Silver47 CEO Maps Path to 2027 PEA at Red Mountain, With Hughes Sitting Next Door to Black Rock Silver

Silver47 Exploration is a US-focused silver and critical minerals developer built around three projects: Red Mountain in Alaska, Hughes in central Nevada, and Mogollon in southwestern New Mexico. Speaking with the Fenwick Commodities Report, CEO Galen McNamara framed the portfolio as sitting on roughly 246 million silver equivalent ounces, mostly classified as inferred, at grades above 330 grams per ton silver equivalent. Silver equivalent is a way of expressing a polymetallic deposit in terms of silver units by converting other metals (gold, zinc, lead, copper, etc.) using prevailing prices. Management's stated aspiration is to grow that footprint to one billion silver equivalent ounces over time.

## Cash and drill program

According to McNamara, Silver47 holds about C$45 million in working capital and has raised roughly C$55 million since September of the prior year. Four rigs are currently turning across two projects. The 2026 program totals roughly 20,000 meters: 10,000 meters at Red Mountain (Alaska), 7,000 meters budgeted at Hughes (Nevada), and 1,000–1,500 meters at Mogollon (New Mexico). McNamara said Alaska drilling may come up short of the 10,000-meter plan due to seasonal staffing constraints and that the gap could be made up in Nevada.

## Red Mountain (Alaska)

Red Mountain is the largest asset, hosting 168 million silver equivalent ounces at 335 grams per ton silver equivalent. McNamara described the property as an underexplored VMS (volcanogenic massive sulfide) camp about 60 kilometers long with dozens of surface showings, many of which have not been drilled. The current resource sits on only two of those targets. Drilling this summer is intended to support a resource update at the end of 2026 or early 2027, with a PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment — an early-stage scoping study that defines project concepts, capital ranges, and operating costs) targeted for later in 2027.

The deposit is polymetallic, meaning it contains multiple payable metals. McNamara noted the system carries antimony, gallium, indium, and tin in addition to silver. He cited intercepts of 5–10 meters at roughly 0.4% antimony and said this year's drilling should provide enough drill density in parts of the deposit to include antimony in a future resource statement, an increasingly common practice given renewed US interest in domestic critical minerals supply. John Fenwick, the host, suggested Silver47 speak with Paul Hewitt at Americas Gold and Silver about how that peer began crediting antimony in its model from January 2026.

On the permitting side, McNamara emphasized that the Alaska ground is state land with no overlap with tribal corporations and that the federal government only enters the permitting picture for waters of the US. He described state engagement in Juneau as constructive, focused on jobs and project advancement.

## Hughes (Nevada)

Hughes covers the eastern half of the Tonopah mining district and is the asset where the Black Rock Silver comparison matters most. McNamara said Silver47 has roughly 43–44 million silver equivalent ounces at Hughes, compared to roughly 120 million silver equivalent ounces drilled by neighbor Black Rock Silver. Silver47 has done only about a fifth of the drilling Black Rock has done since 2020. Combined with historic district production, the broader Tonopah endowment is in the neighborhood of 500 million silver equivalent ounces across a roughly 4-kilometer strike.

Two details drew attention. First, roughly 42 of the 44 million ounces at Hughes sit on private land, a fact Fenwick said the market appears to be missing and one that materially de-risks the permitting path. Second, McNamara identified a tailings opportunity of about 2.75 million silver equivalent ounces grading roughly 66 grams per ton, located about a quarter mile off US Highway 6. Metallurgical work is in progress; recoveries in the 70% range look possible for both gold and silver. McNamara suggested a modular reprocessing plant could be built in roughly a year to a year and a half, with first production perhaps two and a half years out, offering potential near-term cash flow. At $35 silver the operation is around breakeven, with economics improving meaningfully above $55–$65.

## Mogollon (New Mexico)

Mogollon is the smallest asset by current resource but the longest by strike. McNamara called it a starter resource of about 32 million silver equivalent ounces at 367 grams per ton, concentrated on about half a kilometer of vein strike. The project totals 77 kilometers of mapped vein structure, most of which has never been drilled. Surface sampling returned widespread assays above 100 grams per ton silver equivalent, with localized samples in the thousands of grams per ton. Roughly 1,500 meters were drilled earlier this year to test initial ideas.

## Strategic posture

Asked why Silver47 describes itself as a developer rather than an explorer, McNamara said the team is pragmatic and wants to be ready for whatever the next step is — whether that is a tailings reprocessing operation, an open pit scenario, or a partnership with a major. He framed the company as open to strategic investors, joint ventures, and like-minded mergers, but unwilling to pre-commit to a specific development path. Fenwick and guest co-host Don Duret speculated openly about a possible 50/50 joint venture with Black Rock Silver at Tonopah to share mill infrastructure and capex (capital expenditure — the upfront money required to build or expand a mine).

Duret summarized Silver47 as a long-dated optionality play, valuing Red Mountain alone at roughly $3 per ounce of contained silver equivalent (about $900 million at a 300-million-ounce resource) and the full portfolio at roughly $1.5 billion at $3 per ounce on a 500-million-ounce target, with the caveat that he modeled against $200 silver rather than the spot price. He argued that the gap between Silver47's roughly C$127 million market cap and the cash flow potential of a 5–10 million ounce per year producer is wide enough that, at higher silver prices, the company would have little reason to sell.

## What to watch

- Red Mountain resource update timing (late 2026 or early 2027) and whether antimony is incorporated. - 2027 PEA at Red Mountain and its implied capex range. - Hughes drill results along the eastern Tonopah extension and any movement toward a Black Rock Silver JV. - Tailings metallurgy and scoping work at Hughes.