Company Interviews

Recording date: 27th October 2026
Olive Resource Capital (TSXV:OC) set out a disciplined plan for one of the most predictable periods in the junior resource calendar. Samuel Pelaez, President, CEO and CIO, and Derek Macpherson, Executive Chairman, argue that tax-loss selling, which has been largely absent during the recent bull phase, has returned. They see it as an opportunity.
The seasonal case is straightforward. Q1 is typically the best quarter for resource investing and Q4 the worst. Q4 combines tax-loss selling, portfolio rebalancing, flow-through financing season and, this year, the US midterm elections. October has historically delivered the largest single-day drawdowns in US markets. In resources, November tends to mark the low, and a late-November or early-December Fed meeting has often coincided with markets bottoming ahead of the Christmas and January rallies.
The mechanics drive the timing. Canadian investors can claim a capital loss against past or future gains but must stay out of the stock for 30 days. Selling has crept earlier each year, often starting after the September conferences, and many US institutions with October 31 year ends add to early pressure.
Olive is well placed to respond. It held about $3 million in cash at the end of September after a recent financing and measured deployment through the year. It plans to invest over the next six weeks.
The shopping list covers seven names:
Li-FT Power (TSXV:LIFT) is a lithium developer at an all-time low that Olive regards as one of very few in the sector capable of becoming an operation. 
Gladiator Metals (TSXV:GLAD) is a Yukon copper explorer with strong drill results and a share price well off its summer levels. 
Prospector Metals (TSXV:PPP) is a well-funded explorer with most of a roughly 100-hole summer programme still to report. 
K92 Mining (TSX:KNT) is a producer whose weakness Macpherson attributes to the market rather than its operations, as it nears the end of its expansion spend. 
Troilus Mining (TSX:TLG) is an advanced developer Olive has historically bought in Q4. Sunday Lake Gold (TSX:SNDY), the former Wallbridge, now has Agnico Eagle and Waratah Capital Advisors as roughly 19.9% holders each and trades below the price they paid. 
White Gold Corp. (TSXV:WGO) has added Donovan Pollitt as President to drive the move towards development.
Three rules guide execution. First, avoid companies that need financing before year end. Second, wait for summer financing shares to come free, around mid-November for Gladiator and mid-December for Li-FT. Third, let expected flow-through raises close before buying, with early to mid-December as a practical cut-off.
The thesis rests on the view that the longer-term commodity bull market is intact. If that holds, the partners expect a material lift in many of these stocks over the next three to four months. Investors should note that this is Olive's own positioning, not advice, and should conduct their own research.
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Interview with Adam Davidson, CEO of Arc Mineral Royalties
Recording date: 27th October 2026
Arc Mineral Royalties (TSXV:ARO) is a newly listed royalty company built around a specific origination advantage. Chief Executive Officer Adam Davidson and his team previously built Trident Royalties from a shell company into a cash takeover of roughly US$200 million in about four years. Over that period Trident completed 15 transactions and its share price rose 3.1 times to the takeover price, according to Arc's corporate presentation.
At Arc, the team has paired that experience with Karri Capital Partners, an Australian group whose principals helped build companies including Bellevue Gold, FireFly Metals and Andean Silver. Davidson said Karri owns just under 25% of Arc. The partnership's logic is straightforward. Karri's principals concluded that, had they retained royalties on their earlier projects, they would now hold a highly valuable portfolio. Arc is the vehicle for retaining those royalties on future Karri projects, with Arc's team managing terms and execution.
The first royalty shows the model at work. Arc paid A$5 million for a 1% NSR over the Mt Henry Gold Project in Western Australia, operated by Sinclair Gold. Davidson said the terms were well below market and the royalty was never offered to other buyers. Mt Henry is a past-producing brownfields project with granted mining licences. Sinclair Gold began a 50,000-metre drill programme after acquiring the project in February 2026. Its September 2026 interim resource stood at 1.3Moz at 1.2 g/T gold Measured and Indicated plus 0.5Moz Inferred, with only around 41% of the planned metres included. Davidson said Arc's internal work points to about 2.5Moz to 3Moz after the current programme. Once the resource exceeds 2Moz, Arc can buy a second 1% for A$10 million, which Davidson said Arc would fund with new capital and would not decline.
