Monthly Metals Mining Rundown for Month Ending 30 May 2025 - PGM and Uranium Prices Continue to Stand Out on the Monthly Chart, along with some PGM and Uranium Stocks

This past month’s metal price and top & bottom mining company peer group movers include:

This past month’s top & bottom 40 performing metals mining stocks (out of Peer Table’s 459) include (share price rounding errors apply, as sourced from Google Finance):

Coverage of metals mining announcements incorporated into this month’s Peer Table (resource updates, economic studies, changes in attributable project ownership) include:

• 29 May 2025 (after-market) - Lithium brine developer LithiumBank (TSXV:LBNK) announced a resource update for its large lithium brine project, Park Place, which is the company´s second project in Alberta after its more advanced Boardwalk project. The resource update reflects some reductions in mineral license holdings to focus on higher-priority resource areas, which now contain an estimated 15.08 Mt LCE grading 80 mg/L Li (entirely in the inferred category), which is still clearly more than enough of a resource base to be contemplated in a future PEA. Together with the company´s flagship Boardwalk project (with a PEA already completed in 2023 and with the majority of its resources already in the measured and indicated category) total company mineral resources fell by 22% to 23.1 Mt LCE (still much higher than our 15-company lithium brine developer peer group median resource inventory of 3.3 Mt LCE, and still higher than fellow oil well-field brine developer peer E3 Metal´s (TSXV:ETL) resource base of 16.9 Mt LCE, both of which we lump together with higher-grade Latin American salt brine developer counterparts in this peer group). LBNK´s newly reduced 23.1 Mt LCE closed the month ending 30 May down -3.8% (vs. peer group median flat +0%) at a share price of C$0.25 and market cap/t resource of US$0.49/t LCE ($0.16/oz AuEq) - 93% below our 15-company group median of $7/t LCE ($2.3/oz AuEq) and 84% below fellow Alberta oil well-field brine developer ETL´s market cap/t of $2.82/t LCE ($0.92/oz AuEq). On P/NAV, based on the results of 2023 PEA for Boardwalk project, LBNK stock trades at 0.006x, which is 81% lithium brine developer peer group median of 0.032x and 76% below ETL´s P/NAV of 0.025x (all at our Reference lithium price of US$24,000/t LCE).

• 26 May 2025 - Intermediate gold producer Genesis Minerals (ASX:GMD) announced the acquisition of the Laverton Gold project from smaller intermediate gold producer Focus Minerals (ASX:FML). GMD says the project has clear potential to supply its existing operating 3 mtpa mill some 30 km away. The terms include upfront cash consideration of A$250 million, and the deal is expected to be completed in early June 2025. The acquisition adds +3.9 Moz of resources, growing GMD’s overall resources by ~27% to ~18.6 Moz Au. GMD stock traded up following this news, and closed the month (ending 30 May) up +22% (vs. peer group median +10%) to a share price of A$4.72 and market cap/oz resource of US$184/oz - in between our 56-company intermediate gold producer median of $166/oz and mean of $256/oz.

• The Laverton project sale by FML frees up cash that can be spent on exploration and development at FML’s Bonnie Vale Underground Mine and open pit mining operations at the Coolgardie Gold Project, which has small-scale production from the company’s nearby Three Mile Hill mill. FML’s mineral resources appear to now include some 2.55 Moz - strictly those from its Coolgardie (according 2021 resource estimate on company website). FML stock rose more sharply than GMD´s following this news, and actually took the number 14 top monthly performing spot among our Peer Table´s 459 stocks, closing the month (ending 30 May) up a solid +62.5% to a FML share price of A$0.39 and market cap/oz resource of US$28/oz - still a sharp 83% discount to our 56-company intermediate gold producer peer group median’ $166oz.

