Up 333% since April, why is this ASX silver share tumbling on Friday?

ASX silver share Sun Silver Ltd (ASX: SS1) is taking a tumble today.

Sun Silver shares closed yesterday trading for $2.54. In morning trade on Friday, shares are swapping hands for $2.38 apiece, down 6.3%.

For some context, the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries Index (ASX: XSO) is down 0.6% at this same time.

But you shouldn’t feel too bad for long-term shareholders.

Despite today’s retrace, the ASX silver share remains up 255.2% over the past 12 months, smashing the 23.1% one-year returns delivered by the Small Ords.

And investors who picked up the silver miner at its one-year closing low on 7 April will still be sitting on eye-popping gains of 332.1%. Or enough to turn an $8,000 investment into $34,568.

That meteoric rise has partly been fuelled by the surging silver price. Silver is currently trading for US$116 per ounce, right near the all-time highs set earlier this week. That sees the silver price up 268% since this time last year.

Investors have also been piling into Sun Silver shares amid the miner’s own successes on, and under, the ground.

But following the release of the company’s December quarterly update this morning, there looks to be some profit-taking going on today.

Here’s what’s happening.

ASX silver share boosts mineral resource by 59 million ounces

With shares up more than 330% in less than 10 months, investor expectations are clearly high for Sun Silver.

The ASX silver share is primarily focused on its cornerstone asset, the Maverick Springs Silver-Gold Project, which is located in the US state of Nevada.

And over the December quarter, the Maverick Springs mineral resource increased by 59 million ounces of silver equivalent (AgEq) to 539 million ounces of AgEq at 71g/t AgEq. Management credited the increased resource to the 2025 drill campaign and an “extensive historical re-assay program”.

(Note, the mineral resource is comprised of both silver and gold. Sun Silver reported 347.2 million ounces of silver at 45.5g/t Ag and 2.25 million ounces of gold at 0.30g/t Au.)

The Maverick Springs system remains open in all directions.

On the December quarter drilling campaign, Sun Silver noted:

Drilling results continued to validate the continuity, quality, and scale of silver-gold mineralisation across the system, reinforcing its position as a world-class, large-scale precious metals system.

As for the re-assay program, management said those results confirmed the presence of near surface antimony zones, “strengthening the potential for a maiden antimony mineral resource estimate” at Maverick Springs.

And potentially offering longer-term support for the ASX silver share, 2025 saw silver added to the US Department of the Interior critical minerals list. Sun Silver said this designation is “enhancing US and Australian government interest” in Maverick Springs.

The post Up 333% since April, why is this ASX silver share tumbling on Friday? appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bernd Struben has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.