Canada’s top-10 base metal juniors

The Northern Miner has listed the top-10 base metal and uranium juniors — with no production, and which are not a royalty company — headquartered in Canada, arranged by market capitalization as of early July.

1. IVANHOE MINES

Market cap: $2 billion

Robert Friedland’s Ivanhoe Mines (TSX: IVN; US-OTC: IVPAF) sits atop the top-10 list for the second year in a row, but down $1.8 billion in market cap from a year ago.

The company is developing three world-class projects in sub-Saharan Africa: the Kamoa-Kakula copper project in the Democratic Republic of the Congo; the Platreef project in South Africa for platinum group metals and nickel; and the Kipushi zinc project, also in the DRC.

China’s CITIC Metal is investing $723 million in Ivanhoe in a private placement at $3.68 per share. Yufeng “Miles” Sun, president of CITIC Metal Group Ltd., will join Ivanhoe’s board at closing and become co-chairman of Ivanhoe Mines at that time in a role to be shared with Friedland.

Not counting the Kamoa resource, Kakula’s newly calculated indicated resource at a 3% cut-off grade has increased by 58 million tonnes and now totals an astonishing 174 million tonnes grading 5.62% copper. At a 1% copper cut-off, Kakula’s indicated resource has risen 58% to 585 million tonnes, at 2.92% copper.

2. ARIZONA MINING

Market cap: $1.9 billion

Arizona Mining (TSX: AZ; US-OTC: WLDVF) added a billion dollars to its market capitalization from a year ago, thanks to ongoing success in developing its Hermosa zinc-lead-silver deposit, 81 km southeast of Tucson, Ariz., and an all-cash friendly offer for the company from Australia-listed miner South32.

The major is buying the 83% of Arizona Mining it doesn’t already own for $6.20 per share, representing a fully funded US$1.3 billion ($1.8 billion), or a 50% premium.

The junior explorer has been carrying out drill programs targeting Hermosa’s Taylor sulphide and Taylor Deeps zones — both carbonate-replacement style deposits — and a cross-cutting vein system called the Trench. The work had been intended to lead to a resource update and feasibility study later this year.

3. NEXGEN ENERGY

Market cap: $879 million

Vancouver-based NexGen Energy (TSX: NXE; NYSE-AM: NXE) is the biggest winner so far coming out of the new wave of uranium exploration in the southwestern portion of the Athabasca basin of Saskatchewan.

NexGen’s southwestern properties host the high-grade Arrow deposit, the South Arrow discovery, the Harpoon discovery, the Bow discovery and the Cannon area — all located on the company’s 100%-owned Rook I property. The Arrow deposit has an indicated resource of 179.5 million lb. U₃O₈ contained within 1.18 million tonnes grading 6.88% U₃O₈.

4. POLYMET MINING

Market cap: $394 million

While headquartered in Toronto, Polymet Mining’s(TSX: POM; NYSE-AM: PLM) sole focus is developing and bringing into production its NorthMet copper-nickel-precious metals project in northeastern Minnesota’s Mesabi Iron Range, where it also has its Erie Plant — a large processing facility 10 km from the orebody that can be repurposed to handle NorthMet ore.

In late June, PolyMet completed key land exchanges the U.S. Forest Service after the transfer was approved in legislation passed by the U.S. Senate.

Mining titan Glencore owns 30% of PolyMet’s shares.

5. FISSION URANIUM

Market cap: $340 million

Another Athabasca basin trailblazer, Kelowna, B.C.-based Fission Uranium (TSX: FCU; US-OTC: FCUUF), is advancing its PLS uranium project, which hosts the near-surface, high-grade Triple R deposit. Major high-grade zones have been found each year since discovery in 2012, and recent exploration drilling has uncovered more mineralization west of the trend.

6. NEVADA COPPER

Market cap: $271 million

Vancouver-based Nevada Copper (TSX: NCU; US-OTC: NEVDF) is sitting pretty with its Pumpkin Hollow project on Nevada — calling it the “only major, shovel-ready and fully permitted copper project in North America.”

Nevada Copper has closed a $96-million public offering of shares at 60¢ per share, and an over-allotment option could bring the total to $110 million.

Its two fully permitted projects at Pumpkin Hollow include a high-grade underground mine — which is moving into construction with first production in late 2019 — and an open-pit concept, which is undergoing optimization to look at a reduced-capex, staged development.

7. TRILOGY METALS

Market cap: $250 million

Trilogy Metals (TSX: TMQ; NYSE-AM: TMQ) is exploring its sizeable and high-grade Bornite copper-cobalt and Arctic polymetallic projects that are part of its Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Alaska’s Ambler mining district.

Work at Bornite is being funded by South32 under a joint venture whereby South32 will spend US$150 million over three years to earn a 50% interest in the junior’s Alaskan assets.

Trilogy recently calculated a cobalt resource for Bornite and completed a positive prefeasibility study of Arctic.

8. NGEX RESOURCES

Market cap: $240 million

A member of the Lundin Group of Companies, NGEx Resources (TSX: NGQ; US-OTC: NGQRF) is developing its two large copper-gold-silver discoveries, Los Helados and Josemaria, located in Chile’s Region III and adjacent San Juan Province, Argentina.

NGEX owns 100% of Josemaria and is majority partner and operator for Los Helados.

The junior says the assets are “considered one of the best exploration-development plays in the region.”

9. NORTHERN DYNASTY MINERALS

Market cap: $212 million

While it’s never been easy for Northern Dynasty Minerals (TSX: NDM; NYSE-AM: NAK), its colossal Pebble copper-gold deposit in Alaska is too large to walk away from, despite the departure over the years of a couple of major partners, dogged opposition by environmental groups and many regulatory hurdles.

Resources at Pebble stand at 6.5 billion measured and indicated tonnes containing 57 billion lb. copper, 71 million oz. gold, 3.4 billion lb. molybdenum and 345 million oz. silver. In the inferred category lie another 4.5 billion tonnes containing 25 billion lb. copper, 36 million oz. gold, 2.2 billion lb. molybdenum and 170 million oz. silver. Palladium and rhenium are also present.

10. FILO MINING

Market cap: $153 million

Filo Mining (TSXV: FIL) of the Lundin Group is developing its wholly owned Filo del Sol copper-gold-silver project, 140 km southeast of Copiapo, on the Chile-Argentina border.

Filo Mining was spun out of NGEx Resources in mid-2016 to evaluate the project’s potential for a low-cost heap leach operation, which resulted in a new resource estimate in July 2017 and a positive preliminary assessment in November 2017.

Indicated resources are 372 million tonnes of 0.34% copper, 0.33 gram gold and 9.2 grams silver per tonne, with another 239 million tonnes in the inferred category at slightly lower grades.

10. ECOBALT SOLUTIONS

Market cap: $153 million

Vancouver-based eCobalt Solutions (TSX: ECS; US-OTC: ECSIF) is advancing its Idaho Cobalt project in east-central Idaho, 40 km west of the town of Salmon, with an eye on first production in early 2020.

In September 2017, the company tabled a feasibility study modelling an underground mine that would annually produce 2.4 million lb. cobalt, 3.3 million lb. copper and 3,000 oz. gold over a 12.5-year life.