The ASX 200 closed 0.3% higher, but Metals & Mining fell 1.2% with just a fifth of stocks to register gains.
Lithium Pilbara Minerals shares hit an all-time high of A$3.89 and closed at $3.76.
It comes after the company's market cap broke the $11 billion mark for the first time on Friday.
Fellow lithium (and nickel) producer IGO hit a record $12.92 early in the session but couldn't hang on to the gains and closed slightly lower at $12.68
Among the juniors, Charger Metals (CHR) rose by more than after data suggested it had a "large lithium system" at its Bynoe project in the Northern Territory.
Green Technology Metals (GT1) rose 17% on an impressive lithium hit at Seymour in Canada, though perhaps investors got confused, as the similarly named GreenTech Metals (GRE) rose 20% on no news.
Ardiden (ADV), which holds a 49% interest in Green Technology's Seymour, rose by more than 40%.
Argosy Minerals (AGY), Core Lithium (CXX), Lithium Energy (LEL), Essential Metals (ESS), Askari Metals (AS2), Critical Resources (CRR), Lithium Power International (LPI) and QX Resources (QXR) all reached 52-week (and in some cases, all-time) highs.
Other battery metals players Australian Vanadium (AVL), Renascor Resources (RNU) and Quantum Graphite (QGL) were also at one-year highs.
Outside lithium, Austin Metals (AYT) rose on copper rock chips, while Lunnon Metals (LM8) gained on a Kambalda nickel hit.
American Rare Earths (ARR) and Cobalt Blue Holdings (COB) were big movers on no news, but positive sentiment for their respective commodities.
Among the large-caps, De Grey Mining and coal stocks Whitehaven and New Hope were strong movers.
Updated: 17-01-2022
| Stock | ASX Code | Close ($) | Change (cents) | Change (%) | Vol (M) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| De Grey Mining Ltd |  |
DEG | 1.37 | 9 | 7.03 | 11 |
| New Hope Corp Ltd | |
NHC | 2.4 | 10 | 4.35 | 3.8 |
| Whitehaven Coal Ltd | |
WHC | 2.92 | 12 | 4.29 | 10.99 |
| Regis Resources Ltd | |
RRL | 2.02 | 2.5 | 1.25 | 5.12 |
| Pilbara Minerals Ltd | |
PLS | 3.76 | 4 | 1.08 | 27.4 |
| Alumina Ltd | |
AWC | 2.07 | 2 | 0.98 | 13.18 |
| Lynas Rare Earths Ltd | |
LYC | 11.11 | 2 | 0.18 | 4.24 |
| Champion Iron Ltd |  |
CIA | 6.29 | 0 | 0 | 4.78 |
| Sandfire Resources Ltd |  |
SFR | 7.06 | -2 | -0.28 | 1.39 |
| IGO Ltd | |
IGO | 12.68 | -4 | -0.31 | 2.53 |
| Rio Tinto Ltd | |
RIO | 110.03 | -57 | -0.52 | 1.31 |
| Allkem Ltd | |
AKE | 11.36 | -7 | -0.61 | 3.18 |
| ioneer Ltd | |
INR | 0.81 | -0.5 | -0.61 | 9.93 |
| Deterra Royalties Ltd | |
DRR | 4.4 | -3 | -0.68 | 0.56 |
| Silver Lake Resources Ltd | |
SLR | 1.73 | -1.5 | -0.86 | 2.74 |
| Nickel Mines Ltd | |
NIC | 1.6 | -1.5 | -0.93 | 5.83 |
| Mineral Resources Ltd | |
MIN | 64.97 | -65 | -0.99 | 1.37 |
| BHP Group Ltd | |
BHP | 46.15 | -53 | -1.14 | 12.55 |
| Newcrest Mining Ltd | |
NCM | 24.41 | -30 | -1.21 | 3.83 |
| OZ Minerals Ltd | |
OZL | 28.39 | -36 | -1.25 | 1.2 |
| Iluka Resources Ltd | |
ILU | 10.97 | -14 | -1.26 | 1.07 |
| Chalice Mining Ltd | |
CHN | 8.4 | -13 | -1.52 | 0.74 |
| Coronado Global Resources Inc | |
CRN | 1.37 | -2.5 | -1.8 | 2.1 |
| Evolution Mining Ltd | |
EVN | 3.94 | -8 | -1.99 | 4.24 |
| Northern Star Resources Ltd | |
NST | 9.1 | -20 | -2.15 | 3.81 |
| Fortescue Metals Group Ltd | |
FMG | 20.77 | -60 | -2.81 | 8.21 |
| South32 Ltd | |
S32 | 4.05 | -13 | -3.11 | 18.7 |
| Liontown Resources Ltd | |
LTR | 1.66 | -5.5 | -3.21 | 22.52 |
| Perseus Mining Ltd | |
PRU | 1.5 | -8 | -5.06 | 3.53 |
| AVZ Minerals Ltd | |
AVZ | 0.87 | -6 | -6.49 | 44.3 |
