Silver saw strong gains in 2024, breaching the US$32 mark in the first half of the year and then the US$34 mark in October.
Silver’s dual function as a monetary and industrial metal offers great upside. Demand from energy transition sectors, especially for its use in the production of solar panels, has created tight supply-and-demand forces.
Demand is already outpacing mine supply, making for a positive situation for silver-producing companies and their investors.
How has silver’s price movement benefited Canadian silver stocks on the TSX, TSXV and CSE? The five companies listed below have seen the best performances since the start of the year.
Data was gathered using TradingView’s stock screener on December 10, 2024, and all companies listed had market caps over C$10 million at that time.
1. Pantera Silver (TSXV:PNTR)
Year-to-date gain: 244.44 percent
Market cap: C$13.14 million
Share price: C$0.31
Pantera Silver is a precious metals exploration and development company focused on its Nuevo Taxco silver-gold project located near Mexico City, Mexico.
The company signed an earn-in agreement with Impact Silver (TSX:IPT) for the 1,100 hectare property in October 2020. Though limited exploration has been carried out on the property, work done by Impact in 2013 identified 21 silver bearing veins. Of the 395 rock samples collected at that time, three contained grades of over 1,000 g/t silver. In its own drill program carried out in 2022, Pantera highlighted assay results of up to 225 g/t silver from 1.85 meters.
On October 20, Pantera provided a corporate update and was looking at various options to restart exploration work that had previously been paused at Nuevo Taxco. In the announcement, Pantera said it was expecting to begin work in Q3 2024 and would be focusing on sampling and mapping the Southwest Zone of the project. The company has not provided any further updates regarding exploration work at Nuevo Taxco.
The most recent news from Pantera came on December 3 when it announced it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 100 percent stake in the Rakanco project. The property is composed of three mineral claims covering an area of 17,975 hectares in southwest Bolivia.
Shares in Pantera reached a year-to-date high of C$0.46 on October 22 alongside a surging silver price.
2. Gatos Silver (TSX:GATO)
Year-to-date gain: 166.86 percent
Market cap: C$1.62 billion
Share price: C$22.87
Gatos Silver is a silver-focused production and exploration company. Its flagship asset is the Cerro Los Gatos mine and district, located south of Chihuahua City, Mexico.
The site consists of 14 predominantly silver, lead and zinc mineralization zones, and is a joint venture with Dowa Metals and Mining, which holds a 30 percent stake in the operation; Gatos owns the remaining 70 percent.
On February 21, the company released its full-year results for 2023, indicating it had produced 9.2 million ounces of silver, marking a decline from the 10.3 million ounces produced in 2022. However, the company said it improved operational efficiencies to offset inflationary pressure, lowering all-in-sustaining costs (AISC) to the lower end of 2023 guidance.
In the release, Gatos also notes that it expects similar production totals for 2024, with guidance of 8.4 million to 9.2 million ounces of silver at an AISC of US$9.50 to US$11.50 per payable ounce. The company said it anticipates that exploration efforts at the South-East Deeps target will further extend the life of the mine.
On July 23, Gatos reported an update on regional exploration programs. Drilling at the South East Deeps zone extension resulted in a highlight of 214 g/t silver over 3.5 meters.
Additionally, results from its ongoing drilling at the Portigueño target included a highlight of 49 g/t silver over 1.6 meters, and results from two holes testing the depth of the San Luis target produced a highlighted intercept more than 150 meters below surface of 66 g/t silver over 8.9 meters, including 111 g/t silver over 2.5 meters.
On September 5, Gatos announced it had entered into a definitive merger agreement in which it will be acquired by First Majestic Silver (TSX:AG,NYSE:AG). Under the terms of the deal, Gatos shareholders will receive 2.44 common shares of First Majestic for each share of Gatos held at a price of US$13.49 based on the closing price of First Majestic on the NYSE on September 4, 2024. The transaction sets the total equity value of Gatos at US$970 million. The merger is expected to be completed in early 2025.
In a Q3 production update on October 9, Gatos reported its silver equivalent production in Q3 increased 11 percent year over year. Additionally, through the first nine months of 2024, Gatos produced 7.1 million ounces of silver, up from 6.65 million ounces in the same period in 2023.
The higher figures allowed the company to increase guidance for 2024 to 9.2 million to 9.7 million ounces of silver from its original guidance of 8.4 million to 9.2 million ounces.
In a follow-up on November 11, the company released its Q3 financial and operating results, which stated earnings per share had increased 200 percent to C$0.14 from C$0.05 and that net income had increased to C$9.9 million from C$3.3 million from the same period in 2023.
Shares in Gatos Silver reached a year-to-date high of C$27.85 on October 29.
3. GR Silver Mining (TSXV:GRSL)
Year-to-date gain: 156.25 percent
Market cap: C$68.17 million
Share price: C$0.205
GR Silver Mining is a small-cap explorer and developer that is working to advance its Rosario Mining District in Sinaloa, Mexico, to production. The district consists of three core mining areas: Plomosas, San Marcial and La Trinidad.
