Markets and commodities react

In Canada, equity markets were mixed this week.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) was in record territory, closing Wednesday (August 13) at an all-time high of 27,993.43, but it had slipped by Friday to close the week up 0.41 percent at 27,905.49.

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) was flat, posting a slight loss of 0.12 percent to 790.77. The CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) had another strong week, gaining 3.58 percent to 156.87.

US equity markets rebounded this week and finished near all-time highs.

The S&P 500 (INDEXSP:INX) set a new record on Thursday (August 14), closing at 6,468.53, but slipped to register a 1.49 percent gain on the week to 6,449.79. The Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) also set a new record of 23,849.04 on Wednesday, but fell in the last two days of trading, recording a weekly gain of 1.08 percent to 23,712.07.

Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:.DJI) was above 45,000 points for the first time since December 2024, but failed to achieve a new record. It posted a 2.01 percent gain to finish the week at 44,946.13.

The gold price slumped this week following clarification from the White House that imports of 1 kilogram and 100 ounce gold bars from Switzerland will not face tariffs. Gold had fallen 1.81 percent by 4:00 p.m. EDT on Friday to reach US$3,338.36 per ounce. Silver also retraced this week, losing 0.7 percent to hit US$37.97 per ounce.

Copper saw little change this week, posting a 0.44 percent gain to US$4.54 per pound. The S&P GSCI (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) commodities index posted a slight decline of 0.8 percent by close on Friday, finishing at 545.59.

Top Canadian mining stocks this week

How did mining stocks perform against this backdrop?

Take a look at this week’s five best-performing Canadian mining stocks below.

Stock data for this article was retrieved at 4:00 p.m. EDT on Friday using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies trading on the TSX, TSXV and CSE with market caps greater than C$10 million are included. Mineral companies within the non-energy minerals, energy minerals, process industry and producer manufacturing sectors were considered.

1. Focus Graphite (TSXV:FMS)

Weekly gain: 94.44 percent
Market cap: C$25.18 million
Share price: C$0.35

Focus Graphite is working to advance its Lac Knife and Lac Tétépisca projects in Québec, Canada.

Lac Knife covers 3,248 hectares in Eastern Québec. An April 2023 updated feasibility study outlines an after-tax net present value of C$284.8 million with an internal rate of return of 22.57 percent and a payback period of 3.38 years. Lac Knife is expected to produce 50,000 metric tons (MT) of graphite concentrate annually over a mine life of 27 years.

For its part, Lac Tétépisca spans 6,629 hectares in Central Québec. An April 2022 technical report shows an indicated resource of 59.3 million MT grading 10.61 percent graphitic carbon for 6.3 million MT of in-situ natural flake graphite. The inferred category stands at 14.8 million MT grading 11.06 percent graphitic carbon for 1.6 million MT.

On Wednesday (August 13), Focus resumed work on the environmental and social impact assessment for Lac Knife. In total, it has to complete 16 technical reports as required by the province to advance to the construction phase. Focus previously halted work due to funding delays, but now expects the reports to be complete in early 2026.

The firm is also moving forward with geochemical analysis of over 1,000 samples collected from 2022 exploration drilling at Lac Tétépisca. It will use the results to finalize a resource estimate, which it expects to deliver this fall.

This week’s news comes after Focus said on August 8 that it had closed a non-brokered private placement for C$891,000. Funds will be used to maintain existing operations and for general capital.

2. Libra Energy Materials (CSE:LIBR)

Weekly gain: 56.67 percent
Market cap: C$13 million
Share price: C$0.235

Libra Energy Materials is a lithium-focused exploration company that is currently working to advance its Flanders North, Flanders South and Soules Bay-Caron (SBC) projects in Ontario, Canada.

The properties are part of a November 2024 earn-in agreement with KoBold Metals. Libra can earn a 75 percent stake by incurring C$33 million in exploration expenditures across the properties over the next six years.

Flanders North and South cover 40,000 hectares, and initial surveys in 2023 revealed hundreds of pegmatites, with surface exposures of up to 200 meters in width and grab samples of up to 2.86 percent lithium oxide.

