Hycroft Mining Delivers 55% Resource Growth at Nevada Silver-Gold Giant

• Hycroft Mining has published an updated Mineral Resource Estimate showing 55% growth in Measured and Indicated (M&I) gold ounces to 16.4 million and 56% growth in silver to 562.6 million ounces, driven by 70 new drill holes, improved metallurgical performance, and commodity price assumptions of US$3,100/oz gold and US$36/oz silver.
• The company has established an initial high-grade M&I silver resource of 90.2 million ounces within the Brimstone and Vortex systems after only 14 months of drilling, with CEO Diane Garrett noting both systems remain open in all directions and at depth.
• Metallurgical test work using Pressure Oxidation (POX) has confirmed robust recoveries of 83% gold and 78% silver, a critical milestone in transitioning the Hycroft Mine from its historical oxide heap leach operations to a higher-value milling-based operation processing refractory sulfide ore.
• With approximately US$200 million in cash and zero debt, Hycroft holds one of the strongest balance sheets in the junior and mid-tier mining sector, enabling an accelerated drill programme expanding to five rigs by Q2 2026 across a land package where less than 10% has been explored.
• Project economics on the large-scale open pit operation are expected by end of Q1 2026, while an engineering firm has been engaged to assess the underground mining potential of Brimstone and Vortex, a scenario that could deliver superior early cash flows ahead of the larger development.

A Resource Transformation Three Years in the Making

When the current Hycroft Mining management team took control of the company in 2020, they inherited a large but underappreciated precious metals deposit in northern Nevada burdened by significant debt and limited institutional interest. The thesis they set out to prove, that the Hycroft Mine contained a higher-grade source system feeding its bulk low-grade resource, has now been validated by a mineral resource update that materially reframes the scale and development potential of the Hycroft Mine.

On February 18, 2026, Hycroft published an updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) effective January 21, 2026, prepared by Ausenco Engineering, Independent Mining Consultants, and WestLand Engineering. The headline numbers confirm 16.4 million gold ounces and 562.6 million silver ounces in the Measured and Indicated category, with increases of 55% and 56% respectively versus the 2023 baseline. Inferred resources expanded to 5.0 million gold ounces (up 50%) and 132.8 million silver ounces (up 38%). The MRE is based on commodity prices of US$3,100/oz gold and US$36/oz silver.

For CEO Diane Garrett, the significance of the update was clear. The 2026 MRE is the first resource estimate since 2023, incorporating results from 70 drill holes alongside reinterpreted geological modelling and improved metallurgical performance:

"It is a staggering on average 50% increase in gold and silver. It just got a whole bunch bigger."

The High-Grade Discovery That Changed Everything

While the overall resource growth is impressive, the discovery of two new high-grade silver systems, Brimstone and Vortex, within the known resource footprint represents a more fundamental shift in how investors and management are thinking about the Hycroft asset. These systems were identified in late 2023 following an intensive multi-year technical programme of geological reinterpretation, geophysics, and field mapping.

The intellectual foundation of that discovery was Garrett's belief, held from the moment the team arrived at Hycroft, that a large low-grade resource of this scale had to be fed by something. A plumbing system. A higher-grade source. That conviction drove the work that ultimately led to the Brimstone and Vortex discoveries, and it is a thesis that is now reflected in an initial high-grade M&I silver resource of 90.2 million ounces established after just 14 months of drilling. Garrett stated:

"We saw more potential and we felt that our predecessor companies had just really not stepped back and said, what is feeding a resource of this size and scale? It's got to be fed. There's got to be a higher grade source, a plumbing source, if you will."

Both Brimstone and Vortex remain open along strike, to the west, to the north, and at depth. The 2025-2026 drill programme is delivering grades in the Vortex system higher than anything previously seen at Hycroft, and the system has extended significantly in multiple directions. For investors, this is not a depleting discovery, it is an expanding one, and the resource estimate does not yet include any results from the current 2025–2026 drill campaign.

The geological picture has also grown more sophisticated. Multiple distinct mineralising events have been identified at both Brimstone and Vortex, each representing a new pulse of metal introduced into the system. This multi-phase model significantly strengthens confidence in the continuity and further extendability of the high-grade systems.

Interview with President & CEO, Diane Garrett

Underground Optionality: A Faster Path to Cash Flow

The emergence of a high-grade silver resource within the existing Hycroft footprint does more than add ounces. It creates a fundamentally different development pathway, one that could allow the company to begin generating cash flow significantly ahead of what a large-scale open pit development alone would imply.

