I’m happy to report that we are back with an update in this series on the opportunities in gold explorers and developers. We’ll continue to review compelling stories in this volatile sub-sector of the junior pre-revenue gold equities, their potential upcoming company catalysts, and their under-appreciated value creation.
It is fun to perpetually hunt for new investing ideas, but sometimes it is better to stick with something you already know - that already has a compelling value proposition. Most developers, by their very nature, are not “new stories” and yet they can still have new catalysts driving their alpha as portfolio positions.
I’ve been following the progress of some of these companies we’ll cover and have been actively trading them for many years, so they are not “new” ideas, but possibly ideas whose times have finally come. These articles are simply me discussing what has my attention and what I’m doing with my own money in my own portfolio… so... yes, “I’m talking my book.”
In full disclosure, some companies are sponsors over at the KE Report, so I’m also biased in those regards to the companies covered.
I’ll be sharing why I genuinely like them, trade them, and will briefly assess the risk/reward setup in each of them.
None of the companies that I discuss in this channel have ever commissioned me or paid me to write about them here on Substack, or even asked me to do so. This is simply me sharing market observations here with like-minded investors.
Obviously, none of this should be considered investment advice. {I’m not an investment advisor, and this is for entertainment purposes only.}
In the recent past, good fortune and schedule juggling has allowed for some key updates with management on a number of the gold developer positions in the portfolio. With the whole PM complex on sale, it has led to persistent low investor sentiment here in the dog days of summer. As a result, this seems like a great time to review the fundamental thesis and technical update on some companies that we already like. We’ll also provide the opportunity to hear directly from management on their milestones achieved, recent or coming catalysts, and key workstreams on tap.
These 4 junior developers featured in this update have line of sight to initial gold production over the next 2-3 years, and they are entering the exciting phase of the 2nd leg of the Lassonde Curve.
So, let’s get into it…
Troilus Mining Corp. (TSX: TLG) (OTCQX: CHXMF) (FSE: CM5R) is an advanced brownfield gold and copper developer that is making good progress on derisking the prior-producing Troilus Mine, located in Quebec, Canada. This project is quite advanced at this point, chugging along towards a construction decision later this year, with the plan to begin building the mine starting next year. That is right around the corner in mining terms.
We’ve been discussing this company here on the channel for years in various articles, and this is a company that I’ve been following for years, scaling into my recent position starting in April of 2025 and throughout last year.
This company has really been firing on all cylinders for the last couple years. Even though they did finally get a well-deserved rerating last year, they’ve corrected again, and I still believe that their valuation can go up multiple-fold from here in the next couple years.
This project is huge with over 13 million ounces of gold equivalent in all categories, (which includes a solid copper co-credit, and also some silver).
Mine and plant construction is set to begin in 2027.
Once it is built and producing in a few years, the Troilus Mine will be in the top 10 largest gold mines in Canada, and in the top 15 in North America.
Over 400,000 meters of drilling have been completed, and they are still drilling!
Note the metals assumption prices used in that economic study from 2 years ago were $1,975 gold per ounce, and $4.05 copper per lb. and $23 silver per ounce.
Clearly metals prices are far higher today, making this project much more valuable than demonstrated in that base case.
That also means that lower grade ore that may have been considered waste rock previously can now be brought into the mine plan at these higher metals prices; turning trash into cash.
Those economics were calculated on roughly half of their resources, that made it into the reserve category, but there are still plenty of resources left, that were not included in that study, that could still be converted over to reserves over the fullness of time.
This mine has a strong probability of being extended well beyond the 22 years highlighted in the 2024 Feasibility Study, and the it could likely see the throughput expanded on an annual basis, once up and running.
This company has advanced way beyond just that Feasibility Study at this point; having already completed their Basic Engineering, and now their 3rd party contractors and internal ownership team are most of the way through their final Detailed Engineering.
For now, let’s just stick with the Feasibility Study completed in May 2024, which supports a large-scale 22-year, 50ktpd open-pit mining operation, that will average over 300,000 ounces of gold equivalent production per annum; flexing up to peak production at 536,000 ounces of AuEq around year 7.
Skeena Resources has the high-quality Eskay Creek project, which is a peer Canadian gold mine, and its a little further along and 60% constructed.
Once built, that mine is slated to produce 450,000 AuEq oz in the first 5 years & average 370,000 AuEq oz produced years 5-10.
Skeena currently has ~$4.7 Billion market cap.
Granted Eskay Creek has higher grade and has better margins; but still this just demonstrates how much upside room Troilus still has in front of it to close some of that delta in valuation.
