It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these roundup pieces. I’ve been wanting to update you on how I’m navigating this bull market, but I’ve been buried in other writing projects—the biggest of which is finally nearing the finish line.

Gold and Silver

The past three months have been a wild ride. After gold pushed decisively above the $4,000 line and tested highs near $5,600, it delivered its steepest one-day loss in more than ten years.

The white metal, capped at $50 for decades, finally punched through that ceiling and tagged highs just north of $120 in recent sessions. It then suffered its most punishing single-session decline on record.

Trade in both metals was getting crowded, and this recent flush of speculative excess was necessary. Overdue.

Have we seen the highs in precious metals? Is the run over? I’ll go out on a limb here. Not a chance.

The fundamentals underpinning gold—relentless central‑bank accumulation, geopolitical instability, extreme debt levels, trade friction, concerns over Fed independence, and the steady erosion of dollar dominance—remain firmly in place.

Silver’s smaller market, thinner trade, and dual‑demand dynamics (monetary and industrial) set it up for greater volatility.

I’m convinced we’ll witness fresh new highs within the next few months, if not sooner. But the volatility is likely to be extreme. Off the charts, particularly in silver. “Buckle your seatbelt, Dorothy, ’cause Kansas is going bye‑bye” — Cypher, The Matrix (1999).

Junior Equities

Many of the companies we’ve followed closely in these pages have responded exceptionally well in this buoyant market. A few standouts include Skeena Resources (SKE.TO), Collective Mining (CNL.TO), AbraSilver Resource Corp (ABRA.V), White Gold (WGO.V), Banyan Gold (BYN.V), West Point Gold (WPG.V), Rio2 Limited (TSX:RIO) and Amerigo Resources (ARG.TO).

Three of the companies we’ve tracked closely were taken out by players higher up on the food chain: Northern Superior Resources was taken out by IAMGOLD at a very agreeable price—a solid multi‑bagger from the levels where we first began following it. Prime Mining was taken out by Torex Gold, and Orogen Royalties was taken out by Triple Flag Precious Metals (the SpinCo from that deal currently trades as Orogen Royalties Inc under the symbol OGN.V).

I’ve been actively trading over the past few months with varying degrees of success—a handful of wins (SLV Call options, buying retracements in certain stocks after strong upside surges) and a few missed opportunities (bailing on positions far too early). Par for the course.

Recent weakness in the junior arena may have opened the door to a few opportunities. What follows is a look at some of the companies I own or track closely for potential upside. These summaries are brief and meant to serve as a starting point for your own due diligence.

>>>>>>Please note that Highballer has been compensated recently for coverage related to Kootenay Silver (KTN.V). Highballer has an agreement with Sideways Frequency LLC for the publication of this coverage, and any insights or views presented here regarding the company should be considered biased.<<<<<

Those of you who were with me waaaaay back in the day—during the Virginia Gold discovery days—will remember my fixation on this first one…

Azimut Exploration (AZM.V) – (AZMTF.OTC)

  • 100.73 million shares outstanding
  • $78.57M market cap based on its recent $0.78 close
  • Corp presentation

Tight share structure, competent management, geology, mining‑friendly jurisdiction—this appears to be a good setup, the right balance of risk and reward.

The company has multiple irons in the fire in the James Bay region of Quebec, some of which have been joint‑ventured to other entities.

Results just released from the company’s 100% owned Wabamisk Project didn’t meet expectations and the stock got smacked down hard. A modest follow-up drill campaign at the project is now underway.

Image link here

The company is also set to launch a 10k meter drill campaign at its advanced-stage Elmer Property, where the resource currently stands at 311,200 ounces Indicated (4.99 million tonnes grading 1.93 g/t Au) and 513,900 ounces Inferred (8.22 million tonnes grading 1.94 g/t Au).

Aurion Resources (AU.V) – (AIRRF.OTC)

  • 162.29 million shares outstanding
  • $279.14M market cap based on its recent $1.72 close
  • Corp presentation
There are multiple facets to this junior, including the potential for a monetization event tied to its Helmi Project in the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt of northern Finland. Helmi, a joint venture with B2Gold, shares a common boundary with Rupert’s 4.3 million oz Ikkari Discovery. A part of Rupert’s deposit—and possibly a weighty swath of mineralization—runs onto Aurion’s JV claims (note the property boundary line in the image below). Rupert will need to acquire this strategic ground before they can proceed with the open‑pit development of Ikkari to avoid the economic drag of a sub‑optimal pit shell.
Image taken from Rupert’s PFS page

The Risti Project—multiple holes pending assay, drilling ongoing—currently stands as the company’s mothership. The most recent Risti assay drop was on January 19 – Aurion Intersects High Grade Gold at Kaaresselkä, Risti property.

