Sunstone Metals (STM.AX) has released an exploration update on its Bramaderos project in Ecuador. All ten holes that have been assayed so far have returned long mineralized intersections, with the most recent holes encountering mineralization outside of the current resource (which hosts a total of 220 million tonnes of rock at 0.33 g/t gold, 0.10% copper and 1.20 g/t silver).

Hole PTDD004 encountered 116 meters of 0.36 g/t gold and 0.12% copper while hole PTDD005 encountered 99 meters containing 0.19 g/t gold and 0.08% copper.  These two holes were drilled on the Porotillo target which is located directly south of the main resource, as the image on top of this article shows.

That main resource already hosts 3.6 million ounces of gold equivalent, and the two exploration targets offer potential for an additional 4.1-11.2 million ounces of gold-equivalent on top of that. As you’ll notice, the upper end of that range would push the Bramaderos project towards a 15 million ounce gold-equivalent resource.

The company has now completed 16 holes of the 28 hole drill program with all initial holes returning mineralization.

Disclosure: The author has no position in Sunstone Metals. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read the disclaimer.

Integra Resources (ITR.V, ITRG) has announced the Bureau of Land Management has published the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register, initiating the National Environmental Policy Act review process for the Idaho-based DeLamar project.

This is an important milestone in the permitting process of DeLamar, as this kicks of the formal preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement and initiating the public scoping and stakeholder engagement process. This will hopefully eventually culminate in the publication of the final EIS and Record of Decision in the second semester of 2027. Given the strong political support for the project (two US senators and one Congressman provided quotes for the Integra press release), it is quite clear the current administration and its priorities are helpful to get projects like this permitted to boost Idaho’s economy.

Disclosure: The author has a long position in Integra Resources. Integra is a sponsor of the website. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read the disclaimer.

After interpreting all the data that was gathered from the 2025 exploration program, IDEX Metals (IDEX.V) is now gearing up for what will be a very busy summer program at its flagship Freeze copper project in Idaho.

The past few weeks were quite busy for the company. It completed an C$8.05M capital raise (which means it is now fully funded for its 2026 exploration plans) and it signed an agreement with WestGold Metals (WGM.C) whereby the latter can earn up to 90% in IDEX’s non-core assets in Idaho. This means the company has now streamlined its operations with a sole focus on working towards the discovery of a copper porphyry system. As explained in a previous report, the final hole of the 2025 drill program intersected intrusive-hosted copper-molybdenum mineralization, with increasing molybdenum grades towards the bottom of the hole. This indicates there’s a high-priority porphyry target right underneath the North Breccia zone.

And with in excess of C$8M in cash on the bank (including the cash from the recently issued subscription receipts), IDEX Metals now has enough firepower to go chase this target and hopefully convert it into a bona fide discovery in Idaho’s Copper Belt.

In this publication we will review the recent updates provided by IDEX, and we also sat down with CEO Clayton Fisher to discuss the plans for 2026.

Kicking off what will be the busiest exploration season yet

IDEX Metals recently announced it has signed an agreement with Geotech Drilling Services to complete approximately 10,000 meters of drilling in 20 drill holes using two drill rigs. Most of the holes have a planned depth of 300 meters to 800 meters but in order to thoroughly drill-test the porphyry targets, some deeper holes will be required and the contracted rig is capable to drill up to 1,200 meters.

The company also completed the interpretation of an ongoing induced polarization survey. The size of this survey has almost doubled in size (according to the company, preliminary results were sufficiently encouraging to immediately upgrade the survey in real time) and will now include 64 line kilometers upon adding additional coverage to the north. This will help the company to get a better idea of what the CM Target looks like.  As a reminder, this target is located on ground that is controlled by the US Forest Service (‘USFS’) and it took a while to gather all required permits to conduct exploration on this part of the Freeze project.

We are looking forward to seeing progress on three important elements at Freeze this year.

First of all, it goes without saying that drill testing the large porphyry target could be a major catalyst this year. While exploration is never easy and you only know what Mother Nature has in mind once you drill a target, IDEX’s target appears to be quite appealing. The 2025-2026 evaluation of the lithology, alteration and geochemistry at the bottom of hole 6 (the final hole of the 2025 drill program) indicates a vector towards a potential heat source. This interpretation is further validated by seeing increasing molybdenum values and the development of localized potassic alteration overprinted by phyllic alteration. That’s all quite technical, but the main takeaway is that the interpretation of the data supports the exploration theory that a deeper, mineralized magmatic-hydrothermal system may be present in the greater Kismet corridor.

Secondly, We would like to see the company gather more information about the tungsten mineralization. As we explained in the previous report, while the tungsten grades that have been encountered in the first few holes are relatively low, it would definitely still be a value-add. And although the spot price for tungsten may be overheated right now and we have recently seen increased volatility (the supply chain risk is real though, so perhaps we are entering into a ‘new normal’ when it comes to pricing) but if we would use a long-term price of US$1000/mtu (about 40% of the current Western world spot price) and apply an 80% recovery rate and a 75% payability percentage, 805 ppm Tungsten still represents a rock value of US$48 per tonne of rock. And in this scenario, it would add about 0.4% to the copper-equivalent grade.

And finally, it will be interesting to see preliminary exploration results from for instance the CM target and other exploration targets on the project. Additionally, we hope to see WestGold hit the ground running on the three projects it is acquiring from IDEX (see below).

