"I attempted to average down at every opportunity with AXM and...

"I attempted to average down at every opportunity with AXM and it didn't pay off and ended up digging a deeper hole for myself."

When you average down you deserve to lose.
Had you put in a stop at 15% below your entry price, you'd now be laughing.

The SP is currently near it's all time low so it's not just the small investors who are currently showing a paper loss. The big wigs in the company would also be hurting.

Keep in mind that the gold price hasn't exactly been shooting for the stars lately, nor has the overall share market. We are still in a bear market. The March bottom may prove not to be the bottom. The markets more than likely will again tank to a new, much lower bottom.

In the overall scheme of things you shouldn't have too much of an expectation for any stock.
If you are prepared to wait, AXM will eventually reward you quite well.