The key, of course, is finding the right company.

The team at Shaw and Partners think they're on to a winner with Golden Horse Minerals Ltd (ASX: GHM), which recently announced good exploration results from its Hopes Hill prospect.

So let's have a look at what they announced this week.

Strong drilling results

Golden Horse Minerals said that drilling, much of which was still being tested at the laboratory, had so far confirmed gold mineralisation at more than 110m below the historic Hopes Hill open-pit mine.

Grades from the recent drilling campaign included 7.1m at 2.5 grams per tonne of gold from a depth of 178.9m, and 4m at 3.1 grams per tonne of gold at 243m.

Meanwhile, at Hopes Hill North, the company reported "numerous near surface and wide gold intersections across multiple holes'' and the company said the drilling results indicated mineralisation extending beyond 700m from the existing pit.

A regional drilling program at the Hakes Find had also been completed, with results expected shortly, while the drill rig had since been mobilised to another target, Marionete.

Golden Horse Managing Director Nicholas Anderson said regarding the results:

It is great to be at the Stable in Southern Cross and see the first results of our aggressive +125km drill campaign begin to flow. With 3 RC and 2 Diamond drill rigs running and the sample labs packed tighter than a float on race day, we are expecting plenty of results to feed the members shortly. The aggressive selection to actively target conceptual open pit extensions to the north of Hopes Hill is paying dividends, with multiple broad intercepts highlighting the prospectivity of the immediate area and indeed the broader Southern Cross Greenstone Belt. We are trying to rein in our excitement for the Year of the Horse, however some brumbies refuse to be broken

Shares looking cheap

The Shaw and Partners team said the 125,000m drilling campaign for 2026 was "massive".

They added:

While Hopes Hill remains the flagship, the broader regional program aims to identify satellite deposits that could eventually feed into a centralised processing hub. By moving rigs to Marionete, GHM is maintaining a dual-track strategy: aggressively defining the main Hopes Hill resource while simultaneously testing new regional targets to build a larger project pipeline within their extensive tenement holding.

Shaw and Partners said Golden Horse Minerals was one of its preferred picks in the gold sector, and it has a price target of $1.50 on the shares, compared with just 66.5 cents currently.

Golden Horse Minerals was valued at $176.8 million at the close of trade on Thursday.

The post Which gold company does Shaw and Partners think will more than double in value? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The release caught the eye of the team at Shaw and Partners, who said the find was a "significant breakthrough''.

So what exactly did they report?

Golden Horse said this week that their first diamond drill hole had intersected visible gold at a depth of 200m under the previously-mined Hopes Hill pit, which has previously produced 216,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 2.4 grams per tonne.

The company cautioned that visible gold should not be considered a substitute for laboratory tests.

Other results of note included a 6.6m intersection at a grade of 2.6 grams per tonne from a depth of 379.5m at Hopes Hill Main and 10m at 1.2 grams per tonne from 27m at Hopes Hill North.

The company said it had mobilised a second diamond drill rig and a third reverse circulation rig at the site to expedite the more than 125km drilling program already underway.

Golden Horse Managing Director Nicholas Anderson said it was a great result so far.

With the very first hole drilled at Hopes Hill for 2026, we are thrilled to report that we have intercepted visible gold in 26HHDD001 which is a testament to our belief in the potential of this mineralised system. Whilst following geological best practice, we took the additional steps of comprehensively assaying around the visible gold to ensure we gain a detailed understanding of the gold deportment. Of the 156 re-assays, over half graded above 5.0 grams per tonne of gold with multiple +10 grams per tonne assays to 63.3 grams per tonne highlighting the upside we see at Hopes Hill. What is particularly exciting is this high-grade mineralisation is located within the footwall package, which was previously thought to have hosted lower grade mineralisation. We backed ourselves and swung the rig onto a new hole to test our geological model, and to intersect visible gold in a rock unit outside the conventional 'mine geology corridor' is a fantastic outcome for the company.

