The Conversation (0)
Maxx-Studio / Shutterstock
Copper stocks are being supported by an increasingly constrained supply environment in 2026.
Structural demand drivers, including electrification, digital infrastructure and industrial expansion are underpinning long-term growth, particularly in emerging markets. On the supply side, however, pipeline constraints persist due to limited new projects, declining ore quality and extended development timelines.
Against that backdrop, how have TSX-listed copper companies performed?
Learn about the top five best-performing copper stocks in 2026 by year-to-date gains below.
Data for this article was retrieved on March 16, 2026, using TradingView's stock screener, and only companies with market capitalizations greater than C$50 million are included.
1. Faraday Copper (TSX:FDY)
Year-to-date gain: 63.93 percent
Market cap: C$1.18 billion
Share price: C$4.59
Explorer Faraday Copper is focused on its Copper Creek project in Arizona, US. The 78 square kilometer property is located in a region that is home to several current and past-producing copper mines. The project hosts a 3 kilometer long resource area that has seen more than 200,000 meters of drilling across over 560 drill holes.
In 2023, Faraday released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the project.
The report demonstrated an after-tax net present value of US$713 million, an internal rate of return of 15.6 percent and a payback period of 4.1 years, using a base-case copper price of US$3.80 per pound.
According to the PEA, Copper Creek hosts a combined measured and indicated resource of 4.2 billion pounds of copper from 421.9 million metric tons of ore grading 0.45 percent copper. It also holds molybdenum and silver resources.
Exploration at the site has been ongoing, and Faraday reported the most recent results from its Phase 4 drill program on January 22. Five of eight drill holes at the American Eagle area intersected near-surface mineralization, with one highlighted hole returning 17.58 meters grading 0.44 percent copper from a depth of 109.42 meters.
On February 20, Faraday entered into a non-binding letter of intent to wholly acquire BHP's (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) San Manuel property, which sits adjacent to Copper Creek and contains a historic copper mine and a closed tailings facility. Upon closing of the deal, Faraday will assume control of San Manuel, as well as all environmental and closure liabilities. The company said the acquisition will consolidate the assets into what could potentially become a multi-generational copper district.
Additionally, on March 11, Faraday closed a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of C$100 million from investors that included the Lundin Family Trust and a BHP subsidiary. The company said the funds will be used to advance its copper projects in Arizona and to support the San Manuel acquisition and integration into its operations.
Shares of Faraday reached a year-to-date high of C$5.42 on March 2.
2. Osisko Metals (TSX:OM)
Year-to-date gain: 56.41 percent
Market cap: C$895.04 million
Share price: C$1.22
Osisko Metals is an explorer and developer working to restart operations at the past-producing Gaspé copper mine in Québec, Canada. Located in the Gaspé Peninsula, the mine was in operation from 1955 until its closure in 1999, during which time it delivered 150 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 0.87 percent copper.
Osisko’s initial focus was on testing the remnant mineralization at the existing pit, before stepping out to higher-grade targets it believes exist at greater depth. A November 2024 resource estimate shows an indicated contained copper resource of 4.91 million pounds from 824 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 0.27 percent copper, as well as an inferred resource of 4.39 million pounds from 670 million metric tons at 0.3 percent copper.
The company has continued to explore the site through early 2026, and announced the most recent exploration results on February 25. Osisko reported that infill drilling encountered a broad mineralized interval of 694 meters at a grade of 0.31 percent copper. The same drill hole also encountered 201 meters of mineralization grading 0.19 percent located below the current resource area. Additionally, the company encountered 1.24 percent copper over 51 meters from the southern extension below the resource, noting that the deposit remains open to the south.
Osisko has also made significant fundraising announcements. The first came at the end of December 2025, when the company closed a private placement for C$32.5 million from four strategic investors: Hudbay Minerals (TSX:HBM,NYSE:HBM), Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM,NYSE:AEM), Franco-Nevada (TSX:FNV,NYSE:FNV) and La Caisse.
More recently, the company closed another private placement on February 4 for C$15 million, with the majority of the proceeds coming from Agnico Eagle, Hudbay and Rosseau Asset Management.
Funds from both placements will be used to advance activities at Gaspé.