Dissecting the agreement on the ‘secondary’ properties in Idaho

The company recently also announced it has entered into an option agreement with WestGold Metals (WGM.C) whereby the ladders can earn up to a 90% interest in three exploration properties that are located in Idaho. The Amie project, Silver Rock project and Demming Project are all part of this agreement which will allow IDEX to retain exposure while another company does the heavy lifting.

The optionee will have to issue 5.74M shares to IDEX And complete a C$100,000 cash payment. On top of that there is a minimum exploration commitment as WestGold is required to spend at least C$5M in exploration expenditures on the three properties over a three year period. This includes a minimum spend of C$1M in Y1 and to complete at least C$3M in exploration expenditures by the 2nd anniversary of the agreement.

Upon the completion of these required steps, IDEX will retain a 10% stake in all three projects, while it would also receive a 1.5% net smelter royalty on the assets. Westgold will be allowed to repurchase 2/3^rd of the 1.5% NSR for a C$2M cash payment.

As it was unlikely IDEX would have had the time and/or manpower to put together comprehensive exploration programs on these three assets, this joint venture agreement appears to be a good move. The optionee recently completed a C$2M financing priced at C$0.08 but its share price on the open market is currently slightly higher than that resulting in a pro forma value of approximately C$500,000 for the 5.74M shares. Together with the cash payment IDEX is receiving approximately C$750,000 upfront. And upon completion of the Westgold financing, IDEX will own in excess of 7% of the company which of course provides healthy exposure to any discovery Westgold may make.

This now frees up the management time and clearly indicates the company is fully committed to  the Freeze project. 

The company is cashed up after its C$8M raise

A company obviously needs to have access to cash in order to complete a meaningful exploration programme, and that was an issue IDEX Metals also had to deal with ahead of this year’s exploration season. The company initially announced a brokered private placement in an attempt to raise up to C$7M in a special warrant financing. These special warrants will be converted into free trading stock when IDEX files a prospectus within the next few weeks. Should this process take longer than nine weeks following the closing date, participants in the special warrant financing will receive a 5% bonus (with 1.05 units being issued). But as the preliminary shelf prospectus has now been filed, and we expect the special warrants to be converted into units soon.

As the demand for the financing was pretty strong, it was upsized to C$8.05M and the special warrants financing was closed in early May. Each unit is priced at C$0.40 and contains a common share and half a warrant. Each full warrant will allow the warrant holder to acquire an additional share of IDEX Metals for C$0.60 during a 24 month period. The latter of course means that any additional exploration success (and market recognition of said success) would bring those warrants ‘into play’. The 10M warrants could bring in an additional C$6M in proceeds and that would allow IDEX to continue to thoroughly explore its flagship project.

Sitting down with Clayton Fisher, CEO

The Freeze Project

After a successful exploration program at Freeze last year, with mineralization encountered in all holes drilled, we are of course looking forward to seeing IDEX capitalize on this momentum and further define the mineralized areas at Freeze. Could you elaborate on the plans for this year?

The 2025 program was important because it confirmed that Freeze is not just a single showing or isolated breccia body — it is an emerging district-scale copper-gold-molybdenum porphyry system with multiple targets and clear vectors for follow-up. Every hole drilled in 2025 intersected significant copper mineralization, and by the end of the season we had identified several priority areas for 2026, including Kismet, North Breccia, CM, Shiver and other targets along the broader Freeze project.

For 2026, the plan is to significantly scale up. We have engaged Geotech Drilling for what is expected to be approximately 10,000 metres of diamond drilling across about 20 holes, with most holes planned in the 300–800 metre range and select holes designed to test as deep as 1,200 metres. The first rig is expected to mobilize in early June, with a second rig to follow shortly thereafter.

The program will be guided by the expanded IP survey, 2025 drilling, MT/ELF geophysics, soil geochemistry, mapping and surface sampling. The main objective is to move from proof-of-concept drilling into systematic target testing: expanding the known mineralized footprint at Kismet, testing the North Breccia porphyry target, advancing CM and Shiver, and continuing surface work across the broader property.

We notice you will drill a few deep holes, up to 1,200 meters. Could you elaborate on the game plan and theory behind those very deep holes? We assume they will be designed to drill-test the entire porphyry target from top to bottom?

That is broadly the idea, but with an important nuance: we are not drilling deep holes simply for the sake of depth. The deeper holes are designed to test the vertical architecture of the system where multiple datasets point toward a deeper porphyry source.

In 2025, we saw the system evolve from a surface copper-bearing tourmaline breccia complex at Kismet into intrusive-hosted copper-molybdenum mineralization at depth. Hole KSMT25006 was especially important because it intersected a pyrite-rich shell and then transitioned into molybdenite-chalcopyrite-bearing veining at depth — exactly the type of vector we look for when trying to move toward the hotter, deeper parts of a porphyry system.

So the deeper holes are intended to test the full porphyry architecture: the near-surface breccia and oxide/sulphide copper zones, the pyrite-rich shell, and the interpreted deeper intrusive centre. Most holes will still be moderate-depth, but a few deeper holes give us the ability to understand scale, zonation and whether the system strengthens at depth.

One of the gamechangers in the assay results from last year’s drill program was the presence of tungsten. Do you expect the tungsten mineralization to be spread out as well? Although the grades are low, they could provide a nice additional kicker to the metals and revenue mix at Freeze. When do you anticipate to complete a round of metallurgical test work to validate the initial findings?