Rupert Resources Ltd. was just acquired by Agnico Eagle Mines for C$2.9 Billion for their Ikkari gold project, which had 3.5 million ounces of gold in probable mineral reserves (52.0 million tonnes grading 2.1 grams per tonne (”g/t”) gold), and about 4.2 million ounces of gold in all categories.
A pre-feasibility study was completed by Rupert in February 2025, envisioning an open pit and underground operation utilizing conventional processing with average annual gold production of 227,000 ounces of gold over the first 10 years of mine life.
Again – Trolius has 3 times the amount of gold resources in the ground already delineated in a Tier One jurisdiction, a substantially larger annual production profile, a much longer mine life, and it is already at the ‘detailed engineering’ phase of derisking.
The Troilus Project has way more resources, will produce way more, will last way longer, (and it is already derisked to a level way beyond the PFS stage Rupert was at)… and yet, it is still trading for a mere 1/3 of that recent takeover value which Rupert just received for Ikkari.
If the market was valuing Troilus properly, then it should have been trading at a substantial premium to where Rupert was valued at its takeover. That’s called a value arbitrage…
On July 27th at the KE Report, Justin Reid, President and CEO of Troilus Mining Corp. joined me for a comprehensive visual development update on all the derisking work going on with detailed engineering, the power being secured with Hydro Quebec, the Company has been selected by Quebec for the new Filon Initiative which will expedite permitting, and an exploratoin update on near-mine and regional exploration at the Troilus Copper-Gold Project.
Project Execution Progress Highlights
Detailed Engineering fully mobilized across process plant, infrastructure, site layout, 3D modelling and procurement support.
More than 40 bid packages have been issued for tender or are under technical and commercial evaluation, covering major process equipment, infrastructure, site services and enabling works.
Initial enabling infrastructure selections made for key water treatment and site support systems.
Major process equipment package progressing through final selection, representing an important upcoming milestone for Detailed Engineering and construction planning.
Geotechnical field drilling program completed, supporting foundation design, site layout, infrastructure planning and earthworks.
Independent third-party reviews of process plant design, Basic Engineering assumptions and capital cost methodology completed, with no material issues identified.
On June 10, 2026, Troilus Mining announced that it recently welcomed representatives from the Government of Québec to the Troilus Copper-Gold Project in north-central Québec for the official announcement of the allocation of 70 megawatts (“MW”) of hydroelectric power to the Project.
On July 27th, it was announced that the Troilus Project has been selected by Québec’s Minister of Natural Resources and Forests, the Honourable Kateri Champagne Jourdain, as one of the first projects to benefit from Filon, a specialized support service established by the Government of Québec to enhance government coordination and support the advancement of strategic mining projects through the provincial permitting process.
Announced as part of Québec’s 2025-2031 Strategy for the Development of Critical and Strategic Minerals, Filon is designed to strengthen coordination among government ministries and agencies involved in the authorization process for qualifying projects.
The specialized support provided through the Filon initiative comes amid broader efforts by the Governments of Québec and Canada to improve the efficiency, clarity and predictability of regulatory processes for major projects through a dedicated team of mining specialists. The specialized support facilitates communication between project proponents and the government ministries and agencies responsible for issuing permits and authorizations, while maintaining Québec’s rigorous environmental review framework.
Wrapping up we discussed the ongoing 40,000 meter drill program that has been focused on near-mine resource growth, high-grade target definition,mine-plan optimization targets, and regional exploration opportunities across its 435 km² land package.
(CHXMF) went up 7.85X in a long overdue rerating from the March 2025 low of $0.216 to the February 2026 high of $1.696.
Even at that peak price, it had still not factored into its market cap anywhere close to where the Troilus Copper-Gold Project would be worth at those metals prices. So, it was NOT “out over its skis” like some other companies were in early Q1.
(CHXMF) corrected down hard in March, getting essentially chopped in half and going all the way down to $0.88. (Huh??)
Again, it hadn’t even come close to digesting a fraction of just how valuable the in-situ resources were at those metals prices, because of how quickly the metals prices rocketed up.
So while the move up in many equities during that period seemed extreme, that was because casual observers were just noting how much the stocks were going up on a one-to-one basis with metals prices, but they were not considering the exponential effect higher prices have to the underlying economics.
We saw the leverage cut both ways this spring where Troilus got to down to a silly valuation again in March/April.
By early-May, during the “Spring Fling” the market started coming to its senses again and (CHXMF) was back up in the $1.40s and $1.50s; peaking out at $1.59.
