Company Interviews

Interview with Dan Barnholden, CEO, Luca Mining
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/luca-mining-tsxvluca-three-pillar-growth-plan-targets-200k-ounce-gold-equivalent-production-8374
Recording date: 25th September 2026
Luca Mining Corp. (TSXV:LUCA, OTCQX:LUCMF) is a Mexico-focused polymetallic producer with two operating mines, Campo Morado in Guerrero and Tahuehueto in Durango. In September 2026, the company announced two acquisitions designed to reshape its scale and commodity mix. The larger of the two is the proposed purchase of the Cozamin underground copper mine in Zacatecas from Capstone Copper Corp. (TSX:CS).
Luca has signed a definitive agreement to pay up to US$385 million for Cozamin. The upfront component is US$290 million, split between US$275 million in cash and US$15 million in shares. A US$35 million deferred payment falls due 12 months after closing, payable in cash or shares at Luca's option. Capstone can also receive up to US$60 million in copper-price participation payments if average LME copper prices reach set thresholds in 2027, 2028 and 2029. Closing is expected in Q4 2026, subject to approval from Mexico's Federal Antitrust Commission and the TSXV.
CEO Dan Barnholden describes the price as roughly two times cash flow. Capstone recapitalised Cozamin from 2020 using a US$150 million Wheaton stream, investing in new paste backfill and dry-stack tailings infrastructure. The mill has capacity of 4,400 tonnes per day and processes around 3,700 tonnes per day. Barnholden estimates mine-site free cash flow at US$140-150 million a year at current commodity prices. Because the economic effective date is 31 October 2026, cash flow accrues to Luca ahead of closing.
The investment case centres on exploration rather than optimisation. Capstone spent only US$2-3 million a year on exploration at Cozamin in recent years. Luca intends to spend US$7-10 million a year to extend a reserve base that currently runs to around 2030. Barnholden expects the programme to add at least five years of mine life, pointing to Cozamin's two-decade record of replacing depleted reserves.
Funding comes from a US$300 million package that includes term debt from Taurus and Macquarie, a bought deal led by National Bank of Canada Capital Markets, a private placement with Wheaton and Taurus, a new Wheaton silver stream and an equity backstop from Trafigura. Pro forma debt is about US$126 million, and the facility requires hedging of 25% of Cozamin's copper output from 2027 to 2029.
The second acquisition, El Barqueño in Jalisco, comes from Agnico Eagle Mines. Agnico drilled around 225,000 metres there over a decade. Luca has re-engineered the project as an underground mine targeting 50,000-75,000 ounces AuEq a year, funded by Cozamin cash flow. A change in state land-use designation means 12-18 months of legal work before drilling can resume.
At the existing mines, Luca is transitioning Tahuehueto from cut-and-fill to longhole mining and expects new technical reports by year-end. Barnholden says the stock trades at under three times next year's operating cash flow.
Investors should watch deal completion, the year-end technical reports, early Cozamin drilling results under Luca, debt reduction progress and El Barqueño permitting. Together, these will determine whether the market narrows the valuation gap that management describes.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/luca-mining-corp
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Interview with enCore Energy Executive Chair William Sheriff 
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/encore-energy-nasdaqeu-founder-transition-isr-growth-verdera-upside-9413
Recording date: 25th September 2026
enCore Energy Corp. (NASDAQ:EU, TSXV:EU) is a US in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium producer with two operating central processing plants in South Texas: Alta Mesa, a 70/30 joint venture with Boss Energy, and Rosita. It also has development projects in South Dakota and Wyoming. In an interview with Crux Investor, founder and Executive Chair William Sheriff set out where the company stands after a difficult 2026 and what investors should watch next.
The central issue is permitting. Two new sources of feed are built and ready: Wellfield 3 Extension at Alta Mesa, and the Upper Spring Creek satellite ion exchange plant and wellfield that feed Rosita. A third, Wellfield 8 at Alta Mesa, was days from completion. Final permits from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) are guided for Q4 2026 for the first two and by the end of Q1 2027 for Wellfield 8. Sheriff blames the delay on an impasse between previous management and the regulator, which he describes as self-induced. New Chief Executive Richard Little has since rebuilt the relationship, and Sheriff says any surprise on timing is more likely to be positive. The company intends to announce when the first permit clears public comment without opposition.
Until then, extraction will be minimal. Wellfield 7 reached the end of its economic life in Q3, leaving a gap of three to four months. First-half 2026 figures already showed the slowdown, with 131,274 pounds of U3O8 extracted against 317,613 pounds a year earlier. The company met contract deliveries of 485,000 pounds partly with 360,000 purchased pounds. That lifted the weighted average cost of delivered uranium to $75.54 per pound, against an average sales price of $70.10.
Management has responded with cost discipline. Little has more than 30 years in production-focused roles, and Sheriff says he agreed to join only if Sheriff returned. Staff numbers were cut by around 24% after an early-year hiring surge. Because drilling had run well ahead of permitting, Sheriff says the rig count was cut from 32 to 10. Total liquidity was $88.4 million at June 30, or $73.5 million excluding Verdera shares. The company has not drawn on its US$250 million ATM facility, and Sheriff says he has no interest in doing so.
