For most of 2026, Canadian mining stocks could seemingly do no wrong. Then September arrived, and the rally hit some turbulence.
Copper futures fell as much as 5.4% in a single session, silver had its worst day since June, and gold prices slipped as well, dragging TSX mining stocks lower.
Let’s see if the ongoing turbulence offers long-term investors an opportunity to gain exposure to Canadian mining stocks in September 2026.
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Why TSX mining stocks stumbled this month
On Aug. 26, the S&P/TSX Composite Index slipped 0.4% to 36,813.65 points as the materials group dropped a much sharper 2.4%.
Gold fell 1.3% that day on growing bets that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates. Copper miners bore the brunt of the sell-off. Capstone Copper Corp. dropped more than 9%, followed by NGEx Minerals and Ero Copper, which were down 9.1% and 8.5%, respectively.
Then came Sept. 10, another rough session.
Copper futures tumbled off their record high, silver fell nearly 6%, and gold slid roughly 2%. Platinum and palladium each dropped more than 6%.
Investors were digesting several headwinds at once: uncertainty over whether Washington would slap tariffs on refined copper, U.S. producer price data that pushed the odds of a September rate hike to around 70%, and rising oil prices tied to Middle East tensions.
On the TSX that day, Teck Resources fell more than 6%, Ivanhoe Mines dropped about 5%, and Agnico Eagle slipped roughly 3%. A similar pattern repeated around Sept. 16 and 17, when a Fed rate move knocked mining shares down before a rebound in metal prices helped the sector claw its way back the next session.
The lesson for investors is simple. Canadian mining stocks now trade in near lockstep with commodity headlines, so a rough week for copper or gold usually means a rough week for the stocks that mine them.
Why the setback does not change the bigger story
Despite the recent wobble, 2026 has been one of the best years in a generation for Canadian resource stocks. For instance, mining stocks have made up 18 of the TSX’s 30 top-performing stocks this year.
Global mines are aging, and ore grades are declining. Moreover, demand tied to electrification, artificial intelligence infrastructure and defense spending is accelerating.
Jack Lundin, president and chief executive officer of Lundin Mining (TSX: LUN), laid out just how serious that supply gap has become at the company’s recent Capital Markets Day. Citing an industry study led by S&P Global, he said the copper market faces a projected shortfall of about 10 million tonnes by 2040.
“Copper basically today stands at a pivotal moment,” Lundin told investors. “Global demand is accelerating along the four key areas, yet the current supply is on course to actually decline as existing resources and existing mining operations are aging.”
Lundin Mining is a top Canadian mining stock. Valued at a market cap of $29.5 billion, it is a profitable, cash-generating copper producer with three operating mines in South America. Notably, the company has beaten its own production guidance for three consecutive years.
Lundin also holds a growing stake in the Vicuña copper district, a discovery management calls one of the most significant copper finds in a generation.
Agnico Eagle Mines is worth a look, too, for investors who want gold exposure with less volatility.
It fell only about 3% during the worst of the September selloff, while some peers dropped by double-digit percentages.
None of this guarantees smooth sailing ahead. Mining stocks are leveraged bets on commodity prices, and another round of tariff headlines or Fed surprises could easily spark a new selloff.
But for investors willing to hold through the bumps, a pullback caused by short-term rate speculation looks less like a reason to sell and more like a chance to add quality names while they trade on sale.
