The Future of Silver Prices: Supply Crunch vs Investor Demand - Silver Wolf (TSX.V: SWLF)

Añadido: 2026-05-13

[00:00:00]Uh the thing with industrial demand is it's kind of [music] the opposite case, right? As prices go up, there tends to be thrifting and or substitution, right?

[00:00:06]Which is a very real concern uh when [music] it comes to some of these technologies at some sort of price, uh you know, that the uh the innovation will focus on trying to either reduce that metal or using a different metal.

[00:00:16]And you're certainly starting to see that in the solar panel market.

[00:00:24]>> [music] >> Hello everyone, and welcome to another edition of Triangle Investor Interviews.

[00:00:36]I'm your host, Lucien Balcovic, and before I announce my guest, just a quick reminder of a disclaimer. This interview and all my interviews are not a recommendation to buy or sell any shares, products, or services. Always do your due diligence and consult with your financial advisor.

[00:00:51]Today, we are speaking with Peter Latta, president and director of Silver Wolf Exploration. Silver Wolf is an exploration company focused on exploring high-potential projects in prime silver and gold regions of Mexico. Peter, you are for the first time in my show.

[00:01:08]Great to have you here. Welcome, sir.

[00:01:11]Lucio, thank you so much for having me.

[00:01:12]It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you so much. Uh I usually start with my first timers, if I may call you like this, uh with the macro story, uh with the commodity that that is actually in your company, in your projects. And that is specifically silver. Let's start with the macro. Silver has had a volatile but upward trending narrative. How do you currently view the macro backdrop for silver in this year?

[00:01:40]You know, personally, uh I'm a I'm a huge fan of silver. I've worked in the silver mining industry my whole career since graduating university now, uh 20 years ago.

[00:01:50]Um so, personally, I I I'm a big believer in it. I love silver as both the industrial and the financial instrument. Uh and you know, so you're certainly what we're seeing with uh the adoption of of alternative energy and uh certainly EVs, um solar panels and whatnot, I'm sure you're very familiar with the use cases of silver. Uh you know, I think it's got a very, very bright future. Certainly, we've seen a lot of volatility in the market. Certainly, you've seen a lot of investor demand. Uh and there's a lot of global uncertainty, political uncertainty. Uh but, I don't see that going away. So, you know, there is a period of consolidation a little bit from the highs, but I think that's creating a very stable base for the price. And I see certainly uh I don't see political instability, global instability decreasing anytime soon. So, I think that's a very, very positive case for precious metals. Um in in uh in addition to that kind of industrial base where that that silver has.

[00:02:42]Yeah, that's a good overview. There is a lot of discussion about tightness in physical supply. Do you really see a genuine structural deficit forming as we speak?

[00:02:52]You know, I look at all the graphs too through what the you know, the silver industry puts out or uh various other commentators. So, it's really hard to get a handle on it. I tend to focus on the production side of things uh cuz that's what's in the in our wheelhouse and what we can control. Certainly, you see a lot of investor demand, and I think that is really the big uh uh the big variable as far as how much that soaks up the uh the uh the supply side. So, uh you know, I I I I guess that's kind of a cop-out answer, but I don't really know. Uh you know, I certainly see the open interest on the COMEX and that sort of thing in the futures market. Um it seems that way, but like I said, I don't have a great handle on that cuz my focus tends to be on the on the supply side. Understood. You mentioned silver as industrial and investment metal. How much of today's silver demand is being driven by industrial use versus investment demand?

[00:03:45]Well, certainly, I you know, I think the investment demand has taken up a larger portion of it. Uh and not just in in North America or in Europe where where you're based, uh but you certainly see that in India and China, you know, like there's a in Turkey. Uh you see a lot more countries uh outside of the Western countries be have uh a lot more emphasis on precious metals. Uh and certainly, you see that improving as the price goes up. Uh the thing with industrial demand is it's kind of the opposite case, right? As prices go up, there tends to be thrifting and or substitution, right?

[00:04:14]Which is a very real concern uh when it comes to some of these technologies at some sort of price, uh you know, that the uh the innovation will focus on trying to either reduce that metal or using a different metal. And you're certainly starting to see that in the solar panel market. Uh but, that takes a while to change to change supply chains and to change the the technology and to change the uh the manufacturing process.

[00:04:35]So, you don't want prices to rise too fast from the industrial side of things, you know? Uh kind of a steady increase is is important. Um but, certainly, you certainly see the investor demand uh being a larger portion of of the of the demand right now. Again, good points. Uh there is one thing that a lot of investors want to know. Do you And I want to hear your opinion here. Do you think that the market is properly pricing in the future supply constraints, or there is still a disconnect, a big disconnect in in this?

