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Top 5 Copper Stocks on the TSX (Updated April 2023)
What are the best copper stocks on the TSX so far this year? These five companies have seen the biggest gains year-to-date.
Copper prices have climbed to start 2023, reaching a high for the year of US$9,436 per metric ton (MT) in mid-January.
Experts at this year's Vancouver Resource and Investment Conference spoke about their outlooks for copper, including supply and demand factors that will affect prices, and how financing is necessary to bring more projects through development.
“A copper mine is a major undertaking,” Coppernico Metals President and CEO Ivan Bebek said in a panel. "Building them costs billions of dollars. A lot of them are remote and are low grade. And the time to socially get those mines up and running in a responsible manner in this day and age — it will take time no matter what the price of copper is."
Exploration Insights Editor Joe Mazumdar shared similar sentiments when he sat down with the Investing News Network at this year's Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada convention to discuss the red metal.
The list below shows the top TSX-listed copper stocks by share price performance so far this year. It was generated on April 24, 2023, using TradingView’s stock screener, and only TSX copper companies with market capitalizations greater than C$50 million at that time are included. Read on to learn more about what's moving their share prices.
1. Faraday Copper (TSX:FDY)
Year-to-date gain: 94.64 percent; market cap: C$191.02 million; current share price: C$1.09
Faraday Copper is working to become a green copper producer in the US. The company is currently advancing its Copper Creek project in Arizona, and it also owns the Contact copper project in Nevada. Faraday began a Phase 2 drill program at Copper Creek in October 2022; it is still ongoing, and the company is steadily releasing results this year.
After jumping to start the year, Faraday’s share price saw another spike at the end of February after the company paid US$10 million for the Mercer Ranch land package, which consists of 6,000 acres contiguous and nearby Copper Creek. The land will continue to be operated by the Mercers for now, and the company listed several strategic benefits from the acquisition, such as the land serving as a potential location for mining infrastructure and a solar power facility.
On March 9, Faraday announced that its subsidiary Redhawk Copper and Proteus Power Development had entered into a letter of intent to evaluate a solar power facility and battery energy storage system to be located on the newly acquired lands.
In mid-March, the company shared drill results that President and CEO Paul Harbidge called “one of the most exciting results from (Faraday’s) Phase II drill program.” One drill core showed 0.69 percent copper over 100.12 meters, 85 meters of which are outside the current constraints of the mineral resource estimate, showing the potential to increase the resource. The copper company’s most recent news came when it released its 2022 financial results on March 15, but its share price has climbed throughout April to reach a year-to-date high of C$1.13 on April 19.
2. Excelsior Mining (TSX:MIN)
Year-to-date gain: 75 percent; market cap: C$75.58 million; current share price: C$0.28
Excelsior Mining is a copper producer and explorer operating the Gunnison copper mine in Arizona. In the same state, the company also has the past-producing Johnson Camp mine heap leach project, which it is currently working to bring back into production, as well as the Peabody Sill and Strong and Harris deposits.
Excelsior’s mid-January news of its collaboration with Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) venture Nuton sent the company’s share price upwards, and it maintained that momentum through February 8, when it reached a year-to-date high of C$0.31. The companies' relationship will involve testing Nuton’s advanced copper heap leaching technologies at Johnson Camp with the possibility of a full deployment.
On February 22, Excelsior released a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for Johnson Camp that incorporates sulfide leaching technology. According to the company, two developments will need to take place over the same time period in order to restart heap leaching at the mine: “pre-stripping and mine development, and the construction of a new heap leach pad, Pad 5.”
Excelsior put out news related to its Gunnison project on April 24, sharing that it had received a permit amendment that will allow well stimulation at the project. This could fundamentally change the performance of the wellfield, according to the company.
