Santacruz Silver – Nasdaq Uplisting, Q4 Operations Review, and 2026 Growth Initiatives
Arturo Préstamo Elizondo, Executive Chairman and CEO of Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (NASDAQ:SCZM) (TSX.V:SCZ) (FSE:1SZ), joins me to highlight their uplisting onto the Nasdaq exchange in the US in January, and to delve into the details of Q4 2025 operational results across their portfolio of producing mines in Bolivia and Mexico. We also review a few of the key growth initiatives that the company has slated for 2026 at multiple projects.
On January 21st the Company announced it would commence trading at the market open Nasdaq Capital Market, under the symbol “SCZM.” We discussed how this big board US listing will increase transparency and liquidity to an expanded American shareholder base, and he explains the rationale for going with the NASDAQ over the NYSE was because they are a growth-oriented company.
Q4 2025 Production Highlights:
Silver Equivalent Production: 3,739,019 silver equivalent ounces
Silver Production: 1,343,607 ounces
Zinc Production: 23,846 tons
Lead Production: 3,000 tons
Copper Production: 287 tons
During Q4 2025, Santacruz delivered a solid quarter-over-quarter improvement in consolidated production, and a 34% increase in silver equivalent production compared to Q3 2025. This was led by a meaningful recovery at the Bolívar mine, and supported by strong performance at Caballo Blanco, Zimapán, and San Lucas. At Bolívar, the Company is beginning to see the benefits of the recovery efforts at the high silver-grade Pomabamba and Nané veins following the May 2025 flooding event, which resulted in higher production throughput, and improved operating conditions. However, access to the highest-grade areas remained partially constrained, and recovery activities continued throughout Q4 2025, with a full recovery expected over the course of 2026.
Next we moved over to the Caballo Blanco Group of mines, which is the lowest cost and thus highest efficiency of their operations. Colquechaquita and Tres Amigos are the 2 producing mines, but Arturo mentioned that the Company has been working to bring the Esperanza Mine back into production by late February or early March, and that it should be a profitable smaller zinc-forward mine in this Caballo Blanco complex moving forward.
Their Zimapán Mine in Mexico will be another area of growth for Santacruz Silver in 2026, after capital investment last year into plant equipment and improving mine efficiencies and metals recoveries. Additionally, the operations team finally gained access to the high-grade 960 Level of the Zimpan Mine at the end of Q4, and so this will be a more significant contributing area of production starting in Q1 2026 and for several years.
Next we shifted over to the high-margin San Lucas Group Lucas feed sourcing business (which now includes ore blended from the Reserva Mine, previously part of the Caballo Blanco complex). Arturo highlights how the San Lucas metals sales helped offset the lower silver production at the Bolívar Mine in both Q3 and Q4, and it will continue to be a strong contributing business unit, providing a great defensive and growing asset inside of their overall portfolio.
Another key project that will help the company grow production, starting in late 2026, is the Soracaya Project. Soracaya is a high-grade, silver-rich project, featuring mineralization along reactivated faults with replacement and brecciated sulphides, geological characteristics typical of some of the world’s most productive silver deposits. Since 1999, more than 29.6 km of drilling across 90+ holes has provided extensive geological data, supporting robust resource modeling and preliminary mine planning. There is already a decline ramp into this project with initial stope access in 2 areas, and the plan is to work throughout 2026 to get this mine into initial production by Q4 of 2026.
Wrapping up we discussed the potential for future accretive acquisitions outside of the company in the Americas. The board and management team are open to either already producing assets or development-stage underground mining assets, but only if the acquisition would be accretive for shareholders and if their team can unlock value in the acquired assets.
If you have any follow up questions for Arturo regarding Santacruz Silver, then please email those to me Shad@kereport.com.
- In full disclosure, Shad is a shareholder of Santacruz Silver at the time of this recording, and may choose to buy or sell shares at any time.
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It will be interesting to watch the stocks today………………………………. LOL! DT 🤣🤣🤣
Silver, wow! I saw the writing on the wall and went short yesterday…
The TSX wasn’t let me sell this morning, got so overwhelmed I guess…
Bots saying time out. Indiscriminate smash which is the norm in an electronic world.
Canadian Copper hardest hit in my accounts (biggest $ drop not %)… so added.
3 of my mining shares are up today. Irving is up 8.5%; Condor is up 6%, and Blue Lagoon is up 1%
And HG is up too. All is not lost. Tomorrow is another day.
Well, who knows what lies ahead for the metals, but if I had to take somewhat pessimistic guess, it would be that we are not going to see new highs in the metals themselves for a year or more.
Additionally, I would think there is going to be more downside from here, potentially a lot more. If silver decides it wants to tag its 150 or 200 dma, it wouldn’t surprise me in the least. I also wouldn’t be shocked if we see a very convincing bounce to form a double top in the near term before a final plunge.
Easy come, easy go, I guess.
I think you are being pessimistic Spanky, we were due for a clear out but next week we will see a reversal not to where it had been but nevertheless the downward momentum will be contained and a shift back up. These are still blow out numbers for precious metals. Given the state of the tariffs and the war drums those drops will be contained and soon reverse.