The second royalty came at nominal cost. Arc took delivery of a 0.5% gross revenue royalty over the Lodestone Iron Ore Project, operated by Killi Resources and chaired by former Fortescue Chief Executive Officer Neville Power. Lodestone hosts a 110 million tonne Inferred resource producing a 69% Fe concentrate, with drilling under way along a magnetite system far larger than the area drilled so far. Davidson highlighted the coarse grind indicated by early testwork, which could mean much lower capital costs than conventional magnetite projects. No study has been published. The gross revenue structure also avoids the shipping deduction common in FOB-based iron ore royalties.
Arc held about C$9 million in cash and had a market capitalisation of about C$57 million as of October 2026. Davidson said Arc can also pursue royalties independently of Karri and will use below-market Karri deals to balance returns on assets bought at market prices. He committed to quarterly shareholder updates.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/arc-mineral-royalties
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Interview with Sean Whiteford, CEO of NexMetals Mining
Our Previous Interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/nexmetals-mining-tsxvnexm-higher-copper-pgm-recoveries-set-stage-for-strong-maiden-pea-10208
Recording date: 24th October 2026
NexMetals Mining Corp. (TSXV:NEXM, Nasdaq:NEXM) is redeveloping two past-producing copper-nickel-cobalt mines in Botswana, the Selebi Mines and the Selkirk Mine. In an update with Crux Investor, CEO Sean Whiteford reported that the company has delivered the resource growth it set out in May, while acknowledging that the larger resource has pushed back the Selebi PEA and that funding is the key near-term issue.
At Selebi, the 2026 estimate totals 50.9 Mt, up from roughly 28 Mt in 2024. Selebi North's Indicated resource rose 198% to 8.95 Mt grading 1.03% copper and 1.08% nickel, driven by conversion drilling that also lifted grades. Its Inferred resource rose 63% to 9.48 Mt grading 1.21% copper and 1.13% nickel. Grades improve with depth. Selebi Main's Inferred resource grew 72% to 32.47 Mt grading 1.53% copper and 0.98% nickel, with more than 90% of the increase coming from the Flexure Zone. Between a quarter and a third of the 700-metre by 700-metre BHEM plate hosting that zone remains untested.
The operations closed after the former owner's smelter failed, not because ore ran out. About two years of underground development remains in place at both Selebi deposits, giving the company a potential head start on mining in any restart. A concentrator and tailings facility would still be needed. Whiteford cited a potential rate of 750,000 tonnes per year from Selebi North.
The most notable geological development is evidence that the two Selebi deposits may connect. New drilling shows Selebi North's South Limb flattening at depth and turning toward Selebi Main, with copper grades rising. Consulting geologist Dr Peter Lightfoot identified fresh olivine in magnesium-rich rocks from deep holes in the gap, which is typical of an intrusion's keel where massive sulphide can accumulate. TECT Geological Consulting is on site to identify structural controls on sulphide thickening in the roughly 1.5-kilometre corridor.
That growth has reshaped mine planning. A previously planned shaft at Selebi Main would now sit in the wrong location, so the company is running a trade-off study on mining Selebi Main through existing infrastructure, with options including conveyors, RailVeyor and trucking. The PEA will also look at Selebi North on its own. No revised completion date has been given. Nickel recovery, assumed at 55.6%, is the main metallurgical lever, and the company hopes to reach the 60% range with further flotation testwork.
At Selkirk, the June 2026 estimate raised contained metal by 70%, to 78.2 Mt Indicated at 0.66% CuEq and 15.1 Mt Inferred at 0.60% CuEq, mainly through better metallurgical recoveries. DRA Global is completing a PEA, and management wants to monetise the asset.
Funding is the central risk. Cash of about C$10.5 million at the end of September lasts into the new year, and Whiteford acknowledged that expectations of a raise are weighing on the share price. The company has engaged National Bank of Canada Capital Markets to pursue non-dilutive financing, though no transaction is guaranteed. Investors should watch the funding review, any Selkirk transaction, drilling in the corridor between the Selebi deposits and the revised PEA timeline.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/nexmetals-mining-corp
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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-tsxnfgc-q3-hammerdown-production-results-12342
Recording date: 23rd October 2026
New Found Gold Corp. (TSX / NYSE-A: NFGC) has released a revised Preliminary Economic Assessment and updated Mineral Resource Estimate for its 100%-owned Queensway Gold Project in central Newfoundland. At a base case gold price of US$3,600/oz, the study gives an after-tax NPV5% of C$1.728 billion, an after-tax IRR of 126% and payback in under one year. The mine plan outlines 1.744 million ounces of gold over a 15-year phased open pit and underground operation, with average annual production of 116,000 ounces and a peak of 190,000 ounces in 2032. Life-of-mine AISC is estimated at US$1,375/oz.
