One data set that I track to help identify outperforming gold and silver mining stocks is the top intercepts from drill results each month. I calculate grade times width and rank the most impressive results for our premium members.
Of course, one good hit does not necessarily correlate with share price performance, so we have to look deeper to get a better idea of how promising the drill results may actually be. Grade times width is only the headline. A 27 m interval at 20 g/t and a 0.9 m spike at 141 g/t can post similar gram-metres and mean completely different things.
Mining stock investors should also consider:
Geometry. Drilled length is not thickness. A hole that cuts a vein at a shallow angle inflates the interval. True width is what matters, and so does depth: 20 g/t at 50 m vertical is a different project from 20 g/t at 500 m.
What the hole is doing. Infill inside a known resource mostly confirms ounces already modeled. A step-out in untested ground changes the size of the story. One spectacular hole is a data point. The second and third holes along strike and down-dip are what turn it into a zone.
What is inside the interval. Check whether one sample carries the composite. Ten metres at 43 g/t inside 27 m at 20 g/t is a real zone. The same gram-metres from a single 0.3 m spike in otherwise barren rock is a nugget.
Rock and recovery. Oxide near surface can be heap-leachable. Fresh sulfide at depth may need a mill, and recovery can be 50% or 95% depending on the mineralogy.
Where it sits. An intercept 30 m outside a reserve pit, next to a haul road, is worth more than the same grade 40 km from power in a jurisdiction that has not permitted a mine in a decade.
The useful question after gram-metres is: does this hole add mineable tonnes in a place and rock type the company can actually develop, or is it one sample in a good press release?
As a starting point, here were the top drill results for gold and silver miners during the month of September:
Founders Metals (TSXV: FDR / OTCQX: FDMIF) had the best intercept among gold miners at 27.0 meters (m) of 20.38 grams per tonne (g/t) gold (Au) from 100.0 m, including 10.0 m of 43.26 g/t Au. This was 550 gram-metres of gold. Founders is a step-out on a new shear, 1.2 km west of Froyo, with a 10 m core at 43 g/t inside the 27 m. This is the “second hole turns a data point into a zone” case. The company is estimating about 80% true width. The share price is up 34% in the past month and 76% year-to-date in 2026.
(press release)
Americas Gold and Silver (TSX: USA / NYSE American: USAS) had the best intercept among silver miners at the Cosalá Complex, including 654.7 g/t Ag, 1.5% Cu over 20.5 meters and 409.3 g/t Ag, 0.8% Cu over 14.1 meters. This was 13,400 gram-metres of silver. Americas is resource-conversion drilling, true width, 30 m outside the 2025 inferred boundary, with copper. That is the “adds mineable tonnes next to existing workings” case, not a discovery. The share price is down 17% in the past month and down 12% year-to-date in 2026. This is because they are already a producer, and the drill results are a conversion rather than a discovery. (press release)
I have been researching, analyzing, and sharing my top mining stock picks for 20 years now and have a track record of outperforming the sector. In addition to mining stocks, I also cover the technology sector (AI, robotics, biotech, etc.) and the cryptocurrency sector, utilizing the latest AI and Quant tools to discover undervalued companies before the herd. In most cases, the small investment in our research pays for itself many times over. You can get started for just $395.
Cheers,
Jason Hamlin, Founder, Nicoya Research
