Explorer Highlights Production Growth From Gold and Silver Royalties in Yukon

1. Metallic Minerals Corp. is a billboard sponsor of Streetwise Reports and pays SWR a monthly sponsorship fee between US$3,000 and US$6,000. In addition, Metallic Minerals Corp. has a consulting relationship with Street Smart an affiliate of Streetwise Reports. Street Smart Clients pay a monthly consulting fee between US$8,000 and US$20,000.
2. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Metallic Minerals Corp.
3. Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an employee.
4. This article does not constitute investment advice and is not a solicitation for any investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her personal financial adviser and perform their own comprehensive investment research. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company. 

For additional disclosures, please click here.

Metallic Minerals Corp. (MMG:TSX.V; MMNGF:OTCQB) provided an update on field activities across its gold and silver royalty portfolio in the Yukon, along with ongoing exploration efforts at its Keno Silver Project in central Yukon, in a news release October 8.

A separate update will soon be released regarding the company’s active exploration initiatives at its La Plata Copper-Silver-PGE-Gold Project in southwestern Colorado, the company said.

"Following the successful completion of CA$8 million in financings at the end of August — with strong participation from existing shareholders, management, the board, and strategic investors including Newmont Corporation — Metallic Minerals has launched a series of active exploration and development programs across its portfolio," Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Greg Johnson said. "These initiatives are designed to build on our near-term gold and silver production from Yukon alluvial royalties, while continuing to expand our copper, silver, and critical mineral resources at our flagship Keno Silver and La Plata copper-silver-PGE-gold projects."

Johnson continued, “We see the current metals market as an exceptional opportunity for investors. While large and mid-cap producers are trading at or near their all-time highs, many high-quality resource-stage companies — the foundation of future production growth — remain significantly undervalued. With gold, silver, and copper all demonstrating strong performance, Metallic Minerals' diversified U.S. and Canadian portfolio offers a rare combination of royalty income, production growth, and discovery potential heading into 2026."

According to the company, it is one of the largest holders of alluvial mining claims in the Yukon Territory. Metallic Minerals is also advancing a growing royalty portfolio through partnerships with experienced placer mining operators across its extensive holdings.

Now in its third consecutive year of gold production, Metallic Minerals expects record royalty revenues in 2025 from its Australia Creek operations and has recently signed an agreement with an additional operator to commence test mining at its nearby Dominion Creek property. Both areas lie within the heart of the historic Klondike Goldfields, which have produced more than 20 million ounces (Moz) of gold since the legendary 1898 gold rush.

The company also holds substantial alluvial claims in the Keno Hill silver district, overlapping its high-grade Keno Silver Project, where over 16,000 ounces of alluvial gold were produced from 2015 to 2021. Exploration programs launched in September at both Australia Creek and South Keno include drilling and geophysical surveys to define new zones of recoverable native gold and silver and to advance future royalty-based production from these large-scale alluvial systems, the company said.

Klondike Goldfields Properties

Metallic Minerals holds full ownership of 37.8 square kilometers of highly promising alluvial land along the Australia Creek and Dominion Creek drainages, located south of Dawson City, Yukon. Dominion Creek is a well-established gold-producing area, while Australia Creek is recognized by the Yukon Geological Survey as the eastern extension of the prolific Klondike Goldfields, the Yukon's largest placer gold-producing region, the release noted.

Although Australia Creek was historically not mined, serving instead as a crucial source of water and hydroelectric power for past dredging operations, recent drilling has uncovered gold-in-gravel grades comparable to the most productive areas of the Klondike, presenting a significant untapped royalty opportunity for the company.

At Australia Creek, with two royalty agreements currently in place, 2025 is set to be Metallic Minerals' longest and most productive mining season yet, the company said. Additional royalties are anticipated as operations expand across the broader property.

A 30-hole sonic drill program completed earlier this year extended known gold-bearing horizons beyond current pits, while a new 25-hole program and passive seismic surveys, initiated in September, are targeting additional mineralized zones for future production. The company is also finalizing new mining permits on its Australia and Melba Creek properties to support expansion. With elevated gold prices driving strong demand for production-ready ground, Metallic Minerals is well-positioned to capture additional royalty income through new operator agreements.

