Company Interviews

Interview with Arturo Préstamo Elizondo, Executive Chairman & CEO, Santacruz Silver
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/santacruz-silver-mining-tsxscz-cash-growth-production-increase-more-acquisitions-under-review-12122
Recording date: 11th November 2026
Santacruz Silver Mining (TSX:SCZ) is a multi-asset silver-zinc producer with four producing mines in Bolivia and Mexico, the San Lucas ore-sourcing business, and the Soracaya development asset. Executive Chairman and CEO Arturo Préstamo Elizondo said the company spent 2026 preparing its operations to run efficiently whatever metal prices do. He is targeting growth of at least 20% in 2027, measured in profitable ounces.
The price backdrop explains the focus. Silver price fell from $84.39/oz in Q1 2026 to $62.73/oz in Q3. Zinc price rose from $3,243/t to $3,830/t over the same period. Santacruz drew 53.2% of H1 2026 revenue from silver and 40.3% from zinc. Préstamo Elizondo said he is bullish on both metals but sees some cost inflation across the industry.
After the May 2025 water inflow, dewatering ran on time and on budget, and Bolivar is back on track in Q4. Q3 silver output was 408,087 oz, up 19% QoQ and 209% YoY. Head grade rose to 186 g/t from 165 g/t. Two high-grade silver blocks are targeted for production in mid-to-late Q1 2027.
Santacruz invested a little more than $15M at its Mexican Zimapan mine over 15 months, after encouraging results at level 960, and is targeting payback within 1.5 years. The program raises head grades, adds roughly 6,000 t of monthly throughput on a 74,000 t base, and improves recoveries. Management is targeting an 8% to 10% production increase. Silver recovery rose from 72% to 76% in Q3, lifting silver output 3% on flat throughput. Mine life is more than 8 years, and a first-time Zimapan resource report is due with updated estimates across all mines.
For inventory policy, geology must replace at least 1.3x the tonnage mining depletes, and each mine aims to hold at least 5 years of mine life ahead. Prepared areas give management flexibility if costs squeeze margins. Exploration capex can flex, but infill drilling is not cut.
San Lucas Q3 throughput fell 19% to 92,921 t because company mines used more mill capacity. The release also cites lower purchased-ore grades. A newly acquired 500 tpd mill dedicated to San Lucas is targeted for commissioning in Q4 2026, with management targeting another 10% growth next year.
Santacruz H1 2026 revenue was $241M (+68%) and adjusted EBITDA $89M (+64%). Realized silver averaged $76.33/oz against AISC of $25.34/oz. Cash and liquid securities were $73M at June 30. Préstamo Elizondo said treasury was around $130M at the end of Q3, with no streams or royalties. The company has identified a few acquisition opportunities and will only pursue conservative, accretive deals, as with Zimapan and the Glencore Bolivian assets.
View Santacrux Silver's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/santacruz-silver-mining
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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-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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Learn more: https://cruxinvestor.com/companies/new-found-gold
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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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