Company Interviews

Interview with Meredith Eades, President and CEO, EraNova Metals  
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/eranova-metals-dual-path-critical-minerals-play-with-30-million-infrastructure-advantage-in-canada-9037
Recording date: 24th August 2026
EraNova Metals has released the first independent economic study on its Adanac Molybdenum Project since 2008, and the numbers give investors a concrete basis for evaluating a story that has, until now, rested largely on historical potential. The Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), prepared by Tetra Tech Canada, values Adanac at a C$714.4 million after-tax NPV with a 23.5% IRR and a 2.6-year payback, using a US$25.00 per pound long-term molybdenum price. At the current spot price of US$31.91 per pound, President and CEO Meredith Eades said the after-tax NPV rises to C$1.29 billion, with IRR climbing to 30.2%.
What separates Adanac from many junior molybdenum stories is the amount of work already completed. The project was drilled more than 73,000 metres, advanced through a full feasibility study, and received an Environmental Assessment Certificate in 2007, before the 2008 financial crisis halted construction. EraNova estimates the value of this historical infrastructure at more than C$100 million - road access, site works and engineering that a typical greenfield developer would need years and substantial capital to replicate. Combined with a mineral resource that is 93% Measured and Indicated, the technical foundation for a Feasibility Study is already largely in place, reducing the need for extensive further drilling.
The macro backdrop adds to the case. Around 90% of the world's molybdenum supply arrives as a by-product of copper mining, and as copper operations increasingly move underground, by-product molybdenum grades and volumes are under pressure. That leaves relatively few primary molybdenum developers positioned to meet growing demand from high-strength steel applications in pipelines, energy infrastructure, aerospace and defence.
Eades is explicit that EraNova is not attempting to raise its full C$953.3 million initial capital requirement in one step. Instead, the company is using the PEA as a credibility milestone to open conversations with government funding programmes, strategic partners and potential off-takers, including molybdenum consumers such as Freeport, Centerra and Molymet. A roughly 3,000-metre engineering support drilling programme is planned to advance toward Feasibility, alongside an updated environmental assessment process conducted in continued engagement with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation.
Against a market capitalisation the company puts at approximately $10 million, the PEA's economics represent a significant disconnect from the underlying asset value - if the numbers hold through Feasibility. Risks remain: the project still requires a full Feasibility Study, updated permits, and a near-billion-dollar capital build, all of which carry execution and dilution risk as capital is raised in stages. For investors willing to accept pre-production development risk, EraNova offers a rare primary molybdenum exposure with an unusually advanced permitting and engineering head start, plus exploration optionality across the wider Ruby Creek property - including high-grade silver, gold and tungsten targets - that could deliver catalysts independent of the molybdenum development timeline.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/eranova-metals
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Interview with Keith Boyle, Director & CEO of New Found Gold
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/new-found-gold-tsxnfg-construction-still-on-track-10918
Recording date: 14th August 2026
New Found Gold's transition from exploration company to emerging Newfoundland gold producer reached a milestone with its move to the TSX main board, a step CEO Keith Boyle frames as recognition of the company's operational progress over the past 18 months. The listing upgrade is intended to widen access to institutional capital and stock indices unavailable on the TSX Venture Exchange, with Boyle noting the company currently splits roughly 60% of trading volume on New York exchanges and 40% on the TSXV, and expects the TSX move to lift Canadian volume without reducing US liquidity.
Operationally, the company is running a two-track strategy. Hammerdown, a smaller open-pit gold mine acquired as part of the Maritime Resources transaction, is being ramped toward a 20,000-25,000 ounce annual run rate and is expected to be declared in commercial production within months. Boyle was explicit that Hammerdown was never intended to be a major cash generator - its purpose is to cover general and administrative costs and exploration spend, freeing the balance sheet to focus on the larger Queensway project.
Queensway itself is being built in phases rather than as a single large-scale mill, a decision Boyle said was made specifically to reduce the size of financing required at each stage. Phase one, a 700-tonne-per-day open pit feeding an expanded Pine Cove mill, is fully funded through to first ore delivery - targeted for the fourth quarter of next year - following a $220 million financing announced in April. The company expects production to climb toward 120,000-125,000 ounces annually by 2028 and 175,000-200,000 ounces from 2031, as later, larger phases come online.
