1. Talon Metals (TSX:TLO)

Year-to-date gain: 394.12 percent
Market cap: C$380.31 million
Share price: C$0.42

Talon Metals is a base metals company advancing the Tamarack nickel-copper-cobalt project in Central Minnesota, US, through a joint venture with Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO).

Talon currently holds a 51 percent stake in the project and can earn up to 60 percent.

In late March, Talon Metals announced a massive sulfide discovery at its Tamarack project, with an intercept measuring 8.25 meters containing 95 percent sulfide content located deeper than the current Tamarack resource.

A further massive sulfide discovery in May drove the company's share price up significantly.

According to Talon, the intercept was the thickest discovered at the site yet, measuring a total of 34.9 meters within a 47.33 meter interval starting at 762 meters depth. On June 5, the firm reported record assays from the intercept, with average grades of 57.76 percent copper equivalent or 28.88 percent nickel equivalent.

In mid-June, Talon closed a combined C$41 million in financing to advance work at Tamarack.

Shares of Talon rallied to a year-to-date high of C$0.41 on August 6 alongside results from a third hole at the discovery, which the company has named the Vault zone. It is now targeting the zone with two drill rigs.

Outside of Tamarack, Talon secured a site in North Dakota, US, for its planned Beulah minerals processing facility on May 28. The location is owned by Westmoreland Mining and previously hosted coal-mining operations.

The facility will serve as a key hub for domestic processing of nickel and other critical minerals in the US. The company currently plans to begin construction in 2027.

2. Leading Edge Materials (TSXV:LEM)

Year-to-date gain: 77.78 percent
Market cap: C$37.15 million
Share price: C$0.16

Leading Edge Materials is developing critical materials projects in the EU to supply materials for advanced technologies such as lithium-ion batteries and permanent magnets for electric vehicles (EVs) and wind power generation.

The company's projects include its wholly owned Woxna graphite mine, the Norra Kärr heavy rare earth elements project in Sweden and the 51 percent owned Bihor Sud nickel-cobalt exploration alliance in Romania.

After starting the year at C$0.09, shares of Leading Edge Materials spiked dramatically in late February and stayed elevated through much of March, reaching a year-to-date high of C$0.30 on March 24.

The day before its peak, the company announced it is moving forward with its rapid development plan at the Norra Kärr project, aiming to fast-track production of heavy rare earth element concentrate and nepheline syenite.

The day after, however, shares fell when Leading Edge reported that Norra Kärr was not selected for the first list of strategic projects under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act. Leading Edge plans to reapply when a new call for applications is announced, and stated it has made significant progress since its previous application in August 2024.

As for Leading Edge's cobalt asset, the Bihor Sud nickel-cobalt project is a brownfield early-stage exploration project at which field work has identified strong potential for the discovery of a significant polymetallic deposit. The company says its goal at the project is "to define a large-scale, mineable mineral resource."

According to its June 2025 presentation, exploration work planned for 2025 at Bihor Sud's G2 gallery includes mapping and sampling of cobalt-nickel and zinc-lead-silver mineralized zones detected visually and by hand-held XRF. Drilling targeting polymetallic mineralization at the gallery is underway.

On the financial side, Leading Edge announced a C$400,000 non-brokered private placement in June.

3. Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX:WPM)

Year-to-date gain: 61.01 percent
Market cap: C$60.97 billion
Share price: C$132.82

Wheaton Precious Metals is one of the largest gold and silver royalty and streaming companies.

It has investments in 18 operating mines and 28 development projects across four continents, including a cobalt streaming agreement for Vale's (NYSE:VALE) Voisey’s Bay nickel mine in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

The company reported its Q1 financial results on May 8. The report highlighted a record US$470 million in revenue, US$254 million in net earnings and US$361 million in operating cashflow.

The cobalt segment registered year-on-year attributable production gains, rising to 540,000 pounds in the year's first quarter, compared to 240,000 pounds during Q1 2024.

Despite the output increase, sales fell to 265,000 pounds in Q1 versus 309,000 pounds in Q1 2024.

According to Wheaton, Voisey’s Bay is currently in a transitional phase, shifting from the depleted Ovoid open pit to full underground production. Underground operations are ramping up, with full ramp up anticipated for H2 2026.

Shares of Wheaton hit a year-to-date high of C$138.56 on August 7 coinciding with the company’s Q2 results.

4. FPX Nickel (TSXV:FPX)

Year-to-date gain: 10.64 percent
Market cap: C$80.28 million
Share price: C$0.26

FPX Nickel is currently advancing its Decar nickel district in BC, Canada.

The property comprises four key targets, with the Baptiste deposit being the primary focus, alongside the Van target. The company also has three other nickel projects in BC and one in the Yukon, Canada.

On February 24, FPX released a scoping study for the development of a refinery that would refine awaruite concentrate from Baptiste into battery-grade nickel sulfate and by-products of cobalt carbonate, copper and ammonium sulfate. Annual output is anticipated at 32,000 metric tons (MT) of contained nickel and 570 MT of contained cobalt.

The results show that the process would result in operating and all-in production costs near the bottom of nickel sulfate cost curve, in part due to by-product credits. Additionally, the carbon intensity of the awaruite refinery would be significantly lower than that of currently used production methods.

FPX formally published the study at the end of March. Company shares hit a year-to-date high of C$0.28 on March 7.

In June, the company successfully produced a larger run of battery-grade nickel sulfate crystals from Baptiste awaruite concentrate using the same process as outlined in the scoping study. FPX plans to share the samples with potential downstream partners, including battery and EV manufacturers.

On July 7, FPX announced it received a multi-year area-based permit from the BC government, a crucial step in the renewal of drilling and exploration activities at the Baptiste project. The company stated it has commenced drilling, with targets supporting its feasibility study and the start of its environmental assessment process.

5. Nickel 28 Capital (TSXV:NKL)

Year-to-date gain: 2.82 percent
Market cap: C$59.84 million
Share price: C$0.73

Nickel 28 Capital is a battery metals company with an 8.56 percent interest in the producing Ramu nickel-cobalt mine in Papua New Guinea. It also holds a portfolio of 10 nickel and cobalt royalties on development and exploration projects across Canada, Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Shares of Nickel 28 registered a year-to-date high of C$0.86 on January 20 and again on February 6.

On February 3, the company released its Q4 and full-year 2024 results, reporting lower production year-on-year due to a planned plant shutdown in September and October.

According to the data, total cobalt production at the Ramu operation fell year-on-year in 2024, with output reaching 549 MT in Q4 and 2,625 MT for the full year, down from 706 MT and 3,072 MT, respectively, in 2023.

Sales also declined, totaling 488 MT in Q4 and 2,793 MT for the year, compared to 755 MT and 3,086 MT in the prior year. Average cobalt prices were also down during the period, dropping 34 percent year-on-year in Q4 to US$9.95 per pound and finishing 2024 at an annual average of US$11.26 per pound, a 29 percent decrease from 2023.

The Ramu operation also experienced a short-term production setback following a mechanical failure in one of the acid plant’s blowers in December. On February 20, Nickel 28 said the plant was back at full capacity.

On August 11, Nickel 28 released its results for the second quarter, noting that Ramu delivered stronger cobalt output with record weekly production rates at the beginning of the period.

The operation produced 787 MT of contained cobalt in Q2, up from 675 MT a year earlier.

Cobalt sales also rose, totaling 719 MT compared to 684 MT in the same period of 2024. While average cobalt prices climbed 18 percent year-on-year to US$15.23 per pound, nickel prices slipped 18 percent to US$6.88 per pound, though lower production costs helped offset the weaker nickel market.