Company Interviews

Interview with Alan Carter, President and CEO of Cabral Gold
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/cabral-gold-tsxvcbr-november-commercial-production-eyes-doubling-output-12183
Recording date: 9th November 2026
Cabral Gold (TSXV:CBR) has completed construction of its Phase 1 heap leach mine at the Cuiú Cuiú gold district in Pará State, Brazil, and is targeting a commercial production declaration before the end of 2026. The PFS scheduled a 12-month build, and Cabral finished in 10 months and on budget. A first gold pour of 1,130 oz was announced on September 10, 2026, and ramp-up ran through October and November.
Phase 1 mines oxide material within 60 m of surface: soils, sediments and saprolite that need no drilling, blasting, crushing or grinding. The plant is designed for 3,000 tonnes per day. The July 2025 PFS by Ausenco Brazil targets 25,000 oz per year in the first 2 years at cash costs of US$950/oz, with an AISC of US$1,210/oz over the life of mine. Management is targeting 25,000 to 30,000 oz in the first year.
The central change is funding. Cabral previously paid for drilling with equity raises, which diluted shareholders across a district with more than 50 untested targets. President and CEO Alan Carter said Phase 1 cash flow will more than cover exploration costs. Cabral is not anticipating further dilution, and Carter defined growth as market capitalization, value per share and share price. As of November 6, 2026, Cabral held C$68M in cash, and its market capitalization was C$448.4M. A US$45M gold loan funded construction. Principal repayments of 39 kg of gold per quarter begin on March 31, 2027.
The larger prize is the hard rock. About 75% of the current resource of 670,480 oz Indicated and 527,320 oz Inferred is hard rock. Each of the 6 deposits is open at depth, and several are open along strike. Carter described central high-grade zones inside lower-grade stockwork halos. At Jerimum Cima, drilling returned 9.5 m at 87.4 g/t Au within a high-grade zone about 400 m long. Cabral is targeting a PEA on the Phase 2 hard rock mine in the third quarter of 2027, followed by infill drilling and a Phase 2 PFS in the fourth quarter. Carter expects Phase 2 capital to be much larger than Phase 1’s US$37.7M.
The resource update targeted for the end of 2026 covers 6 deposits, against 3 in 2022, after about 50,000 m of drilling. Management’s target is above 2 Moz. Cabral has made 4 hard rock discoveries since 2022. Results outside the deposits include 27 m at 6.9 g/t at Central SE and boulders averaging 91.7 g/t at Alonso. 
Cuiú Cuiú lies on the same fault structure as G Mining Ventures’ Tocantinzinho, which produced 177,000 oz in 2025, and Carter was part of Tocantinzinho’s early discovery. Cuiú Cuiú produced an estimated 2 Moz of placer gold, 10 times Tocantinzinho’s total.
Catalysts include the commercial production declaration, the year-end resource update, Phase 1 expansion details, the Phase 2 PEA, and Phase 1 cost control as loan repayments begin. 
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/cabral-gold
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Interview with Nick Appleyard, President & CEO of TriStar Gold Inc.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/tristar-gold-tsxvtsg-603m-npv-80-peer-discount-gold-developer-awaits-court-ruling-11482
Recording date: 9th November 2026
TriStar Gold (TSXV:TSG) has moved from a binary legal outcome to a defined permitting process at its 100%-owned Castelo de Sonhos gold project in Pará State, Brazil. The Federal Court of Pará issued an interim ruling in the civil public action brought by Brazil’s Federal Prosecutor’s Office in August 2025. The court provisionally suspended the effects of the project’s preliminary environmental license (LP) but did not cancel it. It directed the company to complete an Indigenous Component Study (ECI) and a free, prior and informed consultation (FPIC) before construction or operating licenses can be issued.
The ruling expressly permits technical studies, environmental work and administrative activities to continue. CEO Nick Appleyard said the company can carry out all of its drilling, technical and environmental work. He plans to run the ECI in parallel with the feasibility study because the study is likely to produce information the consultation will need. TriStar had been pressing Brazilian authorities to begin the consultation for the past year.
Within 60 business days of formal notification, SEMAS and TriStar must file additional technical documents and evidence of progress. Appleyard estimates this window closes around March 2027 and sees it as pressure on FUNAI, the federal Indigenous agency, to issue terms of reference. He estimates 4 to 6 months of study work and 12 to 18 months from start to finish, with FUNAI more likely than the communities to set the pace. Once FUNAI accepts the ECI as complete, he said the court filing would take weeks.
