5 Top TSX Stocks: Polaris Minerals Up 13.99 Percent on Terminal Opening

The S&P/TSX Composite index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) fell last Friday for the sixth day in a row, declining 79.13 points, or 0.6 percent, to reach 14,186.24 points. According to Reuters, that six-day slide has taken the index down 3.5 percent and is its longest since June 2013. 
Energy and raw materials producers make up about 30 percent of the index, according to the news outlet, and they are “the worst-performing stocks in Canada this year.” Such stocks are being hurt by a “rout in commodities” that is largely based on concerns about slowing worldwide economic growth.
That’s a pretty disheartening picture, but luckily some TSX-listed stocks did manage to see gains last week. The top gainer was Polaris Minerals (TSX:PLS), and it was followed by China Gold International Resources (TSX:CGG,HKEX:2099), NovaGold Resources (TSX:NG,NYSEMKT:NG), Cameco (TSX:CCO,NYSE:CCJ) and Altius Minerals (TSX:ALS). Here’s a look at what moved the share prices of those companies last week.

Polaris Minerals

Polaris Minerals holds interests in a number of projects, with the main ones being the Orca sand and gravel quarry in British Columbia, the California-based Richmond terminal and the Long Beach terminal, also in California. The two terminals are both aggregate storage and distribution facilities.
Last week, the company announced the opening of the Long Beach terminal, noting that a self-discharging Panamax ship carrying 77,000 tons of aggregates from the Orca quarry made the first delivery to the terminal. Commenting on the milestone, Herb Wilson, president and CEO of Polaris, said, “[t]he large product inventory now available on the site enables us to actively pursue supplying major projects and infrastructure where the high performance characteristics of concrete made with the Orca aggregate can add considerable value.”
The news sent Polaris’ share price up 13.99 percent, to $2.20.

China Gold International Resources

Canada-based China Gold is a gold and copper producer that operates two mines in China: the CSH gold mine and the Jiama copper-polymetallic mine. The company is the flagship and only overseas listing vehicle of China’s largest gold producer, China National Gold.
Last week, the company’s share price rose 9.66 percent to hit $1.93. It’s unclear what caused that rise given that the company has released no news since mid-May. Furthermore, the gold price took a big hit last week. In any case, China Gold’s shareholders were no doubt glad to see the company gain.

NovaGold Resources

NovaGold Resources also gained last week despite the big hit the gold price took. Its share price rose 6.44 percent to hit $4.13, though like China Gold it did not release any news that would explain the gain.
Most recently, on July 7, NovaGold announced that it continues to advance permitting at its Alaska-based Donlin gold project, which it holds jointly with major miner Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:ABX). The company bills Donlin as one of the world’s largest-known undeveloped gold deposits — it holds about 39 million ounces of gold mineral resources, inclusive of mineral reserves (541 million tonnes at 2.24 g/t).

Cameco

Industry heavyweight Cameco was the third-biggest gainer on the TSX last week, with its share price rising 3.86 percent to reach $17.51. The company has not released any news since early July, when it notified investors that its McArthur River, Key Lake, Cigar Lake and Rabbit Lake uranium operations in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin had not been impacted by forest fires.

Altius Minerals

The share price of diversified mining royalty company Altius Minerals rose 2.95 percent last week to reach $13.59. Unlike the other companies on this list, Altius’ business model is based on investing in the initiation and development of mineral resource-related opportunities, then forming businesses or partnerships around them, ultimately creating royalties.
Altius released no news last week that would explain its modest share price increase. Most recently, on July 15, the company completed an agreement to transfer certain of its CDP mineral lands in Alberta to Westmoreland Coal Company (NASDAQ:WLB) in exchange for future production royalties.
 
Data for TSX Top 5 articles is retrieved each Friday after market close. Only companies with a market capitalization greater than $50 million prior to the week’s gains are included. 
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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