Hycroft's core asset is a bulk low-grade system that would support a substantial 50,000-60,000-tonne-per-day open pit operation. That project has always carried the economics and capital requirements typical of a large-scale mining development. The high-grade underground option changes the sequencing entirely. Rather than waiting for the full capital build of the open pit, the company can target the high-grade systems first, generate early cash flows, and then build into the larger operation over time. Garrett noted:

"What this high grade does is it gives us optionality... We could go underground first and by doing that you're getting better cash flows up front and then you can build in the scalability to mine the rest of the ore body."

An engineering firm has now been engaged to formally assess the underground mining potential of the high-grade systems. This study, alongside the project economics on the large-scale operation expected by end of Q1 2026, will give investors a significantly more detailed picture of the project's development pathways and value creation timeline. The company is also drilling higher-grade intercepts in the Vortex system than at any prior point in the programme, suggesting that the resource quality, not just the quantity, is improving.

Capital Position & Institutional Shareholder Register

One of the most significant transformations at Hycroft over the past 18 months has been financial. The company entered 2024 carrying legacy debt that constrained its ability to fully fund exploration programmes and clouded the investment case. That debt was retired in October 2024, marking an inflection point that was swiftly reflected in the company's share price, which rose from around US$3 to levels multiples higher in the months that followed.

Today, Hycroft holds approximately US$200 million in cash with no debt outstanding, a position Garrett describes as one of the most attractive balance sheets in the mining industry. The capital was provided by a carefully assembled institutional shareholder base that reads like a roll call of the most respected names in resource investing.

"Eric Sprott owning 43% of us, Tribeca, BlackRock, Schroders, Franklin, Pala - these are great names - they've come in and really helped us solidify our treasury. So we've got about US$200 million in the bank. So it makes it really one of the most attractive balance sheets in the industry."

This financial strength is being deployed directly into the exploration programme. Hycroft currently operates two core rigs and one RC rig, with two additional core rigs scheduled to arrive in Q2 2026. Management was explicit that this acceleration would not be happening without genuine confidence in what the drilling is returning. The expanded five-rig programme will simultaneously target Brimstone and Vortex resource expansion and begin testing new district-scale opportunities across the broader land package.

For investors who may feel they have already missed the move from Hycroft's lows, Garrett is direct. The stock went from US$3 to US$6.50, then to US$10, and at each point investors thought the opportunity had passed. The same dynamic is playing out now. The institutional shareholders who know the asset best are not selling. They are staying, and the current focus on higher-grade intercepts in Vortex tells its own story.

"We're still trading at a significant discount to our peers in the silver space and in the gold space, notwithstanding the high market cap that we have today."

Near-Term Catalysts & 2026 Outlook

The 2026 calendar for Hycroft is dense with potential inflection points. Project economics on the large-scale open pit development are expected by the end of Q1 2026, a deliverable that will for the first time give investors a quantified framework for understanding the economic potential of the bulk resource. Alongside that, the underground mining assessment of Brimstone and Vortex will establish whether the high-grade systems can support a standalone mining scenario or serve as a starter project ahead of the open pit.

Drilling results will flow throughout the year. With two new rigs coming online in Q2, the cadence of news from Hycroft is expected to be substantially higher in the second half of 2026 than in any prior period. Importantly, the learnings from the geological reinterpretation that led to Brimstone and Vortex are now being applied to other target areas on the property, and management has signalled that they are seeing early indications of similar system characteristics elsewhere on the land package.

"We've taken what we've learned about the Brimstone and Vortex high-grade systems and we're applying it to other target areas on the property. And we're real excited about some of the things we're seeing there."

The resource footprint itself sits on less than 10% of Hycroft's 64,000-acre land package. The current resource is defined only by the extent of drilling that has been completed. On that basis, the 2026 MRE, impressive as it is, almost certainly understates the full geological potential of the property. For long-horizon investors, that is perhaps the most important number of all.

The Investment Thesis for Hycroft Mining

• Scale and jurisdiction: 16.4 million gold ounces and 562.6 million silver ounces M&I in Nevada positions Hycroft among the world's largest undeveloped precious metals deposits, with the regulatory certainty and infrastructure advantages of a US Tier-1 address.
• High-grade optionality: Brimstone and Vortex provide a pathway to underground mining with superior unit economics ahead of the large open pit, improving capital efficiency and shortening the timeline to potential cash generation.
• Resource growth trajectory: With less than 10% of the land package explored, both high-grade systems open in multiple directions, and 2025–2026 drill results not yet incorporated into the MRE, the resource base has substantial further upside.
• Metallurgical validation: Confirmed POX recoveries of 83% gold and 78% silver on a refractory sulfide deposit resolve a longstanding investor concern and provide process confidence ahead of a full feasibility study.
• Financial strength: US$200 million cash and zero debt removes financing risk and enables full funding of exploration and engineering studies without dilution pressure.
• Macro tailwinds: Structural silver deficits, surging industrial demand from solar, EVs, and AI data centre infrastructure, US critical minerals designation for silver, and Chinese export restrictions collectively support a multi-year constructive silver price environment.
• Institutional validation: Eric Sprott (43%), BlackRock, Schroders, and Franklin Templeton provide both capital certainty and the reputational signal that sophisticated, well-resourced institutional money considers the risk-reward favourable at current levels.

