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Gold/Silver Miners: Low Hanging Fruit (August 2026)

Don Durrett Aug 26, 2026

Summary

Don Durrett's 15 low-hanging-fruit names share a single thesis — execution on planned growth at $200 silver and $7,000 gold unlocks 5-20x upside across the list.

Junior miners with low insider ownership become prime hostile takeover targets once their assets are de-risked, so a defensive merger often precedes the rerate.

The market is still leaving the second-mine pipeline at NexGold and GoGold free, because the first project's standalone value already exceeds today's market cap.

Canada's scarcity of new single-asset gold producers gives each one a permanent jurisdiction premium that U.S. peers cannot replicate.

AISC (All-In Sustaining Cost — what it really costs to produce an ounce) is the single variable that decides whether each near-term producer on this list rerates or fades.

Key points on Andean Precious Metals Corp

  • At a ~$420M market cap, the guest expects Andean to start producing 5M oz of silver in H1 2028, potentially expanding toward 7M oz, on a ~100M oz deposit with exploration upside.
  • He flags Andean as a likely takeover target because it is cheap, on care-and-maintenance with low capex, yet no hostile bid has appeared — he says he's 'shocked' and 'still waiting for one'.
  • The main red flag he names is weak insider ownership, which he says leaves the company exposed to a hostile approach.

Key points on Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd

  • The guest calls Avino an 'undervalued producer with organic production growth planned' — currently mining ~4M oz/yr off a 350M oz silver-equivalent resource, set to roughly double organically to ~8M oz over the next three years without dilution.
  • He tags Avino as another likely hostile-takeover candidate because the valuation is 'very, very cheap' and insider ownership is low.
  • He highlights a ~20x earnings multiple while production is actively ramping — growth, in his view, is not yet priced in.

Key points on Aya Gold & Silver

  • The guest says Aya nearly made his low-hanging-fruit list — at a ~$4B market cap he is targeting $75–90B at $200 silver, framing it as a 10-bagger thesis driven by the Boumadene project.
  • He left Aya off the formal list mainly because production doesn't start until 2029.
  • He expects Aya to 'start ripping higher' within a year of the recording.

Key points on Denarius Metals

  • He calls the Q4 of recording 'make or break' — the Colombia mill for Zancudo is being built and the deposit needs to deliver the modeled ~8 g/t to validate the story.
  • Zancudo is already ~1M oz and he expects it to double or triple via exploration; that single project underwrites the valuation.
  • Beyond Zancudo, four projects are in the pipeline with Lomero (>$200M already invested) coming next.
  • The company is OTC-only at the time of the recording; he expects a Toronto listing in Q3 to unlock ETF inclusion.

Key points on Gogold Resources

  • Construction has just started on an 18-month build, and the guest expects the stock to 'really start ripping' in roughly a year from the recording.
  • At a ~$1.5B market cap, he says the stock is up ~10% since his article was published but still cheap relative to the planned two-mine pipeline (Los Ricos South then Los Ricos North) targeting ~15M oz production.
  • He frames GoGold as a future 'significant silver player' once both mines are online.

Key points on Guanajuato Silver

  • He frames Guanajuato as a pure margin story: a ~4M oz/yr Mexico producer with decades of operating history whose value unlocks as silver prices rise — at $200 silver he sketches a ~$125/oz margin even on ~$75 costs.
  • Production could grow roughly 50% (toward 5–6M oz), but he says this is secondary to the margin-expansion thesis.
  • He argues most investors are not forward-pricing the margin case, which is why he considers the stock 'highly leveraged to the silver price'.
  • The asset is long-life with potential for mine-life extensions.

Key points on Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd

  • At ~$900M he says Santacruz mines ~5M oz and trades at a low ~7x multiple — undervaluing the existing operation.
  • He flags the Soracaya expansion (~80% production growth) coming online in 2028 as not priced in, which should compress the multiple further.
  • The main risk he names is Bolivia political turmoil: a coup or shift to 'mining unfriendly' policy could derail the thesis.

Key points on Talisker Resources Ltd

  • Talisker is toll-milling ore in Asia today while building a dedicated mill (~2 years out), generating cash flow in the meantime.
  • The Bralorn mine is the asset; the company targets 200K oz/yr but he only models 150K oz — production path: ~40K oz in 2027, ~100K oz in 2028, then further growth.
  • He flags insider ownership under 20% as a hostile-takeover vulnerability and suggests a merger of equals (mentioning 1911 or Honey Badger as possible partners) as a way to protect shareholders.
  • The stock shows ~14x upside at the bottom of his growth sort.

Key points on 1911 Gold

  • Trading at 62 cents with a ~$239M market cap, 1911 is going into production in Q4 of the recording year and ramping through Q1 — he sees a potential 5–7 bagger within ~18 months if AISC stays around $2,500.
  • He models ~45K oz out of the gate with a second ~700K oz deposit to grow toward 75K oz and beyond.
  • The two key risks he names are cost (could print higher than modeled) and grade at the Gilbert area, though he expects grade to hold because the area has been mined historically.
  • He argues 1911 commands a 'location premium' because single-asset Canadian gold producers are scarce — he lists Hemlo, Artemis, Wesdome, New Found Gold, West Red Lake Gold, Blue Lagoon, Talisker, and NexGold as the near-term set.

Key points on NexGold Mining

  • On the precipice of construction — targeted Q3 of the recording year, possibly slipping to Q4 — with an 18-month build.
  • At ~$380M he says NexGold mirrors GoGold's two-mine pipeline (Goldboro first, then Goliath) at a meaningfully lower valuation than GoGold's $1.5B.
  • He frames the second mine as 'free' on top of an already-funded first project.
  • PFS work was still wrapping up at the time of the recording.

Key points on Silver Mountain Resources

  • Near-term producer at a ~$254M market cap — a care-and-maintenance restart that is 'really close' to production.
  • He rates it a B because the company still needs to prove it can hit its numbers and generate cash.
  • He admits it is the project he remembers least on the list, but says the resource is large enough to clear size concerns.

Key points on Silver Storm Mining

  • Just started production in the month of the recording; the key catalyst is the San Diego project — ~100M oz at ~90 g/t — for which a PEA is still pending.
  • He expects San Diego to be economic at current prices but flags low grade and permitting timing as unknowns.
  • The story is two-phase: stabilize current production first, then unlock San Diego.

Key points on Silver Tiger Metals

  • In construction now, targeting Q4 2027 production; at a ~$400M market cap he says the open-pit alone is worth more than the market cap, so the underground mine is effectively 'free'.
  • He frames the open pit as the on-ramp; the underground is where the returns come from.
  • He notes the list as a whole is heavy with companies that have a pipeline of second-mine projects.

Key points on Skeena Resources

  • He notes Skeena 'will go into construction pretty soon' as one of the next Canadian single-asset developers to come online.

Don Durrett's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Frames the video around his 'low-hanging fruit' screen — 15 names scoring '4' quality at B+ or better, with an average ~15–20x upside, picked because they have leverage to higher gold/silver prices with attractive risk/reward.
  • His core analytical framework is to find undervalued producers or near-term producers with planned organic growth and limited dilution, then wait for execution.
  • He systematically screens for 'red flags' — insider strength, location risk, dilution, permitting, and capex certainty — and names them openly for each company.
  • He actively flags takeover candidates (Andean, Avino, Talisker) where insider ownership is weak, and proposes merger-of-equals pairings (e.g., Talisker with 1911 or Honey Badger) as a defensive move.
  • He models these names at long-term $200 silver and $6,000–$7,000 gold to size upside.