Brian Wilkes
@BrianGoodner
Updated Silver miner rankings after I have done more extensive analysis comparing miners. After more research and looking at some more companies I will update with more comments.
Keep in mind, this is based on my risk profile, what kind of upside I want, etc. One could easily say Hecla, Couer, Pan American and First Majestic are the best ones to own (and for me, I own them all, but they have less upside..and less torque when Silver goes up).
Endeavor Silver (huge upside, moderate risk producer)
Aya Gold & Silver (huge upside lower risk producer)
Santacruz Silver (huge upside, moderate risk producer)
Avino Gold & Silver (huge upside, lower risk producer)
Viszla Silver (huge upside, moderately high risk late stage developer – production first half 2027)
– these next 3 are very close depending on what you are looking for
Discovery (considerable upside, huge Silver deposit they are developing and bought a producing Gold mine (Porcupine) from Newmont to help with financial position, moderate risk)
Silvercorp Metals (nice upside, but not as much as above lower risk producer, nice financial position)
America’s Gold & Silver (nice upside, though not as much as top 5, moderate risk producer)
Hycroft (enormous upside, but very volatile, very leveraged to Silver price even though they will be more of a Gold producer, 51 year mine life, but still early in development so that presents some risks. If you’ve owned this stock and watch the price action, it can really move, but it is volatile and has already gone up a lot).. in some ways, even though the project is in Nevada, I feel this is a risky play, and it’s not near producing at all. But I wouldn’t fault people for putting it anywhere in the rankings.)
Hecla – I used to have First Majestic higher but after my recent updated analysis I have to put this one spot higher. It’s just a low risk huge Silver producer. First Majestic is higher risk due to location.
First Majestic – I place this and Hecla higher than Couer and Pan American simply because I am more interested in Silver and those two are primarily Gold mines with about 30% Silver. Hecla and First Majestic are primarily Silver mines
Highlander (This will probably move up above Hecla, First Majestic and possibly Hycroft but I just started looking at it and did my first detailed analysis…but huge deposit, considerable upside, high Silver leverage)
Silverco – (This is a new add, so I may move it around the more I look at it, but I like it. Enormous upside. Restarting Cusi Silver mine in Mexico, starting production, ramping up in 27, relatively low historical AISC (in the mid $20 range. One big plus is it has huge insider backing. 38% by founders and 18% by Eric Sprott, I would normally say it is higher risk, but it’s more moderately high given it’s a restart and the huge insiders)
Guanajuato is one I think would be firmly in the top 10 if they didn’t have their recent high AISC in their results, but at the same time I understand their strategy of using Capex now to become more efficient and bring down the cost later as they incorporate the new mine purchased from Endeavor. Might as well get things running as cost efficient as possible while the Silver price is likely a lot lower than it will be a year from now.
My guess is that within 6 months, this jumps back up into the top 10, probably 7 or 8.
The next two that I would say I like, and much of the reason is because of their stock performance, is New Pacific Metals and Silver Storm. I need to analyze them both a little more closely to decide if they make top 15 for me. Same goes with Silver X and Silver One Resources.
And then I do have pretty good sized positions (for me) in Southern Silver and Honey Badger but Honey Badger is very high risk (though it does have backing by Eric Sprott and Rick Rule)..it’s a small market cap though so it can get kicked around in price. Southern Silver I had to buy because I think TheApeofGoldStreet knows his stuff, but I don’t personally have as high as conviction. I will say the price seems to move. But it’s an early developer and it does have decent upside, but at the same time they are looking for a JV deal, or possibly will get bought out, so that cools off the excitement a bit on that one.
My other holdings, in order of size are Blackrock, Silver Tiger, Silver Mountain, GoGold, Andean Silver, Kuya, Impact, Excellon.
I will likely pick back up GR Silver next, and then Apollo and Outcrop. I do also like Chesapeake and Skeena but they are only about 30% Silver, Chesapeake is years from production, but they do have enormous upside. Skeena is a little different. They are a junior near term producers which I like but they also don’t have near the upside of most all in my list except for Hecla and First Majestic. Their upside is not at the multiples I am looking for. And their stock price is near it’s high I believe. This obviously means it’s a strong company and probably a good core holding especially if you like Gold, given it’s 70% Gold.
I had dropped all those because I needed to rotate some funds, being fully allocated, and GR, Apollo, Outcrop, Aftermath and Chesapeake will not be in production until the 2030s (GR maybe more like 2029).
Well I think that’s all my miner analysis and work for the week. Feels like it was a lot. Have a great weekend everyone and after Labor Day volume should pick up on the markets which should help the Comex especially where Silver trading is thin, giving the banksters an easier time with manipulating it. Hopefully Silver and Gold start moving this month. I think it’s going to happen. Those call options from big money for Silver in October and Gold in December I think may be hinting at something….that someone in the know is positioning early.