Americas Gold & Silver & the Emerging Strategic Premium for US Silver Producers

• Americas Gold & Silver reported first-quarter 2026 silver production of 787,000 ounces, a 76% increase year-over-year, with record sales of 830,000 ounces.
• The Galena Complex transition to long-hole stoping delivered a 300% productivity increase across 10 panels mined to date, with daily throughput reaching 410 tonnes per day and targeting 650 tonnes per day by year-end.
• Daily trading volume expanded from $400,000-$500,000 to $70-$75 million as generalist investors allocated to US-jurisdictional primary silver producers.
• The Company trades at 0.6 times net asset value (NAV) compared to recent primary silver acquisitions at 2 times NAV, suggesting operational execution has not yet been reflected in market pricing.
• The Company signed a 51%-owned antimony processing joint venture, reported a 19% resource increase at Galena, and holds $122.4 million in cash to fund 2026 production guidance of 3.2 to 3.6 million silver ounces.

What Has Happened

Americas Gold & Silver (TSX: USA | NYSE American: USAS) reported consolidated silver production of approximately 787,000 ounces for the first quarter of 2026 on May 14, 2026, representing a 76% increase compared to first-quarter 2025 production of approximately 446,000 ounces. Consolidated silver sales reached a record 830,000 ounces during the period. The Galena Complex in Idaho's Silver Valley produced approximately 425,000 ounces of silver, a 35% increase compared to the first quarter of 2025, driven by increased tonnage during the period.

The throughput acceleration follows capital deployment into two constraint areas. The Number Three shaft, Galena's primary hoisting infrastructure, received a new hoist motor, braking system, and communications upgrade. The second constraint addressed was the mining method transition from conventional underhand cut-and-fill techniques to long-hole stoping. Remote mucking operations demonstrated approximately 200 tonnes moved per shift compared to approximately 50 tonnes per shift using traditional methods.

Executive Vice President of Corporate Development at Americas Gold & Silver, Oliver Turner, explained the throughput trajectory resulting from the infrastructure modernisation program:

"When we walk through the doors, about 270 tonnes per day. We're doing 410 tonnes per day right now. We're going to exit this year at 650 tonnes per day. And over the course of the next 2 years, we'll ramp up north of a 1,000 tonnes per day."

Long-Hole Stoping Transition & Paste Backfill Infrastructure

The Company successfully extracted an eighth long-hole panel at the Galena 49-360 stope during the first quarter of 2026, bringing total panels mined to 10. The transition to long-hole stoping has generated a 300% productivity increase, with long-hole panels achieving planned mining widths and dilution in line with underhand cut-and-fill mining. Three additional long-hole stopes are in development and scheduled for mining in the second and third quarters of 2026. 

Turner described the paste backfill plant's operational function and its role in supporting the long-hole stoping transition:

"The paste fill plant, it’s called backfill, basically it's a type of cement that you mix on the surface you put into the voids that you mine out, and then that solidifies, and you can mine next to it and allows you to mine at a faster pace next to each other over and over, and we'll be able to cycle more of those stopes."

Institutional Ownership Growth & Liquidity Expansion

Silver's inclusion on the US critical minerals list has coincided with measurable shifts in Americas Gold & Silver's shareholder composition and trading liquidity. Daily trading volume increased from between $400,000 and $500,000 when the current management team joined to between $70 million and $75 million currently. 

The liquidity expansion correlates with a period during which generalist investors began allocating to silver producers as a leveraged precious metals position. These investors view primary silver producers as providing additional leverage within a precious metals allocation without requiring exposure to early-stage development companies or exploration-stage gold projects. 

Turner explained how US jurisdiction influences institutional investor allocation decisions and the role of government interest in domestic critical minerals production:

"They view the risk exposure of being in that jurisdiction as being incredibly low. They've got some tier one operators that are at the helm of it, and then they also know that there's US government interest."

Industrial Demand Drivers & the Primary Silver Producer Scarcity Premium

Three industrial demand drivers underpin institutional investor interest in silver supply adequacy. Solar panel manufacturing consumes silver in photovoltaic cell production, with global installations expanding as energy security considerations prompt nations to reduce reliance on single fuel sources. Data centre construction for artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure represents a second demand source. Toyota's planned rollout of solid-state batteries in electric vehicles would consume up to one kilogram of silver per battery.