Troilus has rolled over and headed lower ever since then, in sympathy with the dropping underlying metals prices in gold, but copper prices have remained at the higher end of the range, so that should have offered more support than it did the last couple months.
(CHXMF) has respected the 50-week Exponential Moving Average (EMA) ever since definitively breaking out above it in March of 2025; bouncing off it in that March 2026 crash, and recently in the July 2026 “Summer Doldrums” low.
If history is our guide for the last year, then the current bounce here could have some legs higher to it.
Friday’s close at $1.156 is not that far above the 50-week EMA, {currently at $1.10}; so it would be healthy to see pricing put some more distance above that level in the weeks and months to come.
Troilus bulls will want to see (CHXMF) prices get back into the $1.40s and $1.50s, and ultimately close on a weekly basis above the May $1.59 recent peak, and establish a new “higher high” pattern again.
GoGold Resources Inc. (TSX: GGD) (OTCQX: GLGDF) is another portfolio company that we’ve discussed here in this channel for some time. They are already a producing precious metals company from their Parral Mine, but now they’ve just hit their next phase of growth, after being awarded their permit in June to develop their flagship Los Ricos South Project.
– June 8th
https://gogoldresources.com/images/uploads/files/2026_06_08_LRS_Permit.pdf
Let’s keep our eye on the prize here, and review why this final permit mattered so much for GoGold’s growth trajectory. Below are the key economic metrics from the Feasibility Study at Los Rico South.
On June 11th, over at the KE Report, Brad Langille, President & CEO, of GoGold Resources, joined us to highlight their key news released on June 8th, which announced a transformative milestone: that the Mexican Federal Environmental Department (“SEMARNAT”) has granted all permits and approvals required to construct the Los Ricos South bulk tonnage underground mine located in Jalisco State, Mexico.
The Company’s board of directors approved the decision to begin construction of Los Ricos South, which is anticipated to take 24 months from commencement until first pour.
The Project has been designed with rigorous environmental protections and sustainability practices at its core, and hires all local employees & contractors.
We delve into the resources, DFS-stage economics, and anticipated production profile from their flagship Los Ricos South Project.
Then we have Brad outline the pathway forward and further augmentation of their production profile a few more years out from the Los Ricos North Project development and exploration project in the state of Jalisco.
Rounding out the discussion we get an operations and financial update from their producing Parral Tailings Mine, in the state of Chihuahua, the positive ESG impact in their community for the last dozen years, and their options for extending mine life for those operations beyond the remaining 5-years of mine life.
https://gogoldresources.com/images/uploads/files/2026_07_09_Q3_Production.pdf
“The Parral tailings mine had another excellent quarter for the company, with production increasing by 21% compared to the previous quarter and quarterly silver production at a five year high. Parral continues to generate substantial cash flows, with our cash balance increasing in the quarter by approximately $22 million to $284 million USD, we are fully financed for the upcoming build and have no debt,” Brad Langille, President and CEO stated.
“With our permit in hand at Los Ricos South and a positive construction decision from the board, we are well-positioned to create long-term benefits for all stakeholders.”
(GLGDF) moved up about 3X from the April 2025 low to the January 2026 high.
This was a solid move for sure, but a bit underwhelming compared to other junior producers and developers over that same time period.
The underperformance when compared to some peers over that period was the clear overhang the stock had due to uncertainty around the ability to get its underground mining permit for its flagship Los Ricos South Project.
That unanswered question around permitting has now been answered with a resounding “Yes”, but the unfortunate timing was that it finally got announced in early June when the whole sector was in a continued downtrend, and when investor sentiment was still souring.
Had that news hit in December, or January, or February, this stock would have taken off like a scalded cat… but the permit was granted when it was…
That just means there is still a pent up rerating that is overdue for GoGold, still held under the surface of this correct corrective phase in the PM sector. When the sentiment tide comes back into this space, then this stock could really play catchup and move substantially higher.
Amex Gold Mining Inc. (TSXV: AMX) (FSE: MX0) (OTCQX: AMXEF) [previously known at Amex Exploration before July] – Is a company that we’ve been following more closely for the last couple years.
Their explorational prowess of their team and targets has been on display for some time, and they did a great job getting a substantial gold resource delineated.
However, it was when they started wrapping economics around the Perron Project with an eye to fast-track things into production in a phased approach, that it quickly moved up the batting order of development projects.
