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CHF WEEKLY ROUND-UP: Feb. 20 - 27, 2026

World shares were mostly higher today after the worst day for Nvidia’s stock since last spring dragged U.S. stocks lower. The Canadian exchanges surged ahead on higher gold prices and spectacular results from Canada’s big six banks. The TSX closed at another all-time high, in a long and ongoing series. The Venture exchange index topped its 2021 high, closing at a level not seen since March of 2013. 


U.S. equities markets rallied on Wednesday as investors positioned ahead of Nvidia's highly anticipated fourth-quarter earnings report after the bell. Nvidia delivered a beat on earnings and issued guidance that topped estimates after the close. On Thursday, the worst day for Nvidia’s stock since last spring dragged the U.S. market lower, even though most stocks on Wall Street rose. Ongoing fears around AI disruption continued to have investors fleeing to consumer discretionary, industrial, and utility sectors. 


The gold market continues to struggle with resistance at USD$5,200.00/oz, opening at USD$5,196.00/oz this morning. Yet, Bank of America expects further price consolidation through the spring with the potential to move higher before year-end.  Silver bulls see the next upside price objective closing above the technical resistance at USD$100.00/oz, as the metal opens at USD$90.27/oz this morning. Platinum and palladium were lower overnight but pointed higher at opening. Hang in with the precious metals. 


Base and industrial metals are showing some strength today. Copper opened at USD$6.09/lb this morning; nickel at USD$8.00/lb. Remain invested in the critical minerals. 


Cobalt remains flat at USD$25.53/lb, but lithium is up to USD$25.29/kg this week. Lithium battery chemical prices were flat to slightly down in China this week. 


We are pleased to present our round-up of client news released between February 20 and 27, 2026.

 

Mining


On February 20, 2026, Rocky Shore Gold Ltd. (CSE: RSG) announced that it has closed the first tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement. Under the First Tranche, the Company raised aggregate gross proceeds of CAD $4,798,162 and issued an aggregate of 27,418,071 units at a price of $0.175 per Unit. Each Unit comprised of one common share of the Company and one share purchase warrant. Each Warrant entitles the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share at an exercise price of $0.30 until February 19, 2029. The proceeds from the Units issued under the First Tranche will be used for general corporate purposes and advancement of the Company's Gold Anchor Project located in central Newfoundland. All securities issued in connection with the First Tranche are subject to a statutory hold period under applicable Canadian securities laws, expiring June 20, 2026. 


On February 24, 2026, Athena Gold Corporation (CSE: ATHA) (OTCQB: AHNRF) announced the proposed acquisition of a 100% interest in the Forester Gold Project, located along-trend of Orla Mining’s Musselwhite Gold Mine in northwestern Ontario. Forester shares the same favourable geology as Musselwhite (iron formations, volcanics, and sediments) and remains historically underexplored despite multiple gold occurrences across the large land package. 


Koby Kushner, CEO of Athena said, said, “The acquisition of Forester provides a strong complement to our Ontario portfolio. Like our flagship Laird Lake Project, Forester is historically underexplored yet lies along trend, in a similar geological environment, from a currently producing, multimillion-ounce gold mine. Despite only limited drilling in the 1980s, we are impressed by the exceptional grade-thickness gold hits of up to 60 gram-metres, which we consider highly anomalous given the shallow and sparse nature of that program. Back then, large-scale open-pit mining of orogenic gold systems was virtually non-existent in Canada, so the bulk-tonnage potential at Forester was overlooked. With a newly consolidated land package, a much stronger gold price environment, and access to modern exploration tools, we believe we are well-positioned to build upon the historical work with a fresh perspective and systematically unlock value at Forester.”



Under the terms of a Share Purchase Agreement dated February 25, 2026, Athena will acquire, on an arm's-length basis, all issued and outstanding shares of Last Bounty Gold Corp. (the "Vendor"), a private British Columbia company, which holds a 100% interest in the Project (the "Transaction"). In consideration, Athena will issue an aggregate of 42,000,000 common shares in the capital of Athena (the "Consideration Shares") at a deemed price of CAD$0.08 per Athena common share, representing, at closing, approximately 12% of the Company on a non-diluted basis. 


On February 26, 2026, Libra Energy Materials Inc. (CSE: LIBR) (OTCQB: LIBRF) (FSE: W0R0) issued an update on its 100%-owned Penelope Project ("Penelope" or the "Project"), located within the Minas Gerais District in Brazil. Following a comprehensive review of historical data and recent geochemical sampling, the Company announces a strategic pivot in its exploration focus at Penelope, upgrading the Project's prospectivity for Rare Earth Elements (REEs), Niobium, Tantalum, and Gallium (Ga), while downgrading its priority as a primary lithium target. 


Koby Kushner, Chief Executive Officer of Libra, said, "Exploration is about listening to what the rocks are telling you, not forcing a model that doesn't fit. While Penelope was originally acquired as part of our wider lithium portfolio, our technical team has identified a distinct geochemical signature that sets it apart. The ratios we are seeing suggest we are looking at a highly-fractionated system with significant REE potential, rather than a lithium-bearing pegmatite. Given our focus as a primary lithium explorer, we intend to initiate a process to monetize or option out Penelope to another party with a dedicated focus on REEs.” 


