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As March nears, international turmoil has driven gold above US$1,900 per ounce for the first time since June 2021, with a short-lived spike of over US$1,970 in the early morning hours of Thursday (February 24).
Although the situation between Russia and Ukraine has been steadily escalating for weeks at this point, Russia began its invasion of the other country on Wednesday (February 23).
"The biggest driver (of the gold price) is now what's still happening with Russia," John Kaiser of Kaiser Research told the Investing News Network (INN) last Friday (February 18). He also mentioned high inflation and waning interest in bitcoin as other factors that are providing tailwinds for gold.
Although Ronald-Peter Stoeferle of Incrementum agrees that the conflict will affect markets, he’s less convinced about its role as a driver for gold. "I think it will have a long-lasting impact on markets. (But) when it comes to gold, I think that people completely overestimate the geopolitical premium," he told INN in a February 23 interview.
The best junior gold stocks list below was generated on February 23, 2022, using TradingView’s stock screener, and all companies listed had market caps above C$10 million at that time.
1. GoldQuest Mining (TSXV:GCQ)
Year-to-date gain: 165.38 percent; current share price: C$0.345
The top TSXV gainer is GoldQuest Mining, which has gold and copper properties in the Dominican Republic. The company’s primary focus is the development of its 100 percent owned Romero project. According to GoldQuest, its board and management team have experience developing a mine in the country that is still in operation. In addition to the Romero project, the company is exploring its Tireo property.
Even though its shares have jumped over 100 percent so far this year, GoldQuest has yet to release news in 2022.
2. Tower Resources (TSXV:TWR)
Year-to-date gain: 82.35 percent; current share price: C$0.155
Tower Resources is operating out of BC, Canada, with its focus set on advancing its wholly owned Rabbit North copper-gold, Nechako gold-copper-silver and More Creek gold-silver projects, the last of which is located in the Golden Triangle. The company performed a diamond drill program at Rabbit North in December 2021.
Tower’s only news in 2022 came on January 11, when it announced the discovery of a new gold zone following its drilling at Rabbit North. The new area is called the Golden zone, and the announcement includes an intercept of 95 meters at 1.4 grams per tonne (g/t) gold, including 19.2 meters at 4.21 g/t.
According to Tower Resources President Joe Dhami, "The Golden Zone's width and grade rival some of the best-known discoveries in central BC and marks a transformative change to our company.”
3. Reunion Gold (TSXV:RGD)
Year-to-date gain: 64.29 percent; current share price: C$0.23
Reunion Gold is focused on the Guiana shield; it operates projects in Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. The company has a 50/50 alliance with Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:GOLD) for the NW Extension asset in Suriname. Reunion’s primary focus is its Oko West project in Guyana, where it spent much of 2021 drilling.
Reunion Gold saw its share price spike in both mid-January and mid-February. After starting the year at C$0.14, multiple press releases on exploration at Oko West, plus a US$11.5 million private placement financing, have helped drive shares higher over 2022. The exploration brought results from five drill holes, including the two deepest holes that have been drilled on the property; one hole intersected 3.38 g/t gold over 63 meters.
4. Walker River Resources (TSXV:WRR)
Year-to-date gain: 62.5 percent; current share price: C$0.065
Walker River Resources is focused on its Lapon gold project in Nevada’s Walker Lane trend. The mining-friendly US state is famous for its precious metals. The company’s project is fully permitted and was home to historical high-grade gold mining. In 2019, Walker River expanded its land holdings along discovered extensions of Lapon.
Walker River has yet to release news in 2022; its last update was news on drilling at Lapon in December 2021.
5. Gowest Gold (TSXV:GWA)
Year-to-date gain: 59.09 percent; current share price: C$0.175
Gowest Gold is a singular-focus gold company working on advancing its Bradshaw deposit in the Timmins mining camp in Ontario, Canada. The project is part of its larger North Timmins gold project, a land package that the company is continuing to explore. Since receiving permitting to bring Bradshaw to commercial production in 2020, the company has worked to secure financing for the project.
In January 2022, Gowest received a C$19 million investment from Greenwater Investment Hong Kong, which will be used to restart operations at Bradshaw. On the topic of the investment, Gowest President and CEO Dan Gagnon stated, “This investment will enable Gowest to restart mining activities at Bradshaw and continue to move towards production. We anticipate this year will be important for our growth, as we also plan to expand our geological resources and reserves through additional exploration.”
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Securities Disclosure: I, Lauren Kelly, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.