The tungsten results were definitely an important surprise and something we are taking seriously. In hole KSMT25002, IDEX reported 420.81 metres grading 0.37% copper, 1.96 g/t silver, 192 ppm molybdenum and 419 ppm tungsten from 1.89 metres, including stronger sub-intervals such as 101 metres grading 1.02% copper and 805 ppm tungsten.

That said, we are still early in understanding the distribution and controls on tungsten. At this stage we would not want to assume it is uniformly distributed across the system. It may be related to certain intrusive phases, breccia phases, alteration zones or structures. The 2026 program should help answer that by testing multiple parts of the system and allowing us to compare tungsten values against lithology, alteration, copper, molybdenum and geophysics.

From a value perspective, we view tungsten as potential upside rather than the core driver of the story today. Copper remains the primary focus, with molybdenum, gold, silver and tungsten all having the potential to enhance the overall metal mix if continuity and recoverability are demonstrated.

On metallurgy, the right approach is to wait until we have enough representative material from the key mineralized domains — oxide, transition, sulphide, intrusive-hosted mineralization and tungsten-bearing intervals. I would expect initial metallurgical or mineralogical characterization to follow the 2026 drill program once we have the right sample material and a better understanding of geological domains. We want the first round of test work to be meaningful, not premature.

What is the drill budget at Freeze for this year?

We have not publicly broken out a separate drill budget, but the important point is that the 2026 exploration program is fully funded. IDEX closed gross proceeds of approximately $8.05 million in May, and the stated use of proceeds includes exploration and development at Freeze, including drilling, geophysics and working capital.

That financing allows us to execute the planned 10,000-metre drill program, complete the expanded IP survey, and continue the supporting geological work required to refine targets as the season progresses.

How is the availability of drill rigs these days? And the lab turnaround times?

Rig availability is always something we monitor closely, particularly for a program of this scale. We are in a good position because we secured Geotech Drilling early for the 2026 program. Geotech is a large and experienced contractor with modern equipment and broad operating experience, which gives us confidence in our ability to execute the program efficiently.

On assay turnaround times, we are planning around the reality that labs can become busy during the field season. From our experience turnaround times can vary from 1-3 months.

While most of the attention will go towards the drill program, let’s not forget about the IP Survey. You recently announced the size of the survey has almost doubled to 64 line kilometers, and will now include lines over the USFS ground. What are you hoping to learn from this survey?

The IP survey is a very important part of the 2026 program because it helps us refine drill targeting before we commit metres. The original 37 line-kilometre survey was designed to cover the Kismet-North Breccia-Frostfall corridor and define near-surface structures, alteration zones and sulphide-related chargeability features ahead of drilling.

Based on encouraging preliminary results, we expanded the survey to approximately 64 line-kilometres. The expansion adds coverage north and south, including lines over USFS ground, to better evaluate the area between emerging anomalies associated with the CM target. We also added coverage over Shiver to help advance that target toward drill-ready status.

What we are hoping to learn is the geometry and continuity of the sulphide system: where chargeability highs may represent pyrite-rich shells, where resistivity features may correspond to alteration or intrusive phases, and how the Kismet Corridor connects with CM, Shiver and other targets. In simple terms, the IP survey should help us prioritize which anomalies deserve drill holes first and how to orient those holes.

The WestGold Metals agreement

The option agreement with WestGold is interesting. It allows you to keep the management time and treasury focused on Freeze, while you retain exposure to the three properties that are subject to the agreement. Can you elaborate on how this transaction came to be? Were there multiple interested parties?

The WestGold transaction is a good example of how we want to build IDEX: stay focused on our flagship asset while still creating value from the broader portfolio.

Freeze is clearly our primary focus and the asset where we believe we can create the most value for shareholders. At the same time, Amie, Silver Rock and Demming are real exploration assets that deserve capital and attention. The WestGold agreement allows those projects to move forward under a dedicated operator while IDEX retains meaningful upside.

The structure is attractive because it gives IDEX non-dilutive exposure through a combination of WestGold shares, a cash payment, committed exploration expenditures, a retained 10% carried interest and a retained NSR royalty. WestGold has the option to acquire a 90% interest in the three projects and is required to spend at least $5 million over three years to exercise the option.

On the level of interest, I would frame it this way: we had discussions around the best path to advance the non-core Idaho portfolio, and WestGold emerged as the right partner because the structure aligned with our priorities — committed work on the ground, shareholder exposure to upside, and a clear path for IDEX to remain focused on Freeze.

We like the C$5M minimum spending commitment within the first three years, as that really ensures actual work will get done. When do you expect the option agreement to close?

The agreement is subject to customary closing conditions, including applicable regulatory and stock exchange approvals. So we cannot give a definitive closing date until those conditions are satisfied.

Our expectation is to move through that process as efficiently as possible. The key point for shareholders is that the agreement is structured to ensure real exploration dollars are spent on the projects, while IDEX retains exposure and keeps its capital and technical team focused on Freeze.

The Financing & Corporate

Congratulations on closing the C$8M financing, which of course puts you in an excellent position to kick off this year’s exploration season. It was also nice to see an upsize to C$8M. Can you elaborate on the mix of participants? Was this mainly a retail-driven financing or did you see some institutionals come into the capital as well?

Thank you! It was fully allocated with the overallotment exercised, which closed for gross proceeds of approximately $8.05 million, with Clarus Securities acting as lead.

