Welcome to the Investing News Network’s weekly look at the best-performing Canadian mining stocks on the TSX, TSXV and CSE, starting with a round-up of Canadian news impacting the resource sector.
Statistics Canada released May’s gross domestic product (GDP) figures on Friday (July 31). The data showed continued growth in the Canadian economy, with real GDP rising 0.3 percent on a monthly basis. It’s the second month in a row of GDP growth after a 0.6 percent rise in April.
The economy had slipped into a technical recession after posting two consecutive quarters of decreases in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. However, the two months of increases in Q2 so far are providing more support for a turnaround when StatsCan posts its next quarterly update at the end of August.
On a per-sector basis, the overall mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector grew by 1 percent in May. Growth came from the support subsector increasing 7.3 percent, which StatsCan noted marked its seventh monthly rise in a row, as well as the oil and gas subsector posting a 0.7 percent rise supported by a 1.6 percent increase in oil sands production.
However, the gains were offset by a 0.7 percent contraction in the mining and quarrying subsector as decreases in coal and non-metallic mineral mining outpaced gains in metal ore mining.
Also on Friday, the Canadian government approved the development of Canada Nickel’s (TSXV:CNC,OTCQX:CNIKF) Crawford project in Northern Ontario. It’s become the first mine to be approved under the amended Impact Assessment Act since 2019.
“Today’s decision recognizes the strategic importance of responsibly developing Canada’s critical mineral resources in partnership with all levels of government and Indigenous Nations while maintaining rigorous environmental standards,” Canada Nickel CEO Mark Selby said.
To help mitigate the mine’s effect on the environment and support local communities, the decision comes with an array of requirements, including active management of tailings facilities from project initiation through decommissioning, development of a program to assess the effectiveness of these programs on fish habitats, and creation of a training and employment plan aimed at providing opportunities and skills for Indigenous peoples related to Crawford.
The merger between Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:NGLOY) and Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.A,TECK.B,NYSE:TECK) took another step toward completion this week as the companies announced the leadership team for the combined entity on Thursday (June 30).
Current Anglo CEO Duncan Wanblad will step into the CEO role at Anglo Teck, supported by Teck President and CEO Jonathan Price, who will assume the role of deputy CEO and chief strategy officer.
The companies’ chief project and development officers will also hold significant roles at Anglo Teck: Teck’s Karla Mills will become the new company’s chief project officer, and Anglo’s Alison Atkinson will become the chief technical officer and CEO of Crop Nutrients.
The merger still has some regulatory hurdles to overcome, but the deal is expected to be finalized sometime between September 2026 and March 2027.
For more on what’s moving markets this week, check out our top market news round-up.
Markets and commodities react
Canadian equity markets were negative this week.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) lost just 0.11 percent over the week to close Friday at 35,226.14, while the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) fell 1.13 percent to 867.13.
The CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) shed 3.1 percent to 149.83.
The gold price was mostly flat, losing just 0.03 percent to close at US$4,047.91 per ounce on Friday at 4:00 p.m. EDT. The silver price posted a slight gain of 0.26 percent at US$57.76 on Friday.
In base metals, the Comex copper price recorded a 2.98 percent increase this week to US$6.52.
The S&P Goldman Sachs Commodities Index (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) was down 3.76 percent to end Friday at 686.16.
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.
Stocks 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. Volt Carbon Technologies (TSXV:VCT)
Weekly gain: 50 percent
Market cap: C$16.56 million
Share price: C$0.075
Volt Carbon Technologies is a Canada-based battery material production and development company working to advance its dry separation graphite technology and its Solid UltraBattery platform.
The process is designed to produce fewer emissions, using no chemicals and zero water inputs, resulting in no liquid waste and no downstream contamination. The process has achieved graphite with 98.5 percent purity.
Its other technology-focused product is the Solid UltraBattery, a solid-state, lithium-based battery technology currently in the research phase.
In British Columbia, the company owns two exploration projects: the Mount Copeland molybdenum and rare earth project near Revelstoke, and the Redbird molybdenum-copper-rhenium project in the Skeena Mining Division.
On Thursday, Volt announced that it received the initial 40,000 metric tons of vermiculite under its recent toll purchase order with Northern Ore. For a processing fee of US$100 per metric ton, Volt will process the material through its dry-air classification facility in Guelph, Ontario, to remove sand and grit. The 40,000 metric ton order is set to renew automatically each year, unless terminated.
When the agreement was initially announced on July 7, the companies said they had also entered into ashare issuance agreement under which Volt received a 2.5 percent equity interest in Northern Ore. The agreement also noted that Northern Ore identified a high-grade graphite occurrence on its property. Under the terms of the deal, Northern Ore will supply Volt with a minimum of 10,000 metric tons of graphite for processing each year, subject to laboratory testing.
2. PJX Resources (TSXV:PJX)
Weekly gain: 42.86 percent
Market cap: C$35.51 million
Share price: C$0.25
PJX Resources is an exploration company focused on gold, silver and base metal properties in British Columbia, Canada.
The company has largely been exploring claims around Cranbrook, in the southeast portion of the province. PJX has been focused on the Cranbrook area due to the co-existence of a significant base metals deposit with untapped gold potential.
The region is home to the historic Sullivan mine, which produced most of the region’s production of over 285 million ounces of silver, 8.5 million metric tons of lead and 8 million metric tons of zinc. Additionally, the company states that the region may be responsible for more than 1.5 million ounces of historic placer gold production, but significant gold deposits have not yet been discovered.
In total, the company has amassed a land claim of over 50,000 hectares in the region, centered around these historic claim sites.
