Markets and commodities react

Canadian equity markets were mixed this week.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) gained 0.34 percent over the week to close Friday at 33,144.98, while the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) fared better, rising 5.53 percent to 1,154.15. The CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) went the other way, losing 0.39 percent to close at 187.36.

The gold price continued to trade at all-time highs this week, reaching US$4,989.94 on Friday afternoon. Overall, it gained 7.96 percent on the week to trade at US$4,984.92 by Friday at 4:00 p.m. EST.

The silver price performed even better, officially hitting triple digit silver when it broke above US$100 per ounce on Friday at new highs. It posted a weekly gain of 11.19 percent, closing Friday at US$102.72. Silver has gained nearly 42 percent since the start of 2026 and 233 percent from this same time last year.

In base metals, the Comex copper price rose 1 percent this week to US$5.98.

The S&P Goldman Sachs Commodities Index (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) rose 3.61 percent to end Friday at 584.13.

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. EST 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. Euro Manganese (TSXV:EMN)

Weekly gain: 134.29 percent
Market cap: C$23.56 million
Share price: C$0.41

Euro Manganese is a manganese development company working to advance its Chvaletice waste recycling project. The operation is focused on extracting manganese from tailings that are part of a decommissioned mine site near Prague, Czechia. As part of the project’s scope, the company says it will carry out remediation and reclamation work to bring the site into compliance with environmental regulations.

A 2022 feasibility study for the Chvaletice project indicates that it will produce 48,000 metric tons of manganese per year and is expected to have a project life of 25 years. In the study, the company reports a post-tax net present value of US$1.3 billion with an internal rate of return of 22 percent and a payback period of 4 years.

Shares in Euro Manganese were up this week, but the company has not released news since January 13, when it announced that John Webster tendered his resignation from the company’s board of directors.

Euro noted on Friday that it was unaware of any material change in its operations that could have caused the price rise.

2. Kingfisher Metals (TSXV:KFR)

Weekly gain: 106.35 percent
Market cap: C$38.24 million
Share price: C$0.65

Kingfisher Metals is an exploration company focused on its HWY 37 project located in British Columbia, Canada.

The property, located in BC’s Golden Triangle, covers 933 square kilometers and hosts several porphyry and epithermal copper and gold deposits, including Hank and Williams, which were identified during historical exploration of the site.

On January 13, the company announced additional results from its 2025 exploration and drill program at HWY 37, releasing assays for three drill holes at the Williams deposit, two of which some of Williams’ longest copper intercepts yet. Kingfisher highlighted one hole, with grades of 0.47 percent copper equivalent over 889.35 meters, starting 3.65 meters from surface, which also included an interval of 1.16 percent copper equivalent over 40 meters.

Then on Thursday (January 22), Kingfisher reported that it had received the final results from the program, this time in the form of a deep drill hole at the Hank epithermal gold-silver system. While the hole intersected Hank’s typical mineralisation in the upper half of the hole, starting at 534 meters it encountered a 425 meter interval grading 0.4 percent copper equivalent.

The company said this represented a blind discovery, with no previous porphyry copper and gold mineralization being reported at Hank.

“The final hole of the 2025 program validates our long-standing belief that the shallow Hank Au-Ag epithermal mineralization is driven by a large porphyry Cu-Au system,” said Kingfisher CEO Dustin Perry.

3. Core Critical Metals (TSXV:CCMC)

Weekly gain: 94.68 percent
Market cap: C$15.04 million
Share price: C$1.83

Core Critical Metals is an exploration company working on its Timmins nickel project in Ontario, Canada. The company was previously known as Xander Resources but announced in August that it was changing its name to Core Critical Metals.

The project holds a strategic position, with two properties totaling 393 claims located west along trend from Canada Nickel Company’s (TSXV:CNC,OTCQX:CNIKF) Crawford property and adjacent to Canada Nickel’s Reid discovery.

