Top 5 Canadian Mining Stocks This Week: Highland Critical Minerals Soars 400 Percent

Markets and commodities react

Canadian equity markets were largely flat this week.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) gained 0.22 percent over the week to close Friday (May 8) at 34,077.76, while the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) rose 0.04 percent to 977.32.

The CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) fell 0.84 percent to 180.40.

The gold price gained 2.3 percent to close at US$4,722.55 per ounce on Friday at 4:00 p.m. EDT. The silver price fared better, closing the week up 9.18 percent at US$80.46 on Friday.

In base metals, the Comex copper price recorded a 4.49 percent increase this week to US$6.30.

The S&P Goldman Sachs Commodities Index (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) was down 4.71 percent to end Friday at 732.22.

Top Canadian mining stocks this week

How did mining stocks perform against this backdrop?

Take a look at this week’s five best-performing Canadian mining stocks below.

Stocks data for this article was retrieved at 4:00 p.m. EDT on Friday using TradingView's stock screener. Only companies trading on the TSX, TSXV and CSE with market caps greater than C$10 million are included. Mineral companies within the non-energy minerals, energy minerals, process industry and producer manufacturing sectors were considered.

1. Highland Critical Minerals (CSE:HLND)

Weekly gain: 400 percent
Market cap: C$15.69 million
Share price: C$1.10

Highland Critical Minerals is an exploration and development company working to advance assets in Ontario, Canada.

Its primary focus has been on its Church lithium project in the Quetico district, a lithium-rich region in Northwest Ontario that is host to numerous projects focused on the battery metal. According to the project page, exploration samples from Church returned lithium concentrations up to 1.18 percent lithium oxide.

On Tuesday (May 5), the company announced that it would undertake a summer exploration program starting at the end of May. The program will include radiometric and LiDAR geophysical surveys, along with a sampling program.

Shares in Highland were up more than 300 percent this week, largely rising on Thursday and Friday. However, in a Friday news release, the company said it was unaware of material changes to its operations that would have caused the price rise.

2. Galantas Gold (TSXV:GAL)

Weekly gain: 165.22 percent
Market cap: C$232.98 million
Share price: C$0.61

Galantas Gold is a gold exploration and development company advancing two recently acquired projects in Chile.

In December 2025, the company closed the acquisition of a 100 percent option to develop the Indiana gold-copper project in the Atacama region through a share purchase agreement to acquire RDL Mining, the option’s holder.

The Indiana project hosts an operational mine that the company said is ready for immediate expansion. The release included an updated inferred mineral resource of 355,516 ounces of gold and 64,690 metric tons of copper in situ contained within 4.93 million metric tons of ore grading 2.24 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold and 1.31 percent copper.

Then on January 6, it announced it was entering into a definitive agreement to acquire the Andacollo Oro gold project in the Coquimbo Region in Central Chile. The project hosts a past-producing open-pit mine and comes fully permitted.

The most recent news from its Chilean projects came on Monday (May 4) when Galantas announced an updated mineral resource estimate for Andacollo, which points to an indicated resource of 1.47 million ounces of gold from 102.4 million metric tons grading 0.45 g/t gold, and an inferred resource of 4.54 million ounces from 347.9 million metric tons grading 0.41 g/t.

3. CanAsia Energy (TSXV:CEC)

Weekly gain: 153.85 percent
Market cap: C$36.09 million
Share price: C$0.33

CanAsia Energy is an oil and gas development and exploration company that wholly owns the Sawn Lake heavy oil project through its subsidiary, Andora Energy.

The project is located in the Alberta Peace River Oil Sands region of Alberta, Canada. A report released on April 29 estimates that, as of December 31, the project held unrisked contingent bitumen resources of 352 million recoverable barrels of bitumen, with an after-tax net present value of C$668 million at a 10 percent discount rate.

The most recent news from the company came on Wednesday (May 6) when it announced it had entered into a cooperative research and development agreement with the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources to begin a pilot project at Sawn Lake to restart production.

