US Defense Consortium Makes Adds Mining Co. As Partner

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1. Ownership and Share Structure Information

The information listed above was updated on the date this article was published and was compiled from information from the company and various other data providers.

Eloro Resources Ltd. (ELO:TSX; ELRRF:OTCQX; P2QM:FSE) announced its selection to join the U.S. Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) — a U.S. Department of Defense-backed initiative aimed at enhancing collaboration among industry, academia, and government to develop solutions aligned with U.S. and allied national security priorities, as stated in a February 4 release.

Eloro stated that participation in the DIBC highlights its commitment to responsible resource development in supporting secure, resilient supply chains for critical and strategic materials.

"Being selected to participate in the Defense Industrial Base Consortium is an important milestone for Eloro," said Eloro Chief Executive Officer Tom Larsen. "It reflects the growing recognition of the strategic importance of mineral security and the need for trusted partners to help support long-term national and allied security objectives."

Larsen continued, "Although the DIBC has 1,452 members, Eloro is the first exploration and development member in Bolivia, recognized for its strategic and critical metals within the Iska Iska Silver/Tin polymetallic system."

Eloro expressed its eagerness to contribute its technical expertise and advance collaborative solutions that support defense, economic resilience, and strategic supply chain integrity.

According to an October 15 report by Investing.com, membership in the consortium provides the developer with access to a network of defense contractors, research institutions, and federal agencies. Through this affiliation, the company will have the opportunity to engage in federally funded research, prototyping, and production initiatives related to national defense.

The DIBC is sponsored by the U.S. Department of War to strengthen the nation’s defense industrial base by fostering cooperation between government, industry, and academia, with the aim of building secure supply chains that reduce dependence on foreign sources, Investing.com reported.

Final Payment Made For Interest in Iska Iska

Last month, Eloro announced that it has completed all option payments to Empresa Minera Villegas SRL (Minera Villegas) to finalize the option held by its Bolivian subsidiary, Minera Tupiza SRL (Minera Tupiza), to acquire a 99% joint venture interest in the Iska Iska silver-tin polymetallic project in Potosí, Bolivia. Eloro stated it made the final payment of US$1,150,000 on the same day and, as per an addendum to the option agreement, transferred US$1,800,000 into a trust account for payment to Minera Villegas within 12 months after Minera Villegas secures the mining rights over the Mina Casiterita and Mina Hoyada mining areas.

"Completion of the option payments represents a major corporate and strategic milestone for Eloro," Larsen said at the time.

Through a series of strategic regulatory and commercial agreements, Minera Tupiza SRL now holds a 99% joint venture interest and has 100% economic participation and full operational control of the Iska Iska project, the release noted. The addendum will be submitted to the relevant Bolivian mining authorities for approval in accordance with applicable regulations, Eloro said.

"We view the streamlined structure as a key corporate derisking milestone ahead of upcoming catalysts," Cantor Fitzgerald Analyst Matthew O'Keefe said in a January 29 research note about the final payment.

Cantor Fitzgerald maintained its target price of CA$4.50 per share for the Ontario, Canada-based mineral explorer, which was trading at about CA$3.10 per share at the time of O'Keefe's report. This suggests a potential return of 45%. Eloro remains a Speculative Buy.

Eloro plans to conduct more definition drilling at Iska Iska along with metallurgical work, as reported by O'Keefe. These efforts will support the planned updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) and a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) focused on a higher-grade Santa Barbara starter pit. Both the MRE and PEA are expected to be completed this year. The company is fully funded to continue derisking the project. These catalysts "together should drive improved economics, resource growth, and incremental net asset value upside," O'Keefe wrote.

Analyst Increases Target Price

Eloro intends to update the mineral resource estimate for the Iska Iska project in Bolivia this quarter, with a focus on improved grades, according to Haywood Securities Analyst Pierre Vaillancourt in a January 19 research note following discussions with the company's management.

