It is safe to say that 2025 has been a phenomenal year for the markets, especially Canada’s junior markets.

Since the start of the year, The TSX Venture is up ~64% as of December 3rd. NEARLY SIXTY FIVE PERCENT. 

Now it is not like the Canadian economy is booming. Far from it. What is booming are metals and mining, and Canada just happens to be the “home exchange” for global mining thanks to its regulations and a more savvy investor base.

Thankfully, through our daily research we were able to catch some of these junior mining companies in their early stages and put out a handful of amazing picks to our readers that have gone on to double or triple in price.

However, we do not think these types of opportunities have come and gone already. Quite the contrary. There are a ton of quality setups out there with catalysts in the new year that we believe can perform incredibly well if execution is there. That is why this article exists. We do not want you to miss out. Of course the potential upside in metals and resources is hard to ignore, but we will also cover a few promising names in other sectors too.

Some of these will take time. Some might f*ck around and double within the first month. Either way, if markets in 2026 look anything like they did this year, you will want the names below on your watchlist.

What follows is not a set of deep dives. It is a simple rundown of what each company is and what they are up to, plus the key catalysts we are watching. Be smart, always do your own research before putting money into penny stocks. Even the most promising story can still end up a stinker.

Alright, in no particular order, here are 10 Penny Stocks You Need To Watch in 2026.

Verde AgriTech

Ticker: TSX: NPK, OTC: VNPKF

Market cap: C$59M

First GTAD mention: October 6, 2025 (+42%)

Early stage clay-hosted rare earth discovery in Brazil sitting right beside an existing fertilizer business.

Company overview

Verde is a Brazilian fertilizer producer that suddenly picked up a rare earths angle in 2025. The core business is making specialty potash products from its Cerrado Verde deposit in Minas Gerais and selling them to farmers across Brazil. In October, trenching on ground beside the current operations hit high grade clay hosted rare earths across a big footprint, which sent the stock vertical. Verde now has three rigs turning on a roughly 200 hole program on that discovery, with the goal of outlining a first rare earth resource in early 2026 and then a PEA soon after, effectively stacking a potential rare earth project on top of the existing fertilizer plant and infrastructure.

Investor Highlights

• Operating business already in place, not just a moose pasture, with mines, plants and a fertilizer product that is already in the market.

• The rare earth discovery is clay hosted, starts at surface and sits right beside Verde’s current operation, which matters a lot for potential capex and timeline if the story holds up.

• Early trench and drill work has already shown genuinely high grades and magnet rare earths, which is what you want if this ever becomes a mine.

• If it works, you are looking at a company that could have cash flow from fertilizer plus a rare earth project rather than a single-asset bet.

2026 Catalysts

• Steady drill results through 2026 as the 200 hole program fills in the discovery and tests how far the mineralization actually extends.

• First rare earth resource targeted for Q1 2026 that should put real tonnes and grade around the October trench story.

• PEA planned for around Q2 2026, giving the first look at potential economics for a rare earth operation tied into Verde’s existing site.

• Any recovery in the Brazilian ag cycle that helps fertilizer volumes and cash flow, which would make it easier to fund the rare earth work without leaning too hard on the equity window.

Happy Belly Food Group

Ticker: CSE: HBFG, OTCQB: HBFGF

Market cap: C$295M

First GTAD mention: January 3, 2025 (+73%)

Multi brand restaurant group growing through franchise deals and a long run of record quarters.

Company overview

Happy Belly buys small but popular food brands and helps them spread across the map. The portfolio now includes concepts like Heal Wellness, Rosie’s Burgers, Yolk’s, Via Cibo, iQ and Salus Fresh Foods, with a mix of corporate stores and a growing base of franchises. The business model is to sign area development deals, help franchisees get locations open, and clip product sales, fees and royalties as system wide sales grow. That playbook has turned into 14 consecutive record quarters and three straight quarters of positive net income from operations, with Q3 2025 showing 73 restaurants in the system and system sales more than doubling year over year.

Investor highlights

• Essentially a basket of several fast casual brands across different lanes, including Heal Wellness, Rosie’s Burgers, Yolks, Via Cibo, iQ and Salus, instead of a single concept bet.

• Fourteen record quarters in a row and three straight quarters with positive net income from operations, with store count and system sales both up sharply in 2025.

• About 626 signed franchise commitments across the portfolio, which gives a long line of stores to open if franchise partners keep building.