[00:05:06]Yeah, I I definitely think there is a disconnect, and I think that has to do with just kind of political turmoil and kind of short-term world events or or you know, that are significant, but uh you know, sway things in the short term and are not thinking necessarily long-term. So, uh it's hard to really predict, but I don't see, like I said, you know, it's harder and harder to to to find primary silver mines.

[00:05:29]Uh and uh you know, there's there's not uh the significant investment in in exploration going on right now, uh even though that's kind of shifted a little bit. So, uh I definitely see in the future it's going to be more and more difficult to extract these metals. So, uh that can only go one way for prices.

[00:05:44]Extract those metals, it will be hard.

[00:05:47]Agreed on that definitely.

[00:05:49]Uh a lot of people uh are are saying that this year uh could be a strong year for a silver discoveries.

[00:05:58]What do you think? What's driving that optimism?

[00:06:02]Well, finally, you know, there's been uh you know, a lack of of capital in the exploration space for a number of years, you know? Certainly, when when prices and margins are low, uh big companies cut their their exploration teams because those are those are cost centers, you know, as opposed to revenue generators. Uh and so, that puts all the emphasis on the juniors, and it's been tough for juniors. But, with the with the uh higher metal prices, you see more capital starting to flow into the exploration space. So, more geologists can get out there and can afford to run programs, can afford to raise money, and uh and get drilling. And that's the only way you're going to make discoveries is through drilling and through all that fieldwork that that's been done.

[00:06:41]Yes. Uh do you believe that we are still uh don't see enough new discoveries globally? Is the pipeline of projects still thin?

[00:06:51]Uh absolutely. I think it's harder and harder to make discoveries, you know?

[00:06:54]Certainly, the easy pickings has been done. Uh you know, and we got to go deeper. We have to go to more remote places. We have to use uh techniques that new new innovative techniques to make discoveries where we wouldn't typically have uh have thought to look.

[00:07:09]Uh so, that's that's a big part of it.

[00:07:11]Um and uh Yeah, it's it's it it takes more and more expertise, and we have to dedicate more and more time to to making those discoveries.

[00:07:20]Let's stop on your words, the new techniques. How important is are the new techniques? AI, data modeling, anything else in improving exploration success rates today?

[00:07:32]Yeah, I know, I think it's a great point, and I think we have to use all the tools that are available, you know?

[00:07:37]If you look at you can you can graph the the number of exploration tools that have kind of come online, and every time you find a new tool, hey, it helps make a adds another piece to the puzzle, adds helps solve another aspect to the challenge because it's it's difficult.

[00:07:51]Just because you found a deposit in one particular type of structure or type of geology does not mean you can necessarily apply that to a new area. Uh and so, you you want to use all the tools to look for interesting correlations. And what AI is really doing is is allowing for that to happen, to look at how data might be related uh that may be difficult for the average geologist or a team of geologists to to put together. So, but once again, you know, AI is simply a tool. It doesn't tell you where everything is. It just helps you kind of look through the data in an in a in a unique way that that we haven't necessarily done before. Um but, at the end of the day, it really comes down to that fieldwork that the geologist out in the field with boots on the ground is doing because the rocks are telling you everything and and understanding that that complex puzzle.

[00:08:37]And certainly, AI can help with that, but uh at the end of the day, it's still about people.

[00:08:42]AI will never replace boots on the ground. I had a couple of guests that also run exploration companies, and they all agreed on this. And personally, I agree on that.

[00:08:55]Uh Peter, what the what's the difference between the successful explorers in this market versus those that struggle? I mean, junior space is huge. There are a lot of silver, gold, precious metals companies, other companies.

[00:09:11]What How how do we differentiate the successful ones?

[00:09:16]Yeah, I mean, it's hard. We all know the the the the stats on on uh you know, an exploration company becoming a mining company. And and that's one of the reasons why the rewards are so substantial, right? Because it is a risky business. But, you want to give yourself you the the as many ways to mitigate that risk as possible. Give yourself as long as runway as possible.

[00:09:37]See how efficient you can be with the capital that you have raised, uh you know, because that's something that certainly a lot of junior companies got in trouble for in in years past is is essentially not being very efficient with capital and and and wasting a lot of the money that they did raise. So, you want to differentiate yourself by being really, really diligent with the money that you do raise, uh being efficient, being very communicative as far as what the goal and what the what the plan is really.

[00:10:04]As opposed to just being a company that's that's pumping a stock or more of a marketing sort of focus. So, really being focused on the technicals, focused on the field work, being efficient with capital and and being transparent with your communication.