SBC covers an area of 15,000 hectares and is located near Pickle Lake, Ontario. Exploration work carried out at the property in June 2024 earned the company the Bernie Schnieders Discovery of the Year Award. The discovery included several spodumene-bearing pegmatites with widths of up to 30 meters, and spodumene grades of 15 to 25 percent across SBC. During the program, the company collected 184 grab samples with up to 6.64 percent lithium oxide.

Shares of Libra gained this week, but the company did not release any news.

3. Q-Gold Resources (TSXV:QGR)

Weekly gain: 50 percent
Market cap: C$10.48 million
Share price: C$0.18

Q-Gold Resources is a gold explorer focused on the acquisition of the Quartz Mountain project in Oregon, US. On April 3, it entered into a definitive agreement with Alamos Gold (TSX:AGI,NYSE:AGI) to acquire the property.

The measured and indicated gold resource for Quartz Mountain, which spans 2,000 hectares, comes in at 339,000 ounces at an average grade of 0.87 grams per MT (g/t) from 12.16 million MT of ore; its inferred resource stands at of 1.15 million ounces with an average grade of 0.91 g/t from 39.21 million MT ore.

Q-Gold’s latest news came on August 8. It said company representatives intend to visit the project site for the first time. They expect to conduct sampling of select diamond drill cores and verify the current status of all claims at the project.

4. Gienstar Minerals (CSE:GIEN)

Weekly gain: 49.12 percent
Market cap: C$17.58 million
Share price: C$0.85

Glenstar Minerals is an exploration company working to advance projects in Nevada, US.

Its Green Monster property consists of 35 lode claims and covers 700 acres southwest of Las Vegas. The property hosts nickel, copper, cobalt and zinc mineralization, and has mine workings dating back to the late 1800s.

The most recent update from the property came this past Wednesday, when Glenstar announced that it will switch the focus of its Phase 2 drill program to extension drilling following the discovery of a new polymetallic zone. The drilling will be centered on a high-grade zinc occurrence with grades above 30 percent and assay results of up to 177 parts per million (ppm) silver, 523 ppm nickel, 91.9 ppm cobalt and copper of 0.36 percent.

The company also owns the Wildhorse property in Southern Nevada. The early stage project has had limited exploration, but assays from a sampling program were released on July 23. In that announcement, Glenstar said four grab samples from the Coca Cola zone returned copper grades of 1.6 percent, 5.3 percent, 2.3 percent and 5.1 percent, with an average of 21.6 ppm silver, 156 ppm bismuth and 72.5 ppm tungsten.

Four samples were also collected from the Highland zone, which returned average grades of 0.16 percent copper, 1.23 percent zinc, 1.98 percent lead and 43 ppm silver.

5. Sterling Metals (TSXV:SAG)

Weekly gain: 47.69 percent
Market cap: C$13.3 million
Share price: C$0.48

Sterling Metals is an exploration company working to advance a trio of projects in Canada. Over the past year, its primary focus has been on exploration at its brownfield Soo copper project in Ontario. The 25,000 hectare property has hosted two past-producing copper mines and has the potential for larger intrusion-related copper mineralization.

On January 15, Sterling announced results from a 3D induced-polarization and resistivity survey that covered an area of 5 kilometers by 3 kilometers and revealed multiple high-priority drill-ready targets.

The company intends to use the survey results, along with historical exploration, to inform a drill program at the site.

The company’s other two projects are Adeline, a 297 square kilometer district-scale property with sediment-hosted copper and silver mineralization along 44 kilometers of strike, and Sail Pond, a silver, copper, lead and zinc project that hosts a 16 kilometer long linear soil anomaly and has seen 16,000 meters of drilling.

Both properties are located in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The most recent news from the company came on August 7, when Sterling reported that it had commenced Phase 2 drilling at Soo. The 3,000 to 5,000 meter program is designed to test areas defined through the Phase 1 program, as well as historic drill data and geophysical interpretations.

FAQs for Canadian mining stocks

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.

SMRs: The new face of nuclear

Small modular reactors (SMRs), a broad classification that covers several designs, are helping to transform the nuclear sector. Smaller than traditional reactors at a capacity of 300 megawatts electrical (MWe) or less, SMRs can be factory built with enhanced safety features and lower upfront capital costs.

