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Dr. Nomi Prins: Silver Price 'Heavily Suppressed', Uranium Miners & Gold

Palisades Gold Radio Jul 9, 2026

Summary

Silver's paper price trades far below physical reality: a sixth straight supply-deficit year means mine output is bought immediately by industrial and solar demand.

Uranium holds near $85 while utilities contract at $95-$100, so miners' share-price lag against a firming price is the opportunity.

Major gold miners sit on large cash with costs near $1,800 against $4,100 gold, positioning them to acquire or fund junior developers.

A 35-year survey cited by the guest finds gold beat cash roughly five-to-one after inflation, with strong juniors multiplying that edge.

Oil has normalized into a $70-$80 band as depleted strategic reserves need replenishing, favoring Colombian producers whose heavy crude US refineries process.

Key points on Agnico Eagle Mines

  • The guest names Agnico Eagle among the really big gold miners sitting on large cash piles after roughly two years of rising gold prices, citing costs below about $1,800-$2,000 an ounce against around $4,100 gold as of the July 2026 interview.
  • She says these majors are going around looking for junior gold development projects because their existing mines do not produce enough to meet ongoing demand.

Key points on Barrick Mining

  • The guest cites Barrick among the major gold companies holding substantial cash after the last year and a half to two years of gold appreciation, with reported costs below roughly $1,800-$2,000 an ounce versus about $4,100 gold.
  • She places Barrick in the group of majors now shopping for junior development projects because their current mines cannot supply enough metal to meet ongoing demand.

Key points on First Majestic Silver

  • The guest calls First Majestic a pure-play silver miner in Mexico that has become quite depressed alongside the silver price and still offers value, though she notes there are jurisdictional issues to consider.
  • She says larger miners like First Majestic keep drilling and building out their current assets rather than stopping development because of a few months of paper-driven silver price weakness.
  • She counts First Majestic among the currently producing, currently permitted silver companies that are attractive both on a share level and as targets for bigger miners holding banked cash flow.

Key points on Aya Gold & Silver

  • The guest names Aya Gold & Silver as a prime example of a valuable pure-play silver miner whose deposits are close to the metal and need no processing of other metals.
  • She says Aya's mine in Morocco receives orders instantaneously for physical silver from the Middle East, Asia, China and India, with no disruption in demand for real ounces.
  • In the same passage she cites costs of getting ounces out of the ground at roughly $20, arguing producers keep making money with silver around $60 as of the interview and would earn far more at higher prices.

Key points on Wheaton Precious Metals

  • The guest mentions Wheaton alongside the other really big gold mining companies she says are sitting on so much cash after the last year and a half to two years of gold appreciation.
  • She groups it with majors that have costs below roughly $1,800-$2,000 an ounce at about $4,100 gold and are out looking for junior development projects because their existing mines cannot meet ongoing demand.

Stijn Schmitz's takeaways

  • Top takeaway He presses the main counterargument to the silver bull case: if producers are already highly profitable at around $50-$65 silver, citing roughly 66% operating margins, why would higher prices be needed to incentivize production and close the supply gap.
  • He asks whether uranium miners' underperformance signals they offer no upside to the commodity or is just a lag effect, framing the guest's re-rate thesis.
  • He challenges the claim that energy markets have normalized, pointing out that strategic petroleum reserves around the world are still being drawn down.
  • He raises Turkey recently sending a large amount of its gold to stabilize the currency as a potential counterexample to durable central bank support for the gold bull market.
  • He asks what makes a junior miner 'appropriate', drawing out the guest's criteria of local community buy-in, state and country support, higher grade relative to rock, and seasoned management.

Nomi Prins's takeaways

  • Top takeaway She argues silver is one of the biggest opportunities as of the July 2026 interview: the physical supply gap is now in its sixth year following five years of deficits, physical offtake from Asia and the Middle East is absorbed immediately, while paper silver trading volume has roughly doubled relative to the ounces actually backing ETFs and holds the price down.
  • She contends uranium miners have significantly underperformed a firming uranium price because a shallow paper market lets shares be sold on headlines while long-term utility contracts at $95-$100 keep the commodity up, so the discount is a lag that should re-rate.
  • She expects continued headline-driven volatility but says physical supply will ultimately win over paper pricing in silver, noting that with production costs around $20 an ounce versus silver near $60, no miner has stopped producing.
  • She presents Prinsights research from a 35-year survey back to 1992 showing gold beat cash about 5-to-1 and Treasuries about 5-to-2 on an inflation-adjusted purchasing power basis, with the multiple reaching about 15 times for major gold miners and about 100 times for well-managed juniors in the right jurisdictions.
  • She argues central bank gold buying remains durable, with 45% of surveyed central banks wanting more gold, an all-time high, and says Turkey's monetization of gold to stabilize its currency proves gold's role in monetary independence rather than marking a selling trend.