Sprott and Neighbors Drive Max Power Mining’s Rally as Natural Hydrogen Land Grab Intensifies

Max Power Mining stock hits new highs as neighbor Makenita doubles acreage, billionaire Eric Sprott increases stake, and plans for a confirmation well in 2026 advance.

The race to secure ground above Canada’s first confirmed natural hydrogen system is heating up fast. Max Power Mining, the largest landholder in Saskatchewan’s emerging hydrogen corridor, has seen its stock rocket to successive 52-week highs as a high-profile billionaire doubles down on his bet and a direct neighbor more than doubles its adjacent acreage.

Makenita Resources announced it has expanded its holdings abutting Max Power’s claims to over 51,000 acres, effectively doubling its position. The move underscores a broader scramble for territory in the region’s iron-rich geological formations, which are believed to host naturally occurring hydrogen. “The goal is clear,” the company stated, pointing to the same exploration target that has drawn Eric Sprott into the play.

That target—a closed geological structure spanning roughly 14 square kilometres at the core of Max Power’s Lawson complex—was flagged by a late-April seismic survey. The company has since hired Calgary-based energy consultancy GLJ to model the resource, optimise an expanded drilling programme, and help develop a proprietary AI tool to scan for similar hydrogen traps across its vast land package.

Max Power now controls more than 1.3 million acres of permitted land, with an additional 5.7 million acres formally applied for. A recently completed C$20.5 million capital raise provides the financial runway for the next stage of exploration, including a confirmation well targeted at the highest point of the Lawson structure in mid-2026. That well is designed to demonstrate commercial flow rates and underpin a formal development decision.

The stock has responded with ferocity. Shares touched a new 52-week high of €1.60 on Friday, only to be overtaken in subsequent trading as they surged another 12% to €1.65. The year-to-date advance now stands at an eye-popping 324%, putting the explorer firmly in the spotlight.

A key catalyst has been the steady accumulation by Eric Sprott, the Canadian mining billionaire who purchased 1 million shares on the open market through his holding company on May 13, investing roughly C$2 million. That transaction lifted his stake to nearly 13% of the outstanding shares, and when warrants are included, his potential influence approaches the 20% threshold. Sprott’s buying is widely seen as a vote of confidence in the commercial viability of natural hydrogen—a nascent sector that has yet to see a producing asset.

Further validating the transition from explorer to developer, the company yesterday signed a letter of intent with the City of Moose Jaw to jointly pursue a clean-energy hub in the local industrial corridor. The partnership signals that Max Power is thinking beyond the drill bit, laying the groundwork for off-take and infrastructure before the first commercial well is even spudded.

To manage that shift, the company has strengthened its executive bench. Tony Van Burgsteden took over as chief financial officer earlier this month, bringing experience from the senior ranks of uranium producer Orano Canada and the multibillion-dollar retail chain Federated Co-operatives.

With a prominent backer, a land rush on its doorstep, and a clear timeline for the next major milestone, Max Power Mining is no longer just a junior explorer chasing a frontier resource. It is positioning itself at the centre of what could become a new energy province—and the market is taking notice.