On February 26, 2026, – Nuinsco Resources Limited (CSE: NWI, FRA: NJX) announced a new subset of the 2022 mineral resource estimate (MRE) at its Prairie Lake Critical Minerals and Phosphate Project located near Terrace Bay, Ontario. The MRE Subset identifies a domain of mineralization with substantially higher phosphate (“P2O5”) and rare earth element (“REE”) grades compared with the 2022 MRE. The presence of this concentrated higher-grade mineralization within the MRE Subset may identify a possible starter pit location that could significantly enhance the development potential of the Project. 


“Ongoing work at the Project continues to deliver highly encouraging results,” said Paul Jones, CEO. “The more detailed evaluation of the 2022 MRE and the identification of the higher-grade MRE Subset provide valuable insight into opportunities to maximize the Project’s economic potential. The scale of the mineral endowment, combined with the Project’s exceptional logistical advantages, offers considerable flexibility in planning and development. The higher-grade MRE Subset has been delineated using existing drill data and, while already substantial in size, we believe there remains significant potential to define additional mineralized material through further work.” 


The Prairie Lake Project hosts REE mineralization that coincides with phosphate. Internal economic studies show that phosphate and REEs are key drivers of the Project’s economic viability. As tabulated below, using a 3.5% P2O5 cut-off grade, the pit-constrained MRE Subset includes*:

  • Indicated Mineral Resource: 3.54 million tonnes at 4.59% P2O5 (+24% increase) and 2,204 g/t TREO (+32% increase). 

  • Inferred Mineral Resource: 53.45 million tonnes at 5.11% P2O5 (+51% increase) and 2,355 g/t (+17% increase). (increases over the 2022 MRE)




Moosehead Drilling Highlights:



Denis Laviolette, Executive Chairman & CEO, said, “This is a great start for the first eight drill holes of the program and it is good to see gold in the box this early. Hole PGC-25-006 is important, as it suggests Moosehead may be part of a broader mineralized system rather than an isolated zone. We are still in the early stages, but the combination of high-grade intercepts and new zone discovery gives us real confidence in the scale potential at Treasure Island. In exploration, sometimes you intersect broad zones and sometimes you intersect narrow high-grade veins that point you toward something much larger. Both are important, and these first holes confirm we have a gold-bearing system and a structural model that is working. We are excited about what the coming weeks and months of drilling may deliver.”


Greg Matheson, VP Exploration, added: “Step-out drilling along the Moosehead Eastern and Western trends has yielded strong high-grade assay results as we continue to expand the footprint of these sub-parallel structures. Five of the first six holes reported from Moosehead intersected high-grade gold, confirming both the strength and continuity of the system. These intercepts remain relatively shallow for an orogenic gold environment, and we see significant room for growth along both fault structures. The announcement last week of a newly discovered vein linking the Eastern and Western trends is important and adds a new element to the potential for additional new zones as the drilling continues. "While much of the drilling to date has focused on expanding the known Moosehead trends, we believe the broader opportunity lies in testing near-surface geophysical targets across the property. We are truly excited by the success in drill hole PGC-25-006 and plan to not only further define this new zone but continue the hunt for additional new discoveries.”


Episode 6 of Pirate Gold Treasure Hunters breaks down the first eight drill holes of the 2026 campaign and what they mean for the growing Treasure Island story.  In this episode, the Pirate Gold crew opens the first batch of lab results from the 2026 campaign. Five of six expansion holes at Moosehead return high-grade gold, confirming the strength of the Eastern and Western trends, with results reaching over 50 grams per tonne.



Pirate Gold Treasure Hunters - S1 EP6 - Gold in the Box



The Prospectors & Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) will bring together the mineral exploration and mining community in Toronto for its 94th annual Convention, taking place March 1–4, 2026, at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (MTCC).

 

All our mining clients will be exhibiting at the Investors Exchange next week. Existing and prospective investors attending are invited to visit their booths. To better locate your favourite company, we are providing our clients’ booth numbers below:


ARYA RESOURCES LTD.

(TSXV: RBZ)

Booth #3244    

Strategic Exploration in Saskatchewan


ATHENA GOLD Corporation

(CSE: ATHA) (OTCQB: AHNRF)

Booth #2149

High-grade gold discoveries in the world’s most prolific mining districts


GRID METALS CORP.

(TSXV: GRDM; OTCQB: MSMGF)

Booth #2122

A Global Leader in Cesium Exploration & Development


LIBRA ENERGY METALS Inc. (CSE: LIBR) (OTCQB: LIBRF) (FSE: W0R0)

Booth #2149

Building value across high-value Critical mineral projects in premier jurisdictions


NUINSCO RESOURCES LIMITED

(CSE: NWI)

Booth #2620A (MON & TUES ONLY)

Fifty years of exploration success: Prairie Lake rare earth oxides plus niobium and phosphate.


PIRATE GOLD CORP.

(TSXV: YARR) (OTCQB: SICNF)

Booth #2432  

Newfoundland’s Leading Discovery Company

 

ROCKY SHORE GOLD LTD.

(CSE: RSG)

Booth #2328

Growth and advancement of the Gold Anchor Project, in a 180+ km-long emerging gold district in central Newfoundland

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