1. Talon Metals (TSX:TLO)

Year-to-date gain: 358.82 percent
Market cap: C$440.55 million
Share price: C$0.39

Talon Metals is a base metals company advancing the Tamarack nickel-copper-cobalt project in Central Minnesota, US, through a joint venture with Rio Tinto (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO). Talon currently holds a 51 percent stake in the project and can earn up to 60 percent.

In late March, Talon Metals announced a massive sulfide discovery at its Tamarack project, with an intercept measuring 8.25 meters containing 95 percent sulfide content located deeper than the current Tamarack resource.

In May, a further massive sulfide discovery in the same zone, the thickest discovery yet at the site, drove the company’s share price up significantly, and another in early August did the same. In the August announcement, Talon shared that it named the discovery zone the Vault zone.

At the start of Q4, Talon announced an expanded winter drilling and exploration program at the Vault zone.

Shares of Talon rallied to a year-to-date high of C$0.54 on October 14, following the winter drill news and alongside rising cobalt prices.

On October 20, Talon received a 12 month extension from Rio Tinto subsidiary Kennecott Exploration to submit a feasibility study and US$10 million payment required to increase its ownership stake in the Tamarack project to 60 percent.

The extension will allow Talon to align the study’s release with the publication of the project’s scoping environmental assessment worksheet, expected in the first half of 2026, marking its entry into Minnesota’s formal environmental review process.

2. Leading Edge Materials (TSXV:LEM)

Year-to-date gain: 222.22 percent
Market cap: C$72.49 million
Share price: C$0.29

Leading Edge Materials is developing critical materials projects in the EU. The company’s projects include its wholly owned Woxna graphite mine and Norra Kärr heavy rare earth elements project, both in Sweden, as well as its 51 percent owned Bihor Sud nickel-cobalt exploration alliance in Romania.

According to its June 2025 presentation, exploration work planned for 2025 at Bihor Sud’s G2 gallery includes mapping and sampling of cobalt-nickel and zinc-lead-silver mineralized zones detected visually and by hand-held XRF. Drilling targeting polymetallic mineralization at the gallery is underway.

On the financial side, Leading Edge announced a C$400,000 non-brokered private placement in June.

According to a June 22 activities update, Leading Edge’s Romanian subsidiary was granted ownership and operational permits for the Avram Iancu mine at Bihor Sud, and the team had begun preliminary investigations of the site.

In its recent quarterly report, released September 19, Leading Edge Materials said it is reassessing its prospects after being granted those permits. at its project located within the Bihor Sud exploration area following the acquisition of additional ownership and operating permits.

The Avram Iancu site hosts extensive historic underground workings and data indicating copper-rich massive sulfide zones, the statement noted.

A competent person report is in progress to consolidate past exploration and outline next steps, while the company evaluates financing options to advance development.

Shares of Leading Edge also benefited from the mid-October cobalt price rally, registering a year-to-date high of C$0.44 on October 14.

3. Battery Mineral Resources (TSXV:BMR)

Year-to-date gain: 180 percent
Market cap: C$16.79 million
Share price: C$0.14

Battery Mineral Resources is focused on developing into a mid-tier copper producer and recently restarted mine and mill operations at the Punitaqui Mining Complex in Chile. In Canada, the company holds the largest land position in Ontario’s historic Cobalt district, where it is exploring high-grade primary cobalt deposits at McAra, Gowganda and Elk Lake.

The company’s portfolio also includes energy services and mineral exploration assets in North America, along with graphite projects in South Korea.

In late October, BMR said it was evaluating strategic options for its Gowganda silver tailings project, located northeast of Sudbury, Ontario.

The project lies in one of the country’s most productive past silver-cobalt districts, and the Gowganda mining camp produced 60 million ounces of silver and 1.3 million pounds of cobalt between 1910 and 1969. Gowganda hosts four former mines and associated tailings historically estimated to contain 2.96 million ounces of silver. BMR is assessing how best to advance or monetize the asset to enhance shareholder value.

