Company Interviews

Interview with Joseph Ovsenek, President & CEO of P2 Gold Inc.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/made-in-america-p2-gold-tsxvpgld-visiting-the-gabbs-project-10967
Recording date: 28th September 2026
P2 Gold Inc. (TSXV:PGLD, OTCQB:PGLDF) is advancing the 100%-owned Gabbs gold-copper project on Nevada's Walker Lane Trend towards a feasibility study in the first quarter of 2027. The headline development is scale. Drilling since October 2025 has returned more mineralisation than anticipated, particularly sulphide material at the Lucky Strike zone, where a higher-grade corridor remains open in all directions. As a result, the company has lifted its feasibility study target to average annual production of 150,000 ounces of gold and 45-50 million pounds of copper. The 2025 PEA outlined 109,000 ounces of gold and 33 million pounds of copper.
The revised mine plan uses a phased approach. A heap leach facility will process 12 to 14 million tonnes per year in the first two years. A 12 million tonne per year mill will then start in year three and treat sulphide material for the rest of the mine life, while oxide tonnage to the heap leach falls to 2 to 4 million tonnes per year. Milling improves estimated recoveries to 94.5% for gold and 79.9% for copper, compared with 85% and 67% under heap leaching.
CEO Joe Ovsenek expects the larger plan to cost around $400 million in preproduction capital, compared with US$382.7 million in the PEA. The Car Body zone is central to the capital story. It is small, at two to three million tonnes, but Ovsenek said it grades about one gram per tonne gold and leaches quickly. P2 Gold plans to have a contractor mine, crush and stack Car Body material during construction of the main project. Ovsenek estimates this could deliver up to 50,000 ounces of gold before the main operation starts, generating cash flow that reduces the external funding required.
On financing, copper is the lever. Although copper is a by-product, the volumes now justify a prepay, which Ovsenek said could raise $100 million to $200 million and leave roughly a couple of hundred million dollars to be sourced elsewhere. Debt, convertibles and offtake-linked debt are all options. Management has signalled a willingness to accept a higher cost of capital, around 15%, in exchange for speed. The company held C$17.1 million in cash, prepaids and receivables at June 30, 2026, so a substantial financing will be required ahead of construction.
The timeline is tight but defined. The updated MRE is due in Q4 2026, when Ovsenek expects 150 to 180 million tonnes to reach the measured and indicated categories. The feasibility study, a detailed mining plan of operations filing with the BLM, and approval of the water rights change of use are all expected in Q1 2027. Detailed engineering begins in Q4 2026. The goal is to complete federal NEPA and Nevada state permitting by the end of 2027 and break ground in early 2028, with the company's timeline pointing to production in 2029.
Beyond the feasibility case, Ovsenek believes the resource could potentially double, and the southwest of the property holds further Car Body-style gold targets. The key risks are permitting delays, capital cost confirmation and financing execution. Investors should track the Q4 2026 MRE as the first test of whether the larger mine plan is supported.
View P2 Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/p2-gold
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Chris Beer, Interim President & CEO of ATEX Resources
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/atex-resources-tsxvatx-2-billion-ton-copper-with-near-term-development-9780
Recording date: 28th September 2026
ATEX Resources (TSX:ATX) is advancing the Valeriano copper-gold project in Chile's Atacama region, one of the larger undeveloped porphyry systems in the Americas. The 2025 Mineral Resource Estimate outlines 475 million tonnes of Indicated resource at 0.88% CuEq and 1.51 billion tonnes of Inferred resource at 0.75% CuEq. Together these contain about 34 billion pounds of CuEq and 14.2 million ounces of gold. Metallurgical testing to date indicates high copper recoveries and no deleterious elements such as arsenic. According to Interim President and CEO Chris Beer, around 25% of the value at a 1% copper equivalent threshold comes from precious metals.
The near-term focus is the B2B breccia. ATEX discovered this zone in spring 2024 while drilling the high-grade porphyry core. Beer puts it at roughly 30 to 35 million tonnes grading approximately 1.4% to 1.5%. It begins around 400 metres below surface, shallower than the porphyry core, and remains open to the east and south. The Phase VI programme, summarised in September, returned some of the highest-grade intersections in company history. Directional drilling from deep mother holes saved more than 10,000 metres of drilling, according to Beer.
Phase VII is the next catalyst and is due to begin within weeks. Drilling will step out to the south and up-dip towards surface. The objective is to establish whether the breccia can support an underground starter mine. Beer offered an illustrative scale of around 15,000 tonnes per day, or roughly 5 million tonnes per annum, at grades of 1.5% to 2%. No economic study has yet been completed, and the capital cost of such an operation is unknown. Beneath the breccia sits a high-grade, long-life copper resource that would suit block caving over the longer term.
