With increasing demand coming from industrial applications like the production of photovoltaics, the silver faced an estimated supply deficit of 142 million ounces in 2023.
Despite this, the price of silver continued a trend that saw it fluctuating between US$20 and US$26 per ounce. These fluctuations largely tracked along with the same trends that affected the gold market in 2023, including the regional banking crisis at the start of the year and the Israel-Hamas crisis at the end.
Higher interest rates throughout the year have impacted investment in exploration and mine expansion, which has especially impacted juniors and has depressed share prices for most silver primary companies.
These factors combined with a four-month strike at Newmont’s (TSX:NGT,NYSE:NEM) Penasquito gold-silver mine in Mexico, which produces 30 million ounces of silver per year, have contributed to an eventful year for silver.
Against that backdrop, some silver-focused companies rose higher in 2023. The five TSX- and TSXV-listed companies below had seen the biggest share price gains year-to-date as of December 8, 2023, and all had market caps over C$10 million at that time. Data was gathered using TradingView’s stock screener.
1. Hercules Silver (TSXV:BIG)
Year-to-date gain 706.25 percent; market cap: C$165.81 million; current share price: C$1.29
Hercules Silver is a junior exploration and development company focused on its namesake asset located northwest of Cambridge, Idaho. Acquired in 2021, the Hercules property hosts a silver-lead-zinc system that was in production up until 1920. The most recent exploration at the site took place in 1988.
Shares in the company have been on the rise since October 10 when results from the first blind drill hole at the site exceeded expectations, with a highlight interval of 1.94 percent copper and 104 parts per million molybdenum over 45 meters within a larger interval of 185 meters grading 0.84 percent copper. The results confirmed the presence of a large system, which Hercules said is the first significant copper porphyry system in Idaho.
Hercules built on these results when it announced on November 1 that near-surface intercepts at the site had revealed a 25 meter interval grading 195.2 grams per metric ton (g/t) silver, 0.21 percent lead, 0.33 percent zinc, 0.24 percent copper, 5.9 percent molybdenum and 302 parts per million antimony. CEO Chris Paul stated in the release, “What began as a primary drilling target for this season has now evolved into just the upper levels of a much larger system and the presence of critical minerals adds further encouragement from a permitting standpoint in the U.S.” According to Paul, the final 3D models should be received around Christmas.
Following this news, the company announced on November 6 that it had entered into an agreement with Barrick Gold (TSX:ABX,NYSE:GOLD) in a private placement worth C$23.39 million with Barrick receiving 12.33 percent of outstanding shares on a non-diluted post-transaction basis. Hercules said the investment supports and validates the Hercules property, and it would allow the company to leverage Barrick’s experience and technical expertise.
2. Canuc Resources (TSXV:CDA)
Year-to-date gain: 170 percent; market cap: C$18.9 million; current share price: C$0.135
Canuc Resources is a junior company focused on the construction of a mine at its San Javier silver and gold project in Sonora, Mexico. The site consists of 28 contiguous claims over 1,052.9 hectares with the most recent set of claims being acquired July 11. Canuc also owns the MidTex natural gas project which consists of eight producing natural gas wells it uses to provide steady, long-term cash flow.
The company said the addition to the company’s claim group provides Canuc with comprehensive coverage of an area surrounding the largest magnetic-high anomaly detected during a magnetic survey in 2021.
Shares in the company surged in the May to June period following the release of the interim financial statement on May 30 for the period ending March 31. In it the company noted it had more than tripled its assets from C$145,131 to C$744,032 while decreasing liabilities.
Additional news adding to the share increase came on July 4, when it announced it had raised C$2 million private placement. The company said it intended to use proceeds for exploration at the San Javier project and to develop its MidTex energy assets in West Texas, US.
This improvement in financials was further reinforced through financial statements released on August 29 and November 29.
3. Gatos Silver (TSX:GATO)
Year-to-date gain: 42.7 percent; market cap: C$559.66 million; current share price: C$8.02
Gatos Silver is a production and exploration company with a focus on the development of silver projects. Its flagship asset is the Cerro Los Gatos mine and district south of Chihuahua City, Mexico. The site consists of 14 predominantly silver, lead and zinc mineralization zones.
Shares in Gatos have seen volatility this year, with its largest gains coming on March 30 when it released its financial highlights from the year ending December 2023. In the announcement, it indicated that revenue had grown 23 percent to US$218.7 million and net income had grown 27 percent to US$53 million. However, the company announced on March 31 that the filing of the financial statements would be delayed and would make the filing on or before April 17.