2026 catalysts

• There is no confirmed deadline for the first Heal and Rosie’s locations in Texas, but they have locked in strong real estate there. Any update on openings and early signs that those stores can hold their own in that market would add extra fuel to the growth story.

• By design, most of the catalysts here come from the model itself. It is all about how many new franchise deals they can sign and, more importantly, how many doors they can actually get open from that pipeline. Watching how the brands perform in new spots like Atlantic Canada and other fresh markets will tell you if the flywheel is still getting stronger or starting to slow.

*Note: HBFG is sitting right around all time highs as we write this. We have been on it for a while, and the momentum plus the run of record quarters is hard to ignore. The flip side is that the stock is not cheap here. A lot of the growth story is already baked into the price, so any slowdown in openings, unit economics or same store sales can hit harder than people expect. Size it accordingly and know exactly why you own it before you chase strength.

Trident Resources

Ticker: TSXV: ROCK

Market cap: C$60M

First GTAD mention: November 12, 2025 (+86%)

Small cap gold explorer that was stitched together this year and immediately hit a very thick high grade zone at a past producing mine in Saskatchewan.

Company overview

Trident came together in 2025 when Eros Resources, MAS Gold and Rockridge Resources folded their Saskatchewan projects into one company. The new vehicle controls a big land position in the La Ronge Gold Belt in northern Saskatchewan plus the Knife Lake copper project. The core of the story is gold. Across four deposits in the belt they now have roughly 2 million ounces in a fresh resource update, and that does not even count Contact Lake yet. Contact Lake is a past producer that mined good grade ore back when gold was a fraction of today’s price. Trident’s first modern drill program there hit a very strong intercept below the old workings that sent the stock flying, and there are still plenty of assays to come from that program. The structure is tight and they are well funded for a junior at this stage.

Investor highlights

• Most of the better La Ronge ground is now under one roof. You are basically getting 4 defined deposits with about 2 million ounces of gold, plus the Knife Lake copper project, in a part of Saskatchewan that already has road and power in place.

• Contact Lake is a past producer with roughly 190,000 oz mined at about 6.16 g/t back in the 1990s. Trident’s first modern program already returned 7.03 g/t over 43.25 m, including 30.06 g/t over 9.25 m in CL25003, with deeper step out holes still pending to see if the system continues below the old mine levels.

• Capital structure is tight and volatile. There are only about 41.3M shares fully diluted, insiders own around 20%, and they have roughly C$12M in cash and marketable securities. A chunk of the warrant overhang is already in the money, so a lot of the next phase of work can be funded without immediately coming back to market, which keeps near term dilution risk in check.

2026 catalysts

• Assays from the remaining 16 holes at Contact Lake, especially the deeper holes below the old mine workings. If those also hit strong grade over decent widths, it starts to look like a proper high grade zone, not just one wild hole.

• What Trident decides to do once all the Contact Lake data is in. The next step could be a larger follow up program focused on building out that high grade corridor, or starting to pull the new drilling into a first modern resource around the old mine. Either way, 2026 is when the story should shift from “nice hit” to “here is what this could look like on paper.”

• An actual plan for Knife Lake. Trident owns 100% of a near surface copper rich VMS deposit in Saskatchewan with a historical 43 101 resource and about 15 km of untested conductors. With copper perking up, any move to update the resource, drill those targets or bring in a partner would finally put the copper side of the story in front of the market.

Midnight Sun Mining

Ticker: TSXV: MMA, OTCQX: MDNGF

Market cap: C$309M

First GTAD mention: February 10, 2025 (+61%)

Copper explorer in Zambia with a shot at a very large discovery at Dumbwa and a nearer term high grade copper oxide story at Kazhiba.

Company overview

Midnight Sun’s main asset is the Solwezi project in Zambia’s copper belt. The story right now is basically two pillars. Dumbwa is a roughly 20 km long copper trend where drilling has started to hit wide zones of decent grade close to surface, and there are currently four rigs stepping along that corridor to see how big and consistent it really is. Kazhiba is a shallow blanket of high grade copper oxides a short truck haul from a large operating mine, with past holes hitting double digit copper over meaningful widths right from surface. Midnight Sun is one of GTAD’s most discussed names and we recently put out a full breakdown article on it, which is worth reading if you want the whole story front to back. 

You can read our full Midnight Sun deep dive here:  “Is This the Best Copper Play Right Now? A Deep Dive on Midnight Sun Mining.”

Investor highlights

• Big land position in a proven copper belt in Zambia, with roads, power and producing mines already in the area.

