Company Interviews

Interview with Hayden Locke, CEO, Marimaca Copper 
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/marimaca-copper-tsxmari-undervalued-investment-series-with-hayden-locke-11042
Recording date: 7th September 2026
Marimaca Copper's latest drill results from Pampa Medina add meaningfully to a discovery story that has been building since late 2024. The headline intercept, SPRD-15, returned 216 metres at 1.0%+ copper plus 7.2 g/t silver, including a high-grade zone of 62 metres at 2.2% copper with 21.6 grams per tonne silver - a result CEO Hayden Locke described as the company's best yet at Pampa Medina. Multiple step-out holes to the south and west, including SPRD-17, SPRD-12, SMRD-13 and SMRD-22, confirmed continuity of the mineralised system across a broader area, with the company now defining a roughly 3km by 1.5km drill-confirmed footprint and a 1.3km by 1.3km high-grade core.
Locke was emphatic that Pampa Medina should be understood as a sediment-hosted copper system rather than a Chilean porphyry, drawing direct comparisons to the Kupferschiefer basin in Poland and Germany and, more pointedly, to the Central African Copperbelt's Kamoa-Kakula deposit - among the most significant copper discoveries of the past several decades. He cited an average grade thickness across the drilling of roughly 70% copper-metres plus around 10 g/t silver, though investors should note this figure sits well above every comparator cited elsewhere in the same interview and would benefit from written confirmation as the maiden resource is finalised.
On the structural side, Locke addressed two previously unresolved questions. Post-mineral dikes, while carrying negligible grade, have proven thinner in true thickness than earlier drilling suggested, reducing their expected dilution impact on any future resource. Faulting is better understood on an east-west orientation, with fewer structures expected to complicate a north-south mining approach, though further geotechnical work will be required before any underground decision.
Parallel to the exploration story, Marimaca's flagship MOD project is fully permitted and now in its detailed design and engineering phase, and is advancing toward a financing decision. The company has narrowed its lender search to three groups now in final due diligence, after which it will negotiate exclusively with one before moving into legal due diligence and long-form documentation, targeting full construction during 2027. Management describes its financing philosophy as conservative: a modest debt-to-equity ratio, no hedging, and traditional senior secured lending rather than more complex structures.
Design work at MOD has already anticipated Pampa Medina's growth, with the project's water pipeline oversized to support up to 100,000 tonnes of cathode production annually - infrastructure that any oxide material from Pampa Medina would piggyback on regardless of eventual scale. The company's larger sulfide opportunity at Pampa Medina remains a longer-dated, unquantified catalyst that management says will not be rushed.
With approximately $140 million in cash, separated development and exploration teams led by VP Exploration Sergio Rivera, and shareholder alignment behind the current dual-track strategy, Marimaca enters the second half of 2026 with two distinct, near-term catalysts: the Pampa Medina maiden resource expected by end-October, and the outcome of the MOD financing process.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/marimaca-copper
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Interview with David Wolfin, CEO of Avino Silver & Gold Mines
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/avino-silver-gold-tsxasm-record-revenue-powers-three-mine-expansion-strategy-8753
Recording date: 4th September 2026
Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX:ASM) enters the second half of 2026 in the strongest financial position in its 57-year history, and that strength is now being deployed toward a decision that could reshape the company's production profile. Q2 2026 revenue reached $26.8 million, up 23% year-on-year, driven by higher realised silver prices at $68.90/oz and increased throughput from La Preciosa development material. Net income of $10.9 million and EBITDA of $12.6 million both grew strongly year-on-year, and the company closed the quarter debt-free with $144.2 million in cash and $140.8 million in working capital.
That balance sheet strength underpins the company's most consequential near-term decision: whether to build a standalone processing plant at La Preciosa, its silver development project 19 kilometres from the existing Avino mill. Management estimates a facility comparable to Avino's current 2,500-tonne-per-day mill would cost $200-300 million, roughly half of which the company already holds in cash. A pre-feasibility study now underway with an independent engineering firm is expected within 8-10 months, after which Avino could move directly to a construction decision.
The case for going standalone rests on both economics and optionality. Trucking material 19 kilometres at a much larger scale would strain logistics and community relations at the volumes a full La Preciosa operation would require, and CEO David Wolfin has been explicit that a standalone plant is the better use of capital once the study confirms it. Recent drilling supports that confidence: intercepts including 7.9 metres of 1,600 g/t silver and 2 g/t gold, and a further 6 metres at 550 g/t silver, suggest underground mining grades could exceed the diluted, open-pit-based resource model inherited from the project's previous owner, Coeur Mining.
