Mineral Investor Chen Lin Argues Silver Moving From Bullion to Physical Asset, Reveals Picks

1. As of the date of this article, officers, contractors, shareholders, and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Barrick Mining Corp., Hemlo Mining Corp., Wheaton Precious Metals Corp., Energy Fuels, and First Majestic Silver Corp.
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In an appearance on Turning Hard Times into Good Times with host Jay Taylor, seasoned minerals investor Chen Lin argued silver's 50-year breakout is not a routine cycle but a transition from bullion to a tightening "critical minerals" market.

"This is a 50-year breakout. Five-zero," Chen said. "We broke out of a 50-year trading range, basically." He went on to describe years of structural deficit, amplified by solar-panel demand, which have effectively "locked up" large volumes of silver for decades. "The problem… is that you have all these paper shorts out there, but there's not enough silver to cover them, so it's a squeeze," he continued.

The story is now being reinforced at the state level: China and the United States have both begun treating silver as a "critical metal," with China moving toward export controls starting in 2026, a shift Chen believes could reshape price behavior and capital flows.

"I think 2026 looks like a very exciting year. My favorite metal is silver, as you know. China's inventory is very low, and the Chinese government is very upset about it. To rebuild their silver stock, they need a high silver price — especially a higher price in China than in London or New York, so silver flows into China. That's why they have export controls," Chen concluded.

"Long term, I don't believe in six-digit or three-digit silver in a normal sense — except in the case of silver monetization," Chen said.

"We need to look at silver monetization. India already semi-monetizes silver — you can borrow against your silver there. Russia has some monetization. The key is China. China used silver as currency for thousands of years; they could monetize it again.

If China really monetizes silver, we could have three-digit silver for a long time. That's my hope: fingers crossed."

Rare Earth Lever Needs Government Backing

Chen's primary U.S. critical minerals vehicle in the interview was Energy Fuels Inc. (EFR:TSX; UUUU:NYSE.American), which operates the White Mesa Mill in Utah and is building rare-earth processing capacity in conjunction with its uranium business. "That's the only rare earth processing facility in the United States," Chen said, noting that the mill can extract rare earth elements from ore containing the radioactive mineral thorium, which is abundant but highly regulated.

"Those rare earth critical metal plays seem to move with Bitcoin… When Bitcoin goes down, they go down very hard," Chen noted. Despite that volatility, he framed his own position as core, paid-for risk, revealing, saying: "We bought much lower. I have this cycle and my shares are free, so I'm just holding to see what's the end."

Government support remains his key swing factor: "The U.S. government hasn't started investing heavily. They do invest a little bit, but more like funding a startup. I hope they got a government contract before my call options expire."

Recent Energy Fuels updates show increased uranium sales, continued strong low-cost uranium mining, and progress on rare earth element pilot production, aligning with the "dual-track" thesis Chen is leaning on.

Canadian Gold Asset Under New Ownership

Chen's "inherited" gold story is the vehicle that acquired the Hemlo gold mine from Barrick Mining Corp. (ABX:TSX; B:NYSE), via the small-cap acquirer Carcetti Capital, which has stated it will rename itself Hemlo Mining Corp. (HMMC:TSXV) upon closing. He described his position as the result of a long-ago Ukrainian gas investment that morphed into a shell and ultimately into Hemlo equity after multiple reverse splits.

The Barrick–Carcetti transaction was announced at up to US$1.09 billion, with a financing stack that included a US$400 million gold stream from Wheaton Precious Metals Corp. (WPM:TSX; WPM:NYSE), a US$225 million loan underwritten by Scotiabank, and roughly US$415 million from a private placement. Public coverage characterized the mine as Barrick's last operating Canadian asset and noted there is still significant remaining life at Hemlo, consistent with Chen's description of a producing asset being handed to a more focused owner.

Chen's basic valuation framing is that a newly focused operator, freed from major-company portfolio constraints, may be able to surface more value: "Barrick may not have taken care of the mine very well. Now we have a new management team. They could develop it, expand it, or acquire other assets, so I like it. I've been buying."

