Miners Grab a Record 60% of the 2026 TSX30

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• Mining companies took a record 18 of 30 spots, or 60%, on the 2026 TSX30, up from 57% in 2025 and the most since the ranking began in 2019.
• The 2026 list averaged a 785% three-year dividend-adjusted gain, nearly double the 2025 list's 431%, and miners held six of the top 10 spots.
• The mining group broadened beyond gold to include four silver companies, three copper companies, and one rare earths company.
• Based on the TSX's figures, the 18 miners averaged about 725%, roughly double the 348% mining average on the 2025 list.
• Eleven of the 18 miners graduated from the TSX Venture Exchange, showing how juniors can grow into senior-board winners.
• Since the ranking period ended, Trilogy Metals completed a US$35.6 million strategic investment from the U.S. Department of War, while Aclara Resources received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank for up to US$750 million in potential financing.
• Gold has fallen about 27% from its January record, but central bank buying rose 42% year over year in the third quarter, while China's control of rare earth refining keeps critical minerals in focus.

Mining companies took a record 18 of the 30 spots, or 60%, on the 2026 TSX30, the Toronto Stock Exchange's annual ranking of its best-performing stocks, according to the exchange's September 9 release. That was the most miners in any TSX30 ranking since the program began in 2019, up from 57% last year.

The TSX30 ranks companies by three-year dividend-adjusted share price performance, this time measured through June 30, 2026. The 2026 list averaged a 785% gain, the best in the program's history and nearly double the 431% posted by the 2025 list. Together, the 30 companies have a market capitalization of CA$252.6 billion. They added CA$225.7 billion in value over the three years.

Celestica Inc. (TSX:CLS; NYSE: CLS), which makes data center and networking hardware, topped the list for the second year in a row with a 2,590% gain. But miners held six of the top 10 spots, and 15 of the 30 companies graduated from the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV), the most in any TSX30.

"Just as nation-building is a priority for Canada, company-building must also be a national priority," said Loui Anastasopoulos, CEO of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

The miners didn't just take more spots; they took them across a wider range of metals. The TSX said gold remained strongly represented, but this year's group also included four silver companies, three copper companies, and one rare earths company. The release named Faraday Copper Corp. (FDY:TSX; CPPKF:OTC), Perpetua Resources Corp. (PPTA:TSX; PPTA:NASDAQ), Aclara Resources (ARA:TSX), and Trilogy Metals Inc. (TMQ:NYSEAmerican; TMQ:TSX) as critical mineral developers on the list.

Mining.com noted that the broader mix suggests investors are putting more value on companies exposed to critical minerals as global demand rises. Mugglehead pointed to several drivers: record precious metals prices, strong gold demand amid geopolitical risk and central bank buying, copper at all-time highs, and critical minerals demand from AI, clean technology, and electric vehicles.

The junior market fed the list. Eleven of the 18 miners started on the TSXV before moving up to the senior board, the TSX said. Mugglehead also noted that while 26 of the 30 companies are headquartered in Canada, most of the miners run their main projects outside the country.

The 2026 miners outperformed last year's group by a wide margin. On the 2025 TSX30, 17 miners made the list, and 15 of them were focused on gold. The top miner, Lundin Gold Inc. (LUG:TSX; LUGDF:OTCQX), ranked second with a 775% gain. This year's top miner, Montage Gold Corp. (MAU:TSX; MAUTF:OTCQX), also ranked second, but with a 2,502% gain, more than three times as much.

The miners' average return roughly doubled. The 2025 TSX30 summary put the mining group's average three-year gain at 348%. Based on the figures in this year's TSX table, the 18 miners on the 2026 list averaged about 725%. Even the lowest-ranked miner this year, Hudbay Minerals Inc. (HBM:TSX; HBM:NYSE), at 30th, gained 430%, nearly matching the 431% average for the entire 2025 list.

Several repeat honorees climbed sharply.

• Skeena Resources Ltd (SKE:TSX; SKE:NYSE) moved up from 29th, with a 219% gain, to 22nd, with a 492% gain.
• Lundin Gold, Trilogy Metals, and DPM Metals Inc. (DPM:TSX; DPM:ASX) are among the six companies the TSX named as multi-year honorees.
• Perpetua Resources held the 21st spot both years, but its gain rose from 290% to 507%.

