The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) gained 7.94 points last week to close at 593.70.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell met with lawmakers this past week, addressing the US Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs on Tuesday (July 9) and the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday (July 10).
In his testimony on Tuesday, Powell repeated the Fed’s stance that it would continue to wait for more data that inflation was sustainably moving to the 2 percent target rate. He also acknowledged that the labor market was weakening, but said the unemployment rate remained at historically low levels.
Louisiana Senator John Kennedy pressed Powell on when the Fed would be making cuts. However, Powell maintained he would not send “signals about the timing of any future actions.”
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its June consumer price index data on Thursday (July 11). In the report, the agency indicated that all items consumer inflation continued to cool, growing 3.0 percent on an annualized basis and decreasing 0.1 percent on a monthly basis. The decline represents the first monthly fall in CPI figures since May 2020.
Markets saw increased volatility during the week, with the S&P 500 closing in positive territory with a .76 percent gain to 5,615.34 points. The Nasdaq 100 Index saw midweek gains erased closing the week down 0.31 percent at 20,331.49 points.
Meanwhile, the Dow Jones saw the largest gains of these US indexes, climbing 1.45 percent to 40,000.91 points. In Canada, the TSX posted even higher gains, ending the week with a 2.84 percent gain to close at 22,673.52 points.
Commodities were mixed with the S&P GSCI losing 2.09 percent to US$573.91. While silver ended the week down 0.75 percent at US$30.97, gold posted a 1 percent gain to end the week back above the US$2,400 mark.
How has this week’s events impacted juniors on the TSX Ventures Exchange? Keep reading to discover the top 5 gainers.
1. Solis Minerals (TSXV:SLMN)
Weekly gain: 75. percent; market cap: C$10.98 million; share price: C$0.14
Solis Minerals is a copper and lithium exploration company focused on the advancement of properties in South America.
The company’s primary focus for 2024 has been on its Cinto Copper project in Peru. The site is composed of seven tenements covering 3,200 hectares in the Peruvian copper belt. The project has seen limited exploration that has primarily consisted of grab samples and satellite imaging.
Shares in Solis surged this past week following an exploration update on Tuesday. It reported that it had completed an initial geochemical program, which identified copper mineralization over a 200 meter by 100 meter area at Cinto, including high-grade surface grab samples grading up to 7.14 percent copper.
The company signed an access agreement with the Carumbraya community to fast-track the next phase of its exploration program. Solis said it has already deployed drones to collect magnetometer readings and would be using geological mapping to guide drill permitting at the site.
2. Trailbreaker Resources (TSXV:TBK)
Weekly gain: 42.11 percent; market cap: C$21.89 million; share price: C$0.54
Trailbreaker Resources is a Canada-focused mineral exploration company and project generator with a portfolio of projects in British Columbia and the Yukon, Canada. Its flagship project is the Atsutla gold project in Northern British Columbia.
Earlier this year, Trailbreaker acquired the Liberty copper project, a 5,054 hectare property located in the Cariboo mining district in BC. The site has previously hosted limited exploration in the 1960s, with more extensive workings occurring in the late 1990s to early 2010s.
The company’s most recent news release came on June 10 in which the company announced it completed a diamond drill program at Liberty. In its report, the company said the program consisted of seven holes for a total of 2,442 meters and was focused on testing a copper, molybdenum, gold and silver anomaly 300 meters south of its previous drilling at Liberty.
The company has not released news in the past week.
3. Africa Energy (TSXV:AFE)
Weekly gain: 37.5 percent; market cap: C$91.51 million; share price: C$0.055
Africa Energy is a South Africa-focused oil and gas exploration and development company.
Its flagship asset is block 11B/12B located approximately 175 kilometers off the south coast of South Africa. The block covers an area of 18,734 square kilometers and depths between 200 meters and 1,800 meters.
Africa Energy holds a 4.9 percent stake in the joint venture project through its 49 percent ownership of Main Street 1549, which itself owns 10 percent of the asset. The remaining partners are project operator TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE), which holds a 45 percent stake; Qatar Petroleum, which has a 25 percent stake; and CNR International (TSX:CNQ,NYSE:CNQ), which has a 20 percent stake.
In December 2020, the company announced testing at the site had reached 33 million cubic feet per day of natural gas, 4,320 barrels of condensate per day and 9,820 barrels of oil equivalent per day, but said the figures were limited due to surface equipment limitations.
Africa Energy’s most recent news came on July 1 when the company released an update from its Block 11B/12B operations. In the announcement, the company said that CNR International had advised the joint venture partners that it would be withdrawing from its 20 percent stake.
The remaining partners now have 30 days to review their options and decide if they would like to withdraw as well, and Africa Energy stated it had been advised that TotalEnergies will be reviewing its options. Africa Energy stated it would not withdraw. Interest from withdrawing partners will be assigned to the remaining parties proportionately free of charge.
4. Imagine Lithium (TSXV:ILI)
Weekly gain: 37.5 percent; market cap: C$15.24 million; share price: C$0.55
Imagine Lithium is an exploration company working to advance its Jackpot lithium project in the Georgia Lake area of Ontario, Canada.
The 18,000 hectare site has hosted exploration dating back to the mid-1950s with historic estimates of 2 million metric tons of lithium oxide. Imagine has been focused on the expansion of historic resources with drilling programs that started in 2018.
Since that time the company has identified several significant zones in addition to the Jackpot Main zone, including the Casino Royale, Salo (SW), 500 and Point lithium zone.
The most recent update from the project came on May 28 when the company announced drilling at the site encountered the highest lithium grades to date at the Jackpot West Extension. The company highlighted an interval of 0.92 percent lithium oxide over 35.1 meters, which included an intersection of 1.76 percent lithium over 4.3 meters.
Although the company didn’t release news last week, its share price was up significantly.
5. Northisle Copper and Gold (TSXV:NCX)
Weekly gain: 35.21 percent; market cap: C$98.02 million; share price: C$0.048
Northisle Copper and Gold is a mineral exploration company working to advance its North Island project on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, which hosts deposits of copper, gold, molybdenum and rhenium.
The property is located near Port Hardy and is composed of 214 mineral claims across 34,000 hectares. The site contains three primary occurrences, Hushamu, Red Dog and Goodspeed, and Pemberton Hills.
The most recent news from the project came this past Tuesday when Northisle provided an exploration update from the Goodspeed target near Red Dog. In the announcement, the company said it has completed 3,077 meters of drilling since it began the program in May, and encountered porphyry copper mineralization over an 800-meter strike length.
Preliminary assays from the first hole produced a highlighted intercept of 0.28 percent copper and 0.384 grams per metric ton of gold over 68 meters. According to Northisle, the hole encountered copper and gold mineralization over 200 meters starting at a depth of 9 meters.
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 11:00 am PST on July 12, 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.