Aftermath Silver (AAG.V) – (AAGFF.OTC)

  • 338.02 million shares outstanding
  • $354.92M market cap based on its recent $1.05 close
  • Corp presentation

A recent resource update at Aftermath’s flagship Berenguela Silver-Copper-Manganese Project in southern Peru shows 122.5 million ozs M&I and 22.0 million ozs Inferred + substantial manganese and copper credits. The M&I component breaks down to 51.55 million tonnes grading 73.9 g/t Ag, 5.69% Mn, and 0.63% Cu.

A follow-up drilling campaign at Berenguela—4,000 meters of DD and 2,000 meters of RC—commenced in mid-December. The company also mobilized a rig to its Challacollo Ag-Au Project in  northern Chile.

Silver47 Exploration (AGA.V) – (AAGAF.OTC)

  • 208.28 million shares outstanding
  • $177.04M market cap based on its recent $0.85 close
  • Corp presentation

Silver47 characterizes itself as “America’s next high-grade silver company.” Its project portfolio consists of Red Mountain in Alaska, Hughes in Nevada, and Mogollon in New Mexico. Combined resources across all three total 236 million AgEq ozs Inferred (334 g/t AgEq) and 10 million AgEq ozs Indicated (333 g/t AgEq).

The company recently mobilized a drill rig to its Mogollon project to test depth extensions below the historical ore shoots on the Last Chance Vein.

FireFox Gold (FFOX.V) – (FFOXF.OTC)

  • 38.47 million shares outstanding
  • $21.93M market cap based on its recent $0.57 close
  • Corp presentation

FireFox is another junior exploring a suite of projects along the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt of northern Finland.

On January 21, the company reported results from its wholly-owned Sarvi Gold Project: FireFox Gold Reports High-Grade Gold Intercept of 27.48 g/t Au over 1.75m at New Target at the Sarvi Project in Lapland, Finland.

Earlier today (Feb. 9) they reported a solid hit from their 100%-held Mustajärvi Gold Project: FireFox Gold Expands the Northeast Zone, including 54.91 g/t Gold over 1.95 Metres in 95 Metre Step-out at Mustajärvi Gold Project, Finland.

The company has completed two rounds of drilling at Mustajärvi, including 30 holes totalling 7,662.2 metres. Assays are pending for 19 holes and a third round of drilling is expected to commence by mid-March.

Gold Royalty Corp (GROY.NYSE)

  • 170.16 million shares outstanding
  • $762.34 M market cap based on its recent $4.48 close
  • Corp presentation

GROY holds a diversified portfolio of over 240 royalties and streams on projects throughout the Americas, a number of which are either cash flowing or in the development phase. Included in the mix is a 2.0% to 3.0% NSR on Agnico Eagle’s Canadian Malartic Project.

The company recently reported record quarterly and annual revenue from its portfolio of cash-flowing royalties and streams.

GROY may represent an enticing takeover target for an NSR‑hungry predator. If your due diligence leads you to a similar conclusion, there are warrants trading under the symbol GROY.WS with a $2.25 strike price expiring May 31, 2027—added leverage for those inclined.

Kootenay Silver (TSXV:KTN)

  • 90.01 million shares outstanding
  • $178.21M market cap based on its recent $1.98 close
  • Corp presentation

Kootenay boasts several geologically prospective projects in Mexico. The past-producing Columba Silver Project in Chihuahua state is the mothership, with a current resource of 5.92 Mt grading 284 g/t silver, 0.19% lead, and 0.50% zinc—equivalent to 54.1 million ounces of silver, 25.2 million pounds of lead, and 65.6 million pounds of zinc. An aggressive 50,000‑meter stepout drill program is ongoing at the project. Expect strong newsflow from this campaign.

The company’s La Cigarra silver project—60.56 million ozs AgEq M&I and 12.85 million ozs AgEq Inferred—is currently undergoing a PEA scheduled for release this spring.

Rounding out Kootenay’s project pipeline are Promontorio & La Negra. All told, the company holds 214.2 million M&I AgEq ounces and 109 million Inferred AgEq ounces in its subsurface layers.