On October 16, Battery Mineral Resources reported strong operational performance at its Punitaqui copper project in Chile, driven by improved underground production and plant optimization. Since September 1, 2025, underground operations have averaged 1,800 tonnes per day, up 80 percent from the first half of the year, and 2,000 tonnes per day over the recent two weeks period.

BMR is also advancing development of additional underground operations at Cinabrio Norte and Dalmacia to support further growth from Punitaqui.

The news pushed shares of BMR to a year-to-date high of C$0.17 on October 21.

4. FPX Nickel (TSXV:FPX)

Year-to-date gain: 95.74 percent
Market cap: C$144.81 million
Share price: C$0.46

FPX Nickel is currently advancing its Decar nickel district in BC, Canada.

The property comprises four key targets, with the Baptiste deposit being the primary focus, alongside the Van target. The company also has three other nickel projects in BC and one in the Yukon, Canada.

In February, FPX released a scoping study for the development of a refinery that would refine awaruite concentrate from Baptiste into battery-grade nickel sulfate and by-products of cobalt carbonate, copper and ammonium sulfate. Annual output is anticipated at 32,000 metric tons of contained nickel and 570 metric tons of contained cobalt.

The results show that the process would result in operating and all-in production costs near the bottom of nickel sulfate cost curve, in part due to by-product credits. Additionally, the carbon intensity of the awaruite refinery would be significantly lower than that of currently used production methods.

On September 4, FPX completed a large-scale mineral processing pilot campaign for its Baptiste nickel project, following three prior successful campaigns. The latest production run generated bulk samples of awaruite concentrate, which will be provided to prospective partners, including pre-cursor cathode active materials, battery producers and automakers, to assess its suitability as feedstock.

Later in the month, FPX signed an option agreement to acquire up to 100 percent of the Advocate nickel property in Newfoundland, Canada, following its review of over 50 targets. The property has also been accepted by the Japan Organization for Metals and Energy Security (JOGMEC) as the first designated property under the generative alliance between FPX and JOGMEC, with a significant work program planned to build on encouraging surface nickel recoveries.

FPX shares registered a year-to-date high of C$0.55 on October 17.

5. Wheaton Precious Metals (TSX:WPM)

Year-to-date gain: 61.23 percent
Market cap: C$60.38 billion
Share price: C$133.00

Wheaton Precious Metals is one of the largest gold and silver royalty and streaming companies.

It has investments in 18 operating mines and 28 development projects across four continents, including a cobalt streaming agreement for Vale’s (NYSE:VALE) Voisey’s Bay nickel mine in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.

According to Wheaton, Voisey’s Bay is currently in a transitional phase, shifting from the depleted Ovoid open pit to full underground production.

The company reported its Q1 financial results on May 8. The report highlighted a record US$470 million in revenue, US$254 million in net earnings and US$361 million in operating cash flow.

The cobalt segment registered year-on-year attributable production gains, rising to 540,000 pounds in the year’s first quarter, compared to 240,000 pounds during Q1 2024. Despite the output increase, sales fell to 265,000 pounds in Q1 versus 309,000 pounds in Q1 2024.

According to Wheaton’s Q2 2025 results, the Voisey’s Bay mine produced 647,000 pounds of attributable cobalt, a roughly 150 percent increase from the same period in 2024. Vale reported that the underground operations are steadily ramping up, with full production expected by the second half of 2026 as the transition from the depleted Ovoid open-pit continues.

Shares of Wheaton rose to a year-to-date high of C$159.41 on October 16 alongside rising prices for gold, silver and cobalt.

Apex Resources (TSXV:APX,OTC:SLMLF) is a mineral exploration company with a diversified North American portfolio, combining near-term tungsten-gold opportunities in British Columbia with district-scale lithium potential in Nevada.

The company’s flagship Lithium Creek project in Churchill County, Nevada, represents a new lithium-brine discovery opportunity. Geophysical and gravity surveys have outlined extensive low-resistivity zones and complex basin structures—hallmarks of major brine systems—defining multiple drill targets. Just 70 km east of Reno and 30 minutes from Tesla’s Gigafactory, Lithium Creek is strategically positioned within the U.S. battery manufacturing corridor.

