VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 26, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- USA News Group News Commentary - Mineral exploration spending in British Columbia reached a record $751 million in 2025, up 36% year over year, according to the British Columbia Mineral and Coal Exploration Survey released by EY in April, with junior company spending up 47% to $479 million and the surge in copper activity especially pronounced in the province’s Northwest. This year, the province added a new tool to keep that money moving: fixed timelines for exploration permits. From silver and polymetallic targets in the Cassiar and the Golden Triangle to copper mines in the interior and a major copper-gold project in Yukon, companies across the region are advancing work on several fronts. Companies mentioned in today’s commentary include: GoldHaven Resources Corp. (CSE:GOH) (OTCQB:GHVNF) (FSE: 4QS), Contango Silver and Gold Inc. (NYSE:CTGO) (TSX:CTGO), Seabridge Gold Inc. (NYSE:SA) (TSX:SEA), Western Copper and Gold Corporation (NYSE:WRN) (TSX:WRN), Trekor Metals Limited (NYSE:TGB) (TSX:TKO).

In April 2026, B.C. became the first jurisdiction in Canada to introduce fixed permitting timelines for Mineral Exploration Notices of Work, with targets of 40, 90 or 140 days depending on project complexity. Six months later, the provincial government reported that every permitting target had been met and that the first permits under the framework were issued ahead of schedule. According to the province, almost 35% more exploration permits were issued in 2025 than in 2024.

The province says B.C. produces or has potential to produce 22 of Canada’s 34 critical minerals, and that by 2040, new and expanded critical-minerals projects could represent an investment opportunity of $44 billion. In June, B.C. joined Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut in a joint critical minerals strategy for Western and Northern Canada, which includes a pillar focused on infrastructure corridors and hubs to unlock development at scale. Tin, tungsten and zinc are all on Canada’s list of 34 critical minerals and metals.

That backdrop matters for explorers in the province’s north, where some historically documented showings are now being retested with modern drilling.

GoldHaven Resources Corp. (CSE:GOH) (OTCQB:GHVNF) (FSE: 4QS)

GoldHaven Resources Corp. reported on October 22 that four of the first five diamond drill holes completed at the Middle D area of the historically named D Zone, within its Magno Project in the Cassiar District of northern British Columbia, intersected semi-massive to massive sulphide mineralization. GOH26-10 and GOH26-13 intersected approximately 10.75 meters and 13 meters, respectively, of cumulative sulphide mineralization across separate intervals; the Company notes these are visual observations along drill core, not necessarily true widths, and laboratory assays are pending.

Geological logging of GOH26-10 identified visible galena and sphalerite in its upper zone, while deeper intervals contain predominantly pyrite, pyrrhotite and arsenopyrite, with locally observed sphalerite and reported cassiterite, a tin mineral; a fourth interval comprises garnet-bearing skarn. The drilling targets a geophysical anomaly identified in an airborne survey the Company conducted in early 2026, in an area of historically documented silver-lead-zinc mineralization. GoldHaven is advancing drill hole GOH26-14 and plans to submit mineralized core for laboratory analysis.

"These early results are helping us build a better understanding of the system and guide our next exploration targets," said Rob Birmingham, President and CEO of GoldHaven. "With drilling continuing and assays pending, we look forward to evaluating the potential of D Zone alongside our ongoing tungsten exploration at Kuhn."

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Contango Silver and Gold Inc. (NYSE:CTGO) (TSX:CTGO)

In the Golden Triangle, Contango reported an updated mineral resource estimate for its Kitsault Valley Project on September 22, with Indicated Mineral Resources of 89.55 million ounces silver equivalent (7.66 million tonnes at 363 g/t AgEq) and Inferred Mineral Resources of 64.92 million ounces silver equivalent (6.31 million tonnes at 320 g/t AgEq). Indicated silver ounces grew by 93.1% to 58.7 million ounces. The company plans to update the estimate again in the first half of 2027, followed by an Initial Assessment targeted for later in 2027.

"This updated mineral resource estimate confirms what our drilling has been telling us all year," said Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, Chief Executive Officer of Contango.

Seabridge Gold Inc. (NYSE:SA) (TSX:SEA)

Seabridge announced the substantial completion and successful energization on August 27 of the Treaty Creek Terminal, which connects its KSM project in northwestern B.C. to hydroelectric power, and said the facility is expected to be ready for service by November 2026. The company said KSM has invested over $1.2 billion to date in advancing the project.

"The Treaty Creek Terminal means KSM has access to reliable, clean and economic hydroelectric power which lowers KSM’s carbon footprint and reduces its operating costs," said Rudi Fronk, Chair and CEO of Seabridge Gold.

Western Copper and Gold Corporation (NYSE:WRN) (TSX:WRN)

In Yukon, Western Copper and Gold is advancing a site program at its Casino copper-gold project that includes additional geotechnical drilling and permafrost studies at planned mine infrastructure, metallurgical drilling in the oxide cap and ground geophysical surveys, as it prepares for the technical analysis phase of the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board Panel Review. In September, Casino was selected for the inaugural Canada Investment Summit Prospectus.

"Our team is executing a program designed to deepen the engineering behind the Project," said Sandeep Singh, President and CEO of Western Copper and Gold.

Trekor Metals Limited (NYSE:TGB) (TSX:TKO)

Trekor, formerly Taseko Mines, reported third-quarter production of 41 million pounds of copper on October 8, including 34 million pounds of copper and 380 thousand pounds of molybdenum from its Gibraltar mine in central B.C. Based on production through three quarters, the company now expects Gibraltar to produce 115 to 120 million pounds of copper in 2026, up from its original guidance of 110 to 115 million pounds.

"Our Gibraltar mine had another strong quarter of operating performance," said Stuart McDonald, President and CEO of Trekor Metals.

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Article Source: GoldHaven Resources Corp. news release dated October 22, 2026.

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