On Monday, Core Critical Minerals issued a release congratulating Canada Nickel on the success of Crawford’s development. It also noted Crawford’s inclusion for the second tranche of projects from the Government of Canada’s Major Project Office in November 2025, and the more recent designation under Ontario’s One Project, One Process framework on January 13.

Additionally, the company announced on January 15 that it had issued 1.24 million common shares to settle a C$400,000 exploration debt with the vendor of a property option agreement for the CNC West property. It followed this news the next day when it announced a two-for-one stock split on January 16.

4. GoldHaven Resources (CSE:GOH)

Weekly gain: 94.44 percent
Market cap: C$10.3 million
Share price: C$0.35

GoldHaven Resource is an exploration and development company advancing projects in British Columbia and Brazil.

Its most recent focus has been on its Magno project in BC’s Cassiar mining district. The property consists of 53 mineral claims covering 36,814.16 hectares and borders mineral claims held by Cassiar Gold (TSXV:GLDC,OTCQX:CGLCF) and Coeur Mining (NYSE:CDE).

The site hosts silver, lead and gold mineralization at Magno North, with additional quantities of tin, indium and gallium. Porphyry targets at Magno West have shown mineralization with copper and molybdenum.

Since the start of the year, the company has released a trio of updates from Magno.

The first came on January 6, when it announced that preliminary assays from surface exploration confirmed the presence of silver, lead, zinc, tungsten and critical minerals across multiple zones at the property. The release highlighted grades of up to 2,370 grams per metric ton silver, 19.25 percent zinc, 6,550 parts per million (ppm) tungsten and 334 ppm indium.

The second release came on January 14, providing additional information on its tungsten results, noting that exploration confirmed anomalous tungsten mineralization at the historical Kuhn and Dead Goat showings, and found a new tungsten zone at Vines Lake.

The most recent release came on Thursday when GoldHaven reported that indium grades at the site show it is a ‘meaningful critical mineral component of the Magno system.’ These elevated grades were found to be restricted to the Magno and D Zones, as well as the Kuhn and Dead Goat showings.

5. Ascot Resources (TSX:AOT)

Weekly gain: 91.21 percent
Market cap: C$38.24 million
Share price: C$1.74

Ascot Resources is a Canadian gold exploration and development company focused on the negotiating the restart of mining operations at its Premier gold project, and on its Red Mountain gold project.

The site is located within the Golden Triangle area of Northern British Columbia, and hosts the Premier, Silver Coin and Big Missouri deposits, as well as one of only three mills in the region.

Production at the mine began in April 2024, but operations were placed on care and maintenance in September 2024. At the time, the company said it had fallen behind schedule in developing the mine and did not have enough material to feed the mill.

In an update from April 2025, the company said it was anticipating the mine would restart in early August at an initial rate of 1,250 metric tons per day. However, on June 25, Ascot announced that the mine would not restart as negotiations with mining contractor Procon Mining regarding the cost of mining services had stalled.

On October 23, the company announced that the mine would remain on care and maintenance and that it had engaged Fiore Management to assist with restructuring, refinancing and enhancing the leadership team at Ascot.

Since that time, the company has launched a fundraising effort, with the most recent news on December 31, when it announced it had closed the first tranche of a private placement raising C$809.1 million.

In that release, President and CEO Robert McLeod stated that further detailed updates on Ascot’s plans, as well a proposed rebrand, would be coming in the weeks ahead. ‘We believe the rapid development of the high-grade, underground bulk-mineable Red Mountain Project is the key to the successful commissioning and operation of a centralized mill to process material from the multiple deposits in the Golden Triangle.”

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.

Manganese prices struggle as structural demand builds

By June 20, 2025, manganese’s H1 gains had eroded and ore prices fell to US$4.21.

Eramet (EPA:ERA,OTCPL:ERMAF), a major producer, said it expected supply of manganese ore to increase in the second half of 2025, partly as key producers such as Australia returned volumes to market after earlier disruptions.