At Dominion Creek, Metallic Minerals said it has signed a new exploration agreement with an experienced operator to begin test mining and infrastructure development. Follow-up drilling and geophysical surveys are planned for late 2025 or early 2026 to support the next phase of expanded production and royalty growth in 2026.

South Keno Alluvial Properties

Metallic Minerals' fully owned 24.2-square-kilometer South Keno alluvial property is situated within the renowned Keno Hill silver district, overlapping with the company’s Keno Silver Project. This area is recognized for its coarse gold and thick, stacked gold horizons, presenting significant potential for large-scale placer mining operations. Current exploration activities include reverse circulation drilling, ground-based resistivity surveys, mapping, and sampling.

The program aims to expand known gold-bearing zones from adjacent up-valley operations and to facilitate new lease and royalty agreements in today’s strong gold-price environment, the company said

Preliminary drill results have confirmed the presence of economically viable gold values, while geophysical data are enhancing the understanding of subsurface stratigraphy and gold-hosting units. Based on these findings, Metallic Minerals said it anticipates additional drilling in early 2026 to further define resource potential.

Keno Silver Project Update, Yukon

In the Yukon Territory, Metallic Minerals has secured the second-largest landholding in the high-grade Keno Hill silver district, directly adjacent to Hecla Mining’s operations, the company noted.

Together, these areas host over 300 Moz of high-grade silver from past production and current reserves and resources. Hecla, now the leading primary silver producer in both the U.S. and Canada, has reached a significant milestone at its nearby Keno Hill mine, achieving its first quarter of positive free cash flow and continued robust production growth, marking a shift to sustained, self-funding operations in the district. Hecla has identified Keno Hill as a core, long-life asset that meets investment criteria at US$25 per ounce silver and is advancing key infrastructure for mining operations.

Recent drilling at Bermingham has confirmed high-grade extensions up to 1,250 g/t silver (Ag) over 3.8 meters, extending mineralization 150 meters below current reserves and demonstrating impressive vertical continuity within the Keno district, the company said.

To date, mineralization at Keno Hill has been shown to extend over 1.5 kilometers vertically from the top of the Keno Hill mine to the deepest mineralization at Bermingham. These developments further validate the long-term production potential and strengthening infrastructure base immediately adjacent to Metallic Minerals' Keno Silver project.

In 2024, Metallic Minerals announced its inaugural Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate of 18.2 Moz of silver equivalent (Ag Eq), grading 223 g/t Ag Eq (120 g/t Ag, 0.10 g/t Au, 0.80% lead, or Pb, and 1.77% zinc, or Zn), focused on shallow, open-pittable mineralization suitable for low-cost development. This expanding near-surface resource complements Hecla’s higher-cost selective underground mining operations, highlighting the potential for a future hybrid mining model that could blend scalable bulk-tonnage open-pit feed with underground high-grade ore to enhance overall district throughput and extend mine life.

Field programs at Metallic Minerals' Keno Silver project in 2025 are advancing detailed mapping, rock and soil sampling across high-priority targets prospective for bulk-tonnage silver-lead-zinc mineralization, in preparation for a robust 2026 drill campaign aimed at expanding resources, advancing resource-ready targets, and testing new discoveries, the company said.

Metallic Minerals currently has 11 targets with positive drill results requiring follow-up and an additional 40 undrilled, highly prospective targets, representing significant upside potential in this historic yet newly emerging world-class silver district.

Company Achieves Exploration Milestones

In an updated research note on September 8, Couloir Capital noted that Metallic Minerals has achieved several exploration milestones at its La Plata Copper and Keno Silver projects, including beginning to earn royalties from alluvial gold claims at Australia Creek in the historic Klondike gold district.

The La Plata project has delivered impressive high-grade surface results, with recent assays revealing grades up to 6.68% copper equivalent (Cu Eq).

