Market Intel Weekly
Geopolitical Jitters, Copper Discovery, Phosphate Financing & New Picks
Published: June 22, 2026
Author: FRC Analysts
Disclosure: Delivra Health Brands Inc. has paid FRC a fee for research coverage and distribution of reports. See last page for other important disclosures, rating, and risk definitions.
*Disseminated on behalf of Trident Resources, Rocket Doctor AI, Graphite One, Delivra Health Brands, First Phosphate, White Cliff Minerals, Denarius Metals, Nimy Resources, Nine Mile Metals, Panoro Minerals, DLP Resources, Enterprise Group, and Olympia Financial Group.
* All figures are in C$ unless otherwise noted, except for commodity prices, which are in US$.
Equity markets retreated last week as rising Middle East tensions reversed much of the prior week’s optimism. The US$ strengthened, weighing on mainstream metals such as gold, silver, and copper, while oil prices continued to decline as markets anticipate limited disruption to global energy supplies.
Last week, our Top Picks portfolio returned -2.3% vs -3.2% for the benchmark (TSXV). Our picks have outperformed the benchmark in four of the seven periods tracked.
Last week, our Fair Value Model portfolio returned -1.6% vs -1.3% for the benchmark (NYSE Equal Sector Weight/EQL), but remains ahead over the past three months (6.4% vs. 5.6%). We have made two portfolio changes; see our new picks later in the report.
In this edition, we highlight government-backed financing support for First Phosphate, strong copper results from White Cliff, non-dilutive funding and production growth at Denarius Metals, high-grade gold results from Trident Resources, expanding exploration potential at Nimy Resources, and encouraging drill results from Nine Mile Metals.
*Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
Last Week’s Five Most-Read Reports
Updates on Resource Companies Under Coverage
First Phosphate Corp (PHOS.CN)
PR Title: Secures Additional Government-Backed Financing Support
Analyst Opinion: Positive
Analyst Comment:
PHOS announced several government-backed financing initiatives, including a potential $275M loan guarantee from Denmark‘s export credit agency (EIFO), and letters of interest from various Italian financial institutions for undisclosed amounts. While these are not direct funding commitments, they serve as a credit backstop for lenders, reducing financing risk and potentially facilitating large-scale project financing. The support is tied to the procurement of equipment, technology, and services from European suppliers.
The company has also secured offtake agreements, although the counterparties have not been disclosed. PHOS has previously received a letter of interest from the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) for up to $235M in potential financing support, as well as a $17M non-repayable contribution from the Government of Canada.
We believe the combination of government-backed financing initiatives and offtake agreements materially de-risks project development. With ~$35M in treasury, and a strong balance sheet, we believe PHOS is well-positioned to advance its vertically integrated North American LFP battery supply chain, spanning phosphate mining, phosphoric acid production, and downstream battery materials.
White Cliff Minerals Limited (WCN.AX)
PR Title: Another Strong Round of Drill Results from the Rae copper project, Nunavut
Qualified Person: Eric Sondergaard, Director of White Cliff Minerals
Analyst Opinion: Positive
Analyst Comment:
WCN reported results from three additional holes at the Danvers target, a key exploration target within its Rae copper project in Nunavut. Highlights included one hole returning 79.2 m grading 1.6% Cu, including 24.4 m at 3.1%, intersected outside the main mineralized zone. For context, most operating copper mines globally have average grades of 0.3%–1.0%. The other two holes also returned broad mineralized intervals grading 0.3%–1.9%. These results have expanded the known mineralized strike length to over 3.1 km (from 2.6 km previously), while visual observations suggest the system could extend beyond 6 km (up from 4 km previously).
These results follow the exceptional assays highlighted in our last week’s report, including 19.8 m at 6.6%, with higher-grade intervals of 7.6 m at 11.4%, 3.1 m at 17.7%, and 1.5 m at 21.1%, the highest-grade intercept reported at the project to date.
We believe Danvers is increasingly demonstrating the characteristics of a significant high-grade copper discovery that could attract interest from larger mining companies. With 3,000 m drilled to date, and a further ~7,000 m planned, we expect to have sufficient data by the end of the program to develop a preliminary/speculative resource estimate for the target.
