While investors continue to turn to precious metals as a safe-haven within the current state of the market, silver has not managed to pick up the type of gains its sister metal, gold, has. While it managed to hit a high of US$17.54 on January 24, it declined more than 3 percent in Q1.
Many analysts and insiders believe that despite silver’s performance in the first three months of the year, a bull market might be around the corner for the gray metal. With that in mind, here we look at the best junior silver stocks making the most gains for the quarter.
The list below was generated on March 29, 2018 using the Globe and Mail’s market data filter, and it shows the TSXV-listed silver companies that have seen the biggest share price gains year-to-date. Only companies with market caps above $10 million as of that date are included.
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1. Minaurum Gold (TSXV:MGG)
Current price: C$0.57; year-to-date gain: 132.65 percent
Minaurum focuses on the exploration and development of high-grade gold and silver projects in the Southern Sonora State, Oaxaca-Chiapas Region and Guerrero Gold Belt.
The company had been credited with the discovery of over 200 million ounces of silver and 8 million ounces of gold in Mexico.
In January, the company released results from its ongoing drill program in the Alamos silver district in Sonora, Mexico which returned results of 1.2 meters grading 542 g/t (17 opt) silver.
“As only the second hole ever drilled outside of the historic core of the district, it confirms our “piano-key” structural model and opens the door for drilling throughout the nearly untouched down-dropped blocks located on both sides of the up-thrown La Quintera-Promontorio block. With these results, we have now encountered significant mineralization in every target drilled in our initial drill program,” said Stephen Maynard, vice president exploration of Minaurum.
The drill program also produced lead, zinc and copper results.
2. Hunt Mining (TSXV:HMX)
Current price: C$0.370; year-to-date gain: 23.33 percent
Hunt Mining is a precious metal exploration and development company with core projects located in the Santa Cruz Province of Argentina. Since its inception, the company corporation has drilled more than 62,000 meters of diamond core, conducted 416 line km of IP/Resistivity geophysical surveys and collected more than 20,000 surface chip, channel and trench samples.
Towards the end of January, Hunt Mining announced positive drill results from its Martha project in Argentina. A total of 19 holes were drilled, with highlighted results above 400 g/t.
By the end of February, six concentrate shipments from production at the Martha project were finalized and the company was able to positively revise its 2017 production summary, boosting an additional 20,049 silver and 31 additional ounces of gold back from the smelter. In addition to the improved ounces of silver and gold, the timing of when the corporation sold the ounces factored significantly and added for total increase US$634,076.
3. Aura Silver Resources (TSXV:AUU)
Current price: C$0.025; year-to-date gain: 25.00 percent
Aura Silver Resources is an exploration company engaged in the discovery of precious metal deposits with a focus on gold and silver.
Currently, Aura Silver has two significant precious metals projects – the Taviche project in Mexico and Greyhound project located in Nunavut, Canada.
In early February, the company announced that it had significant grab sample assay results taken over the past four year on the Greyhound project and results were up to 103 grams au per tonne.
Robert Boaz, director of Aura Silver, stated, “the Greyhound project hosts substantive potential for discovery of a gold/silver deposit given the extraordinary number of significant mineralized showings on the property. Each prospecting campaign conducted over the years has returned with further exciting samples of precious metal mineralization.”
4. Maya Gold & Silver (TSXV:MYA)
Current price: C$2.23; year-to-date gain: 26.70 percent
Maya Gold & Silver is an international mining and mineral exploration company with a growing number of precious and base metal properties in Morocco. These include past-producing mines and high-potential exploration properties.
At the beginning of January, Maya reported an impressive resource estimate for its Zgounder silver mine property.
By the beginning of March, the company released another Zgounder silver mine update that stated Maya had reached a highly mineralized pass identified in hole ZG-15-Ext-12 with a new 24 meter drift at the 2030 level. The hole had intersected 10 meters at 1098 g/t Ag.
5. Impact Silver (TSXV:IPT)
Current price: C$0.415; year-to-date gain: 18.57 percent
Impact silver operates two production centres within its 623 square kilometer claim package located in close proximity to Mexico City.
Currently, the company is carrying out a continuous three-part program of exploration, development and mine production.
In mid-January, Impact Silver reported h