It just shows you how greed and fear rule the minds of investors. Most of them lose because they can’t control their emotions. If you get an uptick in the prices there is a chorus of cheering posters but on down days and in particular like today, most of the pundits tend to sit on their hands. LOL! DT 🤣🤣🤣
I’m mostly kicking myself for not selling all of my Hecla at my initial target I set months ago–its 1980 high around $35. But I changed my mind due to the hype train, thinking we would see a sideways 20-25% correction at worst and not wanting to give up my long term capital gains tax rate of 15-20%.
It hit $34.17 on Monday and I should have been out. It’s down what, 35% now? Would not be shocked in the slightest to see a 50 to 60% correction or a move down to the 200 dma in time.
I am definitely a pessimist, but I’ve seen this movie so many times before–2010, 2016, 2021….
I posted this right at the top:
Matthew
Jan 28, 2026
Silver is at big resistance right now:
https://schrts.co/CYkqEhXV
— — —
I guess it really was big resistance!
I also posted this at the top:
Matthew
Jan 28, 2026
The silver-gold ratio is now at the same moving average envelope resistance that stopped it in 2011 and 1998.
https://schrts.co/dmIYwxHP
— — —
A reaction at that MA envelope resistance makes perfect sense but this is not 1998 or 2011 in any way.
No one likes to see their positions crushed but this action will prove beneficial just weeks from now. Sentiment has now been completely and bullishly reset by the size and speed of this pullback.
SLV has filled its January 12th weekly gap and backtested its parallel channel breakout. The question now is silver’s behavior from here. Will it resume its moonshot or spend time building a flag or pennant? I’m guessing the latter based on the technical oscillators.
The silver miners should now show greater strength on up days for the sector, likely significantly greater.
https://schrts.co/JVdVNtES
“The question now is silver’s behavior from here.”
You left out the possibility of even more downside. A move to the 150 or 200 dma (perhaps a retest of $50) wouldn’t shock me, since that’s where the enormous disconnect between the miners and metal began.
I am not sure what I expected during this moonshot. Nothing to do now, though. I missed my chance to sell HL, and I do not think this bull is over in the slightest, but I know how long these peaks can take to recover in prior bulls and other commodities (1-2 years sometimes).
Yes, it could go lower but I don’t see that as very likely since it already retraced half of its entire move since April and reached an area of support in the zone where it had a 17 percent pullback in December. In addition, it did it in one session so you can bet that sentiment has done a 180 and now the herd is certain it’s over and going lower.
The miners have always had a way “knowing” what’s next so they should have fallen more than silver today if was silver’s going much lower. Instead, the likes of Impact Silver are worth 25 to 30 percent more silver today than they were yesterday.
Technically, it’s pretty impressive that silver’s daily MACD didn’t sell despite silver finishing the day 27% lower.
https://schrts.co/pyaBWhZE
Are you saying “we are going to love them in the morning”. I will work on that…
On Monday, I said that IPT “could still reach .41 before turning up” and today it did. It is now .445 and probably going higher before the close.
My TECT is up 17% today but this is still Bonzo’s worst day ever in stocks.
Added to Emo and Magma Silver in addition to previously mentioned Canadian Copper. Got just a few more of Precipitate as it has been sneaking up recently.
Added a few Big Ridge. They also have been creeping up recently. Hopefully this will satisfy evil doers as the price of things is still a plus for mining. How bad is their need for us to be suppressed again. I hope it is not an ego thing.
HL:SLV is up 18% today, but it’s obviously not much consolation given today’s pounding in both.
It should be a consolation since it is the beginning of the miners outperforming the metals decisively. I have talked about the fact that it would happen AFTER silver stops going straight up.
Even better, the juniors now look the best. HL is smoking silver today but IPT is beating HL…
https://schrts.co/MncDsBrS
IPT sometimes zigs when others zag. You think it is because it is a bellweather but…..?
If you were at all detail oriented you might’ve noticed that it typically moves first or at least the most early on and tops first. That’s what happened last year and the year before as well as 2020 and 2016. It topped with gold in August of 2020 while most silver plays rode idiot money to tops that came 6 months later.
The silver miners all took off last May and IPT beat the group until it topped in mid-July. It more than doubled against silver and even against CDE. But by late October, IPT took out its May low against silver. That performance led you and others to think it was uniquely terrible because you had no idea that the same fate awaited the rest. SILJ, with its 65 or so holdings, took out its May low just two days ago, over 3 months after IPT did so. On the day that IPT took out its May low against silver, SILJ still had to fall 32% against silver to do the same so those who knew that IPT was showing SILJ’s future could’ve saved themselves a big drop.
Where’s all that talk about a healthy correction?
Today’s silver market noise doesn’t amount to much when contrasted with SCZ. The stock closed at $16.35 exactly .05 below it’s price on Monday before last. That’s ten trading days in which SCZ has treaded water.
Meanwhile we are now four weeks to the day from the Q4 earnings report which will reflect an average silver price of $55/oz. We are now four months to the day when Q1 earnings will reflect an average silver price well above $55/oz.
SCZ is crushing it!
Leave aside the hysterics people…or should it be the hysteric people? Exterior to SCZ is a world of silver market turmoil and noise. Inside is an oasis of professional practice, profit and calm. Embrace it. Invest in it.
WOW! Gold is down $364 and Silver almost $18. The economy is wobbling! It’s a WOBBLE! A TRIPLE TRUMP WOBBLE! Where is OOTB he is on a Friday Wobble too……………….. LOL! DT😊