Peruvian Mineral Processor Gated By Licensing and Metallurgy

Chen's mine tailing idea was Cerro de Pasco Resources Inc. (CDPR:TSXC; GPPRF:OTCQB; N8HP:FSE), which he framed as a "background-moving" situation where permitting and technical studies are the gating items. The company owns the rights to 200 million tons of mining tailings, purportedly the largest above-ground mineral resource on the planet.

He highlighted three near-term "company-changing" catalysts: metallurgical work, processing approvals, and potential U.S. government interest because of the critical-metals angle, adding that he'd spoken with people he described as connected to the U.S. embassy in Peru.

Cerro de Pasco Resources has, in public disclosures, consistently presented itself as advancing a large-scale reprocessing/remediation-style project at the historic Cerro de Pasco mining district, where metallurgy, environmental constraints, and permitting sequencing matter as much as geology. "We want to see signatures, money, checks," Chen said. "Because the risk here is less 'is there metal?' and is more 'can you legally and technically turn it into a financeable project?'" he went on to say.

Alaskan Company Develops High-Grade Polymetallic Deposit

Alaska Silver Corp. (WAM:TSXV; WAMFF:OTC) was presented by Chen as a story where infrastructure scarcity magnifies the success of discovering a high-grade, polymetallic deposit. "When they first discovered the carbonate, I was there. I was holding the core. It was so heavy," Chen said. "It's completely metal with zinc, lead, and silver, and maybe some gallium as well. The discovery was amazing. That alone drove the stock to four dollars."

"Last time they did financing was at a pretty low price, because the market was pretty tough," Chen noted. "But they have money. They are drilling. I'm waiting on the results."

Alaska Silver (formerly Western Alaska Minerals) rebranded in 2025 and has been promoting the Illinois Creek Project, anchored by a high-grade silver-equivalent resource at Waterpump Creek and additional historic gold-equivalent resources at Illinois Creek. The company also raised capital in 2025.

Silver Company Moves From Buybacks to Issuing Stock

First Majestic Silver Corp. (AG:TSX; AG:NYSE; FMV:FSE) is a mid-tier primary silver producer with operating mines in Mexico and a corporate strategy that emphasizes production growth, free cash flow generation, and capital markets flexibility.

"This week, they did a raise," Chen noted of the company. "That tells me something: either management needs money for something else, or they think the share price is close to fair value, or they see an opportunity we don't know about."

"I don't like this kind of raise because it signals a slight change in direction: they were generating free cash flow and buying back shares, and suddenly they're issuing shares. That's a change."

Capital Markets Back Pure Silver Company

Silverco Mining Ltd. (SICO:TSXV) recently became public via a reverse takeover and has described itself as a silver-dominant producer with an unusually high proportion of revenue tied directly to silver rather than base-metal byproducts. Company disclosures indicate the presence of existing processing infrastructure and a stated goal of scaling production through operational expansion.

Chen noted that the company had a low public float: "It's tightly held. 95% of the stock is not out in the market."

"With the support of Sprott, they'll have no problem raising money," Chen added, adding that management's stated ambition is to "scale toward a 10-million-ounce-per-year profile."

"If they can get the mill feed up to 95% or so, that should reduce the cost. With silver over US$50 it should be very good," he went on. "They will need to raise money sometime next year. And with that raise, I think they will be fully funded into production, and then free cash flow."

Biotech Company Could be Next Eli Lily

NervGen Pharma Corp. (NGEN:TSX.V; NGENF:OTCQX) is a clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapeutics for nerve regeneration, initially focused on spinal cord injury. The company has released clinical data and outlined plans for further trials.

Chen described the technology as "revolutionary," encouraging investors to "take a look before and after video. It's just amazing."

 "I talk to the patient quite often," he went on. "They can walk for the first time in their life."

Chen told an illuminating anecdote about the company's media strategy. "The previous CEO and management were let go because the founder was very upset about the stock performance. The founder's family took over; there's a new CEO. I spoke with them and asked about their plan. They said, 'We want to go on Fox News.' They did, and the stock had a big run into that Fox News exposure. I sold some there, because I wasn't sure Fox alone would be that powerful — but it was. It got more attention, and the stock went up a lot."

"It could be a "GP1" story, who knows," he added.