5 Top Weekly TSX Stocks: Ero Copper Gains on New Discovery

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) opened slowly last Friday (May 18), peaking at 16,145.95 at 11:50 a.m. EST and then falling to 16,137.18 in the afternoon.

The sluggish start was attributed to weak commodities prices, as precious metals and oil were down as a result of a strong US dollar.

Data released by Stats Canada indicates inflation in April sat at 2.2 percent. That’s a tenth of a cent lower than analysts expected, but still above the 2-percent mark the Bank of Canada would like.

Last week’s top-performing TSX stocks include precious and base metals miners, and one lithium-focused company. The five TSX-listed mining stocks that saw the biggest share price gains are as follows:

• Ero Copper (TSX:ERO)
• Lithium Americas (TSX:LAC)
• Western Copper and Gold (TSX:WRN)
• Leagold Mining (TSX:LMC)
• Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN)

Here’s a look at those companies and the factors that moved their share prices last week.

Ero Copper

Brazil-focused Ero Copper is engaged in increasing its high-grade mineral reserves, extending its mine life and maximizing mill throughput. Ero’s share price made the most significant gains last week, rising 15.26 percent to close at C$8.76.

During the period, the company announced the discovery of a new parallel zone of copper mineralization at the Pilar mine. Pilar is located at Ero’s 99.6-percent owned Vale de Curaçá property.

Lithium Americas

Lithium Americas is a Canada-based lithium company whose main asset is the Cauchari-Olaroz brine deposit in Argentina. The company is developing Cauchari-Olaroz through a joint venture with major lithium miner SQM (NYSE:SQM).

Last week, Lithium Americas’ share price gained 11.8 percent to close Friday at C$8.24. On Thursday (May 17), China’s Tianqi Lithium (SZSE:002466) announced it will buy a 24-percent stake in SQM for US$4.07 billion from Nutrien (TSX:NTR,NYSE:NTR). Lithium Americas also released its Q1 financials last week.

Western Copper and Gold

Western Copper and Gold is developing the billion-tonne Casino copper-gold project in Canada’s Yukon. The company’s share price was up 10.28 percent last week and closed at C$1.18, although it did not release any news during the period.

Leagold Mining

Leagold Mining is invested in becoming a mid-tier Latin America gold producer. The company’s share price rose by 9.06 percent last week, ending at C$3.13.

During the five-day period, Leagold received the final government approval needed to move forward with its acquisition of Brio Gold (TSX:BRIO). The acquisition will allow Leagold to become a world-class gold miner, producing as much as 700,000 ounces of gold annually.

Ivanhoe Mines

Robert Friedland-led Ivanhoe Mines is an Africa-focused company with three principal projects in Southern Africa. The company’s share price grew by 3 percent last week, closing at C3.42. It did not release any news during that time.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, 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.