Underpinning this is Avino's first mineral reserve in company history, published in April 2026 after the company crossed the $90 million trailing-revenue threshold required under NI 43-101 to report reserves. The combined 127 million silver equivalent ounces in proven and probable reserves, alongside 301 million ounces of measured and indicated resources, gives the growth story a formal technical foundation it lacked a year ago. Average reserve mine life across the portfolio comfortably exceeds the roughly 8-year average among primary silver peers, a comparison management uses to argue for a valuation re-rating as the company de-risks.
Risks remain concentrated in execution. Costs rose alongside the cash build, with all-in sustaining costs of $38.75 per silver equivalent ounce in Q2, reflecting the expense of developing a new mine rather than deterioration at Avino itself. Copper production fell 50% year-on-year as the company processed oxidised material from historical open-pit walls, a sequencing decision expected to reverse over the next six to eight months. Investors should also note that much of the grade upside management points to remains in step-out drilling not yet reflected in the reserve model; an updated estimate is expected in Q1 2027.
For investors, Avino offers a rare combination: an operating, cash-generating mine funding a second high-grade asset, a debt-free balance sheet providing genuine optionality, and two concrete near-term catalysts: the La Preciosa pre-feasibility study, and the Q1 2027 resource update against which to track execution.
View Avino Silver & Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/avino-silver-gold-mines-ltd
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Interview with Donovan Pollitt, President and Director, White Gold Corp 
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/white-gold-tsxvwgo-largest-drill-program-commencing-on-highest-grade-gold-resource-in-yukon-10043
Recording date: 2nd September 2026
White Gold Corp (TSXV:WGO) has crossed a threshold that had eluded it for years: a Preliminary Economic Assessment that puts formal economics around its Yukon flagship deposit. Released August 10, 2026 and refined in an August 28 update, the PEA delivers an after-tax NPV (5%) of C$1.86 billion and a 41% IRR at a US$3,600/oz gold price, with a 1.5-year payback period. At spot-adjacent US$4,500/oz pricing, those figures rise to a C$2.9 billion NPV and 56% IRR. The proposed operation is a conventional open-pit, carbon-in-leach mine processing 12,000 tonnes per day across the Golden Saddle, Arc, Ryan's Surprise and VG zones, producing approximately 188,000 ounces annually over a 9.4-year life at an all-in sustaining cost of US$1,482/oz. Initial capital is costed at C$1,002 million.
President and Director Donovan Pollitt was explicit that the study was built conservatively: a first-year production rate derated to 85% of nameplate, full costing of infrastructure most PEAs might trim (a new 5,000-foot airstrip, complete camp and tailings facilities), and a mine plan that uses only around 60% of the current 3 million-ounce resource. Notably, underground potential at Golden Saddle where drilling continues to target higher-grade mineralisation below the current pit design was excluded from the study altogether, representing upside not yet reflected in the headline numbers.
Beyond the PEA, two lower-cost avenues to resource growth are underway in parallel with continued step-out drilling: a systematic resampling of roughly 7,350 metres of historic core (about 12% of all metres drilled on the property since 2008) that was never assayed, concentrated in a hanging-wall zone now interpreted as continuously mineralised, and a new target, Golden Saddle 2.0, on the far side of a fault offset from the main deposit. The 2026 drilling programme totals 15,000-20,000 metres, with over 10,000 metres completed at the time of the interview and 11,500 metres confirmed in a subsequent company update; assay results are expected through the autumn as regional lab capacity, strained by a busy Yukon drill season, catches up.
A second and distinct value lever sits outside the gold story: White Gold's non-gold critical mineral targets - copper, tungsten, silver and molybdenum anomalies identified through years of soil geochemistry but never drilled - are being spun into a separately listed vehicle, W2 Critical Minerals Corp, at a ratio of one W2 share per five WGO shares held. The Ontario Superior Court granted final approval for the arrangement on August 28, 2026, with W2's associated financing upsized from $5 million to $10 million to fund a maiden drill programme.
Valuation-wise, White Gold trades at approximately US$116 per contained ounce as of early August 2026 company filings - the lowest in its Yukon peer group despite carrying that group's highest weighted-average grade (1.38 g/T). Management has signalled no rush toward a production decision or an accelerated pre-feasibility study, prioritising further drilling and optionality on mine-plan design over speed. For investors, the near-term catalyst calendar includes autumn assay results, progress at Golden Saddle 2.0 and the VG East extension, and the pending completion of the W2 spin-out.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/white-gold-corp
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Interview with Jonathan Fisher, CEO of Cauldron Energy
Recording date: 2nd September 2026
Cauldron Energy (ASX:CXU) holds 55 million pounds of JORC-compliant uranium resource at its Yanrey Project in Western Australia, with an exploration target of up to 269 million additional pounds. The company’s near-perfect drilling record and strategic positioning make it a compelling uranium story—provided Western Australia lifts its longstanding mining ban.