Shares of Osisko reached a year-to-date high of C$1.55 on February 27.
3. Arizona Sonoran Copper Company (TSX:ASCU)
Year-to-date gain: 43.69 percent
Market cap: C$1.43 billion
Share price: C$6.94
Arizona Sonoran Copper Company is an explorer and developer dedicated to advancing the Cactus project in Arizona, US, towards production. The brownfield asset, near Phoenix, was operational from 1972 to 1984.
Since then, Arizona has made substantial investments in the project, including a US$20 million reclamation program aimed at remediating the property. The site features one historic stockpile from the past-producing Sacaton mine, as well as the Cactus East, Cactus West and Parks/Alyer deposits. A prefeasibility study released in November 2025 highlights the project's base-case economics: an after-tax net present value of US$2.3 billion, an internal rate of return of 22.8 percent and a payback period of 5.3 years at a copper price of US$4.25 per pound.
The mine is expected to yield an average of 99,000 metric tons of copper per year, totaling 3.99 billion pounds over a 22 year lifespan. Initial mining for the first two to two and a half years is planned from a starter pit at Parks/Alyer.
The most recent update from the project was on February 11, when the company released partial results from the first phase of infill drilling at the Parks/Salyer deposit. The program is being used to define a proven mineral reserve for the deposit, which will be included in a feasibility study.
On March 2, Arizona Sonoran entered a definitive agreement to be acquired by Hudbay, under which Hudbay will acquire all issued and outstanding shares at C$9.35 per share, a 30 percent premium to the TSX price on February 27.
Once complete, the combined companies will hold the third largest copper district in North America.
Shares of Arizona Sonoran reached a year-to-date high of C$8.81 on March 2.
4. Taseko Mines (TSX:TKO)
Year-to-date gain: 17.92 percent
Market cap: C$3.3 billion
Share price: C$9.28
Taseko is a mining and development company that owns Canada’s second largest copper mine, Gibraltar, in British Columbia, as well as the Florence Copper mine in Arizona, US.
On January 13, Taseko released its 2025 results from Gibraltar. During the year, the mine produced 98 million pounds of copper and 1.9 million pounds of molybdenum.
Output rose to 31 million pounds of copper and 830,000 pounds of molybdenum in Q4 alone, which the company said was a significant gain over the previous quarters last year. Additionally, its SX/EW plant, which re-entered production in May, produced 919,000 pounds of copper cathode during Q4. According to the company, the higher levels came despite unscheduled downtime at the mill and a serious accident, which temporarily halted operations in November. On the other hand, head grades increased to 0.26 percent during the quarter, while recoveries were 81 percent.
Taseko has also made significant progress at Florence Copper in 2026.
In its 2025 results, the company reported that construction was complete, and it had shifted its focus to wellfield operations and the commissioning of the SX/EW plant. By February 18, the plant was fully operational and Florence had begun producing copper cathodes, Taseko shared in its fourth quarter financial results.
Then, on March 2, the company announced the first harvest of Florence's copper cathodes, marking “the first new copper production from a greenfield facility in the US since 2008.”
Once Florence is fully operational, it will have a nameplate capacity of 85 million pounds of copper cathode per year and is expected to produce at least 1.5 billion pounds over the next 22 years.
Shares of Taseko reached a year-to-date high of C$12.15 on February 27.
5. Amerigo Resources (TSX:ARG)
Year-to-date gain: 16.48 percent
Market cap: C$853.31 million
Share price: C$5.30
Amerigo Resources is a mining waste processing company focused on recovering copper from mine tailings using its Minera Valle Central treatment plant. The tailings come from Codelco’s El Teniente copper mine in Chile, which is one of the world's largest copper mines. The company has been operating since 1992 and has produced 1.08 billion pounds of copper from waste products over that timeframe.
On January 13, Amerigo reported record fourth quarter copper production of 18.9 million pounds and annual copper production of 62.2 million pounds. Its annual production was down slightly from 65 million pounds in 2024, due to an earthquake collapsing part of the El Teniente mine in July of last year.
Amerigo released its 2025 operating results on February 25, reporting net income of US$35.4 million compared to US$19.2 million the prior year. The company ended the year debt-free after repaying US$11.5 million in October.
