Company Interviews

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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Interview with Michael Gentile, Strategic investor
Previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/mining-alpha-with-michael-gentile-junior-miners-repriced-as-ma-sets-new-gold-benchmarks-10184
Recording date: 16th July 2026
Strategic investor Michael Gentile argues that gold’s flat price since October 2025 masks a powerful divergence between market sentiment and underlying fundamentals. While gold still trades near $4,000 per ounce - the same level that previously triggered euphoria - investor mood has shifted to extreme pessimism. Gentile views this disconnect as an opportunity rather than a warning sign.
His thesis centers on the growing strain of US government debt. With interest rates rising, servicing roughly $40 trillion in debt at around 5% could push annual interest costs toward $2 trillion, compounding an already large fiscal deficit. Gentile questions whether such high rates are sustainable, suggesting that policymakers may ultimately be forced toward monetary easing or yield curve control—both historically supportive of gold prices.
At the same time, central banks continue to accumulate gold aggressively, driving much of its long-term rally. However, financial investors remain largely absent, with gold representing only a small fraction of global portfolios and sentiment indicators near record lows. Gentile believes even a modest shift in institutional allocation could significantly accelerate demand.
In equities, he focuses on junior mining companies with large resources and existing infrastructure, which reduce development costs and increase takeover appeal. He highlights companies like McFarlane Lake, Radisson Mining, and Big Ridge Gold as examples where market valuations remain far below the prices typically paid in acquisitions. This gap, he argues, creates substantial upside as consolidation continues.
Gentile has also made a rare move into royalties through Silver Crown, a company targeting overlooked silver by-products from other mining operations. This niche strategy avoids direct competition with major royalty firms and could offer scalable growth.
Overall, Gentile maintains that gold’s long-term outlook remains intact, driven by structural debt pressures, steady central bank demand, and the potential return of financial investors.
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Interview with Hayden Locke, President & CEO of Marimaca Copper Corp.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/marimaca-copper-tsxmari-pampa-medina-shows-tier-one-potential-with-57-copper-hits-10588
Recording date: 13th July 2026
Marimaca Copper Corp. (TSX:MARI) is a Chile-focused copper developer whose flagship asset, the Marimaca Oxide Deposit (MOD), has reached Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) completion and holds its key environmental approval (the RCA, received November 2025). Located in the Antofagasta region, the heart of the world's largest copper-producing jurisdiction, the MOD benefits from low-altitude, low-execution-risk positioning within 25 kilometres of the Port of Mejillones. The DFS outlines a 13-year mine life on 179 million tonnes of Proved and Probable reserves at 0.42% CuT, supporting roughly 50,000 tonnes per annum of copper cathode production via conventional heap leach and SX-EW processing. At a three-month average copper price of US$5.05/lb, the project delivers a post-tax NPV (8%) of US$1.1 billion and a 39% IRR with a 2.2-year payback; at the DFS's more conservative long-term price assumption of US$4.30/lb, post-tax NPV is US$709 million at a 31% IRR. Initial capital intensity of approximately US$11,700 per tonne of annual production ranks among the most capital-efficient greenfield copper developments globally.
President and CEO Hayden Locke argued that Marimaca's current share price roughly reflects the standalone value of the MOD alone as the market is attaching little value to the Company's second asset, Pampa Medina. Located approximately 28 kilometres from the MOD, Pampa Medina is a sediment-hosted copper-silver system that Locke compares directly to the Kakula selective mining zone within the world-class Kamoa-Kakula complex in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Six drill rigs are currently active at Pampa Medina, running step-out and infill programmes. The company's most recent results extended the central high-grade bornite-chalcocite zone 300 metres south with hole SPRD-07 (including 6 metres at 6.11% copper and 24.0 g/t silver), while SPRD-08B intersected mineralisation in basement metasediments for the first time, reaching a total depth of 1,052 metres. Locke separately estimates that identified oxide extensions at Pampa Medina could add 20,000-25,000 tonnes a year of additional cathode production without further exploration success, complementing the existing MOD plant.
Execution risk is a key focus for management. The board was recently strengthened with the addition of Chairman Giancarlo Bruno, former CEO of Mantos Copper, and non-executive director Zenon Wozniak, who spent 23 years as First Quantum Minerals' director of projects. Project Director Josh Watson leads an in-country execution team based in Santiago.
