5 Top Weekly TSXV Stocks: NorthIsle Copper and Gold Up on Freeport JV

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) was down 0.53 percent as of 10:14 a.m. PST on Friday (March 2), sitting at 824.92 points.

The TSXV recorded a marginal decline during midday trading on Friday following US President Donald Trump’s promise to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports.

The Aluminium Association of Canada noted earlier this month that Alcoa (NYSE:AA), Alouette and Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO,ASX:RIO) operate 10 smelters in Canada. The organization believes the country should be exempt from any tariffs or quotas put in place by the US. 

Trump’s remarks that he would impose tariffs prompted a response from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who warned of “significant disruption” in the supply chain. Trudeau said the tariffs would harm Canada’s steel sector just as much as they would harm the US industry.

“We will continue to engage with all levels of the American administration in the coming days so that they understand that this proposal is unacceptable,” he said.

Against that backdrop, a number of TSXV-listed mining stocks experienced share price gains last week. The five top gainers are as follows:

• Namibia Rare Earths (TSXV:NRE)
• NorthIsle Copper and Gold (TSXV:NCX)
• Northern Superior Resources (TSXV:SUP)
• Kilo Goldmines (TSXV:KGL)
• US Cobalt (TSXV:USCO)

Read on for a brief overview of those companies and what moved their share prices last week.

1. Namibia Rare Earths

Namibia Rare Earths’ latest news came midway through February, when it completed the acquisition of a portfolio of critical metals properties from Gecko Namibia. The acquisition will expand its holdings to include a wide variety of commodities in addition to its existing rare earths projects.

The company is giving first priority to a cobalt exploration program at Kunene in Northern Namibia. It did not release any news last week, but its share price rose 262.5 percent to close at $0.16 last week.

2. NorthIsle Copper and Gold

NorthIsle Copper and Gold announced last week that it has signed a joint venture agreement with Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) regarding its Pemberton Hills property on Vancouver Island in BC.

Under the terms of the joint venture, Freeport can earn up to a 65-percent interest in Pemberton Hills by funding a total of C$24 million in exploration. There is historical drill hole evidence suggesting a buried porphyry copper deposit on the property, according to NorthIsle.

“We expect to benefit from Freeport’s extensive experience in porphyry copper terrains,” said John McClintock, company president and CEO. Shares of NorthIsle Copper and Gold rose 47.83 percent to close at $0.19 last week.

3. Northern Superior Resources

Northern Superior Resources announced midway through last week that it has concluded a lawsuit with the Ontario government concerning its Thorne Lake, Metson Lake and Rapson Bay properties. 

The company “intends to request the Provincial Mining Recorder to remove the ‘Pending Proceedings’ notation which was recorded on the Claims’ abstracts and to provide that the Claims will remain in an extended exclusion of time for a minimum of two years.” CEO Tom Morris said now Northern Superior will focus on advancing its Ti-Pa-haa-kaa-ning and Croteau Est properties. Its share price rose 42.86 percent over the course of last week to close at $0.05.

4. Kilo Goldmines

Kilo Goldmines has gold and iron prospects in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The company has not released any recent news, but its share price rose 33.33 percent last week to close at $0.05.

5. US Cobalt

Last Wednesday (March 1), US Cobalt announced results from five surface core holes drilled during 2017 at its Iron Creek project in Idaho.

“Notably, drill hole IC17-24, west of the historical estimates, contains the highest grades seen thus far at Iron Creek:  a true thickness of 0.89 feet (0.27 meters) grading 2.2 percent CoEq, with 1.01% cobalt and 12.6 percent copper.  We are excited to continue the rapid exploration and then development of Iron Creek. Several drill holes from these same areas are at the lab and results are pending,” said Senior Vice President, Exploration, Brian Kirwin.

The company began a new drilling campaign on February 23 and plans to complete a resource estimate on the project in 2018. US Cobalt’s share price gained 29.41 percent over the week to close at $0.91.

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.

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

Editorial Disclosure: Northisle Copper and Gold is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.