Issued on behalf of Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc.
With silver trading above US$80 an ounce and global supply deficits stretching into a sixth straight year, Nord Precious Metals (TSXV: NTH) (OTCQB: CCWOF) is entering a drill campaign aimed at the artificial lines that once prevented production — on ground where past producers pulled more than 50 million silver ounces on either side of claim boundaries.
Companies mentioned in this article include: Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. (TSXV: NTH) (OTCQB: CCWOF), Fortuna Mining Corp. (NYSE: FSM), Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (NYSE American: ASM), Aya Gold & Silver Inc. (OTCQX: AYASF), and Andean Precious Metals Corp. (OTCQX: ANPMF).
Key Takeaways
• Nord closed the acquisition of four mining leases on March 31, 2026, consolidating nearly 4 kilometres of historic property boundary — roughly half of it through documented past-producing ground.
• Three of the five largest past-producing mines in the Gowganda Camp now sit within Nord's land package, including Miller Lake-O'Brien, which produced approximately 42 million ounces of silver between 1910 and 1972.
• A historical NI 43-101 indicated tailings resource on the acquired leases totals approximately 1,940,000 tonnes at 47.5 g/t Ag, containing roughly 2,960,000 ounces of silver — with historical silver recoveries of 77% to 86% achieved at Lakefield Research.
• Silver above US$80 per ounce is more than double its price twelve months ago and roughly ten times the level when these properties last ran, rewriting the economics of the consolidated district.
• Existing permits allow drilling along the boundaries today; new permits are planned to expand drilling across the broader consolidated ground.
VANCOUVER, BC, April 20, 2026 — Baystreet.ca News Commentary — Silver prices have marched back toward multi-decade highs in 2026, with spot quotes clearing US$80 per ounce this month against a structural supply deficit that the Silver Institute now pegs as running into its sixth consecutive year. For producers, the math has shifted dramatically. For companies sitting on past-producing ground that was uneconomic at the prices of a decade ago, it has shifted even more.
That is the setup for Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. (TSXV: NTH) (OTCQB: CCWOF) (FSE: QN3), which has just closed the most meaningful piece of district consolidation seen in Ontario's historic Cobalt-Gowganda silver camp in years. With the March 31, 2026 closing of a strategic acquisition of four mining leases from Battery Mineral Resources Corp., Nord now controls nearly 4 kilometres of historic property boundary — with approximately half of that running through ground where documented past production already exists on both sides of the claim line.[1]
For decades, those boundaries were the wall. No operator could extend mining across them. Now one company holds title on both sides.
"The Company is excited to be able to drill through these historically defined artificial boundaries. With one company having title to all the area leases, we expect to identify new mineralization," stated Frank J. Basa, P.Eng., President and CEO of Nord.[1] "Just one of the past-producing mines acquired produced approximately 40 million ounces of silver. Existing permits allow drilling along the boundaries, and new permits will be submitted to allow additional drilling across this highly prospective ground. We are not simply exploring. We have a mill, we have a gravity plant, we have an engineering partner, and we have a regulatory pathway. Every metre we drill now feeds directly into a production plan."[1]
A Past-Production Footprint Most Explorers Can Only Dream About
With the acquired leases, Nord now hosts three of the five largest past-producing mines in the Gowganda Camp: Miller Lake-O'Brien (Siscoe), Castle, and Millerett.[1] The Miller Lake-O'Brien Mine alone produced approximately 42 million ounces of silver between 1910 and 1972, making it the largest past-producing Cobalt-style silver mine outside of the Cobalt Mining Camp itself.[1] These mines sit immediately adjacent to Nord's existing Castle Mine, which produced 9.9 million ounces of silver.[1]
Combined Gowganda Camp production from 1910 to 1989 totalled 60.1 million ounces of silver and 1.4 million pounds of cobalt, representing 11% of the total silver and 6% of the total cobalt for the broader Cobalt-Gowganda Camp regional endowment.[1]
A Ready-Made Tailings Resource on Surface
Beyond the underground exploration targets, the acquired leases host a historical NI 43-101 indicated tailings resource of approximately 1,940,000 tonnes grading 47.5 g/t Ag for approximately 2,960,000 contained ounces of silver at a 10 g/t cut-off (GeoVector Management, 2011).¹ Focused drilling in core areas of the tailings has returned even higher grades. Temex's 2012 re-sampling program reported a historical average grade of 60.9 g/t silver for the North Pile and South Pond, and the Sandy K Mines core-area program in 2020 returned an average grade of 62.6 g/t (2.0 oz/ton) from dry tailings.[1]
BMR's own 2018 sonic drilling program (103 holes, 773 metres) confirmed a multi-element endowment across the tailings, with weighted averages of 52.15 ppm Ag, 165.67 ppm Co, and 714.56 ppm As from 529 samples analysed by 4-acid digestion at ALS.[1] The silver occurs as coarse, liberated native grains that respond to gravity concentration — historical testwork at Lakefield Research achieved silver recoveries of 77% to 86%.[1]
Not Just Drilling — Infrastructure, Permits, and an Engineering Partner
Nord's ability to convert drill results into metal rests on infrastructure most juniors don't have. TTL Laboratories in Cobalt, Ontario — the only permitted high-grade milling facility in the Cobalt Camp — has already produced refined silver doré, including a 1,000-ounce silver bar from Cobalt Camp material.[1] The Company's acquired 600 tonne-per-day modular gravity plant awaits commissioning upon receipt of the Recovery Permit, for which the Ontario Ministry of Mines has provided an advanced template and 80-day fast-track processing pathway.[1]
T Engineering Inc., retained April 8, 2026, is advancing the engineering and pilot-scale testwork required to bring the tailings recovery program into operation under Ontario's Recovery Permit framework.[1] At Castle East, a 2025 3D geological model completed by Ronacher McKenzie Geoscience using 75,000 metres of historical drill data identified 29 discrete vein structures in a complex stockwork system hosted by the Nipissing diabase — the same geological host that underlies the newly acquired Gowganda properties.[1] That structural interpretation methodology can now be applied across the full consolidated land package.
