Many investors historically have turned to safe haven assets such as precious metals in times of economic and political turmoil. One way to gain exposure is by owning companies in the metals and mining industry, which are involved in the exploration, extraction, and sale of metals and other minerals.

These materials are used in a wide range of applications in jewelry making, industry, technology, aviation, aerospace, and more. Some of the industry’s biggest companies globally include Franco-Nevada Corp. and Wheaton Precious Metals Corp.

Mining companies have significantly outperformed the broader market in the last year. The benchmark SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME), an exchange-traded fund, has provided one-year trailing total returns of 48.0% compared with 8.3% for the Russell 1000 Index. Commodities including metals have soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, with selected mining stocks seeing big gains.

Here are the top three mining stocks with the best value, the fastest earnings growth, and the most momentum. All figures throughout are as of March 10, 2022.

These are the mining stocks with the lowest 12-month trailing price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio. Because profits can be returned to shareholders in the form of dividends and buybacks, a low P/E ratio shows that you’re paying less for each dollar of profit generated.

Source: YCharts

• Mining and Metallurgical Company NORILSK NICKEL: Norilsk Nickel is a Russia-based mining and metallurgical company. It explores, extracts, and refines ore and nonmetallic minerals. It also sells base and precious metals including gold, silver, palladium, platinum, cobalt, and more. On March 12, Bloomberg reported that the company had been approved by Russia’s Ministry of Finance to pay its foreign debts in currencies other than the ruble. The news comes after the ruble crashed due to sanctions imposed by the U.S. after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• Polymetal International PLC: Polymetal International PLC is a Cyprus-based precious metals mining company. It focuses on extraction, processing, and reclamation of gold, silver, and copper sites in Russia and Kazakhstan.
• Vale S.A.: Vale is a Brazil-based mining company that produces iron ore and alloys, gold, nickel, copper, and a variety of other minerals and materials. The company also owns and operates railroads and terminals.

These are the top mining stocks as ranked by a growth model that scores companies based on a 50/50 weighting of their most recent quarterly year-over-year (YOY) percentage revenue growth and most recent quarterly YOY earnings-per-share (EPS) growth. Both sales and earnings are critical factors in the success of a company. Therefore, ranking companies by only one growth metric makes a ranking susceptible to the accounting anomalies of that quarter (such as changes in tax law or restructuring costs) that may make one figure or the other unrepresentative of the business in general. Companies with quarterly EPS or revenue growth of more than 2,500% were excluded as outliers.

Source: YCharts

• Alexco Resource Corp.: Alexco Resource is a Canada-based silver mining company. It operates primarily in the Yukon Territory. Alexco conducts mining operations as well as reclamation management and also produces lead and zinc concentrates. It trades in Canada under the ticker AXU.TO. Alexco went from negative to positive EPS in the period in question, making a calculation of EPS growth impossible.
• Aya Gold & Silver Inc.: Aya Gold & Silver is a Canada-based precious metals exploration and development company. It acquires, explores, and evaluates mineral properties primarily in Morocco. On March 1, the company announced the early-stage discovery of numerous high-potential areas at its Imiter bis property in Morocco, located 150 kilometers from Ouarzazate. Aya does not have a listing in the table above for EPS growth because its EPS went from negative to positive during the period in question.
• Alphamin Resources Corp.: Alphamin Resources is a Mauritius-based company producing and selling tin concentrate. Its mining operations are primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Alphamin does not have an EPS growth figure in the table above because its EPS went from positive to negative over the period in question.

These are the mining stocks that had the highest total return over the last 12 months.

Source: YCharts

• Asante Gold Corp.: Asante Gold is a Canada-based gold exploration and development company. Its portfolio of includes multiple sites in Ghana. Asante Gold shares trade in the U.S. under the ticker ASGOF. On March 8, the company announced that David Anthony had been appointed president and chief executive officer (CEO) of the company. Anthony has been chief operating officer (COO) of the company since July 2021. He replaces Douglas MacQuarrie, who has been appointed non-executive chairman of the company.
• Emerita Resources Corp.: Emerita Resources is a Canada-based company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of mineral properties. The company’s activities are focused on polymetallic deposits located in Spain. Emerita trades in Canada under the ticker EMO.V.
• Alpha Metallurgical Resources Inc.: Alpha Metallurgical Resources is a mining company which supplies metallurgical products to the steel industry. The company extracts, processes, and markets coal for sale to steel and coke producers, electric utilities, and industrial clients. It operates in Virginia and West Virginia. For Q4 2021, ended Dec. 31, the company reported net income of $254.5 million compared with net loss for the prior-year quarter. It also reported that total revenue more than doubled YOY. The company cited elevated global pricing as a driver of performance.

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