Gatos shares reached a yearly high of C$9.68 on April 10, but began to decline following an announcement on April 17 that financial reports for 2022 would be further delayed until May 15 at which time it announced that statements for 2021, 2022 and the first quarter of 2023 would be further delayed until May 31.
Shares began to rise again following announcements on June 26 and 27 that it had completed filings for 2021 and 2022, along with results for Q1 2023. The company released financial results for Q2 on schedule on August 8, reporting a 2 percent year-over-year improvement in revenue but a substantially lower net income, down 78 percent.
The company’s share price saw another swing upwards starting in late August. On September 6, Gatos Silver released an updated mineral reserve, mineral resource and life of mine plan for the Cerro Los Gatos mine. According to the releases, that indicated 56.3 million ounces of contained silver and would extend the life of the mine 2.75 years to the end of 2030. Annual production from 2024 to 2026 is expected to come in at 7.7 million ounces of silver.
In its most recent news on November 6, Gatos reported mixed financial results for Q3 showing a 9 percent year-over-year decrease in revenue but a 16 percent improvement in net income. The company also said it would increase its full-year 2023 silver production guidance by 16 percent and noted it remained debt-free with a strong cash balance. Shares since the release have climbed more than 25 percent to reach a year-to-date high of C$8.95 on December 14.
4. Bayhorse Silver (TSXV:BHS)
Year-to-date gain: 12.5 percent; market cap: C$10.22 million; current share price: C$0.045
Bayhorse Silver is a silver-focused company that is currently working to bring the Bayhorse silver mine in Oregon, US, back online. The mine was originally in operation until late 1984, and closed when the price of silver dropped to under US$6 per ounce. Historic sampling during the 1980s identified grades of 2,146 g/t silver, and a bulk sampling program conducted by Bayhorse in 2014 found bonanza grades of 150,370 g/t silver.
Permits for operating the mine were previously rejected by Oregon’s Department of Geology and Mining Industries, which cited deficiencies in the company’s application. Bayhorse said back in June that it was reviewing the baseline data in the submission and would be reapplying for the permits later in the year.
Shares of Bayhorse have been rising in recent weeks, and the company has said the surge may be tied to positive news from Hercules Silver (TSXV:BIG,OTCQB:BADEF), whose Hercules project is just 44 kilometers from the Bayhorse site.
Price gains were further supported with news on November 14 that it had begun mobilizing for an underground drilling program at Bayhorse. The initial program will test the 300 foot strike length of the Big Dog target.
5. Aya Gold and Silver (TSX:AYA)
Year-to-date gain: 7.41 percent; market cap: C$1.25 billion; current share price: C$10
Aya Gold and Silver is a mining, exploration and development company focusing on assets in Northwest Africa. Its flagship operation is the Zgounder silver mine located in the central Anti-Atlas mountains of Morocco. As of the end of September, the company has reported being 60 percent complete on an expansion of the mine, which when complete will see production of 6.8 million ounces of silver per year.
Additionally, Aya has several exploration projects it has been working on this past year: its 85 percent owned Boumadine gold-silver-lead-zinc project and wholly owned Tirzzit copper-silver-gold project, both of which are also located in the Anti-Atlas mountains; and its 75 percent owned Tijirit gold project in Northwest Mauritania.
Aya’s share prices saw the biggest gains coinciding with runs in the silver and gold markets in Q1 and following news on February 22 that construction of the Zgounder expansion was proceeding on schedule. This was followed with additional news from the site on February 28 when Aya released drilling results that confirmed the extension of high-grade silver mineralization outside of the current resource envelope. The report highlighted an intercept of 9,234 g/t silver over 4 meters within 7.5 meters grading 4,980 g/t.
Prices for Aya reached a year-to-date high of C$11.28 on March 29, following the release of positive financial results from FY22 indicating an 11 percent year-over-year increase in revenue to C$38.2 million and a 28 percent increase in silver sales to 1,935,154 ounces.
Despite the extension of a mineralized trend at Boumadine by 400 meters in July along with positive exploration results from Zgounder and Tijirit, and the acquisition of the historic Tirzzit copper mine and a good Q2 financial statement, shares in Aya slumped through the middle two quarters of the year, reaching a year-to-date low of C$6.75 on October 4.
The company saw a slight boost on September 12 when it announced it had been recognized by the TSX as a top performer for the third consecutive year.
Aya saw its final big gain of the season following the release of strong Q3 production and financial results on November 14. In the report, Aya said it had produced 519,085 ounces of silver. As for financials, the company saw a 63 percent year-over-year increase in revenue to C$11.7 million and reported a record cash flow of C$7.7 million for the quarter.
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.