Best Junior Copper Stocks of 2018 on the TSXV

Copper has had a bit of a wild ride in the past few months — the vital red metal reached its 2018 high less than a month ago, and is now sliding towards a new low for the year.

Currently trading at US$6,594.5 per tonne on the London Metals Exchange, copper hit a peak of US$7,261.5 in early June, well above its starting point for the year at US$7,180.5.

The increase was reversed as quickly as it came about though, with this month’s slump representing a slide back towards the year-to-date low of US$6,499 it touched on in late March, meaning it’s now back to being down 8 percent on the year.

In its most recent report, FocusEconomics analysts predicted demand would remain stable through the year, with copper averaging US$6,842 in the fourth quarter of 2018 — meaning it now has ground to make up.

On the TSXV copper-focused companies are making plenty of gains. The list below was generated using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter, and shows the TSXV-listed copper companies with the biggest share price gains from January 1 to July 3. Only companies with market caps above $10 million are included.

1. Evrim Resources (TSXV:EVM)

Current price: C$1.1; year-to-date gain: 266 percent

Evrim Resources is enjoying quite the year, with its share so far trading at over 266 percent above its starting value at the beginning of the year.

The lion’s share of those gains happened in April, when the price went from C$0.49 on April 4 to C$1.50 on May 23, before settling down to where it sits today. The gains appear to be the result of positive news around the company’s gold-silver projects, but Evrim maintains a number of copper-focused properties in British Columbia and Mexico that will benefit from increased investment.

2. Oroco Resource (TSXV:OCO)

Current price: C$0.2; year-to-date gain: 150 percent

Oroco Resource is currently trading 150 percent higher than where it started, at C$0.2, up from C$0.08 in January.

The company was trading much higher in May, with its value topping out the year to date at C$0.3, or 275 percent higher.

Oroco has two major projects on the go (both in Mexico), including the Santo Tomas copper porphyry property in Sinaloa state.

Efforts to increase ownership of properties in the area around Santo Tomas are helping along the company’s share price this year.

3. Newport Exploration (TSXV:NWX)

Current price: C$0.32; year-to-date gain: 35.42 percent

Newport Exploration has seen a 35.42 percent increase in its share price, going from C$0.24 at the start of the year to C$0.32 today.

The company enjoys royalty interests in producing oil and gas permits in Australia, and has a copper project in British Columbia in the Chu Chua copper-gold deposit near Kamloops.

The mineral resource estimate for Chu Chua pegs the company as sitting on an inferred resource of 2.5 million tonnes grading 2 percent copper and 9.4 grams per tonne (g/t) silver.

4. NorthIsle Copper and Gold (TSXV:NCX)

Current price: C$0.12; year-to-date gain: 25 percent

Vancouver-Island focused Northisle Copper and Gold enjoyed huge gains at the start of this year. In the first quarter, the company’s share price was almost 80 percent above its starting point of C$0.1.

As of today (July 3), it now sits at C$0.125 — a still respectable 25 percent increase over the course of 2018.

The Canadian junior controls the North Island project on Vancouver Island, a 38,000 hectare block of mineral titles containing one confirmed mineral deposit and a collection of historic and prospective deposits.

The company announced a JV with Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) in February, which later developed into an exploration program for the Pemberton Hills property that’s part of the broader project.

5. Pan Global Resources (TSXV:PGZ)

Current price: C$0.23; year-to-date gain: 24.32 percent

Spanish-focused base and precious metals explorer Pan Global Resources has also enjoyed modest gains over the year, with the Canadian company rising 24.32 percent from a low base of C$0.18 to C$0.23.

The company currently holds two projects in Andalucia, including the Águilas project, which Pan Global describes as having copper mineralization similar to the Olympic Dam and Cloncurry districts in Australia.

In May, the company reported that exploration works on Águilas had returned assay values as high as 1.57 percent copper.

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

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

Editorial Disclosure: NorthIsle Copper and Gold is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.