The Jersey-Emerald project, Apex’s flagship Canadian asset, is a past-producing mine complex hosting tungsten, zinc, lead, gold, and molybdenum. Located 10 km southeast of Salmo, BC, it includes the former Emerald and Jersey mines—once among Canada’s largest producers. Apex is applying modern exploration and geophysics to expand critical mineral zones and identify new targets across the 17,500-hectare property.

Company Highlights

• Critical-minerals focus: Apex’s portfolio is anchored by lithium, tungsten and zinc, all designated as critical by Canada and the US.
• Precious-Metals (Gold&Silver) are important by-products at Jersey-Emerald
• Diversified exploration pipeline: Active drill program at Jersey-Emerald (tungsten-gold-zinc) while preparing to drill Lithium Creek in Nevada.
• Large-scale opportunity: Apex controls contiguous and nearby claim blocks around Salmo, BC, including Jersey-Emerald and Ore Hill, forming a multi-deposit critical- and precious-metal exploration district spanning more than 17,500 hectares with several historic mines, hosting Tungsten, Zinc, Lead, Silver, Gallium, Germanium, Indium, Bismuth, Tellurium and Molybdenum.
• Strong early results in USA: Lithium Creek brine samples up to 393 mg/L lithium, with geophysics outlining multiple deep-basin anomalies.
• Historic infrastructure advantage in Canada: More than $100 million in existing underground workings at Jersey-Emerald; year-round road, rail and power access to both BC projects.
• Tier-1 jurisdictions: Stable, mining-friendly locations in British Columbia and Nevada with clear permitting frameworks.
• Experienced leadership: Proven technical and capital-markets expertise led by CEO Ron Lang and a board made up of seasoned exploration and mining professionals.

This Apex Resources profile is part of a paid investor education campaign.*

Click here to connect with Apex Resources (TSXV:APX,OTC:SLMLF) to receive an Investor Presentation

Platinum market reflecting more than gold’s shine

Platinum is no doubt benefiting from strong investor demand for precious metals. But the metal’s robust supply and demand fundamentals are also at play, according to Metals Focus analysts.

Aboveground inventories of platinum remain tight, while future mine production is bogged down in operational challenges. “In Southern Africa, outages and heavy rainfall have disrupted production, while North America is undergoing restructuring,” notes the report.

On the demand side, platinum usage from the jewelry sector has posted significant gains this year, especially in China. As the price of gold skyrockets, platinum jewelry has become a much more attractive alternative. Investment flows into platinum exchange-trade products in China and the US are another key demand driver for the metal this year.

Platinum and palladium prices.

Chart via Metals Focus, Bloomberg.

While platinum prices are at levels not seen in 12 years, palladium prices are only experiencing a two year high.

“Palladium has also benefited at the margin, but remains a laggard, with a more lacklustre fundamental outlook limiting investor enthusiasm,” according to Metals Focus.

2026: Platinum bull, palladium bear

Platinum prices will continue to benefit from the overall upward trend in precious metals prices for the remainder of 2025 and well into 2026. The ongoing supply deficit in the platinum market is also highly price-supportive.

Metals Focus is forecasting a third consecutive physical platinum deficit for this year, totaling 415,000 ounces as platinum mine output is expected to decline by 6 percent year-on-year.

Demand is projected to fall by 4 percent largely due to lower output in the glass and automotive sectors.

Platinum’s supply deficit is expected to continue into 2026 and grow to an estimated 480,000 ounces as mine supply falls by 2 percent to a 12 year low (excluding 2020). “With few new projects coming online after years of underinvestment, mine supply is undergoing structural decline,” the report’s authors note.

This will be happening at the same time as an expected 1 percent rebound in demand, buoyed by renewed industrial usage, specifically out of the glass and chemical sector in China.

Even so, Metals Focus cautions that demand out the automotive and jewelry sectors is likely to contract.

The trend toward electrification is the auto industry may have slowed, but it’s still expected to erode platinum demand, especially as catalytic converter manufacturers shift back to more cost-effective palladium.

Metals Focus is forecasting a 2026 average platinum price of US$1,670 per ounce, up 34 percent over the previous year.