The project is based on a May 2025 PFS: 1.4Moz of probable reserves at 1.1 g/t Au, after-tax NPV5% of US$603M and 40% IRR at US$2,200/oz gold, initial capex of US$296M including 20% contingency, AISC of US$1,111/oz and a 2-year payback. Production averages 121koz/yr over 11 years, with about 146koz/yr from Esperança South in years 1 to 6. At US$3,200/oz, NPV5% rises to US$1.3B and IRR to 72%.
The feasibility study is targeted to take about 2 years, subject to financing. Appleyard pointed to Esperança South extensions at 1.3 to 1.5 g/t and a tailings disposal trade-off as the work streams most likely to move the economics.
At C$0.225 per share on October 7, 2026, the market capitalization was C$91.0M. The company’s peer comparison shows TriStar at 0.02x P/NAV against a 0.3x median, the lowest of 12 peers, and US$20 per M&I ounce against a US$94 median. The next watch-items are the 60-business-day filing, FUNAI’s terms of reference, 2027 extension drilling and the tailings trade-off. 
TriStar holds just under US$10M in cash, and Appleyard said warrants could add about $5M by May 2027. That covers 2027 drilling, infill drilling, the start of trade-off studies and the ECI, but not the full 2-year program, so further financing will be needed.
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Interview with Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse, Director & CEO of Contango Silver & Gold
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/contango-silver-gold-tsxctgo-direct-shipping-cash-flow-funds-path-to-200kozyear-gold-plan-12186
Recording date: 9th November 2026
Contango Silver & Gold is a gold producer with a growth pipeline across Alaska and British Columbia. Its cash comes from a 30% interest in the Manh Choh mine, which Kinross operates and owns 70% of. Manh Choh uses a direct shipping ore (DSO) model: ore is trucked about 240 miles to Kinross’s Fort Knox mill, so Contango did not build a mill or tailings facility. In 2025, Contango’s share was 59,500 oz of gold, and it received a $102 million distribution.
CEO Rick Van Nieuwenhuyse restated the five-year target of 200,000 oz of gold and 5 Moz of silver a year. Each asset funds the next. Manh Choh funds Lucky Shot, and the two together fund Johnson Tract and Kitsault Valley to production decisions.
Manh Choh is weaker in 2026. Production will be near the low end of the 40,000 to 45,000 oz guidance after heavy September rain paused Fort Knox’s heap leach. The remaining ore moves into the fourth processing campaign, starting in November. Costs are higher because all-sulfide ore uses more cyanide and lime, and diesel and salaries have risen. Published 2027 guidance is 75,000 to 80,000 oz at $1,200 to $1,300 per oz. Van Nieuwenhuyse gave a lower preliminary figure of about 70,000 oz and around $150 million in free cash flow to Contango, with formal guidance due in December. He put remaining mine life at this year plus three more.
Lucky Shot is 100% owned and fully permitted. It holds about 110,000 oz at 14.5 g/t gold. Drilling runs into February 2027, an MRE is targeted for May 2027, and a tolling-based feasibility study follows, most likely using Fort Knox. The company is targeting 40,000 to 50,000 oz a year from 2028, at cash costs near $2,000 per oz at $4,000 gold. Drilling in the 2070 East and 2300 East drifts is testing the vein system’s eastern extent for the first time in the modern era.
The larger growth comes from two polymetallic deposits. Johnson Tract holds about 1.1 Moz at 9.4 g/t AuEq. Its May 2025 Initial Assessment estimated a post-tax NPV5% of $615.4 million and an IRR above 60% at $4,000 gold. Road and port permits are targeted for May 2028 and production for 2030. Kitsault’s September 2026 MRE reported 89.5 Moz AgEq Indicated at 363 g/t and 64.92 Moz AgEq Inferred at 320 g/t. It excludes the 56,492 m drilled in 2026, which will feed an update in the first half of 2027 and an Initial Assessment later that year.
Both deposits need a sulfide mill. Contango is choosing between buying an idle mill and building on a permitted site near Kitsault, and Van Nieuwenhuyse said this will need some equity. Contango had $89 million in cash at June 2026, against $45.3 million of bank debt and a $20 million convertible. It has no hedges and about 33 million shares outstanding, which management wants to keep low.
Catalysts to watch are 2027 guidance in December, the Lucky Shot MRE in May 2027, the Kitsault update in the first half of 2027, and the processing decision.
View Contango Silver & Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/contango-silver-gold-inc
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Interview with Shawn Howarth, President & CEO of Excellon Resources
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/excellon-resources-tsxvexn-mallay-restarts-as-drilling-supports-resource-depth-12149
Recording date: 9th November 2026
Excellon Resources (TSXV:EXN) is restarting the past-producing Mallay silver-lead-zinc mine in central Peru. The company is presenting the asset as a near-term revenue source that can fund district-scale exploration. President and CEO Shawn Howarth said 2026 established the operating base and 2027 is about converting it into cash flow.
