Company Interviews

Interview with Brian Miller, CEO of Astra Exploration
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/astra-exploration-tsxvastr-15m-raise-supports-high-grade-gold-silver-target-in-argentina-10209
Recording date: 22nd September 2026
Astra Exploration (TSXV:ASTR) is a precious metals explorer focused on gold and silver in Argentina and Chile. Its flagship is the La Manchuria project in Santa Cruz, Argentina, where the company holds 80% with an option to acquire 90% from Patagonia Gold Corp.
The final Phase III assays, released on 17 September 2026, covered eight holes from a 16-hole, 5,176-metre programme. Highlights were 3 metres at 4.34 g/t gold and 363.7 g/t silver at the Basalto Zone, and 8 metres at 3.12 g/t gold and 10.3 g/t silver in the Eastern Zone. Both remain open.
CEO Brian Miller states Phase III showed expansion in two systems. One is a disseminated bulk-tonnage system at surface. The other is a high-grade vein system. He also acknowledged that one target did not work. Holes drilled at 300 to 350 metres beneath apparently converging veins found narrow, low-grade veins in andesite. Miller called the result local. Astra will now concentrate on rhyolites and pyroclastics, which he said have been more predictable.
Miller also addressed how the market may value the two systems. He said an analyst who knows geology and mining favours the growing bulk system, while the wider market tends to prefer headline vein grades such as 80 g/t gold. He said little has changed at the project, and that some investors who held for a single target sold after the miss. He did not identify a direct peer, saying the two-system setting is somewhat unique.
The next phase is built around scale. Geological and geophysical data define five undrilled regional targets over a 4 by 4 kilometre footprint. Miller's favourite is Breccia, to the southeast, on strike with the Manchuria Hill vein structures. Astra has also expanded its La Manchuria claims from about 5,600 to about 39,000 hectares.
Astra plans 10,000 to 20,000 metres of drilling with two drills. Miller described 10,000 metres as the minimum. Drilling at La Manchuria is due to begin in November, with roughly 5,000 metres by year-end and a further 5,000 metres in the first quarter of 2027. The split between Manchuria Hill and the regional targets will follow results. The company reports C$12.5 million in treasury and describes its programmes as fully funded.
Don Mario sits in Chile's Maricunga belt, about 20 kilometres from the Refugio Mine. First-pass drilling is planned for January and February. A news release on the targeting work is expected in the next couple of weeks.
Investors should weigh several risks. Host-rock variability has already produced one miss. Winter reduces drilling productivity and raises cost per metre in Argentina. Assay turnaround has been slow, which can delay news flow. Miller also said the shares traded near their 52-week low in the week of the interview, and sentiment has reacted to individual drill results.
Near-term watch-items include the Don Mario release, the first assays from the Q4 2026 campaign, and how Astra allocates its early metres. Any conclusion will rest on assay results rather than on the plan alone.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/astra-exploration
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Interview with Nick Smart, CEO, ValOre Metals Corp.
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/valore-metals-tsxvvo-undervalued-investment-series-with-nick-smart-9774
Recording date: 22nd September 2026
ValOre Metals Corp. (TSXV: VO, OTCQB: KVLQF, FSE: KEQ0) is a Brazil-focused precious metals developer advancing the Pedra Branca project, a 100%-owned, near-surface platinum-palladium-gold deposit in Ceará State. The project's appeal begins with jurisdiction: roughly 90% of global PGE supply is concentrated in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Russia, each facing distinct operational or geopolitical constraints, while Pedra Branca sits outside that concentration entirely, benefiting from a four-hour paved highway link to Fortaleza's international port and airport.
The current resource base - a 2022 NI 43-101 inferred estimate of 2,198 koz 2PGE+Au across seven near-surface zones - has already doubled since ValOre acquired the project at roughly 1.1 Moz, following an additional US$10 million and 23,534 metres of company-funded drilling layered onto a legacy dataset from prior owners Anglo American and Anglo Platinum. A further 5,000-6,000 metres drilled since the 2022 estimate, including five new exploration zones, has not yet been incorporated into a public resource figure, leaving a visible near-term catalyst in an updated estimate.
Metallurgical testwork is the other major workstream ahead of the PEA. The company is scaling up leach testing from shake-flask to column and stirred-tank vessel trials to assess heap-leach amenability on weathered, oxidised material (roughly 40% of tonnage), while advancing conventional flotation on the fresh material that contributes the bulk of contained ounces. Recovery testwork is currently tracking in the high 70% range, with management indicating room for improvement as the flowsheet is optimised - a genuine trade-off exists between lower-capex heap leaching and higher-recovery vessel processing that the PEA will need to resolve.
Management has signalled a preference for staged development over a single maximum-scale build: securing licensing for an initial phase, proving the process, and adding capacity in subsequent phases as cash flow supports it, rather than raising capital repeatedly to reach full scale before any production decision. That approach, combined with Brazil's expanding domestic PGE processing capacity - illustrated by neighbouring Bravo Mining's proposed smelter complex at the port of Barcarena, which ValOre has flagged as a potential logistically attractive buyer for future concentrate - points toward a capital-efficient path to first production rather than a single binary de-risking event.