Platinum and palladium price outlook.

Chart via Metals Focus, Bloomberg.

Looking over to palladium, Metals Focus has a more bearish view.

The firm is projecting palladium prices to average US$1,350 in Q4 2025, falling to US$1,150 by Q4 2026. Although the palladium market has been in a physical deficit for the past few years, that deficit is expected to shrink from 566,000 ounces in 2024 to 367,000 ounces in 2025 before narrowing even further to 178,000 ounces in 2026.

The same structural issues plaguing platinum are also of course weighing on palladium mine supply, which is forecast to fall by 3 percent in 2026. However, secondary supply is projected to increase by 10 percent as recycling activity recovers.

Overall, total palladium supply is expected to grow by 1 percent for the year. At the same time, demand for palladium is set to decline by just over 1 percent in 2026 on a drop from the automotive sector.

Investor takeaway

Both platinum and palladium are considered precious metals based on their rarity and use in jewelry fabrication and physical bullion. As such, they both are known to benefit when investor sentiment for safe-haven gold is high.

However, not all precious metals are precious to investors at the same time — just ask silver. Industrial usage of these metals is a much bigger driver of demand compared to the investment space. For 2026, it’s platinum that will continue to ride gold’s rally and provide investors with plenty of upside based on its strong fundamentals.

US trade policy driving gold price in 2025

Metals Focus analysts attribute gold’s stellar performance in 2025 to a number of factors largely centered on growing global economic uncertainty and ongoing geopolitical conflicts. Gold’s safe-haven status is highly favored in these conditions, attracting both retail and institutional investors as well as central banks.

However, the firm sees US President Donald Trump’s trade policies as the most influential: “In our view, the single most important factor has been uncertainty around US trade policy.”

Trump’s constant trade war waffling has businesses and governments scrambling to keep up and unable to plan for the future. As tariffs increase the price of goods while disrupting supply chains, inflation is becoming stickier.

This is baking in more macroeconomic risks into the global economy, and in turn raising the risk for stagflation — an environment that experts agree is ideal for higher gold prices.

The US Federal Reserve’s reversal of its monetary policy in mid-September 2025 with its first interest rate cut and the anticipation of further rate cuts to come are further boosting the gold price. The sustainability of growing US debt and the waning strength of the US dollar on the global stage are also price supporting factors for the yellow metal.

Central bank gold buying, which has reached record levels in recent years, also continued to be net positive in 2025, further driving demand. “Put together, these drivers explain why gold has not only reached fresh highs in 2025, but also why pullbacks have been shallow and short-lived, as investors have been rushing to buy dips,” states Metals Focus.

Silver price shoots up on liquidity squeeze

The same forces sending gold prices to new heights are also bringing silver along for the ride.

Silver often lags behind its sister metal, and this latest price cycle was no exception.

However, investor belief that silver remains undervalued given strong industrial demand and unprecedented tight supply finally pushed the metal to break on through to the other side of a 45 year record high.

Metals Focus also points to the liquidity squeeze in the silver futures market, specifically concerning the COMEX in London. As the immediate supply of silver has not been enough to meet rising demand, the spot price for silver has risen higher than the price of futures contracts, a phenomenon known as backwardation.

This creates a squeeze on short sellers who must now buy back silver contracts at higher prices.

The situation amplified silver’s rally in early to mid-October. However, later in the month shipments of silver from New York and China helped to alleviate this pressure.

Gold price outlook for 2026

Looking forward, the trends underlying much of gold’s record-breaking price momentum are expected to remain strong well into next year. Metals Focus sees the price of gold posting another annual average high of US$4,560 as it heads toward US$5,000 in 2026, potentially reaching a record US$4,850 in the fourth quarter.

These gains in gold are projected to materialize despite supply side growth. Metals Focus is forecasting a surplus of 41.9 million ounces in 2026, up 28 percent year-on-year. The firm sees gold mine production reaching another record high in 2026 at the same time that gold recycling could climb by 6 percent to a 14-year high in jewellery demand is likely to be affected by high prices, low consumer confidence, and economic uncertainty.

What will move gold prices higher in 2026?

