Despite the yellow metal hitting a rough patch earlier this year due to Middle East tensions, gold and silver are still continuing rallies that started in 2024. The high prices are incenting exploration and development across the Americas and beyond. Here are four companies to watch.
1911 Gold
1911 Gold (TSXV: AUMB; US-OTC: AUMBF) is advancing its True North project on the site of Manitoba’s first yellow metal mine in the province’s southeast, about 150 km northeast of Winnipeg.
The project is a restart of the San Antonio/Rice Lake mine that began operations in 1932 and produced about 1.3 million oz. of gold at more than 9 grams per tonne, a higher grade than occurs in many typical Canadian gold mines. The site closed in 2015, the last time gold was mined in the Prairie province.
Eric Sprott holds a 14% interest in the developer.
In February, the company used $4,800-per-oz. gold in a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) that gave True North a post-tax net present value (NPV) of C$998 million ($728 million). The PEA outlined initial capital costs of only C$59.2 million due to the existing permitted underground workings and processing plant at the site. All-in sustaining costs are $1,897 per ounce.
Uniquely, that estimate gives no internal rate of return (IRR) because the mine would open and operate without any years of negative cash flow, according to the PEA. The investment has a one-year payback period.
In a lower gold price case of $3,000 per oz., the PEA puts the NPV at C$391 million with an unusually high IRR of 105%, and a payback period of 2.2 years. Capital costs would rise by C$46.7 million during the first two years of production ramp-up and reach C$367 million of sustaining capital.
True North’s total payable production could reach 527,100 oz. over an 11-year life, generating C$545 million in post-tax free cash flow.
It hosts 3.5 million indicated tonnes grading 4.41 grams gold for about 500,000 oz. of contained gold, and 5.49 million inferred tonnes at 3.65 grams gold for 644,000 oz., according to an updated resource from 2024.
Of the numerous drill results 1911 has published since 2025, most are high-grade – at numbers exceeding 10 grams gold – though they’re narrow and measure less than 4 metres wide. However, results in May from highlight hole UG16-25-002 include 7.2 metres at 3 grams gold from 163.7 metres depth. And hole UG16-26-055 cut 9.2 metres grading 5.48 grams gold from 195.5 metres downhole. Those were from an underground resource expansion drill program targeting extensions of the L10 zone.
Last August, drilling in the Cohiba West target returned a highlight result of 6.5 metres at 5.52 grams gold from 111 metres depth.
The company plans to release a prefeasibility study for True North in the second half of this year.
1911 Gold has a market cap of about C$2677 million.
Defiance Silver
Defiance Silver (TSXV: DEF; US-OTC: DNCVF) is advancing its main Zacatecas project in the namesake state of north-central Mexico, located in the centre of the Mexican silver belt.
The project is made up of the San Acacio and Lucita brownfield targets. San Acacio’s mining history dates back to the 1500s as part of the historic Zacatecas silver district. The project is about 510 km northwest of Mexico City.
An ongoing 10,000-metre drill program that Defiance started in 2025 is targeting San Acacio and Lucita, in support of an upcoming initial resource for the project. That exploration builds on almost 60,000 metres of historical drilling at the targets.
In May, the company reported a highlight result of about 11 metres grading 124.4 grams silver per tonne and 0.81 gram gold from 100.8 metres depth in hole DDSA-25-80, which targeted the near-surface Veta Grande structure at San Acacio.
Defiance reported stronger results from drilling at Veta Grande in February, with standout hole DDSA-26-76 returning 22.6 metres at 102.9 grams silver from 176.4 metres depth, including 10.6 metres grading 210.7 grams silver and 5.2 metres at 128.9 grams silver. Hole DDSA-25-77 cut 6.7 metres grading 128.7 grams silver, including 10.5 metres at 100.8 grams silver.
In March, Mexico’s Environment Ministry granted Defiance a permit to build 44 new drill pads at Zacatecas and up to 35 new access roads to expand exploration activities.
Southwest of Zacatecas, the company is developing its Tepal project in Michoacan state, which although a polymetallic project, hosts 5.57 million oz. silver grading 1.55 grams silver contained in 111.6 million measured and indicated tonnes, according to a January 2025 resource.
Its gold grades 0.26 gram for 926,000 oz. gold and copper at 0.19% for 473.8 million pounds. Inferred resources total 124.3 million tonnes grading 1.46 grams silver for 5.8 million oz., 0.25 gram gold for 985,000 oz. and 0.16% copper for 451 million lb. contained copper.
Defiance plans to release a PEA for Tepal at an unspecified date.