The book included strong support from existing shareholders, but importantly it also helped broaden and strengthen our shareholder base. We saw participation from eight institutions, including four new institutional investors, which is encouraging because it reflects growing recognition of Freeze as a serious copper-gold-moly porphyry exploration opportunity in a top-tier jurisdiction.

From our perspective, the financing was not just about raising capital. It was about putting the company in a position to execute. With the financing complete, IDEX is fully funded for the 10,000-metre drill program, the expanded IP survey and the supporting field work required to advance multiple targets across Freeze. That gives us a strong platform heading into what should be the most active exploration season in the company’s history.

Conclusion

After raising in excess of C$8M at C$0.40, IDEX Metals is now fully cashed up to complete its 2026 exploration efforts. While additional geophysical programs and the IP Survey will deliver useful data, we are mainly interested in the assay results from the drill program.

It was exceptionally encouraging to see all holes of the 2025 drill program encountered copper, and we hope and expect IDEX Metals to continue to build onto this momentum. This year’s drill program will be important to shape the future of the project.

Disclosure: The author has a long position in IDEX Metals. IDEX Metals is a sponsor of the website. This report is for educational purposes only; be mindful that investing in junior mining stocks is risky, and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read our disclaimer.

Oroco Resource Corp. (OCO.V) has released the assay results from the first three holes completed on the South Zone of its flagship Santo Tomas copper porphyry project in Mexico’s Sinaloa state. As widely expected, holes 22 and 23 encountered the same thick layers of copper porphyry mineralization with for instance 228.55 meters of 0.49% copper-equivalent and 212 meters of 0.44% copper-equivalent. It is however interesting to see the molybdenum values are increasing down-hole, adding to the copper-equivalent grade. That’s clearly visible below where the deeper portions of holes 22 and 23 see a grade bump towards 0.60% CuEq and higher.

Hole 24 encountered intermittent mineralization at the western boundary with for instance 20 meters of 0.22% CuEq and 61 meters of 0.32% CuEq.This was also not very surprising as that hole was drilled on the western edge of the mineralized system, and confirms the limits of the resource. While 0.32% CuEq mineralization could still end up in the mine plan, it is more important to focus on the actual resource in the mine plan, and to add more tonnage (and increase the confidence in the current resource) in the South Zone.

Disclosure: The author has no position in Oroco Resource Corp. Oroco is a sponsor of the website. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read the disclaimer.

Aztec Minerals (AZT.V) has announced the Joint Venture management committee has approved to increase the current drill program by an additional 3,500 meters of reverse circulation drilling for a total of C$1.4M, which will push the total amount of meters drilled to 22,200 meters. The drill program started about a year ago, and Aztec’s continuous efforts will see it come in at just over 18,800 meters of RC drilling and just under 3,400 meters of core drilling. A total of 14,162 meters of RC drilling has already been completed while the core drill program has been completed.

The additional holes and meters will be focusing on the Northern Contention Area, the continuation of the main Contention target with similar geology. The drill program will now continue through August 2026 with assay results expected to come in on a continuous basis into Q4 2026.

Disclosure: The author has a long position in Aztec Minerals. Aztec is a sponsor of the website. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read the disclaimer.

Banyan Gold (BYN.V) has released an updated resource calculation for its flagship AurMac project in Canada’s Yukon Territory. The combined resource now stands at approximately 8.6 million ounces of gold of which 3.64 million ounces are in the indicated category (at an average grade of 0.68 g/t gold) with an additional 4.98 million ounces at 0.58 g/t in the inferred resource category. The deposit remains open in all directions, and the ongoing 70,000 meter drill program will provide more data to expand the resource and to upgrade the inferred ounces into a higher category.

The company’s independent consultants also worked on a high-grade scenario. Applying a cutoff grade of 0.55 g/t gold still resulted in 2.45 million ounces at 1 g/t in the indicated resource category and 2.72 million ounces at 0.96 g/t in the inferred resource. Unfortunately there was no indication on how the strip ratio would evolve in the latter scenario.

The updated resource will now be the basis for a Preliminary Economic Assessment, which should be completed in the second semester of this year.

Disclosure: The author has no position in Banyan Gold. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read the disclaimer.

Since its recapitalization event in 2024, West Point Gold (WPG.V) has been working hard to rapidly advance its flagship Gold Chain project. The company tapped the market in the first quarter of the year, and this will allow it to continue its ongoing drill program, complete a maiden resource estimate on the Tyro Main Zone. On top of that, West Point Gold should be fully funded to also complete a Preliminary Economic Assessment at Gold Chain (we are assuming the maiden resource will be good enough to advance the project to the PEA stage).

While the low-hanging fruit can be found on the Tyro Main Zone, the company has also spent some time on some of the regional exploration targets. The initial results of the Sheep Trail Target are encouraging and we expect the company to continue to work on delineating its exploration targets.

The recent Tyro Main Zone results continue to add value

Earlier this quarter, West Point Gold released more strong drill results from the step-out holes that were drilled on the northeast part of the Tyro Zone, up to 140 meters to the northeast of previously reported results. That batch of assay results added about 100 meters of strike length (which now stands at 400 meters at NE Tyro) and 100 meters at depth to the mineralized volume as gold has now been intercepted as deep as 300 meters below surface.

And West Point Gold didn’t just find gold; it found high-grade gold. Assay results of 18.3 meters (17.5 meters true width) containing 6.05 g/t gold and 35.1 meters containing 2.23 g/t gold are excellent for what will eventually be designed as an open pit operation.