Over the last couple years that I’ve been speaking with management, they’ve gone from explorer, to developer, to near-term producer in quick succession, and delivered on their strategy and business plan. (that is quite refreshing)
Victor Cantore, President and CEO of Amex Exploration Inc. (TSX.V: AMX) (OTCQX: AMXEF) (FSE: MX0), joins me for a big picture update on their transition to development and near-term production at their flagship Perron Gold Project, located in Quebec, Canada. The Company will be changing its name to Amex Gold Mining Inc. in early July to reflect this transition into a developer/producer over the next 2 years; but will also be maintaining a 100,000 meter drill program, so there is still the dual-focus on exploration as well.
On June 18th, the Company announced the completion of the final tranche of the oversubscribed “best efforts” private placement for C$80Million, where Eldorado Gold maintained their 27% stake, and they have received receipt of the key permits for the upcoming bulk sampling program.
Learning about the actual grade and metal recovery reconciliation measured against the metrics outlined in the positive Feasibility Study for the 5 years of commercial Phase 1 production at the project.
The bulk sample will have an initial capital outlay of around C$50Million, but after processing ~40,000 tonnes via toll-milling at a nearby plant; and producing around 23,000-28,000 ounces of gold. This will generate revenues more than double that capex, going on to fund Phase 1.
We discussed how the market does not seem to fully appreciate or value that the Company will be mining and producing metals and revenues by the end of 2027.
Victor points out that the portal and decline/ramp development utilized in this upcoming bulk sample is the exact same plan envisioned in their economic study.
This will shave all that capital, development work, and time off the front-end of Phase 1 development, providing a faster organic natural transition in Phase 1 commercial mining in 2028 simply by extending that ramp further into the mine.
We then discussed the even larger strategy where the revenues generated from the bulk sample in 2027, followed by the 4-5 years of DSO toll-mining in Phase 1, will then fund the exploration and development work that feeds into the Phase 2 studies. Phase 2 will envision the move into a larger production scenario building a processing plant on site, from the robust revenues projected during Phase 1.
In addition to all the development slated for this year, the company is pressing forward with an aggressive 100,000 meter drill campaign:
Drilling will continue to delineate and expand resources at the main Perron Project
Drilling will begin to explore on their expanded land package across the provincial border into Ontario.
The company has substantially increased their land holdings through a combination of staking claims and the 2 recent acquisitions of the Perron West and the Abbotsford/Hepburn properties.
August 5th, 2026 (added here after already publishing this article)
(AMXEF) surged up 7X in a long overdue rerating higher from the April 2025 ‘tariff tantrum” low of $0.57 to the January 2026 PM surge high of $4.00.
The upside pricing momentum really took off once pricing definitively broke above the 50-week EMA in May of 2025.
Pricing came back and tested this level in March of 2026, but then recently dipped below it in July 2026.
(AMXEF) did pierce above the 50-week EMA 2 weeks ago, but then closed below it. It is encouraging that this week pricing closed back up at $2.73, mildly above this key moving average {currently right below it at $2.70}.
Amex Gold Mining bulls will want to see pricing stay above the 50-week EMA in the weeks and months that follow, and put some more distance above it.
Dakota Gold (NYSE American: DC) is another gold developer that we’ve been following here for the last couple years where management has kept their word and executed on key milestones, and they have kept making consistent progress towards their primary pathway to production in a couple years.
Richmond Hill is one of the largest undeveloped oxide gold resources in the United States being advanced by a junior mining company, with over 6 million ounces of gold and over 60 million ounces of silver moving along the pathway of development into heap leach production as soon as 2029.
Jack Henris, President and COO, and Shawn Campbell, CFO of Dakota Gold, both join me for a visual exploration and development update on their Richmond Hill Oxide Heap Leach Gold Project; located in the historic Homestake District of South Dakota. We review all the drill results from 2025 and 2026 that will be incorporated into the upcoming resource estimate and Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) in Q4, and the timeline of key development studies that will feed into updated Feasibility Study economics in 2027. We also highlight the upcoming drill program at their Maitland Gold Project, which will lead into a maiden resource estimate.
We start off with Shawn reviewing the existing site and regional infrastructure advantages along with the resources at Richmond Hill that were defined in prior years drilling, while Jack outlined the key economic metrics as outlined in the existing SK-1300 Internal Assessment of Cash Flow (IACF).
Supported by their $107 million cash position as of March 31, 2026, Shawn pointed out that this strong capital position has allowed the Company to announce that they’ve secured the electrical substation build slot and are advancing engineering, site layout, and operational readiness along the project’s critical path.
