Impact: Neutral
Kootenay provided a progress update for its Columba project (100% option) in Chihuahua, Mexico, where two of three land access agreements due for renewal this year have been signed. The company reported the third agreement is in the final stages of negotiation. Kootenay expects to recommence drilling once the agreements are completed. Surface exploration has been ongoing in 2023 in preparation for drilling. We look forward to the commencement of drilling at Columba, which should provide meaningful news flow in the latter part of 2023 and going into 2024. We believe positive results could potentially help drive a re-rating of Kootenay’s share price. We note that silver prices rose ~7.8% MoM to close out July at US$24.74/oz. In our view, a potential end of the monetary tightening cycles by major global central banks could further help drive prices higher in the near-term. However, headwinds from a strengthening USD and uncertainty around future interest rate decisions remain. Nonetheless, we note that junior silver equities remain extremely undervalued and that investors should look to explorers that have compelling projects and cash on hand. We believe Kootenay fits this bill with ~C$5M in cash and plans to drill Columba in the near term, where we believe it could likely expand known Ag mineralization and be poised to potentially make new discoveries.
