1. Northern Dynasty Minerals (TSX:NDM)

Year-to-date gain: 44.71 percent
Market cap: C$689.38 million
Share price: C$1.23

Northern Dynasty Minerals is an exploration and development company focused on the Pebble project, a copper-molybdenum-gold-silver project located 200 miles southwest of Anchorage in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska, US.

Northern Dynasty says the site is “one of the greatest stores of mineral wealth ever discovered.”

It hosts a measured and indicated copper resource of 6.5 billion metric tons (MT) and an inferred copper resource of 4.5 billion MT. The Pebble property's measured and indicated resources for molybdenum, gold and silver total 1.26 million MT, 53.82 million ounces and 249.3 million ounces, respectively.

The project stalled in 2020 during the permitting phase following a US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) veto that suggested the proposed mine would damage the Bristol Bay watershed. However, company shares surged following the July 2023 announcement that Alaska had appealed to the US Supreme Court to reverse the veto.

Early in 2024, the Supreme Court declined to hear the matter on procedural grounds, sending it back to the federal district court and federal circuit of appeals before the Supreme Court would hear it.

Northern Dynasty spent the rest of 2024 advancing its case in Alaska's state court. On March 15, it announced the filing of actions to vacate the EPA’s veto. The State of Alaska and two Alaskan Native village corporations followed by filing their own separate suits to vacate. In August, the federal district court granted Northern Dynasty’s motion to modify the complaint by adding the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) as a defendant. The company contended that the EPA's decision was based on the original USACE permit denial and asserted that it was politically motivated.

The latest news from the case came on February 18, when Northern Dynasty announced it would not object to an EPA and USACE motion to halt proceedings for 90 days to allow the Trump administration more time to review the case.

Shares of Northern Dynasty surged following Trump’s March 20 executive order, which calls for expedited approvals for domestic mineral production and identifies copper as a critical mineral.

In the order, Trump said dependence on mineral production from hostile powers is jeopardizing national and economic security, and urged the US to take immediate steps to boost domestic production.

Northern Dynasty reached a year-to-date high of C$1.69 on March 25.

2. Arizona Sonoran Copper Company (TSX:ASCU)

Year-to-date gain: 33.79 percent
Market cap: C$268.43 million
Share price: C$1.94

Arizona Sonoran Copper is a developer and explorer dedicated to advancing the Cactus project in Arizona, US, toward production. The brownfield asset, situated near Phoenix, operated from 1972 to 1984.

Since then, Arizona Sonoran has made substantial investments in the project, including a US$20 million reclamation program aimed at remediating the property. The site features the past-producing Sacaton mine and one historic stockpile, as well as the Cactus East, Cactus West and Parks/Salyer deposits, which span a 5.5 kilometer trend.

According to an August 2024 preliminary economic assessment, at a copper price of US$3.90 the project has an after-tax net present value of US$2.03 billion, an internal rate of return of 24 percent and a payback period of 4.9 years.

Once operational, in the first 20 years the mine is expected to yield an average of 232 million pounds of copper cathode per year. Over its full 31 year mine life, the company anticipates total copper cathode production of 5.34 billion pounds.

The most recent update from the project was on February 25, when the company released assay results from an exploration program at the Parks/Salyer deposit. The release includes notable drill core results, with one 391 meter interval showing continuous mineralization at an average grade of 0.74 percent total copper. In that section, a 242 meter interval has an average grade of 0.98 percent total copper and 0.75 percent soluble copper.

Shares of Arizona Sonoran reached a year-to-date high of C$2.44 on March 26.

3. Imperial Metals (TSX:III)

Year-to-date gain: 29.35 percent
Market cap: C$385.25 million
Share price: C$2.38

Imperial Metals is a mine development and production company with operations in BC, Canada.

Its operations include a 30 percent interest in the Red Chris mine in BC’s Golden Triangle, with the remainder owned by Newmont (TSX:NGT,NYSE:NEM,ASX:NEM). Imperial also fully owns the Mount Polley copper-gold mine, which reopened in June 2022, and the Huckleberry mine, which has been under care and maintenance since 2016.

