The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) dropped 1.1 points this past week to close at 551.23.
The Bank of Canada held steady, announcing on Wednesday (January 24) that it will be maintaining a 5 percent target for its key overnight rate. It based its decision on year-end inflation figures that peg inflation at 3.4 percent for December.
The central bank expects inflation to remain in the 3 percent range for the first six months of 2024, before easing toward its 2 percent target in 2025. Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada projects that the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) will remain relatively flat in 2024; it is projecting a 0.8 percent increase for the year, with a 2.4 percent increase in 2025.
South of the border, the US Department of Commerce released advanced real GDP estimates from the Bureau of Economic Analysis this past Thursday (January 25). The report shows the continued resilience of the US economy, with GDP achieving growth of 3.3 percent in Q4 and 2.5 percent overall for 2023. The Federal Reserve hasn’t made a statement on the numbers, but the American central bank is expected to hold rates steady when it meets next week.
Looking further afield, continued attacks by Yemeni Houthis in the Red Sea are forcing more companies to find alternate routes in an attempt to avoid the region. Additionally, drought conditions that began in Panama last year are forcing restrictions on vessel traffic through the Panama Canal and have reduced ship crossings by 36 percent.
Against that backdrop, which TSXV-listed mining companies posted gains last week? Read on to find out.
1. Arianne Phosphate (TSXV:DAN)
Weekly gain: 79.49 percent; market cap: C$66.92 million; current share price: C$0.36
Arianne Phosphate is an exploration company focused on developing its Lac à Paul project in Québec, Canada. The asset, which the company says is the world’s largest greenfield phosphate deposit, is fully permitted and is expected to cost US$1.55 billion to develop based on an engineering study released in March 2023.
Once complete, the mine is projected to produce 3 million metric tons (MT) of phosphate concentrate per year. In addition to applications as a fertilizer, Arianne is projecting demand from the growth of lithium-iron-phosphate batteries.
Shares of Arianne were up this past week following’s Wednesday’s news that the Québec government has added apatite, a phosphate-based mineral contained in Lac à Paul, to the province’s critical and strategic minerals list. The addition of apatite to the list may give Arianne easier access to support through grants, tax credits and research funding.
2. Falco Resources (TSXV:FPC)
Weekly gain: 57.14 percent; market cap: C$57.03 million; current share price: C$0.275
Falco Resources is a gold exploration and development company that is operating within the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Québec, Canada. Its flagship asset is the Horne 5 project, which consists of 67,000 hectares of land in the Noranda mining camp and includes 13 historic gold and base metals mining sites.
A 2021 feasibility study estimates that the project’s measured and indicated resources stand at 4,886,000 ounces of gold, 48,625,000 ounces of silver, 176,982 MT of copper and 839,937 MT of zinc.
Falco shares got a boost this past week after the company entered into an operating license and indemnity agreement with Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF); it will give Falco a license to use a portion of Glencore’s lands to develop and operate the Horne 5 project. Falco described the deal as an important milestone that will allow the company to move forward with the permitting stage and help it get financing for the project.
3. Salazar Resources (TSXV:SRL)
Weekly gain: 45.45 percent; market cap: C$14.73 million; current share price: C$0.08
Salazar Resources is an exploration and development company focused on assets in Latin America.
Its flagship project is a joint venture with Adventus Mining (TSXV:ADZN,OTCQX:ADVZF) that is focused on the development of the Curipamba project in Central Ecuador, which consists of seven mining concessions across 21,500 hectares and includes the copper and gold El Domo deposit.
An updated resource estimate for the project published in 2021 shows that it holds measured and indicated quantities of 189,400 MT copper, 21,600 MT lead, 231,700 MT zinc, 680,000 ounces of gold and 12,969,000 ounces of silver.
Salazar shares saw gains this past week following a press release on Monday (January 22) announcing that the Curipamba project has been granted an environmental license, which clears the way for the company to begin construction and operation of mining activities.
4. Arbor Metals (TSXV:ABR)
Weekly gain: 42.65 percent; market cap: C$57.57 million; current share price: C$0.97
Arbor Metals is an exploration company focused on its Jarnet lithium project located in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay territory in Northern Québec, Canada. The project consists of 47 claims covering an area of 3,759 hectares and is located near Patriot Battery Metals’ (TSXV:PMET,OTCQX:PMETF) Corvette-FCI property, which has demonstrated significant lithium mineralization, and is among the highest-profile lithium projects in the region.
Shares of Arbor rose last week following Tuesday’s (January 24) release of assay results from a fall 2023 prospecting program. The company collected 77 rock samples from the central and south block claims, along with 31 chip samples from a new pegmatite. The highest grading of the samples yielded 88 parts per million (ppm) lithium and came from the south block. Overall the samples returned an average grade of 16 ppm lithium, along with 338 ppm rubidium.
Arbor said it is encouraged by the results and believes they lay a strong foundation for future exploration at the site.
5. EV Nickel (TSXV:EVNI)
Weekly gain: 42.42 percent; market cap: C$39.548 million; current share price: C$0.47
EV Nickel is a nickel exploration company focused on its Shaw Dome asset south of Timmins in Ontario, Canada. The project covers over 30,000 hectares with more than 100 kilometers of strike length. Its two primary zones are the W4 zone, which contains measured, indicated and inferred reserves of 19,640.5 MT of nickel; and the large-scale CarLang area, which hosts indicated and inferred resources of 2.4 million MT of nickel.
Shares of EV Nickel were up more than 42 percent last week, although the company hasn’t released any news since its interim financial report on November 28.
FAQs for TSXV stocks
What is the difference between the TSX and TSXV?
The TSX, or Toronto Stock Exchange, is used by senior companies with larger market caps, while the TSXV, or TSX Venture Exchange, is used by smaller-cap companies. Companies listed on the TSXV can graduate to the senior exchange.
How many companies are listed on the TSXV?
As of September 2023, there were 1,713 companies listed on the TSXV, 953 of which were mining companies. Comparatively, the TSX was home to 1,789 companies, with 190 of those being mining companies.
Together the TSX and TSXV host around 40 percent of the world’s public mining companies.
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. The listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000. Accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000, while 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.
Data for this 5 Top Weekly TSXV Performers article was retrieved at 10:00 a.m. PST on January 26, 2023, using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies with market capitalizations greater than C$10 million prior to the week’s gains are included. Companies within the non-energy minerals and energy minerals were considered.
Article by Dean Belder; FAQs by Lauren Kelly.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
