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Company Interviews

Crux Investor

An insight into junior mining and opportunities to invest.

Company Interviews, a Crux Investor show, exists to cut through the jargon, bias and bluster.

Matthew Gordon, and guest host Merlin Marr-Johnson hone in on the important factors that indicate a company's strong footing for growth and success.

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  • 131 episodes
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Episodes 131

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  • September 24 · 26 min

    Radisson Mining (TSXV:RDS) - Agnico Eagle C$57 Funding Backs O'Brien as Drilling Continues

    Interview with Matt Manson, President & CEO of Radisson Mining Resources Inc. Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/radisson-mining-tsxvrds-obrien-82-gold-resource-growth-drilling-continues-high-success-rate-10919 Recording date: 22nd Sept 2026 Radisson Mining Resources Inc. (TSXV:RDS) has secured a strategic anchor shareholder while keeping its exploration programme funded. Agnico Eagle Mines Limited bought 53,420,000 units at C$1.07, raising C$57,159,400 and taking about 10.45% of the common shares. Half a warrant per unit would lift its stake to about 14.90% on a partially diluted basis if exercised. The placement remains subject to final TSX Venture Exchange acceptance. The company will use the proceeds to begin an underground exploration programme at its 100%-owned O'Brien Gold Project in the Abitibi region of Quebec. The centrepiece is an access ramp to about 300 metres vertical depth. Ore drives through mineralised zones will bring material to surface, but Radisson will not develop stopes or mining panels and does not call the work a bulk sample. Manson said the programme is meant to test continuity of mineralisation, ground conditions, dilution and the tonnes per day the orebody can support. Those variables determine whether a high-grade narrow vein deposit can be mined at a steady rate. Timing matters for investors tracking catalysts. Permitting and preliminary engineering have started. Manson expects to break ground on the portal around the middle of 2027, with about 18 months of work to reach depth. The objective is to have the ramp in place for 2029. In parallel, the 140,000-metre surface programme runs on eight rigs, with a ninth planned for a hole to 2.5 km depth. A resource update is likely by the end of 2026, followed by another in 2027. The current resource stands at 2.3 million ounces, made up of 0.63 million ounces indicated and 1.69 million ounces inferred, according to the company's release. Manson said similar mineralisation continuing to a 2 km floor points to 3 to 4 million ounces in total, and he sees upwards of 4 million ounces. Manson cites an 83% success rate for deep step-out holes from shows 98 hits from 120 holes. Valuation is where Manson sees a gap. He put the shares at US$191 per ounce on 2.3 million ounces after a C$1.17 close, against takeouts at US$500 to US$600 per ounce over the past six months. Precedent transactions are imperfect comparisons, since prices reflect stage, grade and infrastructure access. Manson also said Agnico Eagle's stake is a level Radisson is comfortable with and that the stand-alone path remains the default. Any use of the LaRonde infrastructure is a future step to be considered. Risks remain as narrow vein deposits depend on continuity, and underground development has to keep pace with any future mill feed. O'Brien is a 1920s mine site with an old tailings facility, and Manson said legacy issues must be addressed. The exploration target is unproven, and the commentary comes from a company executive with an interest in the outcome. Investors should watch the year-end resource update, exchange acceptance and the 2027 portal start. View Radisson Mining's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/radisson-resources Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 24 · 20 min

    Astra Exploration (TSXV:ASTR) - Largest Drill Plan Tests District Scale at La Manchuria

    Interview with Brian Miller, CEO of Astra Exploration Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/astra-exploration-tsxvastr-15m-raise-supports-high-grade-gold-silver-target-in-argentina-10209 Recording date: 22nd September 2026 Astra Exploration (TSXV:ASTR) is a precious metals explorer focused on gold and silver in Argentina and Chile. Its flagship is the La Manchuria project in Santa Cruz, Argentina, where the company holds 80% with an option to acquire 90% from Patagonia Gold Corp. The final Phase III assays, released on 17 September 2026, covered eight holes from a 16-hole, 5,176-metre programme. Highlights were 3 metres at 4.34 g/t gold and 363.7 g/t silver at the Basalto Zone, and 8 metres at 3.12 g/t gold and 10.3 g/t silver in the Eastern Zone. Both remain open. CEO Brian Miller states Phase III showed expansion in two systems. One is a disseminated bulk-tonnage system at surface. The other is a high-grade vein system. He also acknowledged that one target did not work. Holes drilled at 300 to 350 metres beneath apparently converging veins found narrow, low-grade veins in andesite. Miller called the result local. Astra will now concentrate on rhyolites and pyroclastics, which he said have been more predictable. Miller also addressed how the market may value the two systems. He said an analyst who knows geology and mining favours the growing bulk system, while the wider market tends to prefer headline vein grades such as 80 g/t gold. He said little has changed at the project, and that some investors who held for a single target sold after the miss. He did not identify a direct peer, saying the two-system setting is somewhat unique. The next phase is built around scale. Geological and geophysical data define five undrilled regional targets over a 4 by 4 kilometre footprint. Miller's favourite is Breccia, to the southeast, on strike with the Manchuria Hill vein structures. Astra has also expanded its La Manchuria claims from about 5,600 to about 39,000 hectares. Astra plans 10,000 to 20,000 metres of drilling with two drills. Miller described 10,000 metres as the minimum. Drilling at La Manchuria is due to begin in November, with roughly 5,000 metres by year-end and a further 5,000 metres in the first quarter of 2027. The split between Manchuria Hill and the regional targets will follow results. The company reports C$12.5 million in treasury and describes its programmes as fully funded. Don Mario sits in Chile's Maricunga belt, about 20 kilometres from the Refugio Mine. First-pass drilling is planned for January and February. A news release on the targeting work is expected in the next couple of weeks. Investors should weigh several risks. Host-rock variability has already produced one miss. Winter reduces drilling productivity and raises cost per metre in Argentina. Assay turnaround has been slow, which can delay news flow. Miller also said the shares traded near their 52-week low in the week of the interview, and sentiment has reacted to individual drill results. Near-term watch-items include the Don Mario release, the first assays from the Q4 2026 campaign, and how Astra allocates its early metres. Any conclusion will rest on assay results rather than on the plan alone. Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/astra-exploration Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 23 · 22 min