[00:10:18]Yes, that is very important. Let's introduce your company to my viewers.

[00:10:23]For those new to the story, how would you describe your company and its core investment thesis?

[00:10:30]Yeah, so there I want to tell the Silver Wolf story, but before I tell the Silver Wolf story, I have to tell the Aveneo story because Silver Wolf is related to Aveneo.

[00:10:41]So, Aveneo's been producing company that's been producing in Durango since 1968.

[00:10:47]You know, a number of years coming up on 60 years here pretty soon.

[00:10:52]And they've been producing for a number of years.

[00:10:54]They have the They're listed on the New York Stock Exchange, highly liquid, over $1 billion market cap.

[00:11:01]I also work for Aveneo as the VP of Technical Services.

[00:11:05]And a few years ago, I went to the CEO and said, "Hey, you know, Aveneo's got this production asset and they're doing well, positive cash flow, no debt, but they have these other non-core properties that they haven't done any exploration with that have sat in their portfolio since 1968 cuz they're focused on other things."

[00:11:24]So, I went to David, uh the CEO, and said, "Hey, you know, we have this public company, we have these properties, why don't we option these properties into Silver Wolf and and I'll run it?"

[00:11:33]And that's how Silver Wolf was born. So, the core thesis with Silver Wolf really is take a property that no one's explored before that's not been kicked around by any other public company that's in a state that we know how to operate in Mexico because we have all of our production people in 500 over 500 people of that work for Aveneo.

[00:11:52]So, we have access to every expertise or skill set required.

[00:11:56]Let's use that. Let's leverage that.

[00:11:59]Let's keep our corporate overhead costs down by by using some of the same office space and using some of the same skill sets on the corporate level. Management doesn't take salaries to really keep that burn rate down to give ourselves as to be as efficient as possible with that capital. And let's sink some holes in the ground. Let's do a bunch of field work and let's try and make a discovery on a property that's never been drilled before.

[00:12:22]So, that's the thesis. We're operating in a in a jurisdiction that we understand in a state where we have access to those resources on a property that's never been drilled before. We've raised some money as of last year, as of last November, enough for a drill program, and we're currently drilling.

[00:12:36]So, to me, this is the most exciting time in the the entire mining industry really because it's the chance to make a discovery. It's the chance to go from an idea and a theory, you know, from what you're seeing in the ground to, you know, significant a significant metal discovery and a significant increase to valuation. And that's certainly the area where you see the most amount of torque in a stock when you go from that, you know, if we're all familiar with the Lesong curve, when you go from that idea or or thesis idea to making a discovery, that's where you see the highest value creation.

[00:13:10]And it's to me, it's the most exciting part of the industry and I'm really happy to be a part of it.

[00:13:14]That's great to hear, and Aveneo is your shareholder, and like you said, it's backing you with your exploration efforts.

[00:13:23]They have the know-how, and you will leverage that, right?

[00:13:27]That's exactly right. We have like we can borrow on those skill sets, you know, use some of their relationships as far as drilling contracts to help bring the price down and there.

[00:13:37]And they do actually own a a very significant position of the company as well. Okay. Okay, let's cover the projects. Your Anna Maria project seems to be your flagship. What makes this asset compelling geologically? Let's start with that. Yeah, that's a great question. So, the main geological feature is this what's called the El Sarnoso intrusive, a granite rock. And the type of deposit that we're after here is when this um that intrusive penetrates through these soft carbonate rocks.

[00:14:09]So, it's very well known, very well understood at this point in time that this intrusive has created multiple mines.

[00:14:15]One of the highest grade mine in Mexico, La Platosa, a number of years ago. The Awaela mine, which is a historic mine.

[00:14:21]All developed from that main intrusive penetrating through these soft carbonates. We are on the other side of that intrusive where these known mines were.

[00:14:29]And once again, these claims have not been owned by any public company other than Aveneo and and now Silver Wolf, which now owns 100% of it. So, it's never been properly explored. This was explored by kind of artisanal miners or or prior to the Mexican Revolution before it being transferred into into Aveneo's hands. So, we know that this intrusive and these geological structures have created very very rich, high grade mines. We're on the other side of that using the same theory for this type of deposit in this geological setting, which is very common in Mexico. That's that skarn CRD type of setting.

[00:15:06]There are many of these types of deposits for public companies in this neck of the woods. So, we certainly have the right address. And we have a big enough land package, and no one's ever explored it before.

[00:15:18]Yeah, I want to know more about the district, and of course, the jurisdiction itself.

