The Discovery Timeline: providing an overview of the best discoveries made in the last Century

Metal :

Country :

Resource :

Discovery investing in junior explorers

In the Western world there are approximately 2,000 publicly listed companies with a market capitalization under $1 billion exploring for precious and base metals. Most of these companies have their main listing on an exchange in Canada (~1,100 companies), Australia (~575 companies), and the UK (~125 companies). The majority of those companies will regularly claim significant exploration results, but very few of those companies will ultimately make a significant economic discovery (>2 Moz AuEq). The lucky few who were part of such a discovery in the past went through an enormous valuation creation event. Lucky few? Making a discovery involves an element of luck, but it also involves as a minimum:

1. Recognizing opportunities
2. Acting on the opportunities
3. Realizing when an opportunity is no longer an opportunity
4. Raising millions of dollars of capital
5. Lots of early stage work (often perceived as boring for investors)
6. Accepting that naysayers outnumber the supporters
7. Solving many problems (geopolitical, legal, financial, technical, etc)
8. Drilling (high costs)
9. Many years of hard work

The following numbers (of the last 10 years) show how difficult it is to make a discovery:
> 5,000 exploration companies
> $90 billion in exploration 
> >10,000 exploration projects

Led to: < 50 significant discoveries ( > 2 Moz AuEq )

This discovery timeline provides an overview of meaningful discoveries in the last 60 years.
You can zoom in to different periods, and click on a discovery to read more about the process that led to the ultimate discovery.

This is an overview of companies that made a discovery and their share performance from the moment of the discovery.
In some cases the discovery hole or discovery event is very obvious, in other cases deciding on the "moment of the discovery" is more difficult. But what this overview shows is that if you get it right, and you invest in an actual discovery, the returns can be amazing.

Metal :

Country :

Resource :

Ticker Company Project Highlight discovery hole AUEQ (G/T) Intercept (M) AUEQ METAl factor Discovery date Before news 1D 1D% 5D 5D% 1M 1M% 6M 6M% 1Y 1Y% 2Y 2Y% 3Y 3Y%
GTT

GT Gold

Saddle South 13.03 g/t Au over 10.67m 13.03 10.67 139 2017-07-25 0.38 0.89 134% 1.03 171% 1.56 311% 0.61 61% 0.81 113% 1.09 187% 1.50 295%
VEN

Ventana Gold

La Bodega 7.81 g/t Au over 106.45m 7.81 106.45 831 2008-11-07 0.14 0.36 0% 0.15 -58% 0.12 -67% 2.02 461% 8.36 2,222% 10.80 2,900% 13.06 3,528%
RGD

Reunion Gold

Oko West 1.54 g/t Au over 20.10m 1.54 20.10 31 2021-02-18 0.11 0.11 0% 0.08 -24% 0.07 -33% 0.07 -33% 0.20 90% 0.00 0% 0.00 0%
CLP

Calpine Resources

Eskay Creek 29.41m @ 25.78 g/t Au, 38.74 g/t Ag 26.28 29.41 773 1988-11-01 1.00 1.67 67% 1.63 63% 2.44 144% 1.62 62% 4.95 395% 6.13 513% 0.00 0%
DMM

Dia Met Minerals 

Lac de Gras (Ekati) Kimberlite (incl diamonds) 455 ft to 920 ft 142 1991-11-05 1.25 2.20 76% 3.70 196% 3.50 180% 6.00 380% 24.75 1,880% 46.25 3,600% 0.00 0%
NSU

Nevsun Resources

Bisha 24.5m @ 6.27% Cu, 1.18 g/t Au, 42.1 g/t Ag 11.64 24.50 285 2003-01-22 2.51 3.34 33% 2.80 12% 3.80 51% 3.81 52% 4.65 85% 3.02 20% 2.56 2%
PDI

Predictive Discovery

Bankan Gold 6.58 g/t Au over 46.00m 6.58 46.00 303 2020-04-15 0.01 0.05 900% 0.07 1,300% 0.07 1,200% 0.06 1,100% 0.09 1,600% 0.21 4,000% 0.00 0%
FIL

Filo Mining

Filo del Sol 0.67% CuEq over 942m 0.91 942.00 857 2021-03-26 2.88 3.15 9% 3.21 12% 3.56 24% 8.98 212% 19.45 575% 0.00 0% 0.00 0%
SOLG

SolGold

Cascabel 1 g/t Au, 0.50% Cu over 100m 1.68 100.00 168 2013-10-10 0.07 0.09 31% 0.09 33% 0.12 87% 0.09 44% 0.05 -19% 0.02 -73% 0.20 208%
MARL

Mariana Resources

Hod Maden 12.7 g/t AuEq over 103m 12.70 103.00 1308 2015-02-02 0.11 0.13 23% 0.14 26% 0.17 53% 0.22 103% 0.15 42% 0.81 649% 0.99 815%
GGP

Greatland Gold

Havieron 3.24 g/t AuEq over 121m 3.24 121.00 392 2018-06-26 0.01 0.01 27% 0.02 60% 0.01 22% 0.02 55% 0.02 43% 0.12 944% 0.18 1,505%
WDO

