Hycroft Mining (HYMC) Stock: Record Vortex Silver Grades, Sprott’s 42% Stake, and the 2026 Catalysts to Watch (Dec. 20, 2025)

As of Dec. 20, 2025 (a Saturday, with markets closed), Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation (NASDAQ: HYMC) is finishing one of its most closely watched weeks of the year—powered by fresh high-grade silver drill results, a swelling insider ownership story tied to Eric Sprott, and a stock price that has pushed to new highs on rising trading activity. ^[1]

On the last trading session before the weekend, Hycroft’s own stock information page showed HYMC closing at $16.42 (day range $15.28–$16.95) on about 4.73 million shares—a notable volume surge for a development-stage miner. ^[2]

Below is a detailed breakdown of the current news flow, regulatory filings, forecast signals, and key forward catalysts surrounding Hycroft Mining stock as of 20.12.2025.

What’s driving Hycroft Mining stock right now?

Three storylines are dominating the HYMC tape heading into late December:

Exploration momentum at Vortex and Brimstone
On Dec. 15, 2025, Hycroft released initial results from its 2025–2026 Exploration Drill Program at its Hycroft Mine in Nevada, highlighting what the company calls the highest grades to date at Vortex, plus additional target areas and multiple near-term assay catalysts. ^[3]
A major ownership narrative: Eric Sprott / Sprott Mining
In an amended Schedule 13D filed Dec. 18, 2025, the reporting persons disclosed beneficial ownership of 36,618,704 shares, representing 42.10% of shares deemed outstanding (including certain warrants that are not subject to beneficial ownership limitations). The filing also details open-market buying across multiple days in December. ^[4]
Capital structure and balance-sheet reset
Hycroft has been emphasizing balance sheet strength: its stock information page lists $175.0 million unrestricted cash (as of Dec. 12), debt listed as NIL, and a fully diluted share count materially above basic shares outstanding—a reminder that dilution mechanics and warrant timing remain central to the HYMC narrative. ^[5]

The Dec. 15 drill results: why Vortex is back in focus

Hycroft’s Dec. 15 release is the biggest company-specific catalyst in the current HYMC news cycle, because it combined headline drill intercepts with a broad “what’s next” roadmap.

The headline intercept at Vortex

Hycroft reported that drill hole H25D-6070 returned:

30.8 meters at 438.58 g/t Ag and 0.41 g/t Au (5.48 g/t AuEq)
including 6.1 meters at 739.58 g/t Ag and 0.21 g/t Au (8.79 g/t AuEq) ^[6]

The company explicitly notes the metal price assumptions used for its gold-equivalent calculation: $3,100 gold and $36 silver. ^[7]

Expansion language investors watch closely: “open” and step-outs

Beyond grades, HYMC investors tend to key in on whether mineralization is open along strike or at depth, and whether a company is stepping out successfully.

Hycroft said Vortex “expands over 75 meters to the west,” “remains open both down dip and along dip,” and that results “confirm continuity of high-grade.” ^[8]

The release also includes commentary from Vice President of Exploration Alex Davidson, describing H25D-6070 as the highest silver grades with the longest continuous intercept the company has seen at Vortex so far, and framing it as a meaningful down-dip extension compared with 2024 drilling. ^[9]

Current drilling progress: Vortex + Brimstone meters

Hycroft also gave a straightforward operational update: as of the release date, the company completed:

Four (4) holes totaling ~1,550 meters at Vortex
Six (6) holes totaling ~3,320 meters at Brimstone (including two holes in a potential feeder system referenced in a Sept. 9, 2025 announcement) ^[10]

The company said additional assays are beginning to come in and it anticipates more drill results in the near term—a key reason HYMC has remained “news-sensitive” into late December. ^[11]

Brimstone and the “feeder system” angle: a 2026 setup

While Vortex produced the headline grade numbers, the company also outlined what it is trying to prove at Brimstone—and why the next batch of assays matters.

Hycroft described Brimstone’s current geometry as approximately 380 meters down dip, ~250 meters north-south, and ~30 meters thick, while citing a very high silver-to-gold ratio of 3000:1. ^[12]

The company also said recent geophysics identified a potential feeder system with a strike length greater than 600 meters, and noted that assays for holes drilled in that target are pending, with results expected very early in the new year. ^[13]

For HYMC stock, this sets up a familiar “exploration cadence” trade: the market often reprices on each new batch of assays, particularly if they support continuity, scale, and grade in a way that changes the perceived economics of an eventual development plan.

Corporate update: what Hycroft says it’s building toward

Exploration is only one side of the HYMC story. Hycroft is also attempting to “de-risk” a larger processing and development pathway at the Hycroft Mine.

Directional drilling: cost and speed messaging

Hycroft says it is employing directional drilling at both Vortex and Brimstone to access multiple targets from a single drill hole. The company explains that this approach uses roughly 300 meters of initial drilling from surface and then “wedges off” to hit additional targets—reducing the need for more drill pads and potentially lowering exploration costs. ^[14]

Evaluating a potential heap leach restart (timeline: first half of 2026)

In one of the most market-moving sections of the release, Hycroft said that due to the higher gold and silver price environments, it is evaluating a potential restart of heap leaching ahead of a milling operation.

