Zinc companies were supported in 2025 as prices rebounded during the second half of the year and, by the end of December, had crossed above US$3,000 per metric ton.
However, the metal still faces headwinds, as its biggest demand driver is its use in the production of galvanized steel destined for construction projects. Weak outlook comes amid diminishing expectations of a resurgence in the Chinese housing sector.
Additionally, US trade policy has softened demand, as uncertainty has dampened investor sentiment.
Although surpluses in the mined supply of zinc have narrowed, a significant amount of refined product remains in warehouses, which continues to contribute to an oversupply.
Data was gathered on December 24, 2025, using TradingView’s stock screener, and only zinc stocks with market caps greater than C$50 million at that time were considered. Read on to learn more about their operations and plans.
1. Teck Resources (TSX:TECK.A,TSX:TECK.B)
Market cap: C$31.25 billion
Share price: C$62.65
Teck Resources is a major global polymetallic miner, as well as one of the world’s top zinc producers. The company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The Canadian company produced 615,900 metric tons (MT) of zinc in concentrate in 2024, with 555,600 MT coming from its Red Dog zinc mine in Alaska, US. The remaining 60,300 MT came from Teck’s 22.5 percent share of zinc production from the Peru-based Antamina copper-zinc mine.
Teck’s total 2025 production guidance for the base metal is set in a range of 525,000 to 575,000 MT. As of September, the company’s zinc production for the year totaled 456,000 MT.
In addition to the sites mentioned, Teck owns the Trail operations, which it describes as “one of the world’s largest fully integrated zinc and lead smelting and refining complexes.” Located in BC, the Trail operations produced 256,000 MT of refined zinc in 2024, with 190,000 to 230,000 MT of the material expected in 2025.
In September, Teck agreed to combine with mining giant Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:NGLOY) in a C$70 billion ‘merger of equals’ to create Anglo-Teck. The merged company would remain headquartered in Vancouver and become BC’s largest company ever.
Then on December 15, Canada’s federal government announced it had approved the deal after both companies committed to securing 4,000 Canadian jobs and spending C$4.5 billion over five years within Canada. The merger’s completion still requires approvals from other countries and regulatory reviews.
2. Foran Mining (TSX:FOM)
Market cap: C$2.62 billion
Share price: C$4.87
Foran Mining is a development company advancing its McIlvenna Bay project in Saskatchewan, Canada, toward production.
The property consists of 113 claims covering an area of 140,445 hectares near Flin Flon on Saskatchewan’s border with Manitoba.
A technical report from the project released in March 2025 demonstrated an indicated resource of 1.86 billion pounds of zinc at an average grade of 2.18 percent from 38.6 million metric tons of ore, plus an inferred resource of 260 million pounds at a grade of 2.6 percent from 4.5 million metric tons.
In December 2025, Foran announced that development on the project was 79 percent complete, advancing on schedule and on budget, and the company remained on track to begin commercial production in mid-2026. It also said that at the end of November, ore stockpiles had reached approximately 165,000 metric tons.
‘Pre-commissioning activities are well underway, and progress to date demonstrates the operational readiness of our team and infrastructure,’ Foran Executive Chairman and CEO Dan Myerson stated. ‘… 2026 (is) an important transition year for Foran as the Company moves into production, while advancing Phase 2 planning and continued exploration focused on unlocking district scale potential.’
3. Trilogy Metals (TSX:TMQ)
Market cap: C$1.14 billion
Share price: C$6.66
Trilogy Metals is focused primarily on copper, zinc and cobalt at its Alaskan Upper Kobuk projects, which are held by Ambler Metals, a joint venture operating company owned equally by Trilogy and South32 (ASX:S32,OTC Pink:SHTLF).
Its most advanced zinc project is the Arctic copper-zinc-lead-gold-silver volcanogenic massive sulfide project, which is in the feasibility stage and has proven and probable reserves of 43.44 million MT grading 3.12 percent zinc.