• Dumbwa is the main swing. It is a long copper anomaly with strong soils and early drilling already showing broad, near surface mineralization, led by a team that has grown a big deposit in this belt before.

• Kazhiba is the nearer term angle. Drilling has returned thick, high grade oxide copper intervals from surface and the target sits close enough to existing processing that a trucking or tolling style setup is a realistic goal if they can outline enough tonnes.

• The recent C$30.4M financing at $1.35 leaves the treasury in good shape, so they can keep multiple rigs turning at Dumbwa, advance Kazhiba and still have room to test other targets without constant financing struggles.

2026 catalysts

• Dumbwa drill results as they move closer to the core. Four rigs are on it and the next waves of assays in 2026 should show whether grades start to climb and if they can prove continuity across more of the twenty kilometre trend instead of just a few pockets.

• Kazhiba drilling aimed at a first oxide resource. The current work is about tightening up the shallow high grade blanket so they can put out a maiden MRE on the oxides. Getting that first resource out, and seeing what the grade and tonnage look like, is the big hard milestone on the Kazhiba side.

• Potential buyout???

Silverco Mining

Ticker: TSXV: SICO

Market cap: C$326M

First GTAD mention: November 26, 2025 (+84%)

Recently listed silver restart built around the Cusi Mining Complex, a past producing underground mine with a 1,200 tpd mill and a clear path back to production in 2026.

Company overview

Silverco is a Mexican silver developer built around the Cusi mine in Chihuahua. Sierra Metals ran Cusi until 2023, then sold it into this new vehicle, which raised about C$25M, cleaned up the balance sheet and came public through an RTO with Quetzal Copper. Cusi itself is a past producing silver lead zinc operation with a permitted 1,200 tpd plant, grid power and road access already in place, plus an updated resource of a bit over 70 Moz silver equivalent to build from. Silverco now owns the complex and the surrounding land, is midway through a 15,000 m drill program, and is working toward a restart plan that targets first production in the back half of 2026 with room to grow through higher grade zones like San Miguel.

Note: Yes, I realize a $10 stock is not technically a penny stock. It still has a similar market cap as other names in here, but the structure is so damn tight that the price is what it is. Whatever, it looks too good not to include. Also, the stock was only $6.50 when I started writing this but it refuses to stop pumping so..

Investor highlights

• Restart aimed at H2 2026, with Cusi coming back into production and ramping toward meaningful silver equivalent output, so this is set up to flip from “story” to actual producer inside the next 12 months.

• Past producing underground mine with a permitted 1,200 tpd mill, grid power, roads and a defined silver-lead-zinc resource already in place, so you are not paying for a bare exploration camp that still has to build everything from scratch.

• Only about 32M shares out after roughly C$25M was raised at $1.50 and $3.00, with no giant pile of cheap paper waiting to hit the market, which gives any real progress on the restart or drill bit good leverage to the share price.

• San Miguel and the broader Cusi land package give real upside on top of the restart plan, with recent drilling hitting thick, good grade silver intervals right beside the existing mine and more room to step out along strike and at depth.

• Management comes out of names like Victoria Gold, Wheaton and Vizsla, and Eric Sprott owns roughly 18%, so there is a serious team and real money behind the idea of turning Cusi back into a proper silver producer.

2026 catalysts

• Mine restart study in Q1 2026 that folds the 15,000 m program and new San Miguel drilling into an updated resource and a three to five year restart plan, with restart capex in the US$15–20M range.

• Follow up economic study in Q2 2026 that lays out the detailed mine plan: tonnes, grades, throughput, unit costs and production profile.

• Option to restart Cusi in the second half of 2026 if silver prices cooperate, with 2027 targeted as the first full year of production.

• Continued work at San Miguel through this window, with drilling focused on extending and thickening the higher grade zones that feed the mill and support the move from roughly 1.4 Moz toward 2.5 Moz plus per year.

Surge Battery Metals

Ticker: TSXV: NILI, OTCQX: NILIF

Market cap: C$151M

First GTAD mention: June 9, 2025 (+100%)

Nevada lithium developer working to turn its Nevada North claystone deposit into a U.S. based source of battery grade supply.

Company Overview

Surge Battery Metals is built around one main asset, the Nevada North lithium project in northeastern Nevada. Nevada North is a big near surface lithium claystone deposit that has already been drilled enough to have a real resource and a first economic study around it. On the numbers side it sits at roughly 11.24 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent at around 3,000 ppm lithium, which puts it toward the higher end of U.S. clay projects. The basic idea is to turn that rock into battery grade lithium for North American buyers in a place that actually wants new mines, with a bit of extra upside if the rubidium and cesium that show up in the same rocks end up being worth anything.

