Today Gold and sliver news 119

viewers are looking at these nominal high prices in gold and silver and they're saying is it too late right and you know what I would say to them is if you look at equity valuations in the mining sector relative to commodity prices the sector's never been more attractive and Rick and I together with our access to capital with our technical expertise and with our big resource base and cash flow want to further enhance our portfolio News. >> You're watching Silver News Daily. Subscribe for more. >> They've just launched what might be the most aggressive move in the silver market's modern history. And no one's ready for what comes next. This isn't your typical merger, and it's not just another gold silver exploration play. This is a full-scale financial weapon aimed straight at the heart of a collapsing silver supply chain. Two industry veterans, Rick Van Nuanhusa and Sha Kungun, didn't just combine forces. They armed themselves with over $100 million in cold, hard cash and built a war chest that's pumping out another hund00 million a year from a high-grade Alaskan gold mine. And they're not sitting on it. They're about to unleash all of it on one of the highest grade silver districts in North America with drill results hitting up to 1,422 g per ton. While retail investors are still wondering if it's too late to get in, these two titans have just created a rocket ship and lit the fuse. Meanwhile, the world is on the brink of a fifth straight year of silver deficits with inventories falling and demand from solar, EVs, and AI exploding. And now, right now, a North American Goliath has stepped forward as the rarest tip of the spear. If you thought Silver's move to $66 was dramatic, wait until you see what happens when this beast hits full speed. >> No, I'm I'm delighted to be on today and introduce your audience to Rick. Um I've been coming in front of your audience for you know a number of years now and we've been sharing the value proposition at Dolly Vardarden and over that period of time Dunigan you've commented that you know we've been very active um we've done what we set out to that we said we were going to do and uh I'm really proud of how the team was executed uh we're now in an environment where precious metals are captivating you know for attention as they break out to new non-imminal highs. And um the news that we're here to share with your audience and discuss with great enthusiasm is Katango or and Dolly Varden are proposing to merge to create North America's next mid-tier gold and silver producer, developer, and explorer. And I think the probably what's most appropriate before we talk about the strategic rationale around the merger and I know many in your audience which is growing all the time are Dolly Varden viewers and some of them are shareholders. Uh we're going to get into the strategic rationale. Your viewers know me, they know the Dolly Varon story. I think what would be appropriate is if uh we could get to know Rick with a with an introduction, a little bit about Kango, and then we'll tell you why we're here and and why we're excited about building this company. >> This is the moment the silver sector stopped playing defense. With the ink barely dry, the merger between Contango or and Dolly Varden Silver has birthed a new kind of metals company. One that doesn't just survive volatility, but thrives on it. This is a merger forged in cash, scale, and strategy. And it's already being called the most aggressive North American metals combination of the decade. Why? Because it fuses the cash generating power of Contango's Mancho gold project in Alaska, spitting out nearly $100 million in annual free cash flow with the explosive high-grade potential of Dolly Vardarden's Kitsalt Valley silver project. This isn't just a resource consolidation. It's a vertically integrated assault on the silver market. And the structure of the deal makes it even more potent. It's a merger of equals, meaning no one got swallowed. Both companies came to the table with firepower and vision. And the result is a streamlined 31 million share behemoth with over $100 million in the bank and a funding model that doesn't rely on dilution. That's almost unheard of in the junior mining world. But here's where it gets lethal. This isn't just a story about balance sheets. It's a story about speed. With the Mcho cash machine humming, this new Goliath can now fasttrack Kitsalt development without waiting for capital markets or issuing more stock. They've skipped the queue and they're going straight to high impact drilling. >> Yeah, I'd love to jump into it. So, um, thanks Don again. Um, yeah, we don't have silver and so that's why uh we love we love silver. We think it's going to be a great complement to the portfolio to their combined portfolio. Um, so just a bit on my background. Uh, I'm an exploration geologist. I grew up in Alaska. I was vice president of exploration for Placer Dome back when that was one of the premier gold companies. Uh I worked in Alaska, but I also had the opportunity to work all over the world. Um so I've got a you know strong background in in exploration and and but also in in business. I left Plaster in 1997 to form my own company called Nova Gold. Uh we went back to Alaska and uh made a major discovery there with the Donland project. Um stayed with uh Donan I stayed as CEO until about 2010 and uh stayed on the board until about 2018. Uh I when I left as CEO I left because we formed another company actually spun it out of uh of Nova Gold called Trilogy Metals and we developed the Amber Mining District in Alaska. So went from from uh uh from gold to to