The share price was hit in September by heavy ETF-related selling, which briefly pushed the stock below US$0.70 on record volume. Sheriff and his wife bought about $250,000 of shares. The price recovered to the $1.20 to $1.25 range within two trading sessions of the September 18 low.
Longer-term growth centres on Dewey Burdock in South Dakota. The project obtained all federal permits in under a year through the FAST-41 programme and entered state permitting in June 2026. Its preliminary economic assessment outlines 750,000 pounds a year, total life-of-mine capital of $264.2 million and a 39% pre-tax IRR at $86.34 per pound.
Shareholders are also due to receive about 0.18 of a Verdera Energy share per enCore share on September 30. enCore received the Verdera shares when it sold its New Mexico assets to the company in 2025. The distribution gives holders exposure to about 88 million pounds across six New Mexico properties, a mix of current NI 43-101 resources and historical estimates. enCore keeps about 13.5% of Verdera.
Sheriff continues to argue for consolidation among US ISR producers, now through agreed deals rather than tender offers. For investors, the near-term test is simple: whether permits arrive on schedule and turn built infrastructure into steady production.

Interview with Tara Christie, President & CEO of Banyan Gold Corp.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/banyan-gold-tsxvbyn-undervalued-investment-series-with-tara-christie-9788
Recording date: 24th September 2026
Banyan Gold Corp. (TSXV:BYN) is moving from exploration into development at its AurMac gold project in the Yukon. The project hosts a pit-constrained resource of 3.64 million ounces Indicated at 0.68 g/t and 4.98 million ounces Inferred at 0.58 g/t. It benefits from an unusual level of existing infrastructure for a northern Canadian project, including all-season road access, a grid-connected power line and cell phone coverage. A maiden PEA is due in the fourth quarter of 2026.
CEO Tara Christie describes the PEA as a conservative waypoint rather than an end point. It is built on drilling to the end of 2025 and is expected to assume a large-scale operation of 35,000 to 40,000 tonnes per day using a CIL circuit with gravity recovery. It will also assume on-site power from LNG and diesel. Christie argues that publishing now allows Banyan to begin substantive conversations with the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun, local communities and the territorial and federal governments about the project's footprint, power needs and roads ahead of permitting.
The 2026 drill programme, at 70,000 metres, was designed around the PEA's pit phases. About 60,000 metres at AurMac target high-grade conversion to improve grade, strip ratio and the early-year production profile. Hole AX-26-874, drilled in the previously untested gap between the Airstrip and Powerline deposits, returned 13.03 g/T gold over 14.2 metres. Christie believes it could reshape pit sequencing and potentially form a new starter pit. Deeper drilling is also testing mineralisation below the roughly 200 metre depth limit of historical holes. Banyan plans eight drills from mid-January and a 2027 programme of 100,000 metres at AurMac and 20,000 metres at Nitra.
Funding is the other pillar. Banyan announced a C$50 million LIFE offering and a concurrent C$8 million placement at C$2.00 per share on 20 September 2026. Franco-Nevada, which bought a legacy NSR royalty over AurMac for C$52.2 million earlier in the year, is subscribing for 10 million shares. Christie said the treasury should reach around C$100 million, funding the company through 2027 and into 2028. She is investing C$500,000 personally, and she said all but one of the largest shareholders took up their pro rata share. Banyan also joined the GDXJ ETF on 21 September 2026.
The company is building its development capabilities, adding a Vice President of Strategy and Corporate Development and recruiting a Vice President of Engineering. Baseline environmental work has run since 2021. At the Nitra project, 25 kilometres to the west, the first two of 11 targets drilled in 2026 produced discoveries, including 5.70 g/T gold and 544 g/T silver over 0.5 metres at Seattle Creek.
Risks include the Inferred share of the resource, dependence on future grid power, permitting timelines, winter logistics and single-asset concentration. Christie is clear that her goal is for AurMac to become a mine, whether Banyan builds it or a larger company pays a premium for a de-risked asset. Near-term catalysts are the financing close, the Q4 2026 PEA, winter drilling between the pits, further Nitra assays and a resource update that management expects to exceed 10 million ounces.
View Banyan Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/banyan-gold-inc
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Interview with Colin Joudrie, CEO, Selkirk Copper
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/selkirk-copper-tsxvscmi-doubles-mineral-resource-estimate-minto-to-restart-by-2028-11683
Recording date: 24th September 2026
Selkirk Copper Mines Inc. (TSXV:SCMI) is advancing the restart of Minto, a copper-gold-silver mine in central Yukon that produced concentrate from 2007 until May 2023. After the previous operator's receivership, the Selkirk First Nation acquired the asset and vended it into Selkirk Copper through a reverse takeover. The First Nation is now the largest shareholder, with around 18% and two board seats.
