Please note: The following is part of an ongoing paid promotional campaign by Dolly Varden Silver. See further details at bottom of the page. 

On December 8th, Dolly Varden Silver (TSX-v: DV) / (NYSE American: DVS) announced more exciting news in its ongoing quest to become a mid-tier precious metal producer. A “merger of equals” was announced (subject to shareholder votes) with ContangoOre. 

The new company would be called Contango Silver & Gold, dual-listed as “CTGO” on NYSE American right away, followed by the TSX. Assuming completion, existing Contango & Dolly Varden shareholders would each own 50% of outstanding shares on a fully diluted in-the-money basis. 

The total share count, including in-the-money options/warrants, would be just 31M. The new Company would have four assets, one of which a mine in production in Alaska. Contango Silver & Gold would have seven board members, three from Dolly Varden, four from Contango. 

Dolly’s CEO Shawn Khunkhun would become Dir. & President, Contango’s CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse would be Dir. & the new CEO. Contango’s Clynt Nauman would be Chairman.

This merger is truly a win-win as there are ample operating synergies and mine project sequencing opportunities to aggressively pursue. Contango delivers current production in Alaska, USA, positive free cash flow, and a very strong mgmt. team/board with direct DSO & operational experience.

Dolly Varden contributes a visionary young leader and proven geological team, a large, highly promising, under-explored land package in the prolific Golden Triangle region of northwestern B.C., and exposure to high-grade silver, estimated at ~100M ounces, in an upcoming resource expansion in 2Q/26.

The two companies share common development philosophies to pursue low-cost direct shipping ore (“DSO”) projects that can be developed much more rapidly, using existing processing facilities that have excess capacity.

Readers are reminded that DSO operations typically require much lower cap-ex and can be fast-tracked due to far fewer and less complex permitting, tailings, construction & reclamation needs.

Importantly, the combined company would be domiciled in the U.S., an ideal place to be during tariff wars and the widespread on-shoring of critical supply chains away from China.

Contango’s Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse commented, 

“Kitsault Valley & Johnson Tract are particularly synergistic as both are high grade, have similar metallurgy, are near tidewater, and fit the Direct Shipping Ore (“DSO”) model. In addition, both have tremendous exploration upside. With Dolly Varden’s cornerstone land position in the Golden Triangle, one of the most exciting & prospective mining districts in the world, we see great potential to expand resources and advance Kitsault Valley to production. The combined company will be well financed for growth to continue delivering long-term value to shareholders.”

Dolly Varden’s Shawn Khunkhun added,

“The merger represents a step-change for Dolly Varden, adding production, and combining an exceptional portfolio of projects with the potential for high-grade precious-metal development. The combined company is poised to become a unique, multi-asset platform for silver & gold production, focused exclusively on the U.S. & Canada. Our boards are fully aligned on how to best realize this vision, sharing a commitment to aggressively expanding our resource bases, accelerating mine exploration, and subsequent development, while pursuing growth-oriented acquisitions.”

Contango’s Manh Choh (one of the highest grade open pit Au mines on earth) will continue to produce ~60,000 ounces of gold (“Au”)/yr (net do Contango), for at least five years, with a few years of expansion potential (or, if new discoveries, possibly more). 

Manh Choh is a 70%/30% JV with Kinross/Conango (30%). The cash cost of this DSO operation is ~US$1,550/oz. With Au over US$4,200/oz, operating cash flow would be >C$200M/yr.

Total cash distributions from the Kinross JV to Contango for the nine months ended 9/30/25 were US$87M (based on an average spot price of C$3,207/oz, ~24% below the current level). 

The merged company would have ~C$200M in cash & ~C$49M in debt. At the December 8th close, the pro forma market share would be ~C$1.1 billion. This is very good, as the new entity would be included in several mining ETF indices like; GDXJ, SIL & SILJ, and others. 

Dolly CEO Khunkhun estimates the merged company could see C$69M of incremental buying from ETF Indices, and daily trading volume of ~C$10M. New institutional shareholders & sell-side research coverage would be likely.

Contango’s other two projects are also in Alaska. As strong as B.C.’s Golden Triangle is, one of the best jurisdictions in the world, Alaska ranks as a world-class destination as well. According the ChatGPT, the Trump Administration is  quite favorable towards Alaska. 

The Lucky Shot Mine in the Willow Mining District has a small but growing resource, very high grade at 14.5 g/t Au. Lucky Shot is fully permitted for mining operations, and underground development has been completed for advanced exploration. 

