Precious metals snapshot: Eight companies in pursuit of gold and silver

Gold and silver have played an important economic and social role in human civilization for thousands of years. Coveted for their rarity and high value, gold and silver are also viewed as a safe investment during times of economic uncertainty and geopolitical tension. Here are eight companies searching for these precious metals across the globe.

Dolly Varden Silver

Dolly Varden Silver (TSXV: DV; US-OTC: DOLLF) is focused on advancing its Kitsault Valley silver-gold project located in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle. The 163-sq.-km project hosts seven deposits, all within 10 km of each other, including the past-producing Dolly Varden and Torbrit silver mines. 

The junior acquired the Homestake Ridge resource from Fury Gold Mines (TSX: FURY; NYSE: FURY) and combined it with its Dolly Varden resource to create Kitsault Valley in 2022. The consolidated project.

Dolly Varden hosts 3.4 million indicated tonnes grading 299.8 grams silver per tonne (32.9 million oz.), and the resource totals 1.3 million inferred tonnes grading 277 grams silver (11.4 million ounces). Homestake Ridge hosts 736,000 indicated tonnes grading 7.02 grams gold and 74.8 grams silver, plus 5.6 million tonnes at 4.58 grams gold and 100 grams silver.

In February, Dolly Varden discovered a new, gold-rich zone northwest of its Homestake Silver deposit, in between it and the Homestake Main deposit at the Homestake project.

Highlights of step-out drilling included 12.5 metres of 79.49 grams gold and 60 grams silver per tonne in hole HR23-389. The interval included a 0.7-metre section grading 1,335 grams gold and 781 gram silver. Hole 399 cut 57.7 metres grading 2.68 grams gold and 20 grams silver, including 1 metre of 43.1 grams gold and 66 grams silver and 1.7 metres of 40.33 grams gold and 418 grams silver.

Other results released in January, from the 2023 drill program at Homestake Silver included hole HR23-419, which cut 79.2 metres grading 2.57 grams gold per tonne and 102 grams silver from 306.4 metres. Included were sub-intervals of 9.2 metres grading 9.53 grams gold and 718 grams silver, and 1.1 metres at 36.7 grams gold and 4,533 grams silver. The company completed a 23-hole, 12,150-metre program at the deposit last year.

Drilling identified notable grades over wide, continuous intervals that may be suitable for bulk underground mining methods, said CEO Shawn Khunkhun in a release.

In November, Dolly Varden closed a $10-million investment from Hecla Mining (NYSE: HL), increasing the silver miner’s stake in the company to 15.7% from 10.6%.

Dolly Varden Silver has a market cap of $181.1 million.

Golden Shield Resources

Vancouver-based Golden Shield Resources (CSE: GSRI; US-OTC: GSRFF) has started a 3,000-metre diamond drill program at its flagship Marudi Mountain project in Guyana.

Work at the Pancake Creek target will focus on expanding the depth and extent of near-surface high-grade gold that was discovered at the bottom of hole PC-23-RC108 and in hole PC-23-RC109 during the company’s 2023 reverse-circulation (RC) drilling program. Together, they represent the longest continuous gold mineralized intercept from this campaign.

Reported in January, hole PC-23-RC109 cut 20 metres grading 1.45 grams gold from 10 metres, including 6 metres of 2.37 grams gold.

Drilling at Mazoa Hill got off to a slow start with Golden Shield halting its first diamond-drill drill hole at 417 metres depth after it veered too far eastward.

Previous results from Mazoa Hill include 50 metres grading 9.1 grams gold in hole MH-21-04 and 9.8 metres grading 11.9 grams gold in hole MH-21-03.

Golden Shield is planning a new hole to test the vertical depth at Mazoa Hill once the work at Pancake Creek is complete.

The company’s other projects include Arakaka and Fish Creek, both located about 170 km northwest of Guyana’s capital, Georgetown.

Golden Shield has a market cap of $8.3 million.

Great Pacific Gold 

Vancouver-based Great Pacific Gold (TSX: GPAC; US-OTC: FSXLF) holds a total land package in Australia and Papua New Guinea totalling 3,100 sq. km.

In December, Great Pacific announced a high-grade gold discovery at the Comet prospect, part of its wholly owned Lauriston project in Victoria. RC drilling returned 5 metres of 166.3 grams gold per tonne starting from 95 metres, including 2 metres grading 413 grams gold. The project is located south of Agnico Eagle Mines’ Fosterville mine.

