Company Interviews

Interview with Frederick H. Earnest, President & CEO of Vista Gold
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/vista-gold-corp-nysevgz-39m-oversubscribed-raise-funds-development-push-9478
Recording date: 28th March 2026
Vista Gold Corp. (NYSE: VGZ) is advancing its Mt Todd Gold project in Australia's Northern Territory with a strategic rightsizing that management believes positions the asset for independent development while addressing a significant market valuation disconnect.
The company completed a 2025 feasibility study that reduced the project from 50,000 tons per day to 15,000 tons per day, cutting initial capital requirements by 59% from approximately $1 billion to $425 million. This restructuring targets annual production of 153,000 ounces over the first 15 years of a 30-year mine life, with the company raising its design cutoff grade from 0.35 to 0.5 grams per ton to prioritize higher-quality ore.
At a conservative $2,500 per ounce gold price, the feasibility study projects an after-tax NPV of $1.1 billion and a 27.8% IRR, with all-in sustaining costs near $1,500 per ounce. At $3,300 gold, the NPV increases to $2.2 billion with an IRR approaching 45%. With current gold prices around $4,500 per ounce, the project demonstrates substantial leverage to prevailing market conditions.
Despite holding 5.2 million ounces of proven and probable reserves and 10.6 million total ounces, Vista Gold trades at a significant discount to peers on enterprise value per ounce metrics. CEO Frederick Ernest attributes this partly to legacy perceptions from the project's 1990s operational history, though he emphasized that past failures stemmed from poor equipment selection rather than fundamental project flaws. Modern HPGR crusher technology is expected to achieve 90% metallurgical recovery versus historical 70% rates, while the frequently cited "hard ore" issue translates to only $50 per ounce in additional energy costs.
Near-term catalysts include permitting approvals expected through mid-2027, building an experienced Australian mine development team, and securing project financing through multiple pathways including traditional banks, government infrastructure funding, and potential streaming arrangements. The company closed a $44.85 million financing in March 2026, providing over $50 million in cash to fund development activities.
View Vista Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/vista-gold-corporation
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Interview with Victor Cantore, President & CEO of Amex Exploration Inc. 
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/amex-exploration-tsxvamx-high-grade-quebec-gold-project-targets-q3-2027-production-9500
Recording date: 26th March 2026
Amex Exploration Inc. (TSXV:AMX) has positioned itself as a potentially undervalued opportunity in the gold development sector, with management arguing the company's $470 million market capitalisation fails to reflect the project's underlying economics compared to similarly staged peers.
The Quebec-based developer's investment thesis rests on three fundamental pillars: exceptional ore grades, capital-efficient phased development, and strategic infrastructure positioning. At the project's core lies a grade differential that management characterizes as transformative. While comparable development projects report grades between 1.9 and 3.6 grams per tonne, AMX's deposit averages 5.1 grams per tonne on a diluted basis. The flagship Champagne zone grades 16 grams per tonne before dilution, with practical mining grades expected between 10 and 12 grams per tonne.
This grade advantage translates directly into capital efficiency. Phase 1 development requires $146 million in capital expenditure to achieve production exceeding 100,000 ounces annually from a 2.3 million ounce resource base. The company's phased approach—bulk sample followed by Phase 1 and Phase 2—creates a self-funding pathway designed to minimize equity dilution, with each stage generating revenue to finance subsequent expansion.
Near-term catalysts include imminent bulk sample permit approval, currently at the six-month review threshold following submission in mid-September. Upon approval, construction mobilization follows within 45 days, positioning the project for mid-2027 initial production of 20,000 to 23,000 ounces. Phase 1 commercial production targets early-to-mid 2028.
Infrastructure access provides additional operational advantages. Proximity to an established town delivers immediate workforce availability, while electrical grid connectivity eliminates diesel generation requirements and associated fuel price exposure. Water supply exists through municipal connections, collectively differentiating the project's capital intensity from remote deposits requiring greenfield infrastructure construction.
Management contends that peers with similar production timelines trade at market capitalisations between $1.2 billion and double AMX's current valuation, despite what the company characterises as inferior grade economics and higher capital requirements.
View Amex Exploration's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/amex-exploration
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Interview with Peter Dembicki, President & CEO of Tier One Silver
Recording date: 23rd March 2026
Tier One Silver (TSXV:TSLV) is advancing an early-stage precious metals discovery in southern Peru that has delivered some of the highest-grade rock sampling results seen in the region. The company's 100%-owned Curibaya project has returned silver grades up to 300,000 grams per ton and gold grades approaching one kilogram, with over 80 samples exceeding one kilogram per ton silver distributed across a five-square-kilometer footprint.
Led by President and CEO Peter Dembicki, a former Canaccord Genuity investment adviser, the company benefits from world-class technical expertise. Christian Rios, formerly with Bear Creek Mining and integral to the Santana Corani discovery, serves as Senior Vice President of Exploration, while Antonio Arribas, former global head of geosciences for BHP and Newmont, provides additional technical guidance.
The property emerged from the 2021 spin-out of Auryn Resources and was consolidated through opportunistic acquisitions when base metal prices declined. Located in southern Peru's copper belt near the city of Tacna, the approximately 14,000-hectare property had never been systematically explored despite being surrounded by major global copper-silver producers.
