Philippe Cloutier, CEO of Cartier Resources (ECR.V) was already sitting on an indicated and inferred gold resource of just under 3 million ounces at and near the Chimo mine in Quebec. But he was pretty certain the geology surrounding the former past producing mine property is part of a gold trend along the prolific Larder Lake – Cadillac Fault Zone. Cartier acquired land adjacent to the Chimo Mine property in 2022, identified over 50 Potential Gold Intersections Over 15 Favorable Kilometers based on historical drilling over the previous 60 years by over a dozen operators and has been drilling for the last year.
A look at the company’s 2024 press releases gives a very good indication of the potential of the newly acquired land. Good to excellent grades near surface. It’s very encouraging.
“We had a tremendous year in 2024,” said Cloutier in a phone interview. “But 2025 is going to be completely different.”
“In 2024 we drilled 28,082 meters in 162 holes,” said Cloutier. “Next year we plan to drill 100,000 meters in roughly 500 holes.”
“We’ve clearly shown this stretch of the fault has Gold endowment and want to want to show the world there is potential for a 10-15 million ounce gold camp,” said Cloutier. “In the last ten years we have really understood the geological system along the Cadillac fault. We know what works and where to drill, now it’s a question of getting the right size program done.”
The Cartier team has drilled an 8-kilometer stretch this year and believes it can extend that strike length an additional 7 kilometers. The company’s geologists also know that in the Abitibi deposits are often open at a depth beyond 1000 meters. The Chimo shaft goes nearly that deep and Cartier has reported excellent intercepts below that depth.
“We want to expand east and west along the Cadillac fault,” said Cloutier. “Ideally, we’ll have 4 to 8 drills turning which will create economies of scale. A third of the holes will be to back up, grow and extend the 2024 discoveries, a third will be drilling to infill the gaps between this year’s success and the last third will be contingency drilling on the hottest areas. We are planning shallow holes; a few hundred meters and we should be releasing news every couple of weeks. We should get excellent service from the lab because we’ll have a lot of cores for them to analyze.”
The current surge in the price of gold makes the entire project very attractive. “When we did the initial PEA we used a gold price of $1,750. In fact, the mine would be economic at $1,350,” said Cloutier. “$2,700 gold makes it a whole different ballgame.”
$2,700 gold also changes the financing picture. “Royalty companies are looking to buy royalties on proven projects with a clear pathway to production. They very much want political stability and projects in Quebec are top on the list,” said Cloutier. “We might sell a royalty with a buyback and avoid diluting the stock altogether.”
Another alternative would be to agree to, as Cloutier puts it, “a joint venture on steroids”. A senior company might want to earn in and eventually own the Chimo Mine and cluster of growing deposits that Cartier has outlined, terms have yet to be designed for that approach.” That option would give Cartier the funds to bring the Chimo mine back into production and continue exploring its Cadillac property. Cloutier did not mention it, but it would make sense to look for a joint venture partner which had a mill nearby with excess capacity. There are several.
Then there is the traditional private placement funding alternative. “We might go for a 10 million dollar raise,” said Cloutier. “We’d do it in increments. Money likes to go where it is safe.”
In the New Year Cartier’s Board of Directors and CEO have planned a major meeting set the path forward. That meeting may, itself, generate news. Cloutier is keeping his cards close to his chest but the take away is very clear. “Go Big or go Home,” said Cloutier.
Cartier is trading at $0.09 for a market cap of just over 32 million dollars.