Silver markets have recorded 6 consecutive years of structural deficits, ranging from 150 million to 200 million ounces annually; 70% of global silver production is byproduct metal from copper, lead, and zinc operations. Between 11 and 13 publicly traded primary silver producers qualify as investable opportunities, with the majority deriving less than 50% of revenue from silver sales despite the classification. Americas Gold & Silver generates 75% to 80% of revenue from silver, with copper and antimony byproducts accompanying high-grade silver ore from Galena's vein systems.

Two recent primary silver producer acquisitions established valuation precedents. Gatos Silver and Silverest were both acquired at approximately 2 times net asset value (NAV). Using consensus analyst estimates that do not incorporate projects under evaluation beyond the 5-million-ounce annual production target, Americas Gold & Silver trades at approximately 0.6 times NAV, suggesting the market has not yet priced in the company's operational improvements or strategic positioning. 

Turner described the path to multiple expansion as dependent on consistent quarterly delivery against guidance, referencing the management team's prior operational track record:

"It's all about execution, right? So, we've set out our guidance for the first time this year. It's 30% growth over last year. We're going to set up these quarters just like we did at Karora. We delivered 19 out of 20 quarters there."

US Critical Minerals Policy & the Silver Valley Strategic Asset Base

Americas Gold & Silver signed a joint venture agreement in February 2026 with United States Antimony to construct and operate an antimony processing facility in Idaho's Silver Valley. The joint venture is 51% owned by the company and is intended to provide a mine-to-finished antimony production solution within the United States. During the first quarter of 2026, the company monetised a portion of copper and antimony production at Galena for the first time under a new agreement with Teck Resources.

Galena operates within Idaho's Silver Valley, a district with 130 years of continuous mining history. In December 2025, Americas acquired the Crescent Silver Mine located nine miles from Galena, which holds the world's third-highest grade silver resource. The region hosts Hecla Mining's Lucky Friday operation, Bunker Hill development projects, and Sunshine Silver. The Silver Valley's contribution to the US domestic silver supply positions the district as strategically significant under critical minerals policy frameworks.

Americas reported a 19% year-over-year increase in Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources and 21% increase in Measured and Indicated grades at Galena on March 30, 2026. Galena hosts over 200 million ounces of silver at 500 grams per tonne, making it the second-highest grade silver mine globally. The Company is targeting consolidated exploration capital of between $15 million and $20 million in 2026, including a 64,000-metre drilling campaign.

2026 Guidance & Balance Sheet Position

Americas released consolidated 2026 production guidance of 3.2 million to 3.6 million ounces of silver at an average all-in sustaining cost of $30 to $35 per ounce sold, representing 30% production growth over 2025 levels. First-quarter 2026 all-in sustaining costs of $34.12 per silver ounce fell within the company's guidance range. Cash costs per ounce of silver sold at Galena decreased to $22.12 per ounce in the first quarter of 2026 from $28.19 per ounce in the first quarter of 2025. The Company expects the Galena Complex to reach substantially and sustainably higher production rates by the end of 2026.

Americas Gold & Silver reported cash and cash equivalents of $122.4 million and working capital of $66.8 million as of March 31, 2026. Consolidated total capital expenditures are targeted to be between $90 million and $120 million in 2026, including $30 million to $40 million at the Crescent Mine. The balance sheet position allows the company to fund the paste backfill plant, fibre optic installation, and mill upgrades without requiring additional equity or debt financing.

What to Watch Next

Investors evaluating whether a strategic premium is emerging for US silver producers can track quarterly production results to assess whether Galena's modernisation program is delivering targeted throughput increases, with the 650-tonne-per-day exit rate for 2026 functioning as a near-term execution milestone. The paste backfill plant commissioning in 2027 will indicate whether the company can achieve the 70% long-hole stoping mix. The antimony processing facility timeline will test whether byproduct revenue optimisation can be delivered on schedule.

Continued institutional ownership growth and trading liquidity expansion will signal whether the jurisdictional premium thesis is gaining traction. Evidence of additional Silver Valley consolidation would validate regional concentration, creating merger and acquisition logic. Policy developments related to US critical minerals stockpiling may clarify whether government purchasing programs will impact domestic silver demand. Results from the 64,000-metre drilling campaign and potential resource updates at Galena could expand mine life and production scalability beyond 5 million ounces annually.

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