The updated resource raises Measured and Indicated ounces by 38% to 1.920 million ounces, while Inferred ounces are unchanged at 606,000 ounces. Phase 1 has an average head grade of 13.41 g/t gold, and 97% of its ounces are in the Measured and Indicated categories. Grade control drilling at Keats and Iceberg reconciled closely with the earlier resource model, which supports confidence in the high-grade core.
The plan relies on the company’s own Pine Cove mill, acquired with Hammerdown, which is being converted to a gravity-CIL circuit and expanded to 1,400 tonnes per day. Phase 1 initial capital of C$149.8 million is in line with the previous estimate, and the company reports it is fully funded. It holds about C$167 million in cash, a C$35 million debt facility and expected warrant proceeds, alongside cash flow from Hammerdown.
Later phases add a new on-site mill with dual processing circuits and 86% more underground ounces. The changes improve payability but bring C$832.1 million in growth capital and C$970.8 million in sustaining capital. These costs are intended to be funded from operating cash flow.
The Environmental Preview Report is targeted for submission in Q4 2026. Subject to permits, first Queensway material is expected at Pine Cove in Q4 2027.
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Interview with Rudi Deysel, Managing Director & CEO of West Wits Mining
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/west-wits-mining-asxwwi-qala-shallows-breakthrough-drives-70000-oz-target-gold-production-10547
Recording date: 22nd October 2026
West Wits Mining (ASX:WWI) has moved from developer to producer at its Qala Shallows gold project on Johannesburg's Witwatersrand Goldfield. First gold was poured in March 2026, and the company is now ramping towards a steady state of 70,000 ounces per annum. CEO and Managing Director Rudi Deysel argues that the market has not caught up with this progress, and that the share price reflects a valuation gap rather than any shortfall in the asset.
The valuation case is straightforward on management's numbers. West Wits has a market capitalisation of about A$165 million and held A$36 million in cash on 7 October 2026. Against a 7.24-million-ounce JORC resource at 4.0 g/T gold, Deysel puts the enterprise value at around A$21 per resource ounce. He compares this with ASX-listed gold peers in Australia, Mali and South Africa trading between A$44 and A$118 per ounce. The company's own presentation, using the 7 October share price, gives A$25/oz.
Funding is the second pillar. A package of about A$97 million from Absa and Nedbank covers construction and the ramp-up. It includes an A$8 million cost overrun facility that the company's current models do not use. Two senior debt drawdowns totalling about A$50 million have been completed. Each required a cost-to-complete test signed off by the banks' independent technical adviser, which Deysel presents as external validation that the project is on track. The facility includes an 18-month holiday on interest and principal.
Operationally, the ramp-up is accelerating. Underground development reached a record 200 metres in September 2026, and surface infrastructure is 61% complete. Ore is toll treated at Sibanye-Stillwater's Ezulwini plant, which removes plant construction risk. Deysel says AISC below US$1,300/oz reflects executed contracts. The updated DFS set life-of-mine AISC at US$1,289/oz using a US$2,850/oz gold price. At around US$4,100/oz gold, management estimates roughly US$200 million of annual margin at steady state, before corporate costs, finance and tax.
The milestone sequence is defined. Primary stoping begins in February 2027, grid power connects in early 2027 and surface infrastructure completes in the third quarter of 2027. Commercial production is targeted for the fourth quarter of 2027, followed by 42,500 ounces in 2028 and steady state in the first quarter of 2029.
Geological confidence rests on the Witwatersrand Basin's history of more than 1.5 billion ounces produced. Deysel cites high resource-to-reserve conversion and positive reconciliations to date. A new decline into virgin ground gives the mine twin access points to the orebody.
Growth sits outside the current valuation. About 6.2 million resource ounces lie beyond the mine plan. The Project 200 scoping study examines 200,000 ounces per annum and is being optimised before release. Bird Reef Central offers uranium-gold optionality, with funded exploration targeting a maiden uranium resource.
View West Wits Mining's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/west-wits-mining
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