Canadian-listed junior exploration companies trading below CA$1.00 per share have leveraged strong investor interest in the past six months, completing substantial financings (over CA$5 million) to advance their mineral projects. These firms span commodities from gold and silver to copper, rare earth elements, and potash, and all boast NI 43-101 compliant resources. The fresh capital is being deployed towards drilling, engineering studies, and permitting as they progress toward potential production. Below we profile a selection of these companies, highlighting their recent financings, flagship project resources, and development milestones.

Gold Exploration and Development Companies

Freeman Gold Corp. (TSX-V: FMAN) – Advancing the Lemhi Gold Project, Idaho: In August 2025, Freeman Gold closed a CA$5.5 million private placement at $0.10 per unit. Each unit included a share and warrant, and proceeds are earmarked for permitting at its 100%-owned Lemhi Gold Project. Lemhi hosts a near-surface oxide gold deposit with a NI 43-101 resource of 988,100 oz of gold (Measured & Indicated) plus 256,000 oz Inferred at ~1 g/t. A 2023 preliminary economic assessment (PEA) demonstrated robust economics, with an after-tax NPV_5% of US$329 million and 28.2% IRR at a US$2,200/oz gold price. The project would produce ~75,900 oz gold annually over an 11-year mine life. Armed with new funding, Freeman is focused on growth drilling and permitting to advance Lemhi toward a production decision.

First Nordic Metals Corp. (TSX-V: FNM) – Building a Scandinavian Gold Camp: First Nordic (formerly Barsele Minerals) raised C$15.4 million in July 2025 via a unit offering at $0.37. This oversubscribed financing, done under the listed issuer financing exemption, brings a strong treasury to fund exploration in Sweden and Finland. The company’s flagship is the Barsele Gold Project in northern Sweden, a joint venture with Agnico Eagle. Barsele already hosts an NI 43-101 resource of 324,000 oz Indicated + 2.1 million oz Inferred gold (open-pit and underground). Surrounding Barsele, First Nordic controls a district-scale 80,000-hectare land package on Sweden’s prolific Gold Line belt. It also owns 100% of the Oijärvi greenstone belt in Finland with the Kylmäkangas deposit. With the new capital, First Nordic is drilling to expand these resources and advance Barsele, positioning itself as a leading Scandinavian-focused gold developer. The strategic financing and Agnico Eagle’s involvement underscore the project’s potential as a future mine.

Scorpio Gold Corp. (TSX-V: SGN) – Nevada Projects Revived with New Funding: In two tranches by April 2025, Scorpio Gold raised CA$7.07 million to drive its Nevada gold projects forward. Priced at $0.08 per share, the financing was oversubscribed, reflecting investor enthusiasm for Scorpio’s assets. The company owns 100% of the past-producing Mineral Ridge mine and the nearby Manhattan District project in Nevada’s Walker Lane trend. Mineral Ridge produced over 220,000 oz gold from 2010–2017 and retains a permitted, infrastructure-equipped project with proven and probable resources ready for near-term development. The Manhattan property, acquired from Kinross, includes the former Goldwedge mine and several historic pits, with over 100,000 m of drilling completed historically. Scorpio is delivering a maiden NI 43-101 resource for Manhattan in Q2 2025, aiming to demonstrate significant gold potential. Proceeds from the financing are funding aggressive exploration at Manhattan and maintaining Mineral Ridge while the company evaluates strategic options. With U.S. gold production gaining strategic importance, Scorpio’s enhanced treasury allows it to advance both projects in this mining-friendly jurisdiction.

Liberty Gold Corp. (TSX: LGD) – Advancing a Large Idaho Oxide Gold Project: Liberty Gold fortified its balance sheet with a C$23.0 million bought-deal financing on April 22, 2025. Priced at $0.33, the 69.7 million units (share + half-warrant) financing was fully subscribed, including an over-allotment, demonstrating strong support for Liberty’s flagship Black Pine Gold Project in Idaho. Black Pine is a Carlin-style oxide gold system with an updated NI 43-101 resource of 4.16 million oz Indicated (0.32 g/t) plus 0.71 Moz Inferred, reflecting a significant increase in 2024. A Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) completed in late 2024 confirmed Black Pine’s viability as a long-life, heap-leach mine. The PFS outlines a 17-year open-pit operation producing ~135,000 oz gold annually (183,000 oz in years 1–5), with a low strip ratio of 1.3:1. At a $2,000/oz gold base case, the project yields an after-tax NPV_5% of $552 million and 32% IRR. Initial capital is estimated at $327 million for a run-of-mine heap leach, and all-in sustaining costs are projected around $1,205/oz in the early years. Liberty has already submitted a draft Mine Plan of Operations to U.S. regulators in early 2025 to kick-start permitting. With the recent financing, Liberty is well-funded to continue infill and expansion drilling, optimize the project in a full feasibility study, and advance Black Pine through permitting. The strong economics and sizeable oxide resource underscore Black Pine’s potential to be a major new U.S. gold mine.