On valuation, ValOre's roughly $20M market capitalisation compares to a peer set - Bravo Mining, Platinum Group Metals, Generation Mining and Stillwater Critical Minerals - carrying market caps from ~$126M to ~$440M at broadly comparable or more advanced project stages. Insider and close-associate ownership stands at 30% combined, with resource and mining funds holding a further 25%. Cash on hand was under $0.8M as of September 1, 2026, against 255M shares outstanding (304.2M fully diluted), underscoring that near-term financing will likely be required to fund the PEA and subsequent development studies. The company's key near-term catalysts are the updated resource estimate, the Q4 2026 PEA, and subsequent licensing steps into Q1 2027.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/valore-metals
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Interview with Barry O'Shea, CEO of Highland Copper
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/coppers-new-era-from-cyclical-commodity-to-strategic-lifeline-10769
Recording date: 22nd September 2026
Highland Copper Company Inc. (TSXV:HI) has reached a significant financing milestone for its Copperwood copper project in Michigan's Upper Peninsula: final approval for a US$50 million grant from the Michigan Strategic Fund under the state's Strategic Site Readiness Program. No further state approvals are required, and the reimbursable structure returns funds to the company dollar-for-dollar as it spends on eligible regional infrastructure - power upgrades, telecommunications, and road improvements outside the mine gate.
The grant lands alongside a revised project timeline. CEO Barry O'Shea confirmed that the construction decision previously targeted for the second half of 2026 has shifted into 2027, with production now expected in the second half of 2030 rather than 2029. He attributed this to continued mine-plan optimisation work including cut-off grade and pillar-size adjustments identified in a June 2026 announcement, and the additional time needed to secure the Michigan grant, rather than to any fundamental setback. An updated feasibility study incorporating these changes is due in the first half of 2027.
Copperwood's economics carry substantial leverage to the copper price. The 2023 feasibility study produced a $168 million after-tax NPV and 18% IRR at a $4 per pound copper price which were insufficient at the time to attract meaningful capital. With long-term consensus pricing now closer to $5 per pound, company materials put the updated NPV at $507 million (33% IRR), rising to $855 million (48% IRR) at $6 per pound, a level copper is already approaching, with futures trading near $6.90/lb. The updated study will also incorporate the Michigan grant, a 1.6-percentage-point copper recovery improvement from newly adopted Jameson cell flotation technology, and potential mine-life extensions from the project's 79 million tonnes of inferred resource, partially offset by three years of cost escalation.
On financing, the Michigan grant is one piece of a broader non-dilutive stack. A separate US$50 million application is pending with the U.S. Department of Defense, though management expects to receive closer to $20-25 million based on precedent. The largest component remains a $250 million Letter of Interest from the U.S. Export-Import Bank, which remains non-binding; Highland Copper is running a competitive process to convert it into binding debt terms, potentially bringing in additional partners alongside existing 28% shareholder Orion Mine Finance. Together, non-dilutive sources could cover an estimated 70-80% of the roughly $400 million capital requirement, leaving $100-125 million to be raised as equity - which O'Shea expects to draw from a mix of Canadian, U.S. and other institutional investors once binding debt terms and the updated feasibility study are secured.
The company has also strengthened its leadership bench ahead of a potential build decision, adding Peter Hemstead (ex-Capstone Copper) as interim CFO and Trace Arlaud (ex-Rio Tinto Resolution Copper) as Project Director within the past six months. For investors, the key milestones to track are the H1 2027 feasibility study, the Q3 2027 conclusion of the debt financing process, and progress converting the EXIM letter to binding terms.
View Highland Copper's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/highland-copper
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Interview with George Salamis, President & CEO, Integra Resources 
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/made-in-america-integra-resources-tsxvitr-visiting-the-florida-canyon-mine-11309
Recording date: 22nd September 2026
Integra Resources (TSXV: ITR | NYSE: ITRG) is a Great Basin-focused gold-silver company built around one producing asset and two advanced development projects. Florida Canyon, an open-pit heap leach mine in Nevada acquired for $68 million in 2024, is the company's cash engine. Early 2026 was rocky: two consecutive quarters missed internal guidance, driven by ore-haulage bottlenecks and difficulty blending low-grade stockpile material with in-situ ore. Both issues are now described as resolved or substantially improved. A July 2026 technical report and updated mine plan lifted Florida Canyon's reserve by 74% to 1.19 million ounces, extended mine life three years to 2033, and raised average annual production guidance 17% to 82,000 ounces, with $0.8 billion in projected life-of-mine after-tax free cash flow.