Assay results reported the following month for the alteration halo surrounding this mineralized zone extended the intercept to 8 metres grading 106 grams gold.

The company has so far drilled 15 RC holes totalling 1,434 metres at Comet, which has a strike length of about 1 km.

Great Pacific will also begin work at its Kesar Creek project in PNG, after received an exploration permit last November. The licence covers the entire project and will be in effect until Oct. 30, 2025. Exploration work will comprise geochemical sampling to establish target areas for an upcoming drill program.

In September, Great Pacific reported the acquisition of Wild Dog Resources from which it inherited Kesar Creek, Arau and Wild Dog. The company’s Australian portfolio also includes Providence Gold, and the Walhalla Belt, Golden Mountain, and Beechworth projects.

Great Pacific Gold has a market cap of $61.4 million.

Labrador Gold 

Toronto-headquartered Labrador Gold (TSXV: LAB; US-OTC: NKOSF) is focused on advancing its flagship Kingsway project located 16 km northwest of Gander, N.L.

In January, Labrador reported results from its fullyfunded, 100,000-metre diamond drill program targeting the Appleton Fault Zone. Hole K-23-334 was the first one drilled at the HM occurrence and cut 55.9 metres grading 0.87 gram gold per tonne from 8.7 metres, including 3.2 metres of 11.56 grams gold.

“This new occurrence… continues to demonstrate the significant prospectivity of the area around the Appleton Fault Zone at Kingsway,” president and CEO Roger Moss said in a release.

Over the past two years, Labrador has identified seven gold occurrences, including Knobby, discovered in August 2023, and Big Vein, which returned grades of 44.08 grams gold over 4.3 metres and 6.08 grams gold over 19 metres.

“With a total strike length of approximately 12 km across the property, we are optimistic that more occurrences will be uncovered going forward,” Moss added.

Kingsway is accessible by road and comprises 264 claims across 77 sq. km.

The company’s other projects include Hopedale, which covers the Florence Lake greenstone belt near the community of Hopedale in Labrador, and the Borden Lake extension located 16 km east of Chapleau, Ont.

Labrador Gold has a market cap of $23 million.

Minera Alamos

Minera Alamos (TSXV: MAI; US-OTC: MAIFF) is a gold developer and producer with three main assets in Mexico.

In October, the company announced an initial NI 43-101-compliant resource estimate for its Santana mine located in Sonora state. It hosts 9.6 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.65 gram gold per tonne for 198,000 oz. gold. Inferred resources total 5.5 million tonnes grading 0.58 gram gold for 103,000 ounces.

The company poured its first gold at the open-pit mine in October 2021, after making a production decision based on historical resources. Through Sept. 30, 2023, it has recovered 14,720 oz. gold. Revenue from gold sold during the first nine months of 2023 totalled $11.6 million.

Exploration at Santana is ongoing at the Benjamin target and drill results are pending. 

In northern Zacatecas state, Minera Alamos is advancing its Cerro de Oro project. The company said in October that it expects to begin mine construction this year, thanks to $25 million in financing from Auramet International, one of the world’s largest precious metals merchants. The deal consists of a $15-million loan facility over three years and $10 million in royalties.

Minera Alamos is planning additional drilling at Cerro de Oro to further define the known gold resources and zones for expansion. 

The company also has federal permits in hand for its wholly-owned La Fortuna project in Durango state. A July 2018 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the project outlined a five-year mine life with average annual production of 43,000 oz. of gold, 220,000 oz. of silver, and 1,000 tonnes of copper. The post-tax net present value (using a 7.5% discount) was estimated at US$69.8 million and the internal rate of return at 93%. The payback period is pegged at 11 months (after tax).

Minera Alamos has a market cap of $132.3 million.

Reunion Gold

Based out of Longueuil, Que., Reunion Gold (TSXV: RGD; US-OTC: RGDFF) is exploring and developing its 100%-owned Oko West project in Guyana.

The project contains 41.8 million indicated tonnes grading 1.84 grams gold per tonne for 2.5 million oz., according to a June 2023 initial pit-constrained resource. Inferred resources add 27.1 million tonnes grading 2.02 grams gold for 1.8 million ounces.

Results from Reunion’s current deep drill expansion program indicate that a high-grade zone inside Block 4 continues to a depth of at least 1,000 metres and is open below, said president and CEO Rick Howes in a December release.

