Total Metals Corp (TSXV:TT, FSE: O4N)
Total Metals Corp. is focused on advancing high-grade gold projects to production.
The metals market delivered a brutal lesson in volatility to investors at the start of 2026, as a dramatic sell-off erased record highs set just days earlier. Catalyzed by the nomination of a new Federal Reserve chair, a wave of profit-taking swept across the complex this past Friday, sending precious metals and copper prices plunging.
Gold futures nosedived to as low as $4,700 an ounce before a partial afternoon recovery was snuffed out by late selling. The most active April contract settled at $4,745 an ounce, a single-day collapse of $600, or 11.4%, marking its largest intraday drop since the early 1980s.
Silver experienced even more violent swings, crashing over $40 (approximately 35%) to around $74 an ounce by midday. While it pared some losses, another bout of heavy selling hit before the close. It ended the day at $78.53 an ounce, down 35.9%—its largest one-day decline on record. Palladium and platinum fell 15% and 17%, respectively, to $1,700 and $2,178 an ounce.
Amid the carnage, copper demonstrated notable relative strength. Although Friday’s closing price remained well below the all-time peak hit on Thursday, its volatility was subdued compared to the precious metals.
March copper futures sold off as much as 9.5% to $5.76 per pound before staging a significant rebound. They settled at $5.92 per pound ($13,060 per tonne), down 4.5% on the day. Crucially, after hitting a historic high of $6.58 per pound ($14,500 per tonne) on Thursday, copper remains in positive territory for 2026, with year-to-date gains of just over 4%. It stands as one of the few major industrial metals to retain its yearly advance.
The weakness in metal prices swiftly filtered through to mining stocks listed in the US and Canada, with many names suffering double-digit percentage declines, wiping billions in market value.
Precious metals miners were hardest hit. Newmont (NYSE:NEM) fell 11.5%, while Barrick Mining (NYSE:B) sold off heavily. Agnico Eagle Mines (TSX:AEM) saw its market capitalization drop to $95.6 billion. Anglogold Ashanti (NYSE:AU) and Gold Fields (NYSE:GFI) fell more than 13% and 14.5%, respectively.
In contrast, major miners with significant copper exposure or diversified operations saw shallower declines. US-listed shares of BHP (NYSE:BHP) and Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) dropped 4.8% and 4.3%, respectively. Glencore (OTCPK:GLNCY) was the most resilient among the giants, dipping only 3.4%. Freeport-McMoRan (NYSE:FCX) declined 7.5% on heavy volume.
Other diversified miners like Vale (NYSE:VALE), and Anglo American (OTCPK:NGLOY) saw losses of about 5.1% and 5.7%. Teck Resources (NYSE:TECK) lost 7.8%. These declines were significantly milder than those of precious metals-focused counterparts. Shares of China’s Zijin Mining (OTCPK:ZIJMY) fell 12.2%.
The resilience displayed by copper likely stems from a fundamental narrative distinct from that of precious metals. The recent surge in gold and silver was largely driven by robust safe-haven and financial investment demand, making them highly sensitive to shifts in interest rate expectations. Copper’s rally to record highs, however, has been underpinned more by physical supply-demand factors: the global green energy transition, grid infrastructure build-out, and potential supply tightness. While Friday’s selling was broad-based, investors may perceive copper’s long-term fundamental story as intact, attracting some bargain-hunting that helped it claw back significant losses.
The start of 2026 has been nothing short of dramatic for mining and metals. Even after Friday’s severe sell-off, not a single top-tier mining company has seen its stock price turn negative for the year. Looking back one year, the gains are even more spectacular, with many majors having doubled, tripled, or quadrupled in value. Whether this “Friday Massacre” represents a healthy correction within a bull market or the beginning of a trend reversal remains to be seen. The relative outperformance of copper may offer a critical clue for the market’s path forward.