Gold investors should take cues from interest rate moves, inflation levels, strength or weakness in the US dollar and sentiment surrounding the independence of the Federal Reserve.

Of course, US trade policy will continue to be a main theme for precious metals over the next 12 months.

“As we have witnessed since the beginning of the Trump 2.0 administration, the abrupt and often unpredictable nature of US policy moves and the resulting uncertainty for the global trade system, and in turn the global economy, is expected to be a key driver of sentiment towards gold,” states the firm in the report.

Further driving demand, central banks around the world are expected to remain net buyers of safe-haven gold as the global push toward de-dollarization continues.

Gold and silver price outlook.

Chart via Metals Focus, Bloomberg.

Silver price outlook for 2026

As for silver, the white metal will continue to be seen as a more affordable alternative to gold. Metals Focus is looking for silver to average US$57 next year, and even take a run at the US$60 level in mid- to late 2026.

Silver has not only benefited from safe-haven investor demand and strong industrial demand, but also tight supply. However, the firm notes that the ongoing supply deficit for silver is expected to fall from 143.6 million ounces in 2024 to 63.4 million ounces in 2025. That figure is expected to shrink further to 30.5 million ounces in 2026.

Nevertheless, the silver market remains in a supply deficit at a time when demand is strong.

“We therefore remain bullish towards silver for the rest of this year and 2026,” note the report’s authors, who expect silver to continue outperforming gold at least in the first half of the new year.

In response, the gold-silver ratio has the potential to continue falling in 2026. However, Metals Focus believes the market will see this trend reverse in the back half of the year as silver loses some steam.

Gold-silver ratio.

Chart via Metals Focus, Bloomberg.

Investor takeaway

Overall, Metal Focus is confident the precious metals bull market will continue for the rest of 2025 and into 2026.

Gold especially is benefiting from its safe-haven status at a time of heightened macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty. Silver is tracking its ascent and also seeing tight aboveground supply and sustained industrial demand.

For those who think they’ve missed out on the gains to be made in this latest precious metals bull cycle, there’s still plenty of upside to be had in the gold and silver markets in Q4 and heading into 2026.

Bullet briefing — What’s next for gold and silver?

Gold and silver prices perked up to end the week, rising to the US$4,100 and US$48.60 levels, respectively. But with the metals still off from their all-time highs, investors are wondering what’s next.

Opinions vary, but I’ve pulled together a couple of quotes that illustrate what I’m hearing.

First is Ed Steer of Ed Steer’s Gold and Silver Digest. He’s well known for his commentary on the precious metals space, and he weighed in on what’s next for silver, saying that today really is different compared to the other times silver rose to the US$50 level.

Here’s how he explained it:

‘It’s irrelevant what the price is today. You look at the big picture, and look at the fact that the BRICS+ have become an absolutely awesome juggernaut, and it’s absolutely unstoppable. And as we shift from the west to the east, as this continues economically, financially, it’s impossible to say where this is going to end up.

‘But what we’re living right now is we’re living through a major, major shift in financial power, from one area of the world to another, and we’re going to be — they’re going to be writing about this 1,000 years from now. So we’re living through history.’

Next we have Don Durrett of GoldStockData.com. This interview is from the week before last, so it’s a little older, but definitely still relevant. I’ve kept thinking about a comment Durrett made about one way we can tell the gold cycle is still early. This is what he said:

The thing that really reveals how early we are is the stock market is only 2 percent from an all-time high. What in the world is the stock market doing at an all-time high and gold at an all-time high? Those are antagonistic. Gold is supposed to be a hedge against uncertainty. The stock market is supposed to show basically confidence.

And so if you have an all-time high, people should be confident. Everything’s fine. We don’t need this. But people are not confident. People have said this is the most scary bull market ever. Nobody really believes in it, right? … So the question is, who’s telling the truth? Is the stock market telling the truth at an all time high, or is it gold is telling the truth? Well, it’s pretty obvious that gold’s the one telling the truth.

In It To Win It interview

Finally, if you’d like to hear more from me, I was recently interviewed by Steve Barton of In It To Win It.