Best Junior Copper Stocks of 2019 on the TSXV

While the copper price has spent the last quarter simmering down, companies focused on the base metal were still able to make progress at their assets.

With Q2 2019 now wrapped up, the Investing News Network has gathered the best copper stocks on the TSXV by share price performance so far this year. Though some made major deals over the last few months, others remained low key with their operations.

All year-to-date and share price information was obtained on July 8, 2019 using TradingView’s stock screener. All companies listed had market caps above C$10 million at that time.

1. Sandfire Resources (TSXV:SFR)

Year-to-date growth: 142.86 percent; share price: C$0.17

With its base of operations in Western Australia, Sandfire Resources is aiming to build a sustainable, mid-tier mining company in the business of base and precious metals. In the case of Sandfire’s American branch, the company’s primary focus is its Black Butte copper asset in Montana.

While Sandfire’s US branch had a fairly quiet quarter, the head operation managed to squeeze in a major deal right at the end of the quarter. After a failed attempt earlier this year, the company successfully wooed MOD Resources (ASX:MOD,LSE:MOD) with a AU$167 million takeover offer.

2. Oroco Resource (TSXV:OCO)

Year-to-date growth: 120 percent, share price: C$0.44

Founded in 2006, Oroco Resource is a Canadian exploration company with two significant assets to its name: the Xochipala gold project and the Santo Tomás porphyry copper project, both of which are in Mexico. Its focus is on the mineral concessions that make up Santo Tomás.

Despite Oroco laying low for most of the quarter, a favorable court ruling in May helped send the company’s share price skyrocketing. The issue pertained to a 2016 judgment that had blocked the Santo Tomás concessions from being registered to a subsidiary of Altamura Copper; Oroco holds 13 percent of Altamura with an option to acquire a 100 percent interest. Shares jumped 48.64 percent in the days following the announcement.

3. Los Andes Copper (TSXV:LA)

Year-to-date growth: 60 percent; share price: C$0.32

A Canadian company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Los Andes Copper is focused on its wholly owned Vizcachitas copper-molybdenum porphyry project in Chile. According to the company, Vizcachitas is set to be Chile’s “next major copper mine,” with the asset currently going through a prefeasibility study.

Over the last quarter, the company’s flagship asset has seen two notable milestones: a nod of approval from Chilean environmental authorities in April, and the completion of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) in June. The PEA, released in June, sent Los Andes shares up almost 21 percent over two days, allowing the company to hit its highest Q2 price point at C$0.37.

4. Pacific Booker Minerals (TSXV:BKM)

Year-to-date growth: 31.03 percent; share price: C$1.90

Based solely around the development of its Morrison copper-gold asset in Central British Columbia, Pacific Booker Minerals also operates out of the West Coast province. Morrison has now reached the advanced development stages after the company completed a feasibility study for the deposit; it is now proposing an open-pit mining and milling operation.

Pacific stayed incredibly quiet through Q2 as it only posted one news release the entire quarter, which pertained to the release of annual reports. Despite the lack of news, the company’s share price has moved up and down throughout the last few months; it peaked at C$4.10 in early May, but later crashed past the C$2 mark in late June.

5. VVC Exploration (TSXV:VVC)

Year-to-date growth: 16.67 percent, share price: C$0.035

While it holds a portfolio of assets spread throughout Mexico, VVC Exploration is another Canadian company on the list. The company has three primary properties: the Samalayuca copper project, the Cumeral gold property and the La Tuna gold-silver exploration property. VVC also holds a greenfield property in Timmins, Ontario.

VVC only released a few pieces of news over the quarter, but started Q2 on an upbeat note with further details on an updated resource estimate released in Q1. The update gave additional information about Samalayuca’s resource estimate with a specific focus on the project’s La Concha zone, which alone hosts 21.03 million pounds of indicated copper and 31.05 million pounds inferred.

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

Editorial Disclosure: VVC Exploration is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.