The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI: JX ) improved by 13.93 points last week, closing at 546.26.
Thursday (November 30) brought good news for the US economy, with the Federal Reserve signaling that it is likely done hiking interest rates . However, its wait-and-see approach leaves the door open to possible changes.
That sentiment was echoed in Canada, where economists widely expect the country’s central bank to hold interest rates steady when it makes its next announcement on December 6. This follows the release of economic data that shows the Canadian economy contracted 1.1 percent in Q3. Despite this shrinkage, Canada has not entered into a technical recession — defined as two consecutive quarterly contractions — due to a 1.4 percent gain in 2023’s second quarter.
How has all this impacted the mining sector? Take a look at the five best-performing stocks this past week on the TSXV.
1. Rugby Resources (TSXV:RUG)
Weekly gain: 75 percent; market cap: C$18.59 million; current share price: C$0.07
Rugby Resources is an explorer primarily focused on copper and gold projects in South America and the Philippines. 2023 has seen the company center its efforts around the Cobrasco copper-molybdenum project in Northern Colombia.
The most recent news about the project came on October 31 , when the company reported that exploration of a new porphyry, Cobrasco East, had returned assay results of up to 5.38 percent copper, 1.4 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold and 121 g/t silver. These represent higher gold and lower molybdenum values compared to Cobrasco Central. Rugby Chairman Yale Simpson indicated that the company is making progress in securing a major mining company as a partner and said, ‘Our goal is to very significantly advance the exploration and development of Cobrasco.”
Shares of Rugby were up this past week following Wednesday ‘s (November 28) news that the company has closed an oversubscribed private placement , raising C$626,127. Proceeds will be used for exploration and general expenses.
2. Teuton Resources (TSXV: TUO )
Weekly gain: 70.65 percent; market cap: C$76.27 million; current share price: C$1.57
Teuton Resources is an exploration company operating using a prospect generator model. It has interests in more than 30 properties in the Golden Triangle region of BC, Canada.
The company’s recent focus has been its Treaty Creek property. Teuton holds a 20 percent stake in the joint venture alongside Tudor Gold (TSXV: TUD ,OTC Pink:TDRRF), which holds a 60 percent stake, and American Creek (TSXV: AMK ,OTCQB:ACKRF), which holds the remaining 20 percent interest.
On November 22 , Tudor Gold provided assay results from a 200 meter step-out hole from Treaty Creek’s Goldstorm deposit. Tudor Gold President Ken Konkin said the testing indicates a very robust system with surprisingly high gold values, including up to 9.78 g/t gold alongside 1.35 g/t silver and 0.23 percent copper over 12 meters.
This was followed by a news release this past Wednesday with more positive developments from the Goldstorm deposit. The sixth set of drill results from Tudor indicate grades of up to 14.89 g/t gold, 4.72 g/t silver and 0.6 percent copper over 15 meters. “The results from these two sections will add to the overall quantity of gold, silver and copper in the indicated and inferred categories of the next mineral resource update,” Konkin said.
3. Klondike Silver (TSXV:KS)
Weekly gain: 66.67 percent; market cap: C$10.73 million; current share price: C$0.05
Klondike Silver operates its 100 percent owned Silvana Mine project in the West Kootenay region of BC. It consists of a 114 square kilometer claim block with several exploration targets, as well as 68 past-producing mines, including the Silvana mine; they sit along a 9 kilometer main lode structure, half of which is within Klondike’s claim. The site also contains a permitted 100 metric ton per day flotation mill.
Shares of the company traded higher this past week, reaching C$0.05. Klondike’s most recent news came on November 20 , when it received a 30 day extension to close a private placement originally announced on June 6.
4. Maple Gold Mines (TSXV:MGM)
Weekly gain: 63.64 percent; market cap: C$28.87 million; current share price: C$0.09
Maple Gold Mines is a gold exploration company with projects in Québec, Canada. It is primarily focused on its 50/50 joint ventures with Agnico Eagle (TSX: AEM ,NYSE:AEM): the district-scale Douay and Joutel gold projects located in the province’s Abitibi Greenstone Belt. Maple Gold also has a 100 percent interest in the Eagle Mine project, a past-producing mine within the Joutel project that it acquired in 2021 from Globex Mining Enterprises (TSX: GMX ,OTCQX:GLBXF).
Though the company hasn’t reported news from its projects since August 3 , shares were up this week after it announced on November 22 that Kiran Patankar has been appointed Maple Gold’s president and CEO; the firm also filed its Q3 financial results . Patankar had been serving as interim president and CEO since August 28.
In a statement, Patankar commented that “current market conditions remain challenging for junior explorers,” but said he believes the company’s C$5 million in liquidity — combined with cost reductions and its partnership with Agnico Eagle — puts Maple in a position to discover the next major gold camp in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt.
5. Vizsla Copper (TSXV:VCU)
Weekly gain: 61.9 percent; market cap: C$15.34 million; current share price: C$0.17
Vizsla Copper is a copper, gold and molybdenum exploration and development company focused on its flagship Woodjam copper and gold project, located within the Quesnel Terrane in Southern BC. In addition to Woodjam, the company wholly owns the 37,466 hectare Copperview copper-gold project in South Central BC, the Blueberry copper project in Central BC and the Redgold project in the Quesnel Terrane. It also has a 60 percent interest in the Carruthers Pass project, with the remaining 40 percent held by Cariboo Rose Resources (TSXV: CRB ,OTC Pink:CROOF).
Shares of the company were trending up this week, although its last news release came on November 2 , when it identified a copper and gold target at the Copperview property through an airborne geophysical survey.
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 Friday (December 1) at 1:30 p.m. PST 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.