The expansion of the mineralization towards the northeast is of course a positive evolution before putting the resource together, but more importantly, the zone continues to expand towards the Frisco Graben.

Although the Frisco Graben will not be drill-tested this year, it remains an important exploration target offering blue sky potential. But as it’s a deep target and would require a few dozen drill holes to really get a better understanding of the mineralized structures, West Point is focusing on the ‘easier’ exploration targets in order to underpin its current valuation with a maiden resource calculation and subsequently, a PEA.

And the more drill results are rolling in, the more confident we are in seeing a maiden resource that may perhaps positively surprise the market. As mentioned numerous times before, the company is basically encountering underground-grade mineralization that should and will be open pittable in an economic scenario.

The recent drill results also validate the exploration target of 19.5-31.2 million tonnes at 2-3 g/t gold. We don’t expect the company to end up at the highest tonnage and highest grade, but 25-30 million tonnes at 1.8-2.2 g/t would result in a resource of 1.5-2.1 million ounces, and this would likely be a realistic target for a maiden resource.

The company is slowly ticking all the critical boxes in order to advance the project. Drill results are of course an important box to tick, but we are glad to see West Point Gold has also been making good progress on the metallurgical front. The next focus points (for us) will be on seeing an acceptable strip ratio (but the grade is of course very forgiving and at $4000 gold and an average grade of 1.5-2 g/t, even a double digit strip ratio should not be an issue) and more concrete development plans.

West Point Gold should be wrapping up its 20,000 meter drill program soon, and we expect assay results to continue to roll in throughout the summer. This will culminate in a maiden resource estimate at Tyro, which will contain a lot of useful data.

The Sheep Trail and South Tyro targets were confirmed with the newest drill results

The company completed seven holes on the Sheep Trail target (which hosts the historical Sheep Trail mine which was discovered in 1865), and disclosed the assay results of those holes last month.

Those initial results are encouraging for a first pass drill program and at Sheep Trail, the drill bit encountered almost 20 meters of 0.48 g/t gold, 15 meters at 1.24 g/t gold and 32 meters of 1.05 g/t gold on the western part of Sheep Trail.

The three holes drilled on the eastern portion of the Sheep Trail target contained almost 20 meters of 1.42 g/t gold, just under 14 meters of 0.39 g/t gold and 7.6 meters containing 2.41 g/t gold including 1.5 meters of 7.75 g/t gold. As the table above shows, all seven holes encountered mineralization at very shallow depths. The company also completed nine holes on the South Tyro Vein system but did not encounter any meaningful gold results. The results indicate the gold deposition at South Tyro may have occurred at greater depths, and the company has ordered a geochemical analysis to figure out the next step at South Tyro.

Whole the grades encountered at Sheep Trail certainly are not as spectacular as the grades that have been encountered at Gold Chain, keep in mind these are still relatively high grade results for oxide gold assets in that part of the world. While the company isn’t close to putting a resource together at Sheep Trail, the first pass drill results definitely validated Sheep Trail as a good exploration target that could be considered to be a satellite to the Tyro Main Zone, further north.

We expect the company to continue to work on the exploration targets, but the near term focus should be and will be on pushing Tyro Main towards the maiden resource estimate.

Ticking another box: the updated metallurgical test work

One of the key elements before even thinking about putting an economic study together is of course completing a detailed metallurgical test program. It’s nice to sit on a gold deposit, but any deposit is worthless if you can’t get the gold out of the ground.

The company recently announced the results of a Phase 2 metallurgical test program on the Tyro Main Zone. The independent consultant tried out numerous potential processing possibilities and it has become abundantly clear that although Gold Chain is an oxide-hosted gold project, the ideal scenario is to work towards an economic model that includes a milling scenario.

While the anticipated recovery rates were between 39% and 69% in the HPGR crushed material and conventionally crushed material, the milled material reached recovery rates between 87% and 92%. The latter was achieved using a crush size of 0.075 millimeters and compared to recovery rates of 69% using a 1.7 millimeter crushing size, it should be clear that the smaller crushing size will make the most sense as gold recoveries are about a third higher.

Additionally, the milling scenario would also recover more of the silver (55%-83% versus the 27-68% in the HPGR scenario and 15%-62% in the conventionally crushed material scenario). While the recovery rate for the gold, which is the primary metal at Tyro Main, is more important, the Phase 2 metallurgical results appear to point in the direction of a conventional milling scenario. While CEO Derek Macpherson mentioned in his management comments that the multiple processing paths will continue to be tested, we think it is increasingly likely that by the time a decision has to be made, the milling scenario will make the most sense. Not in the least because the capex for a mill-based development should be reasonable given the project’s proximity to existing infrastructure while the high-grade nature of the project will allow for a reasonably ‘small’ mill without conceding too much on the output.

For instance, and this is purely arbitrary and not based on a potential scenario, putting 2 g/t material at an 85% recovery rate through a 5,000 tonnes per day mill would result in approximately 100,000 ounces of recoverable gold per year.

West Point is now fully cashed up

Although the company ended 2025 with a positive working capital position of in excess of US$5M (approximately C$6.5M), the management was smart enough to raise money in January, allowing it to bankroll all of its plans for 2026.

West Point Gold closed a brokered financing priced at C$1.10 per share (this was a warrant-free financing), raising a total of C$25M before fees, and approximately C$24.4M after fees. On top of that, the company issued 3.3 million shares related to warrant exercises, raising a total of C$1.4M. This means that in the first few months of 2026, West Point raised almost C$26M (net of fees). It still has approximately C$30M in cash on the balance sheet right now, so WPG shouldn’t have to go back to the market anytime soon.