Investor highlights

• Nevada North already has a full PEA that takes the 11.24M tonnes of LCE at around 3,000 ppm lithium and builds a mine plan around it, with modeled capex, operating costs and project life, so there is a clear baseline for what the project could look like if it is built.

• Surge has brought in Evolution Mining as a partner. Evolution can fund up to roughly C$10M of work toward pre feasibility while Surge keeps the majority interest in Nevada North, which helps de risk the next phase of spending.

• The project sits in Nevada and lines up with the U.S. push for domestic lithium supply. The U.S. government has already backed another Nevada clay project, Lithium Americas’ Thacker Pass, which shows there is real policy support for this type of asset.

• Drilling at Nevada North has also shown rubidium and cesium in the same clays as the lithium. Both are on critical mineral lists and used in high value applications. If future test work shows they can be recovered alongside lithium at reasonable cost, they could add meaningful extra value to the project.

• Proven Lithium Team who sold Millennial Lithium, for $490 US million in early 2022.

2026 catalysts

• Updated Nevada North resource in Q1 2026 that rolls in the recent infill and core drilling and gives a tighter view on tonnage, grade and pit shape.

• Key pre feasibility de risk work through 2026, including pit slope design, hydrology and water studies, metallurgy and variability testing, plus ongoing baseline and permitting work that all feed into project design.

• Completion of the PFS in late 2026, which will pull all of that work into a full economic study and give the market an updated look at capital costs, operating costs and project returns for Nevada North.

BeWhere Holdings

Ticker: TSXV: BEW, OTC: BEWFF

Market cap: C$72M

First GTAD mention: June 17, 2025

Small Canadian IoT company turning low cost asset trackers into recurring data revenue.

Company overview

BeWhere builds small battery powered tracking devices and software that help companies keep tabs on trucks, trailers, tools and medical gear in real time. The devices run on low power 5G and send data into BeWhere’s cloud platform, where customers can see location, movement and other sensor readings in a single dashboard. Most of the business runs through big carrier partners like AT&T, Bell and T Mobile, who bundle BeWhere’s hardware and service into their own plans. The installed base is approaching 500,000 devices and is still growing, helped by a financing model where customers pay monthly instead of buying hardware outright. Core markets are transportation and logistics, with newer traction in first responder networks and airport equipment tracking.

Investor highlights

• Q3 2025 revenue was a bit over C$6M, up just over 20% year over year, with higher gross margins than last year and another quarter of positive net income. It is a small cap tech name that is already making money and growing the top line.

• The balance sheet is in good shape, with several million dollars of cash, no debt, and solid working capital. That gives them room to keep funding growth and customer financing without needing to tap the market in a hurry.

• More of the business is shifting toward recurring revenue as customers take devices on financing and rental style plans instead of buying hardware upfront. That makes it easier for cost sensitive customers to say yes and builds a larger base of monthly fees on top of the one time hardware sales
  

• Distribution is already plugged into big carriers like AT&T and Bell, with orders such as the FirstNet rollout showing they can land real contracts. On top of that, they recently proved their low power trackers can connect to AST SpaceMobile’s satellites, which opens up new markets in remote areas that are outside normal cellular coverage.

2026 catalysts

• Launch of the new product line. Management has talked about three new products coming in 2026 built on the same low power tracking platform, so seeing those actually hit the market and start showing up in unit sales and recurring revenue will be the big thing to watch.

• Progress on turning the AST SpaceMobile satellite work from a successful demo into something commercial, with clear plans and early customers using satellite connectivity on existing devices rather than it just being a one off headline.

• Similar to Happy Belly, this one does not have a drill program or a single big binary event. The story in 2026 mostly comes down to whether they can keep stacking revenue, margins and contract wins quarter after quarter.

StrikePoint Gold

Ticker: TSX-V: SKP, OTC: STKXF

Market cap: C$6.5M (smallest name in this list, most to prove)

Small Nevada gold explorer trying to prove up a near-surface gold deposit at its Hercules project.

Company overview

StrikePoint is a tiny company built around one main asset, the Hercules Gold Project in Nevada’s Walker Lane trend. Nevada is the top gold state in the U.S., and Walker Lane has become a busy exploration belt with several multi-million ounce deposits either in production or being built. Hercules sits in the northern part of that belt and covers more than 100 square kilometres of ground.

