Kootenay Silver Inc.
Kootenay Silver is advancing a portfolio of FOUR silver deposits across two Mexican states, not one: Columba and La Cigarra in Chihuahua, and Promontorio and La Negra in Sonora (correcting an earlier description that placed all four in Chihuahua). La Cigarra is now the company's most advanced project by evidenced milestone: a positive NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment was announced 15 Jun 2026 (US$763M after-tax NPV at 5%, 41% IRR, 14-year mine life, US$332.2M initial capex, base case US$50/oz Ag), with the supporting Technical Report filed 7 Aug 2026, built on an updated Measured+Indicated resource (effective 4 Apr 2026) of 23.02 Mt @ 81 g/t Ag for 60.02 Moz contained silver. Columba, the company's most-drilled and most-publicized deposit, carries only a maiden Inferred resource (May 2025: 5.92 Mt @ 284 g/t Ag for 54.1 Moz contained silver, no M+I category) and remains at an earlier stage despite the exploration attention. Promontorio separately carries a Measured & Indicated resource (27 Aug 2023: 42.1 Mt @ 34.5 g/t Ag for 46.77 Moz contained silver M+I) but no economic study.
Notable vs. Peers
- Financials score of 7.8/10 is stronger than the peer average of 5.8/10.
- Trading within 1% of its 52-week low — weak recent price momentum.
Lifecycle Milestones
Not yet determined: mill, tailings facility, grid power.
Combined view across 3 projects. Figures below are only combined where the underlying basis genuinely matches -- see the notes under each.
- 41%La Cigarra Silver Project, Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico
- 14 yrsLa Cigarra Silver Project, Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico
Jurisdiction (40%)6/10
Mexico has an established, historically mining-friendly regime and Chihuahua's Parral district has a long mining history, but 2023 federal mining-law reforms add real regulatory risk versus Tier-1 jurisdictions.
Infrastructure (40%)6.4/10
Confirmed road access at La Cigarra Silver Project, Hidalgo del Parral, Chihuahua, Mexico; existing mill, grid power, and tailings facility not yet researched, counted at a neutral 5/10 until established.
Nearby producing mine (20%)9.9/10
San Francisco del Oro (Minera Frisco, S.A.B. de C.V.) is 21 km away -- within regional-platform range.
Acquisition Susceptibility
A relative ranking of how closely this company matches the profile of juniors that have actually been acquired — not a probability, and not a reason to buy. Acquisitions are rare: only a few dozen significant deals happen a year across a universe of thousands of juniors, so even a high score here describes a long shot. The strongest signal in the research, a producer that already owns part of the company, is scored from its disclosed strategic shareholders. A producer that is a joint-venture or earn-in partner on the project, rather than a shareholder, isn't captured yet.
How this score is built
- Disclosed pending dealSub-score: Not scored
No pending acquisition or merger disclosed (checked)
Not scored: having no deal in flight isn't held against a company.
Weight 26.25% - Producer's strategic stakeSub-score: Not scored
No producer holds a disclosed stake on file (holder register researched) See holders
Not scored: most juniors that do get bought had no prior toehold, so a missing stake says little either way.
Weight 25% - Distance to a producing mineSub-score:7.9/10
Nearest producing mine: San Francisco del Oro (Minera Frisco, S.A.B. de C.V.), 21 km
10 next to a producing mine, 8 at 20 km, 5 at 50 km, 0 beyond 200 km.
Weight 22.5% · 46% here - Lifecycle stageSub-score:6/10
Stage: Preliminary Economic Assessment
Feasibility and permitting score 10, where deals cluster, and production 5.5; earlier stages score less, down to 1 at grassroots.
Weight 15% · 31% here - JurisdictionSub-score:6/10
Mexico: jurisdiction score 6/10
Our jurisdiction score, used as is: higher means lower political and permitting risk.
Weight 6.75% · 14% here - CommoditySub-score:5/10
Primary commodity: Silver
Gold 10, copper 8, silver 5, nickel and uranium 4, others 2: most majors' deals are for gold.
Weight 4.5% · 9% here
Weight is each input's share of the full score. “Here” is its share of this company's score: inputs that aren't scored are left out and the rest re-weighted, never counted as zero.
