Since Dolly Varden Silver (DV.V)(DOLLF.US) isn’t a pure silver play anymore since the Homestake Ridge acquisition, but about half gold and half silver, and the gold price has been trading well lately, the stock has shown strength as a consequence, also reinforced by strong drill results at Wolf and Homestake Ridge in the last few weeks.

Klondike Copper Project, Colorado (US)

After receiving their exploration permits for the Klondike Copper project on June 22, 2022, Alianza Minerals (ANZ.V, TARSF.US) wasted no time and will commence drilling in the first week of August, 2022. Drilling was planned to start mid July, but according to CEO Jason Weber this was delayed last minute, in order to accommodate one additional (unplanned) hole at another project the rig was coming from, and the contractor also wanted to get the rig in for some maintenance before mobilizing to Klondike – Alianza agreed to the short delay.

As Alianza Minerals (ANZ.V, TARSF.US) is looking to do at least 2,000m of diamond drilling at their fully owned Haldane Silver project this year, they needed to fill up the treasury before the winterbreak was over, and it appeared they did that just in time.

There seems to be no stopping of Aztec Minerals Corp. (AZT: TSX-V, OTCQB: AZZTF) as it keeps reeling in very good drill results from the California Zone at their majority owned and operated (65/35 JV with Kootenay Silver) Cervantes gold project in Sonora, Mexico.

After  a relatively quiet winter season with no drilling news, hybrid prospect generator Alianza Minerals (ANZ.V, TARSF.US) is gearing up to getting ready for potentially up to 5 drill programs this year at their various projects. The optioned out (Allied Copper) Klondike and Stateline copper projects in Colorado, operated by Alianza, are both in the targeting phase now, with exploration permits expected in a few weeks.

After announcing a C$5.3M investment at February 23, 2022 at a share price of C$0.59 in Dolly Varden Silver (DV.V)(DOLLF.US), maintaining their equity interest at 10.25%, Hecla Mining (HL.US) decided to invest further in the company, as part of a larger round led by Eventus Capital and Research Capital, which also saw other existing shareholder Eric Sprott participating again.

After drilling a stellar intercept of 136.8m @ 1.49g/t Au three weeks ago from the California Zone at their majority owned and operated (65/35 JV with Kootenay Silver) Cervantes gold project in Sonora, Mexico, Aztec Minerals Corp. (AZT: TSX-V, OTCQB: AZZTF) continues to publish more goodies, this time somewhat more normal highlights of 138.3m @ 0.58g/t Au and 54.7m @ 0.88g/t Au.

After a failed hostile take over attempt of Dolly Varden Silver (DV.V)(DOLLF.US) in in the past, Hecla Mining (HL.US) now resorts to maintaining their pro-rata equity interest in the company these days, as it exercised its anti-dilution right regarding the Homestake Ridge transaction.

1. Introduction

Some of the most interesting juniors are the ones that already have sufficient, solid drill results to delineate a very decent NI43-101 resource, but can grow them even larger, and have flown under the radar for a long time while quietly completing their drill programs.

At a point where the COVID-19 pandemic is playing out the Omicron variant, inflation is reaching levels not seen in decades, the Fed surprising the markets with a more hawkish stance than anticipated, with metal prices at very high levels although gold and silver seem to be consolidating and setting up for a breakout, The Critical Investor was asked again by Streetwise Reports to provide his top picks for the new year.