Microcap in Focus: Silver and Copper Hiding in Plain Sight

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Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Silver has quietly re-emerged as one of the more compelling plays in the metals market. Industrial demand, driven by solar panels, EV components, and electronics, is running hot, while investment demand continues to build on concerns about currency debasement and global instability. The result is a metal with a dual demand story that's hard to ignore, and explorers sitting on quality silver assets are beginning to get a fresh look from investors.

Shares of Aftermath Silver Ltd. (TSX-V: AAG) (OTCQX: AAGFF) are in focus Tuesday morning after the company released the first batch of assay results from its Phase 3 diamond drill program at its 100%-owned Berenguela silver-copper-manganese deposit in southern Peru.

Aftermath is a Canadian junior explorer focused on silver and critical metals, with a pipeline of projects at various stages of advancement. The crown jewel is Berenguela, a deposit that has now returned some of the best drill results the company has seen across three phases of drilling.

The headline intercepts from the current program speak for themselves. Hole AFD152 returned 48.5 meters grading 438 grams per tonne silver plus 2.22% copper. Hole AFD155 hit 70.0 meters at 230 g/t silver from surface. And AFD160 came in at 45.8 meters of 528 g/t silver, including a 29.5-meter stretch grading 737 g/t silver. Perhaps most striking, AFD162 returned 11.4 meters of 1,042 g/t silver, well into high-grade territory, from just 11.8 meters downhole.

These results cover 17 holes totaling just over 1,060 meters from what has grown into a 90-hole, 6,000-meter program (double the original scope). The expansion was driven by strong geological results, rig availability, and favorable site access. The focus area is a 225-meter strike length near surface, specifically targeted as a potential starter pit for future open pit mining operations.

The copper angle adds a layer to the story that management is clearly excited about. CEO Ralph Rushton noted the strong copper association accompanying the silver as a particular highlight, meaningful in an environment where copper demand tied to global electrification continues to grow.

Drilling recoveries in mineralized intersections averaged 95%, and the program is using large-diameter PQ core specifically to convert indicated resources to measured and to pull metallurgical samples for optimization work. The mineralization has now been traced along at least 1,550 meters of strike, up from 1,300 meters historically, and a previous 100-meter gap in the deposit has been closed by recent drilling.

Shares of AAG closed Monday up 4.4% at C$0.72. Shares of AAGFF were ahead 2.6% to $0.536.

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