Dollar Bill knew something strange was happening when the usual pre-Christmas gloom at the club was replaced by old brokers comparing multi-baggers like golf handicaps. One bloke - who hasn't picked a winner since the mining boom of '07 and still confuses EBITDA with a breed of racehorse - claimed he'd backed a "fifty-bagger" before lunch, causing The Dollar's port to attempt an exit from its ice-laden heavy crystal glass while leaning over to hear more. But as it turns out, this was the year when even the ghosts of old IPOs came back to life and the small end of the ASX rediscovered the kind of form that makes old men check their screens before their blood pressure.
After two years of rates anxiety, liquidity strangulation and a market that couldn't decide whether to hibernate or panic, 2025 delivered something the small end of the ASX had forgotten how to produce: genuine exuberance backed by actual capital flow. Gold ran like it had an appointment with destiny, rare earths were thrown onto the geopolitical stage like unwilling actors and the metals buried deep in the wiring of the AI revolution suddenly became investment darlings. But the real standout was silver - the unloved sidekick of the precious-metals family which more than doubled this year with spot up about 140 per cent. It wasn't just joining gold's parade; it was riding in the lead float, waving regally at the crowd while no one quite knew how to price it.
The macro backdrop was the kind of circus Dollar Bill secretly enjoys. The US dollar wobbled like a tired heavyweight, central banks finally admitted rate cuts were inevitable and President Trump's return to office threw tariffs, supply chains and critical minerals into a blender. Markets pretended they wanted calm, but what they really wanted was clarity and 2025 handed them a big, bold marker pen. The world split its commodity allegiances down the middle and the small end of the ASX became the accidental beneficiary.
Gold was the anchor. That thing didn't rally - it detonated. Up about 70 per cent year-to-date and punching through a new high just this week above US$4500 or A$6700 an ounce, it made every geology graduate with a forgotten tenement suddenly look like a genius. Producers' cash margins exploded, developers recalculated project economics on the fly and explorers who hadn't seen a meaningful drill result in a decade were dusting off old presentations. Whilst the small caps led the charge, Evolution Mining still surged more than 165 per cent, Newmont soared 150 per cent and Lynas Rare Earths, riding both the gold tide and the geopolitical rare-earths war, finished the year up 95 per cent. It was a reminder that even big companies can still deliver small-company thrills when the commodity winds are howling.