‘Ore supply should increase in H2, driven by the full return to the market of the leading Australian producer, partly offset by a potential downward revision of South African exports,’ the company notes. Demand for manganese alloys was expected to weaken in line with seasonality and softer global steel production.

Analysts cautioned that production expansions from major manganese producers could exacerbate oversupply. “Production increases … can only lead to oversupply, leading to a reduction in price,” one industry executive said.

Protectionist measures in key markets, including new EU quotas on ferroalloys, added uncertainty by potentially disrupting traditional trade flows and affecting alloy pricing dynamics.

Beyond the steel sector, structural shifts in consumption patterns emerged.

Although steelmaking still accounts for the lion’s share of manganese demand, interest in battery-related uses, particularly high-purity manganese for lithium-ion and next-generation EV chemistries, continued to gain attention.

“Our expectations of ongoing strengthening battery-grade demand and production in China in Q4 have been tempered somewhat by ongoing challenges within the nickel cobalt manganese (NCM) market,” Rob Searle, battery raw materials analyst at Fastmarkets, wrote in a November battery metals market update.

“While we expect a level of demand ramp-up in Q4, in the wider context of geopolitical challenges and a challenging Chinese market, the manganese demand uptick in the short term could be somewhat tempered,’ he added.

Changing battery chemistries

During a June Supply Chain (SC) Insights webinar, experts noted that manganese-rich cathode chemistries are increasingly drawing attention as automakers seek to cut costs and reduce exposure to cobalt and nickel.

Andy Leyland, founder of SC Insights, pointed out “manganese-rich chemistry is really offering a good solution … in terms of costs,” highlighting the commodity’s role in emerging battery designs.

While high-nickel NCM batteries remain dominant, industry players are exploring manganese as a lower-cost, high-performance alternative in Europe and North America, where supply chains remain heavily reliant on imports, particularly from China. OEMs are under pressure to secure raw materials directly, with vertical integration and direct sourcing emerging as key strategies to manage price volatility and supply security.

John Mulcahy, supply chain specialist at SC Insights, emphasized that sourcing upstream allows companies to negotiate better terms and reduce exposure to market fluctuations, even amid low pricing environments.

Manganese-rich chemistries are expected to expand steadily, complementing existing NCM and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, rather than replacing them entirely.

As Leyland noted, these materials are “definitely very high up on the focus from the demand side,” signaling growing adoption in the global push for cost-effective, low-cobalt battery solutions.

In March, Firebird Metals (ASX:FRB,OTCPL:FRBMF) produced its first lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP) EV batteries, becoming the first Australian company to achieve the feat. The move could position Firebird as a low-cost manganese cathode player, and highlights growth in the LMFP battery production segment.

Rising nationalism presents trade challenges

With the demand picture for manganese showing promise, analysts warn that export restrictions in Gabon could lead to a supply crunch before the decade is over. According to the US Geological Survey, 63 percent of US manganese imports come from Gabon. In June, the African nation announced plans to implement an export ban in January 2029.

Gabon’s renewed push to ban manganese ore exports from 2029 underscores Africa’s broader shift toward value addition, but it also risks tightening an already fragile global supply picture, a Project Blue market note reads.

As the world’s second largest exporter, Gabon shipped more than 7 million metric tons of high-grade ore in 2024, material that is critical to both ferroalloy production and emerging battery supply chains.

An export ban would hit Chinese buyers and European processors reliant on Gabonese feedstock, while adding pressure to the high-grade market at a time when Australia’s GEMCO mine is expected to wind down later this decade.

Although in-country processing — through ferroalloys or batteries — offers a path to capture more value locally, it would require significant investment and could shift, rather than eliminate, environmental and logistical costs.

For global markets, Gabon’s move signals rising resource nationalism in Africa and a potential structural squeeze on manganese supply heading into the next decade.

“However, without large-scale investments from China, a key battery producer, such ambitious plans of African governments risk remaining unrealised,” the Project Blue overview states.

“China has invested in Africa’s mineral industry (e.g. Ghana), securing access to the continent’s high-quality raw materials, while keeping production of high value-added products directly in China.”

In early 2025, Euro Manganese (TSXV:EMN,OTCPL:EUMNF) scored a major boost when its Chvaletice manganese project was designated a “strategic project” under the EU’s Critical Raw Materials Act.

The move underscores the EU’s push to secure local supply of critical battery materials and could tighten the manganese market by prioritizing European production in the continent’s energy transition.

Oversupply vs. new manganese demand drivers

For 2026, analysts expect the manganese market to remain broadly balanced, but with pressures and opportunities on both the supply and demand fronts. However, longer-term fundamentals point to steady growth.

Global market forecasts indicate the manganese industry could expand modestly in value and volume by 2035, driven by ongoing demand from steel and increasing uptake in battery and clean-energy applications.

Some reports project market size rising through the decades, with Asia-Pacific demand remaining dominant and new opportunities emerging in the electrification and high-purity material segments.

Steel demand will continue to be the principal driver in 2026, with India’s expanding production offering a potential buffer against slower growth in China and Europe. Battery applications may not yet move the pricing needle dramatically, but their structural importance is increasing as automakers and cathode developers look to diversify away from nickel and cobalt reliance, a trend that could support manganese demand in the medium term.

“Looking ahead to the coming weeks and months, it is likely we won’t see too much further upward pressure on prices. Asian markets are heading towards the seasonal lull in demand and manufacturing activity in February as the Lunar New Year holidays begin,” Searle said in a January Fastmarkets report.

“At the same time, there are concerns around what China’s EV demand outlook looks like in Q1 2026, with changes to subsidy schemes potentially leading to softening consumption of battery-grade manganese.”

US retirement system at inflection point

The executives interviewed, who are responsible for roughly US$18 trillion in assets, described legacy infrastructure as fragmented, inefficient and ill-suited to modern employment patterns and participant expectations.

“We expected (a) debate about the pace of change or which innovations to prioritize. Instead, we heard near-universal agreement that … incremental improvements won’t be enough,’ he continued.

“One participant told us the legacy infrastructure needs to be burned down and built up from scratch. When industry leaders … are that candid about structural deficiencies, it signals we’ve reached a genuine inflection point.”

Crossley explained that there are three forces driving urgency:

• Traditional safety nets are eroding as Social Security faces funding pressure and defined benefit pensions fall. The expert told INN that defined benefit pensions have shrunk from 68 percent of retirement assets in the mid-1970s to around 28 percent today.

• Job tenure has shortened dramatically, with Gen Z averaging less than three years per role versus nearly a decade for older cohorts, breaking systems built around long-term work at a single entity.

• Neobrokers and fintech platforms are increasing the competitive pressure on established companies, attracting younger investors and entering the retirement product market.

How blockchain solves for operational efficiency

While blockchain adoption in retail investment remains gradual, enterprise-level integrations have advanced steadily in recent years. Franklin Templeton itself has issued tokenized money market funds and piloted on-chain share registries.

“Intraday yield enables proportional calculation and distribution of yield, down to the second, when a tokenized security is transferred from one party to another — only made possible by blockchain innovation.”

The firm’s latest research suggests that the same efficiencies could underpin large-scale retirement solutions.

“The core problem in the industry is fragmentation,” Crossley said.

“Retirement data sits in silos across record keepers, plan sponsors, asset managers and benefits administrators, all running separate ledgers that require constant reconciliation,’ he continued, noting that blockchain provides a solution by creating a single shared record that every authorized participant can access simultaneously.

“Beyond that, tokenization allows us to embed rules directly into assets,” Crossley added. “A participant’s 401(k) contribution, their benefits elections (and) their employer match formula can all become programmable contracts that execute automatically. That’s not something a conventional database upgrade can replicate.”

