Best Junior Copper Stocks of 2018 on the TSXV

The copper price has fallen from grace in 2018, dipping below the $3-per-pound mark, but some companies focused on the base metal have still enjoyed gains.

With Q3 over and done, the Investing News Network has rounded up the best junior copper stocks on the TSXV by share price performance so far this year. All have experienced positive momentum at their copper assets in 2018, with the biggest gainer being up over 500 percent year-to-date.

All year-to-date and share price information was obtained at close of day on October 9 from TradingView. All companies listed had market caps above C$10 million at that time.

1. Evrim Resources (TSXV:EVM)

Year-to-date gain: 532 percent; current share price: C$1.58

Evrim Resources touts itself as a mineral exploration company with a business model heavily focused on prospect generation and joint ventures. While the company has one wholly owned asset, its Cuale gold–silver project in Mexico, the majority of Evrim’s operations involve exploration partnerships with miners such as First Majestic Silver (TSX:FR,NYSE:AG) and Harvest Gold (TSXV:HVG).

Alongside news of outcropping gold mineralization at Cuale in September, Evrim also received a strategic investment from Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM) in August. Newmont’s investment, which came through the company buying 4.8 million Evrim shares for $7.2 million, will go towards funding Cuale.

2. Oroco Resource (TSXV:OCO)

Year-to-date gain: 137.5 percent; current share price: C$0.19

A Canadian exploration company, Oroco Resource was founded in 2006. It has two primary assets under its belt, the Xochipala gold project and the Santo Tomas porphyry copper project, both located in Mexico. Oroco’s main focus is on Santo Tomas, which is made up of multiple mineral concessions.

Some of Oroco’s biggest news from Q3 was when the Papago 17 mineral concession, which hosts the southern extension of Santo Tomas’ mineralization zone, was granted to Ubaldo Trevizo Ledezma. Oroco had acquired a 77.5-percent interest in the concession from Trevizo during the application stage; Oroco’s share price grew 8.69 percent the day after the August announcement.

3. Kintavar Exploration (TSXV:KTR)

Year-to-date gain: 92.86 percent; current share price: C$0.27

With a focus on exploring and developing precious and base metals properties in Quebec, Kintavar Exploration has its eye on two primary areas. These areas are the Abitibi Gold District, where it has its Anik and RAL properties, along with the Grenville Province, which houses the company’s Mitchi property.

While Kintavar saw a busy Q3 with channel and grab samples from its various projects, the company also found a new copper zone — since named Irene — 550 meters north of Mitchi’s Sherlock corridor. The news came just weeks after the company saw its “best intercept to date” of 0.63 percent copper and 7.45 grams per tonne gold over 34.25 meters at Sherlock.

4. Pan Global Resources (TSXV:PGZ)

Year-to-date gain: 5.56 percent; current share price: C$0.19

Based in Vancouver, Pan Global Resources is a junior resource company with a focus on precious and base metals exploration in Spain. The company has two main assets, its Escacena copper-lead project and its Águilas lead-zinc-gold-copper project.

Pan’s third quarter primarily consisted of private placement financing, but the company also announced in late September that it had begun its first exploration drill program at the Aguilas project. Despite the positive news, its share price fell 2.41 percent the day after the announcement, and continued on a negative streak for the remainder of the quarter.

5. Aethon Minerals (TSXV:AET)

Year-to-date gain: 2.77 percent; current share price: C$0.37

Aethon Minerals is an exploration company with a focus on base metals, specifically its copper assets in Chile. The company has several projects on the go, such as its Maricunga gold projects, Peineta gold-silver project, Arcas copper-gold project and its newly acquired Llanos De Llahuin copper-gold project.

The company had a quiet third quarter, as its main announcements were new stock options and the welcoming of new company director Flora Wood. Aethon saw its biggest share price spike in May, when it began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange, and following the news that it had entered an option agreement to acquire a 100-percent interest in the Llanos De Llahuin project.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Olivia Da Silva, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.