Top Canadian Rare Earths Stocks

1. Search Minerals

Year-to-date gain: 178.57 percent; current share price: C$0.20

Search Minerals (TSXV:SMY) is focused on a belt in Southeastern Labrador's Port Hope Simpson – St. Lewis district that is 63 kilometers long and 2 kilometers wide. The company's properties there include the Foxtrot deposit, for which it has completed a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), and the Deep Fox deposit, where it has done a resource estimate. Search also has the Fox Meadow, Silver Fox and Awesome Fox exploration prospects.

Shares of Search hit their 2021 peak on March 22, reaching C$0.32 the day before the company announced a C$2.52 million non-brokered private placement. More recently, the company commissioned a combined PEA for both the Deep Fox and Foxtrot projects in September, and in October entered a non-binding memorandum of understanding for an offtake agreement with USA Rare Earth.

2. NioCorp Developments

Year-to-date gain: 68 percent; current share price: C$1.26

NioCorp Developments (TSX:NB) is moving forward at its Southeast Nebraska-based Elk Creek superalloy materials project, where it plans to produce niobium, scandium and titanium. The company is assessing whether the asset may also have the potential to produce rare earth by-products.

Shares of NioCorp peaked for 2021 at C$1.20 on June 30, although a company statement released a day prior indicates it was unaware of what may have caused the increase. More recent high points came on November 16 and 22, just after the deadline for NioCorp to start construction at Elk Creek was extended until April 4, 2022.

3. Mkango Resources

Year-to-date gain: 63.08 percent; current share price: C$0.53

Mkango Resources (TSXV:MKA) has put together a "mine, refine, recycle" strategy through which it aims to develop sustainable sources of neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium to serve cleantech industries.

The company's main project is the Songwe Hill rare earths property in Malawi, where a feasibility study is due for completion in Q1 2022. Mkango is also developing a Poland-based rare earths separation plant with Grupa Azoty PULAWY, and has an interest in UK rare earth magnet recycler HyProMag through its ownership of Maginito.

Mkango's share price hit its highest level in 2021 on November 12, reaching C$0.70. The day before, it renewed its Thambani uranium licenses in Malawi for five years; several days later, the company announced that HyProMag would be expanding into Germany through a new 80 percent owned subsidiary.

4. Appia Rare Earths & Uranium

Year-to-date gain: 48.72 percent; current share price: C$0.58

Appia Rare Earths & Uranium (CSE:API) has honed its efforts on rare earths and uranium exploration and development in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin and Ontario's Elliot Lake mining camp. Its main Athabasca Basin property is Alces Lake, and its other assets in the area are Loranger, Eastside and North Wollaston.

Formerly known as Appia Energy, the company changed its name in October. Shares peaked at C$1.17 on June 11, a few days before Appia started a summer exploration program for Alces Lake, which is focused on rare earths, and North Wollaston and Loranger, which are focused on uranium. It has shared frequent updates since then.

5. Ucore Rare Metals

Year-to-date gain: 9.38 percent; current share price: C$1.05

Ucore Rare Metals (TSXV:UCU) owns the Bokan-Dotson Ridge REE project in Southeast Alaska, and also has a focus on rare earths extraction, beneficiation and separation technologies. In addition to moving forward at Bokan-Dotson Ridge, the company wants to develop a heavy rare earths processing facility in the same area.

Shares of Ucore rocketed to C$2.67 on February 18 just before it settled litigation activities with IBC Advanced Technologies. More recently, the company provided an update on the commercialization of REE separation and purification technology being developed by its subsidiary Innovation Meals.