While mega-miner Rio Tinto (RIO) spurned Switzerland-based Glencore’s recent requests for a merger of epic proportions, it does highlight a very important aspect of mining stocks: They’re cheap.

Since the recession, much of the mining sector has suffered from an overabundance of supply. During the boom — pre 2008 — many mining firms brought on ambitious projects to meet what seemed like an insatiable demand for all things commodity. Unfortunately, the bottom fell out, and everything from coal to iron ore has been a victim of too much supply for what little demand there is.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that many mining stocks haven’t been the best performers lately. It also makes them pretty cheap on a price-to-earnings basis. The mining stocks’ proxy — SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF (XME) — trades at a P/E of just 20.

Those low valuations could help explain why some of the miners have been looking at snagging rivals or carrying out mergers. Prices simply haven’t been this cheap in a long while

And they won’t stay that way. Demand is finally beginning to pick up, and overcapacity on the supply-side has been trimmed.

Which is why investors looking for bargains in the market may want buy mining stocks. Here are three mining stocks to buy now.

Mining Stocks To Buy #1: Vale S.A.

As far as mining stocks go, Vale S.A. (VALE) could win the prize for being one of the most hated right night now. It’s easy to see why. First, it’s Brazilian and has been suffering along with the rest of the nation’s equities. Secondly, its major source of revenue is iron ore.

As China and other major consumers of the steelmaking ingredient have cut back consumption, prices for iron ore have fallen about 41% this year. That’s on top of losses iron ore prices have already endured over the last few years. Needless to say, shares of mining stocks that dabble in iron ore have been dropping in concert.

VALE stock alone has fallen around 25% this year, and it’s five-year total return is an atrocious -43%. Mind you, that includes some hefty dividends in that time. The drop has made shares pretty darn cheap. Currently, VALE stock can trades for a forward P/E of 7.5.

But that cheapness may not last.

First, its Brazilian problem could be ending as incumbent President Dilma Rousseff — the reason for Brazil’s current economic mess — could finally be out as the nation’s leader. Secondly, rising prices for several of its other mined commodities (nickel, copper, coal and potash) have all increased recently. Those increases have helped VALE report a significant improvement to its earnings per share for the most recent quarter.

Shareholders could be in for more of the same from VALE. Add in the mining stock’s 6.9% forward dividend and you have an extreme bargain buy.

Mining Stocks To Buy #2: Teck Resources Limited

When it comes to mining stocks, Canada is fruitful hunting grounds for investors. Case in point: Teck Resources (TCK).

Like many of its mining stocks sisters, TCK has been the victim of producing in markets with oversupply and lower demand. Teck is a major producer of metallurgical coal — the kind used in steelmaking — as well as copper. Both of those commodities prices have been in the dumps, which has crimped TCK’s earnings. As such, the stock is now trading at a five-year low … despite the fact that TCK is still profitable.

Queue the blue-light special on TCK stock.

While coking coal is still an issue, its copper operations are still turning some profits as the firm is a low-cost producer. The mining stock has done a good job reducing costs in order to maintain profitability during the downtrend. Secondly, TCK’s other mineral interests are humming right along. Teck managed to realize a 13% higher price for its zinc operations during the last quarter. Meanwhile, the firm’s owner stake in the Fort Hills oil sands project will begin churning out commercial production in a few years.

Add in more than $2 billion in cash on its balance sheet and a 4.6% dividend, and TCK shares look like a great buy at a forward P/E of 11.

Mining Stocks To Buy #3: Goldcorp

Of all the mining stocks out there, gold miners have to be the moist hated. As the economy has moved forward and the various predicted hyper-inflationary scenarios haven’t come true, gold prices have dropped from their peak of around $1,900 per ounce to today’s $1,200 per ounce selling price. That drop  has made many gold miners complete duds of investments in the price implosion.

However, there are some bargains too — major mining stocks like Goldcorp Inc. (GG).

GG was already one of the lowest-cost producers of gold, but it continues to reduce its all-in cash costs even further. Those cuts have included upgrading productivity at its mines as well as reducing labor & energy costs. Already, those efforts are beginning to take shape as GG managed to see a 31% reduction in its all-in cash costs per ounce during the last reported quarter.

All in all, these cost reductions should help Goldcorp survive the continued low gold price environment. At the same time, GG is treating its investors well and continues to return capital back to shareholders. GG has leveraged its healthy balance sheet to return more than $122 million back to shareholders as dividend in the last quarter.

GG currently yields 2.5%, which is quite large for its sector.

As of this writing, Aaron Levitt did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.