5 Top Weekly TSX Stocks: Nautilus Minerals Up on Construction Update

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) inched up last week, increasing 3.92 percent to close the five-day period at 15,625.6 points.

The index edged higher in early trade on Friday (February 23), boosted by gains in financial and energy shares.

On Friday, gold was headed for its worst week since early December. Base metals were also down for the week, with LME copper on track for a weekly loss at $7,150 per tonne.

Against that backdrop, a number of TSX-listed stocks in the mining sector saw share price increases last week, with the five top gainers being:

• Nautilus Minerals (TSX:NUS)
• Brio Gold (TSX:BRIO)
• Hudbay Minerals (TSX:HBM)
• Leagold Mining (TSX:LMC)
• Coro Mining (TSX:COP)

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

1. Nautilus Minerals

Nautilus Minerals is the first company to commercially explore the seafloor for massive sulfide systems, a potential source of high-grade copper, gold, zinc and silver. Nautilus is developing a production system to commercially extract these systems using existing technologies adapted from the offshore oil and gas industry, and from the dredging and mining industries.

Last Tuesday (February 20), the company provided an update on the status of construction of a production support vessel to be used in the Bismarck Sea of Papua New Guinea. Over the five-day period, Nautilus Minerals saw a share price spike of 86.11 percent to close the week at $0.33.

2. Brio Gold

Brio Gold has significant gold-producing, development and exploration-stage properties in Brazil. The company’s portfolio includes three operating mines, the Fazenda Brasileiro mine, the Pilar operation and the RDM mine, as well as the Santa Luz mine, which is currently on care and maintenance.

The company’s latest news came on February 16, when it agreed to a takeover offer from Leagold Mining. Over the five-day period, Brio Gold saw a spike of 8.94 percent to close at $2.56.

3. Hudbay Minerals

Hudbay Minerals is an integrated mining company that produces copper concentrate and zinc metal at operations across the Americas.

Last Wednesday (February 21), the company reported its fourth quarter and full-year results for 2017. Shares of Hudbay Minerals saw an increase of 6.48 percent last week to reach $10.35.

4. Leagold Mining

Leagold Mining is building a new mid-tier gold producer with a focus on opportunities in Latin America. The company recently acquired the Los Filos gold mine in Mexico.

As mentioned, on February 16, the company announced plans for a friendly acquisition of Brio Gold. Leagold Mining gained 4.48 percent last week to reach $2.80.

5. Coro Mining

Last but not least is Coro Mining, whose share price saw an increase of 3.57 percent to close at $0.14 last week. It did not release any news during the period that would explain the gain.

Coro Mining is focused on copper production in Chile, and has a number of exploration and development projects. The company is also focused on obtaining production from SCMB’s SXEW plant, in which Coro owns a 35-percent interest. 

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Data for 5 Top TSX Stocks articles is retrieved each Friday at 10:30 a.m. PST using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $50 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the mining and precious metals sectors are considered.

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