    ValOre Metals (TSXV:VO) - Brazilian PGE Developer Targets Q4 2026 PEA

    Interview with Nick Smart, CEO, ValOre Metals Corp. Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/valore-metals-tsxvvo-undervalued-investment-series-with-nick-smart-9774 Recording date: 22nd September 2026 ValOre Metals Corp. (TSXV: VO, OTCQB: KVLQF, FSE: KEQ0) is a Brazil-focused precious metals developer advancing the Pedra Branca project, a 100%-owned, near-surface platinum-palladium-gold deposit in Ceará State. The project's appeal begins with jurisdiction: roughly 90% of global PGE supply is concentrated in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Russia, each facing distinct operational or geopolitical constraints, while Pedra Branca sits outside that concentration entirely, benefiting from a four-hour paved highway link to Fortaleza's international port and airport. The current resource base - a 2022 NI 43-101 inferred estimate of 2,198 koz 2PGE+Au across seven near-surface zones - has already doubled since ValOre acquired the project at roughly 1.1 Moz, following an additional US$10 million and 23,534 metres of company-funded drilling layered onto a legacy dataset from prior owners Anglo American and Anglo Platinum. A further 5,000-6,000 metres drilled since the 2022 estimate, including five new exploration zones, has not yet been incorporated into a public resource figure, leaving a visible near-term catalyst in an updated estimate. Metallurgical testwork is the other major workstream ahead of the PEA. The company is scaling up leach testing from shake-flask to column and stirred-tank vessel trials to assess heap-leach amenability on weathered, oxidised material (roughly 40% of tonnage), while advancing conventional flotation on the fresh material that contributes the bulk of contained ounces. Recovery testwork is currently tracking in the high 70% range, with management indicating room for improvement as the flowsheet is optimised - a genuine trade-off exists between lower-capex heap leaching and higher-recovery vessel processing that the PEA will need to resolve. Management has signalled a preference for staged development over a single maximum-scale build: securing licensing for an initial phase, proving the process, and adding capacity in subsequent phases as cash flow supports it, rather than raising capital repeatedly to reach full scale before any production decision. That approach, combined with Brazil's expanding domestic PGE processing capacity - illustrated by neighbouring Bravo Mining's proposed smelter complex at the port of Barcarena, which ValOre has flagged as a potential logistically attractive buyer for future concentrate - points toward a capital-efficient path to first production rather than a single binary de-risking event. On valuation, ValOre's roughly $20M market capitalisation compares to a peer set - Bravo Mining, Platinum Group Metals, Generation Mining and Stillwater Critical Minerals - carrying market caps from ~$126M to ~$440M at broadly comparable or more advanced project stages. Insider and close-associate ownership stands at 30% combined, with resource and mining funds holding a further 25%. Cash on hand was under $0.8M as of September 1, 2026, against 255M shares outstanding (304.2M fully diluted), underscoring that near-term financing will likely be required to fund the PEA and subsequent development studies. The company's key near-term catalysts are the updated resource estimate, the Q4 2026 PEA, and subsequent licensing steps into Q1 2027. Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/valore-metals Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 23 · 21 min

    Highland Copper (TSXV:HI) - Locks In $50M as Copperwood Advances

    Interview with Barry O'Shea, CEO of Highland Copper Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/coppers-new-era-from-cyclical-commodity-to-strategic-lifeline-10769 Recording date: 22nd September 2026 Highland Copper Company Inc. (TSXV:HI) has reached a significant financing milestone for its Copperwood copper project in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: final approval for a US$50 million grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund under the state's Strategic Site Readiness Program. No further state approvals are required, and the reimbursable structure returns funds to the company dollar-for-dollar as it spends on eligible regional infrastructure - power upgrades, telecommunications, and road improvements outside the mine gate. The grant lands alongside a revised project timeline. CEO Barry O'Shea confirmed that the construction decision previously targeted for the second half of 2026 has shifted into 2027, with production now expected in the second half of 2030 rather than 2029. He attributed this to continued mine-plan optimisation work including cut-off grade and pillar-size adjustments identified in a June 2026 announcement, and the additional time needed to secure the Michigan grant, rather than to any fundamental setback. An updated feasibility study incorporating these changes is due in the first half of 2027. Copperwood's economics carry substantial leverage to the copper price. The 2023 feasibility study produced a $168 million after-tax NPV and 18% IRR at a $4 per pound copper price which were insufficient at the time to attract meaningful capital. With long-term consensus pricing now closer to $5 per pound, company materials put the updated NPV at $507 million (33% IRR), rising to $855 million (48% IRR) at $6 per pound, a level copper is already approaching, with futures trading near $6.90/lb. The updated study will also incorporate the Michigan grant, a 1.6-percentage-point copper recovery improvement from newly adopted Jameson cell flotation technology, and potential mine-life extensions from the project's 79 million tonnes of inferred resource, partially offset by three years of cost escalation. On financing, the Michigan grant is one piece of a broader non-dilutive stack. A separate US$50 million application is pending with the U.S. Department of Defense, though management expects to receive closer to $20-25 million based on precedent. The largest component remains a $250 million Letter of Interest from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which remains non-binding; Highland Copper is running a competitive process to convert it into binding debt terms, potentially bringing in additional partners alongside existing 28% shareholder Orion Mine Finance. Together, non-dilutive sources could cover an estimated 70-80% of the roughly $400 million capital requirement, leaving $100-125 million to be raised as equity - which O'Shea expects to draw from a mix of Canadian, U.S. and other institutional investors once binding debt terms and the updated feasibility study are secured. The company has also strengthened its leadership bench ahead of a potential build decision, adding Peter Hemstead (ex-Capstone Copper) as interim CFO and Trace Arlaud (ex-Rio Tinto Resolution Copper) as Project Director within the past six months. For investors, the key milestones to track are the H1 2027 feasibility study, the Q3 2027 conclusion of the debt financing process, and progress converting the EXIM letter to binding terms. View Highland Copper's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/highland-copper Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 23 · 21 min

    Integra Resources (TSXV:ITR) - 2026 Guidance Intact, 2027 De-Risking Underway

    Interview with George Salamis, President & CEO, Integra Resources Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/made-in-america-integra-resources-tsxvitr-visiting-the-florida-canyon-mine-11309 Recording date: 22nd September 2026 Integra Resources (TSXV: ITR | NYSE: ITRG) is a Great Basin-focused gold-silver company built around one producing asset and two advanced development projects. Florida Canyon, an open-pit heap leach mine in Nevada acquired for $68 million in 2024, is the company's cash engine. Early 2026 was rocky: two consecutive quarters missed internal guidance, driven by ore-haulage bottlenecks and difficulty blending low-grade stockpile material with in-situ ore. Both issues are now described as resolved or substantially improved. A July 2026 technical report and updated mine plan lifted Florida Canyon's reserve by 74% to 1.19 million ounces, extended mine life three years to 2033, and raised average annual production guidance 17% to 82,000 ounces, with $0.8 billion in projected life-of-mine after-tax free cash flow. That cash flow is earmarked to fund Integra's two growth projects. DeLamar, in southwestern Idaho, is the flagship: a 2025 feasibility study shows a base-case after-tax NPV5% of $774 million (rising to $1.9 billion at spot gold prices), a 46% base-case IRR (97% at spot), and payback of under two years at base case, compressing to roughly one year at current prices. Permitting has accelerated meaningfully - DeLamar's Notice of Intent was published in May 2026, and the project was added to the federal FAST-41 Transparency Projects Program in January 2026. A Record of Decision is targeted for H2 2027, with construction-start permits targeted for spring 2028. Integra has also signed a relationship agreement with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes covering the project's development, and raised US$61 million in a February 2026 bought-deal financing to fund early works and land acquisition. Nevada North, the third asset, comprises the Wildcat and Mountain View deposits roughly 30 miles from Florida Canyon. A 2023 PEA outlined a 13-year, 80,000 ounce-per-year operation with a $310 million after-tax NPV5% at a conservative $1,700/oz gold price assumption; an updated technical report is underway. A distinct, lower-capital growth avenue also exists within Florida Canyon itself: reclassifying historical inter-pit "saddle" ground and decades-old waste dumps as ore now that gold prices make previously sub-economic material viable. Conceptual estimates for two dump targets alone range up to 56 million tonnes combined, though none of this is yet a defined mineral resource. Management, led by CEO George Salamis alongside a leadership team with prior roles at SilverCrest Metals, Kinross and Perpetua Resources, has stated an explicit long-term ambition to build toward a 250,000-300,000 ounce gold-equivalent multi-asset production platform and is actively evaluating acquisitions to accelerate that path, while emphasising organic funding capacity from Florida Canyon's cash flow. Combined resource inventory across the three assets stands at 7.7 million ounces gold-equivalent measured and indicated plus 4.3 million ounces inferred. With roughly US$111 million in treasury as of mid-2026 and no near-term dilutive financing need flagged, the key catalysts for investors to track are Q3/Q4 2026 production against guidance, further resource updates from the 2026 drilling programme, and progress toward DeLamar's H2 2027 Record of Decision. Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/integra-resources Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 23 · 31 min