copper focus and uh but out of uh out of uh Nova Gold, we also spun out Alexo uh which developed the Kino Hill project in uh in the Yukon and we eventually sold that to Heckler. So I am familiar with uh with uh silver. I've got lots of silver hair uh growing here. So that makes me almost an expert. So, um, with Contango, so I left Trilogy, um, uh, actually about the same time that, um, Sean joined, uh, uh, Dolly and, uh, it was, uh, I remember it very well because it was, uh, right after I joined, it was co and, uh, that made, uh, made things a more challenging, but we started uh, Contango. Uh we have a a nice high-grade deposit and we decided to take a little different tact on getting it into production rather than telling the market we're going to go uh build a mill and a tailings facility and and try to raise all the money to do that uh and get the thing permitted which would have been a big challenge. We decided to take advantage of the existing capacity at the Fort Knox Mill uh located on the highway system uh and simply transport run of my ore from Mancho which is very high grade. It's about 8 g per ton gold equivalent and just transport it up to the Fort Locks Mill and process it there. So that's indeed what we did. Uh we got the project permitted within a uh federal permits within a year, the state permits about uh 6 months later uh and then started gold production uh last July, July 2024. Um and we're just wrapping up uh the uh the fourth batch for the year. We process gold. Muncho uh ore through the Fort Knox mill is basically every middle month of every quarter uh roughly to process about 200,000 tons of ore. So um we've got um uh we're generating about $100 million of free cash flow a year. So um you know that money then can go to advance not only uh our assets our development stage assets lucky shot and Johnson track which we can talk more about but kit salt fits just perfectly in that in that line and then of course uh brings that high-grade silver to complement our high-grade gold. So uh that's kind of the short story and ready to uh answer some more questions on uh on the synergy. The Kitsalt Valley isn't just another silver district. It's sacred ground for high-grade discoveries. And now it's in the hands of a fully armed juggernaut. This is where the story shifts from strategy to firepower. We're talking about a region that's delivered some of the most eyepopping drill results in recent memory, like 1,422 g per ton of silver in a single intercept. Numbers like that don't just grab attention, they spark stampedes. And with the Contango Dolly Varden merger complete, this isn't about small exploration campaigns anymore. This is about unleashing a fully funded, full throttle drilling blitz that's designed to do one thing. Fasttrack this high-grade silver to production before the rest of the world realizes what's happening. Because once Keats Salt is in production, this company won't just be speculating on high silver prices. They'll be feeding straight into the deficit strangled supply chain that's already buckling. Think about what that means. Most silver explorers have to wait years or even decades to reach cash flow. This company already has it and it's using it to force the market's hand. Every drill hole that hits in kits sends shock waves through the supply chain. And with millions in the treasury and another 100 million a year coming in, they don't need permission, financing, or time. They're already moving. Just before we get going, we just launched the official Silver News Daily Telegram. To kick things off, we're running a 10oz silver giveaway. Yes, real physical silver, not a voucher, not digital credits, actual bullion. This Telegram will be our new home for real-time silver discussions, market insights, collection picks, and everything precious metals. It's where the community truly comes alive. Here's how to enter the 10oz silver giveaway. Be subscribed to Silver News Daily on YouTube. Turn on the notification bell, comment 10O giveaway on three separate videos. Be an active member of the Telegram group and say hi. Once we hit 500 active Telegram members, we'll pick one lucky winner to receive 10 ounces of silver shipped directly to you. So, get in early, stay active, >> and and and thanks, Rick. And I'll just close with, you know, in the investing landscape, if you're looking for exposure to precious metals, um, what differentiates the new Kango silver and gold from its peers is if your audience, if jurisdiction matters, if safety and stability matter, then this is an entity. Uh, we're creating a company here where there's only one peer, and that's Heckin. you know, we're creating a company here that has high-grade tier one jurisdiction assets and uh and we're doing it in Northwest BC and Alaska. So, we're doing it in Canada, we're doing it in the United States of America. So, if you if you like grade and if safety and stability matter, uh this is one of two choices you have in the market. Just just on that point, we've modeled a minimum of $38 million US of buying that should come into the Pro for a company with a potential additional $12 million. So, there is a pool of $50 million of uh buying that. >> Here's the brutal truth no one wants to confront. Silver is vanishing. Not in theory, not in some distant future. Right now, 2025 marks the fifth straight year of a relentless structural deficit. And every ounce pulled from the ground is already spoken for. Supply isn't keeping up. Not even close. Mine production has barely budged. Recycling can't fill the gap. And the result is a deficit that's drained global inventories by hundreds of millions of ounces