Excellon reopened the Mallay underground in early 2026 and published an NI 43-101 MRE in February 2026: 12.01 Moz AgEq Indicated at 420 g/t AgEq and 4.00 Moz AgEq Inferred at 344 g/t AgEq. Three pre-commissioning milling campaigns processed 19,884 t, recovered 52,860 oz Ag in concentrate at recoveries of 84% Ag, 84% Pb and 81% Zn, and generated US$4.4M in revenue from Glencore under the offtake. Howarth said the campaigns effectively de-risked the surface infrastructure. About 9,000 m of a 10,000 m infill and step-out program is complete, and the 400 Ramp has been dewatered.
A new mining contractor has been engaged. Management is targeting a consistent 300 tpd through Q1 and Q2 2027 and 600 tpd, the mill’s rated capacity, by mid-2027. At full rate, Howarth cited roughly 2 Moz AgEq a year based on historical production, stressing it is not guidance. Mining is shifting from historical 1-1.5 m narrow veins to replacement-style zones of 3-4 m (potentially up to 5 m), mined with trackless, mechanized equipment. The 400 Ramp is the access route below the 4090 Level. Howarth said its rehab is on schedule for year-end, targeting completion in Q1 2027. An updated MRE and SRK mine plan, targeted for YE 2026, will gate Clavo 3 and Clavo 6 production.
Cash was US$5M at the October 29 update, alongside an undrawn US$5M Glencore credit facility. Contingency levers include strategic options for Kilgore (Idaho), a possible Silver City (Germany) spin-out, and potential Glencore credit extensions. The Adar base metals stream amendment defers remaining Pb/Zn deliveries to January 2031, pending TSXV approval. The stated objective is a self-funding model in which free cash flow from Mallay pays for deeper development and exploration.
The first DHEM hole (~800 m) hit skarn-style alteration from ~600 m with anomalous copper, 300-400 m below the current epithermal veins; a second hole is underway. Tres Cerros, 6 km west, hosts a 2.5 km intermediate-sulfidation epithermal trend with 7 targets. An initial 5,000 m program focused on 2-3 priority targets is targeted for H1 2027, subject to permits, with DIA submission targeted for YE 2026.
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Interview with Tara Christie, President & CEO of Banyan Gold Corp.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/banyan-gold-tsxvbyn-franco-nevada-backs-aurmac-gold-project-ahead-of-pea-12106
Recording date: 9th November 2026
Banyan Gold is preparing a maiden Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for its AurMac gold project in Canada’s Yukon with a treasury of about C$100M, enough to fund its programs through 2028. AurMac hosts a pit-constrained resource of 3.64 Moz Indicated at 0.68 g/t Au and 4.98 Moz Inferred at 0.58 g/t Au. The site already has roads, hydro power and cell phone coverage.
The PEA is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. President and CEO Tara Christie said the company will not release it over the Christmas holidays, so it could move into early 2027 if the work is not finished. The study uses drilling to the end of 2025.
The most important ground for the next study is the gap between the Airstrip and Powerline deposits, a roughly 500 m wide and 1.5 km long which counts as waste in the current resource model and the PEA as it was undrilled. Christie said it falls within the first 10 years of a potential mine plan and could become a new starter pit. An earlier hole returned 13.03 g/t Au over 14.2 m, including 142.70 g/t over 1.0 m. A hole reported four zones, including 1.34 g/t over 20.2 m and 1.18 g/t over 27.5 m. About 20,000 m of drilling is still needed in the gap, most of it once the ground freezes from January.
Banyan has drilled 90% of its 70,000m 2026 program and plans to restart on January 4. The 2027 plan calls for about 100,000 m at AurMac and 20,000 to 30,000 m at Nitra. Banyan intends to cut off data after about the first 3 months of 2027, with assays around June or July. Christie expects the resulting resource update to exceed 10 Moz. The next study is expected in late 2027 or early 2028 and will more likely be a prefeasibility study than an updated PEA.
Funding came from a C$54.3M financing at C$2.00 per share that closed on September 29, 2026. Franco-Nevada was lead order and bought 10 million shares, adding to the AurMac royalty it acquired in February. The deal carried no warrants. Christie said dilution was less than 5% and the raise saved about a year on the timeline. Shares traded near C$1.60 at the time of the interview, and Christie said she put about C$500,000 into the round.
Christie said the PEA is written for the Yukon government, regulators and communities as well as investors. She expects a mine life of more than 25 years and is keeping options open on scale, processing and grid power, with the Whitehorse power center set to add 160 MW. At Nitra, Banyan made discoveries at Seattle Creek and Roaring Fork, with assays for 18 more holes pending.
View Banyan Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/banyan-gold-inc
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