• 12 May 2025 - Lithium hard rock developer Patriot Battery Metals (TSX:PMET) announced an updated consolidated resource estimate for its CV5 and CV13 spodumene pegmatite deposits at its 100%-owned Shaakichiuwaanaan project in Quebec. Most importantly, the update increased the indicated share of resources for both its CV5 and CV13 - by 30% and 306%, respectively - which bodes well for the upcoming maiden reserve in the impending feasibility study (which will follow a PEA that was announced back in August 2024, evaluating production of an intermediary spodumene concentrate product that would require further off-site processing to be converted to more refined and more commoditized battery mineral products of lithium carbonate or hydroxide). Overall resources remained relatively unchanged at ~4.8 Mt LCE (grading relatively high for open pits in the 1.33-1.4% Li2O range), excluding tantalum and gallium credits, making Shaakachichiumwaanaan one of the largest lithium pegmatite (hard rock) projects in the world. PMET stock traded up +4.5% on 12 May following this news (vs. peer median down -0.6%), before trading down -3.4% intraday on 13 May vs. group median flat +0%, before closing the month (ending 30 May) at a share price of C$2.06 market cap/t resource of US$50/t LCE ($16/oz AuEq) - which is an 9% discount to our 15-company lithium hard rock developer peer group median of $55/t LCE ($18/oz AuEq).

• 11 May 2025 - Silver producer Pan American Silver (NYSE:PAAS) announced the acquisition of fellow silver producer MAG Silver (NYSE:MAG) for total consideration of US$2.1 billion or $20.54 per MAG share (as a mix of $500 million cash and 0.755 PAAS shares per MAG share). Before the deal (on Fri 9 May 2025), PAAS had traded at a market cap of US$9.9B, or a market cap/oz resource of US$1.0/oz AgEq ($94/oz AuEq), which had been 28% below our 18-company silver producer median $1.41/oz AgEq ($131/oz AuEq). PAAS stock fell +16% on Monday 12 May 2025 following this news (vs. peer group median performance down -2% for day). But including additional resources from MAG (which grow PAAS resources by ~6%) and including new PAAS shares to be issued to MAG (according to the announced share exchange ratio and Google’s Finance’s PAAS shares outstanding), PAAS’s market cap is set to grow (on the closing of this deal) to a pro-forma $10.8B (at share price of $24.39/sh). And on a PAAS market cap/oz resource basis this equates to a pro-forma month ending (30 May) US$1.03/oz AgEq ($99/oz AuEq) - a 24% discount to silver producer peer group median US$1.35/oz AgEq (US$130/oz AuEq) - and wider 50% discount to our 9-company senior gold producer median $260/oz AuEq and 22% discount to our 55-company intermediate gold producer peer group median $166/oz AuEq, leaving lots of valuation upside for a PAAS take-out by a major or intermediate gold producer looking to add substantial silver production on the back of metal’s rising price potential (just under one-third of PAAS’s mineral resource value come from gold, with a slightly lesser 22% coming from silver, rest Cu-Zn-Pb).

• 8 May 2025 - Former gold explorer - now gold developer - Western Exploration (TSXV:WEX) announced a PEA for its Doby George deposit at its flagship Aura project in Nevada. The study reported an after-tax NPV5% of US$70.7M from initial capex of $127.6M at gold price of US$2,150/oz (study says NPV increases to $211.2M at higher gold price of $3,000/oz (which is still well below spot price). WEX had traded down -11% (on 8 May) intraday TSX (vs. our 64-company gold developer peer group median performance of flat +0%) before closing the month (ending 30 May) down -14% (vs. gold developer peers up +7%) to an overall market cap/oz resource (including company-wide resources of 1.22 Moz which are 92% from gold, rest silver, at our estimated 3-month trailing average metal prices) of US$19/oz AuEq, which is now a widened gap of 39% our 64-company gold developer peer group median $31/oz AuEq. On P/NAV (market cap/post-tax NPV), at our recent spot gold price of US$3,144/oz, WEX trades at 0.135x - in between our gold developer peer group median 0.09x and mean 0.16x (at same recent spot gold price).