Revival Gold Inc. (TSX-V: RVG) – Two Multi-Million-Ounce Gold Projects with Major Backing: Revival Gold secured a transformative C$29.1 million financing in July 2025, anchored by strategic investments from EMR Capital and Dundee Corporation. The private placement was done at $0.48 per share, bringing in EMR as a ~11.8% shareholder and Dundee increasing its stake to 5.3%. Revival will use the funds to advance its two advanced-stage U.S. gold projects: Beartrack-Arnett in Idaho and Mercur in Utah. Beartrack-Arnett is a former open-pit mine complex with an extensive mineralized trend. It currently contains a NI 43-101 resource of ~4.1 Moz gold (across all categories) and demonstrated heap-leach restart potential. A 2022 PEA on Beartrack outlined low re-start capital and robust economics for approximately 72,000 oz/year gold production. At the historic Mercur mine (once a >2 Moz producer), Revival is completing a PEA and engineering studies to target a production re-start by 2028. The new funding allows Revival to accelerate a 50,000-foot drill program and technical work at Mercur, while continuing permitting and resource expansion at Beartrack-Arnett. With 6.2 Moz of combined gold resources across its projects and a bolstered treasury, Revival is poised to advance these past-producing sites toward a return to gold production. The participation of EMR (a mining-focused private equity firm) and Dundee signals confidence in Revival’s path forward.

Base and Critical Mineral Companies

Gunnison Copper Corp. (TSX: GCU) – Copper Producer-Developer Revitalizing Arizona Mines: Gunnison Copper (formerly Excelsior Mining) completed a significant financing in July 2025, closing C$8.66 million in a private placement upsized from an initial $5 million target. Priced at $0.30 per unit, the financing issues one share and one warrant (at $0.45) per unit and provides funds for pre-feasibility study drilling and metallurgical work at the company’s flagship Gunnison Copper Project in Arizona. Gunnison Copper is unique among juniors as it controls a production-stage asset: the Johnson Camp Mine (JCM) SX-EW plant, which is under refurbishment via a partnership with Rio Tinto’s Nuton technology. JCM is slated to produce its first copper cathode in Q3 2025 at ~25 million lbs/year, fully funded by Rio Tinto. Meanwhile, the larger Gunnison deposit (an ISR and open-pit copper project) contains a measured & indicated resource of 831 million tons at 0.31% Cu (~5.1 billion pounds of copper). A 2024 PEA on Gunnison outlined a conventional open-pit heap leach operation with an after-tax NPV_8% of $1.3 billion and 20.9% IRR, producing high-purity cathode copper on-site. The project benefits from rail access and the ability to feed multiple satellite deposits in the district. With the new equity financing, Gunnison is funding a pre-feasibility study to refine the mine plan and integrate Nuton’s in-situ leaching technology for future phases. The company’s two-pronged approach – near-term production from Johnson Camp and advancing the larger Gunnison resource – puts it on a fast track among copper juniors. Having a cornerstone strategic investor (Rio Tinto) and now fresh capital from equity markets underscores the confidence in Gunnison’s plan to supply “Made in America” copper.

Metallic Minerals Corp. (TSX-V: MMG) – Silver-Copper Explorer Backed by Majors: Vancouver-based Metallic Minerals closed a C$6.0 million brokered private placement on July 30, 2025. The financing, done at $0.24 per unit, included full exercise of the over-allotment and saw participation by major shareholder Newmont Corporation (via its subsidiary) to maintain its equity stake. Metallic Minerals is advancing two main projects: the La Plata copper-silver-PGE project in Colorado and the Keno Silver project in the Yukon. La Plata hosts a porphyry system with an updated Inferred resource of 147.3 Mt at 0.37% Cu plus 3.72 g/t Ag (1.21 billion lbs Cu and 17.6 Moz Ag contained), demonstrating a 25% tonnage increase after recent drilling. The Keno Silver project, adjacent to Hecla’s Keno Hill mine, recently yielded a maiden Inferred resource of 18.4 Moz AgEq (including 7.1 Moz silver) at high grades of 223 g/t AgEq, across four shallow deposits open for expansion. Metallic’s new funding will go toward exploration at both sites, notably expanding the La Plata resource and testing additional porphyry centers, as well as drilling high-grade targets at Keno. The company’s strategic partnerships are a vote of confidence: aside from Newmont’s involvement, Metallic is part of the broader Metallic Group alliance (alongside Group Ten and Granite Creek) and has attracted experienced institutional investors. With robust resources already defined and a treasury boost, Metallic Minerals is well-positioned to advance toward preliminary economic studies. Its focus on critical minerals (copper, silver, PGEs) and precious metals comes at a time of strong demand for such projects, and the recent financing ensures aggressive exploration can continue uninterrupted.