The project will receive C$26 million in funding from the institute to install three steam-assisted gravity drainage modules and a produced water boiler, along with a partial upgrader and a solvent steam flood.

The funding will also go towards costs for recommissioning the plant site and starting up well pair 1. Once online, the well is expected to produce approximately 600 barrels per day of bitumen, with the companies splitting production profits from well pair 1 50/50 for the project term.

Andora’s patented design for the produced water boiler, if successful, could reduce costs enough to allow for the development of a staged, modular operation with output of 20,000 barrels of oil per day.

4. Barksdale Resources (TSXV:BRO)

Weekly gain: 109.52 percent
Market cap: C$82.44 million
Share price: C$0.44

Barksdale Resources is a copper explorer focused on advancing its Sunnyside asset in Arizona, US. The property covers approximately 21 square kilometers south of Tucson. It hosts an intrusive complex that the firm believes to be an extension of the copper-zinc-lead-silver system found at South32's (ASX:S32,OTCPL:SOUHY) Taylor deposit.

In 2025, the company achieved several milestones under its earn-in agreement and completed the initial 51 percent in September following a C$1 million cash payment. Prior to the payment in June, Barksdale said it would work toward increasing its interest in the property to 67.5 percent.

On Monday, Barksdale provided results from the first four holes of its 2026 drill program at Sunnyside, testing the Triple C copper-silver target.

“The 2026 exploration program is focused on near surface copper and silver targets that can quickly add value to the portfolio,” CEO William Wulftange said.

One of the drill holes intersected 392.19 meters grading 0.45 percent copper from a depth of 3.05 meters, including 60.96 meters grading 0.9 percent copper from a depth of 173.74 meters, and 60.96 meters grading 0.93 percent copper from a depth of 265.18 meters.

5. First Tellurium (CSE:FTEL)

Weekly gain: 67.86 percent
Market cap: C$21.36 million
Share price: C$0.235

First Tellurium is a vertically integrated exploration, development and technology company.

It holds a 50 percent interest in the Deer Horn property in West-central British Columbia, Canada, and the option to acquire the Klondike project in Colorado, US.

Deer Horn spans 5,133 hectares and hosts mineralization containing silver, gold and tellurium. A June 2018 preliminary economic assessment for the property reported an after-tax net present value of C$36.5 million, an internal rate of return of 42 percent, and a payback period of 1.6 years at a base gold price of US$1,300 per ounce.

First Tellurium is preparing for a 2026 diamond drill program at Deer Horn, according to the company's management discussion and analysis released on March 17. The program is being designed to test targets identified during an induced polarization survey conducted in 2024, while potentially expanding known mineralization at the property.

In addition to its mineral property, the company owns an 85 percent interest in its subsidiary PyroDelta, which produces flat- and tubular-thermoelectric generators for drones intended for industrial and defense applications.

On Tuesday, the company announced it would be participating in the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Lift Challenge for drone innovation from August 2 to 9. The goal of the challenge is for a drone to lift twice its own weight.

FAQs for Canadian mining stocks

How much does it cost to list on the TSXV?

There are a variety of different fees that companies must pay to list on the TSXV, and according to the exchange, they can vary based on the transaction’s nature and complexity.

As of April 2026, the listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000, and accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000. Legal fees are expected to be over C$75,000 and an underwriters’ commission may hit up to 12 percent.

The exchange lists a handful of other fees and expenses companies can expect, including but not limited to security commission and transfer agency fees, investor relations costs and director and officer liability insurance.

These are all just for the initial listing, of course. There are ongoing expenses once companies are trading, such as sustaining fees and additional listing fees, plus the costs associated with filing regular reports.

How do you trade on the TSXV?

Investors can trade on the TSXV the way they would trade stocks on any exchange. This means they can use a stock broker or an individual investment account to buy and sell shares of TSXV-listed companies during the exchange's trading hours.