Your Rankings
Management Team
President, Chief Executive Officer and Director of Kootenay Silver Inc., and a founder of the company; also Chief Executive Officer & Director of Kootenay Resources Inc. and a director of PJX Resources Inc. (PGeo) More than 30 years of combined technical and financial experience in the mining sector. Co-founded and successfully developed National Gold, which merged with Alamos Minerals to form Alamos Gold, for which he was a Director and served on numerous committees until June 2012. Also served as President of Genco Resources, which operated the La Guitarra Silver Mine in Mexico, and is a co-founder and former director of Northern Vertex Mining Corp.; formerly an Independent Director of Regulus Resources Inc.
Chairman of Kootenay Silver Inc., and a founder of the company; also Chief Executive Officer & Director of Galactic Gold Corp. (B.Comm) Over 30 years of experience in finance and venture capital markets. Began his career in the Canadian brokerage industry as an investment advisor before founding various publicly traded companies, with roles including senior management positions and directorships responsible for finance, business development, strategic planning and corporate restructuring. Was the co-founder, CEO and Director/Chairman of Northern Vertex Mining Corp. Prior to his career in the capital markets he enjoyed a professional hockey career and was a participant in the 1980 and 1988 Winter Olympics.
Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary and Director of Kootenay Silver Inc. and Kootenay Resources Inc., and Chief Financial Officer, Corporate Secretary & Director of Galactic Gold Corp. Over 25 years of financial experience across public and private companies including Salares Lithium, Gryphon Gold, Star Shipping and Steppe Gold.
Vice President of Exploration of Kootenay Silver Inc.; also Vice President of Exploration of Kootenay Resources Inc. (BSc, PGeo) A professional geologist with 25 years of mineral exploration experience, working on projects in Australia, Canada, Mexico, the USA and Brazil, with particular expertise in identifying and upgrading early stage projects and a track record of successful stakeholder negotiations resulting in productive land access agreements. Based in Vancouver, B.C., he has 10 years of experience managing exploration projects in northern Mexico for junior exploration companies Kootenay Silver, Astral Mining, Orex Minerals Inc. and Silver Viper Minerals Corp. Holds a Bachelor of Applied Geology degree from Curtin University of Western Australia and a Bachelor of Science (Environmental) degree from the University of Western Australia, and is a member in good standing of Engineers & Geoscientists British Columbia.
Vice President of Exploration Emeritus of Kootenay Silver Inc. (BSc, PhD). An accomplished author and co-author of numerous publications in the science of geology through central British Columbia. Was a Research Scientist with the Geological Survey of Canada during the 1970s doing regional mapping in British Columbia, and conducted regional exploration in Canada, the United States and Mexico to the early 1990s as an independent geologist and prospector with junior and major mining companies including Teck, Inco, Esso, Newmont, Falconbridge and Union Carbide, and throughout northwest Argentina until 2007. Has been involved with Kootenay in Mexico from 2007 to present.
Insiders, Investors & Smart Money
Notable shareholders and insiders whose involvement is worth knowing about, plus what we're seeing from institutional/large-investor activity.
Eric Sprott invested $5 million in Kootenay Silver in 2019 (31,250,000 units); after his warrants expired unexercised in August 2022, he retained 30,150,000 shares, approximately 8.4% non-diluted -- a real share position, not an 'expired' one, since only the warrants lapsed. Falling below the 10% early-warning threshold at that point means no further disclosure has been legally required since, so whether he still holds any of those shares today cannot be confirmed either way despite thorough searching; Agnico Eagle's separate 2013 stake is long gone. No resource fund currently holds a meaningful, currently-disclosed position. The only recent insider activity was a director selling a modest number of shares in August 2026.
No notable insiders tracked for this miner yet.
Reports, Presentations & Documents
Kootenay Silver owns 100% of four silver deposits in Mexico: La Cigarra and Columba in Chihuahua, and Promontorio and La Negra in Sonora. Company-wide measured and indicated resources contain 128,243,000 oz of silver, plus 88,931,000 oz inferred: La Cigarra holds 60,020,000 oz (April 2026) and Promontorio-La Negra 68,223,000 oz (August 2023), while Columba's maiden resource of 54.1 Moz of silver is entirely inferred. The June 2026 preliminary economic assessment for La Cigarra, its most advanced project, shows an after-tax NPV5% of US$763M and a 41% IRR at US$50/oz silver, with initial capital of US$332.2M and a 14-year mine life for a 6,000 tpd open pit, and its technical report was filed in August 2026.