Honey Badger Silver is Accelerating High-Grade Silver in Northern Canada
CEO.CA Oct 1, 2026 13:00
Summary
The guest says zinc treatment charges have turned negative, meaning smelters would pay to process Prairie Creek's concentrate.
A PEA (Preliminary Economic Assessment) puts the restart at a 22-year mine life and roughly C$650M of capital.
About a third of that capital builds an all-season road the company expects Canadian critical-mineral programs to help fund.
Management guides a feasibility study to Q2 2027, with Germanium assays, mill restart work and underground drilling coming first.
Skepticism is the main obstacle: earlier operators promised this mine for decades, though three communities now hold impact benefit agreements.
Chad Williams's takeaways
- Top takeaway Williams argues the asset is a restart rather than a new build, pointing to a mill on site, about 5 km of underground development and roughly 80 km of drilling, and says the company acquired it about six months before the September 22, 2026 interview along with what he estimates is about $1 billion of existing infrastructure.
- He frames the case around valuation, arguing the stock is undervalued at about a tenth of Prairie Creek alone and that the other seven projects carry no value in the current price, with feasibility study results guided to Q2 2027 as the next major catalyst.
- He says the roughly C$650 million capital estimate from the preliminary economic assessment splits into about a third for an all-season road, a third in soft costs and a third in hard assets, and says the company is eligible for around 15 types of Canadian government funding, though government and company timelines differ.
- He says existing infrastructure, grade and jurisdiction are what make mining financiers and smelters engaged, and points to negative zinc and lead treatment and refining charges as evidence that smelters want the feed.
- He identifies perception as the main obstacle rather than geology, saying investors think the project is too good to be true given the low purchase price, and acknowledges community skepticism after past failed restart attempts, noting impact benefit agreements with Fort Simpson, Nahanni Butte and Fort Lyard.