Mayfair Gold (MFG.V) – (MINE.NYSE)

  • 67.04 million shares outstanding
  • $364.03M market cap based on its recent $5.43 close
  • Corp presentation

Recently consolidated Mayfair is pushing its flagship Fenn-Gib gold project, located in the prolific Timmins gold camp of Ontario, aggressively along the curve. A recently released PFS—one that captures only 24% of Fenn-Gib’s Indicated ounce count—demonstrates an after‑tax NPV(5%) of $1.37 billion and an IRR of 38% using a US$4,450 gold price assumption. Initial development costs are estimated at roughly $450 million.

All told, Fenn-Gib hosts an open-pit-constrained Indicated resource of 181.3 Mt grading 0.74 g/t Au for 4.3 million ozs of glitter. Some view these high-quality ounces as an obvious takeover target for a resource-hungry predator.

Mirasol Resources (MRZ.V) – (MRZLF.OTC)

  • 88.6 million shares outstanding
  • $46.96M market cap based on its recent $0.53 close
  • Corp presentation

Mirasol, with its extensive portfolio of projects in Argentina and Chile, is especially worth noting for its Sobek Project, located in close proximity to Filo del Sol and NGEX’s Lunahuasi discovery in the Vicuña District of northeast Chile. The company typically deploys the prospect‑generator biz model, but Sobek is wholly owned—be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid (someone once said that).

A drill rig is now turning at Sobek, and the market is watching (Filo del Sol was taken out for $4.0 billion and NGEX boasts a market cap of roughly $6B).

North Arrow Minerals (NAR.V)

  • 28.58 million shares outstanding
  • $12.00M market cap based on its recent $0.42 close
  • Corp presentation
North Arrow is a flyer, a well-run grassroots play. The company’s Kraaipan Gold Project holds a commanding 724 km² land position covering 60 kilometers of strike along the Archaean Kraaipan Greenstone Belt in Botswana.

Last November, the company reported a discovery at Kraaipan with an RC drill intercept of 1.56 g/t Au over 30 meters, including 7.32 g/t Au over 3 meters from surface, plus 4.26 g/t Au over 4 meters from 10 meters depth. Quoting the November 4 press release: This discovery caps the successful completion of a US$1 million regional reconnaissance program that has identified six priority gold targets across 45 km of the underexplored Kraaipan Greenstone Belt.

Prospector Metals (PPP.V) – (PMCOF.OTC)

  • 151.22 million shares outstanding
  • $195.08M market cap based on its recent $1.29 close
  • Corp presentation

I did a double take when Prospector’s ML Project Tess Zone discovery headline flashed across my screen last October: Prospector Drills New Discovery: Hole ML25-31 Intersects 13.79 g/t Au and 1.84% Cu over 44m, Includes Higher-Grade Interval of 21.93 g/t Au over 24.65m.

44 meters grading 13.79 g/t Au, 1.84% Cu, and 38.08 g/t Ag—including 24.65 meters of 21.94 g/t Au…? A solid hit. Super solid.

With over $42 million in cash and cash equivalents, the company is gearing up for an aggressive exploration campaign at ML—a reduced intrusion‑related gold system along the Tombstone Gold Belt in Canada’s Yukon Territory. The program will include 25,000 meters of drilling, with initial emphasis on the Tess Zone.

Radisson Mining (RDS.V) – (RMRDF.OTC)

  • 432.68 million shares outstanding
  • $300.71M market cap based on its recent $0.69 close
  • Corp Pitch deck

Radisson is still on my list due to the high-grade nature of the resource at its flagship O’Brien Project, its position in the heart of the prolific Abitibi, and the likelihood that a resource‑hungry predator will eventually take a run at it.

A first pass economic study on O’Brien’s 950k ounce count—1.52 million tonnes grading 10.26 g/t Au for 500k ozs Indicated and 1.60 million tonnes grading 8.66 g/t Au for 450k ozs Inferred—shows an after-tax NPV5% of $871M, an IRR of 74%, and a payback of 1 year at US$3,300/oz Au. The project is surrounded by hungry mills, and the PEA factors in a toll milling scenario. The company is currently in the midst of an ongoing 140,000-metre stepout campaign designed to expand the current resource base.

END

 — Greg Nolan

Full disclosure: the author currently holds shares of Azimut Exploration (AZM.V) and Aurion Resources (AU.V) and should be considered especially biased with respect to these companies. The author reserves the right to buy, sell, or trade these shares — or those of any other companies mentioned above — at any time.

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