Haywood raised its target price for Eloro by 67% to reflect the expected enhanced resource. "Following the drilling success in 2025, the improving economic climate in Bolivia, as well as record silver prices, we believe the economic prospects for Iska Iska have improved materially," Vaillancourt wrote.

Haywood's new target price for the mineral explorer is CA$5 per share, up from CA$3 previously. At the time of the analyst's report, Eloro was trading at about CA$3.07 per share, reflecting a discount of 0.47x net asset value versus peers at 0.67x. The difference between the target and current prices implies a potential return for investors of 63%. Eloro remains a Buy.

Eloro's 2025 drill program at the project successfully tightened spacing between holes and filled gaps in areas with higher silver grades in the resource envelope. As a result, Haywood expects the Iska Iska resource in the polymetallic domain to be about 200 million tons of 40 grams per ton silver and 1.5% zinc. These grades would be much higher than those in the previous August 2023 resource estimate, which were 13.6 g/t and 24.3 g/t silver, as well as 0.69% and 1.11% zinc.

High silver prices materially boost the silver value in the Iska Iska resource, especially at a 40 g/t grade. Iska Iska would become a silver-dominant project, the analyst said.

The new MRE will feed into a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) of Iska Iska, which Eloro plans to complete in H2/26. The PEA would consider a polymetallic mine with a mill throughput of about 25,000 tons per day, producing zinc-silver and lead-silver concentrates, followed in a second stage by a 10,000 tons per day tin circuit producing a tin concentrate, over a 15-year mine life. Capex for the polymetallic mine is estimated at CA$400–500 million and for the tin circuit, about CA$150–200 million.

The Catalyst: Awaiting the 'Wipe Out' of Speculative Positions

Silver prices fell by as much as 16% on Thursday, halting a two-day recovery, as the metal continues to face significant volatility, according to Lee Ying Shan reporting for CNBC on February 5.

At 8:32 a.m. ET, spot silver prices were down nearly 12%, trading around US$77.42 per ounce, while New York futures dropped about 9% to US$76 per ounce. Meanwhile, spot gold decreased approximately 2% to US$4,860 per ounce, with futures falling 1.5% to US$4,881.

Silver had been on a record-breaking surge before plunging nearly 30% last Friday. In 2025, it gained about 146%, according to data from LSEG. Analysts attribute the recent price swings to speculative flows, leveraged positioning, and options-driven trading, rather than physical demand.

"You'd seen a lot of speculator positions build up ... I don’t think it’s been fully flushed out," said Sunil Garg, managing director of Lighthouse Canton. While Garg believes the fundamental demand for silver remains strong, he suggests waiting for speculative positions to be "wiped out" first.

Silver is used in a wide range of industrial and technological applications, including solar power, catalysts, and electronics. "The margin requirements being raised by various metals exchanges around the world ... that's just something that’s going to kill off some of the speculation," said Garg, according to Shan. Following last Friday's steep sell-off, the CME Group has increased margin requirements.

"As prices fell, dealer hedging flipped from buying into strength to selling into weakness, investor stop-outs were triggered, and losses cascaded through the system," Goldman Sachs noted on Wednesday, according to the CNBC report.

Gold and silver had reached successive highs in recent weeks, as investors turned to safe haven assets due to escalating geopolitical tensions and concerns about the independence of the U.S. Federal Reserve, reported Lauren Almeida for The Guardian on February 2.

The sell-off was triggered on Friday by Donald Trump, who announced his intention to nominate Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and esteemed central banker, as the next chair of the Federal Reserve, Almeida wrote.

Ownership and Share Structure¹

About 17% of the company is owned by insiders, approximately 28% by institutions, and around 2% by strategic investor Cartier Silver. The remainder is held by retail investors.

Top shareholders include Crescat Capital LLC with 15.78% and CEO Larsen with 6.89%.

Its market cap is CA$310.97 million with 106.86 million shares issued and outstanding. It trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.77 to CA$3.42.