Hycroft Mining's updated Mineral Resource Estimate is more than a routine technical update, it is the culmination of a deliberate multi-year geological thesis that has now been proven correct at scale. The combination of a dramatically expanded bulk resource, a high-grade underground opportunity discovered just 14 months ago, validated processing metallurgy, a debt-free balance sheet, and a supportive precious metals environment creates a distinctive investment proposition within the universe of silver and gold developers. With project economics due by end of Q1 2026 and an underground mining assessment underway, the near-term catalyst pipeline provides multiple potential valuation re-rating events. The Brimstone and Vortex systems are still in early delineation with the bulk of the land package untested. Investors seeking a large-scale, US-jurisdiction, dual-commodity precious metals development story with active catalysts, institutional backing, and a management team that has already delivered one major discovery cycle would be well-served to monitor Hycroft Mining closely through 2026.

Macro Thematic Analysis: The Silver Structural Deficit & What It Means for Investors

The announcement of Hycroft's updated mineral resource arrives at a pivotal moment for the silver market. The metal has experienced significant price appreciation over the past 18 months, briefly reaching cycle highs not seen in a generation before a recent pullback that has left some investors questioning the durability of the bull market. For Garrett and the Hycroft team, however, the structural case for silver has not changed, and the pullback, far from being a warning sign, is a characteristic feature of durable commodity bull markets.

The demand side of the silver equation is being reshaped by forces that are secular rather than cyclical. Solar photovoltaic manufacturing is the fastest-growing source of silver demand globally, with each solar panel requiring meaningful quantities of the metal and no viable substitute for its electrical conductivity in that application. Electric vehicles, consumer electronics, and the explosive growth of AI data centre infrastructure are adding additional structural demand layers. These are not short-cycle demand drivers, they are decade-long structural forces that are only accelerating.

On the supply side, the picture is equally constructive. Most of the world's primary silver production is concentrated in jurisdictions that carry meaningful political and operational risk - Mexico, Bolivia, Peru, and Argentina. Byproduct silver from base metal mining is price-inelastic and cannot be easily accelerated to meet incremental demand. The result is a structural supply deficit that Garrett argues has not changed despite recent price volatility.

Two additional macro factors are particularly relevant for Hycroft specifically. First, the US government's designation of silver as a critical mineral signals a long-horizon policy intent to secure domestic silver supply chains. This is not a short-term market response, it is a strategic imperative that increases the value of large, development-ready silver assets in US jurisdictions. Second, China's decision to restrict silver exports in response to its own surging domestic industrial demand removes a meaningful source of potential supply from global markets and reinforces the structural tightness in the silver market.

"When you have China that is limiting exports and restricting exports of silver because their industrial demand is building so much, that's a good indicator. With the US designating silver a critical mineral and wanting to stockpile silver, they're not making these decisions because of a short term view. They're looking at this on a long term basis."

In this environment, Hycroft's US jurisdiction is not merely a regulatory convenience, it is a strategic asset. There are very few large-scale, development-ready silver opportunities available to institutional investors within the United States. The scarcity of those assets, combined with the policy tailwinds around domestic critical minerals supply, means that Hycroft occupies a rare and increasingly valuable position in the investment landscape. The secular drivers of silver demand are accelerating. The supply response is structurally constrained. And Hycroft sits at the intersection of both.

TL;DR

Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation (Nasdaq: HYMC) has released a Mineral Resource Estimate update confirming 55% growth in Measured and Indicated gold and silver resources, bringing totals to 16.4 million gold ounces and 562.6 million silver ounces. The company has also established an initial high-grade silver resource of 90.2 million ounces within the Brimstone and Vortex systems, two discoveries made just 14 months ago that remain open along strike and at depth. Backed by approximately US$200 million in cash, zero debt, and a high-profile institutional register including Eric Sprott (43%), BlackRock, Schroders, Pala Investments and Franklin Templeton, Hycroft is accelerating a five-rig drill programme and expects to publish project economics on the large-scale open pit operation by end of Q1 2026. Simultaneously, an engineering study is underway to assess the underground mining potential of the high-grade systems, offering a pathway to earlier cash generation in one of the world's most constructive precious metals environments. With less than 10% of its 64,000-acre Nevada land package explored, the resource growth story at Hycroft may still be in its early chapters.

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