• 6 May 2025 - Lithium hard rock developer Lithium Ionic (TSXV:LTH) announced a resource update for its flagship 100%-owned Bandeira project in Brazil, which incorporated 60km of drilling between 2022 and 2024, and substantially grew the measured and indicated (M&I) share of resources to 22.3 Mt grading 1.34% lithium oxide (Li2O) for 0.615 Mt lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE). This should bode well for future reserves conversions and future improvements to project economics (since the 2024 FS). Overall project resources also grew slightly, resulting in overall company lithium resources (including 2 additional smaller resources from other projects) growing by ~5% to 2.12 Mt LCE. LTH stock traded down a slight -1.4% on 6 May following this announcement (vs. our 14-companmy lithium hard rock developer peer group median performance of flat +0%), before closing down another -1.4% Wednesday (7 May) vs. peer group median down -1.6%, and ultimately closing the month (ending 30 May) down -24% (vs. Li hard rock developer median down -10%) to a LTH market cap/t resource of US$30/t LCE ($10/oz AuEq) - which is a 45% discount to our 14-stock lithium hard rock developer peer group median $55/t LCE ($/oz AuEq).

• 6 May 2025 - Silver explorer Silver One Resources (TSXV:SVE) announced a resource estimate for its flagship Candelaria project in Nevada, which tightens and replaces the prior historic resources previously reported by the company. Total reported open pit resources are mostly in the measured and indicated (M&I) category with rather high silver grades (22Mt M&I grading 94 g/t Ag and 0.20 g/t Au for 66.75 Moz Ag and 0.14 Moz Au) plus a small inferred open pit resource (2.96 Mt inferred grading 68 g/t Ag and 0.18 g/t Au for 6.5 Moz Ag and 0.02 Moz Au). Total company resources including small shares of underground and low-grade stockpiles now stand at 103 Moz AgEq (96% from Ag) at our estimated 3-month trailing average metal prices. SVE stock traded up a solid 15% (on 6 May) following this news (vs. our 19-company silver explorer peer group median +3.7%), before closing the month (ending 30 May) up +14% (vs. peer group median +5.6%) to a market cap/oz resource of $0.46/oz AgEq ($45/oz AuEq) - just a slight premium to silver explorer group mean of $0.48/oz ($46/oz AuEq) and median $0.32/oz AgEq ($31/oz AuEq), which appears justified for this advanced stage exploration project at the past-producing Candelaria mine (which the company says had been one of the highest grade silver producers in the state of Nevada, averaging 1,200 g/t AgEq from high-grade veining between the mid-1800s and mid-1900s) that should continue to grow including from more drilling set to resume later this year, which could pave the way for a PEA demonstrating solid economics from this relatively high-grade silver open pit project.

• 5 May 2025 - Copper developer New World Resources (ASX:NWC) announced a resource update for its 100%-owned Antler Copper project in Arizona, USA, following a successful exploration drilling program and further exploration review. The update grew project resources by 25% to a reported 14 Mt @ 3.81 % CuEq (1.78% Cu, 4.27% Zn, 0.89% Pb, 33.66 g/t Ag, 0.33 g/t Au), which were 88% in the measured and indicated categories which paves the way nicely for the upcoming and ongoing Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS). NWC stock and its overall 1.2 Blbs CuEq resource (at our estimated 3-month trailing average metal prices) traded down some -3.6% on 5 May following this news (vs. 31-company Cu developer peer group median’s flat +0%) before trading up some +3.7% on 6 May (vs. peer group median flat +0%), and ultimately closing the month (ending 30 May) up a whopping +67% (strongly outperforming the peer group median performance of down -8.6%) to a market cap/lb resource of US$0.09/lb CuEq ($61/oz AuEq) - which is near the upper quartile range (75-percentile) of our 31-company Cu developer peer group, which appears well justified for this high-grade, nearly fully permitted, PFS-stage copper project in the established copper-producing jurisdiction of Arizona (especially in the current backdrop of strong support for domestic copper production from the Trump Administration). And on P/NAV (market cap/post-tax NPV according to company’s PFS), NWC trades near the middle of the pack at a P/NAV of 0.45x (at our Reference Copper price of $3.5/lb) - in between peer group median 0.21x and mean 0.48x.

