Why I’m Watching These 2 TSX Stocks More Closely Now

Critical minerals and uranium are messy, milestone-driven themes, yet these two TSX developers could surprise as projects move from plans to production.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio

Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Her work can also be found at Canada's National Observer, where she writes on the business side of climate action. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, Amy wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband.

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Favorite Investment Quote

“October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published May 11, 8:45 pm EDT

The stocks worth watching closely right now aren’t always the ones with smooth earnings or quiet charts. Sometimes, the most interesting names sit at the messy edge of a major shift. Critical minerals and uranium both fit that idea. They can swing hard, but also connect to battery supply chains, energy security, and long-term demand. For investors with patience, companies moving from promise to project execution can deserve a closer look.

A worker wears a hard hat outside a mining operation. — Source: Getty Images

LAC

Lithium Americas (TSX: LAC) is one of those “watch closely” stocks as it sits right in the middle of the North American battery supply chain story. The company is building Thacker Pass in Nevada, a lithium project designed to produce battery-quality lithium carbonate. Lithium prices have had a rough stretch, and that has hurt investor excitement across the sector. Yet Thacker Pass remains a strategic asset because automakers, governments, and battery makers still want more domestic supply.

The big news over the last year came from project progress and funding. LAC stock ended 2025 with US$905.6 million in cash and restricted cash. It also continued advancing construction, with about 950 workers on site at year end and a target of roughly 1,800 workers at peak construction in late 2026. LAC stock also has support from General Motors, the U.S. Department of Energy, and Orion Resource Partners, which gives the project more credibility than many smaller lithium hopefuls.

The earnings need the right lens. LAC stock isn’t a profit story yet. It reported a 2025 net loss of US$86.3 million, or US$0.50 per share, compared with a US$42.6 million loss in 2024. That loss came as costs rose with construction, hiring, financing work, and project development. Its recent market cap sat near $2.6 billion, trading at 1.8 times book value. In short, this is a construction-stage stock, not an earnings machine.

The future outlook depends on execution. Phase 1 targets 40,000 tonnes per year of battery-quality lithium carbonate, with mechanical completion aimed for late 2027. That gives investors a clear milestone to watch. If lithium prices recover and Thacker Pass stays on schedule, LAC stock could regain serious attention. But risks remain high. Cost overruns, tariffs, lower lithium prices, dilution, or delays could all hit the shares hard.

NXE

NexGen Energy (TSX: NXE) offers a different kind of resource story, but it also deserves a closer look. The company owns the Rook I uranium project in Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin, one of the world’s strongest uranium regions. Uranium has become more important as countries rethink energy security and look again at nuclear power. NexGen doesn’t yet operate a producing mine, but Rook I gives it one of the most watched development assets in the sector.

Recent news strengthened the case. In March 2026, NexGen received Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission approval for its environmental assessment and a licence to prepare the site and construct Rook I. That was a major step because it moved the project past one of the biggest regulatory hurdles. The feasibility study outlines an 11-year mine life and 233.6 million pounds of recovered yellowcake from reserves, giving investors a real production story to follow.

Its latest financials show strength, but also the usual development-stage awkwardness. In the first quarter of 2026, NexGen reported a net loss of $156 million, or $0.24 per share. Much of that came from a non-cash mark-to-market loss on convertible debt, not from day-to-day spending. More importantly, it held $655.4 million in cash, $362.9 million in short-term investments, and 2.7 million pounds of uranium inventory valued at $341.2 million. Its U.S.-listed market cap recently sat around US$8.2 billion, so investors already price in big future success.

Bottom line

In short, LAC stock and NexGen aren’t quiet blue-chip stocks. They’re project-driven names with large assets, major milestones, and real risks, but that’s exactly why they’re worth watching more closely now. If critical minerals and uranium keep gaining strategic importance, both could have a much bigger role to play.