Metals and Mining Stocks

First, the last few years have been very rewarding for holders of metals and mining stocks. Not only have these issues risen on the back of higher commodity prices, the industry has undergone a wave of consolidation in response to the ever-higher capital costs of developing new sources of supply. And while it may seem that these stocks -- measured here by the S&P 1500's diversified metals and mining group, which includes Amcol International (ACO - commentary - Cramer's Take), Brush Engineered Materials (BW - commentary - Cramer's Take), Freeport-McMoRan (FCX - commentary - Cramer's Take), RTI International (RTI - commentary - Cramer's Take) and Titanium Metals (TIE - commentary - Cramer's Take) -- have outperformed the broad market for a long time, the bulk of their outperformance has been a recent affair. They were underperformers for a long time, and have surged only in the past year even as base metal prices have failed to make new highs, also discussed below.

Nothing Has Been Finer Than To Be a Copper Miner ... For the Past Year, at Least

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Source: Bloomberg