(Kitco News) - Gold prices are hitting record highs, even breaching the $3,000 an ounce level for the very first time, but junior mining stocks are still struggling to gain traction, according to Luc ten Have, founder of GoldDiscovery.com.
Speaking at the 2025 Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) conference in Toronto, ten Have noted that while larger gold producers have seen substantial gains, smaller exploration companies continue to face challenges.
“This is a topic that everybody talks about, and no one has a real answer,” ten Have said in an interview with Kitco Mining.
Despite the bullish outlook for gold, the disparity between major producers and junior miners has widened. Big gold companies have seen their stock prices surge by over 100% year over year. However, smaller exploration firms, particularly those listed on Canada’s TSX Venture Exchange, have failed to attract similar investor enthusiasm.
“TSXV has been really weak, but GDX has had a strong period,” ten Have said. “The mid-tier miners did well … but very small juniors are probably not in the bull market. That will probably correct itself at some point if gold stays strong.”
Financing remains a major hurdle
A key issue for junior miners is access to financing. While some well-connected companies manage to raise capital, others struggle to secure funding for exploration and development.
“I haven’t seen a period like this before,” ten Have said. “A couple of companies do really well, and almost all of these companies have very strong sponsorship.”
Industry heavyweights such as Pierre Lassonde, Rob McEwen, and Ross Beaty have helped certain juniors, making it easier for those companies to raise money. “You could just bet on those names – if they get in, you get in. That’s a pretty safe strategy,” he added.
However, companies lacking high-profile backing are finding it increasingly difficult to secure investment. “If you don’t have that, I want to see a company where people inside or in the network or they are buying in the market themselves,” ten Have said. He noted that insider buying is a crucial indicator of confidence. “If they don’t buy anything themselves, why should I?”
Lack of marketing and storytelling
Beyond financing, ten Have pointed to another major issue plaguing the junior mining sector: poor storytelling and marketing. Many CEOs, particularly those with geological backgrounds, struggle to generate excitement among investors.
“There’s a lot of companies run by geologists. Some geologists are just pure geologists – they hate the sales part,” ten Have said. “But you need to be quite good at telling a story. If you don’t tell a story to people, you don’t tell them what could happen if it all works out, it’s not going to work.”
Uncertainty over market cycles
Market cycles in mining are notoriously difficult to predict, and ten Have cautioned against trying to time the bottom or top of the market.
“Even the smart people, they always think it’s close,” he said. “If you look back to 2014, it was still two years before it finally turned. So I don’t try to answer that question for myself too much – I try to focus on good companies that I think are still undervalued.”
Despite the challenges, ten Have remains optimistic that significant opportunities exist for investors who can identify high-quality exploration projects. “I can guarantee you there’s going to be something exciting this year,” he said. “I just don’t know which one.”
Special thanks to our sponsors, GoldMining Inc., UEC & URC for making this coverage possible.
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