Highlights of the most recent batch of drilling, released in February, included 50.1 metres of 4.1 grams gold from 1,039.8 metres (using a 0.3 gram gold per tonne cutoff), including 14.3 metres of 8.84 grams gold, and 10.5 metres of 6.09 grams gold (using a 1.5 gram gold cutoff) in hole D-360A-W2. Hole D-359-W1 and 83.5 metres of 3.06 grams gold from 721.5 metres, including 24.4 metres of 7.8 grams gold.

A PEA is scheduled for this year’s second quarter, and will include an updated pit-constrained resource in the area above 500 metres and an initial resource for the area below to a depth of 1,000 metres. It will also look into the potential for a combined open pit and underground mining operation.

With $82 million in cash as of Sept. 30, Reunion says permitting is progressing as planned. The company expects it could begin construction at Oko West in 2025 and production in 2027.

Reunion Gold has a market cap of $398 million.

Seabridge Gold

Seabridge Gold (TSX: SEA; NYSE: SA) is advancing its 100%-owned KSM and Iskut projects in British Columbia’s Golden Triangle.

In February, the company reported an updated resource estimate for two deposits at KSM. The Kerr deposit hosts open pit and block cave resources of 384.2 million tonnes grading 0.22 gram gold per tonne, 0.41% copper, 1.2 grams silver, and 5 parts per million (ppm) molybdenum in the indicated category. Inferred resources add 2.6 billion tonnes grading 0.27 gram gold, 0.35% copper, 1.7 grams silver, and 21 ppm molybdenum.

Iron Cap hosts block cave indicated resources of 471 million tonnes grading 0.38 gram gold, 0.21% copper, 4.3 grams silver, and 39 ppm molybdenum. Inferred resources add 2.3 billion tonnes grading 0.41 gram gold, 0.27% copper, 2.5 grams silver, and 31 ppm molybdenum.

According to Seabridge, KSM has the third largest undeveloped copper resource in the world as well as the largest gold resource. Since 2021, $444 million has been spent on early construction work, including building roads and hydroelectric power infrastructure.

In December, Seabridge reported discovering a new copper-gold porphyry mineral target at Iskut’s Snip North target during the 2023 drill program.

It also reported promising results from drill at the Bronson Slope copper-gold deposit at Iskut. The campaign, which was designed to test the deposit’s expansion potential and test at depth for its source, confirmed broad zones of sericite-pyrite-carbonate alteration associated with continuous low-grade gold.

Following these results, Seabridge is planning an intensive deeper drill program this year as it searches for the source porphyry of an unusually large breccia zone discovered in 2022 that could expand the Bronson Slope resource.

Ranked among the world’s top 10 companies in gold reserves, Seabridge’s portfolio also includes the Courageous Lake project in the Northwest Territories, 3 Aces in the Yukon, and Snowstorm in Nevada’s Getchell gold belt.

Seabridge Gold has a market cap of $1.2 billion.

Wallbridge Mining 

Quebec-focused explorer Wallbridge Mining (TSX: WM; US-OTC: WLBMF) is looking for gold along the Detour-Fenelon gold trend in the province’s Abitibi greenstone belt.

A fully funded 2024 exploration program is underway and will comprise 23,000 metres of drilling on its 830-sq.-km land package — 5,000 metres at its flagship Fenelon project located 75 km west-northwest of the town of Matagami and 13,000 metres at Martiniere, located 150 km north of Amos. Another 5,000 metres will be dedicated to regional grassroots exploration.

Wallbridge’s main goal “is to advance and de-risk Martiniere and test a number of targets within or near the Fenelon deposit footprint, with the primary objective of finding additional near surface gold mineralization to potentially improve the economics of the project,” vice-president of exploration Attila Péntek said in a release.

The Fenelon and Martiniere projects host a combined 30.7 million indicated tonnes grading 3.09 grams gold per tonne for 3.1 million oz. Inferred resources add 24.7 million tonnes grading 2.96 grams gold for 2.4 million ounces.

A PEA for Fenelon released last June outlined annual gold output of 212,000 oz. over a 12.3-year mine life. Interim president and CEO Brian Penny described the positive assessment as “only the beginning of the story” in a release.

The Lively, Ont.-based company is working toward a combined PEA of the two projects to take place in early 2026.

Wallbridge’s portfolio consists of eight other projects in the early to advanced exploration stages, including Grasset, where the company intersected gold in 60% of drill holes during the inaugural program in 2023. Wallbridge Mining has a market cap of $81.3 million.