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Best Mining Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top mining stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best mining stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best mining stocks to buy right now are:

Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) is the #1 top mining stock out of 45 with a Zen Rating of A. Stocks with a rating of A have had an average return of +32.52% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) is: Value: A, Growth: A, Momentum: A, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) has a Due Diligence Score of 24, which is 3 points higher than the mining industry average of 21.

NEXA passed 10 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Nexa Resources Sa has seen its stock return 163.59% over the past year, overperforming other mining stocks by 67 percentage points.

Nexa Resources Sa has an average 1 year price target of $11.75, a downside of -26.56% from Nexa Resources Sa's current stock price of $16.00.

Nexa Resources Sa stock has a consensus Hold recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 4 analysts covering Nexa Resources Sa, 0% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 100% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) is the #2 top mining stock out of 45 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Compass Minerals International (NYSE:CMP) has a Due Diligence Score of 15, which is -6 points lower than the mining industry average of 21. Although this number is below the industry average, our proven quant model rates CMP as a "B".

CMP passed 6 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Compass Minerals International has seen its stock return 122.5% over the past year, overperforming other mining stocks by 26 percentage points.

Compass Minerals International has an average 1 year price target of $22.67, a downside of -10.48% from Compass Minerals International's current stock price of $25.32.

Compass Minerals International stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Compass Minerals International, 66.67% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Vale Sa (NYSE:VALE) is the #3 top mining stock out of 45 with a Zen Rating of B. Stocks with a rating of B have had an average return of +19.88% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Vale Sa (NYSE:VALE) is: Value: B, Growth: C, Momentum: A, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Vale Sa (NYSE:VALE) has a Due Diligence Score of 21, which is equal to the mining industry average of 21.

VALE passed 7 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Vale Sa has seen its stock return 95.17% over the past year, underperforming other mining stocks by -1 percentage points.

Vale Sa has an average 1 year price target of $16.91, a downside of -4.89% from Vale Sa's current stock price of $17.78.

Vale Sa stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 10 analysts covering Vale Sa, 50% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 0% have issued a Buy, 50% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 6 mining stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 3 mining stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Rio Tinto (NYSE:RIO) has an annual dividend yield of 4.01%, which is 2 percentage points higher than the mining industry average of 1.63%. Rio Tinto's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% ten times in the last 10 years. Rio Tinto's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Rio Tinto's dividend payout ratio of 60.8% indicates that its high dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Vale Sa (NYSE:VALE) has an annual dividend yield of 1.92%, which is the same as the mining industry average of 1.63%. Vale Sa's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% seven times in the last 10 years. Vale Sa's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Vale Sa's dividend payout ratio of 183.6% indicates that its dividend yield might not be sustainable for the long-term.

Bhp Group (NYSE:BHP) has an annual dividend yield of 1.81%, which is the same as the mining industry average of 1.63%. Bhp Group's dividend payout is not stable, having dropped more than 10% seven times in the last 10 years. Bhp Group's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Bhp Group's dividend payout ratio of 54.1% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Mining stocks were up 3.88% in the last day, and up 10.47% over the last week. Critical Metals was the among the top gainers in the other industrial metals & mining industry, gaining 35.49% yesterday.

Critical Metals shares are trading higher following reports suggesting the company raised its stake in Greenland's Tanbreez rare earth deposit.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued mining stocks right now are:

Nexa Resources Sa (NYSE:NEXA) is the most undervalued mining stock based on its Valuation Rating of A. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Nexa Resources Sa has a valuation score of 29, which is 20 points higher than the mining industry average of 9. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Nexa Resources Sa's stock has gained 163.59% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the mining industry by 67 percentage points.

Vale Sa (NYSE:VALE) is the second most undervalued mining stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Vale Sa has a valuation score of 14, which is 5 points higher than the mining industry average of 9. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Vale Sa's stock has gained 95.17% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the mining industry by -1 percentage points.

Bhp Group (NYSE:BHP) is the third most undervalued mining stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Bhp Group has a valuation score of 14, which is 5 points higher than the mining industry average of 9. It passed 1 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Bhp Group's stock has gained 73.05% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the mining industry by -23 percentage points.

52.78% of mining stocks rated by analysts are a strong buy right now. On average, analysts expect mining stocks to fall by -8.85% over the next year.

2.33% of mining stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 6.98% of mining stocks are rated B (Buy), 41.86% are rated C (Hold), 32.56% are rated D (Sell), and 16.28% are rated F (Strong Sell).