    Maple Gold Mines (TSXV:MGM) - 2027 PEA and Fully Funded 25,000m Joutel Drilling Programme Ahead

    Interview with Kiran Patankar, President & CEO of Maple Gold Mines Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/maple-gold-mines-tsxvmgm-52moz-gold-system-with-major-drill-growth-ahead-10207 Recording date: 22nd September 2026 Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV:MGM) is advancing the 100%-owned Douay/Joutel Gold Project, a 481 km² land package on the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone in Québec's Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The project hosts a combined resource of 905,000 ounces Indicated and 4.3 million ounces Inferred, for about 5.2 million ounces in total. Douay contributes large-scale, lower-grade open-pit and underground mineralisation, with 779,000 ounces Indicated at 1.33 g/t and 3.3 million ounces Inferred at 0.84 g/t. Joutel adds a maiden underground resource of 126,000 ounces Indicated at 4.53 g/t and 992,000 ounces Inferred at 4.11 g/t. The main development over the past year is a change in the company's focus. According to President and CEO Kiran Patankar, Maple Gold's market value has risen roughly tenfold in twelve months. The company has since completed an internal scoping study that compared processing flowsheets, throughput rates of 5,000 to 40,000 tonnes per day, and whether the deposits justify a standalone mill. Patankar says the study concluded the project could support two mines. The emerging concept is a central mill near Douay, with high-grade Joutel material trucked roughly 25-30 kilometres to lift the overall head grade. Tender processes for PEA engineering firms are under way, and an updated resource and PEA are targeted around mid-2027. Joutel is the near-term driver. Agnico Eagle mined 1.1 million ounces there at 6.5 g/t between 1974 and 1993, using a 6 g/t cut-off. Patankar says material below that grade was never drill tested. Maple Gold's winter programme hit the target horizon in 19 of 22 holes, including 8.6 g/t over 4.2 metres between the Eagle and Telbel shafts, and extended high-grade mineralisation 450 metres beyond the old workings. None of this drilling is in the current resource. The fully funded C$9 million, 25,000 metre fall programme targets resource conversion, infill and expansion, with a stated goal of doubling the Joutel resource at similar grades. Management says it has built conservatism into its assumptions. The Joutel resource excludes a 100 metre crown pillar and 10 metre buffers around old stopes. The internal study assumed new shafts rather than reuse of existing ones, and a 77% recovery rate compared with the 90%-plus Patankar says Agnico Eagle achieved. A new metallurgical programme should provide current recovery data. On valuation, Maple Gold trades near $30 per ounce of resource. Patankar argues that most comparable Canadian projects already have PEAs and trade on NPV multiples, so publishing an economic study is the main route to a re-rating. The company held about C$20 million in cash at the time of the interview and says it is funded through 2027. Agnico Eagle is the largest shareholder at approximately 12.5%. The key risks are the high proportion of Inferred ounces, the unpublished status of the internal study, reliance on historical metallurgical data and Agnico Eagle's back-in right to a 50% interest. Near-term catalysts include Joutel fall drill results, pending Douay assays, an expansion to four to six rigs this winter, and the mid-2027 resource update and PEA. View Maple Gold Mines' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/maple-gold-mines-ltd Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 23 · 25 min

    Summit Royalties (TSXV:SUM) - Doubling Revenue as More Assets Enter Production

    Interview with Drew Clark, President & CEO of Summit Royalties Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/summit-royalties-tsxvsum-secures-us50m-credit-facility-to-fund-cash-flowing-deals-push-11308 Recording date: 22nd September 2026 Summit Royalties (TSXV:SUM, OTCQX:SUMMF) is a precious metals royalty and streaming company that began trading on the TSX Venture Exchange in November 2025. In under a year it has assembled a portfolio of around 46 royalties and streams, completed the Star Royalties acquisition, bought a royalty on Newmont's Saddle North deposit and arranged its first credit facility. President and CEO Drew Clark says Summit has not raised any money since going public. The investment case rests on a visible production step-up. Four assets currently generate revenue: a 1% NSR on West Red Lake Gold Mines' Madsen mine in Ontario, a 50% silver stream on Orezone Gold's Bomboré mine in Burkina Faso, a 2% royalty on Iwatani's Keysbrook mineral sands operation in Western Australia, and a 0.5% NSR on Denarius Metals' Zancudo mine in Colombia. Bomboré dominates for now, at an estimated 68% of 2026 revenue. Two development assets are scheduled to enter production in 2027. Copperstone in Arizona, operated by Mining Americas, is permitted, funded and under construction, with first gold targeted for mid-2027. Summit holds a 4% gold stream there, paying 25% of spot per ounce delivered, and a maiden open pit resource is expected in H2 2026. Pitangui in Brazil, operated by Jaguar Mining, pays Summit $80 per ounce on the first 250,000 ounces before converting to a 1.5% NSR. Development is expected to start in H2 2026, subject to an installation licence. Consensus estimates cited by Clark have revenue doubling in 2027 and again in 2028, with output above 4,000 gold equivalent ounces by 2028. Summit has not issued formal guidance but intends to. Because general and administrative costs run at $1.5 million to $2 million a year and are expected to stay broadly flat, most of that incremental revenue should reach the bottom line. The funding model is shifting. Summit's $25 million revolving facility from National Bank of Canada, with a $25 million accordion, is undrawn and costs between 6% and 7% when drawn, depending on leverage. Clark's argument is simple. When an acquired asset's revenue exceeds its interest cost, cash flow per share rises immediately and no shares are issued. That matters for a company trading at roughly 0.7 times P/NAV, where equity is an expensive currency. Valuation is the core of the opportunity. At a market capitalisation of US$109 million, Summit trades at the lowest P/NAV and price-to-2027 cash flow multiples in its presented peer group. Clark believes the market begins treating royalty companies as established players once revenue passes a threshold he now places near $20 million. Longer-dated optionality comes from AurMac, Banyan Gold's 8.6 million ounce Yukon project where Summit holds 0.5% to 2.0% royalties ahead of a PEA, and from Saddle North, which Clark expects to repay its C$5 million cost within a year of production. The risks are clear. Revenue is concentrated in Bomboré until 2027, both development assets are pre-production and could face delays, and the portfolio lacks a single cornerstone stream. Investors should track Copperstone construction, the Pitangui installation licence, the first facility drawdown and Summit's maiden guidance. View Summit Royalties' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/summit-royalties Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 22 · 32 min

    Mogotes Metals (TSXV:MOG) - Three Porphyry Bets Target Year-Round Copper-Gold Catalysts

