Company Interviews

Interview with Ross McElroy, Director & CEO of F3 Uranium
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/f3-uranium-tsxvfuu-the-discovery-that-rewrote-uranium-exploration-rules-10839
Recording date: 4th October 2026
F3 Uranium Corp. (TSXV:FUU) has reorganised its leadership around a team that has worked together for two decades. Ross McElroy, a geologist with almost 40 years in uranium and a co-founder of Fission Uranium, is now Chief Executive Officer. Dev Randhawa becomes Executive Chairman and steps back from day-to-day management to focus on networking and promoting the company. Raymond Ashley, F3's original exploration manager and later President, now concentrates almost entirely on technical work following the departure of VP Exploration Sam Hartmann in early September. McElroy describes the change as a reallocation of complementary skills rather than a fix for any specific problem.
The company's asset base sits in the PLN project in the western Athabasca Basin, a land package McElroy puts at about 42,000 hectares. The JR Zone hosts an Indicated resource of 11.8 million lb U3O8 at 4.41%, including a high-grade domain of 10.8 million lb at 12.23%. McElroy is frank that this pod has probably been delineated as far as it will go. On its own, he says, it is a little short of what is needed to justify advanced studies. Athabasca deposits often occur as multiple pods, however, and he would not be surprised to find more along the A1 conductor trend.
The more important development may be happening next door. NexGen Energy's Arrow and Paladin Energy's Triple R are advancing towards production, and McElroy expects at least two mills, new roads and possibly provincial grid power to reach the area. That infrastructure lowers the critical mass a deposit needs to be economic. He sees JR as a potential satellite feed for a producer such as Paladin, or as an attraction for a company looking to consolidate the district.
Exploration focus for the next 12 to 18 months will be the Tetra Zone, discovered in April 2025 about 13 km south of JR. The discovery hole returned 22.5 m at 0.26% U3O8, including 1.0 m at 2.50%, and follow-up hole PLN25-219A returned 3.0 m at 1.19%. McElroy acknowledges that true high-grade uranium has yet to be found. Drilling has shown that Tetra sits where the north-south trend hosting JR meets an east-west trend parallel to the Triple R and Arrow corridor, both of which are known to host high-grade mineralisation.
Drilling continues with a single rig until about the end of November. The fall programme, originally planned at 4,000 to 4,500 m, is now expected to reach 5,000 to 7,000 m. The winter programme will be planned in December and announced that month, with drilling from January or February. F3 reported $21.3 million in cash as at 25 August 2026.
On the corporate side, a planned 10:1 consolidation would reduce roughly 750 million shares to about 75 million. McElroy hopes this will help broaden the institutional shareholder base. He also sees attracting strategic interest as a central part of his role, pointing to the land position, the JR resource and the Tetra discovery. Key risks include Tetra failing to deliver a high-grade core, JR's dependence on third-party infrastructure, potential dilution and weak sentiment towards uranium equities.
View F3 Uranium's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/f3-uranium-corp
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Recording date: 3rd October 2026
Olive Resource Capital distils two weeks on the autumn conference circuit into a clear message. The gold sector has moved past exuberance into a more disciplined phase. Producers have the cash to buy, but genuine bargains are harder to find.
Samuel Pelaez, Olive's President, CEO and CIO, said attendance at the Precious Metals Summit in Beaver Creek matched or exceeded last year's, with meeting rooms spilling into tents. The mood was optimistic but more measured than in 2025, when Hemlo's roughly $1 billion raise exemplified the market's appetite. Executive Chairman Derek Macpherson, who held close to 50 meetings on behalf of West Point Gold, said the most telling signal came from corporate development teams. They appeared to be actively hunting for assets rather than gathering information, in one case sending a CEO to a first meeting. Because producers are rarely first movers, Olive reads their activity as confirmation of a maturing cycle.
The cycle is now shaped by capital allocation. At Mining Forum Americas, Macpherson saw no weak balance sheets among the majors and mid-tiers presenting, reflecting about 18 months of exceptional profitability. Almost every presentation opened or closed on capital allocation. Macpherson's explanation is structural. Gold ETFs such as GLD, GDX and GDXJ now give generalists liquid exposure without single-stock risk, compressing producer multiples. Each major must therefore prove it allocates capital better than a passive product. Agnico Eagle was the standout example.
M&A provided the backdrop. Artemis Gold's proposed all-share acquisition of Vista Gold, valued at $427 million for roughly 10.5 million ounces at Mt Todd, works out at about $40 per ounce. Macpherson contrasted that with roughly $400 per ounce in G Mining Ventures' deal for G2 Goldfields. Pelaez said the deal mainly shows Artemis intends to be a buyer, further thinning the list of quality targets. The deal is expected to close in January 2027.