since 2021. We're not just witnessing a squeeze. We're watching the early stages of a full-blown supply crisis. And here's where it gets dangerous. Silver isn't like gold. Over 70% of global silver output comes as a byproduct of other metals, meaning it can't just be ramped up on demand. When industrial buyers need more silver, they can't just order it. They have to compete for it. That's the storm this new Goliath is walking into with high-grade discoveries, productionready assets, and actual firepower to meet the moment. And as retail investors keep asking, is it too late? The answer is staring them in the face. It's not just late, it's critical. The fuse has been burning for years. What comes next won't be subtle. It'll be a scramble, a rush, a reckoning. >> Absolutely. And, you know, as uh as an independent board and as a management team, you know, we looked at a lot of options. You know, we looked at the go go alone option um as driving forward and developing as a as a single asset company. Some of the challenges that come with that though are you know the mining industry is a capital inensive industry and it and it takes um significant amount of time to move projects through exploration through development permitting and into production. And so in addition to just the the cost and the time there's a certain skill set and expertise. you know, we've built a uh an exploration team with skilled scientists who've done a great job of unlocking the discovery potential of the Kitsalt Valley with the numerous discoveries we've made. But when we looked at the go the loan option, you know, one of the things that we've been following or watching at Katango is this direct direct direct shipping ore option, this DSO option that Kango has utilized where they're cutting down that heavy capital intensiveness that comes with most traditional mining projects. And by not having to build processing facilities and permit tailings, it not only reduces the cost, but also from a permitting timeline perspective, you can move these projects, some of them within a 24-month timeline. And so as I look to leverage Rick's experience, you know, uh I've said this to to my my colleagues and to my shareholders, you know, Rick is synonymous with two things, Alaska and success. And um you know, we want to leverage his track record, his experience, his team to apply that same DSO model. And there's a number of reasons from the high-grade nature of both companies assets, the geographic consistency, you know, Alaska and Northwest BC. Um, and and if we delve into some of Rick's projects like Johnson Track, there's some similarities. You know, both Aritzel Valley and Johnson Track sit on Tidewater. They're they're both highgrade. they both have a base metal component to the uh the the mineralization. So, um there's a lot of synergies here. Um obviously the the cash flow from the operating asset, you know, uh Kango being wellunded and having a healthy balance sheet of over 100 million in in cash, but also having a 100 million in consistent cash flow. So these were all part of the rationale and then there's some other things like just the the uh the scale you know the enhanced uh profile the enhanced capital market profile that comes from trading liquidity ETF inclusion what's really interesting is the Kango team has attracted a lot of institutional shareholders institutions like Franklin and Aliesa and and so has Dolly Vardarden but there's no cross-pollination. So we see a wonderful synergy not only in the complimentary asset base and the skill set of the management teams but also throughout even the shareholders. >> Silver's not just getting scarce, it's being devoured by a technological supernova. Industrial demand has exploded into a force no one can ignore and it's rewriting the rules of the market. In 2025 alone, over 60% of all silver consumption came from industrial applications. And that number is only going in one direction, up. Solar panels, electric vehicles, AI data centers, 5G networks, the green and digital revolutions are built on silver, and the world is accelerating straight into both. The solar industry alone now accounts for nearly a fifth of all silver demand, driven by aggressive government mandates and a global race to decarbonize. And here's the twist. Silver's role in these systems isn't optional. It's irreplaceable. There's no cheaper metal, no viable substitute that can match Silver's conductivity and efficiency in high-tech applications. That means every new gigafactory, every solar field, every AI server farm. They're not just increasing demand, they're locking it in. Now add in EVs, which are set to triple production by 2030. Each car consuming 25 to 50 g of silver. Multiply that across millions of vehicles, then stack that on top of solar and AI, and you begin to see the scale of what's coming. This isn't just demand, it's a title wave. And against this backdrop, the newly merged silver gold Goliath isn't just well positioned. It's one of the only players ready to feed this industrial beast at scale. Neil, the the only thing that I'll add is, you know, we are in an industry where most companies are measured in the hundreds of millions of shares and in some cases billions of shares. To have a share structure that has approximately 30 million shares issued and outstanding. And if you think about the high concentration of institutional ownership, strategic ownership, corporate ownership, management ownership, it we envision $9 million a day of liquidity for a company that's tightly held. And and that's why I think once this proposed merger is voted through by the shareholders and the pro- fora business