Best Copper Stocks on the TSX

What are the best copper stocks on the TSX so far this year? These five companies have seen the biggest gains year-to-date.

Click here to read the latest best TSX copper stocks article.

Copper had a stellar first half of 2021, with prices rallying to their all-time highest level during Q2.

Unlike the first half of 2020, the trend in copper prices was upward for most of the first half of this year, with the red metal hitting an all-time high in May.

Heading into the home stretch of 2021, the market is still robust, and there is plenty of optimism that copper remains in bullish territory. Many analysts and companies expect a boom in the coming years as electrification and electric vehicles grow in popularity and subsequently increase the world’s appetite for the vital base metal.

Some of the top copper stocks on the TSX so far have seen significant gains year-to-date, as shown on the list below. The list was generated on December 7, 2021, using TradingView’s stock screener, and only companies with market capitalizations greater than C$50 million at that time are included.

1. Solaris Resources

Current share price: C$13.29; year-to-date gain: 118.59 percent

Solaris Resources (TSX:SLS)has a portfolio of copper and gold projects in the Latin American region, including in Ecuador, Chile, Peru and Mexico. The company has established a high-grade resource with expansion and additional discovery potential at the Warintza copper-gold project in Ecuador.

Solaris has had a steady flow of news in 2021 from its drilling program at Warintza. In September, the company reported 1,184 meters of 0.68 percent copper equivalent from surface at the project’s Central zone. The company’s drilling efforts continue to expand the footprint of this zone toward defining a large, high-grade open-pit resource. In November, Solaris reported assay returns of 920 meters at 0.62 percent copper equivalent, including 326 meters at 0.8 percent copper equivalent from 46 meters depth.

2. Copper Mountain Mining

Current share price: C$3.54; year-to-date gain: 95.58 percent

Copper Mountain Mining’s (TSX:CMMC) flagship asset is the Copper Mountain mine, located in British Columbia near the town of Princeton. It produces about 100 million pounds of copper equivalent per year.

In Q3, Copper Mountain’s production was 26.3 million pounds of copper equivalent. The company’s 2021 production guidance is set in a range of 90 million to 100 million pounds.

3. Josemaria Resources

Current share price: C$1.32; year-to-date gain: 71.43 percent

Josemaria Resources (TSX:JOSE)is advancing its wholly owned namesake Josemaria copper-gold-silver project in Argentina’s San Juan province. According to the company, the asset is one of the largest undeveloped copper-gold projects in the world, with a proven and probable reserve profile of 6.7 billion pounds of copper, 7 million ounces of gold and 30.7 million ounces of silver.

An October 2020 feasibility study shows an open-pit operation with 152,000 tonnes per day being fed to a conventional process plant over a 19 year mine life. Highlights from the study include a US$1.53 billion after-tax net present value at a discount of 8 percent and a 15.4 percent internal rate of return; figures are based on metal prices of US$3 per pound copper, US$1,500 per ounce gold and US$18 per ounce silver. The project is proceeding to basic engineering with the goal of completion during Q2 2022, and the company anticipates that Josemaria's environmental social impact assessment process will be completed in H1 2022.

4. Amerigo Resources

Current share price: C$1.30; year-to-date gain: 62.5 percent

Amerigo Resources (TSX:ARG)has a long-term relationship with the world’s largest copper producer, Chilean state-owned Codelco. Through this relationship, Amerigo produces copper concentrate and molybdenum concentrate as a by-product by processing fresh and historic tailings from the world’s largest underground copper mine, Codelco’s El Teniente operation.

Amerigo’s Q3 production figures from its Minera Valle Central tailings processing facility in Chile include 16 million pounds of copper, of which 8.62 million pounds were from fresh tailings. The company notes that its third quarter production was 109 percent above guidance for the period due to higher fresh tailings tonnage and grade.

5. Teck Resources

Current share price: C$35.63; year-to-date gain: 54.07 percent

Last on this best copper stocks list is Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.B,TSX:TECK.A), one of Canada’s top mining companies. Teck has a diverse portfolio in terms of both metals and geography. When it comes to copper, Teck is a significant producer with four operating copper mines and a robust pipeline of copper projects in the Americas.

Teck’s ties to a green energy metal like copper have paid off well, as the company’s share price has benefited immensely from rising copper prices in 2021.

Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!

Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.

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Melissa Pistilli

Educational Content Specialist

Melissa Pistilli has been reporting on the markets and educating investors since 2006. She has covered a wide variety of industries in the investment space including mining, cannabis, tech and pharmaceuticals. She helps to educate investors about opportunities in a variety of growth markets. Melissa holds a bachelor's degree in English education as well as a master's degree in the teaching of writing, both from Humboldt State University, California.

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