On Friday (August 15), Statistics Canada released wholesale trade data for June. The release indicates that sales increased 0.7 percent to C$84.7 billion for the month, with four of seven sectors reporting gains.
The increases were led by the food, beverage and tobacco sector, which increased 1.7 percent to C$15.6 billion, and on a provincial level by Québec, which reported 1.9 percent higher sales at C$15.3 billion. Sales also increased in the mineral, ore and precious metals subsector, rising to C$1.02 billion in June from C$750.84 million recorded in May.
Despite the increases, Statistics Canada notes that more than a third of all businesses questioned said Canada-US trade have tensions affected them, and that sales have been negatively impacted in all seven subsectors.
In the US, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released July consumer price index (CPI) data on Tuesday (August 12). It shows that the all-items index increased 0.2 percent month-on-month, a slight deceleration from the 0.3 percent gain in June.
Core CPI, which excludes the volatile food and energy segments, rose by 0.3 percent in July versus 0.2 percent recorded the previous month. On an annualized basis, the all-items CPI remained steady with an increase of 2.7 percent, but posted a more significant 3.1 percent gain when the food and energy categories were excluded.
On Friday, US President Donald Trump was scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, US, for talks to de-escalate the war between Russia and Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was excluded from Friday’s summit, but Trump has said he hopes the meeting will lead to further talks that will include Ukraine.
The two nations have been at war since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022. Russia is seeking to retain the territory it has held since near the beginning of the war, while Ukraine says the original borders should be maintained.
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
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 February 2025, there were 1,572 companies listed on the TSXV, 905 of which were mining companies. Comparatively, the TSX was home to 1,859 companies, with 181 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.
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.