The Critical Minerals Nobody's Talking About Just Got A Federal Policy Boost

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- EquityInsider Sector Commentary - Canada just committed over $3.6 billion to fast-track critical minerals projects at the world's largest mining conference, and the timing tells you everything^[1]. Silver is now in its sixth straight year of structural supply deficit, with mine output falling short while demand from AI data centers, electrification, and defense keeps climbing. Tungsten and indium, once afterthoughts, are on every critical minerals list that matters. That policy pivot is pulling capital toward companies already sitting on polymetallic ground in proven districts: GoldHaven Resources (CSE: GOH) (OTCQB: GHVNF), Blackrock Silver (TSXV: BRC) (OTCQX: BKRRF), Southern Silver Exploration (TSXV: SSV) (OTCQX: SSVFF), Northisle Copper and Gold (TSXV: NCX) (OTCQX: NTCPF), and Idaho Strategic Resources (NYSE-A: IDR).

The United Nations projects critical minerals demand could triple by 2030, with global trade in raw and semi-processed minerals already topping $2.5 trillion a year. Canada's Critical Minerals Production Alliance has now mobilized $18.5 billion in project capital through allied partnerships, creating a scalable runway for polymetallic explorers holding district-scale exposure to silver, tungsten, copper, and other strategic commodities at the front end of this supply-chain sovereignty cycle^[2].

GoldHaven Resources (CSE: GOH) (OTCQB: GHVNF) has submitted its drill permit application for a 2026 program targeting three high-grade zones at its flagship Magno Project in northern British Columbia. The company is chasing silver, tungsten, and base metals across what it believes is shaping up as a district-scale discovery.

Two of those zones, the Magno Zone and D Zone, carry high-grade silver-lead-zinc mineralization. Surface samples have returned up to 2,370 grams per tonne silver, greater than 20% lead, and up to 19.25% zinc. The third target, Vines Lake, shifts the focus to tungsten, where samples have come back as high as 6,550 parts per million. Indium, a critical mineral gaining attention from governments and manufacturers alike, showed up at concentrations reaching 334 parts per million. These are grab samples and selective by nature, but the grades explain why GoldHaven is drilling.

"We are entering an exciting and highly strategic phase at Magno, where multiple high-grade zones and distinct mineralization styles have now been defined across a large, consolidated land package," said Rob Birmingham, CEO of GoldHaven. "The combination of high-grade silver-lead-zinc mineralization and growing exposure to critical minerals such as tungsten and indium continues to reinforce our view that Magno is emerging as a compelling district-scale silver and critical minerals exploration opportunity in the Cassiar District."

Beyond the drill program, GoldHaven is planning its first modern airborne magnetic survey across the entire property, which now spans more than 37,200 hectares after the company recently filed a technical report on three newly acquired mineral claims added to the Magno Project. A 3D geological model integrating historical drilling, sampling, and geophysical data is also underway to sharpen targeting before rigs turn.

Worth noting: tungsten is classified as a critical mineral by both the Canadian and U.S. governments, and Canada currently has no primary domestic tungsten production. That policy backdrop adds real weight to what GoldHaven is building at Magno.

The company has a $1.72 million flow-through financing underway to fund 2026 exploration. At its Copeçal Gold Project in Mato Grosso, Brazil, GoldHaven recently completed its first diamond drilling program confirming gold and copper anomalism, with Phase 2 drilling scheduled for mid-Q2 2026. Between Magno's growing multi-system critical minerals story in B.C. and a 123,900-hectare Brazilian portfolio spanning three projects, GoldHaven is running two active exploration pipelines at a stage where most juniors are still focused on one.

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In other industry developments:

Blackrock Silver (TSXV: BRC) (OTCQX: BKRRF) released an updated Preliminary Economic Assessment for its 100%-owned Tonopah West Project in Nevada, outlining a base-case after-tax NPV(5%) of US$437 million and IRR of 28% at US$31/oz silver and US$2,700/oz gold, with average annual production of 7.1 million silver equivalent ounces over an mine life at AISC of US$17.44/oz AgEq. At one-year analyst consensus prices, the economics escalate to a US$1.55 billion after-tax NPV and 79% IRR, with initial capital of US$190 million recovered in 1.4 years.