There are still about 20 million warrants outstanding which would yield additional proceeds of approximately C$9-10M. 2/3^rd of those warrants expire in 2026 with the remainder expiring in the first semester of next year.

Considering the share price is trading at about three times the highest warrant exercise price, we think it is fair to assume all warrants will continue to be gradually exercised, further bolstering the company’s cash and working capital position. This means the company won’t have to raise any money until (at least) the summer of 2027, unless of course a great opportunity arises and West Point Gold can capitalize on its high share price.

The C$1.10 financing will become free tradeable on June 20, but given the solid progress the company is making on its project, we don’t see this as a major issue as the stock was predominantly placed in strong hands. There may be some weakness around that date, but we expect any shares that would be sold will be absorbed by the market.

Conclusion

West Point Gold is diligently moving towards a maiden resource calculation on its Gold Chain project later this year and we expect that to be the basis for a maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment which should be completed in Q1 2027 (we expect to see a firm timeline guidance from the company once the resource will be published).

Given the high-grade nature of the project (an average grade of 1.5-2 g/t gold is to be expected given the higher grade pods in the mineralized system), Gold Chain could be a low-cost gold project in a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction and we expect the maiden PEA to reflect a high-IRR and high NPV to initial capex ratio.

The company took advantage of a financing window in January and raised C$25M and is now (more than) fully funded to complete the PEA on the project. We expect the NPV number at $3000 or $3250 gold to confirm the company is still trading at a relatively attractive valuation despite the strong run of its share price in the past year or so.

The next 12 months will be crucial to determine the strategic direction of the company. But the more high-grade drill results are rolling in, the more confident we are in West Point Gold’s prospects and potential.

Disclosure: The author has a long position in West Point Gold. West Point Gold is a sponsor of the website. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read our full disclosure.

Southern Silver Exploration (SSV.V) plans to top up its treasury with the proceeds of a C$4M LIFE financing. The warrant-free financing is priced at C$0.60 and this may be the first time in the company’s history it doesn’t have to issue a warrant as a sweetener to raise cash. The proceeds will be used on the flagship Cerro Las Minitas project in Mexico where an updated resource is expected later this quarter (after the financing closes). This updated resource will include the drill data from the recently acquired Puro Corazon claim.

While C$4M isn’t an enormous amount, we of course support any no-warrant financing that helps to keep the treasury at a comfortable level.

Disclosure: The author has no position in Southern Silver Exploration. Southern Silver is a sponsor of the website. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read the disclaimer.

Canterra Minerals (CTM.V) has now completed its winter diamond drill program at its flagship Buchans critical minerals project in Newfoundland. The company drilled eight holes for a total of just under 2,400 meters on two target areas. At West clementine, the company drill-tested a large chargeability anomaly with stockwork mineralization while the holes that were completed at Two Level / Lundberg were designed to work towards an updated resource calculation by the end of this year or early 2027.

All samples have been shipped to the lab, and we should see the assay results sometime in the first half of June. The data gathered from the drill program will be combined with the integration of historical drilling and data from geophysics to refine the H2 2026 drill targets.

Canterra Minerals also completed 181 percussion holes along the 55 kilometer long Valentine structural trend at its Wilding gold project. These percussion holes are a relatively easy and cheap way to sample the bedrock beneath the glacial overburden in an area where you can’t really rely on outcrops. This is a technique that has been widely used in for instance Finland and it will be interesting to see the gold values from the percussion drill program. The results of this basal till program will be used to define the H2 2026 diamond drill targets at Wilding.

This will be a busy year for Canterra Minerals as both main projects are being advanced at the same time.

Disclosure: The author has no position in Canterra Minerals. Canterra is a sponsor of the website. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read the disclaimer.

Aztec Minerals (AZT.V) released the assay results from five more reverse circulation drill holes on its Tombstone project last week. All holes intersected mineralization but hole TR26-18 and -19 clearly stood out. In hole TR26-18, the drill bit encountered 53 meters of 0.775 g/t gold and just over 1 ounce of silver per tonne of rock, for a gold-equivalent grade of just under 1.36 g/t. The additional bonus is that the mineralization started at surface, while there also was a higher grade component of 18.2 meters containing 3.35 g/t AuEq starting at less than 26 meters down-hole.

Hole 19 was also quite successful with 66.9 meters containing 1.472 g/t gold-equivalent with the mineralization starting at just under 14 meters down-hole. This hole also contains a higher grade component of 27.4 meters of 2.31 g/t gold and 43.2 g/t silver for a total gold-equivalent grade of 3.10 g/t.

Holes 15-16-17 also contained mineralization and it is very encouraging to see almost 122 meters of 0.50 g/t gold-equivalent in hole 17. Holes 15 and 16 were also mineralized but did not contain the excellent grades encountered in 18 & 19 although the 89.8 meters of 0.423 g/t AuEq in hole 16 deserves to be mentioned.

Cash-rich Aztec Minerals is aggressively advancing its Tombstone project to a maiden resource estimate which should be put together at the completion of the current 17,000 meter drill program. Aztec has now completed 70 RC holes and 8 core holes, and we can expect more assay results to be released over the coming weeks and months.

Disclosure: The author has a long position in Aztec Minerals. Aztec is a sponsor of the website. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read the disclaimer.