Following an initial 5,000-meter reconnaissance drilling program, the company engaged independent consultants who identified a key insight: higher-elevation areas within the property should preserve a more intact precious metals system due to less erosion over geological time. The current 1,200-meter drilling program is testing this thesis in the Cambaya corridor, where rock samples have returned eight kilograms per ton silver and four grams per ton gold.
An unexpected discovery during initial drilling revealed indicators of a potential large porphyry copper system at depth, attracting attention from major mining companies seeking the next significant discovery in Peru's porphyry belt.
After operating through five years of challenging silver prices ranging from $17-22 per ounce, the company raised approximately $6.5 million in late 2025 as silver strengthened above $70. Management estimates requiring another 10,000 meters of drilling before resource definition, with six kilometers of identified vein corridors providing multiple targets. The company's strategy focuses entirely on discovery and resource definition rather than development, positioning for an eventual strategic transaction.
View Tier One Silver'c company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/tier-one-silver
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Interview with Justin van der Toorn, President & CEO of Greenheart Gold Inc.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/greenheart-gold-tsxvghrt-proven-discovery-team-advances-3-suriname-projects-with-35m-runway-8542
Recording date: 25th March 2026
Greenheart Gold (TSXV:GHRT) is executing a comprehensive exploration strategy across the Guyana Shield, with President and CEO Justin van der Toorn advancing multiple high-potential gold projects in Suriname and Guyana. The company's disciplined approach to early-stage exploration, combined with an experienced management team and strategic portfolio management, positions it to make discoveries in one of the world's most underexplored yet geologically prospective gold regions.
The company currently operates three advanced projects in Suriname—Majorodam, Igab, and Tosso Creek—each at different stages of development. At Majorodam, a 10,000-meter reverse circulation drilling program is underway testing a 15-kilometer gold-in-soil anomaly. The cost-effective RC approach allows rapid coverage of the entire trend at approximately 50-60% of diamond drilling expenses, with holes targeting near-surface mineralization before following higher-grade zones to depth.
The Igab project has emerged as a high-priority target following exceptional trenching results of 12 meters at 4.82 g/t and 11 meters at 9 g/t gold. Diamond drilling commences in April 2026 to establish detailed structural understanding of these high-grade shear zones. Located 30 kilometers south of Newmont's Merian operation, Igab benefits from proximity to established infrastructure and geological context.
Tosso Creek represents bulk tonnage potential with 86 meters at 0.6 g/t gold in trenching. Additional trenching is underway to refine targets before drilling in Q2 2026.
Greenheart's management team brings proven credentials from Reunion Gold's Oko discovery in Guyana, which ultimately attracted a takeover. The company maintains capital discipline through its willingness to drop non-performing projects while preserving treasury strength for aggressive multi-project exploration. "We're explorers, that's what we think we're good at," Justin emphasized.
With multiple drilling programs advancing simultaneously throughout 2026, Greenheart is positioned to deliver continuous newsflow while targeting tier-one discoveries in the underexplored Guyana Shield. The company's strategy focuses on demonstrating meaningful intercepts with both grade and volume to establish mineable potential across its portfolio.
View Greenheart Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/greenheart-gold
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Interview with Phil Hoskins, CEO of Atomic Eagle
Recording date: 24th March 2026
Atomic Eagle (ASX:AEU) is advancing the Muntanga uranium project in Zambia with an aggressive resource expansion strategy designed to unlock economies of scale. Led by CEO Phil Hoskins and backed by the founders of Boss Energy and Lotus Resources - both now uranium producers - the company has assembled experienced uranium development expertise to grow a technically proven asset in a tier-one African jurisdiction.
The Muntanga project stands on solid ground with a completed NI 43-101 feasibility study and a recently expanded resource of 58.8 million pounds at 309 ppm. What distinguishes this deposit is exceptional metallurgical characteristics: over 90% recoveries, 21-day leach kinetics, and remarkably low acid consumption of just 20 kilograms per ton. These parameters signal favorable economics to experienced developers, though the previous operator's study at 2.2 million pounds per annum production showed insufficient scale to generate attractive returns.
Atomic Eagle's solution centers on resource growth. The largest drill program at Muntanga since 2007 launches in April 2026, targeting over 50,000 meters across 10 discrete targets using cost-effective gamma-probe technology at $45 per meter. The company aims to grow resources toward 100+ million pounds to support 4-5 million pounds per annum production by circa 2030, comparable to Bannerman Resources' development model. Current resources, if fully incorporated into a revised mine plan, could already support 3.9 million pounds annually for 12 years.
With $19 million in treasury, Atomic Eagle is well-funded to execute its 2026 exploration program and 2027 updated feasibility study. Zambia offers significant jurisdictional advantages: no free carried government interest, established mining infrastructure as the world's seventh-largest copper producer, and Fraser Institute-validated regulatory stability.
Additional upside exists through a 116 million pound Niger asset (1,300 ppm grade) currently assigned zero market value. Active negotiations are progressing to return this asset under new terms, with an update expected in the first half of 2026. Recent roadshow feedback confirmed that investors view Atomic Eagle as undervalued based solely on the Zambian asset, positioning the company as a focused development play rather than a speculative exploration play in an increasingly strategic uranium market.
View Atomic Eagle's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/atomic-eagle
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