Metals Pullback, Financings & Key Updates from AI and Resource Companies

AGX’s share price has pulled back with silver, but the stock is still up 453% YoY, outperforming the Junior Silver Miners ETF (+180%), and making it one of our top performers. The current financing will fund project development and working capital. In 2025, AGX produced 0.8 Moz of silver equivalent, and aims to ramp up to 6 Moz per year within two-three years, highlighting strong growth potential.

DMET’s 22%-owned joint venture that owns the Aguablanca nickel project in Spain is raising funds to potentially restart production by Q4 2026. This is Spain’s only nickel mine and is recognized by the EU as a strategic project. The company is also ramping up gold and silver production at its 100%-owned Zancudo project in Colombia. By year-end, we believe DMET will become a producer with two operating mines. This shift from developer to producer is important, as producers generally command higher valuations than developers in the mining industry.

Drilling at the newly acquired Puro Corazon claim keeps finding very high-grade silver, lead, and zinc, including 15 m at 581 g/t AgEq, and a tiny but huge 0.5 m at 1,994 g/t, much higher than normal for similar projects. Higher grades typically mean the project could produce more metal at lower costs. Once all results are in, the company will update its resource estimate and economic study (PEA), including the new claim. So far, results suggest a longer mine life, and stronger project economics, making the project potentially more valuable than previously expected.

This financing follows a promising drill program recently completed at ROCK’s flagship Contact Lake gold project in Saskatchewan, which suggests the deposit may be larger than previously thought. A follow-up drill program is now underway. Since we started covering ROCK in May 2025, the stock is up 359%.

NPR released results from six drill holes at two areas, Wabash and Industry Tunnel. Results at Wabash were encouraging, with two holes finding gold over long distances at grades comparable to operating Nevada gold mines. These results suggest the gold is spread across a large area, not just narrow veins, increasing the potential for a large-scale mine. Results at Industry Tunnel were disappointing, as none of the four holes returned meaningful mineralization.

Prospect Mountain is a past-producing gold-silver-lead project in Nevada’s Eureka district, located next to projects held by larger mining companies. In mining, proximity to major players matters, as a successful discovery could make the project an attractive acquisition target.

The company had raised $0.42M via an equity financing last month. Together with the latest financing, we believe the company is gearing up to restart exploration activities. NVX’s portfolio includes 12 projects in Nevada, and one in Switzerland. We anticipate management will disclose details regarding their upcoming plans for its flagship projects shortly.

We have commenced due diligence on ARQ and plan to initiate coverage in the coming weeks. A key differentiator is that Argo offers rare exposure to gold, oil, and uranium, a combination uncommon among junior resource companies. All three commodities are in focus at the moment.  Gold is near all time highs despite a recent pullback, oil is in focus due to geopolitical events, and uranium is increasingly being looked at in order to power AI data centers.

The company is focused on high-grade exploration-stage gold projects in Ontario and Saskatchewan, oil production in Alberta, and uranium claims in the Athabasca Basin.

Argo generates approximately $1.2M in net operating cash flow annually from its Alberta oil production, which management plans to use to fund exploration across its gold assets, avoiding the significant equity dilution typical of junior miners. An independent third-party valuation of the oil assets is $16M (NPV 10%), while Argo currently trades at a market cap of $8M, suggesting the market undervalues its oil assets, and entirely ignores its gold and uranium projects.

Among its gold holdings, the Uchi Gold Project is located near First Mining Gold’s (MCAP: $920M) Springpole deposit, one of Canada’s largest undeveloped open-pit gold deposits. Proximity to major players is important, as a successful discovery could make the project an attractive acquisition target. Uchi hosts 0.4 Moz of gold at a high grade of 0.5 opt, making it attractive to acquirers seeking to expand portfolios at lower extraction costs. At current valuations for gold juniors (~$80/oz), we estimate Uchi’s contained gold could be worth $32M, yet the market appears to assign it almost no value.

We have commenced due diligence on FMS and plan to initiate coverage in the coming weeks. The company aims to become a key supplier of graphite for battery anode materials in North America, used in lithium-ion batteries for EVs and energy storage systems. The U.S. imports 100% of its graphite consumption, and has designated it a critical mineral, highlighting the need for North American production.

FMS is advancing two high-grade flake graphite projects in Quebec: Lac Knife and Tétépisca. The advanced-stage Lac Knife project is among the highest-grade graphite deposits globally, averaging 15% Cg, well above typical deposits of 3–8% Cg. Higher grades mean more graphite can be produced at lower cost with less environmental impact. The project also benefits from accessibility in a mining-friendly region. A 2023 economic study (feasibility) suggests the project could produce for over 25 years, with an after-tax NPV8% of $286M, yet FMS’s current market cap of $44M implies it is trading at just ~15% of this value. On a per-tonne basis, we estimate FMS is trading at $8/t of graphite resource vs ~$32/t for comparable projects, highlighting significant market undervaluation.

Additionally, FMS owns a patent for an early-stage silicon-enhanced graphite anode technology, which could potentially increase EV driving range by 15–20% compared with standard batteries. In December 2025, FMS secured $14M in non-dilutive funding from the Canadian government, enabling technology advancement without diluting shareholders.

We have commenced due diligence on NINE and plan to initiate coverage in the coming weeks. The company owns four critical mineral projects located in New Brunswick’s Bathurst mining camp, one of the world’s richest concentrations of volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits, known for hosting long-lasting operations with copper, silver, zinc, lead, and gold.

A key differentiator is that NINE is a relatively new, under-the-radar company. The company’s Nine Mile Brook project lies 10 km west of the past-producing Brunswick No. 12 mine, one of the largest and longest-running underground zinc mines globally. Proximity to a world-class deposit reduces exploration risk, and allows the company to leverage existing infrastructure such as roads, power, and processing facilities. Exploration has returned bonanza grades of up to 10.12% copper, 11.93% zinc, and 283 g/t silver, far above typical comparable deposits.

Another project is a former copper-lead-zinc producer, which is advantageous as past-producing sites are generally easier to advance than greenfield projects. Prior studies suggest the project may contain 38 Mlbs copper equivalent. While modest in size and historic/non-compliant, we estimate the contained metals could be worth approximately US$215M at current prices, excluding extraction and processing costs. By comparison, NINE’s market cap is just US$24M.

The company recently raised $5M, and is well-positioned to aggressively advance its projects, offering exposure to potential upside from early-stage exploration.

RD operates an AI-powered digital health platform, connecting physicians and patients virtually. The company has been active in Canada since 2020, and recently expanded into the U.S. Its new contract with a major U.S. insurer adds 175,000 members in California, bringing total reach to over 13M members (patients) in the U.S. Revenue comes mainly from doctor subscriptions and per-appointment fees, and the platform is designed to support millions of appointments annually with thousands of doctors. The latest expansion reflects RD’s strategy of growing its network through insurer partnerships to access a larger patient base.