Coming off a volatile 2023, copper started the new year trading in the US$8,000 to US$8,500 range in January and February.
However, the red metal saw significant gains starting at the end of February and through March as news of production cuts from Chinese smelters began to make headlines. The cuts came as supply for concentrates became tight, sending treatment charges to their lowest point since 2010.
The results of the cuts pushed the price of copper on the London Metal Exchange to a quarterly high of US$8,973 per metric ton (MT) on March 20. The price has continued to see gains and reached a two-year high of US$9,814 on April 24.
With the demand for copper set to soar within the next several years, has this elevated pricing helped small-cap explorers on the TSXV? These are the five biggest gaining stocks since the start of 2024. Data for this article was gathered on April 24, using TradingView's stock screener, and all companies had market caps of over C$10 million at that time. Read on to see what's been moving their share prices.
1. Sandfire Resources (TSXV:SFR)
Year-to-date gain: 211.11 percent; market cap: C$266.07 million; current share price: C$0.28
Sandfire Resources America is a copper development company focused on its Black Butte copper project located east of Helena, Montana, in the US. In 2021, a state district court revoked the company's mine operating permit for Black Butte, halting construction activities of the underground mine.
Sandfire describes the project as one of the highest grade undeveloped copper deposits in the world; a resource estimate for the project's Johnny Lee deposit completed in 2020 reported measured and indicated resources of 10.9 million MT grading 2.9 percent copper for a total of 311,000 MT contained copper.
Shares of Sandfire soared following a February 26 decision by the Montana Supreme Court to reinstate the company's mine operating permit. The win is a crucial step for Sandfire to continue the construction of its mine.
The company has not released any further updates about the project. Shares of Sandfire reached a quarterly high of C$0.29 on March 4.
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2. American Eagle Gold (TSXV:AE)
Year-to-date gain: 171.7 percent; market cap: C$67.31 million; current share price: C$0.72
American Eagle Gold is a copper and precious metals exploration company working to advance its NAK property in Central BC, Canada.
Hosted within the Babine copper-gold district, the NAK property has seen historical exploration dating back to the 1960s. American Eagle completed the acquisition of the site in December 2021, and has drilled 17 holes for a total of 13,854 meters during 2022 and 2023 exploration programs.
On January 8, the company announced results from the final hole of its 2023 program, which returned the highest grading. It reported a 302 meter intersection containing 0.53 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold, 0.4 percent copper, 1.27 g/t silver and 431.4 parts per million molybdenum.
The company’s most recent update for the project came on March 15, when it announced it was fully funded to begin a 15,000 meter drill program that is scheduled to start in May. The program will focus on expanding and outlining near-surface potential and connecting the northern and southern targets at the property.
Shares of American Eagle reached a quarterly peak of C$0.71 on March 28.
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3. Libero Copper (TSXV:LBC)
Year-to-date gain: 160 percent; market cap: C$24.24 million; current share price: C$0.52
Libero Copper is an exploration company focused on its flagship Mocoa project located in Putumayo, Colombia.
The site consists of six concession contracts that cover an 11,391 hectare land package. The deposit was first discovered as part of a 1973 geochemical survey backed by the United Nations and Colombian government. The site saw subsequent exploration between 1978 and 1983, then again by B2Gold (TSX:BTO,NYSE:BTG) from 2008 until 2012.
The project was acquired by Libero in 2018 from B2Gold (TSX:BTO,NYSE:BTG), but has seen limited exploration. However, a resource estimate from November 2021 reported inferred values of 4.6 billion pounds of copper and 510.5 million pounds of molybdenum from 636 million MT grading 0.33 and 0.036 percent, respectively.
In 2024, Libero has raised funds, announcing the closing of C$3 million private placement on February 15, followed by an additional C$2.86 million private placement on March 11.
Shares of Libero reached a quarterly high of C$0.80 on March 13.
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4. Koryx Copper (TSXV:KRY)
Year-to-date gain: 155.56 percent; market cap: C$21.21 million; current share price: C$0.115
Formerly Deep-South Resources, the company announced in November 2023 that it would be changing its name to Koryx Copper to better represent its core values.
The company is focused on the advancement of copper exploration projects in Namibia and Zambia.
Its flagship asset is the Haib copper project located in Southern Namibia near the border with South Africa. In an amended preliminary economic assessment released on January 8, the company indicated 20 million MT per year of ore processing with 85 percent copper recovery for a yearly production of 38,337 MT of copper and an additional 51,081 MT of copper sulfate.
Since the start of 2024, Koryx has published a number of assay results from exploration at Haib, the most recent came on April 24. In the announcement, the company highlighted grades of 0.49 percent copper over 207 meters, including an intersection of 0.58 percent copper over 92 meters.
The company said it was pleased with the results and they are demonstrating the average grade could be higher than previous resource estimates indicate. Koryx also said there were nine holes from the drill program that have yet to be reported.
Shares of Koryx reached a quarterly high of C$0.80 on March 28.
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5. Chakana Copper (TSXV:PERU)
Year-to-date gain: 133.33 percent; market cap: C$26.44 million; current share price: C$0.105
Chakana Copper is a copper exploration company focused on developing its Soledad project in the Ancash region of Peru.
The site hosts high-grade copper, silver and gold mineralization across 4,200 hectares. An initial inferred resource estimate released in February 2022 shows the site hosts 191,000 ounces of gold, 11.7 million ounces of silver and 59,200 MT of copper.
On January 15, the company announced the closing of C$3 million in upsized funding with an investment from Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) and former President and CEO of Sprott Holdings (TSX:SII,NYSE:SII) Rick Rule. At the time, the company said it would use the bulk of the proceeds to drill untested targets at the southern half of Soledad.
Chakana followed up on April 5, announcing that a 3,000-meter drill program had commenced at the Mega-Gold, La Joya and Estremadoyro targets at Soledad. The new program will mark more than 62,000 meters of drilling at the site since 2017.
Shares of Chakana reached a quarterly high of C$0.10 on March 28.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.