Just how much progress has TNR Gold (TNR ) made over the past five years?
One obvious way to answer that question is to take a look at the share price graph.
In the five year period between August 2021 and August 2026 TNR Gold’s shares rose by a whopping 775%.
True, they then did give up some ground as certain dissidents raised their voices and impacted sentiment.
But even allowing for that, recent performance has still been strong. In the past 12 months alone, from October 2025 to October 2026, the shares, have risen from C$0.13 to the current C$0.28, a tidy 105%.
This isn’t just a case of all boats rising.
After all, times have been harder for some companies in the industry than they have been for others over the periods in question. TNR has a considerable interest in lithium, for one thing, and it certainly hasn’t been plain sailing for that sector.
So, what exactly has been going on?
There’s been a lot of ups and downs along the way, and a few arguments too, some of them serious. But the long and the short of it is that the company has nursed and built on its portfolio of royalty and development assets in North and South America, carefully and judiciously.
That’s easy to say, of course, but the seriousness of TNR’s stewardship received significant endorsement this year with the arrival of the multi-billion dollar royalty company Altius Minerals onto the register.
Altius took its time building a stake in TNR, having first arrived in April in a big way, increasing its stake in the summer, and subsequently moving towards a non-binding expression of interest in acquiring the whole company.
That non-binding offer is still on the table, and being evaluated by a special committee comprised of TNR’s non-executive directors.
So, did the issue of significant amounts of new shares to Altius hurt the value of the shares?
Not really.
At the beginning of April, the shares were at C$0.20. They went as high as C$0.355 in the summer, and are now trading just shy of C$0.30.
In that respect the arrival of Altius hasn’t been negative at all.
The more interesting question is: what will the valuation be if any takeover deal is eventually done with Altius?
First off, it’s worth noting that this is a relationship that’s taken some nurturing on the part of TNR’s chief Kirill Klip. Ultimately it’s all about the assets, but it takes people to put asset portfolios together, and through thick and thin Klip has held TNR together.
Its principal assets are three, as has been the case for some time. One, a 0.36% royalty on the giant Los Azules copper project in Argentina, currently being developed by McEwen Copper. Two, a 1.35% royalty on the Mariana lithium project in Argentina, currently being developed by Ganfeng Lithium. And three, a 90% stake in the potentially huge Shotgun gold project in Alaska.
As far as Altius is concerned, the royalties make more sense for it than Shotgun, so it will be interesting to see if any kind of carve out is developed when and if a draft proposal finally gets to the official stages.
And how likely is that?
Well, note that there’s been no rejection of the Altius proposals at this stage, Klip’s relations with Altius are obviously friendly and, what’s probably the most salient factor of all, there really is significant value in the TNR stable. Lithium’s had some difficult times over the past few years, but now looks to be coming back into favour. And in the meantime, copper is going on a run that’s never been seen before. And copper in Argentina is a proposition that anyone well versed in mining can get behind.
So, yes, it does seem likely that a transaction will be tabled at some point, and shareholders, as is right and proper, will be asked to take a view. That will be the real moment of truth.
In the meantime, the shares are rising in value, big companies are circling, and a company that was worth less than C$10 million a short couple of years ago is now up at nearly C$70 million. It’s not up there with the majors, or even the most dextrous and nimble of the mid-caps. But it’s still not bad going.