The September 2026 Preliminary Economic Assessment outlines a 13-year mine life at 4,100 tpd, combining underground mining first with two open pits later in the life of mine. At planning prices of US$5.00/lb copper, US$3,600/oz gold and US$50/oz silver, the after-tax NPV7% is C$494 million, the IRR is 47.8% and payback is 1.9 years. At spot prices, the NPV rises to C$1,023 million and the IRR to 78.2%. Initial capital is C$186 million, which CEO Colin Joudrie said came in below earlier guidance. Sustaining capital totals C$409 million and operating costs average C$95.77 per tonne milled.
The low capital intensity stems from more than $330 million of existing infrastructure, including the mill, a 400-person camp, a water treatment plant, an airstrip and grid power. The mine would produce a clean concentrate grading around 38% copper with gold and silver credits and negligible penalty elements. That product is well suited to a concentrate market where benchmark treatment charges have fallen from an average of US$78 per tonne over 2016-2023 to US$33.8 over 2024-2026. The historical offtake and precious metals stream were removed in bankruptcy, giving the company full precious metals exposure and an unencumbered offtake position.
Resource growth is a second lever. The 2026 MRE contains 47.8 million tonnes of M&I resources holding 940 million pounds of copper, 530,000 ounces of gold and 4.97 million ounces of silver. The PEA mine plan uses only around 18.4 million tonnes of mineable inventory. A roughly 50,000-metre Phase 2 programme, not included in the PEA, will feed an updated MRE in Q1 2027. The Feasibility Study is expected to start within weeks and complete in mid-2027, with an execution plan built in to shorten the path to a restart decision.
The main risks are timing and water. The underground is flooded, and the government must authorise a five-month dewatering programme before rehabilitation can begin. Joudrie described this as the gating item and aims to start pumping before the end of 2026. He also acknowledged that the site's historical water management was poor and said the restart plan adds capital, systems and monitoring to address it. Amended permit applications are due in Q4 2026, with a restart decision targeted for the second half of 2027. The capital estimate carries a Class 5 accuracy range of -50% to +100%.
For investors, Minto offers leveraged exposure to copper and gold prices through a near-term restart. The key milestones are dewatering approval, the Q1 2027 resource update and the mid-2027 Feasibility Study, ahead of first concentrate targeted for the second half of 2028.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/selkirk-copper
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Interview with Stephen Soock, VP Investor Relations & Development of Heliostar Metals
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/heliostar-metals-tsxvhstr-emerging-gold-producer-targets-300k-oz-by-2030-with-strong-cash-flow-10415
Recording date: 24th September 2026
Heliostar Metals (TSXV:HSTR, OTCQX:HSTXF) is a Mexico-focused gold producer attempting to move from roughly 50,000 ounces a year towards 300,000 ounces by the end of the decade without issuing new equity. The strategy rests on sequencing. Two producing heap leach mines, La Colorada in Sonora and San Agustin in Durango, generate cash that is being directed into the Ana Paula underground project in Guerrero. Ana Paula's cash flow is then expected to fund Cerro del Gallo in Guanajuato.
Operationally, the company produced 14,803 ounces of gold in Q2 2026 at a year-to-date AISC of $2,155 per ounce. La Colorada has moved from stockpile processing to injection leaching, which Stephen Soock, VP Investor Relations & Development, said is producing about 1,000 ounces a month. Waste stripping on the Veta Madre Plus cutback runs to around Q2 2027, followed by nine to 12 months of production from fresher ore. Soock expects about 20,000 additional ounces beyond the existing Veta Madre reserve, although a technical report has not yet been issued.
Ana Paula is the core of the investment case. The feasibility study is 34% complete and due in Q2 2027. Drilling of about 25,000 metres focused on converting inferred material, and the company is targeting 100,000 ounces a year over a 10-year mine life. Optimisations include raising throughput to 2,000 tonnes per day, sizing equipment for 2,500 tonnes per day, and a twin-decline design with an underground crusher and conveyor that could cut operating costs. Bio-oxidation remains the preferred processing route, and Soock noted it is not yet used in North America. Initial capital is expected to rise from the PEA's $300 million to around $330 million. The study gold price is likely to move from $2,400 to around $3,500 per ounce based on a three-year trailing average.
The funding plan allocates about $150 million of operating cash flow to Ana Paula construction over roughly two years, net of overheads and exploration. Project debt is intended to cover the rest. Cash is expected to hold near US$43 million through year-end, and just under $15 million is budgeted for deposits on long-lead items. A construction decision is expected around June or July 2027, with first gold targeted before the end of 2028.
Beyond Ana Paula, Cerro del Gallo offers about 85,000 ounces a year over 15 years on current study numbers, with Soock suggesting an updated PFS could show a larger staged project. Exploration is picking up at La Colorada and Ana Paula, where down-dip drilling returned 101.0 metres at 5.34 g/T gold. Goldstrike in Utah adds an antimony zone with drill results pending.
On valuation, Soock argues Heliostar trades at about 0.2 times P/NAV against 0.4 to 0.8 times for junior producers, and at around two times estimated 2029 cash flow. The main risks are gold price sensitivity of the self-funding model, permitting in Mexico, and execution across several concurrent transitions. Near-term catalysts include BIOX test results, the Ana Paula permit submission, long-lead orders in Q4 2026 and the feasibility study itself.
View Heliostar Metals' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/heliostar-metals

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