The headline event was Gold Fields' approach for Northern Star Resources, which Northern Star's board rejected. The offer was worth about A$27 per share when made but had slipped towards A$25 as Gold Fields shares fell, against a Northern Star price of A$22 to A$23. Olive doubts Gold Fields can raise its offer meaningfully without damaging its own shareholders. The list of alternative bidders is short. Newmont could afford it, Barrick is preoccupied with its breakup, and Agnico Eagle is the most credible candidate given its Australian presence and premium multiple.
Olive is acting on that view. It is buying Northern Star on three grounds: a post-capex turnaround under incoming CEO Suresh Vadnagra, a price floor implied by Gold Fields, and a lower-probability chance of a rival bid. The fund previously exited on Australian diesel supply concerns, but conference conversations eased those worries.
Olive also signalled appetite to add to two existing holdings. Bravo Mining's Luanga PFS shows a post-tax NPV of about $1.45 billion against an estimated enterprise value near $300 million and close to $100 million in cash. K92 Mining continues to beat conservative guidance and, in Olive's view, offers funded growth that is not yet fully priced in.
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Daniel Henao, CEO of Mineros S.A.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/mineros-sa-tsxmsa-undervalued-investment-series-with-daniel-henao-10231
Recording date: 29th September 2026
Mineros S.A. (TSX:MSA) is a gold producer with more than 50 years of operating history in Latin America. It is listed in Colombia, on the TSX and on the OTCQX. For most of its life it was largely unknown to North American and European investors. That began to change after its 2021 TSX listing and, more decisively, after Sun Valley Investments became controlling shareholder in 2025 and installed new management. CEO Daniel Henao says the shares have since risen from about 60 cents to about $10, a roughly 15-fold move that is unusual for a producer rather than an explorer.
The operating base has two assets. Hemco in Nicaragua combines underground mining with partnerships with local miners, and it is where the new team has found the largest gains. Higher gold and silver recoveries, a $25 million processing expansion expected to add about 30,000 ounces, and better grade control have driven a guidance increase to 220,000-240,000 gold equivalent ounces for 2026. First-half AISC of $2,348 per ounce sits below the guided range of $2,370-$2,470. Management wants Hemco to approach 200,000 ounces a year before Porvenir.
The Nechí alluvial operation in Colombia has produced gold for more than a century. It uses gravity recovery with no chemicals and runs on hydroelectric power. It produced about 90,000 ounces last year and holds roughly 2.2 million ounces in reserves and resources. Henao sees scope for 30-40% more production, subject to government approvals.
Growth is funded internally. Mineros holds about $230 million in liquid assets, including roughly 40,000 ounces of gold bullion, and carries almost no debt. That covers the $206.8 million initial capital for Porvenir in Nicaragua. At $3,150 gold, the PFS shows a 37.9% after-tax IRR, a $460 million NPV and about 70,000 ounces a year. Major permits are in hand, two minor permits are expected by year-end, and a construction decision is targeted for the first quarter of 2027. The plant is designed at 2,000 tonnes per day with scope to double. Mineros is drilling about 85 kilometres in the district this year at around $100 per metre, roughly a quarter of what peers pay, using its own rigs.
Two larger options sit beyond Porvenir. Tolima in Colombia carries a historical estimate of about 28 million ounces from AngloGold Ashanti, which Mineros has not verified as a current resource. Development depends on community engagement, supported by Colombia's works-for-taxes mechanism. La Pepa in Chile's Maricunga belt holds about 2.5 million ounces. A PEA targeting 100,000-150,000 ounces a year is due early next year.
On Henao's figures, annualised EBITDA of about $500 million against an enterprise value near $2 billion implies about four times EBITDA. The company presentation cites 2.5 times. Neither includes value for Tolima or La Pepa. Key risks are gold-indexed partner costs, peso strength, jurisdictional exposure and the open-ended Tolima timeline. Catalysts to watch are the final Porvenir permits, the construction decision, the La Pepa PEA and progress towards 300,000 ounces a year.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/mineros-sa
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Paul Chawrun, COO of i-80 Gold Corp.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/i-80-gold-tsxiau-capital-raised-construction-underway-to-gold-production-by-2027-9498
Recording date: 29th September 2026
i-80 Gold Corp. (TSX:IAU) is a Nevada-focused gold developer and producer that aims to become a mid-tier producer through a hub-and-spoke model. Three underground mines and, later, a large open pit oxide project are planned to support a central processing facility at Lone Tree. Chief Operating Officer Paul Chawrun said the company has spent the past year turning a plan the market saw as complex into a series of completed milestones.
The financing phase is complete. i-80 raised more than $1 billion through equity, a royalty, convertible notes and a gold prepay facility, and held $464.6 million in cash at 30 June 2026. The company has expanded its technical teams and begun operational readiness work for Lone Tree.