combination starts trading as the new entity kitango silver and gold under the existing symbol CTGO uh on the New York Stock Exchange will upgrade Dolly Vardarden's venture exchange listing to the Canadian big board which is going to bring in even more index buying. Um but this will be a company because of that tight share float where as we execute our plan and we've got a robust plan in addition to spitting off that you know big uh cash flow from the producing operations which is a joint venture with Kin Ross. You know, a lot of the times when you're buying a emerging producer, a mid-tier producer, your biggest risk is operator risk. You know, because the joint venture is with one of the largest gold companies on the planet, uh that operating risk is minimized if if if at all. And so, you've got a great partner in Ken Ross and um I suspect we're going to go out and do a lot more media like this and get on the road and share the value proposition with investors. Uh Rick and I have two very different networks and I think once we expose uh each other's networks there's going to be a nice complement to each other just like I'm a capital markets professional you know Rick is a company building technical geologist uh so we complement each other nicely as do our teams as do our asset base as do our shareholders and um so I'm I'm quite excited if we execute um you know I look forward to being on here you know in the in the future as we look and evaluate more opportunities. You know, Rick has described this as a rocket ship, you know, and the hardest thing to do is to launch. We've launched with all that jet fuel and now we want to continue with this momentum and we want to continue taking advantage of an environment that we're in right now. A lot of your viewers are looking at these nominal high prices in gold and silver and they're saying, "Is it too late?" Right? And you know what I would say to them is if you look at equity valuations in the mining sector relative to commodity prices, the sector's never been more attractive. And Rick and I together with our access to capital, with our technical expertise, and with our big resource base and cash flow want to further enhance our portfolios. >> Now, here's where things really accelerate. While most investors are glued to the silver price chart, they're missing the deeper opportunity, mining equities. Because despite silver hitting new nominal highs, the miners are still trading at some of the lowest valuations in history relative to the metal itself. And this new Goliath, it's tailorade to exploit that disconnect. Let's break it down. Mining equities like the SNP/TSX Global Silver Index are trading at just 0.62 times price to net asset value and around 5.2 2 * E V to EB ITDA. Both well below historical norms. That means they're massively underpriced compared to the silver they're sitting on. And when silver runs, these companies don't just go up, they multiply. But here's the kicker. This merger doesn't just bring leverage, it brings liquidity. The Proforma company will have roughly 31 million shares outstanding, strong index eligibility, and over $100 million in cash on the books. That's exactly what institutional funds and ETFs are looking for. Clean structure, cash flow, and scalability. Analysts are already forecasting potential ETF inflows of up to $50 million post merger. And once those machines start buying, it creates a reflexive loop. Higher prices lead to more inclusion, which leads to more inflows, and the cycle feeds itself. Most juniors will be watching from the sidelines. This Goliath will be riding the front of the wave. when you look at, you know, we're we're part of the GDXJ, we're part of the Russell 2000. Um, uh, Sean, you're on the what's the the silver index. So, I mean, those are all, uh, those are all things are good good milestones for a company, but when you put these things together, obviously that, you know, that's a multiplier effect. And as uh, as Sean has said before, 1 plus 1 is 11. So, sure, I I'll start and maybe Sean, you can if I forget something, you fill in there, but u, so it's it is a merger of equals. So the the shareholders will end up each owning 50%. Content is a surviving entity um mostly driven by tax but also some jurisdictional um uh I think strengths there being a USbased company. Uh there's some there's some good things that come with that. Um and so it'll take 3 months roughly. We expect to close in in in March. Um maybe end of February if everything goes super smooth, but so let's call it March. Um and shareholders will will receive a um a new share of Fentango and an ex and it's an exchangeable share uh for the tax purposes. Canadian tax or shareholders can uh get that exchangeable share that then if they want to sell that gets it's it gets rolled over right away. So but it does pres preserve their their tax benefits um in in being non-t taxable. the the the the transition being non non-t taxable. Um and that's something that every shareholder can elect to do or not. Um so, you know, basically we'll have about 31 million shares outstanding when it's all said and done. We have about 50 and a half right now. So, we'll basically double our share count. Um and uh yeah, I mean it's uh it's a fairly and then you know so the company will have well over $und00 million of cash in the bank and I'm talking US dollars now. Um and we'll be continuing with our Bono operation and and at today's gold prices we're generating over $100 million of free cash flow. uh incredibly strong balance sheet for a um a junior producing company with uh I say you know three great development stage assets and a lot of