Wesdome Gold Mines

Kiena Deep 223.12 g/t Au over 14.25m 223.12 14.25 3179 2016-08-24 1.50 2.24 49% 2.49 66% 2.73 82% 3.62 141% 2.24 49% 3.32 121% 7.33 389%
MGG

Minaurum Gold

Alamos Silver 694 g/t AgEq over 20.15m 9.64 20.15 194 2017-11-03 0.24 0.24 2% 0.27 13% 0.24 2% 0.50 111% 0.38 60% 0.42 79% 0.38 62%
SIL

SilverCrest Metals

Las Chispas 2617 g/t AgEq over 0.9m (underground sampling) 36.35 0.90 33 2016-04-28 1.00 1.16 16% 1.10 10% 0.94 -6% 2.56 156% 1.63 63% 2.30 130% 4.50 350%
AZM

Azimut Exploration

Elmer 3.15 g/t Au over 102m 3.15 102.00 321 2020-01-14 0.50 1.50 200% 1.48 196% 1.37 174% 2.22 344% 0.95 90% 1.54 208% 0.00 0%
ROS

Roscan Gold

Kandiole 5.94 g/t Au over 14.0m 5.94 14.00 83 2019-01-24 0.06 0.09 42% 0.15 150% 0.15 150% 0.14 133% 0.13 108% 0.34 467% 0.35 483%
NXE

Nexgen Energy

Arrow 3.42% U308 over 22.35m 41.54 22.35 928 2014-08-07 0.34 0.38 12% 0.40 18% 0.44 29% 0.34 0% 0.72 112% 2.43 615% 2.97 774%
GGD

GoGold Resources

Los Ricos 5.04 g/t AuEq over 35.5m 5.04 35.50 179 2019-04-17 0.28 0.29 4% 0.32 13% 0.42 50% 0.61 118% 0.70 150% 2.65 846% 3.17 1,032%
ESK

Eskay Mining

TV/Jeff 4.11 g/t AuEq over 11.24m 4.11 11.24 46 2020-09-22 0.83 0.81 -2% 0.75 -10% 1.15 39% 2.37 186% 2.11 154% 1.38 66% 0.00 0%
AMM

Almaden Minerals

Ixtaca 1.01 G/T Au, 48 g/t Ag over 302.4m 1.68 302.40 508 2010-08-09 0.99 1.19 20% 1.88 90% 2.62 165% 3.91 295% 2.87 190% 2.16 118% 1.74 76%
OSI

Osino Resources

Twin Hills 0.7 g/t Au over 104m 0.70 104.00 73 2019-08-26 0.48 0.49 3% 0.83 75% 0.80 68% 0.78 64% 1.45 205% 1.11 134% 0.64 33%
MAG

MAG Silver

Juanicipio 1798 g/t Ag, 2.91 g/t Au, 5.51% Zn, 3.43% Ld over 6.35m 31.15 6.35 198 2006-01-23 1.75 2.15 23% 3.75 114% 3.05 74% 1.90 9% 6.07 247% 13.15 651% 5.78 230%
NFG

New Found Gold

Queensway 41.2 g/t over 4.75m 41.20 4.75 196 2020-10-02 2.15 2.68 25% 3.01 40% 4.07 89% 4.24 97% 8.21 282% 0.00 0% 0.00 0%
ERD

Erdene Resource Development

Bayan Khundii 187.0 g/t Au over 1.0m 187.00 1.0 187 2015-12-09 0.12 0.13 8% 0.13 4% 0.15 25% 0.37 208% 0.47 292% 0.60 400% 0.23 88%
GQC

GoldQuest Mining

Romero 2.4 g/t Au over 231m 2.40 231.00 554 2012-05-23 0.08 0.31 313% 0.56 647% 0.61 713% 0.81 980% 0.31 307% 0.32 320% 0.17 127%
ADT

Adriatic Metals

Rupice 4.6 g/t Au, 537 g/t Ag, 10.8% Zn, 7.7% Pb, 0.9% Cu over 64m 20.01 64.00 1281 2018-06-12 0.20 0.27 35% 0.39 95% 0.51 155% 0.61 205% 0.87 335% 1.26 530% 2.85 1,325%
KAM

Kaminak Gold

Coffee 17.07 g/t Au over 15.5m 17.07 15.50 265 2010-05-26 0.82 1.33 62% 1.32 61% 1.50 83% 2.89 252% 3.72 354% 2.00 144% 0.85 4%
NMI

Newmarket Gold

Fosterville 386 g/t Au over 9.15m 386.00 9.15 3532 2015-07-27 0.82 0.96 17% 1.05 28% 1.06 29% 1.48 81% 3.93 379% 3.48 324% 0.00 0%
RMC

Reservoir Minerals

Timok 1.23% CuEq over 266m 1.66 266.00 442 2012-07-16 0.65 1.14 75% 1.04 60% 1.78 173% 2.23 243% 3.38 420% 6.15 846% 4.38 574%
VZLA

