The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) rose 4.4% yesterday. Investors will be cautiously optimistic the rally can continue.

It appears Morgans is optimistic about the sector bouncing back, as it has initiated coverage on two ASX materials stocks with buy recommendations. 

Here's what the broker had to say. 

Many Peaks Minerals Ltd (ASX: MPK)

Many Peaks Minerals is an Australia-based mineral exploration company. The company focuses on advancing gold and copper projects and other mineral sector assets in West Africa.

Morgans has initiated coverage on the ASX materials stock with a speculative buy recommendation. 

The broker said the company is exploring the Ferke Gold Project (76.5%) in Cote d'Ivoire. 

Our modelling suggests the Ouarigue South system has already exceeded 1Moz Au ahead of an imminent Maiden MRE. 

At Ferke, our thesis is driven by geometry and early-stage economics rather than in-situ ounces.

Broad widths deliver favourable geometry supporting low strip ratios and unit costs, meaning scale doesn't need to be excessive to deliver robust economics. Our mining scenario outlines an initial 7.5-year operation producing ~110kozpa at an AISC of ~A$2,525/oz, with underground and regional potential providing a clear runway for mine life extensions and project scale growth.

Morgans has placed a price target of $1.92 on the ASX materials stock assuming an effective 76.5% ownership, including government free carry. 

From yesterday's closing price of $0.98, this indicates an upside potential of approximately 96%. 

Deterra Royalties Ltd (ASX: DRR)

This ASX materials stock manages a portfolio of mining royalty assets.

Morgans has just initiated coverage on the company with a buy rating and $4.85 target. 

DRR offers a rare capital-light exposure to tier-1 iron ore via a 1.232% Gross Revenue Royalty over BHP's Mining Area C (a 45yr+ mine life asset with near-zero operating risk for the royalty holder) which delivers a 93% EBITDA margin. 

The Trident acquisition (Sep-24) added Thacker Pass, a 1.05% Gross Royalty Revenue (GRR) over a global-scale lithium deposit (85yr mine life, General Motors-backed). 

This provides genuine battery metals optionality worth A$0.40/share risked, diversifying the revenue base beyond iron ore. DRR trades at 9.7x FY27F EV/EBITDA, a 32-46% discount to global royalty peers (Franco-Nevada 19x, Wheaton 18x) that we believe is excessive given robust earnings platform, path to net cash, and emerging capital return optionality.

From yesterday's closing price of $4.17, this price target indicates a potential upside of approximately 16%. 

The post Morgans just placed buy ratings on these ASX materials stocks appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

At the start of the year, shares in this ASX mining stock were changing hands at $0.20 apiece.

As of Friday's close, they had surged to $0.90 per share.

This represents a stunning 350% return in less than a year.

For context, the broader All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) has risen by about 5.5% over the same period.

So, what's behind the spectacular rally for this little-known ASX mining stock?

It appears much of the excitement is centred on the company's promising gold exploration results in Côte d'Ivoire.

Let's take a closer look at the latest developments.

High-grade gold hunt

In 2025, Many Peaks reported a series of broad and high-grade gold hits from exploration drilling at its Ferké gold project.

In particular, drilling at the Ouarigue prospect returned a swarm of notable intercepts, such as 84.8 metres at 3.01 grams per tonne gold.

Other significant hits included 45m at 8.58g/t gold and 230m at 1.20g/t gold.

These results seem to point to the potential of a significant mineralised system at Ferké.

And last week, Many Peaks kicked off a major new drilling campaign aimed at uncovering additional gold zones across the project.

New exploration blitz

The 2025-26 field season will comprise at least 15,000 metres of drilling.

Initially it will focus on extending known mineralisation near Ouarigue, with further drilling planned at other high-priority regional targets at Ferké.

In parallel, Many Peaks has also commenced a series of target definition works at both Ferké and its second gold project in Côte d'Ivoire known as Odienné.