Shares are looking cheap

Shaw and Partners, in a research note sent to clients this week, said the visible gold was significant as it occurred in an area previously discounted as a primary gold target.

The broker has a $1.50 price target on Golden Horse shares, compared with the current price of 69 cents. The stock has increased from lows of 21 cents over the past year.

Golden Horse Minerals was valued at $185.7 million at the close of trade on Tuesday.

The post This gold explorer has more than tripled, but could double again one broker says appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

The gold price is up 0.5% to US$4,958 per ounce, a new record, at the time of writing.

ASX gold shares and ASX gold ETFs are going nuts on Friday.

Get this: the S&P/ASX All Ords Gold Index (ASX: XGD) soared 1,322 points higher to a record 21,612.2 points this morning.

That equates to a staggering 6.5% gain in one day. By comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is up 0.34%.

The screaming gold price continues to defy expectations.

Just three months ago, top broker Goldman Sachs predicted that gold would rise to US$4,900 per ounce by the end of 2026.

Well, that happened today, and it's only January.

The broker conducted a poll of institutional investors in November and found one in three expect gold to go above US$5,000 per ounce.

That seems increasingly likely.

The gold price is up by just under 15% in the year to date.

The market pushed the yellow metal 7% higher this past week alone after US President Donald Trump slapped a new 10% tariff on goods from eight European nations to punish their opposition to his aspirations to buy Greenland.

The gold price rocketed 65% in 2025, following a 27% gain in 2024, largely due to central banks diversifying away from the US dollar.

Let's see what ASX gold shares and ETFs are doing today.

Hold on to your hats… this is going to be fun.

ASX gold shares soar as gold price hits new record

Let's focus on the large-cap ASX gold shares first.

The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is up 6.23% to $27.81.

Northern Star shares dropped 8.1% yesterday after the miner disappointed the market with its December quarter report.

Northern Star's report, significant because it's the largest gold miner by market cap on the ASX, combined with news of lower unemployment in Australia, which raised the prospects of an interest rate hike this year, weighed on gold shares and ETFs yesterday.

The Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price is up 6.59% to $15.04.

Newmont Corporation CDI (ASX: NEM) shares are up 4.64% to $179.90 apiece.

Among the mid-cap ASX gold shares, Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) shares are up 8.3% to $4.96.

The Greatland Resources Ltd (ASX: GGP) share price is up 9.81% to $14.22.

The Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) share price is $8.06, up 8.04%.

Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) shares are up 6.6% to $6.46 apiece.

Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) shares are up 6.67% to $7.76.

The Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM) share price is up 4% to $15.47.

Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) shares are up 4.76% to $5.94 apiece.

Regis Resources Ltd (ASX: RRL) shares are up 8.64% to $8.24.

How about ASX small-cap gold shares?

Among the small-cap ASX gold shares, Resolute Mining Ltd (ASX: RSG) shares are up 8.14% to $1.40.

The Pantoro Gold Ltd (ASX: PNR) share price is 5.83% higher at $5.45.

Meeka Metals Ltd (ASX: MEK) shares are up 3.57% to 29 cents.

Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd (ASX: KCN) shares are up 2.48% to $7.03 apiece.

The Golden Horse Minerals Ltd CDI (ASX: GHM) share price is 0.64% higher at 79 cents.

Black Cat Syndicate Ltd (ASX: BC8) shares are up 5.24% to $1.56.

(By the way, Warwick Grigor, an analyst at Far East Capital, offered some advice on how to select small-cap gold stocks to buy this week.)

What about ASX gold ETFs?

The Betashares Global Gold Miners Currency Hedged ETF (ASX: MNRS) streaked 4.87% to a record $18.94 per unit today.

MNRS was the best performer among the 423 ETFs on the Australian share market last year.

The VanEck Gold Miners AUD ETF (ASX: GDX) is up 4.54% to $157.45.

Perth Mint Gold (ASX: PMGOLD) is up 2.29% to $71.92 per unit.