Vizsla Silver

Panuco 1544 g/t AgEq over 8.2m 21.44 8.20 176 2020-06-24 0.44 0.74 68% 0.93 111% 2.40 446% 1.70 286% 2.55 480% 1.40 218% 0.00 0%
RR

Rainy River Resources

Rainy River 1.81 g/t Au over 98.5m 1.81 98.50 178 2005-11-10 0.82 0.77 -6% 0.70 -15% 0.96 17% 3.00 266% 4.88 495% 4.98 507% 0.84 2%
RUP

Rupert Resources

Ikkari 1.8 g/t over 137.2m 1.80 137.20 247 2020-05-12 0.87 1.26 45% 1.68 93% 2.15 147% 5.95 584% 5.53 536% 4.76 447% 0.00 0%
SLS

Solaris Resources

Warintza 1% CuEq over 567m 1.35 567.00 765 2020-08-10 1.76 2.43 38% 3.05 73% 3.31 82% 5.95 238% 13.43 663% 7.68 336% 0.00 0%
ABRA

Abrasilver Resource

Diablillos 603.9 g/t Ag over 17.5m 8.39 17.50 147 2020-01-27 0.06 0.07 18% 0.07 18% 0.07 27% 0.24 336% 0.43 682% 0.35 536% 0.00 0%
SKE

Skeena Resources

Eskay Creek 18.13 g/t AuEq over 22.65m 18.13 22.65 411 2019-09-25 1.60 1.62 1% 1.76 10% 1.78 11% 3.24 103% 12.56 685% 14.54 809% 6.11 282%
AMX

Amex Exploration

Perron 269.23 g/t Au over 1.35m 269.23 1.35 363 2018-12-13 0.17 0.17 0% 0.15 -12% 0.19 12% 0.73 329% 1.34 688% 2.93 1,624% 2.90 1,606%
AQP

Arequipa Resources

Pierina 14 test pits with avg of 9.47 g/t Au 9.47 1996-01-08 3.40 3.95 16% 5.62 65% 8.87 161% 19.25 466% 29.95 781% 0.00 0% 0.00 0%
GBR

Great Bear Resources

Dixie 26.91 g/t Au over 16.35m 26.91 16.35 440 2018-08-22 0.72 1.18 64% 1.70 136% 1.82 153% 3.71 415% 6.45 796% 15.43 2,043% 13.49 1,773%
GEO

Gold Eagle Mines

Gold Eagle 28.47 g/t over 11.7m 28.47 11.70 333 2005-08-29 0.44 0.53 19% 0.72 63% 1.97 346% 2.97 571% 4.16 842% 5.50 1,144% 12.05 2,626%
VIA

Virginia Gold Mines

Éléonore 18.85 g/t over 16.0m 18.85 16.00 302 2004-09-15 1.50 1.60 7% 1.59 6% 1.94 29% 5.10 240% 14.25 850% 15.64 943% 0.00 0%
OSK

Osisko Exploration

Canadian Malartic 2.50 g/t over 71.7m 2.50 71.70 179 2005-05-04 0.27 0.27 68% 0.44 76% 0.68 172% 3.88 1,452% 3.14 1,156% 6.37 2,448% 6.35 2,440%
SFR

Sandfire Resources

DeGrussa 5.3% Cu, 20.1 g/t Ag, 1.0% Zn over 47m 7.83 47.00 368 2009-05-18 0.25 0.42 68% 0.44 76% 0.68 172% 3.88 1,452% 3.14 1,156% 6.37 2,448% 6.35 2,440%
DEG

De Grey Mining

Hemi 7.5 g/t AU OVER 24m 7.5 24.00 180 2020-02-06 0.05 0.10 111% 0.15 222% 0.24 422% 0.53 1,067% 0.93 1,967% 1.18 2,522% 0.00 0%
DFR

Diamond Fields

Voicey's Bay 2.23% Ni, 1.47% Cu over 71m 7.93 71.00 563 1994-11-17 1.13 2.00 77% 2.06 82% 2.84 151% 14.19 1,156% 25.87 2,189% 42.80 3,688% 0.00 0%
CHN

Chalice Mining

Julimar 2.59% Ni, 1.04% Cu, 8.85 g/t Pd, 1.09 g/t Pt over 19m 20.71 19.00 393 2020-03-23 0.16 0.38 138% 0.44 175% 1.05 556% 2.63 1,544% 4.74 2,863% 7.38 4,513% 0.00 0%
ARU

Aurelian Resources

Fruta Del Norte 4.14 g/t Au over 237.25m 4.14 237.25 982 2006-04-05 0.22 0.76 240% 0.70 216% 0.90 305% 6.80 2,957% 7.95 3,473% 9.17 4,021% 5.29 2,278%
SIR

Sirius Resources

Nova 3.8% Ni, 1.42% Cu over 4m 12.05 4.00 48 2012-03-26 0.06 0.45 650% 0.59 883% 1.41 2,250% 2.11 3,417% 2.55 4,150% 3.68 6,033% 3.23 5,283%