3. Copper Mountain Mining (TSX:CMMC)
Year-to-date gain: 56.14 percent; market cap: C$553.72 million; current share price: C$2.67
Copper Mountain Mining is a copper miner that operates the Copper Mountain copper-gold porphyry mine in BC, Canada. The company holds 75 percent ownership of the mine, and the other 25 percent is owned by Mitsubishi Materials (TSE:5711).
At the end of March, Copper Mountain released its 2022 results and 2023 guidance. Last year, the miner put out 64.1 million pounds of copper equivalent, including 52.9 million pounds of copper, and it expects to see production of 88 million to 98 million pounds of copper in 2023.
On April 13, Copper Mountain Mining entered into a definitive agreement with Hudbay Minerals (TSX:HBM,NYSE:HBM) under which the latter company will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Copper Mountain at a price of C$2.67 each. According to the release, the combined entity will own three long-life operating copper mines and will have estimated production of 150,000 MT per year.
The news drove Copper Mountain’s share price up from C$2.26 to C$2.67 overnight, and it reached a year-to-date high of C$2.75 days later on April 18.
4. Meridian Mining (TSX:MNO)
Year-to-date gain: 45.71 percent; market cap: C$92.93 million; current share price: C$0.51
Meridian Mining is a UK-based copper-gold company with a portfolio of projects in Brazil, including its flagship advanced-stage Cabaçal copper-gold project and its Espigão polymetallic project.
Meridian has been focused on resource development at Cabaçal, and released a PEA for the project on March 6. The PEA anticipates a base-case after-tax net present value of US$573 million, and calls for total production of 353 million pounds of copper and 1.02 million ounces of gold over a 22.3 year mine life.
“The PEA demonstrates Cabaçal's exceptional potential as a sustainable, low-cost open-pit mining operation capable of supplying both industrial and precious metals to the global market,” Meridian CEO Dr. Adrian McArthur said in a release.
In late March, the company’s share price began climbing after it released drill results that include the highest-grade copper interval ever drilled at the project: 9.7 percent copper equivalent over 12.8 meters. The interval also includes 4 grams per MT gold and 55.8 grams per MT silver. The company’s share price climbed over the following weeks to hit a year-to-date high of C$0.67 on April 13. Its next news came near the end of April, when it announced a bought deal public offering for C$8 million that it upsized to C$16 million the same day. Some of the net proceeds will be put towards advancing Cabaçal to the prefeasibility stage.
5. Ero Copper (TSX:ERO)
Year-to-date gain: 41.91 percent; market cap: C$2.42 billion; current share price: C$26.48
Ero Copper is another copper company with operations in Brazil. Its flagship asset is the Caraíba operations, which include open-pit and underground mining; it also has the Xavantina gold operations and the Tucumã construction-stage copper project. According to Ero, by 2025 Tucumã should double the company’s annual copper production.
Ero’s share price has trended higher throughout the year; after starting 2023 at C$18.90, it reached a peak of C$26.73 on April 18. The company achieved record production in 2022, with 46,371 MT of copper in concentrate produced at Caraíba, above its upper guidance of 46,000 MT. As for 2023, the company has set its guidance at 44,000 to 47,000 MT for the year.
On April 5, Ero Copper released an updated five year outlook that includes updated production estimates for Tucumã once it begins operating in 2024 due to higher expected mined grades. With regards to the Caraíba operations, the company discussed its Pilar 3.0 plan for the Pilar mine. It consists of three separate initiatives and will culminate in a two mine system with sustained ore production of 3 million MT per year.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: Western Copper and Gold is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
Lauren gained her education through Douglas College’s Professional Writing program and SFU’s Editing certificate program. She spent many years at Douglas' student newspaper, including a term as Editor-in-Chief. Now nearing five years as part of the INN team, she is passionate about delivering accurate and informative content to investors.
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Lauren gained her education through Douglas College’s Professional Writing program and SFU’s Editing certificate program. She spent many years at Douglas' student newspaper, including a term as Editor-in-Chief. Now nearing five years as part of the INN team, she is passionate about delivering accurate and informative content to investors.
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