Global X Physical Gold (ASX: GOLD) is up 2.63% to $66.27 per unit.

VanEck Australian Resources ETF (ASX: MVR), the No. 1 performer among ETFs holding ASX shares in 2025, is up 1.22% to $47.41.

The post ASX gold shares go crazy as gold price rips toward US$5,000 on Friday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

Robert Hawkesford and Daniel Broeren, who run Blackwattle's Small Cap Quality Fund, said strongly rising share prices for junior gold explorers pushed the small-cap index higher at 2.5x the pace of the S&P/ASX All Ords Index (ASX: XAO) in 2025.

Small-caps are typically young, growing companies with market capitalisations of between a few hundred million dollars and $2 billion.

Let's take a look at some examples of ASX small-cap gold shares booking incredible 12-month growth rates.

ASX small-cap gold shares ripping up the charts

Barton Gold Holdings Ltd (ASX: BGD)

The Barton Gold share price has soared 385% over 12 months.

Barton Gold is a mineral explorer in South Australia.

Its projects include Tarcoola, a brownfield open-pit mine, and Tunkillia, which has a 1.5Moz Au JORC Mineral Resource Estimate.

Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd (ASX: KCN)

The Kingsgate share price is up 408% over 12 months.

The Australian gold and silver producer owns the Chatree Gold Mine in Thailand and the Nueva Esperanza Gold-Silver Project in Chile.

Golden Horse Minerals Ltd CDI (ASX: GHM)

The Golden Horse share price has ascended 250% over 12 months.

Golden Horse is working on multiple gold prospects in Western Australia. Its flagship project is Hopes Hill.

Black Cat Syndicate Ltd (ASX: BC8)

Black Cat shares are up 111% over 12 months.

This Western Australian miner has a portfolio of high-grade projects in prime gold regions.

They include the Paulsens Gold Operation in the Pilbara and the Kal East Gold Project east of Kalgoorlie.

What's next in 2026?

All of these ASX small-cap gold shares benefited from a 65% rally in the gold price last year.

That was gold's greatest annual rise in more than four decades and came on top of a 27% lift in 2024.

Strong central bank purchasing, lower interest rates, geopolitical tensions, US tariffs, and other elements have fuelled gold's growth.

Professional investors are expecting the gold price to rise further in 2026.

A Goldman Sachs poll conducted in November found one in three institutional investors expect gold to go above US$5,000 per ounce this year.

Today, the gold price is US$4,672 per ounce, down 0.1% at the time of writing.

Warwick Grigor, an analyst at mining investment company Far East Capital, says gold has continuing tailwinds in the new year.

In an article, Grigor commented:

There is not much doubt that the gold price will continue to rise during 2026.

Sure, there will be volatility and some people are already saying that gold is a sell, but you would have to be very brave to exit gold just now.

As Hawkesford and Broeren point out, "smaller cap companies offer the greatest range of opportunities" for investors.

By nature, these young companies have more room for growth than larger, established companies.

This makes ASX small-cap shares exciting, but also risky, for investors.

If you're considering buying ASX small-cap gold shares, Grigor has some advice on how to choose among them.

How to choose ASX small-cap gold shares

Far East Capital expects another strong year for the gold sector in 2026, but Grigor warns that "not every company will be a winner".

The first step to selecting a good ASX small-cap gold share for investment is assessing its quality.

Grigor said:

Take the time to think about the quality of the investment being presented to you.

An existing producer can be more easily assessed by looking at its track record but there are many new companies coming through the pipeline.

They will be highly aspirational and have grand plans, but you need to take the time to consider how realistic they are.

The second step is considering the quality of the management team.

If you're happy with the people running the business, then step three is assessing its technical merits.

Grigor said:

Many of these companies will be going to raise money while the ducks are quacking, but often their plans will be incomplete and uncertain — yet they can be made to look good on paper.

Most of these should be treated as trading opportunities in the near term, and they might be great stocks to own in the resource definition and expansion stage but never forget about the subsequent development and commissioning risk.