The Silver Price Backdrop
Nord's consolidation lands in one of the most constructive silver markets in living memory. Silver crossed US$100 per ounce for the first time in history in early 2026 and set a nominal all-time high of US$121.67 per ounce on January 29, 2026.[2] After a volatile first quarter, spot prices traded around US$80 per ounce this week, up roughly 150% from twelve months ago.[3][4] The Silver Institute and Metals Focus have warned of a sixth consecutive year of structural deficit, with 762 million troy ounces drawn from aboveground stocks since 2021.[3]
Across the broader silver mining space, producers and developers have spent much of 2026 repositioning for a price environment few expected twelve months ago.
In Other Silver Sector News:
Fortuna Mining Corp. (NYSE: FSM) reported production of 72,872 gold equivalent ounces in the first quarter of 2026 from its Séguéla, Lindero, and Caylloma mines, up from 65,130 GEO in Q4 2025, and reiterated full-year 2026 guidance of 281,000 to 305,000 GEO.[5]
At the silver-focused Caylloma mine in Peru, Q1 silver production totalled 257,603 ounces alongside 11.5 million pounds of zinc and 8.2 million pounds of lead.[5] Fortuna also advanced processing plant expansion studies at Séguéla targeting throughput between 2.0 and 2.5 million tonnes per year, with an updated Mineral Resource and Reserve estimate for the Sunbird deposit expected by May 2026.[5]
Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (NYSE American: ASM) has remained in focus among silver investors after reporting record quarterly financial results driven by stronger realized metal prices and higher sales volumes at its Avino Mine in Durango, Mexico.[6]
The company continues to advance its Oxide Tailings Project alongside production at the main Avino Mine, with silver prices at current levels materially expanding margins on both operating and development-stage ounces.
Aya Gold & Silver Inc. (OTCQX: AYASF) is executing a 230,000-metre drilling program in 2026, including 200,000 metres at the Boumadine project in Morocco targeting resource conversion, with roughly $60 million allocated to exploration and $36 million to capital expenditures.[7]
Aya's Zgounder silver mine, one of the few silver-only mines in the world, anchors the Company's production base, while Boumadine has emerged as a potential district-scale polymetallic discovery. Aya has also announced the commencement of a Boumadine feasibility study.[7]
Andean Precious Metals Corp. (OTCQX: ANPMF) reported full-year 2025 production of 99,165 gold equivalent ounces from its San Bartolomé processing facility in Bolivia and Golden Queen mine in California, with consolidated silver production of approximately 4.8 million silver-equivalent ounces for the year.[8]
Management has guided to a well-balanced 2026 production profile, and an updated mineral resource estimate for Golden Queen is expected by mid-2026.[8]
A Drill Program With an Unusually Short Path to Production
The usual knock on exploration-stage silver companies is the distance between a drill bit and a dollar of revenue. Nord's integrated position — a permitted mill, a 600 tpd gravity plant awaiting a Recovery Permit, a retained engineering partner, a historical tailings resource already delineated, and a drill target along boundaries that separate 50+ million ounces of past production — materially shortens that distance.[1]
With silver prices at levels that would have been hard to imagine when these properties were last operated, the consolidated Gowganda-Castle district now sits in a very different market than the one its original operators faced.
For continuing coverage of Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. (TSXV: NTH) (OTCQB: CCWOF) and related developments in the silver sector, please visit: Baystreet.ca
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Article Sources
[1] Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. press release, "Nord Precious Metals Targets Past-Producer High-Grade Silver Boundary Areas with Next Phase of Drilling," April 20, 2026.
[2] APMEX Silver Price page, accessed April 16, 2026. https://www.apmex.com/silver-price
[3] Trading Economics, Silver commodity page, accessed April 16, 2026. https://tradingeconomics.com/commodity/silver
[4] Bullion.com, Silver Spot Price page, accessed April 16, 2026. https://www.bullion.com/spotprices/silver-price
[5] Fortuna Mining Corp. press release, "Fortuna reports production of 72,872 gold equivalent ounces in the first quarter of 2026 and provides a business update," April 9, 2026. https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/04/09/3230000/0/en/Fortuna-reports-production-of-72-872-gold-equivalent-ounces-in-the-first-quarter-of-2026-and-provides-a-business-update.html
[6] Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd., company disclosures and Q3 financial results. https://www.avino.com/
[7] Aya Gold & Silver Inc. corporate disclosures, February–March 2026. https://ayagoldsilver.com/news/news-releases/
[8] Andean Precious Metals Corp. press release, "Andean Precious Metals Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2025 Production Results and Provides 2026 Production and Cost Guidance," February 26, 2026. https://andeanpm.com/
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