Company Interviews

Interview with Shubham Garg, Executive Chairman & CEO of Prospera Energy
Recording date: 21st July 2026
Prospera Energy Inc. (TSXV:PEI) is a Calgary-headquartered heavy-oil producer executing a well-reactivation strategy across its Cuthbert, Luseland, Hearts Hill, and Brooks properties in Saskatchewan and Alberta. Since a board and management transition in October 2024, led by CEO and Executive Chairman Shubham Garg, the company has shifted away from new drilling toward reactivating wells that were shut in due to prior operators' lack of capital and technical focus rather than poor underlying geology.
The model is capital-light: each reactivation costs approximately $150,000, with typical payback in 6-8 months and a second payback cycle following within 12-14 months, as production continues to climb rather than decline in the manner of a shale well. Management has completed at least 17 reactivations to date against an inventory of more than 140 candidates, of which 42 have now been screened as "Tier One" and is expected to pay back in under nine months.
Financially, the company is mid-close on a $12 million non-brokered private placement at $0.04 per unit with proceeds split between the reactivation programme ($10 million) and working capital ($2 million). The balance sheet currently carries approximately $21 million of senior debt and $7 million of subordinated debt, both largely held by board members and large shareholders, alongside roughly $75.8 million in accumulated tax pools that management expects will shelter cash income tax for several years. The company has stated an intention to retire approximately $30 million in combined debt and royalty obligations within 24 months of the financing's close.
Production stood at approximately 800 boe/d gross up from a first-quarter average of 720 boe/d. Realized netbacks improved sharply through Q1 2026, from $4.78/BOE in January to $27.70/BOE in March, tracking a broader strengthening in Western Canada Select pricing tied to the Strait of Hormuz supply disruption. Management expects Q2 2026, due to be reported around mid-August, to be the company's strongest quarter to date, with a netback approaching $30/BOE.
On reserves, Prospera's 2025 year-end report shows 1P before-tax NPV10 of $130.6 million and 2P of $202.0 million, with proved developed producing value guided to grow from $27 million to approximately $65 million by year-end 2026 as newly reactivated wells are recognized. Management also anticipates a further positive technical revision once more production history accumulates on wells already outperforming initial decline assumptions, expected to show up in the April 2027 reserve report.
Risks include commodity price sensitivity (a stated pause threshold near $55/barrel WTI), execution risk around sand management in reactivated wells, and an unreconciled gap between the board-ownership figure cited by management (52%) and the insider-ownership figure shown in company materials (36%).
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Interview with Bart Jaworski, CEO of Group Eleven Resources Corp.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/group-eleven-resources-tsxvzng-drilling-irelands-best-zinc-silver-copper-discovery-in-decades-10810
Recording date: 21st July 2026
Group Eleven Resources has reported a significant new zinc-lead discovery at its Stonepark project in Ireland, highlighting fresh exploration potential beyond its existing resource base. The company intersected 2.8 metres grading 8.3% zinc and lead, including a high-grade section of 1 metre at 22%, within a broader 15-metre zone of altered and brecciated rock. Notably, this intercept lies approximately 550 metres from the current resource, marking the most encouraging step-out result since the company acquired the project in 2017.
Stonepark currently hosts an estimated 5 million tonnes grading around 11% zinc and lead, based on a 2018 NI 43-101 resource. The new intercept suggests the possible presence of an additional mineralised zone, which could expand the overall scale of the deposit. Management emphasized that this is the first meaningful hit at such a distance, reinforcing the idea that the system remains open for growth.
The project’s location further strengthens its potential. Stonepark sits just 1 kilometre from Glencore’s much larger Pallas Green deposit, which contains approximately 45 million tonnes of zinc-lead mineralisation. Both deposits are believed to be part of the same geological system, underscoring the broader exploration opportunity in the region.
In addition to zinc-lead exploration, the drill hole also tested a deeper copper-silver target for the first time, with assay results still pending. This adds another layer of potential upside.
Financially, Group Eleven is well-positioned, with C$18 million in cash following a recent financing. This supports a 70,000-metre drill program over two years, including 15,000 metres allocated to Stonepark. While the project remains in the exploration stage, the latest results point to meaningful expansion potential in one of Europe’s most established zinc-producing regions.
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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.
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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
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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
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