[00:15:23]>> [snorts] >> And of course, the maybe the most important part is the historical mining context.

[00:15:30]If you can give me some color on this.

[00:15:33]Yeah, so probably one of the most famous mines is the Awaela mine.

[00:15:38]And that was discovered in 1598.

[00:15:41]And it was one of Penoles' first mines.

[00:15:44]It's now actually a mining museum. It's still in existence.

[00:15:48]And they've, you know, they've they've rehabilitated the bridge and you know, we can you can actually spend a lot of time there underground. There's actually hundreds of kilometers of underground tunnels there for extracting. They pulled out about 160 million ounces over the course of 500 years.

[00:16:02]Um and it's it goes deep as you can imagine that the network of tunnels is significant.

[00:16:08]But that is a mining museum as I mentioned. So, our geologist can go in there and actually see the similar similarities. Hey, these rocks are also present in in our area. Oh, okay, you see what kind of is present or what a kind of indicator minerals or pathfinder elements that you can see in these in this kind of underground setting. And then apply that and take that same knowledge and apply it to our property. So, that that would be probably the most significant mine. And as I mentioned, it's well understood that that was created by that main geological feature, that that El Sarnoso intrusive. So, that's kind of the setting. That's the immediate setting.

[00:16:47]And then if you just expand out a little bit, you know, this isn't very far away from Aveneo, the Aveneo mine, which, you know, we just put out reserves there of, you know, a few hundred million silver equivalent ounces.

[00:16:59]Um So, significant significant mineralization there. But you look at the area, there's a number of mines, a number of public companies.

[00:17:09]The um Cerro Las Minitas in Southern Silver has an operation there. That's a skarn type deposit as well.

[00:17:18]Certainly La Preciosa, which was originally found by by Orco and then Pan American and now Aveneo owns that. So, very very common to see a lot of deposits. And then a lot of small Of course, the main company of or Penoles' head office, I should say, is in Torreon, which is the the main city that's that's 15 minutes away from the property. So, Penoles has a smelter there. There's a number of Penoles' mines in that area as well. Very prominent company in Mexico. So, um it's it's definitely the the right area for mining. You can't go very far down the highway without seeing a mining operation near the side of the highway.

[00:17:56]Okay. Okay, let's unpack what are you currently doing over there. You mobilized the drill rig. Can Can you walk us through the current drill program that you have on at Anna Maria?

[00:18:08]Yeah, so that's 13 holes. We're going to drill about 3,000 m.

[00:18:12]And we're just finishing hole number three.

[00:18:15]Um and so, we just have one drill rig. We essentially have 13 different theories that we're testing. So, you have to move the drill each time in a different drill pad because we're testing different areas along the skarn.

[00:18:28]Um and that's that's our focus. So, um 13 drill holes, 3,000 m, fully funded, currently drilling. Like I said, this is the most exciting time because we're we're we're we're we're just waiting on assays, really.

[00:18:46]So, when do you expect to wrap up the the drilling season?

[00:18:51]Uh you know, typically it depending on how you you you There are from time to time mechanical issues. So, we're taking things we're taking time with our things. We're trying to understand the core. We're trying to apply that to future holes if we if we're going to change it. So, we're looking to have everything kind of Q3, Q4 as far as results released.

[00:19:12]Okay, so so all the assays all concluded, right?

[00:19:15]Yeah. Okay. Okay, you are using AI-driven targeting tools here. How has that influenced your drill planning and confidence levels, of course?

[00:19:25]Yeah, so I think it, you know, really what AI did is it gave us a few targets that we hadn't considered before.

[00:19:31]So, you know, we come up with you prioritize, you know, a certain number of targets with a certain number of meters. And you know, then we we ran it through AI and said, "Hey, why don't you consider some of these other areas?" So, it added essentially three or four targets that we wouldn't have considered otherwise.

[00:19:48]And then you go and field check those targets as well and kind of cross-reference that. So, you there's essentially three or four holes there that that we wouldn't have found if it wasn't for for the the AI integration. There we go.

[00:20:00]Uh Pete, how should investors think about your exploration roadmap for the rest of this year? Do you have any other exploration work in place?

[00:20:11]Uh we're laser-focused on this drill program. That's been the focus like we've been working on this for for a number of years to get to this point and we're really excited to see the results. You know, so far the guys are really happy with what they've seen with the core.

[00:20:26]Of course, the proof is in the pudding and in the drill results. So, that's what we're laser-focused on. So, I don't want to get too far ahead of myself to to plan out what we're going to do after. I want to really understand and do a deep dive on exactly what we're seeing, exactly what the results are and exactly what they mean and take our time with communicating that.