exploration upside would basically control four districts not just projects but mining districts between the four four different projects >> and then there's the gold silver ratio the silent signal flashing red for anyone paying attention in late 2025 that ratio compressed to between 65 5 and 74 to1, down from well over 100 to1 earlier in the year. That's not noise. That's the sound of silver playing catch-up. And every time this ratio drops sharply, silver doesn't just rise, it detonates. History is clear. When gold leads, silver slingshots. It happened in 1980. It happened in 2011. And right now, it's happening again. Gold has already broken records this year, and silver is finally starting to wake up. But it's still massively undervalued on a historical basis. The average gold silver ratio over the past few decades has hovered around 60 to 75. So when the ratio compresses into that range, silver tends to move violently because that's where the reversion happens. Investors rotate from gold into silver, speculators pile in and the leverage explodes. And now the setup couldn't be tighter. We've got record industrial demand, historic deficits, undervalued miners, and a newly merged, fully armed silver producer sitting at the heart of it all. The ratio isn't just compressing, it's confirming. It's telling us that silver's moment isn't coming later. It's already started. And for those still watching from the sidelines, the window to act is snapping shut. >> Absolutely. And you know, as uh as an independent board and as a management team, you know, we looked at a lot of options. you know, we looked at the go go go alone option um as driving forward and developing as a as a single asset company. Some of the challenges that come with that though are you know the mining industry is a capital intensive industry and it and it takes um significant amount of time to move projects through exploration through development permitting and into production. And so in addition to just the the cost and the time, there's a certain skill set and expertise. You know, we've built a uh an exploration team with skilled scientists. You've done a great job of unlocking the discovery potential of the Kitsalt Valley with the numerous discoveries we've made. But when we looked at the go alone option, you know, one of the things that we've been following or watching at Kango is this direct direct direct shipping ore option, this DSO option that Kango has utilized where they're cutting down that heavy capital intensiveness that comes with most traditional mining projects. And by not having to build processing facilities and permit tailings, it not only reduces the cost, but also from a permitting timeline perspective, you can move these projects, some of them within a 24-month timeline. And so as I look to leverage Rick's experience, you know, I've said this to to my my colleagues and to my shareholders, you know, Rick is synonymous with two things, Alaska and success. And um you know, we want to leverage his track record, his experience, his team to apply that same DSO model. And there's a number of reasons from the high-grade nature of both companies assets, the geographic consistency, you know, Alaska and Northwest BC. Um, and and if we delve into some of Rick's projects like Johnson Track, there's some similarities. You know, both Aritzel Valley and Johnson Track sit on Tidewater. They're they're both highgrade. they both have a base metal component to the uh the the mineralization. So, um there's a lot of synergies here. Um obviously the the cash flow from the operating asset, you know, uh Kango being wellunded and having a healthy balance sheet of over a 100 million in in cash, but also having a 100 million in consistent cash flow. So these were all part of the rationale and then there's some other things like just the the uh the scale you know the enhanced uh profile the enhanced capital market profile that comes from trading liquidity ETF inclusion what's really interesting is the Kango team has attracted a lot of institutional shareholders institutions like Franklin and Aliesa and and so has Dolly Vardarden but there's no cross-pollination. So we see a wonderful synergy not only in the complimentary asset base and the skill set of the management teams but also throughout even the shareholders. >> This isn't just a silver company. It's the financial war machine built for the moment the world runs out of time. The merger between Contango ore and Dolly Varden Silver didn't just create a bigger minor. It created the rarest kind of market force. A fully funded, productionready juggernaut with the firepower to drill, develop, and dominate in the middle of a global supply crisis. With over $100 million in cash, another $100 million flowing annually, and some of the highest grade silver drill hits in North America, this Goliath is charging headirst into a market starving for supply. And as industrial demand breaks records, deficits deepen, and the gold silver ratio flashes breakout signals, this company isn't preparing. It's already moving. The world is heading toward tripledigit silver and most investors are still asleep at the wheel. But for those paying attention, this may be the final warning before the revaluation. Because once the market realizes what's happening, once capital floods into the miners and supply chains start snapping, it will be too late to buy at today's prices. So, if you're watching this and you see the setup, do your own research, stay alert, and subscribe to stay ahead of what's coming. This is not financial advice. Always speak to a licensed professional before making any investment decisions.