The recommended position is Taseko (TGB); the other named miners are cited as supply-crunch context. "View" reflects how each was framed in the piece. The "At" link opens the article. Research: QT Qualtrim · SA Seeking Alpha · STK Stock Analysis.
| Ticker | Name | Research | View | What she said | At |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TGB | Taseko Mines | QT · SA · STK · FA | Positive | The April Pulse Premium pick — mid-tier Canadian producer; Gibraltar (BC) funds the growth, Florence (AZ) just poured first U.S. cathode (first greenfield U.S. copper since 2008) at a ~$1.11/lb C1 cost; tariff-free domestic cathode + locked-in acid. Buy up to $8.50 (~25% upside to the Feb high; ~5x forward EV/EBITDA on 2027 estimates). | read |
| Copper | Copper (COMEX / LME) | — | Positive | A top-five Prinsights 2026 commodity — ~$6/lb COMEX, $13,000+/tonne LME (near record); the April 2 tariff proclamation amplified the structural long-term view despite a reported 616kt "surplus." | read |
| IVN | Ivanhoe Mines | SA · STK · FA | Neutral | Concentrate-crunch exhibit — cut Kamoa-Kakula's 2026 guidance to 290-330kt (from 380-420kt), falling out of the world's top 50 miners by market cap on the cut. | read |
| FCX | Freeport-McMoRan | QT · SA · STK · FA | Neutral | Supply-crunch exhibit — operates Indonesia's Grasberg (world's #2 copper, #1 gold); its largest producing block is offline and not expected to restart until Q2. | read |
| ANTO | Antofagasta | SA · STK | Neutral | Concentrate-crisis exhibit — its benchmark annual deal with Chinese smelters closed at zero dollars per tonne; TC/RCs are now negative (below -$110/tonne). | read |
| Zijin Mining | Zijin Mining (Chinese state-linked) | — | Negative | Cited as the "hidden cost" of foreign copper — owns 39.6% of Kamoa-Kakula (DRC govt owns 20%); a Chinese-state partner whose "tax" erodes a DRC miner's take-home despite 10x the ore grade of an Arizona mine. | read |
"View" reflects how each name was framed in this article (TGB/copper Positive = the rated pick + thesis asset; named miners Neutral = supply-crunch context; Zijin Negative = the foreign-ownership "hidden cost"), not a price rating. Research: QT Qualtrim · SA Seeking Alpha · STK Stock Analysis.
A jargon-free summary of why each name is in the piece. (Plain-language companion to the table above; renders on each ticker's consolidated page.)
Taseko is the April pick. It runs two copper mines — one in British Columbia (Gibraltar) that throws off cash, and a brand-new one in Arizona (Florence) that just started making finished copper on U.S. soil for the first time since 2008. The Arizona mine uses a chemical process (pumping acid underground to dissolve copper, then plating it out) instead of digging a giant pit, and it can make a pound of copper for about $1.11 while copper sells for over $6 — a roughly $5 profit per pound.
The key edge is tariffs: imported copper now faces big and rising U.S. tariffs, but Taseko's Arizona copper never crosses a border, so American buyers can take it tariff-free. Taseko also locked in its acid supply at a fixed price before China's export ban sent acid prices soaring, so the shortage squeezing rivals doesn't hurt it this year. Prins says buy up to $8.50, with the main risk being how quickly the new Arizona mine ramps up to full production.
Copper is one of Prins's top long-term commodity bets, driven less by the economic cycle and more by U.S. policy and which country controls supply. Prices are near record highs even though some forecasters report a surplus — because, she argues, that surplus number ignores the new tariff wall, the broken ore-processing market, and a sulfuric-acid shortage that all make real copper tighter than the headline suggests.
Zijin is a Chinese state-linked miner that owns nearly 40% of a giant DRC copper mine (with the DRC government owning another 20%). Prins uses it to make a point: even though that African mine has ten times the copper grade of an Arizona mine, the DRC operator's actual take-home pay is small once it pays processing fees, absorbs political risk, and effectively pays a "tax" to its Chinese partner. That's why she argues a U.S. producer like Taseko, free of those costs and the tariff, has the better economics.
Summary derived from the Prinsights Pulse Premium Substack issue for personal study. Not investment advice. © Nomi Prins / Prinsights for source material.