These results significantly enhance the project's profile and support the case for near-term drilling, underscoring the under-explored potential of the broader La Plata district. The discovery of both light and heavy rare earth metals further boosts the project's strategic value, Couloir noted.

"Based on our analysis and valuation models, we maintain our BUY rating and update our fair value per share estimate to CA$0.80 (earlier CA$0.57)," Couloir said. This represents a projected 167% upside from the share price at the time of writing.

Catalysts expected to impact the company's valuation model, according to Couloir, include news from exploration at the La Plata, Keno Silver, or Klondike projects; updates expanding the resource base at La Plata; any delays in exploration or permitting; and financing-related news that could alter the company's capital structure.

On July 1, John Newell of Newell & Associates remarked that Metallic Minerals "is emerging as a compelling copper-silver-gold exploration story, supported by some of the most astute investors in the industry." He added, "The company's flagship La Plata Project in southwest Colorado is being likened to world-class porphyry systems such as Cadia, a Newmont project in Australia." The vast scale of the alteration system, covering over 25 square kilometers and featuring several unexplored targets, including zones similar to Ridgeway that could hold significantly higher grades, is especially noteworthy. With all necessary permits in place and the advantage of Newmont's technical expertise on-site, 2025 is set to be a pivotal year for the project, Newell stated.

The Catalyst: White Metal Closes in on Record High

Silver prices are nearing their all-time high, having surged 62% since the beginning of the year as of October 8. The record high for silver was US$49.95 per ounce, reached on January 17, 1980. Now trading at US$49.50 per ounce, the white metal is at levels not seen since 2011, according to a report by Melissa Pistilli for Investing News Network on October 7.

The current rise in silver prices is driven by ongoing supply shortages amid growing demand for safe-haven investments, as well as industrial applications in solar panels and electric vehicles. With the excitement surrounding gold's climb to nearly US$4,000 per ounce, many silver enthusiasts are eager to see their preferred precious metal reach new record highs. According to silver experts, for this to happen, the metal's price must sustainably break through the psychologically significant US$50 level, Pistilli wrote.

The current rally towards US$50 silver differs from previous spikes in 1980 and 2011 due to the metal's strong fundamentals and the ongoing devaluation of fiat currencies, the report noted. Unlike past surges driven by speculative frenzy, today’s silver market is more industrialized, with expanded investment options like silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs). According to the Silver Institute, industrial demand increased by 4% year-on-year in 2024 to 680.5 Moz.

Pistilli noted that while growth is expected to stabilize in 2025, industrial demand is projected to account for 59 percent of total silver demand for the year. The solar power sector alone is expected to consume 195.7 Moz of silver in 2025. In July, the Silver Institute reported that net inflows into silver exchange-traded products reached 95 Moz in the first half of 2025, surpassing the total for the entire 2024 year. As of October 7, the iShares Silver Trust (ARCA:SLV), the largest silver ETF, has risen more than 60% year-to-date as investors seek safe-haven assets.

Silver mine production has lagged behind demand for years, and Metals Focus predicts the silver market is on track for one of the largest supply deficits on record, projected at 187.6 Moz for 2025. This significant deficit has many silver analysts confidently predicting US$50 silver, Pistilli reported.

While elevated prices might encourage companies to reduce their silver usage, some analysts point out that the substantial expansion of the solar sector will keep demand strong, Neils Christensen wrote for Kitco News on October 6.

Although sentiment in the U.S. is evolving in the latter half of the year, solar power and energy storage made up 82% of new U.S. electricity capacity in the first half of 2025, Christensen wrote.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to Metallic Minerals' Investor Presentation, ownership of the company breaks down this way: management and associates own 15%, Newmont Corp. holds 9.5%, Eric Sprott has 10.5% and high net worth individuals own 15%.

Institutional ownership totals 20%. The remainder, 30%, is in retail.

As of October 8, the Canadian explorer has 212.22 million issued and outstanding shares. Its market cap is CA$68.97 million. Refinitiv reports Metallic Mineral's 52-week range is CA$0.13–CA$0.43 per share.