Commodities, specifically selected metals, had a breakthrough year. Gold, silver, and copper marked some of the best performances in history. With a trend continuation in mind, we explore a list of junior companies, focusing on assets, jurisdiction, and M&A potential.
Northisle Copper and Gold
Northisle Copper and Gold Inc. (OTCQX:NTCPF) is a junior mining firm developing the North Island Project, a 34,000-hectare copper-gold porphyry district on northern Vancouver Island. The project hosts several large porphyry centers over a 35-kilometer belt, including Northwest Expo, Red Dog, Hushamu, and West Goodspeed.
The resource shows 6.9 million ounces of gold (indicated) and 3.1 billion pounds of copper (indicated). Yet, the resource potential continues to grow, extending mineralization and exploring a thesis that some of these centers, notably Red Dog and West Goodspeed are actually one large system. If that scenario were to happen, then the project could mature into a bona fide Tier-1 copper-gold district. A large, robust project would be a lucrative acquisition target for majors like BHP Group Ltd. (NYSE:BHP), Rio Tinto Plc (NYSE:RIO), or Teck Resources Ltd. (NYSE:TECK).
The 2025 PEA already points North Island in that direction, outlining a 29-year mine life, average annual production of about 157 million pounds of copper equivalent, an after-tax NPV of $1.5 billion at a 7% discount rate, and a 29% IRR. Notably, the study was based on conservative commodity assumptions, $2,150 per ounce for gold and $4.20 per pound for copper, both drastically below the current spot prices.
The key milestones for 2026 are the integrated resource update in the second quarter and a pre-feasibility study targeted for the fourth quarter.
Cassiar Gold
Cassiar Gold Corp. (OTCQX:CGLCF) is an exploration-stage junior miner focusing on the Cassiar Gold Property in northern BC, Canada. The property, divided into North (Taurus deposit) and South (high-grade historic vein camp), hosts numerous gold vein systems. The main advantages are road and power access, camp facilities, and a permitted 300 tons per day on-site mill.
In 2025, Cassiar achieved a step-change in both scale and quality at Taurus, delivering an updated NI 43-101 resource of approximately 410,000 ounces of gold in the Indicated category and 1.93 million ounces in the Inferred category, within a near-surface, pit-constrained system, with the majority of ounces located within 150 metres of surface.
2025 drilling (expanded to ~7,300 meters) continues to demonstrate both extensions of the Taurus mineralization and new Taurus-style targets such as Newcoast, where sheeted quartz vein systems and strong gold anomalies are emerging.
Cassiar has excellent potential to generate cash flow in a gold bull market, given its existing infrastructure and low capex to production. However, the firm also checks several boxes for an intermediate M&A. It has a district‑scale land package, growing near‑surface resource amenable to open‑pit mining, strong road/power/mill infrastructure, and a Tier‑1 jurisdiction.
Near‑term catalysts that could sharpen M&A interest are further resource growth beyond ~2.3 million ounces, a first PEA outlining robust economics, and continued high‑grade discoveries at Cassiar South. Execution risk (resource conversion and metallurgy) remains, but strategically, Cassiar fits the “emerging gold district” template often acquired in up‑cycles.
Silver One Resources
Silver One Resources (OTCQX:SLVRF) is a silver‑focused explorer with a portfolio of high‑quality assets in Nevada and Arizona. It owns the Candelaria past‑producing silver mine (flagship), Phoenix Silver (native silver, Arizona Silver Belt), and Cherokee (district‑scale Ag‑Cu‑Au veins in Nevada).
The Candelaria technical report outlines 108 million silver-equivalent ounces in Measured & Indicated and 29 million silver-equivalent ounces in Inferred resources across open‑pit, underground, stockpiles, and historic heap‑leach pads.
Work completed in 2025 at Phoenix Silver identified extremely high-grade native silver targets, including drill intercepts of about 3,800 grams per metric ton of silver with copper credits, in a belt that hosts major copper mines. The Cherokee project remains at an earlier stage but covers an 11-kilometer strike length of silver, copper, and gold veins.
However, the pivotal variable in the firm’s success is the innovative non-cyanide leaching technology. It is a proprietary process designed to be environmentally friendly and to improve recovery efficiency.
The historical cyanide method recovered between 30% and 40%, while the new technology showed 63% to 69%. For Silver One’s heap leach pads of about 45 million ounces of silver, these projections could mean a 30-million-ounce recovery, a revenue of more than $2 billion at current prices. The firm plans to conduct pilot tests in the first half of 2026.
If pilot tests disappoint or permitting becomes complex, Silver One reverts to a more conventional silver exploration story, with Candelaria’s value more tied to a classic open‑pit/underground development. The upside is still meaningful, but the unique, “tech‑driven” angle, and associated premium, would be diminished.
Canterra Minerals
Canterra Minerals Corp (OTCQB:CTMCF) is a junior miner focused on critical minerals and gold in central Newfoundland. It owns the Buchans Critical Minerals Project and the Wilding Gold Project located near Equinox’s Valentine Mine.
At Buchans, the company carried out its most aggressive exploration program in more than a decade in 2025. A 10,000-meter drilling campaign returned strong copper-equivalent grades, including 7.73% over 4.45 meters and a broad interval of 68 meters averaging 1.0% copper equivalent from surface.
Meanwhile, Wilding’s 2025 fieldwork recorded its highest-ever gold sample, grading up to 535 grams per metric ton, and expanded known mineralized trends. A new 1,200-meter program is scheduled for the fourth quarter, with results expected in early 2026. Canterra strengthened its balance sheet with an upsized $5.7 million flow-through financing in December 2025, leaving the company well funded for continued work into 2026.
Canterra is a high-risk, high-reward play, but one that might have the cleanest path to acquisition from this list. Wilding sits a stone’s throw away from Equinox’s Valentine, which achieved commercial production last month. After selling foreign assets, the firm is now focused on Canada and is working to double the Valentine’s nameplate capacity.
Therefore, if Canterra can demonstrate a feasibly large gold resource at Wilding, with similar geology and metallurgy to Valentine… Then, Wilding becomes a logical bolt-on acquisition for Equinox.
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