The Yanrey Project spans three deposits: Bennett Well, Manyingee South, and Manyingee North are all situated in a region considered highly prospective for in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mining. Cauldron’s exploration has been remarkably successful wherein the first 24 drill holes at Manyingee North intersected mineralisation, defining a maiden 10-million-pound resource with a 100% hit rate. Subsequent drilling of 40 to 50 additional holes has maintained that near-perfect success rate.
The company uses passive seismic surveying to identify buried palaeochannels, ancient river systems, that concentrated uranium as they flowed eastward from granitic sources. Three channels have been drilled to date, yielding the three known deposits, with 20-30 more channels still untested. A formal resource update is expected later in 2026 following the completion of the current drilling campaign.
Western Australia’s state-level uranium mining ban remains the single biggest obstacle to production. Despite this, Cauldron received two government exploration grants in April 2026, a signal CEO Jonathan Fisher interprets as contradictory but encouraging. Additional indicators of potential policy shift include a parliamentary inquiry where over 60% of submissions favoured uranium mining, and a recent by-election swing toward the pro-uranium One Nation party.
While the ban persists, Cauldron is maximising its resource base to become either a ready-to-develop asset or an attractive takeover target once policy changes. The company has partnered with Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Company to de-risk ISR process design and hired an experienced environmental manager to navigate regulatory approvals. Groundwater testing by ANSTO found low salinity across all three deposits—a favourable factor for ISR recovery economics.
Cauldron’s investment case hinges entirely on Western Australia lifting its mining ban. While management cites multiple signals of policy change, none are confirmed. Technical risks remain, as demonstrated by peer Boss Energy’s setbacks at its Honeymoon ISR operation, though Cauldron’s Navoi partnership aims to mitigate such risks. Shareholder concentration is high, with a family office holding ~30% and ETFs ~15–16%, providing stability but limiting free float.
View Cauldron Energy's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/cauldron-energy-limited
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Interview with Alex Walker, CEO of East Star Resources
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/east-star-resources-lseest-partner-funded-copper-production-and-25m-gold-search-in-kazakhstan-10606
Recording date: 2nd September 2026
East Star Resources (LSE:EST) has added a second free-carried development structure to its Kazakhstan copper and gold portfolio, signing a binding Heads of Agreement for a joint venture over its Rulikha copper project. The deal follows the same non-dilutive logic that underpins East Star's existing Verkhuba joint venture with Chinese mine-builder Xinhai Mining: rather than raising capital from shareholders to fund permitting, drilling and construction, East Star brings in a partner with deeper development expertise and lets that partner carry the cost, in exchange for a minority economic interest once the project reaches production.
At Rulikha, that partner group consists of two entities: Nova, a financing vehicle, and Orion, an operating team that has previously built two copper mines in Kazakhstan and exited its most recent project to a Chinese buyer for approximately $125 million within the past four years. CEO Alex Walker cited that track record, along with the personal involvement of a well-connected Kazakh lawyer who structured the deal, as central to his confidence in the partnership.
The earn-in mechanics are designed to protect East Star's downside. The partners' initial percentage only crystallises once they complete the first of either 3,000 metres of drilling or $1.5 million of spend, and even that threshold represents only a fraction of the total committed spend, not a cap. East Star's final economic interest lands between 25% and 35% depending on whether the partners fund with equity or debt and importantly, majority ownership does not pass to the partners until they reach the construction stage, well beyond the current commitment.
Operationally, drilling approval for Rulikha is already secured, land access was obtained before the joint venture was even discussed, and management expects drilling to begin in the third or fourth quarter of 2026, targeting both the main Rulikha deposit areas and two satellite targets, Taloskoy and Rulikha North, the latter having already returned a 120-metre interval of disseminated sulphide mineralisation last year.
Meanwhile, at the more advanced Verkhuba copper deposit, drilling continues under the existing Xinhai-funded joint venture, with a second rig now on site and the first assay results due at the lab within one to two weeks. East Star's separate gold exploration joint venture with Endeavour Mining, covering two large land packages in northern and central Kazakhstan under a $25 million funding commitment, remains unchanged and continues to offer a third free-carried catalyst.
For investors, the Rulikha announcement effectively doubles East Star's exposure to potential copper production funded entirely by third parties, without adding dilution risk. The near-term catalysts to watch are execution of the definitive Rulikha joint venture agreement (currently only a Heads of Agreement), the start of Rulikha drilling later this year, and Verkhuba's forthcoming assay results, which together will begin to clarify the pace at which East Star's project pipeline converts into cash flow.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/east-star-resources
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