An 18,000 meter drill program is well underway targeting expansion of Measured & Indicated resources to 400-500,000 ounces with a DSO Feasibility Study and mine go-ahead decision targeted for 2027.

The Johnson Tract project has an Indicated resource of 600,000 Au oz + 700,000 oz Ag + 400M pounds Zn (1.1M Au Eq. oz). It has 31,000 oz Au + 200,000 Ag oz in the Inferred category. 

Importantly, this project was accepted for coverage as a FAST-41 project, a federal fast-track permitting program giving mining projects a coordinated, transparent, more predictable path through the U.S. permitting process.

An Initial Assessment completed in May outlined a NPV(5%) of US$615M and an IRR of 53% at US$4,000/oz Au. The estimated AISC of US$860/Au Eq. oz would be in the bottom decile of the cost curve. Targeted completion of a DSO Feasibility Study is 2029.

This year at Kitsault Valley a robust 56,131 meters were drilled. Initial highlights include; 1,422 g/t Ag over 21.7 m at the Wolf Vein deposit, 26.7 g/t Au over 14.8 m, and 14.5 g/t Au + 75 g/t Ag over 21.2 m at the Homestake Silver deposit. A lot more drill results, the majority of the program, will be released through January.

Past production of 20+ million ounces in the Kitsault Valley, including the historical Dolly Varden Mine, that produced 1,100 g/t Ag from 1919-1923, and the Torbit Mine, that delivered 466 g/t Ag from 1949-1959. 

Readers are encouraged to revisit these two prior articles solely on Dolly Varden Silver... November 12 article & October 9th piece. 

To reiterate the thesis of the proposed merger, CEO Khunkhun points out that transactions are often done with suspect reasoning, for example of operations on different continents. Sure, that diversifies a portfolio, but where are the synergies? 

By contrast, a Contango/Dolly Varden deal would be of four significant assets in the same region of the world, south/east Alaska & northwest B.C. More importantly, these are both widely mineralized, world-famous, high-grade regions. 

He and the Contango CEO Nieuwenhuyse highlighted the exploration potential at all four projects, including possible new discoveries, bolstered by the doubling of the combined company’s scale to > C$1B. The DSO approach is prudent, fast to market, low-cost, lower risk. 

This would be a very growth-oriented team with additional M&A likely to follow the anticipated Feb./Mar. 2026 closing of this transaction. I strongly believe that a combined player would have as much upside potential as either Dolly Varden or Contango alone. 

In fact, possibly more upside as it would become a highly attractive takeover target to larger companies like Freeport McMoRan, Teck Resources, Hecla Mining, Coeur Mining (currently acquiring B.C.’s New Gold), Hudbay Minerals, Lundin Mining or Newmont.

These companies, and more, would greatly benefit from the significant from both B.C. plus new or added exposure to Alaska. Make no mistake, a turbo-charged Contango Silver & Gold would look to make major advancements across its portfolio BEFORE being taken out. 

Disclosures/disclaimers: The content of this article is for information only. Readers fully understand and agree that nothing contained herein, written by Peter Epstein of Epstein Research [ER], (together, [ER] ) about Dolly Varden Silver, including but not limited to, commentary, opinions, views, assumptions, reported facts, calculations, etc. is not to be considered implicit or explicit investment advice. Nothing contained herein is a recommendation or solicitation to buy or sell any security. [ER] is not responsible under any circumstances for investment actions taken by the reader. [ER] has never been, and is not currently, a registered or licensed financial advisor or broker/dealer, investment advisor, stockbroker, trader, money manager, compliance or legal officer, and does not perform market-making activities. [ER] is not directly employed by any company, group, organization, party, or person. The shares of Dolly Varden are highly speculative, and not suitable for all investors. Readers understand and agree that investments in small-cap stocks can result in a 100% loss of invested funds. It is assumed and agreed upon by readers that they will consult with their own licensed or registered financial advisors before making investment decisions.

At the time this article was posted, Dolly Varden was an advertiser on [ER] and Peter Epstein owned shares in the company, acquired in the open market. 

Readers understand and agree that they must conduct due diligence above and beyond reading this article. While the author believes he’s diligent in screening out companies that, for any reason whatsoever, are unattractive investment opportunities, he cannot guarantee that his efforts will (or have been) successful. [ER] is not responsible for any perceived, or actual, errors including, but not limited to, commentary, opinions, views, assumptions, reported facts & financial calculations, or for the completeness of this article or future content. [ER] is not expected or required to subsequently follow or cover events & news, or write about any particular company or topic. [ER] is not an expert in any company, industry sector, or investment topic.