A key near-term catalyst is the forthcoming updated mineral resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment for Queensway. Rather than moving straight to a feasibility study, the company is choosing to publish an updated PEA so investors can see the full multi-phase project, since phases two and three have not yet received enough infill drilling to be classified beyond inferred resources. Phase one, by contrast, has been de-risked through 5-by-5-metre grade control drilling and orders already placed for the mill conversion, which Boyle said supports a feasibility-level capital cost estimate for that portion of the project.
On exploration, New Found Gold is directing roughly 45% of its expanded 90,000-metre, $40-million-plus 2026 drill programme toward new discovery targets rather than infill - including strike extensions east of the high-grade core, ground picked up along the Appleton Fault from the November Exploits Discovery acquisition, and follow-up drilling at Pulse Pond/Greenwood Pond and Duder Lake. Boyle said per-ounce discovery costs have fallen from roughly $145 for the initial resource to below $100 currently, comparing favourably with M&A-driven ounce additions in the sector, which he put at $500-600 per ounce. For investors, the story combines a funded near-term production ramp with an aggressive, discovery-weighted exploration budget, and the updated Queensway study will be the next major data point to watch.
View New Found Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/new-found-gold
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Recording date: 21st August 2026
Omai Gold Mines emerged as the central focus of Olive Resource Capital’s latest market review after releasing a preliminary economic assessment that highlighted the project’s potential scale. At a gold price of $3,600 per ounce, Omai’s after-tax net present value was estimated at $4 billion, increasing to $5.5 billion at $4,200 gold. The study outlined average annual production of 350,000 ounces over an 18-year mine life, including several years above 400,000 ounces, and $8.1 billion in cumulative undiscounted cash flow. Although the market initially reacted cautiously, Olive argued that investors are still adjusting to the multibillion-dollar capital requirements of large mine developments in a higher-gold-price environment.
Olive also viewed Prospector Metals’ sharp selloff as a potential opportunity. The company’s shares fell about 40% following early Yukon drill results that did not immediately match the prior year’s standout intercepts. However, only two full holes and part of a third had been reported from a 44-hole program. With the company funded for its drilling campaign and management indicating it had identified a high-grade structural core, Olive added shares at approximately $0.80 to $0.90. The stock subsequently rebounded roughly 25% from its low.
K92 Mining reported more than US$300 million in quarterly cash flow and reached a net-cash position while advancing its Stage 3 expansion. The company also announced a planned CEO succession, with John Lewins becoming non-executive chairman and internal executive David Medilek taking over as CEO. Olive characterized the change as a continuity move rather than a change in strategy.
The broader second-quarter reporting season reinforced copper’s growing importance. Copper accounted for more than half of BHP’s EBITDA while being Rio Tinto’s largest contributing group (alongside aluminum and lithium), both firsts. Supply disruptions, constrained inventories and US stockpiling contributed to tighter copper markets. This renewed attention on miners with copper exposure, including DPM Metals, which generated record revenue and free cash flow. Olive was more cautious on Eldorado Gold, arguing that McIlvenna Bay is principally a zinc asset despite being widely described as a copper project.
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Interview with Phil Hoskins, CEO of Atomic Eagle
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/atomic-eagle-asxaeu-all-known-questions-answered-april-2026-10323
Recording date: 3rd August 2026
Atomic Eagle Limited (ASX:AEU | OTCQX:AEUXF) has negotiated the return of its Madaouela Uranium Project in Niger, transforming the company from a single-asset Zambian developer into a dual-asset uranium play with a combined resource base spanning two continents. The deal, agreed in principle after seven months of negotiation with Niger's Ministry of Mines, follows the 2024 expropriation of the project from Atomic Eagle's subsidiary GoviEx Uranium and the international arbitration proceedings that followed.
The scale differential between the two projects is significant. Madaouela hosts 116.5 million pounds of U3O8 at 1,282ppm - roughly twice Muntanga's resource size and four times its grade - underpinned by more than $160 million of historical expenditure and 600,000 metres of drilling. At current uranium prices, management estimates the project's net present value at approximately $650 million US, with each $5-per-pound price increase adding a further $100 million.
