First Majestic Silver, Desert Gold, Strategy: Correction Creates Historic Entry Opportunities

Strategy: Another BTC Sale

The former software company is the world's largest Bitcoin holder, and its founder, Michael Saylor, had previously been only on the buy side. But now, out of necessity, a change in strategy has taken place. Strategy sold another 3,588 of its Bitcoin holdings for a total value of approximately USD 216 million. The sales took place in two phases between late June and early July. This marks the third time in the company's history that Strategy has sold off bitcoins. The proceeds from this transaction will be used to replenish the company's US dollar reserves and to finance dividend payments on digital credit shares and preferred shares.

Coinciding with the sale, the company released its second-quarter results, which showed a loss of USD 8.32 billion on its digital assets. This loss stems from unrealized valuation losses, as the average cost basis of the Bitcoin holdings is USD 74,476 per coin. To secure future payment obligations, Strategy has also introduced a new "BTC Monetization Program" that allows for additional Bitcoin sales worth up to USD 1.25 billion if necessary.

Despite this sale, which accounts for 0.42% of the total holdings, the company remains the world's largest publicly traded holder of the cryptocurrency, with a remaining balance of 843,775 Bitcoin. As a result of the sale, Strategy's liquid reserves now total USD 2.55 billion.

Despite the sale and the staggering quarterly losses, analysts view the current situation for Strategy shares positively. Although investment bank Mizuho lowered its price target from USD 265 to USD 213, it maintained its "Outperform" rating due to a more cautious Bitcoin forecast. Cantor Fitzgerald also confirmed a "Buy" recommendation with a 12-month price target of USD 212.

Experts at Grayscale do not view the Bitcoin sale as a sign of financial weakness, but rather as a measure to optimize the balance sheet structure. By increasing liquid reserves, the risk of needing short-term emergency financing has been reduced. Current reserves are sufficient to cover dividend obligations for 17 to 26 months. However, it is foreseeable that regular sales to finance dividends could alter the company's current strategy of holding Bitcoin exclusively for the long term.

Desert Gold Ventures Facing Crucial Weeks

Against the backdrop of the ongoing gold correction, interesting opportunities are once again emerging for select exploration companies. Since its peak, the gold price has fallen by about 27%. Desert Gold Ventures' stock has also corrected from its annual high of CAD 0.15 in May 2026 to its current level of around CAD 0.11. However, this period of weakness in particular could prove an attractive entry point. This is because the long-term drivers for the precious metal remain intact. According to the World Gold Council and numerous market analysts, persistently high demand from central banks, rising geopolitical tensions, and increasing global government debt continue to point to a structural bull market for the precious metal. Exploration and development companies with advanced projects could benefit disproportionately from this.

Desert Gold's flagship project, SMSZ, covers approximately 440 km² along the highly productive Senegal-Mali Shear Zone and is immediately adjacent to mines operated by Allied Gold, B2Gold, and Barrick Mining. The project already has a resource of approximately 1.2 million ounces of gold. Particularly attractive is the near-surface oxide mineralization, which allows for relatively low-cost mining.

The next milestone is just around the corner. With Barani East, Desert Gold plans to begin gold production as early as July, thereby transitioning from explorer to producer. Instead of investing billions in a large-scale project, management is pursuing a modular approach using a mobile gravity plant. At the same time, a 4,250 m drill program is underway to expand the resource further. The current PEA shows a post-tax net present value of USD 61 million and an IRR of 57% at a gold price of USD 2,850 per ounce.

Further potential is offered by the 297 km² Tiegba Gold project in Côte d'Ivoire, where less than 20% of the area has been systematically explored to date. At the same time, Desert Gold has a solid foundation thanks to its successful financing of CAD 7.18 million. Given a market capitalization of around CAD 38 million and GBC price targets of up to CAD 0.93, the upcoming start of production could trigger a significant revaluation.

First Majestic Silver Shows Operational Strength

Canadian silver producer First Majestic Silver delivered strong results for the second quarter of 2026 and responded by adjusting its full-year forecast.

In the second quarter just ended, production totaled 3.8 million ounces of silver and 34,660 ounces of gold. This represents a slight increase of 3% for silver and 2% for gold compared to the same period last year. The La Encantada mine in Mexico played a key role in this growth, increasing its silver production by 65% to over 1 million ounces, driven by higher throughput and recovery rates. Production also expanded at the Santa Elena mine. This offset production declines at the San Dimas mine due to technical failures and at the Los Gatos mine due to a rockfall in April.

Based on this development, management has raised its production forecast for the full year 2026. Annual production is now expected to reach 14.6 to 15.5 million ounces of silver, an increase of 10%, and 128,000 to 135,000 ounces of gold, up 7%. At the same time, First Majestic significantly increased its capital expenditure budget to a range of USD 318 million to USD 344 million. The funds are to be allocated to development at Santa Elena and the restart of the Jerritt Canyon mine in Nevada, which is scheduled to begin operations in the second half of 2027.

In addition to the operational updates, First Majestic announced the sale of the San Martin mine in the Mexican state of Jalisco. The silver and gold mine, which had been in maintenance mode since mid-2019, is being sold to the Mexican company Flextronics. The agreed-upon purchase price is USD 90 million. Payment will be made in several phases. Following an initial payment of USD 2.5 million upon closing and an additional USD 2.5 million six months later, annual installments of USD 10 million each have been agreed upon over five years. A final payment of USD 35 million is due in 2032. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to antitrust approval.

Corrections are a natural part of any bull market. What matters is which companies emerge from them stronger. Despite its initial Bitcoin sales, Strategy remains the world's largest publicly traded BTC holder. Desert Gold Ventures could be poised for a revaluation, given its upcoming production start and comparatively low valuation. Meanwhile, First Majestic Silver is impressing with rising production and an upwardly revised annual forecast.