Top 5 Canadian Lithium Stocks (Updated August 2022)

Year-to-date gain: 242.86 percent; market capitalization: C$17.06 million; current share price: C$0.24

Nevada Sunrise Gold may have gold in its name, but 2022 has been all about lithium. The explorer wholly owns two lithium projects, the Gemini and Jackson Wash assets, which are located in the Lida Valley basin in Nevada.

According to Nevada Sunrise, the Lida Valley basin shares similar geography to the nearby Clayton Valley basin, where Albemarle’s (NYSE:ALB) Silver Peak lithium mine is located. In addition to its lithium properties, the company owns 100 percent of the Coronado VMS project, 20 percent of the Kinsley Mountain gold project and 15 percent of both the Treasure Box copper project and the Lovelock Mine cobalt project.

In the first quarter, Nevada Sunrise Gold’s share price saw little movement, even as it commenced exploration at Gemini. It wasn’t until the company shared its first drill results on April 18 that its share price broke above C$0.10, jumping from C$0.08 to C$0.14 overnight. Further exploration results at the project, including 1,101 parts per million lithium over 730 feet, continued to drive its share price higher.

After rising through May and early June, the company’s share price hit a year-to-date high of C$0.36 on June 10 off the back of June 6 exploration results showing 327.7 milligrams of lithium per liter of water over 220 feet, as well as private placement news. On July 11, the company shared preliminary results from a May time-domain electromagnetic survey. In late July, Nevada Sunrise received an exploration permit for Gemini that amended the number of boreholes to 12, and in mid-August the company announced that it had engaged the drillers for the exploration program. The Phase 2 drill program will begin in September.

Year-to-date gain: 148.78 percent; market capitalization: C$3.05 billion; current share price: C$32.34

In Minas Gerais, Brazil, Sigma Lithium has its Grota do Cirilo hard-rock lithium project, at which it is currently constructing its Phase 1 operations with expected commissioning by year-end 2022. Sigma anticipates Phase I production of 270,000 metric tons (MT) annually. Additionally, Sigma is constructing its greentech dense media separation production plant, which will make its operations vertically integrated. The company has been recognized by the Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) as part of its “Top 50 Stocks for 10 Scarcity Themes.”

On May 26, Sigma filed a consolidated technical report that looks at two initial production phases for Grota do Cirilo. The integrated operation would source feedstock spodumene ore from the company's Phase 1 and Phase 2 lithium deposits to produce battery-grade, high-purity lithium concentrate. The company pegs the after-tax net production revenue at US$5.1 billion and the after-tax internal rate of return at 589 percent, and states that this expansion scenario "will potentially position (it) as the world’s fourth largest lithium producer." Sigma's share price spiked to its highest point for the first half of the year on May 27, reaching a level of US$18.30.

Most recently, Sigma shared an update on its “transformative” Q2, mentioning the previously announced news that it has increased the resource at Grota do Cirilo by 50 percent; a Phase 3 technical report has now been filed. Additionally, as of the announcement, total construction progress at the project stood at 32 percent. Sigma’s share price climbed through July and August, and after a small drop reached a year-to-date high of US$25 on August 24.

Year-to-date gain: 80 percent; market capitalization: C$18.42 million; current share price: C$0.09

Jourdan Resources is focused on acquiring, exploring and developing hard-rock spodumene lithium projects in Quebec, Canada. Its current projects are the Vallée lithium, Baillarge lithium-molybdenum and Preissac-La Corne lithium projects. According to the company, it has the largest lithium exploration portfolio in Quebec.

Jourdan Resources’ share price saw a spike to start the year ⁠— hitting a year-to-date high of C$0.095 ⁠— but then fell and performed relatively flatly for much of the first half of the year, staying mostly around C$0.05 to C$0.06. The company’s share price began to rise again in June, during which time it shared exploration results at Vallée, including a highlight of 3.2 meters at 1.56 percent Li2O. Its share price hit C$0.085 in June and again in July.

In July and August, Jourdan has continued to release exploration news at its various projects. On July 7, it shared its latest exploration results at Vallée. Later in the month, the company began a soil sampling program at the Preissac-La Corne and Baillarge projects. In the release, CEO Rene Bharti shared the company’s goals moving forward, saying: “Jourdan is pleased to begin exploration on its other significant properties. The Company is keenly focused on establishing an initial mineral resource estimate at Vallée in the near term and commencing a drill program in the near future at its other two properties, Baillargé and Preissac-La Corne.”

Most recently, Jourdan began drilling at Vallée for its Phase 3 summer drilling program. Just days before that news was released, its share price matched its previous high of C$0.095.

Year-to-date gain: 33.33 percent; market capitalization: C$17.86 million; current share price: C$0.26

Lithium Energi Exploration is an acquisition, exploration and development company working in South America’s Lithium Triangle, with over 72,000 hectares of lithium brine concessions in Argentina’s section of the triangle.

In January, the company announced that exploration and development with its joint venture partner Global Oil Management Group was accelerating. The name of the new joint venture is Triangle Lithium Argentina.

On March 24, the company shared that, alongside its new joint venture Triangle Lithium Argentina, it was set to commence exploration drilling in the Antofalla basin soon. This news caused its share price to shoot up over the following weeks, moving from C$0.21 on March 24 to a year-to-date high of C$0.35 by April 11. The company’s most recent news came on June 21, when it announced that Triangle Lithium Argentina had commenced drilling, with plans to complete 2,400 meters over six wells at the basin.

Year-to-date gain: 16.83 percent; market capitalization: C$524.18 million; current share price: C$2.43

Frontier Lithium’s goal is to become a manufacturer of battery-quality lithium salts for the electric vehicle and lithium-ion battery markets. According to the company, its PAK lithium project “contains one of North America’s highest-grade, large-tonnage hard-rock lithium resources in the form of a rare low-iron spodumene.” The project, which is being actively developed by Frontier, is located in Ontario’s Electric Avenue.

Frontier’s news in 2022 has focused on exploration at PAK’s Spark deposit. On March 1, the company announced an updated indicated resource for Spark of 14 million MT averaging 1.4 percent lithium oxide and an inferred resource of 18 million MT averaging 1.37 percent lithium oxide. Later that month, the company completed its mineral processing pilot plant campaign. Since then, Frontier has added CFO Tony Zheng to its leadership team.

At the beginning of May, Frontier released its 2022 exploration plans, which will continue to focus on the Spark deposit. The company’s share price hit a year-to-date high of C$3.84 two days later on May 4. Since then, the company has released multiple drill results, including for its Phase XI and Phase XII drilling at Spark. During Phase XII, Frontier intersected 144 meters averaging 1.72 percent Li2O, and a further update showed more high grades such as 357.5 meters at 1.63 percent across 110 meters horizontally. Frontier’s financial Q1 report, which it released on August 25, dives into these results, as well as what the company will do next.