5 Top TSX Stocks: Cobalt Miners Lead the Way

Last Friday, the S&P TSX Composite index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) rose 353.7 points, or 2.94 percent, to end the week at 12,389.58 points. According to Reuters, all 10 of the index’s main industries rose over 1 percent. 
A number of resource-focused companies on the TSX rose along with the exchange. The top gainer was Katanga Mining (TSX:KAT), and it was followed by Sherritt International (TSX:S), Taseko Mines (TSX:TKO,NYSEMKT:TGB), Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B,NYSE:TCK) and Mandalay Resources (TSX:MND). Here’s a look at what moved the share prices of those companies last week.

Katanga Mining

As mentioned, Katanga Mining was the top gainer on the TSX last week, rising 28 percent to end at $0.16. The company operates a large-scale copper-cobalt mine complex in the Democratic Republic of the Congo through two joint ventures.
Katanga Mining hasn’t released any news since November, when it put out its results for the third quarter of 2015. It’s possible that last week’s share price activity was brought about by a report released Monday by Amnesty International.

The main takeaway from the report is that major tech companies do not appear to be ensuring that their products do not use cobalt mined by child laborers — it’s understandably drawn attention to the cobalt supply chain, and to potential shortages that could arise if actions are taken to shut down illegal cobalt mining operations.

Sherritt International

Like Katanga Mining, Sherritt International is focused on cobalt, at least partially. The company is best known as a nickel miner, and is one of the world’s largest producers of nickel from lateritic sources; it’s also Cuba’s largest independent energy producer. Cobalt fits into the mix because it’s a by-product of Sherritt’s nickel output.
As such, it’s possible that Sherritt also gained last week because of Amnesty International’s report. It’s also possible that the company’s share price was influenced by its 2015 production results, released Monday. All in all, Sherritt rose 22.03 percent last week to hit $0.72.

Taseko Mines

Taseko Mines has 75-percent ownership over the Gibraltar mine, Canada’s second-largest open-pit copper-moly mine. It also has several other projects in advanced stages of development.
The company’s share price rose 21.62 percent last week to end at $0.45. Tasko has had a quiet month so far, though it did release its 2015 production results early in January. According to the company, Gibraltar achieved its best year of production, putting out 142 million pounds of copper and 1 million pounds of moly.

Teck Resources

Teck Resources bills itself as Canada’s largest diversified resource company, with business units focused on copper, zinc, steelmaking coal and energy. Last week, its share price rose 17.82 percent to reach $5.29.

The company got good news last week when media and investment research company Corporate Knights announced that in 2015 Teck was one of the world’s top 100 most sustainable corporations. Teck has now been on the list for four years in a row.

Mandalay Resources

Finally, Mandalay Resources’ share price rose 14.52 percent last week to reach $0.71. The company is focused on creating shareholder value by acquiring undervalued assets that can quickly turn into cash generators; at the moment, it holds assets in Chile, Australia and Sweden. Last week, Mandalay provided exploration updates for its three mines.
 
Data for 5 Top TSX Stocks articles is retrieved each Friday after market close 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, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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