Valuation is central to the story. Beer says ATEX trades at around one cent per pound of copper in the ground, compared with two to three cents for peers. Companies closer to production or with a completed economic study can command four to five cents. The market capitalisation reached around C$1.5 billion in 2025 before easing to roughly C$1 billion. ATEX held C$141 million in cash as of June 2026, and its shareholders include Agnico Eagle and Pierre Lassonde, who holds around 10%.
The second lever is district growth. In January 2026 ATEX acquired two porphyry systems at auction to the south, known as Nuevo Horizonte. Management believes they share Valeriano's geochemical signature and plans geophysics before drilling. The company is using the Vicuña district, 80 kilometres to the north, as its road map. There, successive discoveries created a multi-billion-tonne district that attracted BHP as a partner.
Chile's policy environment is also turning more supportive. The government of President José Antonio Kast, in office since March 2026, is moving to accelerate permitting and is reviewing tax measures that affect explorers.
Investors should weigh the upside against clear risks which includes no economic study, development would be underground, the Nuevo Horizonte targets remain untested, and ATEX is led by an interim CEO. Phase VII results, geophysics at Nuevo Horizonte, and the MRE update expected in the second half of 2027 are the key milestones to monitor.
View ATEX Resources' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/atex-resources-inc
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Spencer Cole, President & CIO, Vox Royalty
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/vox-royalty-corp-tsxvoxr-undervalued-investment-series-with-kyle-floyd-10631
Recording date: 28th September 2026
Vox Royalty (NASDAQ:VOXR, TSX:VOXR) is a returns-focused royalty and streaming company with more than 70 royalties and streams, weighted heavily towards gold and Australian jurisdictions. President and Chief Investment Officer Spencer Cole set out a business that is scaling quickly while holding to the capital discipline that has defined it.
The financial trajectory is the starting point. Vox posted record first-quarter 2026 receipts of $16.0 million, nearly matching its full-year 2025 total of $16.6 million. Cole said the first half came in at just over $20 million. Guidance for 2026 has been raised to $32 million to $37 million, implying roughly 100% growth. The company has also published a 2030 outlook of approximately $66 million. According to Cole, about two-thirds of this year's receipts come from gold offtake contracts and one-third from the royalty portfolio.
September was unusually busy. Vox completed three Australian royalties for A$8.4 million (about $6 million). White Dam is a producing gold heap leach with a new copper-gold discovery inside the royalty area. Kalman sits at the centre of copper consolidation around Mount Isa, with operator Hammer Metals now subject to a proposed scheme with Austral Resources. Sylvania covers 1,700 square kilometres of exploration ground next to Capricorn Metals' Karlawinda mine. It also covers historical iron ore and zinc-lead-silver deposits.
The headline transaction is a $13 million agreement for a 0.75% NSR royalty over Boab Metals' Sorby Hills silver-lead project. The project is fully permitted, funded and under construction, with first concentrate targeted for the second half of 2027. The FEED Study outlines around 2.2 million ounces of silver a year over 8.5 years. However, the mining inventory represents only about 39% of the resource. Cole expects a reserve upgrade to push mine life closer to 12 to 15 years. The deal still requires FIRB approval and is expected to complete in the fourth quarter.
Vox's offtake contracts at Bonikro and Los Filos have been revalued upward following a mine life extension at Bonikro and community agreements that support a phased restart at Los Filos. These revaluations are positive, but they add noise to quarterly earnings. The Red Hill royalty remains in litigation with Northern Star Resources, with a possible 12 to 24-month timeline.
The balance sheet gives Vox room to act. It held $31.1 million in cash at June 30, 2026, carried no debt and had an undrawn $75 million facility. Cole said Vox could fund $40 million to $60 million deals without equity, though returns rather than size will decide whether it does. Otherwise, the company will continue its core programme of $5 million to $20 million Australian transactions.
The central investment question is valuation. Cole said Vox trades at around 10 times revenue and that its development assets are effectively valued at zero. Key watch-items include completion of Sorby Hills, Boab's reserve update and Phase IX assays, the Hammer Metals scheme outcome and quarterly receipts against guidance.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/vox-royalty
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Darren Bowden, CEO of Metals Exploration
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/metals-exploration-lsemtl-advances-nicaragua-build-as-philippine-copper-gold-optionality-emerges-10936
Recording date: 28th September 2026
Metals Exploration plc (AIM:MTL) is an AIM-listed gold producer with operations in the Philippines and a new mine under construction in Nicaragua. Its investment case rests on a transition now under way. Runruno, the company's Philippine gold mine, is nearing the end of its life but is generating enough cash to fund La India, a larger, longer-life gold project in Nicaragua's section of the Central American gold belt.
CEO Darren Bowden said Runruno had recovered from a weak first half of 2026. Ore contamination from historical small-scale mining in the upper levels is now behind the operation, and the plant is back in sulphide ore. He expects free cash flow of US$10-12 million per month through the end of the year. The company held £25.8 million (about US$34.5 million) in cash after fully drawing its US$27.0 million equipment loan. With about US$40 million of La India spending left, Bowden expects to hold roughly US$30 million at start-up. Runruno's remaining rehabilitation liability is about US$4 million, and its process plant is expected to be moved to a new operation.
