Happy Tuesday, GoldBuzzers!

Last week, we launched our new Take Action Tuesday feature by diving into the Gold Majors, and today it’s the turn of their Silver equivalent.

Ok. Let’s get into it. ⬇️

Gold tested $4,550 before clawing back to close around $4,567 on Monday. Silver was up over 2% after a bruising 10% weekly drop.

Gold slid to its lowest since late March as the Iran-Hormuz standoff pushed oil toward post-war highs, April producer prices surged, and consumer inflation hit a three-year peak. The market has fully priced out rate cuts this year, with some traders now betting on a hike before December. Higher yields and a stronger dollar did the rest.

Both metals recovered from session lows on unconfirmed reports of a possible Iran deal - Washington lifting oil sanctions in exchange for a long-term nuclear freeze - but the bounce lacked conviction. Silver faces an extra headwind after UBS slashed its full-year investment demand forecast from over 400 million ounces to 300 million and cut its projected supply deficit from roughly 300 million ounces to just 60-70 million. That removes one of silver's strongest bull arguments at a time when rate hike talk is getting louder.

FOMC minutes drop Wednesday, May PMIs and Michigan inflation expectations follow. For now, the safe-haven bid from the Middle East is being outweighed by the inflation it's creating.

Welcome back to our regular Tuesday feature, where we delve deep into the world of mining company data to unearth some real nuggets. Each week, I’ll focus on a different sector of the mining industry, and today I’m checking out the Silver Majors.

Silver Majors are the largest dedicated silver-producing companies in the world. These are full-production operations with market caps typically above $5 billion, annual silver output measured in the tens of millions of ounces, and mine portfolios spanning multiple countries. They're the companies that get featured on financial news segments when silver prices make a big move.

But first, let’s see which sectors of the mining industry are currently attracting the most capital flows.

Across seven precious metals sectors, the figures show what percentage of companies in each sector are beating their benchmark ETF over the past 60 days. Gold Producers made the biggest move up, jumping 11.9pp to 46% of names outperforming the GDX. Silver Juniors weren't far behind, surging 14.3pp to 20% beating SIL. Gold Majors, meanwhile, shed 8.0pp to 48% vs GDX, the steepest decline across the group. Silver Majors sit at 17%, down 3.3pp from 60 days ago, and looking like one of the most unloved sectors in the industry. Capital appears to be rotating toward smaller and mid-tier producers.

The ranks throughout this article come from GoldBuzz INSIDER's daily rating of more than 230 precious metals miners across a range of factors, incorporating price performance and fundamentals.

Let’s take a look at three Silver Majors with notable catalysts this quarter, led by the category's top two ranked miners and a fast-climbing third.

Pan American Silver (PAAS) is sitting on a cash position that most companies would build an entire growth story around. The catalyst here is a new shareholder return framework the board approved alongside Q1 results: the company is targeting up to $1 billion in capital returns for 2026, funded by $488 million in attributable free cash flow in the quarter alone. Silver Segment AISC (all-in sustaining cost, basically what it costs to produce each ounce of silver) came in at an extraordinary $6.63 per ounce, well below guidance, powered by the company's Juanicipio joint venture in Mexico. Cash and short-term investments hit a record $1.8 billion. #1 in Silver Majors, and the balance sheet gives them room to stay there.

Coeur Mining (CDE) just completed its biggest transformation in years. The company closed its acquisition of New Gold's Canadian operations in late March, adding two producing mines and flipping from net debt to a net cash position of $82 million. Q1 free cash flow came in at $267 million, and the company followed that with a $750 million share buyback authorization and its first-ever dividend. The New Gold deal adds roughly 80% more gold production in 2026 and introduces copper, making Coeur a materially different company than it was twelve months ago, though price has been hit hard. #2 in Silver Majors.

First Majestic (AG) is the most changed story in the category over the past twelve months, and Q1 made that case clearly. Revenue hit a record $477 million, up 95% year-over-year, while the company's treasury crossed $1.1 billion. The dividend was raised 280% from the year-ago quarter, the largest payout in the company's history. Free cash flow of $223.5 million supports a restart plan for the Jerritt Canyon gold mine in Nevada, targeting production in the second half of 2027. Two spots up to #3 in Silver Majors.

Hecla Mining (HL) holds at #4 in Silver Majors after posting record free cash flow of $144 million and redeeming its final $263 million of senior notes in April, leaving the company with no long-term debt for the first time in recent history.

All three featured names had genuine operational and financial catalysts this quarter: Pan American's $1 billion return program, Coeur's New Gold acquisition closing, and First Majestic's record revenue and dividend hike each represent company-specific developments that go beyond the silver price move. Hecla's debt elimination is the other big story worth watching, even though it sits one spot outside the featured group.

Going into the next month, the questions worth tracking are whether Coeur's expanded production platform delivers as guided with full quarters from its Canadian mines, and whether Pan American's La Colorada Skarn development (a major silver mine project targeting peak production of 19 million ounces per year) stays on its revised timeline.

Three real catalysts, but the sector ranking is the other half of the picture. Silver Majors are still the weakest sector, with only 17% of names beating the SIL benchmark over the past 60 days, as capital is rotating toward smaller producers and gold names.

Pan American, Coeur, and First Majestic are each in materially stronger financial shape than they were twelve months ago, and the cash positions matter most if silver continues to pull back from here. Hecla carrying no long-term debt for the first time in years sits in the same category. The question for the rest of 2026 is whether the operational stories keep pace with the silver price, or whether the balance sheets end up doing the heavy lifting.

That’s all for this Tuesday, folks. I’ll see you on Thursday.

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Rick Adams
Founder, GoldBuzz
rick@goldbuzz.com