Juniors on the Move as Silver Hits US$85/oz

*Disseminated on behalf of Fortune Minerals, DLP Resources, Panoro Minerals, South Star Battery Metals, Olympia Financial, Zepp Health, Skyharbour Resources, Silver X Mining, First Phosphate, and Southern Silver. See the bottom of this report for other important disclosures.

Silver juniors dominated headlines last week as silver soared to a fresh record high of US$85/oz, up from just US$26/oz a year ago. Other notable news included a promising product pipeline from a global smartwatch maker, and encouraging updates from phosphate and uranium juniors.

Cobalt-gold junior Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT) led our Top Picks last week, rising 22%. Over the past year, our Top Picks have returned an average of 86%, outperforming the benchmark’s 81% gain. Visit our website to view our full list of Top Picks by sector.

*Past performance is not indicative of future performance.

Analyst Comment:

Q4 production rose 18% QoQ to 197 Koz silver equivalent (AgEq), driven by higher processing rate, bringing full-year production to 812 Koz, almost exactly in line with our estimate of 811 Koz. This was particularly welcome after Q3 production had fallen short of expectations. AGX has surged 423% YoY, outperforming the Junior Silver Miners ETF (+219%), supported by a 204% YoY increase in silver prices. In 2026, the company plans to double its processing rate from 500 tpd to ~1,000 tpd by mid-year, supported by US$5M in CAPEX.

Analyst Comment:

SSV is up 353% YoY, driven by record silver prices and promising drill results. Ongoing drilling on the recently acquired Puro Corazon claim continues to intersect near-surface, high-grade silver-lead-zinc mineralization, including 10.4 m of 743 g/t AgEq, and 7.3 m of 305 g/t, compared with typical grades of 100-300 g/t for similar projects. SSV plans to incorporate these results into an updated resource estimate, and an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA). CLM hosts a large silver-rich polymetallic resource totaling 303 Moz AgEq, with relatively high-grade silver. A 2024 PEA reported an after-tax NPV5% of US$931M at US$32/oz silver (current spot: US$86/oz). SSV is trading at just 24% of its NPV based on US$32/oz silver, highlighting substantial upside potential.

Analyst Comment:

One of PHOS’s offtake partners has made an initial payment of US$0.53M, which we view as a strong vote of confidence in the company. PHOS is completing a 30,000 m drill program, to be followed by an updated resource estimate, and a feasibility study. PHOS is up 127% since we initiated coverage in July 2025, driven by both company-specific advancements, and sector developments. Sector catalysts include the recent addition of phosphate to the U.S. Critical Minerals list, and China’s export controls on cathode active material (CAM) for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.

Analyst Comment:

SYH has staked 40 new prospective uranium exploration claims in northern Saskatchewan, increasing its total land position to 662,887 hectares across 43 projects, making it one of the largest portfolios among uranium juniors in the Athabasca Basin. The company recently formed a joint venture with Denison Mines (TSX: DML) to advance its Russell Lake uranium project. Option partners are actively advancing their projects, and could commit up to $76M for exploration, and $42M in cash/share payments to SYH.

Analyst Comment:

Last week, Zepp Health attended CES 2026 in Las Vegas, one of the world’s largest tech shows, where it unveiled new products and upcoming concepts. As we noted last week, Zepp’s latest launch includes the Amazfit Active Max, a mid-tier, fitness-focused smartwatch that competes with budget- to mid-range offerings from Fitbit (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Garmin (NYSE: GRMN), and Samsung (KOSE: 005930). Zepp also showcased new concepts, including a food camera that tracks meals and links them to training and recovery, and smart glasses that display pace, heart rate, and navigation in a runner’s view for safer, hands-free workouts. While no other major wearables company currently offers these products, we note that they may be developing similar features. The key takeaway is that Zepp is actively innovating to stay ahead.

FRC Top Picks

The table below highlights last week’s top five performers from our Top Picks. The best performer was Fortune Minerals Limited (TSX: FT), which rose 22%. The company owns North America’s largest primary cobalt deposit, the world’s largest bismuth deposit, and a significant gold resource, highlighting its potential strategic role in the North American critical mineral supply chain. The U.S., EU, and Canada have identified cobalt and bismuth as critical minerals. FT is focused on advancing its project toward a construction decision, project financing, and offtake agreements. Our top picks have outperformed the benchmark (TSXV) in five out of seven time periods listed below.