Best Zinc Stocks of 2016 on the TSX

In the last months of 2016 the rally in metals, that was ‘too fast and too furious’ for some analysts, rose zinc prices to multi-year highs. The surge was supported by expectations of higher demand and less supply due to mine closures, production cutbacks and speculation about US president-elect Trump infrastructure plan.
In 2015 zinc prices struggled, dropping significantly in the last quarter. But in November, zinc prices jumped to gain nearly 90 percent since the beginning of the year. Here is a list of the best zinc stocks of 2016 generated using The Globe and Mail’s market data filter that does not include companies with a market cap of less than $50 million.

1. Arizona Mining (TSX:AZ)

Current price: $3.07; year-to-date gain: 844.62 percent.
Arizona Mining is focused on the exploration and development of it 100% owned Hermosa Project located in Santa Cruz County, Arizona.  The Hermosa Project is a premier zinc-lead-silver deposit. The company’s updated Taylor sulfide resource showed significant growth – 31.1 M tons Indicated and 82.7 M tons Inferred vs prior Inferred resource of 43.4 M tons.
Metallurgical testing indicates very good recoveries, simple processing and high quality, clean concentrates. There is substantial exploration potential on their extensive land package. The highly experienced management team are working to release the preliminary economic assessment at the end of Q1 2017.

2. Golden Minerals (TSX:AUM)

Current price: $0.95; year-to-date gain: 239.29 percent.
Golden Minerals is a precious metals mining company that owns the Velardeña Properties, a high-grade silver and gold resource with lead and zinc base metals, in Durango, Mexico and El Quevar, an advanced exploration property, in the province of Salta, Argentina.
The company reported $1.7 million in revenue for the third quarter of 2016. They also expect to complete the 2,000 meter core drilling program on the Rodeo property that started in June 2016 by the end of the year.

3. Trevali Mining (TSX:TV)

Current price: $1.33; year-to-date gain: 160.78 percent.
Next on the list of best zinc stocks on the TSX is Trevali Mining, a zinc-focused, base metals mining company with two commercially producing operations. The Santander Mine in Peru, where the company recently discovered new high-grade zinc-lead-silver mineralization, is a 2,000 tonne per day underground mine and mill complex which includes production from three major deposits. In July this year, they started commercial production at their Caribou zinc mine where the company continues on ramping operations towards 3,000 tonne per day levels.
Trevali also reported a record in their total concentrate sales revenue of $57.5 million which is up 99 percent compared to the second quarter of the year.

4. Canadian Zinc (TSX:CZN)

Current price: $0.25; year-to-date gain: 142.86 percent.
Canadian Zinc is an exploration-stage company that is focusing on the development of the Prairie Creek property, a zinc-lead-silver mineral resource, in the Northwest Territories in Canada. They are also engaged in the exploration of base metal properties in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
In September 2015, Canadian Zinc announced an upgrade to the mineral resources at the Prairie Creek Project increasing to 8.70 million tonnes averaging 9.5 percent zinc, 8.9 percent lead and 136 g/t silver.

5. Lundin Mining (TSX:LUN)

Current price: $6.87; year-to-date gain: 80.79 percent.
Last but not least on the best zinc stocks on the TSX for 2016 is Lundin Mining, a base metals company with operations in Chile, US, Portugal and Sweden. Primarily producing copper, nickel and zinc, Lundin Mining reported that for the third quarter of 2016 their sales increased $21.3 million compared to the same period last year. Their zinc production at the Neves-Corvo mine was 17,642 for the quarter exceeding last year’s due to higher recoveries. The company estimates that their total zinc production for the year will be around 145,000-155,000 tonnes.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Priscila Barrera, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: Arizona Mining and Trevali Mining are clients of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.