Sabina's Back River gold camp

Sabina's Back River gold camp

Sabina Gold & Silver (SBB-T)
Bruce McLeod's Nunavut gold developer was one of Canada's strongest-performing junior miners in 2015, more than doubling from 35 cents to 73 cents as it advanced its high-grade Back River gold deposit through two feasibility studies as well as permitting.

The stock has since pulled back, and CEO McLeod was adding to his stake yesterday, buying 20,000 shares at 60 cents. He's been an aggressive buyer, purchasing almost $190,000 worth of stock in the past year since taking the helm.

Related reading: Sabina's Back River breaks through a gold bear market

Agnico Eagle Mines (AEM-T)

Agnico Eagle president Ammar Al-Joundi

Agnico Eagle president Ammar Al-Joundi

Agnico has been a strong performer in the gold producer space, its shares returning about 18% during a period where competitors - both larger and smaller - have struggled.

President Ammar Al-Joundi has been steadily accumulating stock, most recently buying 1,000 shares yesterday at $39.95. Al-Joundi, who returned to Agnico where he started his career last April after a 2.5-year stint with Barrick, has spent more than $300,000 on Agnico shares in the past 3 months.

Alain Blackburn, Agnico's senior vice-president exploration, sold 2,551 shares at $40.55.

Nevada Sunrise (NEV-V)
Sticking with the gold theme and mixing in a bit of lithium, Nevada Sunrise president and CEO Warren Stanyer was adding to his stake yesterday.

Stanyer purchased 10,000 shares at 18 cents of the Nevada-focused explorer, which has options on several prospective lithium exploration properties including the Atlantis property, announced Jan. 6. Nevada Sunrise is also a 21% partner with Pilot Gold on the Kinsley Mountain gold project.

Royal Road Minerals (RYR-V)
CEO Tim Coughlin was buying shares in the public market yesterday, picking up another 10,000 shares at 6 cents. Royal Road Minerals is exploring the Golondrina project, which already hosts a small underground mining operation.

Coughlin, formerly of Lydian International and Anglo Gold Ashanti, owns about 5% of Royal Roads' outstanding shares.

Related reading: Mine-finder Tim Coughlin returns to gold exploration in Colombia

TerraVest Capital (TVK-T)
The insider purchases here are the company buying back stock, which is significant because TerraVest is one of the few TSX issuers trading in the ballpark of its 52-week highs. It hit highs above $7 on New Year's Eve and in early January before pulling back to the current $6 level.

TerraVest has businesses manufacturing fuel containers and wellhead processing equipment, as well as a service rig company focused on southwestern Saskatchewan. TerraVest pays a quarterly dividend and currently yields 6.5%.

Clarke Inc. (CKI-T), a publicly traded investment company run by Halifax-based value investor George Armoyan, owns 5 million TerraVest shares, a 27% plus stake.

Disclosure: Author owns shares in Sabina Gold & Silver, which is also a CEO.CA sponsor.