Company Interviews

Interview with Lon Shaver, President of Silvercorp Metals Inc.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/silvercorp-metals-tsxsvm-undervalued-investment-series-with-lon-shaver-10671
Recording date: 29th September 2026
Silvercorp Metals Inc. (TSX:SVM, NYSE American:SVM) has spent years as a profitable silver producer in China whose valuation reflected the market's discomfort with single-jurisdiction exposure. That is changing. The company is now building two mines outside China, and President Lon Shaver believes the resulting multi-jurisdictional profile can change how investors view the business.
A fatal accident at a coal mine elsewhere in China prompted a national safety review after an investigation found criminal negligence by mine management and complicity by some local officials. Silvercorp proactively shut its mines to conduct an internal review. Ying restarted and ran at about 60% of targeted throughput in August, rising to close to 90-100% by the end of September. Shaver called it a one-time event and declined to update guidance. Strong zinc prices and improved zinc treatment and refining charges should help offset lost output. These conditions reflect lost lead-zinc production in China that has left smelters short of concentrate. All production is sold domestically in RMB, which has strengthened against the US dollar.
The first growth asset is El Domo, a copper-gold project in Ecuador. Construction is in its final push toward July 2027 commissioning. Two unusually wet rainy seasons have consumed some schedule slack, but contractors capable of deploying large crews have kept the target alive. The mill equipment is in transit. Shaver estimates El Domo will add about $200 million in annual revenue, a little under half from copper, compared with a Chinese run-rate he put at about $550 million. The capital cost is $284 million. Wheaton Precious Metals is providing a $175 million stream, about half of which has been drawn. Shaver cited a two-to-three-year payback at $3,350/oz gold and $5/lb copper.
The second growth asset is in Kyrgyzstan. Silvercorp paid an effective $150 million for a 70% controlling interest in a resource of around 6 million ounces of gold. The asset was previously advanced by London-based Chaarat Gold, which spent heavily before its lenders foreclosed. Shaver views the asset as poorly marketed and misunderstood. After closing in January and regaining site access in May, Silvercorp has prepared heap leach pad and crushing plant areas, completed a camp and started pit stripping. First ore on the pads is targeted for later in 2027. Phase 1, budgeted by Shaver at about $160 million, has a roughly four-year life that he believes could be extended by two years or doubled. Its cash flow is intended to help fund Phase 2, previously scoped at 200,000-230,000 ounces a year for 18 years.
Silvercorp's strategy is to pair lower entry prices in less contested jurisdictions with staged development that limits capital at risk. The company is also building a redeployable construction team and remains open to acquiring production.
Key risks are execution across two simultaneous builds, weather in Ecuador, perceived jurisdictional risk in Kyrgyzstan and further regulatory change in China. Investors should watch Ying's return to full output, any revised guidance, the remaining Wheaton tranches and first gold in Kyrgyzstan.
View Silvercorp's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/silvercorp-metals
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Interview with Andrew Cox, President & CEO of Rio2 Ltd.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/growth-stories-winning-teams-that-know-how-to-find-gold-get-it-out-of-the-ground-9290
Recording date: 28th September 2026
Rio2 Limited (TSX:RIO) has made the leap from developer to dual-asset producer in 2026. It brought its Fenix Gold Mine in Chile's Atacama region into production and acquired the Condestable copper-gold underground mine in Peru in February. The transition has not been smooth. President and CEO Andrew Cox detailed how two exceptional winter storms disrupted Fenix during its ramp-up year.
Fenix is a high-altitude heap leach operation designed to stack 20,000 tpd and produce around 100,000 ounces of gold a year. Production rose from about 4,500 ounces in Q1 to about 9,000 ounces in Q2, and the mine averaged its 20,000 tpd target in early July. A mid-July storm then dropped around one metre of snow over five days, followed by a second storm on August that delivered around two metres. Cox described the season as something like two 20-year events in three weeks. Each storm halted stacking, and the leach pad was buried during the second event.
As a result, Rio2 now expects around 40,000 ounces for 2026, down from the 60,000 ounces the company regarded as its success case. Formal guidance remains withheld, and the company warns that unseasonal snow may persist through December. Commercial production nonetheless remains on track for Q4.
The operational signals beneath the headline shortfall are more encouraging. Freezing on the leach pad, which affected several cells in May, has been resolved with double-layer covers. Fenix recently stacked a record 30,000 tpd over two days, and Cox expects sustained 20,000 tpd operation from October, with 25,000 tpd by year-end described as an attractive goal. Mining has expanded from Fenix South into Fenix Central, with access to Fenix North under way. Ore is also arriving wetter than modelled, at around 4% moisture rather than 1%. That cuts added water needs by about 30% and could allow up to 30% more tonnes on the same water budget, a potential lever for the 2027 plan.
