Morning Briefing: Oil Softens Amid a Calmer Day in the Middle East

Good morning and welcome back to the Mining Stock Daily morning briefing. 

It's Tuesday, May 5.

Gold is at $4,570 an ounce this morning, silver is at $74.08, and copper is at $5.98 a pound. Brent crude is at $112.68 a barrel.

Project Freedom is now in action. At least two merchant vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz with US assistance in fending off attacks overnight, while two American warships have entered the Gulf. The operation is underway, but the risks are far from resolved. For industrial metals, the scenario worth watching is an extended shutdown of the Strait — not the current convoy operation, but a full closure. That would deepen the energy shock, push central banks toward more aggressive policy tightening, weigh on manufacturing output, and reduce demand for copper and other industrial commodities. There's also a supply-side overhang in copper right now: warehouse stocks monitored by the LME are near their highest levels since 2013, which adds to the cautious near-term picture for the red metal even as copper holds just below $6.00 this morning.

We’ll get to the news from the miners and explorers in just a moment, but first a word about today’s sponsor. 

This episode of Mining Stock Daily is brought to you by…Vizsla Silver.

Vizsla Silver is advancing the Panuco silver-gold project in Sinaloa, Mexico — one of the highest-grade silver development projects in the world. The project hosts the world's largest, undeveloped high-grade silver resource, and the company has been aggressively expanding its drill program to grow that resource ahead of a development decision. Learn more at vizslasilver.ca.

And here's what you need to know this morning…..

Scorpio Gold has released new drill results from the Zanzibar Trend at the Manhattan District in Nevada, with hole 26MN-067 returning 10.40 grams per tonne gold over 5.67 metres from 36.27 metres — including a high-grade core of 455.52 grams per tonne gold over 0.49 metres — along with a broader intercept of 1.94 grams per tonne gold over 17.07 metres from 55.47 metres in the same hole. The hole is a 50-metre step-out to the northwest along the Zanzibar Trend, which has now been tested over more than 20,500 metres of total drilling under the company's Phase Two program at Manhattan (TSX-V: SGN, OTCQB: SRCRF). News Release

Cameco has reported first quarter 2026 financial results, with net earnings of $131 million, adjusted net earnings of $203 million, and adjusted EBITDA of $509 million — all higher compared to Q1 2025. First quarter sales volumes were higher in both uranium and fuel services, and the company's average realized price in the uranium segment continued to improve. Cameco ended the quarter with $1.1 billion in cash and equivalents, $1.0 billion in total debt, and a fully undrawn $1.0 billion revolving credit facility. Full-year 2026 guidance is unchanged at 29 to 32 million pounds of uranium sales and deliveries. Subsequent to quarter end, the company received US$124 million net from JV Inkai as a dividend based on 2025 performance (TSX: CCO, NYSE: CCJ). News Release

Rua Gold has announced a positive preliminary economic assessment for the Auld Creek gold-antimony project in Reefton, New Zealand's South Island. At a spot-price scenario using $4,700 per ounce gold, the PEA returns an after-tax NPV of $113 million and an IRR of 36% with a 2.2-year payback period. The base case at $3,300 gold delivers an after-tax NPV of $42.4 million and a 17% IRR. The mine concept is designed as an underground operation processing 250,000 tonnes per year over an initial 5.5-year mine life. Rua Gold also submitted a fast-track referral application for the project in April, which would streamline the permitting process, and a pre-feasibility study is targeted for Q4 2026 (TSX: RUA, OTC: NZAUF). News Release

Brixton Metals has commenced drilling at its Atlin Goldfields Project in northwest British Columbia, targeting structurally-focused gold zones in the Yellowjacket area following a property-wide assessment that integrated geological, geophysical, and geochemical datasets collected between 2024 and 2026. The Atlin Goldfields Project covers 579 square kilometres near the town of Atlin and has been producing placer gold for 125 years, making it the second-largest historical placer gold producer in British Columbia. Eldorado Gold Corporation holds an option to earn a 100% interest in the project (TSX-V: BBB, OTCQB: BBBXF). News Release

Snowline Gold has announced its fully funded 2026 project development and exploration programs at the flagship Rogue Project in eastern Yukon Territory. The pre-feasibility study for the Valley gold deposit is progressing on schedule with a target completion date of early 2027, and the 2026 program includes more than 10,000 metres of drilling focused on high-priority regional targets and Valley expansion. Snowline is carrying a treasury of approximately C$105 million heading into the field season (TSX: SGD, OTCQX: SNWGF). News Release

Gold X2 Mining has expanded its 2026 drilling campaign at the Moss Gold Project in northwest Ontario to 160,000 metres, with eight drill rigs expected to be operating by the end of June. Two additional rigs were mobilized in May bringing the count to five, with three more coming online next month. The program is fully funded and covers three objectives: resource expansion through step-out drilling, resource conversion through infill drilling, and surface exploration across three 10-kilometre mineralized trends southwest of the deposit. The current mineral resource stands at 2.46 million ounces indicated at 1.04 grams per tonne (TSX-V: AUXX, OTC: GSHRF). News Release

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That's it for today everyone. Have a great day. Stay safe.

The information presented should not be considered investment advice. Mining Stock Daily and its affiliates are not responsible for any loss arising from any investment decision in connection with the material presented herein. Please do your own research or speak with a licensed financial representative before making any investment decisions.