Billionaire Gold Bug Eric Sprott Just Extended His Hycroft Mining Buying Spree

By Trey Thoelcke Published Apr 29, 6:45AM EDT

Quick Read

Canadian billionaire and renowned gold bug Eric Sprott has extended his buying spree in Hycroft Mining (HYMC) shares.
That is a respectable research lead for a retirement-focused investor scanning where smart money is concentrated. But is there a catch?

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Billionaire Gold Bug Eric Sprott Just Extended His Hycroft Mining Buying Spree — © frender / iStock via Getty Images

This month, Canadian billionaire and longtime precious-metals investor Eric Sprott has bought another 300,000 shares of Hycroft Mining (NASDAQ: HYMC), filed as a 10% owner across three Form 4 transactions: 100,000 shares at $38.28 and 100,000 shares at $39.06 on April 9, and 100,000 shares at $37.84 on April 24. These purchases extend a buying streak in the Nevada gold and silver developer, with Sprott acquiring shares every month so far in 2026.

Sprott, founder of Sprott Inc. and one of the most recognizable gold bugs in capital markets, has been adding into weakness. His 2026 Form 4 trail includes:

100,000 shares at $49.96 on January 26
200,000 shares at $45.99 on January 29
150,000 shares at $42.05 on February 20
100,000 shares at $47.58 on March 4
100,000 shares at $40.85 on March 5

That totals 950,000 shares acquired across seven trading days in 2026, with the most recent purchases made at the lowest prices of the streak. This pattern of accumulating into pullbacks mirrors how Sprott has historically built positions in junior precious-metals names.

What the Thesis Looks Like

Hycroft is a pre-revenue exploration and development company operating the Hycroft Mine in northern Nevada. Sprott’s conviction appears anchored to a sharp upgrade in the resource base disclosed in the company’s most recent quarterly update. Hycroft reported a 55% increase in measured and indicated gold and silver mineral resources, with total gold resources of 16.4 million ounces M&I and silver of 562.6 million ounces M&I. Drill results at the Vortex and Brimstone high-grade silver systems have been notable, including a Q3 2024 hole that intersected 18.2 meters grading 1,987.35 g/t silver at Brimstone.

The balance sheet is the second leg of the thesis. CEO Diane Garrett described “a robust balance sheet with $189 million in cash and no debt, and a 55% increase in measured and indicated gold and silver resources.” Index inclusion offers an added structural bid: Hycroft is now in the VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ | GDXJ Price Prediction) and the MSCI Small Cap Index.

The stock has responded. Shares are up 927.7% over the past year and 50.0% year-to-date through April 28, 2026, closing at $35.66, even after a 9.5% pullback in the past week.

Should Retail Follow?

Sprott’s signal is unambiguous: a known precious-metals specialist is steadily buying into a high-grade Nevada resource story backed by a clean balance sheet. That alignment matters for retirement-focused investors looking for where smart money is concentrated.

The cautions are equally direct. Hycroft has trailing 12-month revenue of just $11.47 million, and EPS of −$0.94. With a beta of 2.92 and no completed feasibility study, the equity carries metallurgical, process, and commodity-price risk that Sprott is positioned to underwrite and most retail investors are not.

The takeaway: Sprott’s conviction is worth respecting as a research lead, particularly for investors already comfortable with junior-miner volatility. It is no substitute for sizing the position according to one’s own risk tolerance for a development-stage gold equity that still has to prove its process flowsheet.

About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.