Integra Resources (ITR.V, ITRG) is a direct beneficiary of the current high gold price. The company was somewhat lucky to acquire the high-cost Florida Canyon gold mine in 2024 and now clearly benefits from the current gold price environment, resulting in an anticipated margin of in excess of $2,000/oz based on the anticipated All-In Sustaining Cost this year.

That cash flow is very useful to fund all exploration programs across the three main assets, while aggressively advancing DeLamar to become the company’s second producing asset. It has already been established the current administration in the White House likely created the best permitting climate in the USA in the past few decades, and Integra needs and wants to capitalize on that by completing the permitting process in Idaho.

Meanwhile, exploration is ongoing at Florida Canyon (which should extend the mine life of the asset) while a recently approved Exploration Plan of Operations for the Wildcat deposit (part of the Nevada North project) will make exploration much more efficient ahead of a H2 2027 Pre-Feasibility Study.

Unless indicated otherwise, ‘$’ will refer to US Dollars.

The Q1 production was a bit light, but the full-year guidance remains unchanged

In the first quarter of 2026, Integra Resources produced 12,635 ounces gold, of which 12,518 ounces were sold. The average mining rate achieved a record volume at almost 77,000 tonnes per day as the company mined 3 million tonnes of ore and 3.9 million tonnes of waste.

Although the company had been guiding for a lower production rate in H1 and a strong uptick in H2 (with a 45/55 breakdown), the Q1 production result came in below expectations. The company refers to 3,000 ounces of deferred production due to a temporarily reduced solution flow rate to one specific leach pad cell with contains fine ore from a newly opened pit. Integra’s technical team had to design a blending strategy to maintain nominal leach rates which means a delayed recovery of those 3,000 ounces of gold. Integra Resources has reconfirmed its full-year production guidance at 70,000-75,000 ounces of gold. In order to meet the lower end of the guidance, the average production rate in the next three quarters should be around 19,000 ounces.

Keep in mind the 45/55 breakdown is still valid. And assuming the lower end of the production guidance, approximately 38,500 ounces will be produced in H2 versus 31,500 ounces in H1 (of which 12,600 have now been produced). It will be interesting to see if the split changes, perhaps to a 40/60 ratio. While this would change the timing of the free cash flow generation, it should have no impact on the financial situation and the liquidity on the balance sheet. The $61M bought deal completed in Q1 ensures the company can handle any and all cash flow delays without having to postpone the planned investments at Florida Canyon.

But one thing is certain: the current gold price environment is very forgiving. Even if there would be a slight guidance miss, the financial impact would likely be limited while it would set up Integra for a much stronger 2027 on a comparable basis.

Diving into the numbers

Integra reported a total revenue of almost US$62M and this resulted in a mine operating earnings result of just under $25M, which is more than 50% higher compared to the first quarter of 2025. Not only was the revenue slightly higher (despite the lower gold production), the total amount of operating expenses decreased on a YoY basis. Before getting too excited, the footnotes explain this is an accounting element as there was a $4.6M positive impact from the valuation change in inventories which almost reversed a $7M negative impact compared to a year ago. As the table below shows, the ‘pure’ operating expenses did increase on a YoY comparable basis, and that was of course to be expected as the total tonnage that was mined increased as well.

This is why it is always interesting to look at the cash flow statement, which we find more important and interesting for mining companies versus the income statement.

Integra reported an operating cash flow of $13.8M and after adjusting this for changes in the working capital and after deducting the $3.7M in lease payments while adding $0.5M in interest income, the underlying adjusted operating cash flow was approximately $19M.

This was not sufficient to cover the almost $27M in capital expenditures, but there are two caveats here.

First of all, Integra’s 2026 capex spend is front-loaded; a disproportional amount of the full-year capex was spent in the first quarter, and this of course skews the comparable basis. Adding to this, Integra also acquired a $12.5M land package in Idaho close to its DeLamar flagship project, and not only is this a non-recurring item, it also highlights one needs to make a distinction between sustaining capex and growth capex.

In its MD&A, Integra confirmed the sustaining capex came in just over $7M (excluding leases, which we already accounted for) which means the company was clearly cash flow positive on an underlying basis using the sustaining capex. This number is more or less in line with the anticipated $62-68M in full-year sustaining capex and lease payments.

Secondly, keep in mind about 3,000 ounces of production were deferred due to some issues. If those additional gold sales would have been realized in Q1, the net underlying free cash flow would have exceeded $10M for the quarter.

The balance sheet provides plenty of flexibility to rapidly advance DeLamar

Using the midpoint of the guidance below, Integra expects to spend $73M at Florida Canyon and $78M on DeLamar and Nevada North, for a total of $151M. However, just about 40% of that number is classified as a sustaining capex and the majority of the number is related to aggressively advancing DeLamar.

This also explains why Integra completed a financing in Q1, as this will give the company plenty of flexibility and breathing room to advance DeLamar at its own pace without being too dependent on the Florida Canyon cash flows.

As $26.5M has already been spent in Q1, the anticipated remaining capex will likely be somewhere in the $125-130M area. And using the low-end of the production guidance and the high-end of the cash cost guidance, Florida Canyon will produce approximately 57,500 ounces of gold at a cash cost of around $2050/oz in the remaining three quarters this year. This means that as long as the realized gold price exceeds $4,400/oz, Integra’s Florida Canyon cash flows will cover all planned investments, including the almost $80M in DeLamar related spending.

