The Five Standout Junior Copper Explorers on Canada's TSXV Through 2025

As the global copper market tightens amid surging demand from renewable energy and EV sectors, junior copper exploration companies operating on the TSXV have delivered remarkable returns in 2025. The backdrop remains compelling: world-class copper mines are running below capacity while supply constraints intensify, creating a window of opportunity for well-positioned junior explorers to make their mark.

Copper itself has experienced a volatile year, climbing to unprecedented levels in Q3 following tariff announcements, then pulling back as policy details emerged. Yet throughout the turbulence, exploration companies with high-impact projects in proven mining jurisdictions have attracted sustained capital interest. This article examines five junior copper exploration plays that have stood out on the TSXV in terms of share price performance and operational progress since January 2025.

Data was compiled on December 9, 2025, using market screeners and excluding companies with valuations below C$10 million. The focus is on entities actively advancing copper-dominant projects.

Colquemayo Development Gathers Momentum: King Copper Discovery (TSXV:KCP)

2025 Return: 1,240 percent
Current Valuation: C$189.77 million
Stock Price: C$0.67

King Copper Discovery has emerged as the top performer among junior copper explorers tracked through 2025, with its share price accelerating on the back of systematic exploration progress at its flagship Colquemayo asset in Peru’s Moquegua region.

The company holds an option to wholly acquire this 6,600-hectare property through an arrangement with a major mining partner, established in July 2024. Colquemayo hosts an extensive drilling legacy—over 20,000 meters on file—yet remains underexplored, with multiple untested porphyry systems identified across the concession.

Historical assay data from the property speaks to the deposit’s quality: select intervals graded 2.4 percent copper and 10 g/t silver across 237.3 meters, with particularly rich zones returning 14.8 percent copper and 47 g/t silver over 31.3 meters. These numbers underpin King’s confidence in the project’s discovery potential.

In February, King undertook a corporate rebrand and announced it was intensifying its technical focus on Colquemayo. The company engaged a Lima-based environmental specialist to shepherd baseline and permitting work forward. By mid-September, King had secured C$15 million in strategic funding, deployed toward a planned 15,000-meter diamond drilling initiative. The funding round brought a cornerstone investor to a 9.99 percent stake.

Through October, King completed systematic re-logging of 61 historic drill cores across two prospect zones, with additional core work ongoing at a third area. The company identified multiple new targets warranting drill testing and mobilized field teams to validate discoveries on the ground. Share performance peaked at C$0.90 in mid-October.

Arizona Past-Producer Transition: Edge Copper (TSXV:EDCU)

2025 Return: 1,233 percent
Current Valuation: C$48.94 million
Stock Price: C$0.40

Edge Copper (formerly Plata Latina until October) has executed a portfolio transformation in 2025, pivoting from Latin American silver exploration toward a copper-focused strategy anchored in Arizona.

The transition began in late February when Edge monetized an existing Naranjillo interest through a C$8.61 million transaction with a major mining subsidiary. This exit was formalized in April.

In July, Edge entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the Zonia project from World Copper—a past-producing copper mine situated on 900 hectares south of Prescott, Arizona. The asset benefits from existing mine infrastructure and a streamlined permitting pathway requiring only state-level approvals for initial phases. The transaction closed in late October, with Edge issuing C$10.5 million in cash plus a 31.3 percent equity stake to the seller (total deal value: C$22 million). Concurrent with the acquisition, Edge raised US$17 million through a non-brokered placement earmarked for drilling, metallurgical evaluation, permitting and a preliminary feasibility assessment.

Zonia itself hosts defined resources: an indicated category of 668 million pounds of copper grading 0.3 percent from 112.2 million US tons, coupled with an inferred resource of 320 million pounds copper at 0.26 percent average grade from 62.9 million US tons.

By early November, Edge had initiated its first drill campaign—a 60,000-foot AI-enhanced program designed to expand existing mineral inventories and support a larger, longer-reserve mine plan. Shares peaked at C$0.60 on October 20.

Northern BC High-Grade Copper: Amarc Resources (TSXV:AHR)

2025 Return: 451 percent
Current Valuation: C$245.61 million
Stock Price: C$1.13

Amarc Resources has captured investor attention with its JOY district in Northern British Columbia, a 495-square-kilometer exploration ground hosting the AuRORA high-grade copper-gold discovery. The property operates under an earn-in arrangement with a tier-1 mining company, which maintains rights to acquire up to 70 percent through exploration spending.

The AuRORA discovery, announced in mid-January, showcased near-surface, high-grade potential: a representative assay returned 0.63 percent copper and 2.19 g/t gold across 162 meters, including an 81-meter intercept of 0.92 percent copper and 3.69 g/t gold. The discovery immediately catalyzed share appreciation.

Following the AuRORA announcement, Amarc secured an option on the adjacent Brenda property (directly east of the discovery), expanding its landholding and consolidating the high-grade copper trend. Additional 2024-program assays released in late February confirmed consistent grades: one hole from AuRORA returned 0.63 percent copper over 132 meters, including a 90-meter section averaging 0.81 percent.