That cash flow is earmarked to fund Integra's two growth projects. DeLamar, in southwestern Idaho, is the flagship: a 2025 feasibility study shows a base-case after-tax NPV5% of $774 million (rising to $1.9 billion at spot gold prices), a 46% base-case IRR (97% at spot), and payback of under two years at base case, compressing to roughly one year at current prices. Permitting has accelerated meaningfully - DeLamar's Notice of Intent was published in May 2026, and the project was added to the federal FAST-41 Transparency Projects Program in January 2026. A Record of Decision is targeted for H2 2027, with construction-start permits targeted for spring 2028. Integra has also signed a relationship agreement with the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes covering the project's development, and raised US$61 million in a February 2026 bought-deal financing to fund early works and land acquisition.
Nevada North, the third asset, comprises the Wildcat and Mountain View deposits roughly 30 miles from Florida Canyon. A 2023 PEA outlined a 13-year, 80,000 ounce-per-year operation with a $310 million after-tax NPV5% at a conservative $1,700/oz gold price assumption; an updated technical report is underway.
A distinct, lower-capital growth avenue also exists within Florida Canyon itself: reclassifying historical inter-pit "saddle" ground and decades-old waste dumps as ore now that gold prices make previously sub-economic material viable. Conceptual estimates for two dump targets alone range up to 56 million tonnes combined, though none of this is yet a defined mineral resource.
Management, led by CEO George Salamis alongside a leadership team with prior roles at SilverCrest Metals, Kinross and Perpetua Resources, has stated an explicit long-term ambition to build toward a 250,000-300,000 ounce gold-equivalent multi-asset production platform and is actively evaluating acquisitions to accelerate that path, while emphasising organic funding capacity from Florida Canyon's cash flow. Combined resource inventory across the three assets stands at 7.7 million ounces gold-equivalent measured and indicated plus 4.3 million ounces inferred. With roughly US$111 million in treasury as of mid-2026 and no near-term dilutive financing need flagged, the key catalysts for investors to track are Q3/Q4 2026 production against guidance, further resource updates from the 2026 drilling programme, and progress toward DeLamar's H2 2027 Record of Decision.
Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/integra-resources
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Interview with Kiran Patankar, President & CEO of Maple Gold Mines
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/maple-gold-mines-tsxvmgm-52moz-gold-system-with-major-drill-growth-ahead-10207
Recording date: 22nd September 2026
Maple Gold Mines Ltd. (TSXV:MGM) is advancing the 100%-owned Douay/Joutel Gold Project, a 481 km² land package on the Casa Berardi Deformation Zone in Québec's Abitibi Greenstone Belt. The project hosts a combined resource of 905,000 ounces Indicated and 4.3 million ounces Inferred, for about 5.2 million ounces in total. Douay contributes large-scale, lower-grade open-pit and underground mineralisation, with 779,000 ounces Indicated at 1.33 g/t and 3.3 million ounces Inferred at 0.84 g/t. Joutel adds a maiden underground resource of 126,000 ounces Indicated at 4.53 g/t and 992,000 ounces Inferred at 4.11 g/t.
The main development over the past year is a change in the company's focus. According to President and CEO Kiran Patankar, Maple Gold's market value has risen roughly tenfold in twelve months. The company has since completed an internal scoping study that compared processing flowsheets, throughput rates of 5,000 to 40,000 tonnes per day, and whether the deposits justify a standalone mill. Patankar says the study concluded the project could support two mines. The emerging concept is a central mill near Douay, with high-grade Joutel material trucked roughly 25-30 kilometres to lift the overall head grade. Tender processes for PEA engineering firms are under way, and an updated resource and PEA are targeted around mid-2027.
Joutel is the near-term driver. Agnico Eagle mined 1.1 million ounces there at 6.5 g/t between 1974 and 1993, using a 6 g/t cut-off. Patankar says material below that grade was never drill tested. Maple Gold's winter programme hit the target horizon in 19 of 22 holes, including 8.6 g/t over 4.2 metres between the Eagle and Telbel shafts, and extended high-grade mineralisation 450 metres beyond the old workings. None of this drilling is in the current resource. The fully funded C$9 million, 25,000 metre fall programme targets resource conversion, infill and expansion, with a stated goal of doubling the Joutel resource at similar grades.
Management says it has built conservatism into its assumptions. The Joutel resource excludes a 100 metre crown pillar and 10 metre buffers around old stopes. The internal study assumed new shafts rather than reuse of existing ones, and a 77% recovery rate compared with the 90%-plus Patankar says Agnico Eagle achieved. A new metallurgical programme should provide current recovery data.
On valuation, Maple Gold trades near $30 per ounce of resource. Patankar argues that most comparable Canadian projects already have PEAs and trade on NPV multiples, so publishing an economic study is the main route to a re-rating. The company held about C$20 million in cash at the time of the interview and says it is funded through 2027. Agnico Eagle is the largest shareholder at approximately 12.5%.
The key risks are the high proportion of Inferred ounces, the unpublished status of the internal study, reliance on historical metallurgical data and Agnico Eagle's back-in right to a 50% interest. Near-term catalysts include Joutel fall drill results, pending Douay assays, an expansion to four to six rigs this winter, and the mid-2027 resource update and PEA.
View Maple Gold Mines' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/maple-gold-mines-ltd
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