Black Bear Minerals (ASX:BKB) - Fully Funded Drilling to Drive Shafter JORC Resource in 2026

Interview with Dennis Lindgren, CEO of Black Bear Minerals

Recording date: 10th December 2025

Black Bear Minerals (ASX:BKB) has completed a strategic transformation from lithium explorer to focused North American precious metals developer, acquiring the Shafter Silver Project in Texas for A$30 million whilst advancing the Independence Gold Project in Nevada. This repositioning positions the company at the intersection of exceptional resource grades, existing production infrastructure, and America's growing recognition of critical mineral supply vulnerabilities.

The flagship Shafter Project hosts 17.6 million ounces at 289 grams per tonne silver in foreign resource estimates, ranking amongst the ASX's highest-grade silver resources. CEO Dennis Lindgren, formerly with South32 and Alcoa, emphasises the infrastructure advantage: "It's one of the highest grade silver projects on the ASX. It comes with about 150 million in estimated infrastructure and that includes existing underground workings, existing core sheds as well as historical data." This existing infrastructure—including underground workings, mill circuits, and processing facilities operational until 2013—potentially compresses development timelines by years compared to greenfield competitors.

Near-term catalysts centre on JORC-compliant resource conversion targeted for the second half of 2026, supported by A$17 million working capital allocated for drilling programmes. Recent rock chip sampling has returned exceptional grades exceeding 3,000 g/t from near-surface areas outside the current resource footprint, whilst historical stockpile evaluation reveals grades averaging over 300 g/t, suggesting previous operators may have applied inappropriate cutoff grades or overlooked valuable mineralization.

Beyond silver-focused historical operations, Black Bear's technical review has identified multicommodity potential including zinc, lead, vanadium, and gold across multiple locations. Lindgren noted: "We're picking up really good levels of zinc and lead that we would consider as targets to go forward with." This creates potential by-product credits that could materially improve project economics whilst expanding exploration vectors beyond current silver-equivalent resource calculations.

Silver's designation as a US critical mineral fundamentally alters the strategic context surrounding domestic production projects. America produces approximately 30 million ounces annually whilst consuming over 210 million ounces—importing roughly 85% of requirements despite the metal's critical status for national security and economic competitiveness. Lindgren articulated the supply-demand imbalance: "Having another US domestic asset that can actually supply into those markets we think is something that's very attractive particularly with it being critical now."

Jurisdictional advantages strengthen Black Bear's development pathway. Texas ranks within the top five global mining jurisdictions with 20% tax rates, partial permitting already in place, and strong community support in Presidio County. Proximity to major Mexican silver operations ensures access to experienced workforce and established supply chains.

Portfolio diversification comes through Independence Gold Project in Nevada, hosting 419,000 ounces of near-surface heap-leachable gold at 0.4 g/t and 980,000 ounces of high-grade skarn mineralisation at 6.67 g/t. The company recently completed 5,000 metres of drilling exceeding planned programmes, with assay results expected in early 2026.

Management's measured approach prioritises resource definition and JORC compliance over premature production planning, appropriate given recent acquisition timing. However, the infrastructure leverage and critical mineral designation create optionality for accelerated development should commodity fundamentals, government support, or strategic partnerships materialise. Investors should monitor JORC conversion progress, drilling results from both projects, and infrastructure assessment studies as key milestones determining whether Black Bear can validate its high-grade silver thesis and capitalise on structural supply deficits facing American consumers.

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