The company’s primary focus has been the development of Plomosas and neighboring San Marcial, a 9,764 hectare land package that hosts a past-producing silver, gold, lead and zinc underground mine.
In March 2023, the company released an updated resource estimate for Plomosas showing total indicated resources of 97 million silver equivalent ounces, with additional inferred resources of 53 million silver equivalent ounces.
Shares of GR Silver saw significant gains in the first quarter alongside a rising silver price and a March 4 announcement that GR started small bulk sampling and test mining at Plomosas.
The company provided results from the sampling program in an update on June 27. In the report, GR Silver said it had completed 280 meters of underground development and processed 15,170 metric tons of material. Silver recovery rates from the samples were between 84 and 92 percent. Assays from channel sampling produced high grades, with one sample grading 1,625 grams per metric ton (g/t) silver and 14.1 g/t gold over 2.5 meters.
On July 17, GR announced that it had completed its sale of Marlin Gold Mining to a private, arm’s-length company active in Mexico. Under the terms of the agreement, GR will receive a 0.5 percent net smelter royalty on the concessions owned by Marlin subsidiary Oro Gold and a 10-year first right of refusal on any disposition of the concessions.
Since then, the company has spent time fundraising. Its most recent news came on September 27, when GR announced it had closed an oversubscribed private placement for C$2.37 million. The company said it intends to use the proceeds toward exploration activities at its Plomosas project.
GR Silver’s share price reached a year-to-date high of C$0.295 on October 23.
4. Andean Precious Metals (TSX:APM)
Year-to-date gain: 132.79 percent
Market cap: C$219.56 million
Share price: C$1.42
Andean Precious Metals is a silver focused mining company with a pair of operating assets in the Amercias.
Its primary silver producing operation is the San Bartolome mine in the Potosi Department of Bolivia. The onsite processing facility has an annual ore capacity of 1.8 million metric tons. A September 2023 mineral reserve statement demonstrated proven and probable quantites of silver at 6.85 million ounces from 21.01 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 10.15 g/t.
Its other producing asset is the Golden Queen mine in Kern County, California, United States. It hosts a 12,000 metric ton per day cyanide heap leach and Merril-Crowe processing facility. The mineral reserve statement shows measured and indicated silver values at 11.24 million ounces from 41.81 million metric tons with an average grade of 8.37 g/t.
The company acquired Golden Queen from Auvergne Umbrella in November 2023 for total considerations of US$15 million.
On November 11, the company released its third-quarter 2024 operating and financial results. In the report, the company stated that during the first nine months of the year, it had produced 2.98 million ounces of silver at San Bartolomé, an 11 percent reduction from 2023. However, this was offset by production at Golden Queen, which generated 395,000 ounces of silver.
The most recent news from Andean came on December 5, when it announced it had received approval to be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (INDEXTSI:OSPTX). The company says the move reflects its commitment to delivering shareholder value and will enhance Andean’s visibility and ability to broaden its investor base.
Andean shares have positive momentum all year but saw their biggest increase alongside a surge in silver and gold prices in September and into October. It reached its year-to-date high of C$2.10 on October 22, the same day Silver saw its highest price of the year.
5. Endeavour Silver (TSX:EDR)
Year-to-date gain: 129.66 percent
Market cap: C$1.49 billion
Share price: C$6.04
Endeavour Silver is a silver company with two operating silver-gold mines in Mexico — Guanaceví and Bolañitos — plus the advanced-stage Terronera development project and several exploration properties.
Its primary focus for 2024 has been its Terronera project in Jalisco, Mexico, which is under construction. Once complete, the new mine will become the company’s flagship operation. According to a 2023 update to its 2021 feasibility report, Terronera will produce an estimated 4 million ounces of silver per year over a 10 year mine life.
On July 24, Endeavour announced that construction at the site had progressed, with surface construction achieving 77 percent completion. The company said it should be ready for dry commissioning during Q3 2024 and that final earthworks and concrete pouring were also expected to take place during the third quarter.
Endeavour reported on August 19 that, following a failure that occurred at the primary ball mill trunnion on August 12, it had resumed processing at its Guanacevi mine site. However, the company noted that its processing capacity would be halved during a ramp up with temporary modifications. At the time, it stated that permanent repairs to return to regular capacity should take 16 weeks for fabrication and installation.
The company estimated that silver production for the year would be 900,000 to 1.1 million ounces lower than previous guidance due to this.
In Endeavour’s Q3 production results released on October 8, the company said the failure and temporary fix had reduced throughput at the mill to 565 metric tons per day, resulting in production of 847,717 ounces of silver, a decrease of 24 percent compared to Q3 2023. For the first nine months of the year, Endeavour produced 3.65 million ounces of silver, 15 percent lower year-over-year.
Endeavour expects Guanacevi to be back to full operations in December.
In a release on October 21, Endeavour provided a construction update from Terronera indicating that it reached 77 percent completion. The company said it is on track to begin commissioning near the end of Q4.
Shares of Endeavour reached a year-to-date high of C$7.62 on October 29.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.