La India is on track for first gold in December 2026. The CIL tanks, structural steel and both mills are in place, and piping and electrical work are the main outstanding items. Commissioning is expected to take four to six weeks. The company aims to hold 400,000-500,000 tonnes of stockpiled ore by year-end, equal to about five months of feed. Low-grade ore will be processed first so that high-grade material is not lost while recoveries are optimised. The 2027 target is about 100,000 oz.
The mine plan differs materially from the 2022 feasibility study inherited through the Condor Gold acquisition. That study assumed an 800,000-tonne-per-year plant and open-pit ore only. Metals Exploration is building a 1.4 million-tonne-per-year plant and adding underground mining at 4-5 g/t gold, compared with about 2.5 g/t from the open pits. Production is expected to reach around 120,000 oz in the year after 2027 and 140,000-150,000 oz once underground mining begins in 2029-2030. Bowden said this broader plan was possible because the company did not need a bank-grade study to secure funding.
Execution risk is managed through an owner-operator model. The company owns its mining fleet and runs procurement, engineering and construction in-house. Its team includes former colleagues of Bowden, among them a former B2Gold projects executive who brought about 35 staff.
Exploration offers further upside. At La Grecia, 50 km from La India, a maiden 2,450 m programme returned 1.30 m at 36.5 g/t gold, including 0.7 m at 67.4 g/t. Remaining assays are due in October, with follow-up drilling in Q1 2027. In the Philippines, the company is pursuing the Batong Buhay copper-gold porphyry, where drilling awaits completion of community engagement.
Key risks include commissioning refurbished equipment, Nicaraguan jurisdictional exposure and the cash-flow gap as Runruno winds down. Catalysts include first gold in December, formal 2027 guidance and La Grecia assays.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/metals-exploration-plc
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with George Bee, President & CEO of U.S. Gold Corp. 
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/us-gold-corp-nasdaqusau-advances-ck-gold-build-and-keystone-spin-out-12054
Recording date: 28th September 2026
U.S. Gold Corp. (NASDAQ:USAU) is a NASDAQ-listed developer whose flagship asset, the CK Gold Project in southeast Wyoming, is fully permitted and advancing towards a construction decision. In an interview at the Denver Gold Forum, President and CEO George Bee outlined how the company intends to convert that position into value, either by building the mine itself or through a transaction.
CK Gold is a 20,000 ton per day open pit operation that will produce a copper-gold concentrate. Its proven and probable reserve contains 1.015 million ounces of gold, 260 million pounds of copper and 3 million ounces of silver. The March 2026 feasibility study, completed by Halyard Micon International, supports an 11-year mine life averaging 85,000 gold equivalent ounces per year. Output is front-loaded, with the study showing an average of 102,000 gold equivalent ounces per year from year two to year eight.
The economics are robust at conservative prices. At $3,250 per ounce gold, $4.50 per pound copper and $40 per ounce silver, the study reports an after-tax NPV of $632 million, a 27% IRR and a 2.5-year payback on $394 million of initial capital. At $4,500 gold, the after-tax NPV rises to $1.155 billion and payback shortens to 1.6 years. By-product AISC is $1,094 per ounce of gold.
Permitting is complete. Key approvals include the mine operating permit granted in April 2024, water discharge and air quality permits approved in 2024, and a water supply agreement with the Cheyenne Board of Public Utilities finalised in November 2025. The project is on State of Wyoming land with no direct federal involvement, and initial access road works started in January 2026.
The company's balance sheet reflects a deliberately lean approach. U.S. Gold has about 16.5 million shares outstanding, $30.7 million in cash as of 30 April 2026 and a market capitalisation of $266.4 million. Management now plans to expand the team, appoint an EPCM partner and name a financing adviser to evaluate term sheets already received. Bee expects a combination of equity and debt and has indicated that the silver component, rather than gold or copper, is the preferred candidate for any stream.
Alongside development, the company acknowledges its appeal to acquirers. Bee sees CK Gold as a meaningful addition for emerging producers and mid-tiers producing up to around half a million ounces annually. A 24-month build in a stable US jurisdiction offers such buyers a short path to cash flow.
Upside beyond the base case comes from several sources. The latest estimate includes 590,000 gold equivalent ounces of measured and indicated resources and 677,000 gold equivalent ounces of inferred resources outside the reserve. Waste rock may also be sold as aggregate and rail ballast, supported by a non-binding letter of intent with a major railway. The company also holds the Keystone Project on Nevada's Cortez Trend and the Challis Gold Project in Idaho.
The main risks are financing dilution, construction cost inflation and metal price exposure. Investors should watch for the EPCM and financing adviser appointments as the next clear markers of progress.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/us-gold-corp
Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe