Company Interviews

Interview with Keith Bowes, Managing Director & CEO of Future Metals
Recording date: 16th July 2026
Future Metals is advancing a revised development strategy for its Panton platinum group metals (PGM) project in Western Australia, driven by stronger platinum and palladium prices and a potential infrastructure-sharing deal that could significantly reduce capital costs. Instead of building a new processing facility, the company is evaluating the acquisition and refurbishment of the nearby Savannah nickel plant, located about 70 km from Panton. This approach could cut upfront capital expenditure from an estimated A$270 million to under A$200 million, improving the project’s economic viability.
Panton hosts a substantial resource of 93 million tonnes at 1.4 grams per tonne palladium-equivalent, with a profile notably richer in platinum than most Australian PGM deposits. This platinum-heavy mix aligns more closely with high-value South African deposits and benefits from broader demand drivers, including industrial use, jewellery, and investment demand, rather than relying primarily on autocatalysts like palladium.
Market conditions have improved since the project’s 2023 scoping study. Platinum prices have risen to around $1,600 per ounce and palladium to $1,200–$1,300, supported by slower-than-expected electric vehicle adoption and sustained demand from hybrid vehicles. At the same time, supply risks in major producing regions such as South Africa and Russia are creating opportunities for new projects in stable jurisdictions like Australia.
Future Metals is working with major shareholder Zeta Resources on a non-binding framework that could facilitate the Savannah plant acquisition. To manage transaction risk, the company plans to present both the Savannah-integrated option and a standalone development scenario in an updated scoping study due in late 2026.
Meanwhile, native title negotiations, environmental baseline studies, and early offtake discussions including interest from Trafigura and a Middle Eastern refinery are underway. If successful, the project could begin production by 2029, positioning Panton as a new, lower-cost source of PGMs in a tightening global market.
Learn More: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/future-metals-nl
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Interview with Shane Williams, President & CEO of West Red Lake Gold Mines
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/growth-stories-winning-teams-that-know-how-to-find-gold-get-it-out-of-the-ground-9290
Recording date: 16th July 2026
West Red Lake Gold Mines' second-quarter 2026 operational update provides the clearest evidence yet that the ramp-up strategy at its Madsen Mine, in Ontario's Red Lake district, is translating into measurable production gains. Gold output rose 51% quarter-on-quarter to 8,576 ounces, while mined ounces climbed 73% to 10,459, reflecting improvements in both mining rate and average grade. Mined tonnage increased 46% to 75,524 tonnes, and average mined grade rose 23% to 4.3 g/t from 3.5 g/t in Q1.
Perhaps most notable for investors focused on operational leverage: mining rates in the back half of Q2 consistently exceeded the mill's currently permitted 800 tpd capacity, a reversal from the mine's history under prior operator Pure Gold, which struggled to achieve comparable throughput. The excess mining rate allowed West Red Lake Gold to build a surface stockpile of roughly 10,768 tonnes, representing about half a month of mill feed, providing operational flexibility heading into the second half of the year.
CEO Shane Williams was direct in confirming the company is now generating cash rather than simply breaking even, and that debt taken on during the Madsen restart is beginning to be repaid. This is a meaningful signal for a company only recently transitioned from distressed-asset restart to commercial producer.
Grade improvement is expected to continue as mining advances into non-remnant areas of the deposit, including the 4447 zone and the 904 Complex, both of which sit in previously unmined portions of Madsen and are expected to lift average grade toward 6-8 g/t by year-end. Management also highlighted a meaningful reduction in mining dilution, attributing this to the discovery that historic survey inaccuracies had overstated the proximity of new mining areas to old workings, enabling a shift toward more efficient long-hole open stoping.
Full-year 2026 guidance of 35,000 to 45,000 ounces remains unchanged, with management targeting roughly 25,000-30,000 ounces in the second half of the year. Combined with year-to-date production of approximately 14,243 ounces across Q1 and Q2, this guidance range appears achievable based on the trajectory reported to date, though the company still has one further quarter of ramp-up expected before reaching steady-state operations.
For investors, the key watch items are whether Q3 delivers a comparable step-up to Q2, whether the promised fuller operational disclosure (including drill-model reconciliation from over 200,000 metres of underground drilling) supports management's confidence in the resource model, and progress on longer-dated catalysts including the Austin 904 Complex's advancement toward the 2027 mine plan and the combined Madsen-Rowan Pre-Feasibility Study expected in the second half of 2026. The company's ability to demonstrate sustained, rather than one-off, improvement will likely be the key determinant of how the market re-rates the stock from restart risk toward reliable producer status.
View West Red Lake Gold Mines' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/west-red-lake-gold-mines-inc
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Interview with Rupert Verco, CEO & Managing Director of Cobra Resources PLC
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/cobra-resources-lsecobr-scale-and-heavy-rare-earth-quality-set-this-isr-project-apart-10761
Recording date: 17th July 2026
Cobra Resources has reported encouraging early-stage results from its Manna Hill copper project in South Australia, pointing to the potential presence of a larger porphyry system beyond the previously identified shallow skarn mineralisation. The company adjusted its drilling programme from a planned 1,800 metres to 1,500 metres, reallocating effort toward deeper and more promising drill holes rather than continuing at the Black Rock target, where initial results suggested distance from the main mineralising source.
A key technical development is the transition in copper mineralisation from chalcopyrite to bornite observed in diamond drilling. This shift is significant because bornite contains a higher copper content and is typically associated with the potassic core of porphyry systems, suggesting proximity to a larger and potentially more economically viable mineral source. Supporting this interpretation, drilling has extended sulphide mineralisation continuity to depths of around 300 metres, beneath earlier shallow reverse circulation intercepts that already showed notable copper and gold grades.
In addition, a step-out hole drilled south of the known skarn unexpectedly intersected shallow copper oxide mineralisation outside the previously defined footprint, indicating a new and untested extension zone. Cobra also identified anhydrite breccia, a feature often linked to fluid pathways in large porphyry systems, further strengthening the geological model.
While these findings are based on visual core observations and remain subject to laboratory assay confirmation expected around August, they collectively suggest growing scale potential at Manna Hill. The company is planning further drilling in September to test the extent of the southern zone and refine its geological understanding. Alongside this, Cobra continues to advance its Boland rare earth project, providing a parallel development pathway.
View Cobra Resources' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/cobra-resources
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Interview with Michael Gentile, Strategic investor
Previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/mining-alpha-with-michael-gentile-junior-miners-repriced-as-ma-sets-new-gold-benchmarks-10184
Recording date: 16th July 2026
Strategic investor Michael Gentile argues that gold’s flat price since October 2025 masks a powerful divergence between market sentiment and underlying fundamentals. While gold still trades near $4,000 per ounce - the same level that previously triggered euphoria - investor mood has shifted to extreme pessimism. Gentile views this disconnect as an opportunity rather than a warning sign.
His thesis centers on the growing strain of US government debt. With interest rates rising, servicing roughly $40 trillion in debt at around 5% could push annual interest costs toward $2 trillion, compounding an already large fiscal deficit. Gentile questions whether such high rates are sustainable, suggesting that policymakers may ultimately be forced toward monetary easing or yield curve control—both historically supportive of gold prices.
At the same time, central banks continue to accumulate gold aggressively, driving much of its long-term rally. However, financial investors remain largely absent, with gold representing only a small fraction of global portfolios and sentiment indicators near record lows. Gentile believes even a modest shift in institutional allocation could significantly accelerate demand.
In equities, he focuses on junior mining companies with large resources and existing infrastructure, which reduce development costs and increase takeover appeal. He highlights companies like McFarlane Lake, Radisson Mining, and Big Ridge Gold as examples where market valuations remain far below the prices typically paid in acquisitions. This gap, he argues, creates substantial upside as consolidation continues.
Gentile has also made a rare move into royalties through Silver Crown, a company targeting overlooked silver by-products from other mining operations. This niche strategy avoids direct competition with major royalty firms and could offer scalable growth.
Overall, Gentile maintains that gold’s long-term outlook remains intact, driven by structural debt pressures, steady central bank demand, and the potential return of financial investors.
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Interview with Hayden Locke, President & CEO of Marimaca Copper Corp.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/marimaca-copper-tsxmari-pampa-medina-shows-tier-one-potential-with-57-copper-hits-10588
Recording date: 13th July 2026
Marimaca Copper Corp. (TSX:MARI) is a Chile-focused copper developer whose flagship asset, the Marimaca Oxide Deposit (MOD), has reached Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) completion and holds its key environmental approval (the RCA, received November 2025). Located in the Antofagasta region, the heart of the world's largest copper-producing jurisdiction, the MOD benefits from low-altitude, low-execution-risk positioning within 25 kilometres of the Port of Mejillones. The DFS outlines a 13-year mine life on 179 million tonnes of Proved and Probable reserves at 0.42% CuT, supporting roughly 50,000 tonnes per annum of copper cathode production via conventional heap leach and SX-EW processing. At a three-month average copper price of US$5.05/lb, the project delivers a post-tax NPV (8%) of US$1.1 billion and a 39% IRR with a 2.2-year payback; at the DFS's more conservative long-term price assumption of US$4.30/lb, post-tax NPV is US$709 million at a 31% IRR. Initial capital intensity of approximately US$11,700 per tonne of annual production ranks among the most capital-efficient greenfield copper developments globally.
President and CEO Hayden Locke argued that Marimaca's current share price roughly reflects the standalone value of the MOD alone as the market is attaching little value to the Company's second asset, Pampa Medina. Located approximately 28 kilometres from the MOD, Pampa Medina is a sediment-hosted copper-silver system that Locke compares directly to the Kakula selective mining zone within the world-class Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Six drill rigs are currently active at Pampa Medina, running step-out and infill programmes. The company's most recent results extended the central high-grade bornite-chalcocite zone 300 metres south with hole SPRD-07 (including 6 metres at 6.11% copper and 24.0 g/t silver), while SPRD-08B intersected mineralisation in basement metasediments for the first time, reaching a total depth of 1,052 metres. Locke separately estimates that identified oxide extensions at Pampa Medina could add 20,000-25,000 tonnes a year of additional cathode production without further exploration success, complementing the existing MOD plant.
Execution risk is a key focus for management. The board was recently strengthened with the addition of Chairman Giancarlo Bruno, former CEO of Mantos Copper, and non-executive director Zenon Wozniak, who spent 23 years as First Quantum Minerals' director of projects. Project Director Josh Watson leads an in-country execution team based in Santiago.
Key near-term catalysts include: Sectorial Permit approvals expected in Q4 2026 following an on-schedule April 2026 submission; a project financing announcement, led by advisor Endeavour Financial, also expected by Q4 2026; continued Pampa Medina step-out drilling results; and a maiden Pampa Medina sulphide mineral resource estimate targeted for early 2027. Construction is targeted to begin in 2027, with first copper cathode guided for 2029. Investors should weigh the permitting, financing and execution risks inherent to any pre-production developer against a de-risked flagship asset and a exploration program that management believes offers substantial, currently unpriced upside.
View Marimaca Copper's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/marimaca-copper
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com