Last July, the company acquired private miner Green Earth Metals and its portfolio of three copper-gold-silver projects in the northern Sonora state for about C$1.2 million. Defiance plans to start a drill program at the 68-sq.-km Green Earth project this year.
Defiance Silver has a market cap of about $92.1 million.
Freegold Ventures
Freegold Ventures (TSX: FVL; US-OTC: FGOVF) has built one of North America’s largest undeveloped gold resources at Golden Summit in Alaska. The task now turns to showing the project can move from giant inventory to buildable mine.
Golden Summit sits a 30-minute drive north of Fairbanks with paved-road access, a power line 7 km away and a nearby labour base. Its July 2025 resource update outlined 431.9 million indicated tonnes grading 1.24 grams gold for 17.2 million oz. gold and 357.6 million inferred tonnes at 1.04 grams for 12 million ounces.
The company is now trying to prove that a tighter, better-defined core within Golden Summit could support staged development, lift early grades and improve the economics of what has often been viewed as a large bulk-tonnage system.
Since 2020, Freegold has drilled more than 100,000 metres at the project, including more than 39,000 metres last year. It is now running a roughly 50,000-metre infill program with five rigs and a sixth planned, targeting tighter spacing and extensions to the Cleary, WOW and Tamarack zones.
In May, it reported a highlight result of 39.6 metres grading 2.13 grams gold from 430 metres depth in hole GS2504 of the Dolphin-Cleary zone; in April drilling returned 29.5 metres at 11.54 grams gold from 429.8 metres depth in hole GS2546 of the Cleary zone. And in March, hole GS2544 cut 58.4 metres at 2.94 grams gold from 507.6 metres depth in Northwest Dolphin.
With its balance sheet, Freegold closed a $50-million financing in January with backing from more than 20 institutions and continued support from Eric Sprott. That funding should carry the company through more drilling, engineering and metallurgical work as it pushes Golden Summit towards the next study stage.
The company is focused on improving metallurgy at Golden Summit as well, with test work delivering recoveries above 90% through biological oxidation, pressure oxidation and Albion routes. Testing Dundee Sustainable Technologies’ (CSE: DST) GlassLock solution has pointed to higher concentrate grades and lower arsenic, which may help direct-to-smelter sales.
The company targets the release of a prefeasibility study for Golden Summit in early 2027.
Freegold Ventures has a market cap of about C$734 million.
Kootenay Silver
Kootenay Silver (TSXV: KTN; US-OTC: KOOYF) has two irons in the fire in Chihuahua, Mexico, where the early-stage Columba project is a resource growth story and the La Cigarra project advances towards an initial economic assessment.
Kootenay released a high-grade underground resource for Columba in June last year, underpinning expanded drilling this year. Columba hosts 5.92 million inferred tonnes grading 284 grams silver, 0.19% lead and 0.5% zinc for 54.1 million oz. silver, plus 25.2 million lb. lead and 65.6 million lb. zinc. The estimate covers 17 epithermal veins at a 150-gram silver cut-off grade. Columba is about 1,200 km north of Mexico City.
In March, Kootenay said its staged Columba program had reached about 17,000 metres with 24 holes reported. A February financing helped it expand the campaign to 60,000 metres.
Recent Lupe vein results returned 10 metres grading 503 grams silver, 0.1% lead and 0.6% zinc from 372 metres depth in hole CDH-25-233. That included 9.8 metres at 319 grams silver, 0.1% lead and 0.6% zinc from 423. 7 metres downhole. The company has started 3-D induced polarization and audio-magnetotelluric surveys to help trace extensions beyond the current resource shapes.
La Cigarra covers a trend traced for about 9 km, 26 km from Parral with road access and nearby power. Its January 2024 resource outlines 15.73 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 102 grams silver, 0.07 gram gold, 0.16% lead and 0.21% zinc for 51.57 million oz. silver, plus 3.37 million inferred tonnes at 102 grams silver for 11 million ounces.
Kootenay began work on its PEA in January and expects it will be completed this quarter.
A bought-deal financing for C$18 million in February loosened Kootenay from the tight financial position it was in a year ago. That fundraising as well as existing cash and warrant exercises is expected to support the next 18 to 24 months, Kootenay said in March.
The company now has room to keep drilling Columba while advancing La Cigarra. Even so, the investment case still rests on work ahead: converting Columba’s inferred ounces into more reliable categories and showing, through the La Cigarra study, whether one of its Chihuahua deposits can support a mine.
Kootenay Silver has a market cap of about C$171 million.
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