5 Top Weekly TSX Stocks: Nemaska Lithium Jumps on Financing

At the end of last week, Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) was down by 8.29 points, or a miniscule 0.05 percent, to 16,485.94 on Friday (July 19).

In general news, tensions between Iran and the West appear to be heating up as the US claims it shot down an Iranian drone, and Iran claims it has seized a British-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz.

Gold spent last week keeping above US$1,400 an ounce, while base metals were led by nickel, which has a supply deficit looming.

Looking at miners on the TSX, here are the top five gainers from last week:

• Sherritt International (TSX:S)
• Silver Bear Resources (TSX:SBR)
• Horizonte Minerals (TSX:HZM)
• First Majestic Silver (TSX:FR)
• Nemaska Lithium (TSX:NMX)

Read on to find out what each company has been up to lately.

Sherritt International

Sherritt is a major nickel and cobalt producer with assets in Canada, Cuba and Madagascar, with its Cuban cobalt assets putting it in the crosshairs of US President Donald Trump’s sanctions against the Caribbean nation in 2019.

News from Sherritt hasn’t been thick on the ground lately, but there is news on the way. Last week, the company set a date for its Q2 2019 results and investor call: July 31 and August 1.

On the TSX last week, Sherritt was trading up by 40.91 percent, reaching C$0.31.

Silver Bear Resources

Silver Bear Resources’ flagship project is its Mangazeisky silver project in Russia, which, in its first year of production in 2018, produced 594,921 ounces of silver.

The company’s most recent news was all from June, when it announced a number of shareholder voting results.

In Toronto, the company was trading up by 40 percent on the TSX, at C$0.175 by Friday.

Horizonte Minerals

Horizonte Minerals has two projects in Brazil: the Araguaia ferronickel project and the Vermelho nickel–cobalt project. Araguaia has been in the news this year as the company has been moving toward construction footing for the project.

Through the year, Horizonte has continued to provide updates on development progress at Araguaia, with the most recent news being that the company is now permitted to access the national energy grid in Brazil to power its project.

On the TSX, Horizonte was trading at C$0.045 by last Friday, up by 28.57 percent over the previous week.

First Majestic Silver

Unsurprisingly a silver-focused company, First Majestic operates six mines in Mexico: the San Dimas silver-gold mine, the Santa Elena silver-gold mine, the La Encantada silver mine, the San Martin silver mine, the La Parrilla silver mine and the Del Toro silver mine. In 2019, these mines are projected to produce 24.7 to 27.5 million silver equivalent ounces.

The company’s most recent news on July 15 put it on track to achieve that guidance, and it reported that it produced 6.4 million silver equivalent ounces in Q2.

In Toronto, First Majestic’s shares were valued at C$13 by the end of last week, up 27.83 percent over the previous five days.

Nemaska Lithium

Nemaska Lithium bills itself as building one of North America’s richest and largest hard rock lithium mines and lithium salts-processing facilities: a unique deposit in Nemaska and a state-of-the-art electrochemical plant in Shawinigan, both located in the province of Quebec, Canada. 

The company made news for the wrong reasons earlier this year when it revealed a financing shortfall to the tune of C$375 million, with its shares falling 45 percent in one go in February.

The company is far from recovering to its pre-february 2019 heights, but an announcement that it may have secured the financing it needs earned it a 27.08 percent jump on the TSX last week, raising share prices to C$0.305.

Data for 5 Top TSX Stocks articles is retrieved each Friday at 10:30 a.m. PST using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $50 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within basic materials and energy sectors are considered.

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