Granite Creek Underground is the first asset with declared reserves. The September 2026 feasibility study set an initial reserve of 557,000 oz at 7.87 g/t, supporting about 8.5 years of mining and average output of 75,100 oz per year from 2028 to 2032 at AISC of $1,915/oz. Grade is lower than in the 2025 PEA because the highest-grade zones lie further out in the deposit. Chawrun pointed to two sources of upside not included in the study's costs. Screening removes about 20% of waste and lifts head grade by roughly 20%. Improving ground conditions from dewatering should also allow throughput to rise towards 1,000 tonnes per day. Inferred resources have historically converted at a ratio of one-to-one or better, and the deposit remains open.
Lone Tree is the economic hinge of the strategy. Sulphide ore currently goes to a third-party processor at a payability factor of 55% to 60%. Bringing it in-house should lift average recovery to around 87%. The refurbishment, estimated at roughly $430 million, is on schedule. Chawrun noted labour cost pressure that remains within contingency. The filtration plant is targeted for October 2027, first gold pour for Q4 2027 and autoclave processing of sulphides from 2028.
Archimedes at Ruby Hill is due to deliver first gold in Q4 2026. Its oxide ore leaches well at both low grades of around 2 g/t and high grades of 7 to 9 g/t. That gives i-80 the choice of continued heap leaching or processing high-grade oxide at Lone Tree while building a sulphide stockpile.
Mineral Point is the growth engine. The PEA outlined around 280,000 gold-equivalent oz per year at AISC that Chawrun now places at $1,200 to $1,400/oz. The project includes a large silver resource that adds 15% to 20% to margin. A drilling campaign of about 155,000 metres is expected to feed a pre-feasibility study around mid-2027, with management targeting a reserve of about 5 million oz. Permitting is planned to begin late in 2026, with production around 2031. The roughly $1 billion capital cost is expected to be funded without new equity.
For investors, near-term watch-items are Archimedes first gold, Lone Tree construction progress and Granite Creek grade reconciliation. The Mineral Point pre-feasibility study is the larger catalyst. Key risks include dewatering, construction costs, permitting timelines and the gold price assumptions underpinning the non-dilutive funding plan.
View i-80 Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/i-80-gold
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Lon Shaver, President of Silvercorp Metals Inc.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/silvercorp-metals-tsxsvm-undervalued-investment-series-with-lon-shaver-10671
Recording date: 29th September 2026
Silvercorp Metals Inc. (TSX:SVM, NYSE American:SVM) has spent years as a profitable silver producer in China whose valuation reflected the market's discomfort with single-jurisdiction exposure. That is changing. The company is now building two mines outside China, and President Lon Shaver believes the resulting multi-jurisdictional profile can change how investors view the business.
A fatal accident at a coal mine elsewhere in China prompted a national safety review after an investigation found criminal negligence by mine management and complicity by some local officials. Silvercorp proactively shut its mines to conduct an internal review. Ying restarted and ran at about 60% of targeted throughput in August, rising to close to 90-100% by the end of September. Shaver called it a one-time event and declined to update guidance. Strong zinc prices and improved zinc treatment and refining charges should help offset lost output. These conditions reflect lost lead-zinc production in China that has left smelters short of concentrate. All production is sold domestically in RMB, which has strengthened against the US dollar.
The first growth asset is El Domo, a copper-gold project in Ecuador. Construction is in its final push toward July 2027 commissioning. Two unusually wet rainy seasons have consumed some schedule slack, but contractors capable of deploying large crews have kept the target alive. The mill equipment is in transit. Shaver estimates El Domo will add about $200 million in annual revenue, a little under half from copper, compared with a Chinese run-rate he put at about $550 million. The capital cost is $284 million. Wheaton Precious Metals is providing a $175 million stream, about half of which has been drawn. Shaver cited a two-to-three-year payback at $3,350/oz gold and $5/lb copper.
The second growth asset is in Kyrgyzstan. Silvercorp paid an effective $150 million for a 70% controlling interest in a resource of around 6 million ounces of gold. The asset was previously advanced by London-based Chaarat Gold, which spent heavily before its lenders foreclosed. Shaver views the asset as poorly marketed and misunderstood. After closing in January and regaining site access in May, Silvercorp has prepared heap leach pad and crushing plant areas, completed a camp and started pit stripping. First ore on the pads is targeted for later in 2027. Phase 1, budgeted by Shaver at about $160 million, has a roughly four-year life that he believes could be extended by two years or doubled. Its cash flow is intended to help fund Phase 2, previously scoped at 200,000-230,000 ounces a year for 18 years.
Silvercorp's strategy is to pair lower entry prices in less contested jurisdictions with staged development that limits capital at risk. The company is also building a redeployable construction team and remains open to acquiring production.
Key risks are execution across two simultaneous builds, weather in Ecuador, perceived jurisdictional risk in Kyrgyzstan and further regulatory change in China. Investors should watch Ying's return to full output, any revised guidance, the remaining Wheaton tranches and first gold in Kyrgyzstan.
View Silvercorp's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/silvercorp-metals
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe