S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index ends July 25-29 week stronger

The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index gained 38.07 points or 6.26% over the July 25-29 trading session to end the week at 646.04. 

Battery metals companies were the top gainers in value in the trading week, with Sigma Lithium shares gaining $3.10, or 15.9%, to $22.55 apiece. According to Trading Economics data, lithium carbonate prices in China rose slightly to 476,500 yuan ($90,735.04) per tonne at the end of July, remaining near the record-high of 500,000 yuan ($95,209.90) from March and 430% higher year-on-year amid high demand and tight supply. The market is increasingly seeing original equipment manufacturers, particularly in the automotive manufacturing sector, locking-in upstream lithium supplies directly from the mine gate. A prime example of this trend is Toyota Motor Corp. and Panasonic Corp.’s July 31 announcement of a binding supply deal for lithium from ASX-listed ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge mining project to build electric vehicle batteries in the U.S. This bodes well for Sigma, which is building the large Grota do Cirillo project in Brazil. In July, the company said that construction remains on track for commissioning to start in December. The company also recently released a new resource estimate for the project, lifting the total resource base 50% to 85.7 million tonnes. The project now contains 73.6 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 1.43% lithium oxide and 12.1 million inferred tonnes at 1.45% lithium oxide. In July, Brazil moved to deregulate the lithium industry, another positive for Sigma. 

Electra Battery Metals shares gained $1.15 in the trading week to $5 apiece. A new benefits agreement signed between the company and the Métis Nation of Ontario underpinned the action. The deal covers employment, training, procurement, and business opportunities related to building and expanding the company’s battery materials refinery near Temiskaming Shores. Electra is advancing by commissioning an integrated black mass recycling and nickel sulphate production plant with a capacity of 5,100 tonnes cobalt in sulphate. In concert with its effort to commission the refinery, Electra intends to launch a battery materials recycling demonstration plant this fall. 

Pure Gold Mining registered the highest volume of shares traded during the period under review, seeing 71 million shares change hands. On July 12, the company launched a strategic review process that could involve a potential sale or merger of the company or its gold mine in Red Lake, Ont., or other long-term financing options. The evaluation is being conducted with “the objective of maximizing shareholder value and the value of the Pure Gold mine in Ontario,” the Canadian miner said, adding it was postponing a 2022 guidance update, which was previously scheduled to be released in June. The company poured first gold at the mine in late 2020 but has since struggled to feed the mill, which has a nameplate capacity of 800 tonnes per day.