With a wave of protectionism sweeping the globe, spurred on by US president Trump’s chaotic trade philosophy, as well as China’s strong-arming of its lion’s share of the world’s buying power, the rush to secure minerals critical to technological development, industrial production and ultimately national security is reaching a generational peak.
This article is disseminated in partnership with copper and gold stocks Avrupa Minerals and TomaGold. It is intended to inform investors and should not be taken as a recommendation or financial advice.
A corollary here is that business for explorers, developers and producers of these materials is booming, attracting billions in capital interested in supporting prospective business plans for the chance at market-beating returns.
As an investor, the difficulty then becomes knowing what to look for, as you comb through the often complex, often volatile world of mineral exploration in search of opportunities, leaving it up to you to identify high-conviction stocks among those that track little more than holes in the ground.
To usher my commodity-focused readers along the right path, I’ll dedicate this week’s Weekly Market Movers to a pair of junior copper and gold stocks whose multi-bagger returns, far from the product of thin air, appear to be intricately tied to their underlying companies’ diligent development track records.
Avrupa Minerals
Our first junior mining stock walking the walk and talking the talk is Avrupa Minerals, market capitalization C$4.56 million, whose three flagship projects, located in three world-class districts, offer exposure to certified resources.
Avrupa’s 49-per-cent-owned exploration license covering the Slivova gold project in Kosovo’s Vardar Trend, optioned to Western Tethyan Resources, grants it exposure to a resource estimated in 2023 at 146,000 ounces measured and indicated and 30,000 ounces inferred. Development, fully funded, puts a near-term feasibility study in sight, as the company vies to expand previous intercepts and strengthen the case for developing Slivova into Kosovo’s first gold mine.
The company’s 100-per-cent-owned Alvalade VMS project in Portugal’s Iberian Pyrite Belt boasts more than 20 kilometres of strike length hosting several untested targets and a pair of previously producing mines. The high-priority Sesmarias deposit, backed by years of high-grade drilling – including a highlight of 41.2 m at 1.59 per cent copper, 1.71 per cent lead, 3.36 per cent zinc and 54.90 grams per ton (g/t) of silver – will be explored further pending the approval of a recently submitted mining license.
Avrupa rounds off its tripartite portfolio with seven copper-zinc prospects and one gold prospect in Finland, all of which are actively being advanced based on past development success.
Kept on the straight and narrow by 46.7 per cent insider ownership, Avrupa’s leadership team – guided by president and CEO, Paul Kuhn, who is responsible for gold and base metal discoveries in Türkiye, Kosovo and Portugal – benefits from fresh capital and a wealth of targets to substantiate positive news flow and continue building shareholder value.
Kuhn recently joined Stockhouse’s Ricki Lee to lay out the company’s growth strategy. Watch the interview here.
Avrupa Minerals stock (TSXV:AVU) last traded at C$0.06 and has added 200 per cent year-over-year.
TomaGold
Another junior mining stock trending higher for fundamental reasons is TomaGold, market capitalization C$29.17 million, whose gold and copper portfolio, spanning Quebec and Ontario, paints a much grander picture than the company’s current micro-cap size.
TomaGold’s flagship Obalski gold, copper and silver project in Quebec’s Chibougamau Mining Camp is a past-producing asset hosting nine mineralized zones, whose well-known nature, delineated by more than 78,000 m of drilling, offers multiple avenues for expanding mineralization.
The company holds options on 12 more projects in the camp, each of which has yielded targets worth following up on, including the Berrigan mine, where it is actively drilling, recently intersecting 5.75 per cent zinc equivalent (1.34 g/t gold equivalent) over 98.5 m., adding heft to the notion that the most recent estimate of 1,388,915 tons grading 3.17 per cent zinc and 1.77 g/t gold tells only part of the mine’s value-creation story.
TomaGold also owns 24.5 per cent of a joint venture at the Baird gold property, located near Ontario’s prolific Red Lake Mining Camp. The property is only 6 km north of West Red Lake Gold Mines’ Madsen mine and 14 km southwest of Evolution Mining’s Red Lake mine, both of which are in production. Baird backs up its place beside its cash-flowing neighbors with drilling from the 1980s by United Reed assaying up to 172 g/t gold over 1.2 m.
With an abundance of catalysts for exploration upside, plus a recently closed financing of its own, TomaGold has the odds in its favor when it comes to making value-accretive moves along the mining lifecycle.
This thesis is only de-risked by a sound leadership team, including president and CEO, David Grondin, who owns 2.55 per cent of the company and brings 25 years in junior mining finance and development experience, and vice president of exploration, Jean LaFleur, who has practiced geology in the boardroom and in the field for nearly half a century, putting investors in good hands to navigate the inevitable volatility of commodities tied to economic health.
Grondin spoke with Ricki Lee about ongoing exploration at the Berrigan mine in Quebec. Watch the interview here.
TomaGold stock (TSXV:LOT) last traded at C$0.10 and has appreciated by 400 per cent year-over-year.
Thanks for reading! I’ll see you next Monday for a new edition of Weekly Market Movers, where I delve into companies that sat down with Stockhouse for an interview over the past week. Here’s last week’s article, in case you missed it.
Join the discussion: Find out what investors are saying about these copper and gold stocks on the Avrupa Minerals Ltd. and TomaGold Corp. Bullboards and make sure to explore the rest of Stockhouse’s stock forums and message boards.
Stockhouse does not provide investment advice or recommendations. All investment decisions should be made based on your own research and consultation with a registered investment professional. The issuer is solely responsible for the accuracy of the information contained herein.
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