"This updated PEA marks a significant milestone in the systematic de-risking of the Tonopah West Project," said Andrew Pollard, President and CEO of Blackrock Silver. "When we published our inaugural preliminary economic assessment 18-months ago, every ounce in the mine plan was inferred. Today we are presenting a high confidence Project underpinned by a substantial indicated resource base of 40.2 million silver equivalent ounces, nearly double what we reported in our Previous MRE."

Blackrock Silver targets an underground development decision at Tonopah West in H2-2027, with permitting initiatives advancing in parallel and the project positioned in one of the largest historic silver districts in North America.

Southern Silver Exploration (TSXV: SSV) (OTCQX: SSVFF) reported final assays from the Puro Corazon claim at the Cerro Las Minitas Project in Durango, Mexico, including a 4.6-metre interval averaging 201 g/t silver, 4.5% lead, and 9.8% zinc (557 g/t AgEq) in drillhole 26CLM-221. All 23 planned holes are complete, with sampling and mapping within 13 levels of historic mine workings ongoing and approximately 1,300 individual samples collected to date.

"The 2025-26 drill program successfully outlined and upgraded mineralization on the Puro Corazon claim; extending mineralization within the skarn-altered halo around the main intrusion for upwards of 400 metres laterally and to depths of up to 500 metres below surface, where it transitions into previously identified mineralization in the larger CLM claim block," said Rob Macdonald, Vice President of Exploration of Southern Silver Exploration. "More significantly, drilling also intersected multiple bonanza-grade, replacement-styled intercepts on the outer edge of the skarn-altered halo, potentially forming a shallow high-grade lens outboard of the main skarn zone and starting within 200 metres of surface."

Southern Silver Exploration plans to incorporate the Puro Corazon results into an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the broader Cerro Las Minitas project, expected to enhance project economics and mine plan scalability.

Northisle Copper and Gold (TSXV: NCX) (OTCQX: NTCPF) reported infill drilling results at the Northwest Expo deposit within its North Island Project in British Columbia, confirming higher-grade, gold-rich mineralization within the 2025 PEA pit shell and extending mineralization to approximately 1.1 kilometres of strike length. The company completed 13,980 metres of infill drilling in the program, with results improving confidence in the first phase of the project.

"We are highly encouraged by these results at Northwest Expo, which expand our understanding of the North Island Project's broader exploration potential," said Sam Lee, President and CEO of Northisle Copper and Gold. "The results have increased our confidence level in the first phase of the project by identifying higher-grade, gold-rich mineralization in certain zones within the 2025 PEA pit shell. With a robust balance sheet, Northisle is uniquely positioned to simultaneously create value through project development and drive continued growth in the mineral potential of the district."

Northisle Copper and Gold is advancing the North Island Project toward a development decision, with the Northwest Expo infill results strengthening the resource base and exploration potential of the broader district.

Idaho Strategic Resources (NYSE-A: IDR) has secured a long-term lease for the Niagara copper-silver project in Shoshone County, Idaho, adding a historic resource estimate of approximately 150 million pounds of copper and 8 million ounces of silver to its district-scale Murray Gold Belt landholdings. The Niagara deposit is a Revett-type sediment-hosted deposit located approximately 7 kilometres from Idaho Strategic Resources ' producing Golden Chest Mine, with the company holding all adjacent unpatented mineral claims.

"The Niagara deposit is a natural fit for our Company in many ways," said John Swallow, President and CEO of Idaho Strategic Resources. "In addition to broadening IDR's commodity asset base as our country enters a strong secular commodity market, it also serves as a prime example of the potential of the overall MGB District."

The lease begins at $18,000 annually, escalating at 3% per year over an initial 10-year term with extension options, and includes a 2% net smelter royalty with a $1,000,000 buyback option on 1%. Idaho Strategic Resources has planned a 2026 drill campaign to upgrade historic resource confidence and test mineral continuity along strike, down dip, and within the untested lower-middle Revett Formation.

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