The post Considering ASX small-cap gold shares? Expert advice on how to decide appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the gold price is US$4,148 per ounce, up 0.8% today and up 57% in the year to date.

Trading Economics analysts said the gold price hit a three-week high on expectations of another interest rate cut in the US.

The analysts said growing economic uncertainty in the US had increased the likelihood of a rate cut.

The US Government has been shut down for 40 days now.

Meantime, new data shows job losses in the US economy last month, particularly in government and retail sectors.

On top of that, US consumer sentiment has fallen to a three-and-a-half-year low.

The analysts commented:

Traders are pricing in about a 64% chance of a 25-basis-point Fed cut in December, with Fed Governor Stephen Miran advocating a larger half-point reduction amid falling inflation and rising unemployment.

Meantime, America's biggest bank, JPMorgan, now projects the gold price could surpass US$5,000 per ounce next year.

JPMorgan isn't alone in its optimistic predictions.

French bank Societe Generale SA also says the gold price will reach US$5,000 per ounce by the end of next year.

Goldman Sachs is tipping US$4,900 per ounce by the end of 2026.

ASX gold shares surge on Tuesday

The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) is up 2.63% today, while the S&P/ASX All Ords Index (ASX: XAO) is down 0.09%.

The market's biggest ASX gold share, Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST), is trading 3.45% higher at $26.06.

The Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) share price is up 1.9% to $11.29.

Newmont Corporation CDI (ASX: NEM) shares are 4.29% higher at $136.47.

The Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) share price is $6.24, up 3.48% today.

Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) shares are $5.18, rising 3.1%.

Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) shares are up 0.87% to $5.77.

Perth Mint Gold (ASX: PMGOLD) shares are up 2.27% to $63.15.

Among the ASX small-cap gold shares, Barton Gold Holdings Ltd (ASX: BGD) shares are up 7.14% to $1.20.

New Murchison Gold Ltd (ASX: NMG) shares are 6.1% higher at 3.5 cents apiece.

The Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd (ASX: KCN) share price is up 3.1% to $4.65.

The Golden Horse Minerals Ltd CDI (ASX: GHM) share price is up 4.9% to 75 cents.

Black Cat Syndicate Ltd (ASX: BC8) shares are up 5.39% to $1.08.

The Dateline Resources Ltd (ASX: DTR) share price is up 0.69% to 29 cents.

What about ASX gold ETFs?

Among the gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs), Betashares Global Gold Miners Currency Hedged ETF (ASX: MNRS) is up 4.1% to $13.59 per unit.

MNRS seeks to mirror the performance of the Nasdaq Global ex-Australia Gold Miners Hedged AUD Index and invests in 56 stocks.

The VanEck Gold Miners AUD ETF (ASX: GDX) is up 3.7% to $117.85 per unit.

The GDX ETF tracks the NYSE Arca Gold Miners Index (AUD) and invests in 63 stocks.

Global X Physical Gold ETF (ASX: GOLD) is up 2.35% to $58.26 per unit.

The GOLD ETF seeks to mirror the growth in the Australian dollar gold price.

The post Why are ASX gold shares and ETFs soaring today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the time of writing, the gold price is US$4,011 per ounce, representing an astonishing 53% gain in the year to date.

The S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) is up 98% in 2025 and smashed a new record of 16,969.9 points earlier today.

By comparison, the S&P/ASX All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has lifted just 9.5% over the same period.

Goldman Sachs says the gold price is receiving much support from central bank purchases, particularly in emerging markets.

A recent World Gold Council survey found 95% of central banks expect global gold holdings to continue increasing over the next year.

Of course, the strong commodity price is great news for the big ASX 200 gold shares.

The Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) share price is up 60% in 2025, while Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) is up 133%.

Newmont Corporation CDI (ASX: NEM) shares have lifted 120% in the year to date.

While that's impressive, the most spectacular gains are being seen among the ASX small-cap gold shares.