As part of that work, Hycroft says it is conducting an RC drill program to fill gaps between known heap leach material in the Bay, Brimstone, and Camel deposits, and it also plans RC drilling of a manganese target near Brimstone that could matter in a restart scenario. The company states this heap leach restart analysis is expected to be completed in the first half of 2026. ^[15]

Resource update + technical report: early and late Q1 2026

Hycroft laid out a two-step, near-term deliverables schedule:

Updated mineral resource estimate: expected early Q1 2026, incorporating 2023–2024 drilling and including tons and grade for the high-grade silver systems at Brimstone and Vortex.
Final mine-planning technical report with economics: expected late Q1 2026, following the resource update. ^[16]

Metallurgy: POX complete, roasting work delayed into 2026

The company also said pressure oxidation (POX) metallurgical test work has been completed, demonstrating significant gold and silver recoveries from sulfide ore, with those results to be included in the new resource and technical report. ^[17]

In contrast, Hycroft stated that ongoing roasting test work has been “significantly slower than anticipated” and is now expected to be completed in 2026. ^[18]

Balance sheet and dilution: strong cash, but warrants matter

Hycroft’s stock information page lists the following (with date notes):

Shares outstanding: 81.3 million (as of Dec. 15, 2025)
Fully diluted: 100.1 million (as of Dec. 15, 2025)
Unrestricted cash: $175.0 million (as of Dec. 12, 2025)
Debt: NIL (with the note that all debt was repaid on Oct. 15, 2025) ^[19]

At the Dec. 19 closing price of $16.42, those 81.3 million shares imply an equity value around $1.33 billion (a rough estimate using the company’s own share count). ^[20]

But the fully diluted number matters, too. Moving from 81.3M to 100.1M is roughly 23% additional potential dilution if all dilutive instruments convert/exercise.

The near-term warrant catalyst: $41.3 million expected in January 2026

Hycroft also disclosed a very specific funding trigger tied to VWAP and warrants:

It said HYMC achieved a VWAP of at least $8.00 for 20 trading days out of 30 trading days, allowing the company to issue a required exercise notice to remaining Sept. 2, 2025 warrant holders.
The company stated expected proceeds from the required warrant exercise are $41.3 million, in addition to $0.7 million previously received, and proceeds are expected in January 2026. ^[21]

In plain terms: Hycroft is describing a path to potentially add more cash soon—but that same process can increase share count, which can affect per-share valuation and volatility.

Insider and major shareholder activity: the Sprott factor

Few micro- and small-cap mining stocks attract as much attention from retail and event-driven traders as those with a high-profile “story” investor. For HYMC, that story is increasingly tied to Eric Sprott and related entities.

Sprott’s Schedule 13D: 42.10% beneficial ownership

The latest amended filing states that, as of the close of business on Dec. 18, 2025, the reporting persons beneficially owned 36,618,704 shares, representing 42.10% of 86,979,143 shares deemed outstanding (which includes certain warrant shares not subject to beneficial ownership limitations). ^[22]

December open-market buying: prices and totals

The same filing reports that Sprott Mining completed open-market purchases totaling 1,140,000 shares across Dec. 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 16, and 17, with average prices ranging from $11.64 to $14.60, for combined gross proceeds of about $14.66 million. ^[23]

AMC’s HYMC stake transfer to Sprott Mining

Another important ownership-related headline came earlier in the month: AMC Entertainment disclosed it transferred the majority of its equity investment in Hycroft to Sprott Mining Inc. for net consideration of $24.1 million. AMC also disclosed it retained more than 1.0 million HYMC warrants (exercise price $10.68) and about 64,000 shares. ^[24]

Even though this is technically AMC corporate news, it intersects directly with the HYMC shareholder base—and helps explain why the market is closely tracking Sprott-related filings.

Insider sale: Form 4 shows Marni Wieshofer sale on Dec. 12

In contrast to the insider-buying headlines, a Form 4 filed on the SEC website shows a sale on Dec. 12, 2025: 3,859 shares sold in open market transactions, with prices ranging from $13.345 to $13.400, leaving 70,125 shares beneficially owned (indirectly by trust, per the form). ^[25]

Insider sales don’t automatically mean “bearish,” but they do add texture—especially when a stock is moving quickly and investors are looking for any signal about internal expectations.

HYMC market action: price, volume, options activity

By Dec. 20, HYMC had already printed a day high of $16.95 (per the company’s stock info page) and a close of $16.42 on Dec. 19, with multi-million share volume. ^[26]

Meanwhile, MarketBeat reported unusually large call option activity on Dec. 19, stating that traders bought 2,674 call options, about 63% above average daily call volume, while the stock rose about 5.1% in that session. ^[27]

MarketBeat also cited a 12-month low of $1.99 and a 12-month high around the mid-$16s, underscoring the scale of HYMC’s move over the last year. ^[28]

Forecasts and analyst-style views: limited coverage, conflicting signals

One challenge for investors searching “HYMC stock forecast” is that traditional Wall Street coverage appears thin, while many “forecast” pages online rely on models, technical signals, or automated scoring.