The target here is a broad zone of gold starting close to surface that, if the drilling cooperates, could support a series of shallow pits and a heap-leach style mine, similar to other operations in the state. Work over the past year has pulled together a lot of historic drilling and surface sampling and sketched out the potential for a roughly million-ounce type system.

Investor highlights

• The 2025 work pulled the historic drilling into an exploration target of about 800k to 1 M ounces of gold at roughly 0.48 to 0.63 g/t. It is still a conceptual target, not a formal resource, but if a 2026 maiden resource landed anywhere in that ballpark, then at a roughly C$6.5M market cap and about C$3.5M in cash you are only paying a few dollars of enterprise value per ounce in the ground today. The flip side is they still have to drill a lot more to find out if those ounces are actually there. 

• The 2025 drill program did what it needed to do. Holes like 117 metres of around half a gram gold near surface, plus shorter higher grade hits, back up the idea that this is a broad oxide system that starts close to surface rather than a narrow vein hunt. The mineralization is still open and they now have permits in place to keep stepping out.

• Management has already run this playbook once. Chief executive Mike Allen helped build and sell Northern Empire, another Nevada heap leach story that went for around C 120M with just under a million ounces in the resource. He knows the belt, the buyers and what a project has to look like to get taken out.

2026 catalysts

• Using part of the recent C$3.1M financing, StrikePoint is planning a spring 2026 drill program at Hercules starting around March. The plan is roughly 27 shallow holes for about 2,600–3,000 metres, which should be enough new data to tighten up the model and test the current exploration target.

• Assay results from that program should start to hit in the spring and roll through the summer, giving the first real look at whether Hercules can support something in the 800k–1M ounce range the exploration target points to.

• If the drill data cooperates, the company’s goal is to use it to deliver a maiden resource estimate around Q3 2026. That timing is management’s target, not a guarantee, but it is the main line of sight catalyst for a proper re-rate.

Millennial Potash

Ticker: TSXV: MLP, OTC: MLPNF

Market cap: C$415M

First GTAD mention: June 19, 2025 (+178%)

Early-stage potash company trying to turn a very large fertilizer deposit in Gabon into a long-life mine.

Company overview

Millennial Potash is built around the Banio potash project on the Atlantic coast of Gabon. Potash is a key fertilizer ingredient that helps crops handle stress and boost yields, and Banio is a thick package of potash-bearing salt rocks close to tidewater, which matters when shipping product to buyers in places like Brazil and West Africa. The 2025 resource update took Banio to roughly 2.45 billion tonnes in the measured and indicated categories at about 15–16% KCl, plus around 3.56 billion tonnes inferred at similar grades, with only a sliver of the property drilled so far. An earlier, smaller resource was already enough to support an economic study that modeled an 800,000 tonne per year operation; with the much larger resource in hand the company is now working on a full detailed study to see what kind of mine Banio could support and how big they might reasonably build it.

Investor Highlights

• On size, Banio is already in rare company. The 2025 update took the project to roughly 2.45 billion tonnes in the measured and indicated categories at about 15–16% KCl, plus around 3.56 billion tonnes inferred at similar grades. That is over 6 billion tonnes of potash-bearing rock from what management says is only a few percent of the licence, and the newer holes showed the potash layer getting thicker, not thinner.

• The first economic study was done on a much smaller 1.7B tonne resource and still showed an 800,000 tonne per year mine worth about US$1.1B at roughly US$387 per tonne potash. Even if you only give a small slice of that number credit because of Africa risk, big capex and the usual execution questions, it still lines up reasonably well with today’s roughly C$350M market cap before you even factor in the newer, much larger resource or any higher production case.

• Location and logistics help the story. Banio sits on the Atlantic coast of Gabon, near tidewater, which makes it easier to ship product to big fertilizer markets like Brazil and West Africa compared with landlocked projects that depend on long rail hauls out of Canada, Russia or Belarus. In a world that wants more diversified, low cost potash supply, coastal tonnes like this have a clear role.

• The people and partners around the project are ideal. The same group already took Millennial Lithium from a junior story to a sale just under US$500M by drilling it out and de-risking it with studies. At Banio they are skipping pre-feasibility and going straight into a full bankable feasibility, helped by a US$3M grant from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation that is earmarked for the study work and comes with stated interest in future project financing. That combination of a repeat team and early backing from a development lender gives the story more credibility than a typical early stage potash name.

2026 catalysts

• Millennial is planning another round of drilling at Banio in 2026, stepping further along the trend and tightening up the model. The goal is to add more tonnes and get a clearer picture of how thick and continuous the best parts of the deposit really are.

