Market cap: AU$2.05 billion
Share price: AU$5.86
Adriatic Metals is a precious and base metals miner in South-central Europe that is now producing silver from the Rupice mine at its Vareš project, located near Vareš, a historic mining town in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Adriatic produced its first silver-lead concentrate and zinc concentrate at the Vareš processing plant in February 2024.
On July 1, 2025, Adriatic announced it achieved commercial production at Vareš.
Adriatic’s mining efforts at Vareš are focused on the Rupice deposit, for which it released an ore reserve estimate in December 2023. The estimate indicates an 18 year mine life and probable reserves of 83 million ounces of silver, 640,000 ounces of gold, 723,000 tonnes of zinc, 457,000 tonnes of lead, 64,000 tonnes of copper and 24,000 tonnes of antimony.
Adriatic's Q1 2025 update, released on March 31, highlighted production of 1.3 million silver equivalent ounces, a 44 percent from 934,000 ounces in Q4 2024.
On June 13, the company entered an agreement to be acquired by Dundee Precious Metals (TSX:DPM,OTC:DPMLF), a fellow precious metals producer in Europe's Balkans region. Under the terms of the deal, Adriatic shareholders will be offered AU$5.56 per share, a 47.8 percent premium on the May 20 ASX closing price of AU$3.76, and will have the option to accept either a cash offer or shares in Dundee. The acquisition is expected to close in Q4.
Market cap: AU$295.14 million
Share price: AU$0.15
Silver Mines is an advanced-stage silver exploration and development company with projects in Central New South Wales, Australia: its Bowdens silver project, located 26 kilometres east of Mudgee, and its Tuena gold project, located 80 kilometres south of Orange.
Bowdens represents the largest-known undeveloped silver resource in Australia. The project comprises 2,115 square kilometres of titles, including 80 kilometres of strike. In Silver Mine's latest reserve estimate for Bowdens, released in December 2024, the company reported proven and probable mineral reserves of 71.7 million ounces of silver. The estimate also included measured, indicated and inferred resources of 180 million ounces of silver and 426,000 ounces of gold.
The project, originally approved in April 2023, was halted in August 2024 after an appeals court decision reversed earlier court proceedings regarding the potential impact of electrical transmission lines on the project. In a follow-up statement, Silver Mines said it would continue to work to obtain all relevant permits and development consents.
As of mid-July, Silver Mines has provided all requested information from the New South Wales Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure for the redetermination of the development applications.
Additionally, on July 2, the company completed its acquisition of the Calico North project in California, US, from Domestic Energy Metals (TSXV:DEMC,OTCQB:DEMCF) and entered into an earn-in agreement with Outcrop Silver (TSXV:OCG) subsidiary Lustrum Gold for an up to an 80 percent stake in the Kramer Hills project. Both are located in San Bernardino County and have seen historic production. Silver Mines anticipates that exploration of the properties will commence during the third quarter.
Market cap: AU$222.19 million
Share price: AU$1.40
Andean Silver is a precious metals exploration and development company focused on advancing the Cerro Bayo silver and gold project in Southern Chile. The company took ownership of Cerro Bayo in early 2024.
The land package consists of 70 exploration concessions covering a total of 285 square kilometres and hosts a past-producing mine that was in operation for more than 15 years. It produced 45 million ounces of silver and 650,000 ounces of gold before being placed on care and maintenance in 2022.
Andean has been focused on growing the Cerro Bayo resource and near-mine drilling targets, as well as making new discoveries. Since acquiring the project, the company has grown the resource by approximately 439 percent over 14 months.
In its most recent resource estimate for the project, released on April 1, 2025, the company reported its silver equivalent ounces increased by 22 percent to 111 million ounces. The total resource expanded to 9.8 million tonnes of ore at 353 grams per tonne (g/t) silver equivalent.
The company is continuing to target resource expansion and it is also drilling to upgrade inferred resources to the measured and indicated category. Andean is well-funded to continue advancing the project, with approximately AU$20 million in cash at the end of the March 2025 quarter.
On July 18, the company reported that it had successfully closed a AU$30 million placement and will use the proceeds to target resource growth and infill drilling campaigns, as well as support for technical and feasibility studies.
