Top 5 Junior Silver Stocks on the TSXV

Year-to-date gain: 38.46 percent; market capitalization: C$17.94 million; current share price: C$0.36

Stroud Resources is focused on its Santo Domingo silver-gold project in Mexico's Hostotipaquillo region in the province of Jalisco. The region has a mining history dating back to the 1500s, and Stroud is the first company to explore Santo Domingo with modern techniques. The property has a measured and indicated mineral resource of 25.74 million silver equivalent (AgEq) ounces and an inferred resource of 13.39 million AgEq ounces.

The precious metals explorer's share price rose first in mid-January, jumping from C$0.25 on January 7 to C$0.42 on January 14. The company released news on January 12, sharing that a drill program at Santo Domingo had intersected high-grade silver, with a highlight of 371.6 AgEq grams per metric ton (g/t) over 9.95 meters, including 1,187 g/t AgEq over 1 meter. In late January, Stroud's share price fell and stayed down through news of further drill results and the commencement of a Phase 2 drilling program at the property.

However, shares began a sharp jump back up on March 9 to C$0.49 and stayed mostly elevated for months, not dipping below the C$0.40 mark until mid-May. The company’s only news since has been the release of its 2021 financial results on May 2 and its Q1 2022 and Q1 2021 consolidated financial results on May 30.

Year-to-date gain: 36 percent; market capitalization: C$23.03 million; current share price: C$0.34

Sterling Metals is focused on its Sail Pond silver-copper-lead-zinc project in Newfoundland, Canada. The company has a 100 percent earn-in option for the property, and it completed the project’s first exploration program in 2021.

The explorer has performed downwards for much of 2022 thus far. However, its gains have been strongly tied to its news, which has picked up in Q2. The company’s share price saw a spike in mid-April following the announcement of a C$2.5 million private placement that concluded on May 27. Its share price saw another spike on the closure of the placement, moving from C$0.23 on May 27 to C$0.37 by June 2.

Most recently, Sterling shared exploration plans for Sail Pond, saying they were set to commence on June 15. According to the company, the program will have two focuses with different teams: one drilling at the Heimdall zone and one working on target generation and project enhancement. This latest news led shares to spike to the company’s year-to-date high of C$0.38 on June 10.

Year-to-date gain: 16 percent; market capitalization: C$16.39 million; current share price: C$0.145

CMC Metals describes itself as a “growth stage mineral exploration company” that is developing precious and base metals properties through the feasibility stage. Its projects are all in Canada, more specifically in Yukon, BC and Newfoundland. In terms of silver, its projects are Silver Hart and Blue Heaven in Yukon and Rancheria South in BC.

While CMC performed relatively flat through the beginning of March, its share price saw a strong performance after that and hit a year-to-date high of C$0.24 on April 18, falling off slightly in May. During Q2, the company added both a new director and a new chief geologist to its ranks. Alongside the latter announcement, CMC shared that operations at its Newfoundland properties had commenced. On May 11, the company announced it had identified six “significant” targets at the Silverknife property.

CMC shared on June 13 that its Rodney Pond property in Newfoundland is now deemed a property of merit after exploration identified a “large area of exploration interest.” Most recently, the company announced it was preparing for the largest drill program at the Silver Hart project to date. The company also shared that field crews will be sent to its Silverknife, Amy and Rancheria South projects to explore in the summer.

Year-to-date gain: 9.68 percent; market capitalization: C$114.82 million; current share price: C$0.34

Santacruz Silver Mining is a South American silver miner with producing assets in Bolivia and Mexico, as well as an exploration project in Bolivia. The company's Bolivar and Porco operations are part of a joint venture agreement with the Bolivian government, which owns 55 percent compared to Santacruz's 45 percent.

Santacruz's share price has slowly risen throughout the year. At the beginning of February, the company shared its 2021 operating results, including its total production numbers. The company put out 1.289 million silver ounces and 3.2 million AgEq ounces. On March 21, the company acquired producing assets in Bolivia from Glencore (LSE:GLEN,OTC Pink:GLCNF). “This is a significant acquisition for Santacruz that creates a leading mid-tier silver producer in the Americas," Santacruz CEO Carlos Silva said in a press release.

Santacruz’s share price gained through March and April, but fell off in May alongside the dipping silver price. The company released three pieces of news in May. First, Santacruz reported its Q4 and full-year 2021 financial results; then its Q1 production for this year, which reached 1.39 AgEq ounces, up 65.3 percent compared to Q4 2021. Lastly, the company shared its financial results for the year's first quarter.

On June 10, Santacruz announced that a “valued employee lost his life in a fatal accident at the Reserva mine in Bolivia.” An investigation is being conducted into the accident to determine how to improve safety at the site. Since the accident, the company’s share price has fallen further, although it remains up year-to-date.

Year-to-date gain: 7.14 percent; market capitalization: C$16.7 million; current share price: C$0.075

Fabled Silver Gold’s flagship project is the Santa Maria silver-gold project in the Parral district of Chihuahua, Mexico, which is part of the Mexican epithermal silver-gold belt. The company is solely focused on exploration of the property, which was only partially explored previously. It is in the home stretch of an option agreement with Golden Minerals (TSX:AUMN,NYSEAMERICAN:AUMN) to purchase the project.

Fabled’s share price spiked on February 2 on the release of positive Phase 1 surface diamond drill results, including 393 g/t silver and 86.1 g/t gold over 1.3 meters. The company has since shared a summary of all Phase 1 exploration at the property. Throughout March, April and May the company planned its Phase 2 diamond drill exploration program at Santa Maria.

Later in May, the company amended its option agreement to stretch out its final C$2 million payment due in December 2022 to instead be one C$1 million payment that month, followed by quarterly payments of C$250,000 in 2023. President and CEO Peter Hawley said, “At a difficult time for the markets, this amendment will free up working capital to devote to further defining and exploring the Santa Maria Project over the next year.”

Most recently, Fabled announced a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of up to C$1 million, which is anticipated to be used for working capital and exploration at Santa Maria.