    Interview with Allen Sabet, CEO, Mogotes Metals Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/mogotes-metals-tsxvmog-district-scale-explorer-triples-drilling-to-20000m-through-2027-11919 Recording date: 21st September 2026 Mogotes Metals Inc. (TSXV:MOG, FSE:OY4, OTCQB:MOGMF) has spent 2026 assembling a three-project copper-gold portfolio spanning three continents, and CEO Allen Sabet's pitch to investors rests on a single screening discipline applied consistently across all of them: only advance ground that already carries drilled intercepts of at least 100 metres at 1% copper-equivalent, in a jurisdiction the company can realistically permit and finance. The flagship remains Filo Sur, in Argentina and Chile's Vicuña district, immediately south of Lundin Mining's Filo del Sol discovery. A 2025–2026 season of 6,208 metres delivered two discoveries on the Macho Muerto Fault Zone — the high-grade Albor breccia and the Cruz del Sur gold-copper porphyry — alongside expanded targets at Cuenca and Luz del Sol. Rio Tinto closed a US$15 million strategic placement in August, taking roughly 5% of the company and 15 months of project-level exclusivity on Filo Sur, ahead of a 2026–2027 season planned at up to 20,000 metres. Beyond Filo Sur, two option-stage assets add geographic and seasonal diversification. In Montana, Mogotes holds an earn-in over Rio Tinto's Copper Cliffs porphyry: US$16 million of exploration spend buys 51% of the project, with Rio Tinto entitled to pay US$32 million within 90 days of that stage completing to buy back a 2% controlling interest. Drilling of 8,000–9,000 metres is planned pending permits, potentially starting before winter. In Kazakhstan, a three-year option over the Beskauga deposit gives Mogotes access to a historical, unverified resource of several million gold-equivalent ounces at drilling costs the company describes as among the lowest available anywhere — supported by its own on-site sample-preparation lab. Up to 50,000 metres of drilling is planned this year, targeting a preliminary economic assessment within six months. Sabet frames the three-project structure as intentional rather than opportunistic: Filo Sur drills in the Southern Hemisphere summer, Copper Cliffs and Beskauga in the Northern Hemisphere season, spreading news flow and reducing the single-season, single-catalyst risk that typically affects one-asset explorers. The company reports a treasury of approximately C$75 million, which it says funds the coming year's combined ~80,000-metre programme. The risks scale with the structure's ambition. Two of the three projects remain contractually contingent — Mogotes must keep meeting staged spending commitments to retain or grow its interest, and Rio Tinto's Copper Cliffs buy-back right could cap Mogotes' ultimate ownership at a minority stake. The Beskauga resource has not been verified under current NI 43-101 standards. And running three permitting and drilling programmes concurrently across Argentina/Chile, the United States and Kazakhstan introduces jurisdictional and currency exposure that a single-asset peer would not carry. For investors, the near-term catalyst set is unusually dense for a company of this size: Kazakhstan assays within months, a possible Montana drill start in October, and Filo Sur's own season running inside Rio Tinto's 15-month exclusivity clock. Whether that translates into a re-rating depends on whether Mogotes can execute all three simultaneously without diluting shareholders or ceding control of the projects it has spent the past year assembling. Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/mogotes-metals Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 22 · 26 min

    Fed Rates Rise, Old Rejections Get a Second Look: Olive's Post-Hike Playbook

    Recording date: 16th September 2026 Olive Resource Capital's Samuel Pelaez and Derek Macpherson used this Compass episode, recorded the day after the Federal Reserve's September rate decision, to address two distinct but connected investor questions: what the Fed's move means for the resource complex, and what the fund is watching for as it heads into the year's two most important precious metals conferences. The headline takeaway is that neither guest sees the unanimous 25 basis point hike to 3.75-4.00% as a meaningful threat to their long-term commodity thesis. The muted reaction in gold and the US Dollar Index, alongside a US two-year Treasury yield already signalling further hikes, supports their view that the move was fully priced in rather than a genuine surprise to markets, even if it surprised the guests personally. More importantly for positioning, Pelaez's framing of gold's correlation with real rather than nominal interest rates offers a specific, testable lens for investors trying to judge how much further tightening the metal can absorb before its monetary debasement thesis is genuinely challenged. Investors should note the tail risk both guests raised without dwelling on: a hiking cycle aggressive enough to tip the US into recession remains a historical possibility that could force a more disruptive repricing than a single 25 basis point move. On timing, the pair's read that the Fed is unlikely to hike again at its 27-28 October meeting, a week ahead of the US midterm elections, is a near-term calendar marker worth tracking against actual Fed communication over the coming weeks, rather than treating it as settled. The conference-season discussion carries the more actionable content for stock-pickers. The core shift the pair identify from a market where companies needed to prove they could raise capital to one where most already have it and now need to prove they can deploy it, this reframes what investors should listen for in company presentations this autumn: tangible project milestones and catalysts, not just balance sheet strength. Olive's specific focus on finding a copper name to replace Arizona Sonoran Copper following its acquisition signals where the fund sees the next wave of M&A activity concentrating, and its continued but qualified conviction in Gladiator Metals offers a concrete example of a name investors may want to benchmark against whatever emerges from Beaver Creek and Colorado Springs. The Bravo Mining anecdote is worth flagging as a broader behavioural point rather than a stock-specific one: both guests explicitly warn against anchoring too heavily on a name's history, whether that's a story once dismissed as overvalued or one an investor has simply stopped tracking. For a fund with Olive's track record of identifying re-rating candidates before broader market recognition, that openness to revisiting prior "no"s is itself a signal of where they expect this cycle's opportunities to concentrate: not necessarily in new discoveries, but in familiar names whose valuations or fundamentals have shifted enough to warrant a second look. Learn more: https://cruxinvestor.com Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 22 · 25 min

    TRX Gold (TSX:TRX) - Record Gold Run Powers Self-Funding Mill Expansion and Resource Update

    Interview with Stephen Mullowney, Director & CEO of TRX Gold Corp. Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/trx-gold-tsxtnx-doubling-gold-production-through-expansion-and-re-investment-allocations-4208 Recording date: 16th September 2026 TRX Gold Corporation (TSX:TRX) (NYSE American:TRX) has spent five years turning the Buckreef Gold Project in Tanzania from a stalled exploration asset into a self-funding gold producer, and its preliminary fiscal 2026 results are the clearest evidence yet that the model is working. Full-year gold production reached a record 29,650 ounces, a 57% increase on 2025 and the top end of the company's own guidance range, while Q4 alone delivered 8,173 ounces, up 28% year-on-year. Realised gold prices which rose 46% for the full year to approximately $4,386 per ounce compounded the production gains into a run-rate EBITDA CEO Stephen Mullowney puts at approximately $80 million today, with a stated target of $200-250 million within two to three years. What differentiates TRX Gold from many junior producers pursuing similar growth is how that growth is being financed. The company is mid-build on a new 3,500 tonnes-per-day (tpd) SAG/ball mill circuit, running alongside its existing, recently upgraded 2,000 tpd plant, for a theoretical combined capacity of 5,500 tpd which is comfortably above the 3,000 tpd envisioned in the company's May 2025 PEA. The roughly $50 million cost is being funded entirely from operating cash flow, with the company carrying zero debt and $30 million of cash on the balance sheet, plus undrawn credit facilities. Management's stated fallback, should more capital be required, is debt rather than equity which is a meaningful distinction in a sector where dilution is often the default financing tool. The operating jurisdiction adds a further layer to the case. Buckreef sits in Tanzania's Geita Region alongside established operations run by Barrick, AngloGold Ashanti, Perseus and Shanta, giving TRX Gold access to local contractors, supply chains and banking relationships that reduce build risk relative to more frontier settings. The project itself is held through a 55/45 joint venture with Tanzania's state mining company, Stamico, with TRX Gold holding board control and capital recovery preference on its approximately $30 million project loan; management is in discussions to move toward a more standard national resource framework, which would address the currently dilutable nature of the government's 45% interest. Near-term catalysts include continued ramp-up of the mill upgrades already boosting throughput and recovery, tangible construction progress on the new SAG/ball mill circuit, and an updated PEA expected by early 2027 that should formalise a revised, open-pit-first mine sequence. Exploration capacity is also scaling quickly, from two drill rigs currently to five within four to six months, targeting both resource growth at the existing 1.5-million-ounce-plus resource base and new discoveries across ten geophysical targets and the Stamford Bridge and Anfield zones. Recent addition to the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index adds a structural liquidity catalyst on top of the operational story. The principal risks are the model's sensitivity to a sustained gold-price pullback and the still-unresolved Stamico framework renegotiation which are both worth monitoring though neither appears to threaten the current growth trajectory. Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/trx-gold Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 19 · 28 min