Recent analyst coverage of Perpetua Resources has remained positive. On September 29, 2026, Scotiabank analyst Ovais Habib maintained his "Buy" rating, with a revised US$39.24 target. On October 1, 2026, H.C. Wainwright analyst Heiko Ihle reiterated his "Buy" rating and US$43.50 target.

Montage Gold ranked second overall with a 2,502% gain. The company brought the Koné gold project in Côte d'Ivoire into production, achieving its first gold pour on September 27. Investing News Network (INN) reported that construction was ahead of schedule for a fourth-quarter production start.

Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (ASM:TSX; ASM:NYSEAMERICAN; GV6:FSE) ranked fifth with 958%. INN noted the silver and gold producer recently made its second mill circuit available to process development ore from its La Preciosa project in Mexico.

Discovery Mining Ltd. (DSV:TSX; DSVSF:OTCQX) ranked sixth with 934%. Formerly Discovery Silver Corp., the company bought the Porcupine Complex in Timmins, Ontario, in April 2025 and became a gold producer. It completed its purchase of the nearby Kidd operations, including the Kidd Creek Mine, on June 1, 2026. It began trading under its new name on July 3, reflecting a production profile that now includes gold, copper, zinc, and silver. It is still advancing its Cordero silver project in Mexico.

AbraSilver Resource Corp. (ABRA:TSX; ABBRF:OTCQX) ranked seventh with 904%. It is developing the Diablillos silver-gold project in Argentina. INN reported that the company gave engineering firm Worley a limited notice to proceed in August and is targeting a final investment decision in the second quarter of 2027.

G Mining Ventures (GMIN:TSX; GMINF:OTCQX) ranked eighth with 853%. The company operates the Tocantinzinho gold mine in Brazil and is building its Oko West gold project in Guyana, where it is targeting first gold in the second half of 2027.

Faraday Copper ranked 10th with 688%. INN reported that the company signed a definitive agreement in July to buy BHP Group Ltd.'s (BHP:NYSE; BHPLF:OTCPK) San Manuel property in Arizona. The deal would join San Manuel with Faraday's neighboring Copper Creek project, while adding approximately 27,000 acres of private land for facilities and access.

Andean Precious Metals Corp. (APM:TSX; ANPMF:OTCQX) ranked 11th with 666%. It produces gold at its Golden Queen operation in California and silver at San Bartolomé in Bolivia. It reported record 2025 revenue of US$359.8 million.

Aclara Resources ranked 15th with 587%, the only rare earths company on the list. It is developing heavy rare earth clay deposits at its Carina project in Brazil and Penco Module in Chile, along with a planned separation plant in Louisiana.

Trilogy Metals ranked 17th with 570%. The company owns half of Ambler Metals LLC, which holds the Upper Kobuk Mineral Projects in Alaska's Ambler Mining District. Its partner, South32 Ltd. (S32:ASX), owns the other half.

Aris Mining Corp. (ARIS:TSX; ARIS:NYSE) ranked 19th with 563%. It operates the Segovia and Marmato underground gold mines in Colombia. It reported first-half 2026 gold production of 148,000 ounces, up 31% from a year earlier, and is guiding for 300,000 to 350,000 ounces for the year.

The following mining companies also made the list:

• IAMGOLD Corp. (IMG:TSX; IAG:NYSE): ranked 20th, up 541%
• Americas Gold and Silver Corp. (USA:TSX; USAS:NYSEAMERICAN): ranked 24th, up 477%
• Kinross Gold Corp. (K:TSX; KGC:NYSE): ranked 28th, up 452%
• Lundin Gold: ranked 23rd, up 484%
• DPM Metals: ranked 29th, up 449%

Two of the critical minerals companies on the list have attracted U.S. government support since the ranking period ended, although the nature of that support differs.

On August 28, the U.S. Department of War finalized a US$35.6 million equity investment that gives it a 10% stake in Trilogy Metals, North of 60 Mining News reported. Warrants and options tied to the planned Ambler Road could raise that position to 17.5%. Ambler Metals began federal permitting for the Arctic copper project in April.

Aclara has received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States for up to US$750 million in potential financing for its planned Louisiana heavy rare earths plant, Fastmarkets reported. Chief Financial Officer François Motte told the outlet that no industrial-scale heavy rare earths facility exists outside China yet.

Perpetua Resources is developing the Stibnite gold-antimony project in Idaho, home to one of the largest antimony resources in the United States. Antimony is a critical mineral used in munitions and batteries. Perpetua was one of only two miners on the list whose rank didn't change from 2025.

Gold remains the core of the TSX30 mining group, even though prices have fallen substantially from their January record. Spot gold peaked at about US$5,589 an ounce on January 28, according to Kitco. On Tuesday, the metal was trading near US$4,077, about 27% below that peak, after hitting a one-year low on October 30.

Big buyers are still in the market. Central banks around the world added a net 321 tonnes of gold to their reserves in the third quarter, up 42% from the same quarter in 2025, the World Gold Council reported. The council's head of research, Louise Street, said the strategic reasons for the buying "still remain in place."

Copper is being heavily consumed by the global build-out of electrical grids, electric vehicles, and AI data centers. It was trading near US$6.30 a pound on Tuesday, up about 25% from a year ago, though down about 6% over the past month. The International Copper Study Group forecasts that world refined copper production will grow by only 0.4% this year, Canadian Mining Journal reported. The group still expects a small refined copper surplus of about 104,000 tonnes in 2026. It forecasts that surplus to widen in 2027 if new mines and smelters come on stream as planned.

Rare earths, a group of 17 metals, are used in the permanent magnets in electric motors, wind turbines, drones, and defense systems, and China dominates their supply. China accounted for 91% of global refining of key rare earths in 2024, according to International Energy Agency figures cited by S&P Global. In April 2025, Beijing restricted exports of seven heavy rare earths, including dysprosium and terbium, which are used to make high-performance magnets.

China's April 2025 export controls on seven heavy rare earth elements remain in place. However, Beijing has extended the suspension of certain broader export restrictions introduced in October 2025 through January 10, 2027, following a November 9 announcement. The extension comes amid ongoing U.S.-China trade negotiations. That keeps companies like Aclara, which is working to build a heavy rare earths supply chain outside China, in focus for Western buyers.

What is the TSX30?

It's the Toronto Stock Exchange's annual ranking of its 30 best-performing stocks, based on three-year dividend-adjusted share price performance. The 2026 list measured performance through June 30, 2026.

How did miners do on the 2026 list?

Miners took a record 18 of the 30 spots, including six of the top 10. Montage Gold ranked highest among them, second overall, with a 2,502% gain, and even the lowest-ranked miner, Hudbay Minerals, gained 430%.

How does this year's mining group compare with last year's?

The 2025 list had 17 miners, 15 of them focused on gold, and its top miner, Lundin Gold, gained 775%. This year's miners covered more metals and averaged about 725%, compared with 348% for the 2025 mining group.

Which metals besides gold were represented?

Silver, copper, and rare earths. The TSX named Faraday Copper, Perpetua Resources, Aclara Resources, and Trilogy Metals as critical mineral developers on the list.

Why did miners perform so well?

Outlets covering the list pointed to several drivers: record precious metals prices, strong gold demand amid geopolitical risk and central bank buying, copper at all-time highs, and growing critical minerals demand from AI, clean technology, and electric vehicles.

Has the U.S. government invested in any of these companies?

Yes. The U.S. Department of War finalized a US$35.6 million investment in August for a 10% stake in Trilogy Metals. Aclara has received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States for up to US$750 million in potential financing for its planned Louisiana heavy rare earths plant.

What is the outlook for the metals behind the rally?

Gold is about 27% below its January record, but central banks added 321 tonnes in the third quarter. Copper is up about 25% from a year ago, though the International Copper Study Group forecasts a small refined surplus this year. China still dominates rare earth refining, and its April 2025 export controls on seven heavy rare earths remain in place.