Crossley pointed out that the bulk of retirement administration remains mired in costly, duplicative processes that fail to add value, with record keepers spending about US$12 billion a year servicing plans.

“Blockchain collapses that into a single shared record. When a contribution post or a benefits claim (is processed), every authorized party sees identical data simultaneously,’ he emphasized.

“Smart contracts take it further by automating routine administration. A participant’s contribution rate, investment election and match formula can be encoded into a self-executing contract. The blockchain monitors incoming payroll data and triggers the appropriate actions without manual intervention.”

From account to wallet

As regulatory frameworks mature and data security protocols strengthen, institutional players appear more willing to explore blockchain-based modernization at a broader scale.

If Franklin Templeton’s vision takes hold, the shift from “account to wallet” could mark one of the biggest operational revolutions in retirement management since the 401(k) was introduced nearly half a century ago.

“A wallet-based model consolidates that view. Your retirement contributions, benefits elections and employer match terms become tokens held in a single digital wallet that you control and carry with you across jobs.’

He noted that custodians and asset managers would have to rethink delivery.

‘Instead of being product manufacturers pushing funds into accounts, they become service providers operating within a networked ecosystem where the participant’s wallet is the central hub,’ Crossley said.

Barriers, challenges and regulatory engagement

Despite the promise, Crossley acknowledged that implementation roadblocks still lay ahead.

“Culture may be the steepest climb. The retirement industry has been conditioned by litigation risk to avoid anything nonstandard. Fiduciaries default to the cheapest, most common options because doing something different invites lawsuits. That mindset has to shift before any technology gains traction,’ he said.

“On the technical side, many record keepers still operate on mainframe systems built decades ago. Extracting and standardizing that data for migration is a massive undertaking,’ Crossley continued. In his view, regulatory clarity would be helpful in speeding up adoption, but internal barriers are hindering established franchies.

Franklin Templeton actively engages with regulators worldwide through sandboxes, hearings and white papers to align blockchain innovations with fiduciary standards while fostering investor protection and market growth.

“Our goal is to help build a regulatory environment where new technologies can thrive safely and transparently, unlocking the benefits of blockchain for institutions and individuals alike,’ he said.

‘By working together, we’re not just advancing our own capabilities; we’re helping to set the standard for a more open, resilient and trustworthy financial ecosystem,’ Crossley added. “We believe that the best regulatory frameworks don’t just safeguard investors; they also create the conditions for growth, experimentation and broader participation.”

The future of retirement systems

Crossley envisions a future where tokenized retirement systems operate seamlessly behind the scenes.

“Imagine a system where your retirement plan follows you across every job without paperwork, where your benefits selections automatically adjust when your circumstances change and where an AI-powered assistant actively optimizes your contributions, benefits usage and purchasing power in real time,’ he said.

“Tokenization makes that possible because it transforms static account records into programmable assets. Your 401(k) allocation, your HSA and your employer match formula all become smart contracts that execute automatically based on your preferences and life events. The end state is a retirement system that works continuously in the background rather than something you revisit once a year during open enrollment.”

Franklin Templeton sees gradual progress leading to meaningful adoption within three to five years.

He also noted that some forward-leaning providers are already testing wallet-based delivery for select participant groups. For example, Fidelity Investments offers Bitcoin exposure in 401(k)s via its digital assets account with up to 20 percent allocation and risk controls, while JPMorgan Chase’s (NYSE:JPM) Kinexys supports tokenized fund shares for automated rebalancing and collateral on permissioned networks. US provider ForUsAll enables up to 5 percent crypto self-directed windows via Coinbase Institutional in its Alt401(k) plans for small businesses.

“The question isn’t whether this shift happens,” said Crossley. ‘But whether incumbent players lead it or find themselves responding to competitors who moved first.”