5 Top Weekly TSXV Stocks: Lomiko Metals Surges 133 Percent on Government Investment

Weekly gain: 133.33 percent; market cap: C$10.02 million; current share price: C$0.035

Lomiko Metals is an exploration and development company working to advance two battery materials projects in Québec, Canada, to production. Its La Loutre asset is a flake graphite project located in the Laurentides administrative region, 30 kilometers southwest of Montreal. A May 2023 technical report outlines an indicated resource of 64.7 million MT grading 4.59 percent graphitic carbon, with an inferred resource of 17.45 million MT grading 3.72 percent graphitic carbon.

The company also holds a 49 percent stake in Critical Elements’ (TSXV:CRE,OTCQX:CRECF) Bourier lithium project, with the opportunity to earn an additional 21 percent. The site is located northeast of Duval, Québec, and consists of 203 mining claims over 102.6 square kilometers. The project is currently in the early phases of soil and surface sampling.

Shares of Lomiko surged this past week following Thursday's news that it has received US$8.35 million in funding from the US Department of Defense as part of the Defense Production Act and the Inflation Reduction Act for energy security in North America. The company received an additional grant of C$4.9 million from the Critical Mineral Research, Development and Demonstration program administered by Natural Resources Canada. The money will be used for a pilot program to upgrade flake graphite from the La Loutre project into battery-grade anode material.

Weekly gain: 126.19 percent; market cap: C$363.15 million; current share price: C$0.48

Copper Fox Metals is an exploration and development company with assets located in the US and Canada. Copper Fox’s primary projects include the Schaft Creek joint venture, and its wholly owned Van Dyke and Eaglehead projects.

The Van Dyke copper oxide property is located within the Globe-Miami copper district of Arizona. According to a December 2020 preliminary economic assessment, the brownfield project is projected to produce about 1.1 billion pounds of copper over a 17 year mine life. Initial capital costs are set at US$290.5 million.

The Eaglehead copper porphyry project is near Dease Lake, BC, and hosts four open-ended porphyry deposits. An October 2023 resource estimate outlines an indicated resource of 345 million pounds of copper and 16.9 million pounds of molybdenum, as well as an inferred resource of 1.3 billion pounds of copper and 1 billion pounds of molybdenum.

The company also operates and holds a 25 percent stake in the Schaft Creek copper porphyry joint venture near Eaglehead, with the remainder being held by Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.A,TECK.B,NYSE:TECK).

Shares of Copper Fox saw substantial gains last week; however, in a press release on Tuesday (May 14), the company noted it was unaware of any material change that would account for the increased market activity.

The jump did come alongside the surging price of copper.

Weekly gain: 61.54 percent; market cap: C$28.88 million; current share price: C$0.42

Desert Mountain Energy is an exploration, development and production company focused on advancing helium, hydrogen and natural gas assets in New Mexico and Arizona, US.

Its operations in West Pecos consist of the West Pecos gas field, which hosts 188 wells across 77,000 acres of oil and gas leases and has expansion potential of up to 100 additional wells. The site is also home to a helium processing facility that is capable of producing various grades of helium. The company is working to construct a 60,000 gallon accumulation tank that, when finished, will allow it to process natural gas, condensate and helium. Desert Mountain also owns the Holbrook helium project in Arizona’s Holbrook basin. It is comprised of over 1 million acres of helium prospects and is situated in a region that has historic production of 9.23 billion cubic feet of helium with grades between 8 and 10 percent.

Shares of Desert Mountain saw gains this past week after it signed new terms for its strategic partnership with Beam Earth to commence hydrogen exploration in Arizona during Q4 of this year. Under the terms of the Thursday deal, Beam Earth will make a US$225,000 payment to Desert Mountain and will fund the drilling programs, pilot well and engineering for a white hydrogen/helium plant, as well as the planning for a green hydrogen plant in Arizona.

Desert Mountain will retain ownership rights for its wells in New Mexico and Arizona, and will jointly share profits from new hydrogen and helium wells in Arizona.

Weekly gain: 57.14 percent; market cap: C$41.2 million; current share price: C$0.22

Surge Copper is a copper exploration company working to advance its Berg and Ootsa projects in BC.

In a June 2023 preliminary economic assessment for Berg, which hosts deposits with copper, molybdenum, silver and gold, the company reported a net present value of C$2.1 billion with an internal rate of return of 20 percent. The property has the potential for a 30 year mine life with total payable production of 5.8 billion pounds of copper equivalent.

Meanwhile, the 72,710 hectare Ootsa property is host to three advanced-stage copper, gold, molybdenum and silver porphyry deposits. A June 2022 combined mineral resource estimate for the site’s Seel and Ox deposits outlines measured and indicated resources of 1.7 billion pounds of copper, 167 million pounds of molybdenum, 1.6 million ounces of gold and 29.5 million ounces of silver.

The company did not report any news last week, but trended upward alongside surging copper prices.

Weekly gain: 54.55 percent; market cap: C$31.56 million; current share price: C$0.17

East Africa Metals is a gold exploration company focused on operations in Ethiopia.

Its principal asset is the Adyabo property, in which the company holds a 30 percent net profit interest, with Tibet Huayu Mining (SHA:601020) owning the remaining 70 percent. The 195.2 square kilometer site hosts two mining licenses located in an area known for high-grade gold and copper mineralization.

The company also owns a 70 percent share of the Harvest polymetallic project in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, as well as a 30 percent streaming interest in the Magambazi gold mine in the Tanga region of Tanzania.

Shares of East Africa saw gains following an announcement on May 10 that Tibet Huayu will be moving forward with mine development activities for the Mato Bula and Da Tambuk mines at the Adyabo property, with construction of roadworks to begin before the end of May.