The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) saw gains from early in the week erode, ultimately losing 10.35 points to close at 520.74.
Continued tensions in the Middle East have investors fleeing to safe haven commodities like oil and gold, with the price of both increasing this week to near-yearly highs. Oil climbed above US$90 a barrel and gold breached the US$1,950 mark, nearly reaching US$2,000 Friday morning before settling around US$1,980.
Statistics Canada announced this past Tuesday, October 17, that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose just 3.8 percent in September, down from the 4 percent gain it saw in August. Analysts had expected the inflationary rate to hold steady at 4 percent. The surprise decline may lead the Bank of Canada to hold interest rates at 5 percent when it meets next Wednesday, October 25.Even though the TSXV stayed relatively flat over the last week, some resource stocks made significant gains. Read on to discover which companies made moves and what was affecting their share prices.
Despite a volatile week of trading on the TSXV, there were gains in mining stocks. Read on to find which ones had the best week.
1. Colonial Coal International (TSXV:CAD)
Weekly gain: 40.63 percent; market cap: C$293.9 million; current share price: C$1.80
Colonial Coal owns a 100 percent interest in two resource-stage metallurgical coal projects, Huguenot and Flatbed, in British Columbia’s Peace River coalfields. The Huguenot project covers an area of 7,592 hectares with measured and indicated resources of 277.7 million metric tons, and the Flatbed project covers 9,077 hectares with inferred resources of 298 million metric tons.
While the company does not have recent news, shares in Colonial increased 40 percent to reach a weekly high of C$1.80.
2. Minsud Resources (TSXV:MSR)
Weekly gain: 38.67 percent; market cap: C$155.7 million; current share price: C$1.04
Minsud Resources is a mineral exploration company focused on operations in Argentina. Its flagship Chita Valley project hosts widespread porphyry copper-molybdenum-silver-gold mineralization. The site consists of three core properties, with five adjacent properties that total 19,883 hectares in the country’s San Juan province. The company also owns the La Rosita project.
Minsud hasn’t released news since early August, when it announced assay results from the Chinchillones target of its Chita Valley project that indicated grades of 0.97 percent copper, 9.48 grams per metric ton (g/t) silver and 0.45 g/t gold over 78 meters.
3. Founders Metals (TSXV:FDR)
Weekly gain: 30.95 percent; market cap: C$35.39 million; current share price: C$1.10
Founders Metals is a junior exploration company that had interests in the acquisition of gold projects in North and South America, but pivoted when it gained ownership of its flagship property the Antino gold project in Suriname, which covers 20,000 hectares.
Shares in the company have been rising since it announced on October 6 that drilling results from Antino’s Froyo zone had revealed further high-grade gold, with a highlight interval of 4.06 g/t over 45.79 meters including 13.97 g/t over 6.8 meters. CEO Colin Padget noted, “The consistently robust gold grades … highlight the substantial potential of an extensive, high-grade gold system within the Upper Antino exploration camp.”
4. Condor Resources (TSXV:CN)
Weekly gain: 26.32 percent; market cap: C$66.98 million; current share price: C$0.48
Condor Resources engages in precious and base metals exploration in Peru. Supplemented by a project generator and royalty model, it maintains an active portfolio of a dozen targets and four joint venture agreements. Condor also has seven projects that are 100 percent owned, with two currently undergoing drilling programs.
The company’s most recent news also came on October 6, when the company indicated it had begun drilling at its Pucamayo East project and is planning a minimum of 2,000 meters and up to 15 drill holes. The news has helped to reinforce share prices that have been trending upwards since the start of the year, and the company’s share price reached year-to-date highs of C$0.48 this past Thursday, October 19.
5. Ophir Gold (TSXV:OPHR)
Weekly gain: 25 percent; market cap: C$18.98 million; current share price: C$0.20
Ophir Gold is a mineral exploration company primarily focused on the exploration and development of its Radis lithium property in Eeyou Istchee James Bay, Québec. It acquired the option to earn a 100 percent interest over a three-year period from Eastmain Resources, a subsidiary of Fury Gold Mines (TSX:FURY) in December 2022.
Ophir’s most recent news came on October 5, when it announced that it had completed its surface exploration program and shared that the discovery of a new lithium-bearing pegmatite has extended the Chou spodumene pegmatite showing at the Radis lithium property to approximately 4.5 kilometers. Drilling on site is expected to begin in Q1 2024.
FAQs for TSXV stocks
What is the difference between the TSX and TSXV?
The TSX, or Toronto Stock Exchange, is used by senior companies with larger market caps, while the TSXV, or TSX Venture Exchange, is used by smaller-cap companies. Companies listed on the TSXV can graduate to the senior exchange.
How many companies are listed on the TSXV?
As of September 2023, there were 1,713 companies listed on the TSXV, 953 of which were mining companies. Comparatively, the TSX was home to 1,789 companies, with 190 of those being mining companies.
Together the TSX and TSXV host around 40 percent of the world’s public mining companies.
How much does it cost to list on the TSXV?
There are a variety of different fees that companies must pay to list on the TSXV, and according to the exchange, they can vary based on the transaction’s nature and complexity. The listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000. Accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000, while legal fees are expected to be over C$75,000 and an underwriters’ commission may hit up to 12 percent.
The exchange lists a handful of other fees and expenses companies can expect, including but not limited to security commission and transfer agency fees, investor relations costs and director and officer liability insurance.
These are all just for the initial listing, of course. There are ongoing expenses once companies are trading, such as sustaining fees and additional listing fees, plus the costs associated with filing regular reports.
How do you trade on the TSXV?
Investors can trade on the TSXV the way they would trade stocks on any exchange. This means they can use a stock broker or an individual investment account to buy and sell shares of TSXV-listed companies during the exchange’s trading hours.
Data for this 5 Top Weekly TSXV Performers article was retrieved on Thursday after market close using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies with market capitalizations greater than C$10 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the non-energy minerals and energy minerals are considered.
Article by Dean Belder; FAQs by Lauren Kelly.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.