For example, NuScale Power’s (NYSE:SMR) recently approved US460 SMR has passive safety features. Unlike large nuclear plants that require active cooling systems, its design uses natural forces like gravity and convection for automatic shutdown and cooling, removing the need for operator intervention or external power in emergencies.

Similarly, X-Energy’s flagship Xe-100 SMR uses proprietary TRISO-X fuel, which is designed with multiple layers of ceramic materials that cannot melt, even at extremely high temperatures. The fuel serves as the primary containment barrier, ensuring safety without active intervention. In early August, X-Energy selected Clark Construction Group to finish the building construction phase of its advanced nuclear fuel fabrication facility.

Kairos Power is also making headway with its advanced modular reactor design, which combines TRISO fuel with a molten salt cooling system. The installation of the reactor vessel for the company’s third engineering test unit in Tennessee is a key milestone in the buildout of the company’s advanced modular design.

The design of SMRs also enable them to be deployed in a diverse range of locations.

Arc Energy’s sodium-cooled fast reactor is designed to be remote, able to operate for over two decades without refueling. In June, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with energy infrastructure company Deep Atomic to jointly explore deployment opportunities across North America.

Microreactors, a much smaller subcategory of SMRs that typically produce less than 10 MWe of power, represent the next wave of flexibility. Oklo (NYSE:OKLO), an advanced nuclear technology company headquartered in California, recently secured a contract with the US Air Force to pilot a microreactor at Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.

For its part, BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) has begun fabricating the reactor core for the 1.5 megawatt Pele demonstration microreactor for the US Department of Defense, a project that highlights the military’s growing interest in portable, reliable nuclear power.

Meanwhile, California-based Hadron Energy is developing the Hadron micro modular reactor, a compact nuclear power system designed to deliver about 10 megawatts of power. Using a ceramic core and solid fuel, the patent-pending design is intended for deployment in remote or space-limited locations.

While current reactors use nuclear fission to create heat and generate electricity, nuclear fusion, a separate but similar process that is still in development, is also gaining traction.

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE) Milestone-Based Fusion Development Program was authorized in 2020 and officially launched in September 2022, with eight participants announced in May 2023.

In a webinar, Colleen Nehl of the DOE’s Office of Fusion Energy Sciences, said the eight companies were “making great progress’ and spoke about new opportunities for additional teams to secure program funding.

AI and the coming energy crunch

AI’s voracious appetite for power is forcing tech giants to rethink their energy sourcing strategies. High-performance computing demands not only massive amounts of electricity, but also near-perfect uptime.

As AI models scale and data centers proliferate, the nuclear sector’s ability to deliver constant, emissions-free electricity positions it as a foundational technology for sustainable tech growth.

This has led companies like Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL) to make landmark investments in nuclear fusion. In 2023, the former announced an agreement to purchase fusion energy from Helion Energy, while the latter signed a 200 megawatt fusion offtake deal with Commonwealth Fusion Systems in June.

Nuclear power can help technology companies sustainably expand their AI capabilities.

In 2024, Microsoft entered a power-purchase deal with Constellation Energy (NASDAQ:CEG) to revive the Three Mile Island nuclear facility, aimed at supporting its burgeoning AI infrastructure.

Additionally, Amazon Web Services (AWS) (NASDAQ:AMZN) committed over US$500 million toward the development of SMRs, including a project with Dominion Energy near its North Anna site, to meet its growing clean-energy demands.

In May, US President DonaldTrump issued an executive order directing the DOE to create a readily available fuel bank with at least 20 metric tons of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) for authorized advanced nuclear reactor projects, explicitly citing AI and other critical infrastructure as priorities.

HALEU is a specific type of nuclear fuel containing between 5 and 20 percent of the fissile uranium-235 isotope.

Speaking about nuclear energy in a July interview on New York radio station 77 WABC, Lee Zeldin, administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, told host John Catsimatidis, “As it relates to the Trump administration, while we’re here, we want to do everything in our power to fast-track the process.”

Expedited review timelines from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for TerraPower’s construction permit for the Kemmerer power station, and the Tennessee Valley Authority’s BWRX-300 reactor at Clinch River came in response to Trump’s executive order.