The commercial terms give Atomic Eagle 60% ownership of a newly formed Nigerien entity, with the government holding 40% - 15% as a standard free-carried interest and up to 25% as a contributory stake that dilutes if unfunded. Near-term cash outlay is limited to $10 million US in staged payments, plus a non-cash offer to carry the government for up to $40 million of its equity contribution. Critically for investors assessing execution risk, operational control - budgets, work programmes, and day-to-day decisions - sits unambiguously with Atomic Eagle, with no unanimous consent requirements from the government side.
The company now has a two-year window to update feasibility studies, reapply for environmental approvals, and convert the historical NI 43-101 resource estimate into a JORC-compliant figure, targeted for the second half of 2026. With $13.8 million in cash as at 30 June 2026 and a further $16 million potentially available through early option exercises by strategic holders, management believes funding is adequate to meet these near-term obligations without an immediate capital raise.
Management was explicit that Madaouela is not intended to divert resources or attention from Muntanga, which continues to grow toward a resource approaching 60 million pounds, supported by its own dedicated exploration and study teams. CEO Phil Hoskins framed the valuation opportunity in relative terms: African uranium developers currently trade around $3 a pound, which applied to Atomic Eagle's 60% attributable Madaouela resource implies roughly $210 million Australian in additional value - a figure he suggested could be exceeded given strategic interest already expressed by parties including the White House and major Chinese uranium companies, though he cautioned this depends on Atomic Eagle first demonstrating the deal's credibility to the market.
Formal signing of the mining convention is imminent. Until then, the agreement remains non-binding, and investors should treat the current terms as indicative rather than final.
View Atomic Eagle's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/atomic-eagle
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Interview with Alan Carter, President & CEO of Cabral Gold Inc.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/cabral-gold-tsxvcbr-85-built-q4-production-district-growth-ahead-11014
Recording date: 14th August 2026
Cabral Gold has reached a pivotal stage in developing its Cuiú Cuiú gold district in Pará State, Brazil, having secured the Operating Licence (LO) needed to begin leaching gold from its first heap leach pad. The licence, granted by the state environmental authority SEMAS/PA, follows the earlier Preliminary Licence and sits alongside a separate approval from Brazilian military authorities covering the purchase and transport of cyanide which both prerequisites for gold recovery under the company's Phase 1 gold-in-oxide operation.
Construction of the wet processing circuit, the last major piece of the build, is over 90% complete. The ADR plant which is built in Australia and shipped to site has finished mechanical assembly, with electrical work more than 90% done and commissioning under way. The simpler dry circuit, covering ore crushing, agglomeration and stacking, is already commissioned and operating. Ore is being mined, stacked and prepared for irrigation, which CEO Alan Carter expects to begin within days.
Management's updated timeline puts first gold production in September 2026, around six weeks earlier than originally planned, with full commissioning wrapped up by late September and a ramp-up toward commercial production - defined internally as 60-70% of design throughput - through the fourth quarter. The company has deliberately avoided issuing formal 2026 production guidance given the number of ramp-up variables involved in a first-time mine build, though guidance is likely for 2027.
Economically, the early mine life looks favourable relative to the broader resource. Infill drilling at the first deposit being mined points to average grades near 1.5 g/t gold over the first 12-18 months, roughly double the 0.7 g/t life-of-mine average, with life-of-mine costs guided at approximately US$1,200 an ounce against a gold price recently around US$4,300 an ounce. Management expects Phase 1 to generate at least US$50 million a year in cash flow once ramped up, which it intends to direct toward repaying a 39-month gold loan (signed in November 2025) and funding an active six-rig exploration programme, rather than raising further equity.
The larger opportunity, as Carter frames it, is Stage 2: unweathered hard-rock gold beneath the oxide caps now being mined, which he says represents roughly three-quarters of the district's current resource. With six known gold deposits, five confirmed to carry oxide caps, and around 50 untested peripheral targets across the district, management plans to update Cuiú Cuiú's global resource estimate by year-end and, depending on the outcome, potentially advance a preliminary economic assessment on the hard-rock opportunity in the first half of 2027.
Near-term risks centre on commissioning execution through the wet circuit and the inherent uncertainty of ramping up a new operation, while the current trial mining licence's 500,000-tonne cap - below the 1-million-tonne throughput contemplated in the Pre-Feasibility Study - remains a near-term constraint pending an expected licence upgrade. The project also recorded its first Lost Time Incident during the update period, a non-critical injury, against a Lost Time Injury Rate of 0.34 per 200,000 hours worked.
View Cabral Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/cabral-gold
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