    Outcrop Silver (TSX:OCG) - Moves Towards PEA with Resource Estimate Increase at Santa Ana

    Interview with Rob Bruggeman, Director & CEO of Outcrop Silver Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/outcrop-silver-gold-tsxvocg-12m-drilling-to-expand-high-grade-silver-resource-7129 Recording date: 16th September 2026 Outcrop Silver & Gold Corporation (TSX:OCG) has repositioned its investment case around a more rigorously classified, and larger, mineral resource at its 100%-owned Santa Ana project in Tolima, Colombia. The September 14, 2026 Updated Mineral Resource Estimate reports 29.9 million ounces silver-equivalent (AgEq) Indicated at 518.7 g/t, plus 27.9 million ounces AgEq Inferred at 368.5 g/t - a combined 57.8 million ounces across 13 vein systems, built on 130,006 metres of drilling. Despite total drilling nearly tripling since the 2023 maiden estimate, Indicated ounces grew a comparatively modest 23.5%, because the company applied a stricter classification standard requiring minimum drill-hole support - evidence, management argues, of a more defensible resource rather than a diluted one. The update comes under new leadership. Rob Bruggeman, an equities analyst by background who previously chaired Aberra Silver through its growth from under $10 million to over $2 billion in market capitalisation, became President and CEO roughly five months ago. He has been explicit that he prioritised a realistic resource over headline size, and has brought in Colombia-based geologist Carlos Torres as Vice President of Exploration. Grade remains Santa Ana's standout feature: at 518.7 g/t AgEq Indicated, it compares favourably to publicly disclosed primary silver peers, with individual veins - Las Maras, El Dorado, Paraiso and Guadual - running from roughly 590 to 855 g/t AgEq. Metallurgical recoveries of 96.3% silver and 98.5% gold, from a simple gravity-plus-flotation flowsheet, support management's view that initial capital costs can stay low, aided by existing highway, power and water infrastructure at the site. The next catalyst is a Preliminary Economic Assessment, starting end of September 2026 and expected in early 2027. Management has sized a preliminary target of roughly 800-1,000 tonnes per day, built from combined Indicated and Inferred resources, with a minimum mining width of one metre reflecting Colombia's cost-effective, labour-intensive cut-and-fill mining methods. A pilot plant, estimated at approximately C$5 million, is planned as an execution proof point ahead of any larger build decision. Exploration upside remains material: twelve known vein systems are not yet included in the resource, and the 17-kilometre mineralized corridor remains open at both ends. At the company's historical drilling productivity of roughly 445 ounces AgEq added per metre, reaching a stated 100 million ounce target would require an estimated 95,000 further metres of drilling - about two-and-a-half years at the current 35,000 metre annual pace. Ownership and financing support the story: Eric Sprott holds approximately 20% and Jupiter Asset Management approximately 9%, with C$15 million cash and C$8 million in in-the-money warrants as of August 2026. Colombia's government has also repealed ten restrictive mining resolutions as of September 2026 and targeted $4 billion in mining investment through 2030. Management's explicit near-term goal is to shift the market's valuation approach from a rough in-situ ounce metric toward a discounted cash flow basis - a shift the PEA is designed to enable. Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/outcrop-silver-gold Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 18 · 27 min

    Rua Gold (TSX:RUA) - Eyes 2027 Fast-Track Permit Decision for Gold-Antimony Project in New Zealand

    Interview with Robert Eckford, CEO of Rua Gold Recording date: 16th September 2026 Rua Gold (TSX:RUA, NZX:RGI) is a New Zealand-focused gold explorer attempting one of the fastest explorer-to-developer transitions in the junior sector. Its strategy is built around New Zealand's Fast-Track Approvals regime, which sets a six-month decision window for listed projects. OceanaGold's Wharekirauponga project has already been approved through this process in under four months. The company controls more than 120,000 hectares in the Reefton Goldfield, around 95% of a district that historically produced over 2 million ounces of gold at 9-50 g/t. Its focus is Auld Creek, a gold-antimony deposit that early miners avoided because of its antimony content. Mineralisation begins at surface. The February 2026 MRE outlined about 200,000 AuEq ounces, split between 54,000 ounces Indicated at 5.7 g/t AuEq and 148,000 ounces Inferred at 3.7 g/t AuEq. Rather than drill for years to build scale, management has taken this starter resource straight into permitting. Auld Creek was accepted as a Fast-Track listed project in July 2026. The substantive application is due in October 2026. CEO Robert Eckford expects the six-month clock to start in November, with a decision targeted for Q2 2027. The April 2026 PEA supports a compact underground operation. It models 5.5 years of production at about 26,665 AuEq ounces a year, with initial capital of $132.6 million and AISC of $1,850/oz. At $3,300/oz gold, the after-tax NPV5% is $42.4 million, with a 17% IRR and 3.3-year payback. At $4,700/oz, the NPV rises to US$113.0 million and the IRR to 36%. Eckford is clear that this starter case exists to secure a permit. The plant is being designed to expand from 250,000 to 500,000 tonnes a year under a hub-and-spoke model, with a second Reefton deposit expected to emerge by Q1 2027. Drilling continues to strengthen the resource. Rua Gold has completed 19,600 metres at Auld Creek. Recent results include 0.6 metres at 82.9 g/t gold and 24.8% antimony, and the company has reported its first visible gold at the project. The deposit extends over 1,000 metres along strike and more than 500 metres down dip, and remains open in all directions. An updated MRE and PFS are due in Q4 2026. Antimony is central to the financing plan rather than the valuation. Eckford said metal traders are drawn to the by-product in a way they would not be to a gold-only project. The company is in offtake discussions with around four groups and expects traders to take part in project financing from mid-2027. The balance sheet is in good shape. A C$33 million raise in January 2026 was heavily oversubscribed. Cash stood at about C$25 million at the time of the interview. That funds the PFS, permitting and a 9,000-metre maiden drill programme at the Glamorgan epithermal project on the North Island, which begins in Q4 2026. Key risks are permitting timing, modest starter-case economics at long-term prices, project financing terms and antimony price volatility. Learn more: https://cruxinvestor.com Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 18 · 28 min

    Red Metal Resources (CSE:RMES) - Ore Delivery on Royalty-Based Copper Search Model in Chile