These works are designed to generate new exploration targets for the ASX mining stock to test with follow-up drilling.

Many Peaks managing director, Travis Schwertfeger, stated:

Our company's rapid success in Côte d'Ivoire has resulted from steady acceleration of exploration activity over the past year, yielding resource potential with multiple high-grade gold intercepts at Ferké and delineation of extensive trends of gold mineralisation ready for follow-up work at Odienné.

Initial assays from the drill programme are anticipated in January.

Results from further drilling and other field work is expected to follow in regular intervals over the following six months.

Many Peaks share price in focus

The renewed exploration momentum has not gone unnoticed by the market.

In the past week alone, shares in the ASX mining stock have climbed from $0.72 to $0.90 per share.

This equates to a 25% return for shareholders in just five trading sessions.

The post This ASX mining stock is up 350% in 2025 and its gold hunt just hit hyper speed appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

These include the the world's biggest gold miner Newmont Corporation CDI (ASX: NEM) and other leading ASX 200 gold stocks such as Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST).

Below them, a cohort of mid-tier miners are working to boost their output and challenge the leaders.

And further down the ladder is a crowded field of small explorers, each hoping to transform a discovery into a producing asset.

However, the journey to production is long and fraught with risk for most explorers.

In reality, many won't make it.

But the few that do can sometimes deliver spectacular returns for investors.

Now, the gold price has surged by about 41% over the past year to hit record highs in September.

In turn, prominent ASX 200 gold stocks have been riding the gravy train.

Newmont shares have jumped by about 50% in the past twelve months, whilst Northern Star has notched up a 29% gain.

And Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) has been the standout with its share price more than doubling in value.

But even these impressive returns have been outshone by three little-known gold explorers.

Here's how these skyrocketing ASX gold stocks are working to transform their projects into mines.

Many Peaks Minerals (ASX: MPK)

Shares in Many Peaks have ballooned by 363% in the past year to reach $0.88 apiece at the close of business on Thursday.

The company is an early-stage explorer operating four gold projects in the West African nation of Côte D'Ivoire.

Recent efforts have centred on its Ferké and Odienné projects, with exploration drilling has served up a series of encouraging gold intercepts.

These results point to the potential for significant mineralised systems lurking beneath the ground.

That said, the prospect of mining gold appears a distant prospect for this ASX gold stock.

Many Peaks is yet to define a mineral resource estimate for either project, let alone conduct economic modelling.

In other words, proving up a gold deposit that could be mined economically remains some time away.

African Gold Ltd (ASX: A1G)

African Gold is another explorer focused on Côte d'Ivoire.

Its share price has stormed 638% higher in the past twelve months to reach $0.30 per share at Thursday's close.

The company is advancing its Didievi gold project where a mineral resource containing 989,000 ounces of gold has recently been defined.

African Gold recently kicked off the largest drilling campaign in its history, designed to grow the existing resource base and to test high-priority regional targets.

Management sees potential for Didievi to host a multi-million-ounce gold deposit.

The group's near-term focus is on delivering a resource update, alongside preliminary metallurgical and economic evaluations.

For now, the prospect of mining appears to be well down the track for this ASX gold stock.

Medallion Metals Ltd (ASX: MM8)

Medallion's share price has surged by 675% in the past twelve months to $0.47 per share at yesterday's close.

In essence, the group is advancing its Ravensthorpe gold project in Western Australia towards production.

The project already hosts a resource containing 1.6 million ounces of gold equivalent.

A preliminary economic evaluation for Ravensthorpe outlined a 5.5 year mine life, with expected annual production of about 70,000 ounces of gold.

Medallion is now progressing the works needed to bring Ravensthorpe closer to mining.

These include updated resource estimates, metallurgical testing, relevant permitting, and financing.

A final investment decision is planned for later this year.

Should management give the green light to build a mine, first gold pour is targeted for the fourth quarter of next year.

The post Up more than 360% in one year! These 3 ASX gold stocks are shining brighter than ever appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.