Vancouver, BC – September 17, 2026 -- Silver has run its sixth consecutive annual structural deficit, with spot prices assessed at $66.41 an ounce on August 31 after trading around $65 through mid-August. One layer beneath that price move, polymetallic deposits carrying zinc, lead and copper alongside silver are showing all-in sustaining costs that fall below zero once base metal by-product credits are subtracted, reshaping which projects get financed first.
Honey Badger's updated PEA reports a negative $22 all-in sustaining cost per silver ounce
Honey Badger Silver Inc. (TSXV: TUF) (OTCQB: HBEIF) (FSE: 1QA) (Tradegate: 1QA) released an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment and Mineral Resource Estimate for its 100%-owned PC Silver Mine, formerly Prairie Creek, in the Northwest Territories. The updated resource contains 11.63 million tonnes of Measured and Indicated resources grading 424 g/t AgEq and 8.47 million tonnes of Inferred resources grading 492 g/t AgEq. The 22-year mine plan targets average annual production of 10.7 million ounces of silver equivalent over the first seven years, including roughly 3.7 million ounces of silver, 157 million pounds of zinc, 118 million pounds of lead and 2.2 million pounds of copper.
The all-in sustaining cost is reported at negative US$22 per silver ounce under long-term consensus pricing and negative US$36 per ounce at spot pricing, meaning zinc, lead and copper revenue exceeds total operating cost. The after-tax NPV is $1.2 billion at an 8% discount rate with a 29% IRR and 3.1-year payback in the consensus case, rising to $1.8 billion and 38% IRR at spot pricing. Capital costs are set at $197 million for mine development, mill refurbishment and onsite work, plus $205 million for a 170 km all-season road, $174 million indirect costs and $92 million contingency.
Existing infrastructure, not a greenfield build, drives the capital profile
The site was built in the early 1980s and retains a historic mill, an airstrip and approximately five kilometres of underground workings, with the proposed road an upgrade of an existing winter route rather than new corridor construction. Chad Williams, Executive Chairman of Honey Badger Silver, said the company is "advancing a significantly developed asset with decades of hard work and capital investment already behind it." The company holds Impact and Benefit Agreements with the Nahɒą Dehé Dene Band and Łíídlįį Kų́ę́ First Nation and a Benefit Agreement with Acho Dene Koe First Nation, alongside a federal National Trade Corridors Fund contribution of up to $25 million toward the road, subject to drawdown conditions.
No economic value has been attributed to germanium, antimony or tungsten, or to recent Canadian tax incentives. The board has authorised the next engineering stage, targeting a Feasibility Study in the second quarter of 2027, and Williams referenced inbound interest from smelters, off-takers, debt providers and infrastructure investors, including two unsolicited turnkey financing proposals. No financing has been arranged and no production decision has been made.
Established producers show how slowly primary silver supply is responding
Hecla Mining Company (NYSE: HL), operator of the polymetallic Greens Creek, Lucky Friday and Keno Hill mines, reported 231 million ounces of silver reserves at end-2025 and guided 2026 production of 15.1 million to 16.5 million ounces, producing 4.2 million ounces in the second quarter. It redeemed its last $263 million of senior notes in April 2026 and raised its 2026 exploration and pre-development budget to $55 million. Pan American Silver Corp. (NYSE: PAAS) produced 22.8 million ounces of silver in 2025 and guided 25 million to 27 million ounces for 2026 following the Juanicipio integration — an increase of two to four million ounces against a market running a projected 67 million ounce deficit.