    Interview with Caitlin Jeffs, President & CEO of Red Metal Resources Recording date: 16th September 2026 Red Metal Resources Ltd. (CSE:RMES) is a Vancouver-based explorer focused on the Carrizal copper-gold-silver-cobalt property in the coastal cordillera of Chile's Atacama region, near Vallenar. President and CEO Caitlin Jeffs is a geologist who began her career with Placer Dome and later co-founded Fladgate Exploration Consulting. With fellow Red Metal director Michael Thompson, she took Kesselrun Resources from its 2012 founding to a sale to Gold X2 in December 2025. The company's distinguishing feature is its funding model. Chile allows small operators to mine up to 5,000 tonnes per month on individual concessions and sell ore to state-run ENAMI processing plants. Red Metal rents selected claims to experienced artisanal miners and takes a 10% net sales royalty paid directly by the plant. At the Farellon 1/8 concession, a 1.5% vendor royalty reduces Red Metal's net share to 8.5% until the vendor has received $600,000. The arrangement also gives Red Metal underground access to observe the mineralisation. It has the option to buy bulk samples at the plant price and keeps its exploration rights. The first operator, Minera KMT SpA, signed in May 2026 with a seven-month development period and a minimum rate of 2,500 tonnes per month thereafter. It delivered about 592 tonnes of copper sulphide ore to ENAMI last August, roughly four months early. Red Metal can cancel the lease if the minimum is missed for three consecutive months. Earlier small-scale mining on the ground averaged 1.87% copper. Jeffs expects similar grades that could produce a royalty of $35,000 to $50,000 a month. Final ENAMI assays and settlement for the first deliveries are pending. A second lease over the Irene and Margarita claims, with operator Catalina, targets the same monthly rate within about six months. The larger prize is exploration. About 9,000 metres of drilling has tested roughly 1.5 km of a 5 km vein system. It showed continuous mineralisation with better grades and widths towards 200 metres depth. Mapping has traced about 15 km of veining towards the historic Carrizal Alto mine, which flooded in 1891 at around 500 metres depth. A LiDAR survey and a 3D IP survey have followed. The southern IP block produced chargeability anomalies over the drilled zone and over veins mapped at surface. Northern-block results are still to be released. Jeffs is targeting an underground operation grading 1% copper or better across three parallel veins, with a long-term goal of 50 to 100 million tonnes. Drilling is planned for late 2026 at about US$350 per metre. The full path could require 50,000 to 100,000 metres. Red Metal has 61 million shares outstanding and about 80 million fully diluted, with options and warrants priced between 6 and 15 cents. Cash was about $300,000 at the time of the interview, so new funding is needed before drilling. The key watch items are the first ENAMI settlement, KMT's progress towards 2,500 tonnes per month, northern-block IP results and the first holes of the late 2026 programme. Learn more: https://cruxinvestor.com Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 18 · 29 min

    Myriad Uranium (CSE:M) - Assays Boost Grades to Unlock Copper Mountain District-Scale Upside

    Interview with Thomas Lamb, CEO of Myriad Uranium Corp. Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/made-in-america-myriad-uranium-csem-americas-uranium-gap-the-wyoming-project-closing-it-10614 Recording date: 16th September 2026 Myriad Uranium Corp. (CSE:M) is a US-focused uranium exploration company whose flagship asset, the Copper Mountain Uranium Project in Fremont County, Wyoming, carries one of the largest historical uranium resource bases in the country. The project was extensively drilled in the 1970s by Union Pacific which delineated seven deposits and designed a conventional six-pit mine plan before uranium prices collapsed following the Three Mile Island incident in 1979. Those historical efforts left behind a resource estimate of 26.63 Mlbs eU₃O₈ in 48.95 Mt at 269 ppm, and a separate 1982 U.S. Department of Energy-commissioned study (Bendix Field Engineering) identified an exploration target of up to 655 Mlbs across a wider assessment area. Neither figure is a current, NI 43-101-compliant mineral resource, and Myriad is careful to flag both as historical and, in the case of the exploration target, conceptual. Myriad has spent the past two years re-testing that legacy. A 34-hole Phase I programme at the Canning deposit, completed in November 2025, found that modern laboratory assays consistently outperformed the historical gamma-probe grades - by 20% at a 200 ppm cut-off, rising to 60% at 1,000 ppm - a pattern the company attributes to radiometric disequilibrium not captured by 1970s-era probe technology alone. That result underpins the current Phase II programme, a roughly 5,000-metre, two-stage effort launched in July 2026 and funded from the company's own cash position (approximately $10 million against a budgeted $6 million spend). Stage 1 is retesting the historic deposits - Gem, Hesitation, Arrowhead, Mint and continued work at Canning - while Stage 2 is testing new ground identified through district-wide radiometric and magnetic surveying, including the Lucky Cliff prospect, where four holes returned 50 mineralised intervals above 100 ppm eU₃O₈ entirely outside the historic resource footprint. Corporately, Myriad consolidated 100% ownership of Copper Mountain in August 2026 via merger with Rush Rare Metals Corp - the first time the district has had a single owner in nearly 50 years - and is preparing a NASDAQ or NYSE American listing application, described as roughly 80% complete. The company also holds a 23-target breccia pipe exploration portfolio on the Arizona Strip near Energy Fuels' high-grade Pinyon Plain Mine, optioned to Wedgemount Resources on a partner-funded earn-in structure, and retains a 10% free carried interest plus a strategic alliance in the Red Basin Project in New Mexico, sold in May 2026 to technology-investor-backed Subatomic for a better-than-6x cash-on-cash return. As of September 2026, Myriad had approximately 140.1 million shares outstanding (195.0 million fully diluted) and a market capitalisation near C$67.3 million, with no reported short interest. CEO Thomas Lamb has framed the company's capital approach around avoiding the fate of peers that funded large resource-confirmation drilling programmes without a corresponding re-rating, positioning Copper Mountain's next drill results due through the remainder of Phase II as the key near-term catalyst for the stock. Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/myriad-uranium Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 18 · 19 min

    Larvotto Resources (ASX:LRV) - Hillgrove Hits Production, Midas Discovery Adds Upside

    Interview with Ron Heeks, Managing Director of Larvotto Resources Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/larvotto-resources-asxlrv-australias-largest-antimony-mine-enters-construction-phase-8209 Recording date: 3rd September 2026 Larvotto Resources has officially transitioned from developer to producer, commissioning the processing plant at its Hillgrove Antimony-Gold Project in New South Wales on August 31st 2026. The milestone met management’s targeted timeline, positioning the operation to ramp toward full production of 500,000 tonnes of ore annually. Once steady-state operations are reached, Hillgrove is projected to deliver 40,500 ounces of gold and 4,900 tonnes of antimony per year, the latter representing roughly 7% of global antimony supply. Operational efficiency has exceeded initial projections, with plant operating hours tracking ahead of schedule. By establishing a residential workforce in nearby Armidale instead of a fly-in, fly-out model, Larvotto reduced required personnel from 250 to approximately 180. The project also benefits from locked-in offtake agreements exceeding 12 months, sending gold concentrate to Glencore and antimony concentrate to Wogen Resources. Substantial exploration and metallurgical upside have further bolstered the asset. Larvotto recently identified the Midas zone, a new gold lode located just 50 metres from current underground workings. Midas holds a conceptual exploration target of 223,000 to 2.95 million ounces of gold equivalent, offering low-capital near-term integration into the mine plan. Concurrently, metallurgical testing has demonstrated 90% recovery of tungsten into the rougher float. With global tungsten prices climbing sharply, Larvotto plans to commercialize the metal as an unmodeled third revenue stream. Despite delivering the project on time, fully funded, and amid surging commodity prices with gold doubling price and antimony roughly tripled since acquisition, Larvotto’s share price has posted a comparatively modest 25% gain. Backed by $87.9 million in cash as of mid-2026, management remains focused on securing "Modification 5" regulatory approvals for full-scale capacity, advancing its Mt Isa copper tenure, and proving up the Midas discovery as Western demand for critical minerals intensifies. Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/larvotto-resources-limited Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 17 · 20 min