• That drilling is meant to roll into another resource update. Best case, it grows the current 6 billion tonne base and moves more of the potash into the higher confidence categories that actually feed a mine plan.

• The main objective for 2026 is a full feasibility study. The US DFC grant is helping fund that work, which should give updated capex, operating costs and production scenarios that bigger groups and lenders can underwrite.

• In the background they are also pushing the environmental and social work forward. Wrapping up the ESIA and using it to support a mining license application in Gabon is another key step they are aiming to tick off in this same window.

Eloro Resources

Ticker: TSX: ELO, OTCQX: ELRRF

Market cap: C$276M

A Bolivia focused silver tin story with a billion ounce style system that the market is still valuing at pocket change per ounce.

Company overview

Eloro is a junior developer built around the Iska Iska project in southern Bolivia. It is a big, weird polymetallic system that does not really fit into the neat “single vein” silver box. The current resource is split into a polymetallic domain and a tin domain, both wrapped around the same large hydrothermal system centred on Santa Barbara hill.

On paper the scale is hard to ignore. Between the two domains, Iska Iska already hosts close to 300 million ounces of silver and over a billion ounces of silver equivalent when you factor in zinc, lead and tin. All of this sits in a broad, near surface envelope that could support a large bulk tonnage operation if the economics line up. Eloro still has more drilling, metallurgy and engineering to do, but at today’s valuation you are paying very little for each ounce in the ground compared with other names that have a fraction of the metal.

Investor Highlights

• The current Iska Iska resource is already large and, for now, it is entirely in the inferred category. The model sits at roughly 560 Mt in the polymetallic domain and 110 Mt in the tin domain, which on paper works out to about 298 Moz of silver and around 1.15B oz of silver equivalent.

• Phase 2 definition drilling tightened up the Santa Barbara starter pit. They drilled 8,286 metres in 16 holes over a block roughly 1 km by 600 m by 500 m, and every hole hit polymetallic mineralization, including zones that had been modeled as waste in the first MRE.

• The separate tin domain is big enough to stand on its own, and silver runs through both the polymetallic and tin zones, so you get real exposure to two critical metals in one deposit rather than just a pure silver bet.

• Bolivia is not the same Bolivia it was five years ago. Under the new Paz government, mining is being pushed to replace fading gas revenues, contract approvals are finally moving again, and foreign miners are being invited back in, which is a far better environment for a big deposit like this than it used to be.

• At around a C$150M market cap, the market is valuing Iska Iska at roughly C$0.13 per silver equivalent ounce and about C$0.50 per silver ounce, with essentially no credit for the tin yet.

2026 catalysts

• The updated resource in early 2026 is the main event. Phase 2 definition drilling around the Santa Barbara starter pit has been hitting better grades than the 2023 model and turning chunks of “waste” into ore, so I am expecting more than just a small tweak to the numbers.

• Once that new resource is out, the first PEA is expected to follow, so 2026 should finally give a full economic model for Iska Iska with proper tonnage, throughput, capex and cost numbers on paper.

• Every month the Paz government keeps proving it is serious about mining and foreign capital, which only de-risks the story further in a country that used to be a no-go for a lot of investors.

Final thoughts

This was a brutal article to put together, because there are a lot of strong setups out there right now. We tried to keep a real mix in here, both by sector and by risk level, from tiny gold explorers hunting for their first resource to a restaurant group that just keeps stacking record quarters. Keep in mind that we are more risk-on than the average investor and I do not mind jumping into a name “late” if the thesis still holds up and the story is still getting better.

That is why it is so important that you actually do your own work before buying anything on this list. You need to know what you own and what has to go right for it to work. If you are not sure where to start with that, a few months ago we put out a Basic Stock Analysis Guide and a Basic Mining Stock Analysis Guide that walk through how I look at these names. They are both written for beginners and might help you build your own process instead of just chasing tickers you see online.

If 2026 looks anything like this year, the companies in this article should have a pretty good market to prove themselves in. Whether that actually happens is still an open question, but the setups are there. If you made it this far, I hope this gave you at least a bit of value and a few ideas to dig into. Wishing you a successful 2026 with some fresh portfolio highs. 

Cheers. 

Sources

Verde AgriTech 

• Company & investor site: Verde AgriTech – general corporate information.

• Investor/IR landing page (English): Investor Relations – Verde AgriTech – includes corporate documents and presentations.

• Corporate presentation: Corporate Presentation – July 2025 (PDF) – overview of the business, products and rare‐earths discovery.

• Rare‐earth discovery news release (Oct 6 2025): “Verde AgriTech Announces District Scale High‑Grade Magnetic Rare Earths Discovery in Minas Gerais, Brazil” – official press release summarizing the clay‐hosted rare‐earth zone and initial results: Press release.

• Board‐approved accelerated plan news release (Oct 14 2025): “Verde AgriTech Board Approves Accelerated Plan for District Scale Rare Earths Discovery” - outlines plans for additional rigs, metallurgical work, and targets for resource and PEA in 2026: Press release.

Happy Belly Food Group 

• Company website: Happy Belly Food Group – general corporate and brand information.

• Investor relations page: Investor Relations – overview of the company and investor contact.

• Corporate presentation (latest): Investor Presentation (PDF) – provides details on the multi‑brand QSR platform, growth strategy and financial metrics.

• Franchise agreement news release (Nov 14 2025): “Happy Belly Food Group's Heal Wellness QSR Announces the Signing of a Franchise Agreement for Bradford, Ontario” – notes 626 contracted franchise locations and recent expansion: Press release.

Trident Resources

• Company website: Trident Resources Corp. – corporate overview.

• Corporate presentation: Trident Resources – Corporate Presentation (Dec 2025, PDF) – covers projects, management and exploration plans.

• Three-way merger announcement: “Eros Resources, MAS Gold and Rockridge Resources Complete Previously Announced Three‑Way Merger Transaction” (Jun 6 2025) – background to the company’s formation: Press release.

• High-grade gold intercept news release (Nov 2025): “Trident Resources Intersects 7.03 g/t Au Over 43.25 m… at Contact Lake Gold Project, Saskatchewan” – details the thick, high-grade intercept at Contact Lake: Press release.

• Resource update news release (Oct 23 2025): “Trident Resources Corp Announces Updated Mineral Resource Estimates for Four La Ronge Gold Belt Deposits in Northern Saskatchewan, Canada” – summarises the ~2 Moz resource across the four deposits: Press release.

Midnight Sun Mining

• Company website: Midnight Sun Mining Corp. – general corporate information.

• Corporate presentation: 2025-11-18 Midnight Sun – Corporate Deck (PDF) – covers the Solwezi project, Dumbwa discovery and Kazhiba oxides.

• High‑grade Kazhiba drill results (Sept 18 2025): “Midnight Sun Intercepts 7.39% Cu Over 14.86 m Including 16.9% Cu Over 4 m at Kazhiba Main” – highlights thick, high-grade oxides: Press release

• Dumbwa drill program results (Oct 23 2025): “Midnight Sun Intercepts 1.0% Copper Over 22 Metres and 0.98% Copper Over 15 Metres at Dumbwa” – summary of near-surface sulphide hits: Press release.

• South‑tower financing news (Jul 18 2025): “Midnight Sun Closes C$30.4 Million Financing to Advance Dumbwa and Kazhiba” – details the C$30.4M raise used to fund 2025–26 work: Press release.

Silverco Mining 

• Company website: Silverco Mining Ltd. – corporate overview of the Cusi mine and operations.

• Corporate presentation: Silverco Mining – Corporate Presentation (Nov 2025, PDF) – outlines the restart plan, resource base and exploration upside.

• LIFE offering financing news (Oct 17 2025): “Silverco Mining Announces Closing of LIFE Offering for Gross Proceeds of C$25 Million” – details the financing used to clean up the balance sheet and advance restart: Press release.

• Restart and drilling news (Nov 28 2025): “Silverco Mining Reports Step-Out Drill Results at Cusi’s San Miguel Zone” – summary of San Miguel drill intercepts and restart progress: Press release.

• NI 43‑101 resource update (Oct 30 2025): “Silverco Mining Files Updated Technical Report on Cusi Mining Complex” – outlines the ~70 Moz AgEq resource and restart plan: Technical report news.

Surge Battery Metals 

• Company website: Surge Battery Metals Inc. – corporate and project background.

• Corporate presentation: Surge Battery Metals – Corporate Presentation 2025 (PDF) – details the Nevada North project, resource and PEA.

• Drill program update (Apr 15 2025): “Surge Battery Metals Advances 2025 Drill Program, Leverages U.S. Critical Minerals Policy” – outlines the 2025 core program and policy support: Press release.

• Infill drill program completion (Aug 25 2025): “Surge Completes 2025 Infill Drill Program, Consistently Intersects Thick Zones of High Potential Lithium Claystone” – summary of the 2025 drilling results: Press release.

