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The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) lost 0.89 points last week to close at 569.82.
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis released its latest personal consumption expenditures (PCE) data this past Friday (June 28) in its Personal Income and Outlays report. The PCE minus food and energy is the favored index of the US Federal Reserve.
The report stated that the PCE price index rose 2.6 percent year-over-year in May, and increased just 0.1 percent month-over-month compared to April. This year-over-year increase marks the lowest since March of 2021, the last time it was below the central bank’s target 2 percent inflation rate.
Additionally, the report indicated that personal income saw a modest 0.5 percent growth in May while personal spending bumped up 0.2 percent since April.
North of the border, Statistics Canada released its Natural Resource Indicators report for the first quarter this past Monday (June 24). The agency reported that real gross domestic product (GDP) for the natural resources sector declined 0.7 percent for the first three months of the year compared to the fourth quarter of 2023.
The decrease was headlined by a 2.5 percent decrease in the forestry subsector followed closely by a drop of 1.1 percent in the minerals and mining subsectors. On a granular level, metallic mineral extraction grew 1.8 percent, which was offset by a 2.8 percent fall in primary manufacturing.
Even though the real GDP decreased, export volumes for the first quarter grew 1.6 percent, with the minerals and mining subsectors leading the way at 5.3 percent, primarily attributed to outgoing shipments of unwrought gold.
Equity markets were largely flat this past week. The S&P 500 saw a modest increase of 0.02 percent to reach 5,460.49 points, the Nasdaq 100 climbed 0.18 percent to 19,682.87 points and the Dow 30 lost 0.17 percent falling to 39,118.86. Meanwhile, the TSX gained 1.35 percent to 21,875.79 points.
Commodities saw little movement this week with the S&P GSCI posting a slight loss of 0.12 percent to 578.38 points, while precious metals were volatile with gold rising slightly to finish the week at US$2,326.41 per ounce and silver falling to US$29.13.
So how have small cap mining companies on the TSX Ventures Exchange performed this past week? These are the top 5 gaining stocks.
1. Gowest Gold (TSXV:GWA)
Weekly gain: 85.71 percent; market cap: C$87.23 million; share price: C$0.13
Gowest Gold is an exploration company focused on advancing its flagship North Timmins gold project in Canada.
The property, located northeast of Timmins, Ontario, consists of 11 mining leases and 56 unpatented mining claims over 10,942 hectares and hosts several target areas including the Bradshaw deposit, the Roussain gold zone and the Sherian zone.
In a project update on May 13 the company reported on its Phase 2 diamond drilling activities as of April 30. The primary focus for Gowest is the Bradshaw deposit, where the company has completed 8,982 meters of drilling so far. The company highlighted an assay of 23.2 grams per metric ton (g/t) gold over 0.6 meters.
In the announcement, Gowest said it has also completed 1,754 meters across five holes at the Roussain zone, but had de-mobilized for the season and would resume exploration activities in late 2024. The company had also drilled 2,033 meters at the Sheridan zone across six holes, with another 400 meters planned.
The most recent news from Gowest came on Monday, when it announced it had entered into a definitive agreement with a group of existing shareholders, who hold 91.5 percent of company shares, to take the company private. The agreement will see the group acquire outstanding shares for cash consideration of C$0.15 per common share, a significant premium over the C$0.07 they were trading on June 21, when the agreement was signed.
2. Gabriel Resources (TSXV:GBU)
Weekly gain: 50 percent; market cap: C$12.56 million; share price: C$0.015
Gabriel Resources is a precious metals explorer and developer focused on advancing its Rosia Montana gold project. Based in Transylvania, Romania, Rosia Montana is in a region that has seen significant historic mining. Covering 2,388 hectares, the site is host to a mid-to-shallow epithermal system containing deposits of gold and silver.
The most recent mineral resource estimate from a 2012 technical report shows proven and probable quantities of 10.1 million ounces of gold and 47.6 million ounces of silver.
Gabriel has invested more than US$760 million into Rosia Montana, but has undertaken little development at the site since the early 2010s, as Romania blocked further development.
