Company Interviews

Interview with Keith Boyle, Director & CEO of New Found Gold
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/new-found-gold-tsxnfgc-queensway-pea-mre-update-12474
Recording date: 11th November 2026
New Found Gold has completed its first quarter of commercial production at the Hammerdown Gold Mine in Newfoundland and Labrador, producing 4,863 ounces of gold at 2.77 g/t with zero lost-time incidents. The company sold 6,935 ounces at an average realized price of US$4,285 per ounce, generating C$41.6 million in revenue and C$11.2 million in operating cash flow before working capital changes. Income from mine operations reached C$18.6 million, or 45% of revenue.
All-in sustaining costs of US$3,279 per ounce came in US$904 above the Hammerdown PEA. CEO Keith Boyle attributed the gap mainly to three ramp-up items. Stripping in the Rumbullion pit, brought forward from early 2027 to avoid winter conditions, added about US$350 per ounce. An 11% lower head grade added about US$135 per ounce, and infill drilling to upgrade Inferred resources added further cost. Management is targeting a life-of-mine AISC of around US$2,500 per ounce. Three projects support that target: grade control drilling, a crusher and ore sorter due for commissioning in early 2027, and the conversion of the Pine Cove Mill to a gravity-CIL circuit.
At the flagship Queensway Gold Project, the revised PEA outlines an after-tax NPV5% of C$1.728 billion and a 126% IRR at US$3,600 gold, with a Phase 1 head grade of 13.41 g/t. The Phase 1 Environmental Preview Report was registered on November 3, 2026, and Boyle expects a ministerial decision by year-end or early in the first quarter of 2027.
The roughly C$150 million Phase 1 build is backed by C$167.1 million in cash, a further C$35 million of available debt and expected warrant proceeds. Management says the build is fully funded, including under a stress test at US$3,500 gold. Hammerdown cash flow is earmarked for G&A and exploration. The teams and processes built at Hammerdown are being transferred to Queensway ahead of first delivery to Pine Cove, targeted for Q4 2027.
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Interview with Kimberly Ann, President, Founder, CEO of Executive Chair of Lahontan Gold
Recording date: 10th November 2026
Lahontan Gold Corp. (TSXV: LG) is advancing a restart of the Santa Fe Mine in Nevada’s Walker Lane. Santa Fe is a past producer that yielded over 359,200 oz gold and 702,000 oz silver between 1988 and 1995 through open-pit mining and heap leaching. Founder and CEO Kimberly Ann argued that the October 2026 PEA gives a deliberately conservative picture of the asset.
The PEA base case uses US$3,600/oz gold and US$49/oz silver. It returns an after-tax NPV5% of US$820.0M and an IRR of 40.1% on initial capital of US$172.0M, including a US$22.2M contingency. Cash costs are US$1,909/oz and AISC is US$2,250/oz. The 11-year mine life averages 91,900 AuEq oz a year, rising to about 112,500 oz in years 4 to 11 after throughput expands from 12,500 tpd to 17,000 tpd. At October 13 spot prices of US$4,166 gold and US$59 silver, NPV5% reaches US$1.13 billion and IRR 50.4%.
The central debate is the early schedule. Output in years 1 to 3 is lower, and the PEA payback is 3.68 years. Ann says about 200,000 oz on historic heap leach pads, already crushed, are not yet included because assays are pending. She estimates handling at about $5 a ton, with recrushing to improve permeability. First sonic results from 10 holes on Heap Leach Pad Two averaged 0.50 g/t Au and 3.3 g/t Ag, with a 40% average cyanide gold response. Ann says that once pad material is front-loaded, the company models payback near 22 months. That figure is not yet in a published study.
A second source of legacy material is now under test. Lahontan outlined up to 100 RC holes averaging about 35 m into the Santa Fe East waste rock facility. The facility holds roughly 9.0 Mt mined between 1988 and 1992 under a 0.55 g/t cut-off, and the PEA already moves it as stripping. Ann said historic low-grade stockpiles have also returned assays above 1 g/t.
On the path to production, the PEA completes the mine permit application. Ann is targeting permits around Q2 2027 and, with a contract miner committed to a six-month build, a first pour in Q4 2027. The company’s own illustrative roadmap shows first gold in 2028. Lahontan has NDAs with several debt providers and is targeting 80% debt and 20% equity. It is not pursuing a stream, and Santa Fe carries only a 1.25% royalty on 24 patented claims.
Growth sits at West Santa Fe, 13 km away. 2025 drilling there returned 36.6 m at 3.11 g/t AuEq from surface, with 81% Au and 60% Ag cyanide-extractable recoveries, and a maiden resource is targeted for early 2027. The pending Emergent Metals acquisition would deliver 100% ownership, remove US$1.73M in payments, cancel 1% NSRs and add New York Canyon. Pad and waste rock assays, the Emergent vote and the permit decision are the next catalysts.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/lahontan-gold
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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.
View TriStar Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/tristar-gold-inc
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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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