Condestable provides a steadier base. The mature IOCG mine produces about 25,000 tonnes of copper equivalent a year, around 80% of it from copper. Its EIA modification to lift throughput from 8,400 tpd to 10,000 tpd was approved last month. Rio2 is finalising engineering for 12,000 tpd plant capacity at an estimated cost of around $50 million, with construction planned from the second half of 2027 and ramp-up in the second half of 2028. A 16,000-metre surface drilling programme around two historic open pits is under way, with 17,000 metres more planned for 2027 and a maiden surface resource targeted for late 2027.
Further optionality comes from the Fenix expansion BFS, which awaits the selection of a water provider expected within about a month, and a Yukon tungsten project with a 2,000-metre drilling permit for 2027. Investors should watch for the commercial production declaration, the water provider decision and the BFS. The key risks are weather through December and execution on the expansion programme.
View Rio2's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/rio2-limited
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Interview with Peter Wilson Tagliamonte, CEO of QGold Resources
Recording date: 29th September 2026
Q-Gold Resources Ltd. (TSXV:QGR, OTCQB:QGLDF) is a junior gold developer whose principal asset is the Quartz Mountain Gold Project in eastern Oregon. The company acquired the project from Alamos Gold, which held it for more than a decade without advancing it to a mining study. Alamos now holds 10% of QGold. According to CEO Peter Tagliamonte, the deal includes annual anniversary payments of around C$4 million.
The resource stands at 2.01 million ounces Indicated and 494,000 ounces Inferred. In April 2026, QGold published the project's first mining study, a PEA prepared by Kappes, Cassiday & Associates. At a 24-month trailing average gold price of US$3,265 per ounce, the PEA estimates an after-tax NPV(5%) of US$1.71 billion and an after-tax IRR of 55.2%. Initial capex is US$290 million and payback is 1.8 years. Production averages 135,400 ounces a year over a 14-year mine life, at cash costs of US$1,010 per ounce and AISC of US$1,216 per ounce.
The project's strongest physical feature is its geometry. The deposit sits under low rolling hills, giving a life-of-mine strip ratio of 0.65:1. The CEO describes the strip ratio in the early years as near zero. That compares with ratios of three to five, or higher, at many open-pit gold mines.
Development will be staged. An oxide cap, which the CEO says contains about 45% of the ounces, will be mined first through a heap leach operation lasting four to five years. Cash flow from that phase is intended to fund the grinding and flotation circuit needed for the deeper sulphide material. That sulphide phase would run for roughly nine more years.
Management intends to skip a feasibility study for the oxide phase. It plans to move directly into basic and detailed engineering, relying on decades of metallurgical test work. Off-the-shelf equipment, including track-mounted Sandvik crushers and standard ADR plant designs, is meant to compress the timeline. Tagliamonte sees a path to oxide production within two to three years. The sulphide phase will go through a full feasibility study.
Tagliamonte's record is central to the investment case. He led companies that built Jacobina in Brazil, advanced Sulliden's Peruvian project, and built three mines in Nicaragua that helped found B2Gold. His technical team has worked with him since the 1990s.
On permitting, the company reports good engagement with Oregon's DOGAMI and the US Forest Service. It has hired a retired 30-year Forest Service veteran as environmental and permitting manager. Tagliamonte expects the project to join the federal FAST-41 programme soon, but this has not been confirmed. The Forest Service approved the Angel's Camp exploration programme in April 2026, and work began this summer. QGold also holds the Mine Centre project in Ontario. Grab samples there returned up to 600 g/t gold, and channel assays are pending.
Key watch-items are the financing plan for the US$290 million build, progress on detailed engineering, any FAST-41 designation and Angel's Camp results. Skipping feasibility for phase one could save time. It also concentrates execution risk on the engineering team.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/q-gold-resources-ltd
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Interview with David Rhodes, Executive Chairman of Empress Royalty Corp.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/empress-royalty-tsxvempr-cash-flow-positive-streamer-hits-8m-revenue-eyes-16m-in-2025-6809
Recording date: 29th September 2026
Empress Royalty Corp. (TSXV:EMPR) is a precious metals royalty and streaming company with four producing interests in Mexico, Peru, South Africa and Mozambique. It has agreed its largest deal to date, a US$62 million gold stream on the Tongon mine in Côte d'Ivoire. The transaction had not closed at the time of the interview and remains subject to confirmatory due diligence, lender requirements and several approvals, including from the TSX Venture Exchange.
The stream was sourced through Endeavour Financial, Empress's investment manager and a significant shareholder, which has a long-standing relationship with the seller, Appian. Empress will receive 3.58% of payable gold until 400,000 cumulative ounces are delivered. The rate then falls to 2.93% and later to 0.81% for the rest of a roughly 29-year term. The ongoing payment is 0.5% of the gold price per ounce delivered. Executive Chairman David Rhodes contrasted this with conventional streams where buyers often pay around 20% of spot.
