We recently compiled a list of the 10 Best Mining Penny Stocks to Buy Now. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Fortuna Mining Corp. (NYSE:FSM) stands against the other mining penny stocks.
The global demand for essential metals and materials has been on the rise, helping the mining industry expand. The global mineral market is forecasted to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.2%, as per The Business Research Company. The market is forecasted to grow to $3 trillion by 2029, driven by infrastructure upgradation, foreign direct investment (FDI), and automation. Capital inflows to mining projects are potentially growing due to government incentives and technological advancements.
As the metals and mining industry mitigates earnings pressure, it remains financially stable due to flexible shareholder returns and lower debt levels. On one end, due to increasing costs, gold has crossed the $2,000 per ounce mark, and metallurgical coal has surpassed $200 per ton, according to a report by S&P Global. Moreover, as North American producers of steel look to rationalize capacity, Chinese exports have seen an increase regardless of decreasing output.
On the other hand, lithium miners are facing price headwinds, whereas aluminum demand remains stable due to the demand from the transportation and packaging industries. Although M&A remained controlled within the industry, steelmakers were able to continue acquisitions, while miners, on the other hand, are putting efforts toward efficiency and cost-cutting, as technology and capital requirements shape profitability.
Key metals have seen strong price movements in 2025, which reflect the sector’s bullish outlook. Accordingly, gold and silver demand has risen as safe-haven assets due to economic uncertainty. Gold futures have seen a 38.63% increase, year-on-year, as of writing this article, while silver futures recorded an increase of 37.63%. Furthermore, Gold ETFs have seen a record gain of 26% in 2024 since 2010. Due to inflationary pressures and global trade tensions, as well as President Donald Trump’s tariffs, this pattern is expected to continue, fueling investor demand for metals.
On the other hand, industrial metals are also witnessing a growing demand. Lithium demand is expected to reach $9.01 billion by 2025, up from $7.75 billion in 2024, largely due to its use in battery production. As reported in one of the previous Insider Monkey articles, 80% of mined lithium goes toward the production of batteries, which is expected to grow to 95% by 2030. Furthermore, copper demand remains stable, with the market valued at $176.88 billion in 2024, bolstered by China and India’s infrastructure projects. Similarly, according to Zinc.org, Zinc demand is also rising in the renewable energy sector, with consumption of 568,000 tons expected by the solar industry by 2030.
Thus, the mining industry is revolutionizing due to technological advancements, bolstering efficiency and lowering costs. Mine development time has been brought down to nine years from 16, driven by AI and advanced analytics. Likewise, the time to perform geophysical data analysis has been reduced to mere weeks from two years. Furthermore, according to KPMG Mining Outlook 2024, core sample evaluations now take 12 minutes, compared to 45 days previously. Moreover, innovations have helped enhance sustainability for metal recycling. Accordingly, new methods now achieve a 95% recovery rate from steel mill waste, transforming waste into reusable materials used in construction and manufacturing.
However, the industry faces challenges in terms of geopolitical instabilities and changing trade policies. The U.S.-China tariff dispute, including potential policies against American goods, can potentially disrupt the global supply chains, especially those of critical minerals. Moreover, market volatility is still a risk as China holds around 90% of global rare earth refining capacity.
Nevertheless, the mining industry looks toward long-term growth, driven by strong demand for major metals, infrastructure development, and cost-cutting through automation.
Methodology
To curate our list of the 10 Best Mining Penny Stocks to Buy Now, we looked into ETFs, and a stock screener to come up with several top mining stocks trading below $5, as of the time of writing this article. Out of this list, 10 stocks were shortlisted based on their popularity among top hedge funds and positive outlook from analysts. Accordingly, the stocks are ranked in ascending order based on the number of hedge funds holding stakes in the respective stocks, as of Q4 2024. The data for hedge funds was extracted from Insider Monkey’s database, which tracks over 1000 hedge funds.
Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter’s strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (see more details here).
Aerial view of miners extracting precious metal deposits in a quarry.
Fortuna Mining Corp. (NYSE:FSM)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 19
Share Price as of the close of March 7: $4.91
Fortuna Mining Corp. (NYSE:FSM) produces diversified precious and base metals. The company runs its operations in Mexico, Peru, Côte d’Ivoire, Argentina, and Burkina Faso, exploring gold, lead, silver, and zinc. It operates across five operating mines, with Séguéla Gold Mine in Côte d’Ivoire playing a key role in its gold production.
Backed by strong gold production from its West African operations, Fortuna Mining Corp. (NYSE:FSM) reported record sales of $275 million in Q3 of 2024. It recorded an EBITDA margin of 48%, with net income of $50.5 million. The company recorded a cash cost of $1,059 per gold equivalent ounce, maintaining disciplined cost control. Accordingly, with $181 million in cash and total liquidity of $431 million, its balance sheet remained strong.
In addition, Fortuna Mining Corp. (NYSE:FSM) accomplished a record gold equivalent production of 455,958 ounces, which included 3.7 million ounces of silver and 369,637 ounces of gold in 2024. As an improvement from Q3, the company’s production grew from 110,820 ounces to 116,358 gold equivalent ounces in Q4. To reinforce its shareholder value, Fortuna repurchased 6.4 million common shares for $30.5 million.
Notably, Séguéla surpassed its forecasts by processing 1.56 million tons in 2024, 25% above design capacity. In Q4, with plant throughput surpassing estimates, the mine generated 35,244 ounces of gold. With its first production from the 109 Zone open pit expected in Q1 2025, the company has accomplished a one-million-ounce gold pour milestone and continued the development at the 55 Zone and QVP. However, due to a mill circuit breaker failure, Q4 production witnessed downtime despite the higher grades.
It is important to note that for the year 2025, due to the planned sale of the San Jose Mine and silver equivalent adjustments at Caylloma, Fortuna Mining Corp. (NYSE:FSM) forecasts gold equivalent production of 380,000-422,000 ounces, a drop by 7%–17%. Furthermore, its silver output is projected to decline to 0.9-1.0 million ounces.
Nevertheless, the company continues to position itself as one of the best mining penny stocks to buy now due to its ongoing mine development and cost-cutting initiatives.
Overall FSM ranks 5th on our list of the best mining penny stocks to buy now. While we acknowledge the potential of FSM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that certain AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for an AI stock that is more promising than FSM but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.
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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.