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You could practically hear Falco Resources’ (V.FPC) Vincent Metcalfe beaming down the phone. He was apologizing for being a bit tough to reach. “We just closed a $300 million private placement for Osisko Gold Royalties, the group’s mothership. It’s been busy.”
If you look at a map of historical mining districts in British Columbia, the southeastern corner stands out. Gold, silver, lead, zinc and tungsten have all been profitably mined in the area.
Transition (V.XTM) CEO Scott McLean is very clear about the difference between a project generator and a junior explorer, “The big difference is that a traditional junior will raise money by diluting the shareholder’s equity to fund the advancement of one or two projects. Under the project generator business model, the Company holds multiple projects and the exploration is funded by a partner in return for a stake in a specific project. This model allows projects to be funded with minimal shareholder equity dilution. The approach leverages the investor’s exposure to the upside that can come from discovery in a manner that insulates the downside that can come from excessive shareholder dilution if results prove unfavourable”
The area surrounding Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories is well known for its historic gold mines. Millions of ounces have been recovered from the past producing Con and Giant Mines. For Terrax Minerals (V.TXR), having ground within sight of the abandoned headframes of these famous mines was the beginning of the story. Extensive exploration has discovered both high grade and bulk gold showings along 45 km of strike on trend with the Con Mine and Giant Mine, two of Canada’s highest grade gold mines.
The Abitibi region in Quebec is filled with gold mines both currently producing and shut down. For Philippe Cloutier, President and CEO of Cartier Resources (V.ECR) a closed mine is a huge opportunity.
Lithium is very much in the news. The immense possibilities of the electric vehicle revolution with its endless appetite for Lithium Ion batteries have crews drilling lithium-bearing brines and looking at hard rock lithium deposits very seriously.
Ascendant’s (T.ASND) El Mochito zinc-lead-silver mine is located in northwest Honduras and has been in continuous operations for over 70 years. As Ascendant CEO Chris Buncic puts it, “The El Mochito mine is a turnaround story and we are happy to report that the turnaround is near completion.”
At the recent Beaver Creek Precious Metals Summit Igor Gonzales, CEO of Sierra Metals (T.SMT) had quite a story to tell. On the one hand, Sierra has three producing mines, two in Mexico and one in Peru. At each of these mines, Sierra is upgrading its operations and increasing the throughput. On the other, Sierra is engaged in significant “brownfield” exploration to extend the resources it already has. “Brownfield exploration,” said Gonzales, “is a cost-effective way to grow. At Beaver Creek, there was a very positive reaction to what we’ll be doing next.”
One of the frustrations of exploration is assembling a highly prospective area, doing the work and realizing that there is a key piece of land which you don’t own. Ron Tremblay, CEO of Levon Resources, (T.LVN) was in exactly that position for several years.
When David Sidoo is looking for a project he likes to do lots of research. Before beginning Advantage Lithium (V.AAL), Sidoo took a long look at the marketplace. “What’s emerging, what’s being funded?”