Here are some examples.

7 superstar ASX small-cap gold shares

Dateline Resources Ltd (ASX: DTR)

This ASX small-cap gold share has streaked into the stratosphere in 2025.

Dateline Resources shares have skyrocketed 9,600% in 2025 to trade at 48.5 cents apiece on Thursday.

Dateline Resources is an Australian-based company focused on gold mining and exploration targets in the United States.

The company owns 100% of the Colosseum Gold-REE Project in the Walker Lane Trend in East San Bernardino County, California.

This ASX small-cap gold share has a market capitalisation of $2.2 billion.

Dateline Resources lodged its response to an ASX price query today.

Barton Gold Holdings Ltd (ASX: BGD)

The Barton Gold share price has soared 412% higher in the year to date, trading at $1.28 on Thursday.

Barton Gold is a mineral exploration company in South Australia.

Its projects include Tarcoola, a brownfield open-pit mine, and Tunkillia, which has a 1.5Moz Au JORC Mineral Resource Estimate.

Barton Gold shares have a market capitalisation of $289 million.

New Murchison Gold Ltd (ASX: NMG)

New Murchison Gold shares have more than tripled in value in 2025.

The New Murchison Gold share price has soared 240% in the year to date to trade at 3.4 cents today.

New Murchison Gold is a mineral exploration company that owns substantial tenements in the Murchison goldfield in Western Australia.

This ASX small-cap gold share has a market capitalisation of $404 million.

Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd (ASX: KCN)

The Kingsgate share price has ripped 209% in the year to date, trading at $3.98 today.

Kingsgate is an Australian gold and silver producer and the owner and operator of the Chatree Gold Mine in central Thailand.

It also owns and operates the Nueva Esperanza Gold-Silver Project in the renowned Maricunga Belt in northern Chile.

Kingsgate Consolidated shares have a market capitalisation of $1.03 billion.

Yesterday, Kingsgate announced the highest quarterly production at Chatree since the restart.

A total of 23,922 ounces of gold and 205,841 ounces of silver were produced, representing an 18% quarterly increase in gold production.

Golden Horse Minerals Ltd CDI (ASX: GHM)

The Golden Horse share price has leapt 204% in the year to date, trading at 73 cents today.

Golden Horse is undertaking a regional strategy to define JORC resources and fast-track production across multiple gold prospects in Western Australia.

Golden Horse holds one of the largest land parcels in the renowned Southern Cross Greenstone Belt. Its flagship project is Hopes Hill.

This ASX small-cap share has a market capitalisation of $117 million.

Black Cat Syndicate Ltd (ASX: BC8)

Black Cat shares are up 144% in the year to date, trading at $1.39 today.

This Western Australian gold producer has a substantial and growing portfolio of high-grade projects in prime gold regions.

Its projects include the Paulsens Gold Operation in the Pilbara, the Kal East Gold Project east of Kalgoorlie, and the Coyote Gold Operation in the Western Tanami.

Black Cat achieved first gold at the Myhree open pit at Kal East in the second half of 2024, followed by first gold at Paulsens in December.

This ASX small-cap gold share has a market capitalisation of $989 million.

Black Cat gave investors an update on its progress at Kal East yesterday.

Meeka Metals Ltd (ASX: MEK)

The Meeka Metals share price is up 159% in the year to date, trading at 21 cents on Thursday.

Meeka Metals has a portfolio of high-quality fully-owned projects in Western Australia.

Its flagship mine is the Murchison Gold Project, which has a high-grade 1.2Moz at 3g/t Au Mineral Resource on granted mining leases.

Meeka Metals has a 10-year production plan in place for the Murchison Gold Project. The miner reported first gold in July.

The miner hopes to produce up to 76koz per annum (averaging 65koz per annum for the first seven years).

This ASX small-cap gold share has a market capitalisation of $605 million.

The post 7 ASX small-cap gold shares skyrocketing in 2025 appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.