By The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX)
Against that backdrop, a variety of TSXV-listed resource stocks made moves over the last five days. Read on to find out which companies rose the most during the period and what was affecting their share prices.
1. Aston Bay Holdings (TSXV:BAY)
Weekly gain: 200 percent; market cap: C$15.17 million; current share price: C$0.12
Aston Bay is a copper and gold company that owns a portfolio of projects in North America, including the Buckingham gold project in Virginia, US, and the Storm copper project in Nunavut, Canada. Storm is currently under option to American West Metals (ASX:AW1), which can earn up to 80 percent interest in the property and is actively exploring it this year.
Last Wednesday (August 2), Aston Bay and American West announced what it says is a major discovery at Storm: drilling at a blind gravity target intercepted significant copper sulfide mineralization.
“Discovery of sedimentary hosted copper has been the true goal for all explorers at Storm … Finally, the quest has succeeded, and we have definitive proof of a new sediment hosted copper system,” Aston Bay CEO Thomas Ullrich said. “… Not only have we hit a significant mineralized interval, but presence of chalcocite in the latest hole provides a vector to more copper-rich mineralization within this very large gravity anomaly.”
Aston’s share price closed the prior week at C$0.04, and trading was halted before markets opened last Monday (July 31) in anticipation of the news. Trading resumed Wednesday after its release, and the company’s share price shot up to C$0.105 by the end of the day. It continued climbing to hit a weekly high of C$0.12 on Friday (August 4).
2. New Stratus Energy (TSXV:NSE)
Weekly gain: 48.65 percent; market cap: C$68.83 million; current share price: C$0.55
New Stratus Energy is an oil and gas explorer with projects in Ecuador and Colombia. New Stratus has a 35 percent working interest in the service contracts for Block 16 and 67 in Ecuador, which are producing 15,407 barrels of oil equivalent (boe) per day, and the company’s goal is to produce 50,000 boe per day. However, New Stratus has been tied up in legal issues with Ecuador’s government over contract extensions for Blocks 16 and 67.
Last Wednesday, New Stratus announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with private entity GoldPillar International Fund, in which New Stratus will own a 50 percent equity interest. GoldPillar is in negotiations with Venezuela’s national oil company Petroleos de Venezuela, and those two entities plan to partner in joint venture companies to develop oil and gas assets. The first joint venture company between GoldPillar and Petroleos de Venezuela is made up of four on-shore fields that have historically produced nearly 600 million boe.
The companies have formed a financing chain in which New Stratus will provide funding to GoldPillar, which will advance it to fund capital expenditures and operating expenses for the joint venture companies; GoldPillar will be reimbursed through “the assignment of volumes of crude oil and products,” and New Stratus will then be reimbursed by GoldPillar.
The news drove New Stratus’ share price up throughout the week, and it hit a weekly high of C$0.57 multiple times.
3. Superior Mining International (TSXV:SUI)
Weekly gain: 45.76 percent; market cap: C$26.62 million; current share price: C$0.43
Superior Mining International is a lithium exploration company that recently acquired the Vieux Comptoir lithium property in the James Bay region of Quebec, Canada. The company has the option to earn a 100 percent interest in the project.
The company’s most recent news came on June 20 when it discussed the results from Phase 1 of its field exploration at Vieux Comptoir, which identified nine anomalous target trends. Although it hasn’t released news since, Superior Mining’s share price soared last week to a peak of C$0.435 on Thursday (August 3).
4. Altiplano Metals (TSXV:APN)
Weekly gain: 40 percent; market cap: C$15.41 million; current share price: C$0.14
Altiplano Metals is developing its Farellon copper-gold project in Chile from an underground decline and drift system, and material removed during the development program is being processed and sold to fund operations. The company has also constructed and commissioned the nearby El Peñón mill, which will process the material from Farellon.
In June, Altiplano signed an option agreement to potentially acquire the past-producing, permitted Santa Beatriz copper-gold mine, which is 2 kilometers from Farellon and shares similar mineralization to the company’s current project.
Altiplano announced last Monday that it has entered the startup phase at the El Peñón mill, which will process 5,000 metric tons of copper-gold-iron material per month. The company anticipates first concentrate production in early August. Its share price peaked at C$0.15 last Wednesday.
5. Rugby Resources (TSXV:RUG)
Weekly gain: 37.5 percent; market cap: C$10.88 million; current share price: C$0.055
Rugby Resources is focused on exploring and advancing its Cobrasco copper project in the Western Cordillera belt in Colombia. In July, the company provided an update on its exploration at the project, which discovered in-situ mineralization. The company is also exploring its portfolio of copper, gold and silver targets in South America.
Last Wednesday, Rugby announced it was closing its non-brokered private placement that it announced in June for gross proceeds of C$1.17 million. According to the release, the funds will be used for exploration and general expenses. The company’s share price climbed to peak at C$0.055 at the end of the week.
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 April 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 5 Top Weekly TSXV Performers articles is retrieved each Friday after market close 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 are considered.
Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.