Additionally, during 2025 it returned US$20.4 million to shareholders through buybacks and dividends, including a performance dividend. Its latest quarterly dividend of US$0.04 was paid on March 20.
Shares of Amerigo reached a year-to-date high of C$6.43 on February 25.
FAQs for investing in copper
Is copper a good investment in 2026?
Many experts have a positive long-term outlook for the red metal based on supply concerns and its growing role in the energy transition. Copper's price has climbed to new all time highs in 2026, bringing many copper stocks with it.
Investors who are interested in copper should make sure to perform their due diligence, as the volatility and unpredictability of markets and economies at the moment means that nothing is guaranteed.
What is copper used for?
Copper is used in many industries, from construction to electronics to medical equipment. In fact, in 2022, 32 percent of copper globally was used in equipment manufacturing and 26 percent in building construction.
Two other growing sectors for copper are the burgeoning electric vehicle and green energy industries. Electric vehicles require a significant amount of the red metal per vehicle.
Check out our article on the topic for more copper uses.
How to invest in copper?
Investors can invest in copper in a variety of ways. Holding physical copper is possible, but plenty of storage would be required to hold any significant value of the metal.
For investors looking to invest in the metal without physically holding it, there are a few options. Copper stocks such as those on the TSX, TSXV and ASX are worth looking at. Additionally, there are copper exchange-traded funds and the copper options and futures markets on the London Metal Exchange.
How to invest in a copper ETF?
Copper exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on mining companies can be a good way to diversify an investment portfolio, and they can be a more stable option compared to individual copper miners or explorers.
There are multiple options available on the market, and they can usually be purchased in the same way one could purchase stocks through a broker or trading platform.
In May 2022, Horizons launched Canada’s first copper equities ETF, the Horizons Copper Producers Index ETF (TSX:COPP). This Canadian copper ETF is focused solely on pure-play and diversified copper-mining companies.
There are multiple ETFs available on the US ARCA exchange as well. The Global X Copper Miners ETF (ARCA:COPX) tracks the Solactive Global Copper Miners Index, which includes copper miners, as well as copper explorers and developers. The other option is the United States Copper Index Fund (ARCA:CPER), which gives investors exposure to copper futures contracts by tracking the SummerHaven Copper Index Total Return.
How is copper priced?
The copper price is tracked in two ways: COMEX copper and London Metal Exchange (LME) copper. The COMEX and LME are both options and futures metal exchanges, with the former being headquartered in New York and the latter in London. COMEX copper is priced by the pound, while LME copper is priced per metric ton.
How is copper processed?
Once copper is mined, the ore goes through multiple steps to reach a market-ready state. First, the ore is ground to roughly separate the rock from the copper, as copper typically only makes up 1 percent of the mined rock.
The resultant copper is then slurried with water and chemical reagents, after which air is used to float the copper to the top of the mixture. After the copper is removed from this, it is typically at 24 to 40 percent purity.
Lastly, the copper is refined at a refining plant or smelter using one of two methods, pyrometallurgy and hydrometallurgy. Pyrometallurgy is employed for copper ore that is sulfide rich, while hydrometallurgy is used when the ore is oxide rich. The Investing News Network's guide on copper refining goes into further detail about how those processes work. Once these processes are complete, the copper is concentrated to up to 99.99 percent purity.
Where is copper mined?
Copper is mined throughout the world, with significant production found on every continent besides Antarctica. Chile was the top producer in 2025, putting out 5.3 million metric tons of the metal. Other major top copper producers are the Democratic Republic of Congo with 3.2 million metric tons, Peru with 2.7 million metric tons and China with 1.8 million metric tons.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, own shares of Northern Dynasty Minerals.
From Your Site Articles
- Top 5 Junior Copper Stocks on the TSXV in 2026 ›
- Top 5 ASX Copper Stocks ›
- When Will Copper Go Up? ›
- ASX Copper Stocks: 5 Biggest Companies ›
- Top 10 Copper-producing Companies ›
Related Articles Around the Web
https://twitter.com/INN_Resource
https://www.linkedin.com/in/deanbelder
dbelder@investingnews.com
