Mining stocks aren’t just ticking up — they’re ripping.
Over the last 12 months, the VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) is up roughly 177%, while the Global X Silver Miners ETF (SIL) has climbed approximately 170–180%. Rare earth exposure has also surged, with the VanEck Rare Earth and Strategic Metals ETF (REMX) up around 120% over the same period. Uranium miners have joined the move, with the Global X Uranium ETF (URA) rising roughly 95–105% over the year.

Miners sit at the very front of the supply chain. Semiconductors, AI data centers, small (nuclear) modular reactors, EVs, and battery buildouts all require massive volumes of base metals and critical minerals. Physical demand starts in the ground.

The macro backdrop reinforces it. The U.S. is pushing infrastructure expansion, defense buildouts, grid upgrades, reshoring of semiconductor capacity, and strategic mineral security. None of that happens without copper, uranium, lithium, rare earths — and silver.

At the same time, the industry is coming off a decade of underinvestment. Permitting takes years. Ore grades are declining. Supply is slow to respond.
Rising demand into constrained supply creates pricing power. That’s how early commodity cycles begin.

The market may be front-running a shift back toward industrial production and hard assets. If miners are the canary in the coal mine, the signal is getting louder.

Hard assets overtaking AI-driven software over the next cycle? Not crazy.

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