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8 Mining Stocks Our Viewers Asked Us to Review | Sept 14th-18th

The Deep Dive Sep 18, 2026 15:58

Summary

Host Steve Hyland works through eight viewer-requested names, framing each as a development, execution, or pure exploration story with a clear re-rate trigger.

Barrick put 38.5% of 4 Mile into the Nevada JV for $1.95 billion — far below Citi's $10–20 billion range — to clear a default.

i-80 Gold is fully funded but slipping: Cove and Granite Creek studies now target Q3, and Archimedes has slid to mid-2027.

A US statutory gold revaluation at $4,300 per ounce would unlock roughly $1.1 trillion — effective QE without calling it QE.

LaFleur's Beacon mill is past 95% recommissioned, but its first gold pour has slipped from March to year-end 2026, and a new CEO arrived mid-restart.

Key points on Agnico Eagle Mines

  • Agnico owns 27% of Cartier Resources, which the speaker frames as both a vote of confidence and a gatekeeper on the project.
  • Speaker notes Agnico's Canadian Malartic mine is roughly 70 km from Cartier's ground, making roads, power, and mill proximity a quiet but real advantage.

Key points on Alamos Gold

  • Two seismic events at Young-Davidson in June 2026 damaged infrastructure, cut access to higher-grade stopes, and dropped the stock 17% in a single day.
  • Full-year 2026 guidance fell to roughly 540,000 ounces, with Young-Davidson now capped near 5,000 tons per day for the rest of the year.
  • Speaker argues Island Gold, not Young-Davidson, is Alamos's high-grade crown jewel — new June drilling hit multiple high-grade zones there.
  • The last Argonaut hedges are gone, so Alamos now gets the full upside from gold price moves.
  • Re-rating depends on Q3 execution: Young-Davidson stabilizing and Island Gold's expansion staying on track.

Key points on Barrick Mining

  • Speaker argues value-destroying deals are in Barrick's DNA, citing the $7.3B 2011 Equinox bid that led to a $3.8B write-down and Pascua Lama's cost overruns from $1.5B to over $8B with a $6B write-down.
  • In the recent Nevada Gold Mines transaction, 38.5% of Four Mile went into the JV for $1.95B, while Citi had valued Four Mile at $10B-$20B with no contingent payments.
  • Speaker notes no filed technical report exists yet — only a slide deck — and questions whether that is even legal.
  • Barrick allegedly diverted JV resources toward Four Mile in January 2026 before securing Newmont's consent, leaving it with no negotiating power when Newmont noticed a default.
  • Speaker says the stock re-rates on three things: a proper technical report, an IPO that actually prices on schedule, and management regaining market trust.

Key points on Newmont

  • Newmont held consent rights over any Nevada Gold Mines transfer and served a default notice after alleging Barrick diverted JV resources toward its adjacent Four Mile asset in January 2026.
  • Speaker says Newmont ended up with the better side of the deal: 38.5% of Four Mile moved into the JV for $1.95B when Citi had valued Four Mile at $10B-$20B, with Newmont now sharing in every ounce Barrick's 20 rigs find.
  • There are no contingent payments in Newmont's favor despite the value gap.
  • Cash from the deal mostly flows to parent shareholders rather than the IPO vehicle, limiting standalone appeal of the new entity.
  • Speaker frames the outcome as Barrick buying certainty — default cleared, no litigation, IPO unblocked — but at a steep price.

Key points on i-80 Gold Corp

  • Gold prepayment facility closed and recapitalization complete, making i-80 a fully funded, pure execution story per the speaker.
  • CEO Richard Young is running a Lone Tree plant rebuild alongside multiple undergrounds and a stack of studies — the speaker calls it one of the most chaotic mining operations he has seen.
  • Cove's feasibility study has slipped from Q1 2026 to Q3 2026, and Granite Creek and Cove studies were pushed from Q2 to Q3; Archimedes is now tracking toward mid-2027.
  • Archimedes hit 16 g/t gold over 56 meters; Lone Tree is on schedule and on budget with demolition underway; Granite Creek is mining more ore but limited third-party mill access is slowing sales conversion.
  • Re-rating depends on hitting dates — studies landing on time and Archimedes/Granite Creek feeding Lone Tree by late 2027.