Rating services cited in market coverage

MarketBeat reported that:

Wall Street Zen upgraded Hycroft from “sell” to “hold” (Nov. 1), while
Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (D-)” rating (Oct. 8), leaving an overall “Sell” consensus on that dataset. ^[29]

Treat this carefully: these are not the same as multi-bank research coverage typical of large-cap stocks—and the “consensus” can be misleading if it is based on very few sources.

Fundamental valuation commentary: price-to-book and “pre-revenue” framing

A Simply Wall St analysis published Dec. 13, 2025 argued that at a recent close around $13.40, Hycroft was trading at a price-to-book of 22.8x, far above an industry average it cited near 2.2x, and described Hycroft as “pre-revenue” and unprofitable—suggesting a market that is pricing in substantial future progress. ^[30]

This is the central fundamental tension in HYMC:

Bulls see a large Nevada asset plus exploration upside and a strengthened balance sheet.
Bears see valuation that assumes future success before a definitive economics-backed technical report is delivered.

Algorithmic price forecasts: wide dispersion

Online forecast models diverge sharply:

CoinCodex projected HYMC in 2025 between $15.88 and $16.42, and showed a 1-year prediction of $13.92 (down about 15% from the then-current price on its page). ^[31]
Intellectia projected a much lower 2026 trading range, stating HYMC could trade between $2.79 and $5.15 in 2026, while also presenting short-term pattern-based projections. ^[32]

These model outputs are best read as sentiment/technical extrapolations, not as company-specific mine economics forecasts. For HYMC—where value can hinge on metallurgical pathways, permitting, capex planning, and resource updates—algorithmic predictions may miss the main drivers.

The bull case for HYMC stock (what optimists are betting on)

Investors leaning bullish into 2026 typically point to:

High-grade silver discoveries (Vortex and Brimstone) that could change the narrative around scale and value drivers at the Hycroft Mine. ^[33]
A debt-free balance sheet and a sizable cash position relative to historical HYMC financial constraints. ^[34]
A defined catalyst calendar: early Q1 2026 resource update, late Q1 2026 technical report with economics, and heap leach restart analysis targeted for first half 2026. ^[35]
Large shareholder alignment: Sprott-related ownership disclosed at 42.10% beneficial ownership, with repeated open-market buying in December. ^[36]

The bear case (what skeptics worry about)

Common risk factors flagged by cautious investors include:

Valuation sensitivity: if the market is pricing in “years of future success,” any delay in studies or disappointing assay continuity can hit shares hard. ^[37]
Dilution mechanics: “fully diluted” shares are meaningfully above shares outstanding, and warrant exercises can increase share supply even while adding cash. ^[38]
Execution risk: Hycroft’s pathway includes complex metallurgy (POX and potentially roasting), and the company itself disclosed roasting test work has been slower than expected and pushed into 2026. ^[39]
Volatility risk: options activity and large swings from the 52-week low to recent highs show HYMC can behave like a momentum-driven name, not a stable long-term compounder. ^[40]

Key HYMC dates and catalysts after Dec. 20, 2025

Here are the most concrete “watch list” items based on company statements and SEC filings:

Late December 2025: Hycroft’s 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders is scheduled for Dec. 29, 2025, virtual format; record date Dec. 12, 2025. ^[41]
Very early 2026 (near term): additional assays from the 2025–26 drill program; Brimstone feeder-system assay results were flagged as expected very early in the new year. ^[42]
January 2026: expected receipt of $41.3 million in proceeds from required warrant exercises (per Hycroft’s Dec. 15 release). ^[43]
Early Q1 2026: updated mineral resource estimate incorporating 2023–2024 drilling and high-grade silver discoveries. ^[44]
Late Q1 2026: technical report with economics (per Hycroft’s updated timeline). ^[45]
First half 2026: completion of analysis on a potential heap leach restart. ^[46]

Bottom line on Hycroft Mining stock as of 20.12.2025

HYMC is entering the end of 2025 with a rare mix of ingredients that can drive sustained attention: headline drill grades, a clear milestone roadmap into early 2026, and a high-profile ownership story supported by SEC filings. ^[47]

But the same factors that can amplify upside—thin traditional coverage, heavy retail participation, and catalyst-driven repricing—can also magnify downside if timelines slip or if the market decides it has already “priced in” future success.

For investors and traders watching Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation stock into the new year, the next inflection points are straightforward: assay cadence, the resource update, the economics-backed technical report, and clarity on whether a heap leach restart becomes a practical bridge strategy rather than just an option under evaluation. ^[48]

References

Hycroft Mining (HYMC) Stock: Record Vortex Silver Grades, Sprott’s 42% Stake, and the 2026 Catalysts to Watch (Dec. 20, 2025)

What’s driving Hycroft Mining stock right now?