Santacruz Silver – Review Of Improved Q2 2026 Operations and Ongoing Growth Initiatives

The KE Report Aug 9, 2026

Summary

Santacruz's Q2 2026 silver output jumped 17% QoQ to 1.57M oz, lifted by Bolivar's post-flood recovery and Zimapan's faster throughput.

By Q4, Bolivar's high-grade Bamba and Nanae veins and Zimapan's Level 960 zone should lift head grades (the silver content of mined ore) further.

The Soracaya silver mine, already partially developed, is set for Q4 initial ramp-up, shifting the production mix further toward silver.

Management is scouting Americas acquisitions producing more than 3M oz silver annually, funded by a $75M-$80M treasury and clean balance sheet.

Bolivian promissory notes at 10% versus 15% local inflation fund San Lucas working capital at a real negative rate.

The guest reports Q2 2026 production of nearly 1.6 million ounces of silver and just over 23,000 tons of zinc, with ore processed up 22% versus Q1, driven mainly by Bolivar's recovery and Zimapan's ramp-up.
He targets full production at Bolivar by Q4 2026, with high-grade Bamboa and Nanae veins plus two additional high-silver areas coming online, and about 5,000 tons/month of extra Zimapan throughput (from 74k toward a budgeted 80k).
He states revenue mix is now about 60% silver and 35% zinc (the rest lead and copper), pushing back on the base-metals-company label.
Growth plans include Soracaya — a silver-forward project expected fully permitted by late August/early September 2026 with first ore by mid-Q4 2026 — plus an active hunt in the Americas for acquisitions producing north of 3 million ounces of silver, and a TSX main-board up-listing targeted for end of August 2026.
He highlights the San Lucas ore-sourcing business in Bolivia, which lifted silver output around 20% in Q2 and is being financed by a fourth tranche of 70 million Bolivianos at about 10% interest against about 15% local inflation; Caballo Blanco runs at all-in sustaining cash costs below $20, and treasury sits north of $75-80 million after roughly $30 million in taxes paid earlier in 2026.

Top takeaway The guest argues Santacruz Silver is structurally undervalued, noting that Silvercrest and Los Gatos transacted at far higher market caps despite lower silver-equivalent output and that several mid-tier peers ran to roughly $2 billion valuations while SCZ remained in the low hundreds of millions.
He frames the prior six months of sector drawdown — the silver group has been roughly cut in half — as having left SCZ even cheaper versus peers, and presses the CEO on whether current prices fairly reflect the company's production profile.

Top takeaway The guest credits Q2 2026 production gains to Bolivar's recovery and a 1,000-ton-per-month tonnage ramp at Zimapan, targets full Bolivar output by Q4 2026, and frames the high-grade Bolivar veins plus Zimapan level 960 as the central drivers of Q4 silver grades, recoveries and throughputs.
He argues the head-grade bump from Q1 is unlikely to repeat on a like-for-like basis, with silver grades expected to stay steady and add only a slight increase next quarter as more Bolivar ore is fed into the plant.
He pushes back on the base-metals narrative by reporting revenue at about 60% silver and 35% zinc, and highlights Caballo Blanco as the most profitable mine with all-in sustaining cash costs below $20.
On growth, he points to Soracaya (full permitting expected by late August/early September 2026, initial production by mid-Q4 2026), a planned dedicated mill for the San Lucas ore-sourcing business, and active M&A targeting Americas assets producing north of 3 million ounces of silver.
On financing and valuation, he cites treasury north of $75-80 million after about $30 million in 2026 tax payments, efficient working-capital financing in Bolivia (latest promissory note at about 10% versus about 15% inflation), no material debt, and expects the TSX up-listing to close in early September 2026.