Metals on the Move: Hycroft Mining Soars 12%, Silvercorp Metals Up 7%

Hycroft Mining (NASDAQ:HYMC) stock is up by around 12% in Tuesday trading, climbing toward $46 intraday. Meanwhile, Silvercorp Metals (NYSE:SVM) stock is right behind HYMC, gaining approximately 7% and breaking above $12. Both moves are part of a broad precious metals sector rally sweeping through mining stocks today.

This is not a coincidence. When geopolitical stress spikes, gold and silver are where nervous capital runs. And right now, there’s plenty to be nervous about.

Safe-Haven Demand Fuels the Rally

The fuel behind today’s move is the same force that has been quietly building under precious metals all year. Geopolitical tensions, including the ongoing Iran war reshaping energy markets, U.S. actions related to Venezuela, and global trade and tariff uncertainty, are pushing investors into gold and silver as stores of value. These are the classic conditions under which precious metals outperform, and the market is behaving exactly as history suggests it should.

The VIX, Wall Street’s fear gauge, surged to 25.5 on Monday, up 43.6% over the past month, and it was still close to 25 on Tuesday. That kind of jump in implied volatility signals a real shift in risk perception, and precious metals miners are direct beneficiaries.

Hycroft: A Pre-Production Bet on Silver and Gold Prices

HYMC stock is a pure leveraged play on precious metals prices. The company holds one of the largest known gold and silver deposits in the U.S. at its Hycroft Mine in Nevada, but it has not produced any revenue yet. That means when silver and gold prices surge, the stock acts like a call option, typically moving faster and further than producers.

The setup here is compelling for believers in the metals cycle. Hycroft became debt-free and added Sean Goodman to its board in January 2026, which could improve the company’s risk profile. Billionaire investor Eric Sprott has relentlessly accumulated HYMC shares, buying 100,000 shares at $40.85 on March 5 and another 100,000 shares at $47.58 on March 4. Impressively, the stock is up 70.8% year to date and an extraordinary 1,449.62% over the past year.

Turning to operational developments, Hycroft’s 2025 to 2026 drill program targets 14,500 meters across the Brimstone, Vortex, and Manganese zones. A technical study with economics for a sulfide milling operation was targeted for Q4 2025. Investors are betting that rising metals prices will make those economics look increasingly attractive.

Silvercorp: Earnings Strength Meets Geopolitical Tailwinds

Silvercorp is different from Hycroft Mining. This is a silver-focused miner (though it also mines copper, gold, lead, and zinc) with real cash flows, and the numbers from its most recent quarter are striking.

Specifically, Silvercorp delivered record quarterly revenue of $126.1 million in Q3 FY2026, up 51% year over year. Silver realized prices hit $49 per ounce, an 80% increase year over year, and silver accounted for 72% of the company’s quarterly revenue.

The company generated $132.9 million in operating cash flow and holds $462.8 million in cash and short-term investments. That is a fortress balance sheet for a company of its size. Furthermore, Silvercorp’s adjusted net income came in at $47.9 million or $0.22 per share, compared to $22 million or $0.10 per share in the prior year. The stock is up 38.73% year to date and 201.12% over the past year.

Silvercorp also recently filed an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for its Tulkubash and Kyzyltash gold projects in Kyrgyzstan, acquired as part of a broader strategic expansion. The $162 million acquisition of a 70% interest in gold deposits in Kyrgyzstan adds another growth layer beyond its core Chinese silver operations. Roth MKM maintained a Buy rating on SVM stock, and Zacks named it a “Great Momentum Stock” in January.

What to Watch

Silver spot prices have already surpassed $90 an ounce earlier in 2026, and if geopolitical pressures persist, that ceiling may not hold. The story today is simple: fear is up, the dollar is under pressure, and capital is flowing into the one asset class that has served as a store of value for thousands of years. HYMC shares give you maximum leverage to that thesis with maximum risk.

In contrast, SVM stock offers earnings power, cash flow, and growth optionality with a more grounded risk profile. Watch whether both names hold their gains in the coming days as a signal of whether institutional buyers are stepping in or today is purely a momentum-driven spike.