• Evolution Mining joint venture announcement (Oct 3 2025): “Surge Announces Entering into Joint Venture with Evolution Mining Limited” – details the JV structure and funding commitment: Press release.

BeWhere Holdings 

• Company website: BeWhere Holdings Inc. – corporate overview and product information.

• Corporate presentation: BeWhere – Investor Presentation Q3 2025 (PDF) – details the business model, financial metrics and product pipeline.

• Third‑quarter revenue news (Nov 20 2025): “BeWhere Announces Significant Third Quarter Revenue” – highlights Q3 growth, recurring revenue and new product rollout: Press release.

• Second‑quarter results news (Aug 21 2025): “BeWhere Announces Second Quarter Results with Significant Revenue Growth” – summary of Q2 sales, margin expansion and device shipments: Press release.

• AST SpaceMobile connectivity news (Nov 7 2025): “BeWhere Achieves First Low‑Power 5G Satellite Connection with AST SpaceMobile” – demonstrates the satellite backhaul capability: Press release.

StrikePoint Gold 

• Company website: StrikePoint Gold – corporate overview.

• Corporate presentation: StrikePoint Gold – Corporate Presentation (Nov 2025, PDF) – covers the Hercules project, exploration target and drill plans.

• LIFE financing news (Nov 3 2025): “StrikePoint Gold Announces Closing of LIFE Offering for Gross Proceeds of C$3.1 Million” – details the financing used to fund the 2026 program: Press release.

• Drilling permit announcement (Dec 11 2025): “StrikePoint Gold Receives Permit for Drilling on Pony Meadows Target, Hercules Gold Project, Nevada” – signals 2026 drilling start: Press release.

• Exploration target news (Jan 25 2025): “StrikePoint Gold Announces Exploration Target for Hercules Project” – outlines the 0.8–1 Moz conceptual target used for planning: Press release.

Millennial Potash

• Company website: Millennial Potash Corp. – corporate overview.

• Project page (Banio): Banio Project – background on geology, location and drilling history.

• Corporate presentation: Millennial Potash – Corporate Presentation 2025 (PDF) – covers the Banio resource update and path to feasibility.

• Banio PEA (July 2023, PDF): Banio PEA (ERCOSPLAN 2023) – original economic study on a smaller resource.

• Positive PEA news release (Apr 23 2024): “Millennial Potash Completes Positive PEA with After‑Tax NPV of US$1.07 Billion” – summary of the PEA results: Press release.

• Maiden resource estimate news (Jan 16 2024): “Millennial Potash Releases Maiden Mineral Resource Estimate on Banio Potash Project” – first NI 43‑101 resource (657 Mt indicated and 1.159 Bt inferred): Press release.

• Updated resource estimate news (Nov 17 2025): “Millennial Potash Reports Significant Increase in Resource Estimates… Measured + Indicated Resource is up by 275%…” – details the 6 Bt update: Press release.

• Drilling results showing thicker zones (Sept 16 2025 & Oct 14 2025): “Millennial Potash Intersects 220 m of Potash Mineralization in Drillhole BA‑001‑EXT at Its Banio Potash Project in Gabon” and “Millennial Potash Intersects 101.45 m Cumulative Potash Thickness of High‑Grade Carnallitite Mineralization in Drillhole BA‑004…”.

• DFC funding announcement (Jul 9 2025): “Millennial Potash Announces U.S. International Development Finance Corporation’s Strategic Project Development Support for Its Banio Potash Project in Gabon” – non‑dilutive grant and potential project finance commitment: Press release.

Eloro Resources 

• Company website: Eloro Resources Ltd. – corporate overview.

• Iska Iska project page: Iska Iska Project – background on the geology, location and deposit.

• Corporate presentation: Eloro Resources – Corporate Deck (Nov 2025, PDF) – details the Iska Iska resource, tin domain and development plans

• Mineral resource estimate (Oct 16 2023, PDF): Iska Iska NI 43‑101 Resource – base for the silver and tin inventory.
  Resource news release (Oct 16 2023): “Eloro Announces Mineral Resource Estimate for the Iska Iska Polymetallic Silver‑Tin Deposit” – outlines the 560 Mt polymetallic plus 110 Mt tin domains: Press release.

• Phase 2 drilling update (Jun 11 2025): “Eloro Resources Drills 8,286 Metres in Phase 2 Definition Program at Iska Iska” – notes long mineralized intervals and higher grades around the Santa Barbara starter pit: Press release.