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Precious metals were on an absolute tear coming into 2026. In January, gold prices reached $5,500 an ounce, while silver hit $121 per ounce. Precious metals prices are soaring amid rising geopolitical uncertainty and growing fiscal deficits, creating a favorable backdrop for gold and silver miners like Denver-based SSR Mining (NASDAQ: SSRM).

In the past year, the mid-cap mining stock has surged 160% as gold miners ride the wave of rising precious metal prices. The company recently sold its Copler Mine for $1.5 billion, shoring up its balance sheet and giving it a record cash stockpile. Here's why this could be a positive sign for the gold miner moving forward.

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Earlier this year, SSR Mining agreed to sell its 80% stake in the Copler mine in Turkey. The move accomplished a couple of things for the company. For one, it helps reduce SSR's exposure to emerging markets and gets it out of the troubled mine that regulators shut down in 2024 following a fatal accident. The sale allows SSR Mining to focus on lower-risk, Americas-focused gold and silver.

In addition, the sale provides SSR Mining with a huge cash windfall. The company is already coming off a stellar year during which it generated free cash flow of $242 million. In the first quarter, free cash flow was an impressive $211 million, and the company ended the quarter with $634 million in cash, total liquidity of $1.1 billion, and no debt.

When the Copler sale goes through, it will add another $1.5 billion to its stockpile, giving it ammunition for potential acquisitions and cash for dividends or stock buybacks.

SSR Mining remains on track to meet its 2026 full-year production guidance of 450,000 to 535,000 gold equivalent ounces, with production heavily weighted toward the second half of the year. One concern for its investors is rising fuel prices, as oil prices remain elevated amid the ongoing conflict in Iran.

Fuel accounts for roughly 10% of SSR's total operating costs, and a $10-per-barrel increase from here would translate into a $7 to $10 increase in all-in sustaining costs (ASIC) for the rest of the year. The company uses hedges and has hedged 70% of its diesel fuel usage with zero-cost collars that extend through the end of this year.

Analyst covering the company project non-GAAP earnings per share of $4.59 this year, and after its recent 15% pullback from its 52-week high, the stock is now priced at 6.7 times this year's projected earnings. With its strengthening balance sheet and the potential for higher gold prices, SSR Mining is a cheap mining stock to scoop up today for those bullish on the future of precious metals.

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Courtney Carlsen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

SSR Mining Is Selling Its Interest in the Copler Mine for $1.5 Billion. Is This a Positive Sign for the Mining Stock? was originally published by The Motley Fool