Key points on LaFleur Minerals

  • Market cap sits below the assessed value of the Beacon mill — a fully permitted 750-tpd mill with over CAD 20M already sunk into it and an independent replacement value around CAD 72M.
  • Lafleur paid roughly CAD 1.1M for the mill through Monarch Mining's bankruptcy, of which only about CAD 250k was cash — signaling soft industry appetite for the asset.
  • Re-commissioning is over 95% complete, and Trafigura is doing diligence on a $30M pre-pay and offtake.
  • First gold pour has slipped from March to April to Q2 to now end of 2026; tailings repairs are still outstanding and a new CEO just came in mid-restart.
  • Swanson holds roughly 227,000 ounces at under 2 g/t — speaker says re-rate comes from the first pour, a signed Trafigura deal, and steady throughput.

Key points on Cartier Resources Inc

  • Speaker says Cartier is trying to prove 15 km of the Cadillac Fault in Val d'Or is a mining camp, not just one mine.
  • Resource sits at 3.2 million ounces, but over 88% is underground at roughly 2.3 g/t — not a shallow story.
  • Metwork shows 96% gold recoveries, plus a new near-surface Hope zone and a 920-meter shaft with 7 km of drifts already in the ground.
  • Agnico Eagle owns 27%, which the speaker frames as a vote of confidence and a gatekeeper.
  • Updated PEA is the September 2026 catalyst; at a roughly CAD 130M market cap, bulk underground grade has to pencil, and Agnico's Canadian Malartic sits about 70 km away.

Kevin Warsh's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Speaker describes Kevin Warsh as the new Fed Chair who is talking tough on inflation, but notes he was chosen by Trump, so the markets are unsure of 'the real Kevin Warsh.'
  • Speaker argues Warsh's stance matters because large-scale Treasury bond buying ultimately needs Fed cooperation via quantitative easing.

Steve Hyland's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Speaker argues Barrick's recent Nevada Gold Mines transaction follows a pattern of value-destroying deals, pointing to the 2011 Equinox acquisition and Pascua Lama cost blowouts as historical precedents.
  • On US gold revaluation, speaker says it is 'effectively QE without calling it QE,' but is not giving it a zero probability given Trump's White House and a Fed that may not play ball.
  • For junior mining stocks, speaker argues the real re-rate catalysts are execution — hitting study dates, pouring first gold, signing offtake deals — not press releases.
  • On Cartier, speaker emphasizes proximity to Agnico's Canadian Malartic hub (~70 km away) as a quiet but crucial infrastructure advantage.
  • Speaker frames the J2 Metals and Impact Silver partnership as a useful operational shortcut in a tough Mexican jurisdiction, while flagging antimony hype as something to ignore.

Scott Bessent's takeaways

  • Top takeaway In August 2026, Bessent doubled the Treasury's long bond buybacks from $2B to at least $4B, which calmed a sell-off — but the speaker says large-scale buying will need Fed quantitative easing cooperation.
  • Bessent said in March 2025 that he would not pursue gold revaluation, and changing the statutory price will likely need Congress; the speaker still rates the probability as non-zero under the current administration.

Richard Young's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Speaker describes i-80 Gold CEO Richard Young as one of the calmest people he has met, while running what the speaker calls one of the most chaotic mining operations he has seen — juggling a plant rebuild, multiple undergrounds, and a stack of studies.
  • Speaker credits Young's execution with closing the gold prepayment facility and recap, putting i-80 on a fully funded development plan with Archimedes, Granite Creek, Cove, and Lone Tree advancing in parallel.

Mark Hill's takeaways

  • Top takeaway On a Barrick conference call, CIBC's Mark Hill replied 'I haven't got a good answer to that' when asked about the lack of a filed technical report behind the Nevada IPO — only a slide deck.
  • Hill framed the deal as Barrick 'buying certainty' — no default notice, no litigation, IPO unblocked — which the speaker used to anchor his view on what would re-rate the stock.

Anita Sawney's takeaways

  • Top takeaway On a Barrick conference call, CIBC's Anita Sawney suggested the stock was failing because there is no filed technical report behind the Nevada IPO, only a slide deck.
  • Her question drew a candid 'I haven't got a good answer to that' from Mark Hill, which the speaker cited as part of his broader skepticism about the deal.