Earnings from some of the heaviest hitters in the Canadian mining space are set to be released before the market opens on Thursday.  Given the carnage that this sector has faced, tomorrow may hold some big moves from a few of these stocks.

Tabled below are where expectations for revenues and earnings currently sit for these 5 names.

Revenues

Source:  Capital IQ

EPS

Source:  Capital IQ

Stocks to watch

Highlighting this list, in my mind are the three gold names.  The last time Kinross and Barrick reported, they wrote off a combined $7 billion yet their stocks gained a combined $1.5 billion in market value that day.

It’s not a question if more write-offs are in store, it’s how much.  All three of the golds are vulnerable, but their stocks have been so decimated, and expectations so low, that it’s really going to have to take something spectacular to push them down materially further.

Not to be left in the dark, the market will be interested to hear what kind of progress First Quantum has made at is shiny new Cobre Panama mine, as well as the state of its other projects.  And any word out of Cameco that indicates that the Japanese market for uranium is showing positive signs would surely be welcomed by the company’s shareholders.

Foolish Takeaway

In the grand scheme of things, a single quarter rarely means all that much.  However, the market tends to react to quarterly surprises and if you know what to look for, and are prepared ahead of time, you could be provided with a great opportunity to transact.  Given the stature of all 5 of these names, you can bet that if reported results are materially different from what’s expected, you’ll hear about it.

For serious long-term gains, cutting out the quarterly noise and parking your hard earned savings in the world’s greatest businesses is a proven formula.  In our special FREE report “3 U.S. Stocks That Every Canadian Should Own” we profile 3 such businesses.  To download this report at no charge, simply click here now.

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Fool contributor Iain Butler owns shares of Barrick Gold and Yamana and is short $20 Oct 2013 puts on Cameco.  The Motley Fool doesn’t own shares in any of the companies mentioned.