In addition, early stage 2023 field work at the company’s wholly owned Helpmejack project in Alaska’s Ambler belt outlined two target areas prospective for volcanogenic massive sulfide and shale-hosted zinc deposits.
Trilogy had been focusing on improving access to the region with its Amber Access project, but it was rejected by the US Bureau of Land Management under the Biden administration in June 2024 due to the impact the proposed road could have on the environment and communities in the region, which has seen little development.
However, the current Trump administration has enacted a series of executive and secretarial orders focusing on developing Alaska’s natural resources, leading to the reversal of the decision.
On October 24, the company announced that the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority had issued a right-of-way permit for the road, re-establishing federal authorization for the project.
‘The execution of these federal permits marks a pivotal milestone for the Ambler Road and the State of Alaska,’ Trilogy Metals President and CEO Tony Giardini said.
4. Fireweed Metals (TSXV:FWZ)
Market cap: C$579.91 million
Share price: C$2.73
Fireweed Metals is a critical metals company whose flagship Macmillan Pass zinc project is located in Canada’s Yukon. In 2023, the company acquired the Gayna River zinc project in the Northwest Territories, as well as the Mactung tungsten project, which is adjacent to Macmillan Pass and straddles the border between Yukon and the Northwest Territories.
In November 2023, the Fireweed team, led by Dr. Jack Milton, the firm’s vice president of geology, received the Association for Mineral Exploration’s H.H. ‘Spud’ Huestis Award for its work at the Macmillan Pass property.
In September 2024, after its largest regional exploration campaign ever at Macmillan Pass, the company released an updated resource estimate for the Tom and Jason deposits, as well as inaugural resource estimates for the Boundary zone and End zone deposits.
Fireweed launched its 2025 field program in early June, planned to include 12,000 meters of diamond drilling at Macmillan Pass and 3,000 meters at Gayna.
On September 23, Fireweed reported one of the best assays ever recorded at Macmillan Pass from a 115 meter step-out hole at the Tom South target, which hosted a 54.82 meter intersection grading 18.2 percent zinc, including an interval of 7.1 meters with 32.82 percent zinc.
Then, in an update on December 11, the company announced its inaugural drilling at Gayna intersected zinc mineralization, with a highlighted assay of 51.22 meters grading 4.4 percent zinc, including 24 meters with 7.3 percent.
‘Our first season of drilling at Gayna successfully intersected significant zinc and lead mineralization at the Intrepid target, validating the prospectivity of the project,’ Fireweed Metals President and CEO Ian Gibbs said.
5. Emerita Resources (TSXV:EMO)
Market cap: C$167.89 million
Share price: C$0.57
Emerita Resources has a portfolio of high-grade, large-scale polymetallic projects covering more than 26,000 combined hectares in Spain’s Iberian Pyrite Belt. The company’s flagship asset is the Iberian Belt West project, which hosts three massive sulfide deposits: La Infanta, La Romanera and El Cura.
Emerita released a resource estimate for Iberian Belt West in May 2023. It finished environmental baseline studies the following month, and completed supporting documentation for its mining license application in December 2023.
In July 2024, the Andalusian government granted Iberian Belt West a declaration of strategic interest, which will streamline the process of moving the project through development.
Phase 2 metallurgical testing results for the La Romanera and La Infanta deposits released in late 2024 show that commercial-grade copper, lead and zinc concentrates can be obtained from both deposits.
In March of this year, Emerita announced an updated resource estimate for Iberian Belt West, showing a 35 percent increase to the total indicated mineral resource tonnage and a 44 percent increase in total inferred mineral resource tonnage.
The total indicated resource stands at 547,000 metric tons of zinc, with an average grade of 2.88 percent zinc, from 18.96 million metric tons of ore, and the inferred resource is 221,000 metric tons from 6.8 million metric tons grading 3.25 percent zinc.
The company has continued to explore the site through the rest of 2025. On October 17, the company announced it had extended the El Cura deposit by 90 meters and highlighted one intersection measuring 4.1 meters with a grade of 8.5 percent zinc.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