    Group Eleven Resources (TSXV:ZNG) - Ballywire Germanium Grades Jump on New Assays

    Interview with Bart Jaworski, CEO of Group Eleven Resources Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/group-eleven-resources-tsxvzng-new-high-grade-lead-zinc-discovery-at-stonepark-11079 Recording date: 17th September 2026 Group Eleven Resources (TSXV:ZNG) has added a fresh dimension to its Ballywire discovery in Ireland: materially higher germanium grades, confirmed through a more accurate assay method. The company re-analysed 220 previously submitted samples from five drill holes, switching from lithium borate fusion to sodium peroxide fusion - a technique that better retains germanium during sample digestion. The result was a 68% average increase in reported germanium grades across the re-tested samples, with the strongest individual interval reaching 94 g/t Ge, well above typical grades of 20-40 g/t seen across the batch. This matters because germanium is not an incidental addition. CEO Bart Jaworski explained that the metal tracks closely with sphalerite, the zinc-bearing mineral already central to Ballywire's zinc-lead-silver-copper discovery: "Whenever we see high zinc numbers, we tend to have the highest germanium numbers along with it." In practice, this means Group Eleven is capturing a scarce, high-value byproduct metal within intervals it would already be reporting for zinc, lead, silver and copper - without additional exploration cost. The timing is notable. Germanium, used in AI infrastructure and fibre optics, trades at roughly US$200 per ounce outside China, up about 25% over the past year, as Chinese export restrictions imposed in 2023 continue to limit Western supply. Very little of the world's germanium comes from dedicated mines; it is recovered almost entirely as a byproduct of a small number of zinc smelters, making new supply additions structurally scarce. Jaworski described the dynamic bluntly: "There's not enough in the Western world coming that we need to backfill for China." Operationally, Group Eleven remains well-funded. A C$12 million financing closed in March 2026 is supporting a 67,000-metre drill campaign for 2026, with four rigs currently active at Ballywire and roughly 15 additional holes in the pipeline. A further 110 samples from those 15 holes are still to be reassayed for germanium, suggesting more grade revisions could follow. Ballywire itself remains substantially untested: of four gravity anomalies spanning a 6-kilometre trend, drilling to date has concentrated almost entirely on one. Investors should treat today's news as an enhancement to an existing thesis rather than a new one. The core investment case at Group Eleven still rests on the scale and grade of the underlying zinc-lead-silver-copper system at Ballywire, and on the path toward a maiden resource estimate. Germanium adds a genuine, if still unquantified, economic sweetener - genuine because the metal is present in meaningful, high-grade concentrations; unquantified because metallurgical test work establishing recoveries and payability has not yet been carried out for any metal at Ballywire, germanium included. With a small, tightly balanced global germanium market, a discovery of this scale could carry a strategic premium once those metallurgical questions are answered - but that remains a forward catalyst rather than a settled fact today.

  • September 17 · 43 min

    Mogotes Metals (TSXV:MOG) - District-Scale Explorer Triples Drilling to 20,000m Through 2027

    Interview with Allen Sabet, CEO of Mogotes Metals Inc. Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/mogotes-metals-tsxvmog-major-copper-gold-discovery-at-filo-sur-10342 Recording date: 16th September 2026 Mogotes Metals closed out its first full drilling season at the Filo Sur project with two discoveries in hand and a validating investment from one of the world's largest mining companies. The Vicuña district straddling Argentina and Chile has drawn intense attention since Lundin Mining and BHP's Filo del Sol discovery redefined the region's prospectivity, and Mogotes' ground sits immediately along strike from that deposit and its structural corridor. The season's headline result came from Albor, where a drill hole eturned 180 metres at 0.98% copper equivalent from 108 metres depth, including a higher-grade core of 58 metres at 1.77% CuEq, the strongest single intercept drilled at Filo Sur to date. A second discovery at Cruz del Sur, roughly four kilometres to the south, returned two broad intervals exceeding 300 metres each at lower but still meaningful grades, with mineralisation open in every direction. Both discoveries sit on the Macho Muerto Fault Zone, a 10-kilometre structure that CEO Allen Sabet describes as the project's primary control on mineralisation, and one that remains mostly untested. Two further targets, Luz del Sol and Cuenca, were advanced this season through shallow drilling and channel sampling rather than full discovery-grade intercepts. Both returned encouraging but sub-economic results directly above geophysical anomalies interpreted as porphyry vectors, positioning them as first-pass drill targets in the coming season. A fifth target, Meseta, remains entirely untested after difficult ground conditions forced its deferral. The more significant near-term development for investors may be corporate rather than geological. On August 2026, Mogotes closed a US$15 million strategic investment from Rio Tinto Canada Inc., pricing the placement at a 50–70% premium to where shares had been trading. The deal establishes a Strategic & Technical Alliance giving Mogotes access to Rio Tinto's geoscience capability, while granting Rio Tinto a 15-month exclusivity period over any project-level transaction at Filo Sur, a right to match competing proposals, and a top-up right to 9.99% ownership. Sabet was careful to note that Mogotes retains full discretion over its own technical and drilling decisions, and remains free to pursue corporate-level transactions, bringing in new investors or fielding a takeover approach, despite the project-level exclusivity. That exclusivity period effectively sets the clock on a defined catalyst window: Rio Tinto will be watching the outcome of the 2026–2027 drill season, planned at up to 20,000 metres and more than triple this season's total, to decide whether to pursue a larger transaction. The company's roughly C$75 million treasury funds that programme, along with parallel option projects: Montana's Copper Cliff (a Rio Tinto-optioned porphyry system, earn-in to 51% for US$16 million) and Kazakhstan's Beskauga deposit (a multi-million-ounce gold-copper deposit with drill results due within weeks). For investors, the combination of an expanded, better-funded exploration programme and a defined major-investor decision point makes the next 12 to 15 months a genuine inflection period for the stock with the usual caveat that porphyry-district promise still has to be converted into defined, continuous tonnage. View Mogotes Metals' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/mogotes-metals Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 17 · 24 min

