, long-life Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project (BOGP) on the South Island of New Zealand.
Shaw & Partners has a buy rating and a 12-month share price target of $2.15 on this ASX gold share.
This suggests a possible near-120% capital gain over the next year.
The broker said:
Santana Minerals Limited (ASX:SMI) has announced that the Fast-Track Approval (FTA) Panel Convener has confirmed a 140 working-day statutory timeframe for determination of the Bendigo-Ophir Gold Project (BOGP), with a decision due by 29 October 2026.
The timeline is longer than expected (60-100 days) but now provides certainty in the process.
Development consent is now expected to be granted in H2 CY26.
BOGP's tenements cover 251 sq km in the Central Otago goldfields, 90 km northwest of OceanaGold's renowned Macraes gold mine.
Shaw & Partners said the current development plan has an initial mine life of about 14 years.
A reserve of 1.2Moz at 2.6g/t Au is contained within a resource of 2.3Moz at 2.1g/t Au.
Production expectations are about 120koz per year.
Canaccord Genuity is also buy-rated on this ASX mining stock with a 12-month price target of $2.30.
RBC Capital also rates Santana Minerals shares a buy, but it has a much more conservative price target of $1.20.
Nexgen Energy (Canada) CDI (ASX: NXG)
This ASX uranium mining stock is $16.27, up 1.4% today and up 68% over the past year.
Nexgen's flagship project, Rook I, is the largest development-stage uranium project in Canada.
The company hopes to turn Rook I into the largest, low-cost uranium mine in the world.
Bell Potter has a buy rating on this ASX mining stock.
Last month, the broker raised its 12-month share price target for Nexgen from $13.05 to $19.30.
This suggests a near-20% potential upside over the next year.
Stuart Bromley from Medallion Financial Group also has a buy rating on Nexgen shares.
Bromley said:
NexGen continues its journey to become a long life and low cost uranium producer in mining friendly Canada, a geopolitically stable country.
The company recently revealed the Patterson Corridor East discovery is expanding rapidly on multiple fronts.
Vertical and lateral growth materially increases the mineralised footprint and leaves potential additional discoveries open at depth and along strike — precisely what the market wants from a basin-scale uranium play.