On January 29, the company announced that the Mount Polley mine had met its 2024 guidance, producing 35.7 million pounds of copper and 39,108 ounces of gold during the period.

It also provided an update on its Phase 2 exploration program at Mount Polley, which comprised 6,748 meters across 27 drill holes with both near-pit drilling and drilling of high-priority targets outside the active pit area. The company highlighted one assay result of 0.72 percent copper and 1.43 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold over 127 meters, which includes an intersection of 21.5 meters with 1.34 percent copper and 2.65 g/t gold.

Imperial followed this report with updates on 2024 production from Red Chris on February 20. In that statement, it indicated that its share of production was 25.6 million pounds of copper and 17,943 ounces of gold, a significant increase over the 17.12 million pounds of copper and 13,814 ounces of gold produced in 2023. Newmont's 100 percent 2025 guidance for Red Chris is 88 million pounds of copper and 86,000 ounces of gold.

The release also reports 2025 guidance for Mount Polley. While gold production is anticipated to be in line with 2024, Imperial expects lower copper production in the range of 25 million to 27 million pounds.

According to the company's release, "Phase 4 Springer Pit ore, which has a higher recoverable copper grade is targeted to be fully mined by the third quarter of 2025, with the lower copper grade from the Phase 5 pushback in the Springer pit delivering process ore in the fourth quarter of 2025."

Shares of Imperial reached a year-to-date high of C$2.80 on April 1.

4. Gunnison Copper (TSX:GCU)

Year-to-date gain: 21.43 percent
Market cap: C$74.12 million
Share price: C$0.255

Gunnison Copper is a copper development company working to advance its Gunnison and Johnson Camp projects, both of which are located in Arizona, into production.

Gunnison was originally scheduled to begin operating in 2020 as an in-situ recovery (ISR) project, but startup was delayed due to low flow rates. Gunnison has been evaluating different alternatives to overcome the challenges and has obtained permits to begin well simulation using small-scale, shallow-level hydraulic fracking.

The company has determined that an open-pit operation has "substantially improved viability" compared to the ISR operation at this time, and is now advancing the permitting process for the open pit. Gunnison intends to maintain the option of its fully permitted ISR operation and well stimulation. Once the open-pit mine is in operation, Gunnison estimates average annual output of 167 million pounds of copper cathode.

The probable mineral reserve for the in-situ operation as of 2016 is 4.5 billion pounds of copper from 782.2 million MT of ore with an average grade of 0.29 percent. The open pit's 2024 resource estimate shows a measured and indicated resource of 5.1 billion pounds of copper from 831.6 million MT of ore with an average copper grade of 0.31 percent.

The company is also working on restarting the Johnson Camp mine in Cochise County, Arizona. Funding will come from Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) subsidiary Nuton, which will also utilize its proprietary heap leach technology. Once mining operations commence, Nuton will have the option to form a joint venture with Gunnison.

In a project update on March 21, the company stated that construction at the Johnson Camp mine is on track to begin first cathode production in Q3 2025. It also notes that the mining of mineralized material began in January; it is being stockpiled in anticipation of the completion of the leach pad.

Shares of Gunnison reached a year-to-date high of C$0.40 on March 24.

5. St. Augustine Gold and Copper (TSX:SAU)

Year-to-date gain: 12.5 percent
Market cap: C$91.03 million
Share price: C$0.09

St. Augustine Gold and Copper is a development company focused on its King-King project in the Philippines' Mindanao province. The project consists of 184 mining claims. According to the most recent preliminary economic assessment from 2013, the company projects an after-tax net present value of US$1.78 billion, with an internal rate of return of 24 percent and a payback period of 2.4 years at a copper price of US$3 and a gold price of US$1,250 per ounce.

The latest news from the company came on March 31, when it released its management discussion and analysis for the year ended on December 31, 2024. In the release, it outlines the current state of the project, which has faced prolonged legal delays. The most significant occurred in 2017, when the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources ordered a moratorium on open-pit mining for copper, gold, silver and complex ores.

The company states that to date, there has been no resolution regarding the overturning of the moratorium.

Shares of St. Augustine Gold and Copper reached a year-to-date high of C$0.10 on April 1.

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