Defense Metals Corp. (TSX-V: DEFN) – Rare Earth Developer with PFS in Hand: Critical minerals also received investor attention, exemplified by Defense Metals, which completed a $5.4 million private placement in May 2025. Priced around $0.26 per share, the financing provided capital to advance Defense Metals’ flagship Wicheeda Rare Earth Element (REE) Project in British Columbia. Wicheeda is a significant light rare earth deposit (notably containing Neodymium-Praseodymium), and Defense Metals achieved a major milestone in April 2025 by filing a NI 43-101 Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for the project. The PFS confirms attractive economics: at a 2024 base case, Wicheeda could produce ~25,000 tonnes of REO concentrate annually over a 16-year mine life, with an after-tax NPV in the hundreds of millions and strong IRR (the company has since received a letter of interest for up to US$250M in project debt from EDC). The deposit’s mineral resource stands at 5 million tonnes of Measured and Indicated containing ~3.7% LREE, plus Inferred resources, supporting a robust scale of development. With the recent equity financing, Defense Metals is completing remaining pilot metallurgy and moving directly into final feasibility and permitting efforts. Notably, the company has strong government and strategic backing: in June 2025, Export Development Canada indicated interest in funding up to US$250M of Wicheeda’s development, a testament to the project’s importance in the North American critical minerals supply chain. The infusion of cash also allows Defense Metals to maintain momentum on environmental baseline work and engage with potential off-take partners as it drives Wicheeda toward a construction decision.

Sage Potash Corp. (TSX-V: SAGE) – Domestic Potash for U.S. Food Security: Rounding out the group is Sage Potash, which in June 2025 closed a C$6.0 million private placement at $0.25 per unit. The financing was upsized from an initially planned $4M due to strong demand, reflecting the strategic interest in domestic potash supply. Sage Potash is developing the Sage Plain Potash Project in Utah’s Paradox Basin – an area known to host extensive underdeveloped potash resources (estimated ~2 billion tons across the basin). Historical drilling on Sage’s property intercepted two flat-lying potash beds (Upper and Lower Cycle 18) with impressively high grades of ~35–43% KCl. Based on that data, Sage has defined an Inferred resource of 279.5 million tonnes averaging ~39% KCl (combining Upper and Lower beds). This sizable resource underpins plans for a solution mining operation. In fact, Sage’s recent NI 43-101 report (2023) confirmed the presence of large, high-grade potash zones conducive to solution extraction. With the new funds, the company is accelerating fieldwork, engineering, and permitting to “unlock the full potential of our domestic resource”. The goal is to position Sage Plain as a cornerstone U.S. potash source, reducing reliance on imports for fertilizer. Sage has already secured key infrastructure pieces – it controls over 83,000 acres of mineral leases and has assembled a team experienced in solution mining. The recent financing also enables Sage to advance discussions on offtake and project financing. As the U.S. government prioritizes critical minerals and agricultural security, Sage Potash’s well-funded push toward production (with pilot solution wells and a PEA on the horizon) makes it a company to watch in the fertilizer space.

Conclusion: These sub-$1.00 share price juniors have demonstrated that significant capital can be raised even in volatile markets – provided a company has quality assets and a clear path toward production. The financings described above are fueling drilling campaigns, feasibility studies, and permitting activities across a diverse array of commodities, all within the supportive framework of Canadian exchanges. For investors and analysts, the common thread is that each company now has the treasury to de-risk its project’s next phase. Whether it’s gold in Idaho or rare earths in BC, copper in Arizona or potash in Utah, these juniors are aggressively advancing their NI 43-101 resource projects toward development milestones. The coming 12–24 months will be crucial as they convert funding into results: resource growth, economic studies, strategic partnerships, and possibly the first steps into construction. Their recent progress backed by fresh capital – underscores a broader trend of renewed investment in exploration and development, particularly in projects that can help fill future supply gaps in precious metals and critical minerals. Investors will be watching to see which of these sub-$1 stocks can graduate to producer status on the back of these well-funded programs. Each has cleared the initial hurdle by securing over $5 million in new financing, and now the emphasis shifts to execution on the ground – turning drill results and studies into long-term value for shareholders.