These workstreams will go above and beyond reporting reserves in the upcoming 2026 PFS, and metallurgical test results and engineering studies will then inform the Feasibility Study to be completed in the first half of 2027.
Shawn reviews the maps of where the key site build-out will go on the private land, but also highlighted the potential to expand the Richmond Hill Project out beyond into the forest service lands in the fullness of time. There was information shared that there is also opportunities in the future for the sulphide material underneath the oxide material at Richmond Hill.
The 2026 Drill Campaign is now complete, and it totaled 17,273 meters of infill, expansion, and geotechnical drilling across 112 holes. Results from the 2025 and 2026 drill campaigns at Richmond Hill are being incorporated into a Pre-Feasibility Study (“PFS”) in the fourth quarter of 2026.
The exploration team has been encouraged by the series of solid results from the northeast expansion drilling, which continues to identify higher-grade zones that complement the large heap-leachable resource at Richmond Hill.
This data will support an updated mineral resource estimate, refine the geo-metallurgical model, and deliver a single optimized mine plan with sequencing.
Jack highlighted that the results being intercepted in the Northeast Project area contain much higher grades than the average overall resource grade. These results have encouraged their team to consider trade-off studies for the upcoming Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS), to potentially access these higher-grade areas in the first several years of mining.
These trade-off studies that will factor into the upcoming PFS will be analyzing the fine-tuning of the project economics around the grade optimization, mine optimization, amount of material processed, and run-of-mine streamlining.
Wrapping up, Jack shares that the drill program for this year just got underway at the Maitland Gold Project, with 5,578 meters (18,300 feet) planned over 44 holes.
The goal of this infill drilling, when combined with historic drill results, will be to define a maiden resource for the Tertiary-aged Unionville gold Zone.
There may be some additional work into the JB Gold Zone which has iron formation mineralization similar to the Homestake Mine style of gold mineralization.
Note: This is a messier chart than I normally like to post, but there are multiple levels of lateral price support to highlight. Rather than trying to have someone connect all the prior peak/troughs with their eyes, I just drew in the rectangles of support or resistance, for ease of scanning over from left to right.
(DC) moved up 3X in the PM surge from the April 2025 low of $2.40 to the January 2026 high of $7.25.
(DC) then crashed don by over 44% from that January 2026 high of $7.25 down to the June 2026 low of $4.02.
(DC) pricing consolidated around the 144-week EMA {currently down at $4.11}, with 4 weekly candle wicks in a row hitting that key support level and then bouncing back higher again.
It is confusing why this gold developer, with over 6 million ounces of gold delineated in the ground, in a solid historic US mining camp, led by a very competent team and delivering on the executable that they guided the market they would, then pulled back down so hard - all the way to the 144-week EMA. There weren’t any issues at the company fundamentally over that time, so this was strictly a falling metals price and sector sentiment thing.
The prior 3 gold developers we highlighted above all found support at the 50-week EMA.
It is unclear what to infer from that price action:
Is (DC) more oversold here and hence, a better value? …or…
Will the rest of the gold developers eventually come down to join (DC) in also testing their 144-day EMAs?
Pricing this last week in (DC) closed the week at $4.54; but got down to an intra-week low of $4.37.
That low was smack in the middle of the lateral price support zone from the July 2025 high of $4.30 and the November high of $4.43, and bounced out of it.
First support still comes in at the 144-week EMA, {currently around $4.11}.
Next underlying support would show up at the 200-week EMA, {currently around $3.70}, and the nearby lateral price support from the August 2025 low of $3.74 and the October 2025 low of $3.79. So big support from [$3.70-$3.79]
First lateral price resistance is the October 2025 high of $5.50 and the June high of $5.45. [$5.45-$5.50]
Next overhead lateral price resistance is the December 2025 peak at $5.90 and the June 2026 high of $6.05. [$5.90-$6.05].
After that the last 2 key resistance areas will be the May 2025 peak of $6.48, and then the final big prize is the January 2026 all-time high of $7.25.
Thanks for reading and may you have prosperity in your trading and in life!
Shad
Investment disclaimer:
This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, an offer, or a solicitation to buy or sell any security. Investing in equities and commodities involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Do your own research and consult a licensed financial advisor before making any investment decisions. I have shares in all the companies mentioned above, and most are also show sponsors over at the KE Report, so I’m biased in those ways. I’m not paid to write about these stocks on Substack, and am simply sharing what I’m doing with my own capital, in my own trading portfolio, and strictly for entertainment purposes.
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