The mid-year drill campaign commenced in July, targeting AuRORA expansion and testing adjacent prospects (PINE, Twins, Canyon). The earn-in partner simultaneously exercised additional options on nearby ground. By September, the partner advanced to Stage 2 of its earn-in (achieving 60 percent after Stage 1 completion), earning the right to pursue a further 10 percent through C$75 million in spending over five years.

Amarc’s full-year drill program wrapped in late October, totaling 35 holes and 15,381 meters with emphasis on AuRORA. Rush assays from select holes appeared in late September, with comprehensive assay batches released in early November. Highlights included a 126-meter interval averaging 0.32 percent copper and 0.97 g/t gold (including a 61-meter sub-interval of 0.47 percent copper and 1.24 g/t gold). December assays confirmed the deposit’s ongoing expansion potential, with one interval grading 0.44 percent copper and 1.5 g/t gold over 47 meters. Amarc views AuRORA as displaying tier-1 asset characteristics based on grade consistency, geometry and emerging scale. Stock price climbed notably in September, reaching a year high of C$1.35 on September 26.

Multi-Jurisdiction Copper Play: C3 Metals (TSXV:CCCM)

2025 Return: 450 percent
Current Valuation: C$124.86 million
Stock Price: C$1.32

C3 Metals operates a geographically diverse portfolio spanning Jamaica and Peru, with recent exploration advances across multiple fronts.

In Jamaica, C3’s Bellas Gate project encompasses 13,020 hectares hosting 14 porphyry prospects and 30-plus epithermal targets along an 18-kilometer structural corridor. An earn-in agreement signed in mid-February grants the partner rights to achieve 51 percent interest through US$25 million in spending over five years, with pathways to earn an additional 24 percent. Drilling commenced in mid-August, targeting under-explored zones to depths of 500 meters. A 3D geophysical survey initiated in October aims to extend coverage to 70 square kilometers and define deeper targets beyond 700 meters. The work was temporarily halted in early November following a major hurricane strike, though the company noted workforce safety and equipment integrity were maintained. Restoration of site infrastructure was estimated at 6-8 weeks.

In Peru, C3 manages two copper-focused assets: Jasperoide and Khaleesi, positioned 8 kilometers apart. Jasperoide spans 30,000 hectares with two porphyry systems and 15-plus skarn prospects distributed across two 28-kilometer-long mineralized trends. A 2023 technical report outlined the Montana de Cobre skarn resource: 51.94 million metric tons grading 0.5 percent copper and 0.2 g/t gold (containing 569 million pounds copper and 327,000 ounces gold).

Khaleesi attracted attention in February when soil sampling defined a 1,900-by-650-meter copper-molybdenum soil signature and a separate 470-by-400-meter high-grade copper-zinc anomaly. Ground geophysical surveys completed in August corroborated these targets. In September, C3 launched a 14-hole, 6,300-meter maiden drilling program to evaluate the anomalies. Year-end stock appreciation peaked on December 10 at C$1.35.

Ontario Copper Rediscovery: Sterling Metals (TSXV:SAG)

2025 Return: 448.57 percent
Current Valuation: C$74.13 million
Stock Price: C$1.98

Sterling Metals has built momentum around exploration at its brownfield Soo Copper project in Ontario—a 25,000-hectare property renamed from its original designation in May. The ground encompasses two historic copper mines and potential for larger intrusion-related systems.

Complementary to Soo Copper, Sterling holds Adeline in Newfoundland and Labrador, a 297-square-kilometer district-scale project with sediment-hosted copper-silver mineralization along a 44-kilometer strike, and Sail Pond, a poly-metallic venture hosting a 16-kilometer linear anomaly.

In January, Sterling released results from a 3D IP and resistivity survey covering 5-by-3 kilometers at Soo Copper, identifying multiple drill-ready targets. The company integrated these findings with historical data to design its initial drill program.

Phase 2 drilling commenced in August, building on Phase 1 results and refined geophysical interpretations. In late September, Sterling announced a discovery from the program’s opening hole, yielding the highest copper grades recorded at the property: an interval of 0.43 percent copper across 336 meters starting near surface, with notable intersections of 6.8 percent copper over 9.15 meters and 21.3 percent over 0.6 meters (also returning 196 g/t gold). In early October, large-scale bornite mineralization was identified in soil sampling, defining a new target corridor (Gimlet) located ~2 kilometers south of the discovery zone.

To fund accelerated development, Sterling completed a C$14 million non-brokered placement in late November, with minimum C$6.2 million allocated to 2026 project work, predominantly drilling-focused. Share performance peaked at C$2.84 in late September coinciding with the discovery announcement.

Key Takeaway

These five junior copper exploration companies have capitalized on favorable market dynamics in 2025, advancing projects across proven mining jurisdictions from Peru to Canada. Strong share appreciation reflects investor confidence in their exploration success and technical execution amid a tightening global copper supply outlook.