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to read the previous top Canadian lithium stocks article.

Lithium’s popularity has been rising for several years due to the

energy

storage revolution.

Despite

2020 uncertainty

brought on by COVID-19, many market watchers are optimistic about

the future of the metal

, with the demand narrative getting stronger every day — especially since well-known electric vehicle maker Tesla (NASDAQ:

TSLA

) put lithium under the spotlight during its

Battery Day

in September.

For investors interested in getting involved in the lithium space, the Investing News Network has created an overview of the top Canadian lithium stocks on the TSX and the top Canadian lithium stocks on the TSXV with the biggest year-to-date gains.

This list was generated on December 14, 2020, using

TradingView

‘s stock screener. Only companies with market caps above C$10 million are included.

1. American Lithium (TSXV:

LI

)

Current share price: C$1.14; year-to-date gain: 812 percent

Nevada-focused American Lithium is engaged in the acquisition, exploration and development of lithium projects. The company currently holds the Tonopah Lithium Claims (TLC) project in Nevada. Aside from TLC, American Lithium has the Extinction Ridge

vanadium

project in the state.

American Lithium’s share price didn’t see much movement during the first half of the year. A 2020 drill program

started in February

and the company

released positive results

in Q2; it then kicked off a

second phase

of drilling in June. Its peak level for the year came midway through July at C$2.35; at the time, American Lithium

issued a statement

saying it was unsure of what was causing that activity.

The company’s shares stayed fairly elevated in the third and fourth quarters. Highlights from the second half of the year include the

production of lithium carbonate

from TLC in September and the restart of Phase 3

expansion drilling at TLC

a couple of months later in November.

2. Quantum Minerals (TSXV:

QMC

)

Current share price: C$0.24; year-to-date gain: 242.86 percent

Junior explorer Quantum Minerals is focused on properties in Manitoba, and its flagship asset is the Irgon lithium property in the province. Irgon is a historic rare metals deposit where developmental work was undertaken by Lithium Corporation of Canada. Quantum Minerals is currently completing its own exploration at the property; it also has

precious

and

base metals

assets in Manitoba.

Quantum Minerals has released little news related to Irgon this year. In April, the company said it was in

discussions with Sinomine Group

to process spodumene material from Irgon at the nearby TANCO plant. In the second half of the year, Quantum Minerals shared updates on its

Rocky Lake

and

Rocky-Namew


gold

–

copper

–

zinc

properties, which together are known as the Namew Lake District project.

3. Pure Energy Minerals (TSXV:

PE

)

Current share price: C$0.80; year-to-date gain: 233.33 percent

Pure Energy Minerals is a lithium developer focused on its Clayton Valley project in the Clayton Valley of Central Nevada. In 2017, Pure Energy completed a

preliminary economic assessment

for the Clayton Valley project, which includes an updated

resource

calculation and a preliminary economic evaluation.

Most of the company’s share price momentum came in the second half of 2020, with its highest point for the year coming in mid-July when it touched C$1.29. In May, Pure Energy

started drilling

at its asset,

giving an update

on July 28. In October, it

reported results

from well CV-9, saying that it collected six samples of lithium-rich brine over nine hours of continuous pumping; the values were in line with wells CV-1 and CV-3, and analysis shows consistency over time.

4. Standard Lithium (TSXV:

SLL

)

Current share price: C$2.72; year-to-date gain: 216.28 percent

Standard Lithium’s flagship asset is its Lanxess project in Arkansas, which is a joint venture with global specialty chemical company Lanxess. According to Standard Lithium, it has commissioned a first-of-its-kind, industrial-scale direct lithium extraction demonstration plant at Lanxess’ South Plant facility; it is being used for proof-of-concept and commercial

feasibility studies

.

The company has trended steadily upward since mid-March, and has released a flow of news over the year. May is when its direct lithium extraction demonstration plant

was commissioned

, and in June it

began commissioning

its industrial-scale

lithium carbonate

crystallization pilot plant. It

shipped its first large volume

of lithium chloride product in September, and in December Standard Lithium

completed the proof of concept

for its lithium processing

technology

.

5. Cypress Development (TSXV:

CYP

)

Current share price: C$0.57; year-to-date gain: 208.11 percent

Exploration company Cypress Development is focused on developing its 100 percent owned Clayton Valley lithium project in Nevada. The asset is located immediately east of Albemarle’s (NYSE:

ALB

) Silver Peak mine, which has been in continuous operation since 1966.

On May 19, Cypress Development

released a prefeasibility study

for Clayton Valley. The study estimates an average production rate of 15,000 tonnes per day to produce 27,400 tonnes

lithium carbonate

equivalent annually over a more than 40 year mine life. On July 2, the company

released assay results

and in August it

updated its project’s mineral resource

by 55 percent.

Cypress Development’s share price peaked in early October at C$0.75. Its H2 activities have included reporting more

positive metallurgical results

from Clayton Valley and

starting a scoping-level study

at the asset to look at the extraction of lithium using chloride-based leaching.

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for real-time news updates.

Securities Disclosure: I, Charlotte McLeod, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.