Market cap: AU$208.02 million
Share price: AU$0.445
Unico Metals is focused on assets in Argentina. Its flagship project is Cerro Leon, which it expanded through multiple acquisitions in 2024. These expansions build upon Cerro Leon's greenfield Conserrat project, in which Unico has an 80 percent stake, and the more advanced Pingüino project.
A May 2023 resource estimate for Cerro Leon outlines indicated and inferred resources of 40.9 million ounces of silver, 344,200 ounces of gold, 332 million pounds of zinc and 129 million pounds of lead.
In July 2024, Unico completed a share purchase agreement to acquire a 100 percent interest in the Sierra Blanca silver-gold project from Austral Gold (ASX:AGD,OTCQB:AGLDF) and Capella Metals (TSXV:CMIL,OTCQB:CMILF). The acquisition will allow Unico to expand Cerro Leon and consolidate the Pingüino vein into a single entity.
Soon after that, in August 2024, Unico entered into an agreement with Pan American Silver (TSX:PAAS,NYSE:PAAS) to purchase a 100 percent interest in the Joaquin and Cerro Puntundo projects. The projects are located 60 kilometres away from the Cerro Leon project, enhancing the overall scale and economics of the regional portfolio.
Under the terms of the deal, which closed on October 20, Unico is to provide a US$2 million upfront payment, with an additional payment of US$2 million on the publication of a feasibility study and US$8 million on first production from the site.
On November 6, Unico closed on a funding package, raising AU$22.5 million through the sale of 83.33 million ordinary shares at AU$0.27 per share. The company said it will use the money to conduct a 50,000 metre exploration program at the Cerro Leon and Joaquin projects and update the mineral resource estimate in late 2025.
Results from the Cerro Leon program began to be delivered in December 2024, with the most recent release coming on May 5. In the announcement, Unico reported high-grade silver returns, including a highlighted intercept of 772 g/t silver equivalent or over 13 metres, including an intersection of 4,625 g/t silver equivalent over 1.7 metres.
Additionally, the most recent results from the 10,000 metre maiden drill program at Joaquin, launched in mid-March, came on July 14. In the announcement, Unico reported a highlighted assay of 144 g/t silver equivalent over 90 meters, which included an intersection of 718 g/t over 4 metres.
Market cap: AU$157.12 million
Share price: AU$1.00
Sun Silver is an exploration and development company that is working to advance its Maverick Springs silver-gold project in Nevada, US, which it acquired from Element79 Gold (CSE:ELEM,OTC Pink:ELMGF) in May of last year. The silver company completed its initial public offering and began trading on the ASX that month.
On November 13, Sun Silver announced it had expanded its land holdings at Maverick Springs by acquiring 80 additional lode claims, increasing the property size by 34 percent to 26.28 square kilometres. The new claims are to the north and along strike of the established mineralised zone.
Final assays from Maverick Springs' inaugural drill program were released on January 14, and included a highlighted drill hole outside the resource boundary with 84.5 g/t silver over 102 metres, including an intersection of 454.6 g/t silver over 7.62 metres.
Based on the results of this first drill campaign, Silver Sun announced in late March that it had increased the JORC-compliant inferred mineral resource estimate on the project by more than 13 percent. The new resource is 479.8 million silver equivalent ounces from 218.54 million tonnes of ore, composed of 297.5 million ounces of silver at 42.2 g/t silver and 2.16 million ounces of gold at 0.31 g/t gold.
The most recent results from its exploration program at Maverick came on July 2, with Sun Silver reporting a highlighted assay of 160 g/t silver equivalent over 70 metres, including 460 g/t over 22.4 metres. The drill hole also delivered the highest silver equivalent interval in the project's history, 10,548 g/t over 0.76 metres.
In addition to its exploration work, Sun Silver announced on July 24 that it had received firm commitments to raise AU$30 million from a group of domestic and international institutions. It plans to use the proceeds from the placement to fund infill and extensional drilling at Maverick, with the intention of increasing the mineral resource estimate.
Funds will also be used to conduct metallurgical test work to support technical and economic studies, as well as to pursue critical mineral funding from the US Department of Defence.
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Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