Key near-term catalysts include: Sectorial Permit approvals expected in Q4 2026 following an on-schedule April 2026 submission; a project financing announcement, led by advisor Endeavour Financial, also expected by Q4 2026; continued Pampa Medina step-out drilling results; and a maiden Pampa Medina sulphide mineral resource estimate targeted for early 2027. Construction is targeted to begin in 2027, with first copper cathode guided for 2029. Investors should weigh the permitting, financing and execution risks inherent to any pre-production developer against a de-risked flagship asset and a exploration program that management believes offers substantial, currently unpriced upside.
View Marimaca Copper's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/marimaca-copper
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Interview with Philippe Cloutier, President and CEO, Cartier Resources
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/cartier-resources-tsxvecr-undervalued-investment-series-with-philippe-cloutier-9970
Recording date: 15th July 2026
Cartier Resources is reshaping its strategy at the Cadillac gold project in Quebec’s Abitibi Greenstone Belt after early 2026 drilling confirmed that mineralization extends well beyond the historic Chimo mine. New discoveries at the Contact Zone, the Portal area, and a դեռ largely untested southern target indicate the presence of multiple mineralized systems across the company’s 15–20 kilometre land package, supporting the idea of a broader “mining camp” rather than a single-deposit project.
The results have prompted a redesign of Cartier’s exploration program. Instead of evenly distributed drilling across numerous targets, the company is prioritizing high-impact areas: infill drilling at Chimo, focused shallow drilling at the high-grade Contact and Portal zones, and a potentially large, multi-year campaign at the southern target. With about one-third of its 100,000-metre program completed, Cartier believes it has already demonstrated significant expansion potential.
An updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), expected in September 2026, will reflect materially improved fundamentals compared with the 2023 study. The resource base has grown to 3.2 million ounces from 2.3 million, metallurgical recoveries have increased to roughly 97%, and gold prices have more than doubled, now exceeding $4,000 per ounce. The company is also evaluating toll milling at nearby facilities to reduce capital costs and accelerate permitting timelines.
Strategically, Cartier is signaling a preference for partnership or acquisition rather than self-funded development, citing capital intensity and permitting complexity. Agnico Eagle, which already owns 27% of Cartier, remains a key stakeholder, though management is actively engaging a broader pool of potential partners amid rising global interest in Quebec gold assets.
With over $5 million in treasury and expanded investor outreach across North America, Europe, and Asia, Cartier is positioning its updated PEA as a key catalyst in advancing the project toward a strategic transaction.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/cartier-resources-inc
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Interview with Troy Boisjoli, CEO of ATHA Energy.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/atha-energy-tsxvsask-63m-funded-explorer-scales-up-2026-drill-program-10101
Recording date: 13th July 2026
ATHA Energy's 2026 exploration program at the Angilak Uranium Project in Nunavut is delivering early evidence that its uranium system extends well beyond the boundaries of its currently defined deposit. With three drill rigs active across two priority areas, the company has reported an 11.5 metre composite uranium mineralization intersection at Lac 50 West, located four kilometres from the known Lac 50 deposit, and a 37 metre composite intersection at RIB North, the widest result recorded at that target to date. Both results support CEO Troy Boisjoli's description of a district-scale opportunity spanning a 21-kilometre corridor at Lac 50 and an 18-kilometre corridor at RIB, rather than a series of isolated deposits.
Management has been clear that 2026 is not a delineation year. Drilling is deliberately spaced between 150 and 500 metres apart, designed to establish continuity of mineralization across the wider system before committing to tighter, resource-defining infill drilling, which the company expects could begin in 2027 if results continue to track as planned. This sequencing is a meaningful signal for investors: near-term news flow is likely to focus on scale and continuity rather than resource ounces, and grade or thickness data should be read in that context.
The program is well funded, following a $63 million raise in the first quarter of 2026 led by Queens Road Capital, giving the company a stated 24-month runway. ATHA also holds a broader Nunavut and Athabasca Basin land package that management has flagged as a source of potential future value.
For investors, the key consideration is that current figures, including the conceptual 60.8 to 98.2 million pound exploration target at Lac 50, are not a defined mineral resource, and the eventual scale of the opportunity depends on whether this year's step-out drilling can be tied into continuous, economically relevant mineralized zones.
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Learn more: https://cruxinvestor.com/companies/atha-energy
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