PJX’s most recent news came on July 23, when it announced the start of a 4,000 meter drill program at Dewdney Trail property targeting Sullivan-style mineralization, and closed the second tranche of a non-brokered private placement, raising gross proceeds of C$6.3 million.
The company is also active at its Zinger property targeting a reduced intrusion-related gold system. Prospecting, mapping and surface sampling are being carried out at Zinger’s Gar target, with plans to drill once it receives permits.
It intends to use the proceeds from the placement to finance exploration work at its properties.
3. Hercules Metals (TSXV:BIG)
Weekly gain: 35 percent
Market cap: C$250.94 million
Share price: C$0.81
Hercules Metals is an exploration company focused on its flagship Hercules copper-silver project in Idaho, US, which hosts the Leviathan copper porphyry discovery.
Its wholly owned Hercules project covers 26,000 acres, including 7,700 acres of state lease for exploration, development and mining and 1,800 acres of surface mining rights. It entered into an option agreement with Barrick Mining (TSX:ABX,NYSE:B) in July 2025 to expand its landholding, gaining the right to earn a 100 percent interest in 74,000 acres.
Combined, the consolidated Olympus Belt land package consists of 100,000 acres of mineral rights over a length of 73 kilometers.
The most recent exploration update from the Hercules project came on July 2, when the company announced it completed a 28 line kilometer induced polarization survey at the Hook target.
It identified a chargeability feature extending across a 1.8 kilometer strike length, which it says bears similarities to the geometry of the IP signature at the Leviathan discovery.
The feature appears to begin within 100 meters of the surface in some areas, which Hercules is targeting with a drill hole testing to a depth of 200 meters.
On Thursday, the company reported that it had appointed George Ogilvie as its new president and CEO, effective September 1. The former president and CEO of Arizona Sonoran Mining, Ogilvie has more than 36 years of experience in mining, operations and development. Current CEO Chris Paul will become Hercules’ senior vice president of exploration.
With his appointment, Ogilvie brings a team of six senior executives and mining professionals who were also with Arizona Sonoran. The company, along with its Cactus project, was recently acquired by Hudbay Minerals (TSX:HBM,NYSE:HBM) for C$2 billion.
4. Zentek (TSXV:ZEN)
Weekly gain: 28.38 percent
Market cap: C$98.76 million
Share price: C$0.95
Zentek is a diversified mining and technology company that is exploring the Albany graphite project and developing processing techniques to create graphene coatings through its ZenGUARD platform.
The Albany project is located near Hearst in Ontario, Canada, and consists of 521 mining claims covering 9,760 hectares of unpatented crown land. It hosts hydrothermal graphite in two breccia pipes; one measures 300 meters long by 157 meters wide and is open at depth beyond 500 meters, while the other is 300 meters long by 50 to 75 meters wide and is open at depth beyond 600 meters.
On April 9, Zentek announced that it was working to complete a new preliminary economic assessment and updated mineral resource estimate, which it expects to be completed in the summer of 2026.
It noted that the previous estimate from April 2023 reported an indicated resource of 22.9 million metric tons of ore grading 4.07 percent graphitic carbon, with an inferred resource of 13.1 million metric tons grading 2.87 percent graphitic carbon.
In late June, the company formed a 90/10 joint venture called Strategic Graphite Partners with ALO Graphite Partners. The goal of the joint venture is to advance graphite from the Albany project into the US supply chain through customer, industry and government engagement.
Zentek also has a technology arm that is developing graphene coatings for use in air filtration and personal protective equipment, fire protection for structural and industrial applications, ice prevention for aviation and infrastructure and anti-corrosion applications for marine and industrial uses.
It was granted a US patent for its ZenGUARD platform in June, and announced its first commercial order in the US on July 7.
5. CGX Energy (TSXV:OYL)
Weekly gain: 27.5 percent
Market cap: C$96.49 million
Share price: C$0.255
CGX Energy is an oil and gas exploration company with 27.48 percent ownership of a portfolio of wells in the Corentyne block off the coast of Guyana. Frontera Energy (TSX:FEC,OTCQX:FECCF) is the company’s joint venture partner in the Corentyne block and also holds a 76.05 percent interest in CGX.
The Kawa-1 exploration well was drilled in 2021 and 2022 and encountered an active hydrocarbon system extending over a 6,000 foot column, mirroring trends in the Guyana-Suriname Basin. CGX’s Wei-1 well was drilled in late 2022 and is located on-trend between the Kawa-1 well and Exxon Mobil’s (NYSE:XOM) Pluma discovery.
CGX and Frontera are currently in a legal dispute with the government of Guyana, which believes the petroleum prospecting license for Corentyne expired in 2024, a stance the joint venture disagrees with. The latest update on the matter mentioned plans to meet and discuss the situation, with potential dates in November or December of last year. However, this had not been resolved by the release of its annual report in March.
Shares of CGX posted gains this week, but the company has not released any news since April 30, when it announced its adoption of semi-annual reporting for the full year ending December 31 and the half-year ending June 30.
FAQs for Canadian mining 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, and 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 mining companies are listed on the TSX and TSXV?
As of March 2026, 906 mining companies and 71 oil and gas companies are listed on the TSXV, combining for 64 percent of the 1,524 total companies listed on the exchange.
The TSX is home to 176 mining companies and 50 oil and gas companies. The exchange has 2,149 companies listed on it in total.
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.
As of April 2026, the listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000, and accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000. 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.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, have investments with Equinox Gold.
Editorial Disclosure: Copper Quest Exploration is a client of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
www.nasdaq.com