Tongon is an established open-pit mine that produced about 125,600 ounces in 2025 and more than 3 million ounces since late 2010. It was developed by Randgold, later held by Barrick and sold to Atlantic Group in 2025. Rhodes argues that majors tend to under-invest in exploration at assets below around 200,000 ounces a year, and that the new owner is now reinvesting in the land package. He cited three further deposits at the exploration stage. Empress's own technical review was led by David Laing, a former chief operating officer of Endeavour Mining.
Financing comes from Appian itself. A US$75 million facility provides a US$55 million initial draw and US$20 million more for future use. It carries interest at 7.50% plus three-month Term SOFR, with a 3.50% SOFR floor, over 36 months. No principal is due in the first year, and Appian receives warrants equal to 2.2% of fully diluted shares. Rhodes presents this as a way to limit dilution and preserve the company's cash. Empress held US$21.1 million in cash and liquid metals at 30 June 2026.
The existing portfolio provides a growing base. Revenue reached a record US$17.2 million in 2025 and US$17.3 million in the first half of 2026 alone. Guidance for 2026 is 7,045 to 7,430 GEOs. In July, Empress added 14 North American NSR royalties from Almadex Minerals for US$2.5 million.
Rhodes emphasised that Empress waited until seller price expectations became realistic, and that it rejects many deals on technical, financial and ESG grounds. He confirmed Appian has further assets to sell and expects private equity firms to approach Empress with streams to monetise. The company cites more than US$50 million of deals under review.
The key risks are closing, the new debt load relative to a market capitalisation of about US$98 million, increased concentration in one asset and sensitivity to gold prices. Catalysts to monitor include confirmation of closing, updated GEO guidance that includes Tongon, exploration news from Atlantic Group and any follow-on transaction.
View Empress Royalty's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/empress-royalty
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Interview with Jon Deluce, President & CEO of Abitibi Metals
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/abitibi-metals-cseamq-all-known-questions-answered-june-2026-10851
Recording date: 29th September 2026
Abitibi Metals (CSE:AMQ) is a Québec-focused copper developer whose flagship asset is the B26 polymetallic VMS deposit, located near the former Selbaie mine in the Abitibi region. The deposit hosts just over 25 million tonnes, split between 12.96 million tonnes Indicated at 2.08% CuEq and 12.34 million tonnes Inferred at 2.20% CuEq.
B26 was explored for about 25 years by SOQUEM, the Québec government's exploration subsidiary, which spent more than $30 million defining an initial resource of around 11 million tonnes. Abitibi optioned the project in November 2023, completed the seven-year option in two and a half years, and bought the final 20% interest in June 2026. That transaction also halved the royalty to a 1% NSR and gave Abitibi a 10-year right of first refusal on SOQUEM's surrounding land. CEO Jonathon Deluce notes that these prospects sit within about 12 kilometres of B26, which could support a district-scale strategy.
Drilling in 2026 has totalled just under 30,000 metres, with three rigs running through year-end. The company says it has met its internal target for converting Inferred resources to Indicated and is now focused on growth. The next resource update targets 30 to 35 million tonnes. A September release reported 1.25% CuEq over 60.2 metres, including 3.72% CuEq over 9.2 metres, from the eastern side of the deposit. Deeper drilling in the Western Down-Plunge Zone returned 1.45% CuEq over 14.1 metres. Abitibi also plans a deep step-out at about 1.5 kilometres vertical depth to test for higher-grade feeder mineralisation, and it is following up a possible new zone 1.5 kilometres to the west.
The company has begun development work earlier than most explorers. Environmental baseline and hydrogeology studies are underway under Dave Bernier, formerly COO of Foran Mining, whose team permitted McIlvenna Bay in 18 months. Phase 2 metallurgy reported 98% copper recovery from chalcopyrite-dominant mineralisation and the potential for a 22% to 30% copper concentrate.
Management has been strengthened with Ben Pullinger, former CEO of ATEX Resources, Keith Gorman as CFO and Louis Gariépy as VP Exploration. Discovery Silver is a strategic shareholder following the May financing and has a regional processing footprint that could suit B26.
Abitibi holds about $34 million in cash and expects to finish 2026 with $28 million to $29 million. That funds a 40,000-metre programme, development work and a potential acquisition through 2027, ahead of an updated resource and a PEA. The company's market capitalisation has grown from about $40 million a year ago to around $170 million.
Near-term catalysts include regional drilling in Q1 2027, results from the deep step-out, acquisitions from the surrounding pipeline, and the next resource update. Key risks include the early stage of economic studies, exploration uncertainty on new targets and copper price exposure. Deluce says a takeover by a producer is the most likely path to full shareholder value, although the team is building the capability to develop B26 independently if needed.
View Abitibi Metals' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/abitibi-metals
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