• 5 May 2025 - Gold developer Barton Gold Holdings (ASX:BGD) announced an Optimized Scoping Study (OSS) for its flagship Tunkilla project in Australia. The study resulted in lower initial capex of only A$399M (vs 2024 initial scoping study’s A$434M), with conservatively designed open pit slopes optimized for a gold price of only A$3,500/oz (vs. current ~A$5,000/oz). The company’s reported pre-tax NPV7.5 at base case A$4,000/oz gold price was A$781M (for a solid NPV/capex ratio of 2.0). The study appears to rely on a recently updated (and tightened) resource estimate as well as updated/tightened cost estimates. And although economics worsened slightly from the old 2024 initial (at apples-to-apples metal pricing according to sensitivities provided), this new study appears to pave the way for the upcoming PFS (for which fewer to no negative surprises can now be expected). BGD stock traded up +6.5% (on 5 May) following this news (vs. our 64-company gold developer peer group median performance of +1.1%), before trading up another +3.0% on 6 May (vs. peer group median +2.0%), leading to an outstanding monthly performance of +57% (vs. peer group median +7%) to a market cap/oz resource of US$59/oz AuEq (in between gold developer group median $31/oz and mean $63/oz) and to a P/NAV (market cap/post-tax NPV) of 0.17x (between group median 0.09x and mean 0.16x) - both at our estimated 3-month trailing gold price of US$3,144/oz, and based on the results of this 2025 OSS & the sensitivity analysis provided in it (assuming BGD’s post-tax NPV is 70% of pre-tax NPV, for peer comparison purposes).

• 5 May 2025 - Gold explorer Turaco Gold (ASX:TCG) announced an update resource estimate for its flagship Afema project in Cote d’Ivoire, representing a 40% to 2024 maiden resource at a higher gold grade (now 90.8 Mt @1.2 g/t Au). TCG stock traded up +4.8% (on 5 May) following this news (vs. our 80-stock gold explorer peer group median performance of flat +0%) before trading up another +2.3% on 6 May (vs. peer median flat +0%), before closing the month (ending 30 May) up +16% vs. peer group median +3%, to a market cap/oz resource of US$82/oz AuEq (vs. gold explorer peer mean US$61/oz and median $25/oz) - a premium that appears justified for this large (on of largest undeveloped deposits in West Africa) and relatively high-grade deposit (for open pits) for which the company expects another resource update by yearend and a PFS already by H1/2026.

• 5 May 2025 - Former nickel explorer, now nickel developer, EV Nickel (TSXV:EVNI) announced a PEA for its flagship, 100%-owned Carlang A project in Ontario. EVNI stock (and its lower grade resources of 510 Mt indicated @ 0.25% Ni + Co and Fe credits and 497Mt inferred @ 0.23% Ni + Co and Fe credits for a combined (large-scale) 5.7 Blbs NiEq (93% from Ni, 7% from Co, excluding Fe, at our estimated 3-month trailing average metal prices) traded up +2.1% on 5 May following this news (in-line with our 15-company nickel developer peer group median performance of +2.1%), before closing the month (ending 30 May) down -8% (vs. peer group median flat +0) to a market cap/lb resource of US$0.003/lb NiEq ($1.30/lb AuEq), which is 90% below our nickel developer peer group median’s $0.031/lb NiEq ($13.5/oz AuEq). On P/NAV (market cap/post-tax NPV), EVNI trades at 0.01x, which is roughly 89% below nickel developer peer group median 0.09x (at our Reference nickel price of US$9.5/lb Ni, according to NPV sensitivity analysis provided by companies in economic studies).

Disclaimer: Provided for informational and educational purposes, and is not intended as investment advice. For full disclosures, visit www.hostrockcapital.com/disclosures.