[00:20:44]And then we'll make a plan from there.

[00:20:46]Okay.

[00:20:47]What would define really a successful year for your company in this year? Of course, the exploration program depends on the results, yeah. But what would really define the success here?

[00:21:01]If we really understand the skarn that we're drilling now, we if if we can understand that where that mineralization or how that mineralization is controlled and at what thickness and what depth does that really start to to be significant, that would be that would be a huge win for us.

[00:21:18]Okay.

[00:21:19]Are there any other to expand beyond current targets or potentially acquire new assets adjacent or Yeah, that's something we always look at. You know, being that we've been operating in Mexico since 1968, we do get a a number of looks at a lot of projects across Mexico and it's something that we always consider. There's a number of companies operating in the area and there's all sorts of opportunities to either collaborate or you know, potentially to sell or to buy and you know, it's something that we're always looking at. But right now what we like the best is this is this drill program that that we want to see that through.

[00:21:56]So, before we entertain anything else at this point in time, we want to make sure we do what we say we're going to do and complete the program and understand what what we have on our own property. Got it.

[00:22:06]Pete, how does El Liberta Libertino Libertino, maybe I pronounced it right, maybe I didn't, fit into your broader portfolio strategy?

[00:22:17]Yeah, that was a property that was that was transferred when we did the initial option agreement as well. It's a smaller property and there has been a little bit of drilling on that.

[00:22:27]You know, there's been a few inquiries on that property to be quite fair because it's kind of in a package that that might be an opportunity to to contribute to another another company's land package.

[00:22:38]But we haven't spent much time on there because we as I mentioned, we've been laser-focused on Ana Maria.

[00:22:44]Okay. Okay. I asked you about the short-term success, how you see it. But what is the long-term vision for the company? Are will you build this into maybe a development company or or is it just a discovery-oriented?

[00:23:01]How are you viewing the long-term?

[00:23:04]Yeah, that's a it's a really good question. You know, so I've been in mining my my entire career which as I mentioned just coming up on 20 years. I love mining. I love everything about it. I've worked at silver mines from the Yukon to Argentina all over.

[00:23:19]Avenos certainly been you know, a a success an overnight success 20 years in the making. So, I I don't think I'm going anywhere. So, all that to be said is yes, could we build Silver Wolf up or yes, acquire other properties or yes, make a discovery and turn it into a mine? All of those options are are available to us.

[00:23:37]I'm certainly sticking around and I I'll certainly be here for the long-term and I'm open to move and pivot with the company as required and as opportunities present themselves.

[00:23:48]That's fair enough.

[00:23:50]You mentioned you are fully funded for this exploration program. But generally, are you fully funded for this year? How how is how is your cash in the till looking?

[00:24:02]Yeah, I mean as I mentioned, the key to really running a junior is really managing that because you don't want to blow your share count out. As I mentioned, I don't get a salary from Silver Wolf. None of management does.

[00:24:12]So, we're really trying to keep that be as capital efficient as possible, put all that money into the ground. So, we certainly have enough to complete this program. And you know, get us through the remainder of the year and then we'll see what happens next year.

[00:24:26]Okay, we didn't touch on share structure. Can you walk us through the current share structure here and why and any key consideration for investors about it?

[00:24:35]>> Yeah, yeah, that's absolutely key too, right? Because this is a this is a capital-intensive business and the only way you can raise money if you don't have any revenues by by issuing shares.

[00:24:46]We tried to keep that down because we are some of the biggest shareholders.

[00:24:49]Management and insiders hold 50%.

[00:24:52]That includes Avenos as well.

[00:24:55]So, there's really only 50% out there by retail. So, we have a lot of skin in the game. We recognize we're very much aligned with investors there that the only way that that we win is if they win.

[00:25:06]So, we all have to win together and there's currently 62 million shares outstanding.

[00:25:10]There's a few warrants and options.

[00:25:11]Warrants are currently out of the money and options as well. So, 62 million shares and as I mentioned, they're we control about half of it through management, insiders and Avenos.

[00:25:20]Okay. Okay. Okay.

[00:25:23]Final question, news news flow from the company. What should investors watch in the terms of near-term news flow?

[00:25:31]Maybe six, 12 months, something like that. The exciting part will be the results from the drill program, updates from any updates from the drill program, whether or not we decide to include core, whether or not we decide to release one or two holes at a time or if we'll wait till to to try and release all the holes to kind of give a more comprehensive picture.

[00:25:51]Peter, thank you so much for joining me today. It was a good chat and I look forward to host you again sometime soon.

[00:25:58]Thank you, sir. It was great. Cheers.