    Frontier Energy (ASX:FHE) - Financing Locked In, Waroona Build Begins

    Interview with Adam Kiley, CEO, Frontier Energy Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/frontier-energy-asxfhe-federal-backing-transforms-outlook-for-wa-renewables-developer-6941 Recording date: 15th September 2026 Frontier Energy Limited (ASX:FHE) has reached the stage that most renewable energy developers never do: fully funded, fully contracted, and building. Stage One of its Waroona Renewable Energy Project in Western Australia comprises 132MW of solar generation and an 81.5MW, 6.9-hour battery storage system, at a total capital cost of A$310 million plus A$22 million contingency. A A$110 million equity raise has lifted institutional ownership on the register to around 30%, while Natixis CIB and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation have signed an underwriting letter for up to A$280 million in credit-approved debt facilities. Financial close is targeted for October or November 2026, with first debt drawdown in the first quarter of 2027. The project's risk profile is unusually contained for its stage. Frontier used a free-issue contracting model, buying equipment directly from tier-one suppliers - LONGi, Trina, SMA, Nextracker - on fixed-price terms and supplying it to EPC contractor Monford, insulating the budget from input cost inflation. Long-lead items were ordered up to 12 months in advance, and a structured early-works process with the EPC surfaced scope gaps before financial close rather than during construction. Site mobilisation began in mid-September 2026, with peak construction workforce (around 200 people) expected from January 2027 and first revenue generation targeted for 2028. Revenue certainty is the other pillar of the investment case. Independent forecaster Aurora, engaged by the project's lenders, models average annual revenue of A$72.5 million over the first five years, of which A$32 million comes from fixed-price Reserve Capacity payments locked until 2032. The project has also been selected for the federal Capacity Investment Scheme, which - alongside Reserve Capacity - extends a revenue floor through to 2042, sharing 50% of any upside above an agreed ceiling with government. Against $10 million of forecast opex, that produces average EBITDA of A$62.5 million (an 86% margin), a post-tax IRR of approximately 20%, and average free cash flow of roughly A$35 million annually after debt servicing and tax in the first five years. Beyond Stage One, Frontier holds 830 hectares of freehold land in total and has development approval already in place for a similarly sized Stage Two (~130MW solar / ~80MW BESS), connected to Western Australia's largest 330kV transmission corridor. The state faces a structural supply gap - the market operator forecasts an additional 11.5 TWh of generation needed by 2031, rising to 18.3 TWh by 2036, as coal and gas capacity retires - compounded by fast-growing data centre demand, for which Frontier's uncommitted Stage One output and expandable substation design offer optionality. The key near-term catalysts are financial close on the debt package and execution of the CIS contract, both expected within weeks of the September 2026 interview. Longer term, the size of the opportunity depends on how quickly management can replicate Stage One's fixed-price, government-backed model for Stage Two and beyond. Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/frontier-energy Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 15 · 32 min

    1911 Gold (TSXV:AUMB) - Manitoba's True North Gold Project Restart Targets 2027 Production Decision

    Interview with Shaun Heinrichs, President and CEO of 1911 Gold Recording date: 11th September 2026 1911 Gold Corporation (TSXV:AUMB) is working to restart the fully permitted True North Gold Project in Manitoba's Rice Lake Greenstone Belt, a mine and mill complex that has produced roughly 2.0 million ounces since the 1930s but has sat idle since 2015. President and CEO Shaun Heinrichs took over in mid-2022 and rebuilt both the technical team and the underlying resource before committing to a restart plan, bringing in Vice President of Exploration Michele Della Libera and Lions Gate Geological Consulting to independently re-estimate the deposit. The result, a 2024 Mineral Resource Estimate of 499,000 ounces indicated and 644,000 ounces inferred, underpins a 2026 Preliminary Economic Assessment that models a post-tax NPV5% of $391 million, an IRR of 105% and a 2.2 year payback at a base case gold price of US$3,000/oz. Rather than restart at full scale immediately, the company is running test mining across two zones, the Level 16 shaft mine and the Hinge ramp mine, using smaller equipment and narrower development than the project's previous operators, targeting 15% dilution against a history that saw dilution as high as 25% up to 80-100% under an earlier operators. Management frames this as the key operational lesson from True North's difficult past: equipment sizing, delineation drilling and mining method discipline, not resource quality, were what previously constrained the project. On the PEA's schedule, production ramps from roughly 26,000 ounces in the first partial year to a steady-state run rate near 58,000 ounces annually by 2029, at all-in sustaining costs of $1,897/oz. The remaining capital need, largely a new crushing circuit due for delivery through October 2026, is being funded through a $30 million credit facility with Auramet International, of which the first $15 million tranche was drawn in March 2026. Management's near-term financial priority is refinancing that facility ahead of its April 2027 amortisation start, which would otherwise coincide with the early stages of the production ramp. Beyond True North itself, 1911 Gold controls the entire 90 km Rice Lake Greenstone Belt land package, positioning the company for a hub-and-spoke growth model built around the existing, expandable mill. September 2026 drilling confirmed a high-grade structural link between the L10 zone and the larger 710-711 zone, and the company's 2026 inferred resource update for the Ogama-Rockland deposit, 45 km away, now stands at 712,000 ounces at 6.68 g/t Au. Both feed into a global resource update due in the fourth quarter of 2026. Importantly, a formal decision to commit to full-scale production has not yet been made; that decision is targeted for 2027, pending the results of 2026 trial mining and bulk sample processing. Investors should treat the current activity as a proof-of-concept phase for the operating model management intends to scale, rather than confirmation that production is already underway at design capacity. Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/1911-gold Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

  • September 14 · 31 min

    Why Short-Term Macro Noise Won't Derail the Commodities Supercycle

    Recording date: 11th September 2026 Olive Resource Capital Inc. (TSXV:OC), represented on this Compass episode by Executive Chairman Derek Macpherson and President, CEO & CIO Samuel Pelaez, used the post-CPI window to lay out both its near-term macro read and its underlying investment process. On the macro side, the September CPI print came in at 3.4%, above the Fed's target band but in line with consensus, prompting a muted market reaction. With the Federal Reserve's next meeting imminent and roughly 60% odds of a hike priced in, both executives argued that current inflation, driven substantially by diesel prices tied to disruption around the conflict in Iran, is largely a supply-side phenomenon the Fed has limited tools to address directly. They are watching the US Dollar Index closely, currently at a key support level, as their preferred read on where commodity prices head next: a breakdown lower would support the bullish commodities case, while a technical bounce, potentially reinforced by a rate hike, would be a near-term headwind. The approaching US midterm elections add a second layer of expected volatility. Macpherson described a "midterm election vortex" of conflicting political headlines, citing a proposed household payment tied to Congressional control and a same-week reversal on copper tariff policy that briefly moved copper prices roughly 5%, as the kind of noise investors should expect through November without necessarily reflecting a change in underlying fundamentals. Despite the noise, both executives stressed their long-term thesis is unchanged: persistent fiscal deficits are debasing fiat currency over time, a dynamic reinforced by comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, layered on top of two decades of underinvestment in resource discovery that has left supply structurally short of demand. They frame Olive's closed-end structure, free of redemption pressure, as a structural advantage that lets the firm buy into weakness rather than being forced to sell. On process, Pelaez detailed the firm's portfolio construction discipline: every one to two months, the pair review every position in the portfolio, testing whether each investment thesis still holds and whether capital would be better deployed elsewhere. Position sizing scales with conviction and risk, from roughly 1-2% in binary, early-stage exploration bets up to 5-10% in high-conviction names, with the top ten holdings collectively targeted at more than half of total portfolio assets. The clearest working example offered was CANEX Metals Inc. (TSXV:CANX), where Olive built its position from an initial 6-to-9-cent entry around the early-stage consolidation of the Gold Basin district into CANEX's Gold Range project, adding in the open market as the story progressed and continuing to participate in financings, most recently at 35 cents, even after a five- to six-times return on the original stake. Recent portfolio exits have freed capital that management is now redeploying into new positions. Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

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