Denarius Metals Corp. (DMET.NE)
PR Title: Expands Trafigura facility to $16M – All figures in US$
Analyst Opinion: Positive
Analyst Comment:
DMET has upsized its prepayment facility (an advance against future metal sales) with global commodities trader Trafigura to $16M from $9M. The additional non-dilutive funding will support ongoing exploration and underground development at its Zancudo gold-silver mine in Colombia, to support future production growth. We view the facility expansion as a strong vote of confidence from Trafigura.
The company continues to ramp up operations at Zancudo, producing 1.13 Koz of gold and 13.42 Koz of silver in the first five months of 2026, surpassing its entire 2025 output. DMET remains on track to complete construction of its 1,000 tpd processing plant, and commence full-scale production in the coming months, which we believe could serve as a major catalyst for the stock.
Trident Resources Corp. (ROCK.V)
PR Title: Reports More High-Grade Results at Contact Lake (Saskatchewan)
Qualified Person: Cornell McDowell, P.Geo., VP Exploration of Trident Resources
Analyst Opinion: Positive
Analyst Comment:
The final seven holes drilled at the Contact Lake (CL) target returned high-grade gold intercepts. CL is part of the broader Contact Lake project, which includes the past-producing CL mine, three deposits with NI 43-101 compliant independent resource estimates, and several underexplored targets.
Highlights included 41 g/t gold over 3.42 m, including a bonanza-grade interval of 82 g/t over 1.73 m. Another hole returned 10 g/t gold over 9.30 m. These grades are well above the 0.5–2.0 g/t typical of comparable gold projects, and significantly exceed the project’s current average resource grade of 1 g/t.
The results confirm high-grade gold mineralization across multiple areas of the CL target, which currently has no resource estimate. In our report published earlier this month, we estimated that CL could host a 1.0–1.5 Moz resource grading 6 g/t gold, potentially increasing ROCK’s total resource inventory by 50–75% to 3.0–3.6 Moz. This estimate is based solely on our analysis and has not been provided or confirmed by the company or independent consultants.
Nimy Resources Limited (NIM.AX)
PR Title: Identifies a second gold anomaly at the Mons project (Australia)
Analyst Opinion: Positive
Analyst Comment:
Soil sampling at the Mons project in Western Australia identified a second gold anomaly (an area with elevated gold values) located 3.6 km from the recently identified Corporate James gold prospect. These results confirm a 16 km gold-bearing trend, highlighting the potential scale of an underlying gold mineralized system. Nimy is preparing its first drill program to test the gold potential of the project.
We believe the results highlight the broader mineral potential of the project. While NIM has already defined a large, high-grade gallium resource, recent exploration suggests the project may also host gold, copper-nickel-PGE mineralization, and other critical minerals, providing multiple exploration opportunities beyond gallium. Gallium is considered a strategically important critical mineral due to its use in semiconductors, defense systems, and advanced electronics, with global supply currently dominated by China.
Nine Mile Metals Ltd. (NINE.CN)
PR Title: Historic Wedge Mine Shows Expansion Potential (New Brunswick)
Qualified Person: Gary Lohman, B.Sc., PGO, VP Exploration & Director for Nine Mile Metals
Analyst Opinion: Positive
Analyst Comment:
The second hole of an ongoing drill program at the Wedge project intersected a broad 234 m mineralized interval, supporting the potential for a large volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) system. For context, such deposits are known for producing copper, silver, zinc, lead, and gold over long periods. Assay results are pending.
The project includes a former copper-lead-zinc producer that historically produced ~100 Mlbs CuEq, lowering exploration risk vs greenfield assets. Drilling suggests >60% of the deposit may remain unmined at depth, which, in our opinion, could represent an additional ~300 Mlbs CuEq within the historic mine area.
Wedge is one of four projects controlled by NINE in the Bathurst Mining Camp in New Brunswick, one of the world’s richest areas for VMS deposits. The company is currently undertaking its largest-ever drill program (10,000 m), and working with Glencore to evaluate whether its material could be processed at Glencore’s Horne Smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. Successful tests could open the door to a partnership, or potential M&A interest.
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