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Which TSXV-listed junior gold stocks have performed the best so far this year? Our list includes the five biggest gainers.
Click here to read the latest best junior gold stocks article.
The gold price has climbed more than 20 percent in 2020, driven higher by investors’ desire to hedge against inflation and uncertainty.
Despite a drop in November, the precious metal pushed back up over the US$1,800 per ounce level at the start of the final month of the year. As of December 7, gold was trading as high as US$1,865, indicating that it is the metal of choice amid market turmoil and political chaos.
With the fallout of the US election and another round of COVID-19 lockdowns across the globe, the price may again run up as markets grapple with stagnating economies and disrupted supply chains.
One area of the stock market that has seen growth are junior gold stocks. Heightened investor interest has led to share price growth, as well as successful capital raisings. Here the Investing News Network has rounded up the five top junior gold stocks on the TSXV with the biggest share price gains year-to-date.
This gold-mining stocks list was generated on December 7, 2020, using TradingView’s stock screener, and all junior mining stocks listed had market caps above C$10 million at that time.
1. Arbor Metals (TSXV:ABR)
Year-to-date gain: 4,727.54 percent; current share price: C$2
2020’s largest TSXV gold gainer is a company focused on discovery-stage properties. Arbor Metals is currently developing the Rakounga gold concession in Burkina Faso.
Shares of the junior gold stock experienced a steady trend higher throughout July and August, reaching the C$0.93 level on September 11.
In early September, the company launched Arbor Gold Royalties. The subsidiary of the larger Arbor Metals will focus on royalties and streams from mines located on the African continent.
In November, Arbor Metals released positive results from a 55 line kilometer soil sampling program at Rakounga, extending the known gold trend on the property. The data supports Arbor’s plans to increase known mineralization along trend through multiple drill programs.
The news sent Arbor’s stock price to a one year high of C$2 as of December 7.
2. Benz Mining (TSXV:BZ)
Year-to-date gain: 873.33 percent; current share price: C$0.73
Explorer and developer Benz Mining is currently advancing the past-producing Eastmain gold mine. Focused on Quebec, the firm is also developing the Ruby Hill West and Ruby Hill East projects.
Company shares rose to a quarterly high of C$0.82 at the end of September. In a company update from August, the explorer announced the continuation of a first phase exploration program at Eastmain. The latest activity related to the project includes a 6,000 meter drill campaign.
In late October, the company closed two non-brokered private placements for total proceeds of more than $13.2 million. In addition to the fundraising, the company said it plans to list on the Australian Securities Exchange in mid-December.
3. Northern Superior Resources (TSXV:SUP)
Year-to-date gain: 803.7 percent; current share price: C$1.22
Gold explorer Northern Superior Resources holds projects in the mining-friendly provinces of Ontario and Quebec. New Gold (TSX:NGD,NYSEAMERICAN:NGD) holds a 9.99 percent stake in the company.
In Ontario, Northern Superior holds the TPK gold-silver–copper project, where drilling has confirmed an extensive gold-bearing hydrothermal system. In 2020, the company’s main focus has been on the Lac Surprise project in Quebec, located near IAMGOLD (TSX:IMG,NYSE:IAG) and Vanstar Mining’s (TSXV:VSR) Nelligan 3.2 million ounce inferred gold resource.
In early November, Lac Surprise lived up to its name when Northern Superior announced a new gold zone discovery at the property. Later that month, the company closed a private placement for proceeds of C$4.25 million. On December 3, Northern Superior reached its highest point of the year at C$1.35.
4. Rhyolite Resources (TSXV:RYE)
Year-to-date gain: 700 percent; current share price: C$0.80
Rhyolite Resources’ main asset is the Alaska-based Paxson gold project. The property is located in the Tintina gold belt, which runs from Northern British Columbia to Southwest Alaksa.
In mid-October, Rhyolite entered into a definitive purchase agreement to acquire a privately held, arm’s-length company that has an option to acquire an 80 percent stake in the Suriname-based Brothers project. Rhyolite said it would issue 15,546,566 common shares to complete the transaction.
The news sent the company’s share price up 95 percent to finish at C$0.39.
Rhyolite completed the acquisition at the end of October, and closed a $4.5 million private placement in November. The company’s stock price hit its year high on November 13 at C$0.99.
5. Rupert Resources (TSXV:RUP)
Year-to-date gain: 692.65 percent; current share price: C$5.44
International explorer Rupert Resources has gold assets in Finland and Canada.
Shares of Rupert marked a quarterly high in July, coinciding with a C$23.3 million equity financing. The raising closed at the end of July at an increased value of C$25.6 million.
The junior gold stock’s share price shed some of its early quarter growth until mid-September, when the company was able to bump up to C$3.64.
Other notable activities include the joint venturing of the company’s Gold Center property with Trillium Gold Mines (TSXV:TGM,OTCQX:TGLDF). The latter will take an 80 percent participating interest in the Ontario property and will commit to spending C$10 million over the first five years.
In early October, Rupert Resources announced market-moving drill results from ongoing exploration at its Pahtavaara project in Finland’s Central Lapland greenstone belt. The news sent the company’s share price soaring to an annual high of C$6.20.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
