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Nick Hodge – Beaver Creek Recap, Key Newsflow In Portfolio Stocks, & Outlook On Gold, Silver, Copper

The KE Report Oct 1, 2026 23:59

Summary

Junior resource companies are spinning out unloved assets into new vehicles, a track record Nick Hodge credits with unlocking shareholder value where portfolios stagnate.

This year's Beaver Creek precious metals summit was the busiest yet, with institutional money out in force and companies focused on execution over bull-market debates.

The guest argues copper is the strongest major metal, supported by data-center buildout, mine supply disruptions, and the absence of US import tariffs.

Gold must hold $4,000, in Hodge's view, as a rising dollar and multi-decade bond yields oppose it, setting up a buying opportunity.

Silver looks weaker than gold and could retest $55; Hodge is hunting a mid-tier silver producer but wants a better entry before buying.

Key points on Aya Gold & Silver

  • Hodge says he wanted to buy Aya Gold & Silver after meeting the company at the Rule Symposium, but the stock got away from him on the chart and has not pulled back commensurately with other names.

Key points on Elemental Royalty

  • Host Shad Markowitz notes Elemental made a big acquisition and is spinning out all of its prospect generator assets.
  • He says Dave Cole from EMX is taking back over that spun-out prospect generator wing of the company.

Key points on Empress Royalty Corp

  • Hodge calls Empress's new royalty deal — a $75 million facility with Appian to purchase a royalty on the Tongan gold mine in Cote d'Ivoire — a really big deal for a company that previously held four smaller producing royalties.
  • He has been involved in the company for a couple of years and expects it to keep executing on adding new royalties.
  • He says the market seems to like the announcement.
  • He adds that Rick Rule, a shareholder he interviewed before Beaver Creek, likes the deal and the royalty model.

Key points on Banyan Gold Corp

  • Hodge says Banyan Gold raised about $55 million during Beaver Creek week and is doing good as a result.
  • He notes Au Gold CEO Mark Blythe is also Banyan's non-executive chairman, working alongside Tara Christie.

Key points on Capitan Silver

  • Hodge says Capitan Silver, spun out of Riverside Resources by John-Mark Staude, has done really well in Mexico since its creation.

Key points on Regulus Resources Inc

  • Hodge names Regulus as part of the John Black group's current run of success, alongside Aldebaran.

Key points on Vista Gold Corp

  • Cited by Hodge as one of the small M&A deals done so far, in an M&A environment he describes as light with nothing major yet.

Key points on Blue Jay Gold

  • Hodge says Blue Jay Gold, spun out of Riverside, is drilling with pretty good success at the Skookum project in the Yukon.
  • He recommended one of its placements before it IPO'd last year and says the stock has traded pretty well since listing.

Nick Hodge's takeaways

  • Top takeaway His central macro call: gold has a real floor at $4,000 — he would be a buyer of more gold there, sees short-term resistance near $4,600 after the $4,175-4,200 area held — and he thinks the market is pricing too many rate hikes, with inflation fading into 2027 and the Fed turning dovish.
  • He argues copper is the strongest of the major metals, ahead of gold and certainly silver, supported by the AI data-center buildout (about $700 billion a year, possibly topping $1 trillion) and supply shocks like the Escondida shutdown and strike threats at major mines.
  • He is constructive on spin-outs as a way to unlock value while serious M&A remains scarce, citing Riverside's Rovina spin-out, Latin Metals' Latin Explore, Aldebaran's new spin-co and Bravo Mining's contemplated copper spin-out.
  • He came away from Beaver Creek encouraged that the sector is focused on execution and catalysts rather than bull-or-bear debate, and reads the heavy 'blue suit' presence as institutional money that could eventually spark larger M&A.
  • On silver he is cautious short term: he sold his SLVR ETF position in early September 2026 while keeping GDXJ and GLD, sees a possible retest of $54-55, and is hunting for a mid-tier silver producer in the $1-3 billion market-cap range to buy on weakness.

Shad Markowitz's takeaways

  • Top takeaway He reports that companies at Beaver Creek described a healthy mix of meetings — roughly a third with high-net-worth investors, a third with institutions and funds, and a third with producers discussing partnerships, option agreements and takeovers.
  • He stresses this was the biggest Beaver Creek ever — about 225 companies and 1,800 attendees — and that far more spin-cos were discussed than he can remember in past years.
  • As an Aldebaran shareholder he met the John Black group at Beaver Creek about the Sintari spin-out and plans to host the person running it on the show soon.
  • He flags Elemental's big acquisition and its spin-out of all prospect generator assets to Dave Cole of EMX as the news that opened the SpinCo discussion.