This Gold-Silver Project With a CA$2.37 Billion NPV Just Cleared a Key Development Milestone

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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

Key Investor Takeaways

• Lawyers-Ranch moved into its next environmental assessment stage, with Thesis Gold & Silver submitting the detailed project description to the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office, providing the basis for the EAO to undertake its readiness decision.

• The permitting timeline extends through 2029, with an EA draft application expected in H1 2027 and an environmental assessment decision expected in Q1 2029.

• A feasibility study is already underway, with completion expected in H2 2027, creating another scheduled project milestone alongside the environmental assessment process.

• The 2026 exploration program is targeting additional mineralization and porphyry targets, including further extension of known mineralization at Bingo and Steve, as well as continued mapping, sampling, expanded geophysical surveys, and drilling at Ranch and Ranch East.

• The existing PFS outlined a 15-year operation with CA$2.37 billion in after-tax NPV5%, a 54.4% after-tax IRR, CA$3.802 billion in life-of-mine after-tax free cash flow, and CA$736.2 million in initial capital expenditures at base-case prices of US$2,900/oz gold and US$35/oz silver.

• The PFS projected 266,000 gold-equivalent ounces of average annual production in the first three years, followed by a life-of-mine average of 187,000 gold-equivalent ounces annually, with 2.837 million payable gold-equivalent ounces over the 15-year mine life.

Detailed Project Description Advances Lawyers-Ranch Environmental Review

Thesis Gold & Silver Inc. (TAU:TSXV; THSGF:OTCQX; A422AH:WKN) submitted a detailed project description (DPD) for its 100%-owned Lawyers-Ranch gold-silver project in north-central British Columbia to the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office (EAO).

"The submission of the detailed project description marks an important milestone in the environmental assessment process for Lawyers-Ranch," President and Chief Executive Officer Ewan Webster said. "We engaged extensively with participating indigenous nations on an early draft of the DPD over the summer, and their input helped inform and strengthen the document submitted to the EAO. We look forward to continuing this active collaboration as we advance Lawyers-Ranch through the environmental assessment process."

Thesis Gold & Silver initiated the environmental assessment process for Lawyers-Ranch on December 10, 2025. In June 2026, the company announced that the government of Canada had confirmed that the impact assessment process would be substituted to the Province of British Columbia.

Under that approach, British Columbia's EAO will conduct the impact assessment process under the Environmental Assessment Act, SBC 2018, C.51, on behalf of the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada. The process is being conducted under the "one project, one review" approach.

Precious Metals Face Near-Term Pressure as Longer-Term Price Expectations Rise

According to a September 28 report from Kitco News, gold and silver had faced pressure as rising bond yields increased the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets. Commodity analysts cited in the report lowered their near-term expectations for both metals while raising their longer-term forecasts.

For gold, the analysts projected an average price of US$4,650 per ounce during the fourth quarter, down from a previous forecast of US$4,750 per ounce. Their longer-term average forecast increased 29% to US$4,000 per ounce from US$3,100 per ounce. The analysts said changing market forces had helped support the metal despite higher yields.

"We see Chinese buying as highly countercyclical, and we expect PBoC demand to be strong throughout the forecast period, backstopping prices at a higher level," they said.

The analysts also described sovereign debt concerns, monetary debasement, and interest rates as factors affecting the gold market. "Gold appears in the upper end of our order of preferences, and we continue to see prices drifting higher, albeit in a more orderly manner than seen last year," they said.

Silver faced its own near-term pressures. The analysts projected an average fourth-quarter price of US$67.40 per ounce, compared with their previous forecast of US$71.40 per ounce. Their longer-term average forecast increased 31% to US$47 per ounce from US$36 per ounce. They also pointed to changes in industrial consumption, particularly within the solar sector. "In silver, faster-than-expected thrifting and slower solar deployment are loosening industrial market balances, and we continue to see the metal underperforming gold over the coming quarters," the analysts said.

Haywood Securities analysts Jamie Spratt and Emma Boggio reiterated its Buy rating and CA$6.50 per share 12-month target price.

By September 30, Trading Economics reported gold at US$4,189 per ounce, up 0.16% for the day and 8.33% over the previous year, while the metal had declined 5.72% over the previous month.

Trading Economics said, "Gold rose to around US$4,200 an ounce on Wednesday, extending gains from the previous session, with falling oil prices offering some support despite continued pressure from elevated Treasury yields." The report also said gold was on track to decline nearly 6% during September.

Silver was reported at US$60.844 per ounce on September 30, down 0.99% for the day and 8.52% over the previous month, but up 28.59% over the previous year. Trading Economics said, "Silver steadied above US$61 an ounce on Wednesday, halting a recent decline with falling oil prices offering some support despite continued pressure from elevated Treasury yields." The source described silver as serving both industrial and investment markets, with uses that included electronics, solar panels, and medical technologies.

Lawyers-Ranch Advances on Permitting, Feasibility, and Exploration

Thesis Gold & Silver's September 2026 corporate presentation outlined several additional milestones and ongoing programs for Lawyers-Ranch. The company's environmental assessment timeline showed the DPD submission followed by an EA readiness decision, process planning, application development and review, effects assessment, recommendation, and a final decision. The presentation expected an EA draft application in the first half of 2027 and an EA decision in the first quarter of 2029.

A feasibility study was also underway. Thesis expected the feasibility study to be completed in the second half of 2027, providing another scheduled project milestone alongside the environmental assessment process.

Exploration represented another ongoing work stream at Lawyers-Ranch. At Ranch, the 2026 exploration program was focused on further extending known mineralization at the Bingo and Steve zones and advancing two porphyry exploration targets defined by the 2025 program. The presentation said 2025 drilling at Bingo extended mineralization 30 meters beyond the currently modeled mineral resource, while 2025 exploration at Steve intersected 38 meters grading 3.62 g/t gold.

The 2026 program also included work at Ranch and Ranch East. Thesis planned to advance targets through continued mapping and sampling, expanded geophysical surveys, and drilling. The company said alteration and mineralization across a broad footprint at Ranch East supported its interpretation of the area as a porphyry exploration target, while the exploration framework at Ranch and Ranch East supported its interpretation that additional porphyry systems may be present within the project.

The broader Lawyers-Ranch mineral resource estimate excluded 2025 exploration results, according to the presentation. Thesis also stated that resource growth potential remained across the Lawyers and Ranch sites and that the district-scale land package remained largely untested.

The company's 2025 prefeasibility study outlined a 15-year mine life and 13,700-tonne-per-day processing plant. At base-case prices of US$2,900 per ounce gold and US$35 per ounce silver, the PFS reported an after-tax NPV at a 5% discount rate of CA$2.37 billion, an after-tax IRR of 54.4%, CA$3.802 billion in life-of-mine after-tax free cash flow, and CA$736.2 million in initial capital expenditures. The study outlined 2.837 million payable gold-equivalent ounces over the life of mine and an average life-of-mine AISC of US$1,185 per gold-equivalent ounce.

The prefeasibility study also projected average annual production of 266,000 gold-equivalent ounces during the first three years and 187,000 gold-equivalent ounces over the life of mine. Thesis identified further engineering design optimization and district exploration as project upside opportunities in the presentation.

Ownership and Share Structure¹

1.09% of Thesis is held by management and insiders. 39.36% is owned by institutions. The rest is retail.

Thesis Gold and Silver has 294.93 million outstanding shares, a market cap of approximately CA$956.2 million, and a 52-week trading range of CA$1.51-CA$3.98.