In 2015, the company entered into arbitration through the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) over permitting at the site and suggested that Romania was in violation of bilateral investment treaties. On March 8, Gabriel issued a press release with an update saying that its case against Romania had been dismissed by the ICSID, which also awarded Romania US$10 million in legal fees and expenses. Gabriel has said it will review the decision with its legal team and plans to evaluate its options.
While news of that decision caused Gabriel’s share price to plummet in March, it saw gains after closing the initial tranche of a US$5.58 million private placement on May 17.
Its most recent news came this past June 21 when it released a corporate update indicating its application for an extension for its exploration license for an additional five years had been rejected by the Romanian National Agency for Mineral Resources. The company said it believes the decision is politically motivated and intends to vigorously pursue all legal avenues.
3. Arianne Phosphate (TSXV:DAN)
Weekly gain: 46.67 percent; market cap: C$50.72 million; share price: C$0.33
Arianne Phosphate is an exploration company focused on developing its Lac à Paul project in Québec, Canada. The asset, which 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 of phosphate concentrate per year. In addition to fertilizer demand, Arianne is also projecting demand from the growth of lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) batteries.
Shares in Arianne saw gains this past week following a news release on Wednesday (June 27) when the company announced the results of a prefeasibility study for Lac à Paul. The company said it had considered the viability of constructing a purified phosphoric acid plant to transform phosphate concentrate into battery-grade phosphoric acid for use in LFP batteries.
The study showed that the facility would be able to produce 350,000 metric tons of phosphoric acid annually, with an additional 220,000 metric tons of secondary product for use in fertilizers and animal feeds.
4. Golden Horse Minerals (TSXV:GHML)
Weekly gain: 42.86 percent; market cap: C$17.42 million; share price: C$0.10
Golden Horse Minerals is a mineral exploration company working to advance its project in New South Wales, Australia.
The project covers a 1,300 square kilometer land package and is composed of four primary zones containing gold and lithium targets. The area has also hosted a number of historic mining sites that have produced over 12 million ounces of gold. The company is currently working to advance the project to the production stage in 2025.
The most recent exploration announcement from the project came on April 2 when Golden Horse identified several new lithium targets on the property using soil geochemistry and analysis of historic drill cores. The company reported widespread lithium anomalism from the 240 soil samples, with 11 grading over 60 parts per million lithium up to a peak of 87.7 ppm, as well as results showing up to 58.4 ppm cesium and 724 parts per billion gold.
The most recent news from Golden Horse came this past Monday, when it announced it had appointed Nicholas Andersond as managing director and CEO.
5. Maple Gold Mines (TSXV:MGM)
Weekly gain: 41.67 percent; market cap: C$29.02 million; share price: C$0.085
Maple Gold Mines is a gold exploration company focused on the advancement of its Douay and Joutel projects located in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in Québec, Canada. Both of its projects are 50/50 joint ventures with Agnico Eagle (TSX:AEM,NYSE:AEM).
The Douay project covers an area of 357 square kilometers. In a 2022 technical report, the company said the site hosts indicated quantities of 511,000 ounces of gold from 10 million metric tons with a grade of 1.59 g/t, with an additional inferred value of 2.53 million ounces from 76.7 million metric tons at 1.02 g/t.
The Joutel project covers an area of 39 square kilometers and is located directly south of Douay. The site hosts Agnico’s past producing Eagle-Telbel mine, which operated from 1974 to 1993. However, the mine itself is 100 percent owned by Maple Gold and is not part of the joint venture. To date, the company has used 250,000 meters of historic drill results to create 3D models to aid in current exploration efforts.
On June 20, Maple Gold announced a restructuring of the joint venture with Agnico Eagle that would see Maple Gold obtaining a 100 percent ownership interest in both Douay and Joutel projects in exchange for a 1 percent net smelter royalty. Agnico has the option to acquire 50 percent ownership in the projects when one of several milestones are reached as well, including a mine being approved for construction or the restarting of existing facilities.
This was followed by an announcement this past Monday that Maple Gold had completed a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of C$4.06 million. The company said funds were received from Agnico Eagle and an arms-length third party.
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 12:00 p.m. PST on June 28, 2024, 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.