Managing the nuclear waste challenge

Despite its advantages, nuclear power faces the persistent challenge of disposing of spent nuclear fuel.

Nuclear power’s waste profile varies significantly depending on the technology used.

Traditional fission reactors split heavy atoms such as uranium-235, generating smaller fission products that remain highly radioactive for thousands of years.

This process also produces spent fuel, which must be securely stored and managed over the long term.

By contrast, fusion — the reaction that powers the sun — fuses light atoms like hydrogen isotopes into heavier ones, releasing helium, a non-radioactive gas. The main radioactive byproducts come from reactor components that become activated by high-energy neutrons.

Known as activation waste, these materials typically decay to safe levels within decades to centuries rather than millennia. While fusion waste is less hazardous and easier to handle, it still requires proper management, recycling or disposal.

To be safely disposed of, nuclear waste needs to be isolated from the environment for an extremely long time because many of the radioactive isotopes it contains have very long half-lives. A half-life is the time it takes for half of the radioactive material to decay. For example, plutonium-239 has a half-life of over 24,000 years.

Long-term isolation in a stable, deep geological repository is necessary to prevent this harmful radiation from contaminating the environment and endangering human health.

While the US has implemented some temporary storage solutions, the American Nuclear Society (ANS) and other organizations are advocating for a new program to establish long-term solutions.

The ANS joined seven other organizations to send a letter to US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright on July 8, asking to meet with him to discuss the issue. At the time of this writing, no meeting had been set. The Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board will convene on August 27 to review information on the DOE’s activities to manage spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste and to receive program updates from the DOE’s Office of Nuclear Energy.

Meanwhile, companies and institutions are discovering innovative solutions.

Deep Isolation is advancing directional borehole drilling, while workers at the DOE’s Savannah River site have developed a new carrier system to speed the processing of spent fuel.

Where is investment flowing?

As nuclear capabilities are built out, capital has been moving into every stage of the value chain.

Waste disposal innovators like Deep Isolation recently closed a reverse merger and an oversubscribed US$33 million private placement financing, a development that signals a potential market for nuclear waste storage solutions.

Meanwhile, the industry is addressing a shortage of domestic reactor fuel with a wave of innovation and new investment from the government and private sector. This is especially true for HALEU, a specialized fuel needed for many advanced reactor designs. The DOE is leading efforts to expand HALEU production, releasing plans to downblend highly enriched uranium (HEU) at the Savannah River site into HALEU.

At the decommissioned Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant, the DOE signed a lease with General Matter for a new uranium enrichment facility, while Global Laser Enrichment advanced its separate laser-based enrichment project by completing both its full license application and a safety analysis report for US Nuclear Regulatory Commission review.

The DOE also extended its US$110 million contract with Centrus Energy (NYSE:LEU) for HALEU production and launched its Fuel Line Pilot Program to fast track nuclear fuel fabrication for new test reactors in July.

Other next-generation fuel technologies are also progressing.

TRISO fuel, designed with multiple ceramic layers that prevent melting, remains a focus area. BWX Technologies’ successful testing of a new furnace for additively manufacturing TRISO fuel marked a key milestone in the company’s efforts to build an entirely new industrial supply chain, while Shine Technologies’ fuel recycling venture with Standard Nuclear signals a market for firms focused on recycling spent nuclear fuel to extract more energy.

Beyond advanced reactors, fuel improvements are also advancing. Lightbridge (NASDAQ:LTBR) will soon begin testing its enriched uranium-zirconium alloy fuel at Idaho National Laboratory.

Meanwhile, the High Burnup Experiments in Reactivity-Initiated Accident project completed its first test, aimed at understanding light water reactor fuel performance under extreme conditions.

Looking ahead

The future of nuclear power appears promising.

“Demand has gone from 1 or 2 percent compound annual (growth) to now about 4 percent and possibly even higher. And that doesn’t even include the COP28 goals of tripling nuclear by 2050,” he continued.

Building on burgeoning momentum, the DOE has officially selected 10 companies for its reactor pilot program, with a target of having at least three designs reach criticality outside of laboratories by July 4, 2026.

Given the promising outlook, investors have a compelling opportunity to capitalize on the industry’s future.