This means we don’t expect the cash position to increase by year-end, but we are also quite confident that – at the current gold price – Integra should be able to maintain that $100M in cash on the balance sheet throughout the year. There will always be some fluctuations due to timing (spending capex and generating revenue is definitely not a linear process), but generally speaking, we don’t expect the cash position to drop below $100M.

And this will put Integra in a very strong position to head into 2026. Whereas the production guidance for this year uses 72,500 ounces as its midpoint (but we are using 70,000 ounces in the base case scenario), the midpoint of the 2027 and 2028 production guidance is a more impressive 85,000 ounces of gold. This means that from next year on, the company will produce about 15,000 ounces gold more than this year. Combine that with an anticipated lower sustaining capex, and it is clear 2027 will be the year where we will see the cash position build (of course subject to the DeLamar construction schedule).

With $106M in cash and a positive working capital position of approximately $140M, Integra’s balance sheet is sufficiently robust to backstop all investment plans.

Advancing DeLamar and Nevada North

The Florida Canyon mine is just the cash flow engine for Integra Resources, and the main reason to acquire the asset was for Integra to avoid having to go back to the market every year to raise C$20-30M in order to maintain its pace on the development stage projects. And the mine is doing exactly what it is supposed to do, with the current strong gold price as an important tailwind.

At DeLamar, the company completed a strategic land purchase and paid a $3.5M deposit to Idaho Power. This was a requirement for the latter to start working on planning an upgrade to the existing power infrastructure that would link the mine with the existing power infrastructure.

The project’s permitting timeline was also posted  to the FAST-41 project dashboard in January, and Integra will be designated a dedicated project advisor from the Permitting Council, which will monitor the advancement of the project. Not unimportant: the FAST-41 project dashboard highlights a 15 month NEPA permitting schedule from start to finish. This means the permitting phase should be completed within the current term of the Trump Administration, allowing Integra to also capture the political tailwinds we currently see in the USA when it comes to permitting and developing.

In Nevada, the company recently received the NEPA Decision Record and Reclamation Permit approving its Exploration Pan of Operations for the Wildcat deposit, part of Nevada North. This permit will allow for expanded exploration and development activities at Wildcat given the larger allowance for disturbance, including the ability to construct drill roads and drill pads on the project.

This will pave the way for all activities that are required to upgrade the 2023 Preliminary Economic Assessment at Nevada North to a Pre-Feasibility Study as the Mountain View deposit already went through these steps. The pre-feasibility study is expected to be completed in the second half of 2027 and it will be good to see an official update on the anticipated capex and opex, and the updated NPV and IRR using gold prices above $3,000/oz.

As Nevada North is located just over 40 kilometers west of the Florida Canyon mine, there likely will be synergy benefits when it comes to equipment (maintenance), staffing and shared overhead expenses.

Conclusion

Integra Resources remains on the right path to complete what should be the final capex-intensive year at Florida Canyon. The full-year production guidance remains unchanged at 70,000-75,000 ounces of gold while the all-in sustaining cost per produced ounce is still expected to come in at $2750-2950/oz. Given the light Q1 production results and notwithstanding the actual production of 3,000 ounces of gold was simply deferred to later quarters, it probably makes sense to expect the lower end of the production guidance and higher end of the AISC guidance (and then hoping to be positively surprised).

From a risk/reward perspective, Integra still offers great potential. 2026 is the last difficult year where a slightly lower production and a higher sustaining capex are putting the brakes on the Florida Canyon cash flow. Raising $57.5M in net proceeds from the Q1 financing is a solid proactive move and with a little bit of luck, this could have been the final equity raise for Integra as we obviously expect the majority of the DeLamar construction capex to be debt-funded.

From 2027 on, Florida Canyon should throw off more free cash flow as the total amount of sustaining capex and growth capex should decrease quite meaningfully. An updated mine plan and technical report will be published soon, and we believe that could be the next catalyst. We believe that an updated NPV calculation for Florida Canyon at $4000 gold may come in pretty close to or even exceed the company’s current enterprise value. In that case, investors get the exposure to DeLamar and Nevada North for free.

Disclosure: The author has a long position in Integra Resources. Integra Resources is a sponsor of the website. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read the disclaimer.

GSP Resource Corp. (GSPR.V) has announced it received a five year multi-year area based drill permit (‘MYAB’) for its Mer property in British Columbia’s Highland Valley Copper Camp. This permit will allow the company to move forward with its planned exploration program to drill-test a new porphyry target.

The Mer property is located approximately 1.5 kilometers northwest of the Alwin Mine project owned by GSP, and Is completely surrounded by Teck’s Highland Valley copper mine land package.

The company completed a soil and rock sampling program in the area where historical drilling took place, and this defined a copper anomaly of approximately 175 meters by 120 meters, with the anomaly remaining open to the northwest. Rock samples taken at the old Mer mine returned a dozen samples running between 0.14% copper and 1.02% copper (with an average grade of 0.4% copper). The historical percussion drill program encountered intervals such as 30 meters of 0.53% copper, 15 meters of 0.50% copper and 21 meters of 0.51% copper, with all mineralized intervals occurring close to surface. A single diamond drill program hit 24 meters of 0.29% copper, so it is clear why the company would like to follow up on its high-priority target at Mer.

Disclosure: The author has a small long position in GSP Resource Corp. This post is for educational purposes only; be mindful investing in junior mining stocks is risky and you may lose your entire investment if things go wrong. Please read the disclaimer.