Interview with Christian Easterday, Managing Director and CEO, Hot Chili Limited

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/hot-chili-tsxvhch-water-business-with-1b-npv-to-fund-copper-project-6917

Recording date: 10th August 2026

Hot Chili Limited (ASX/TSXV: HCH, OTCQX: HHLKF) is advancing the Costa Fuego Copper-Gold Project on Chile's Atacama coastline, positioning itself as one of only five independent (non-major-controlled) copper developers globally with a project capable of exceeding 100,000 tonnes of annual copper-equivalent production. Managing Director and CEO Christian Easterday, who has led the company since its 2010 ASX listing, argues the market has not yet caught up with the scale of the opportunity.

The company's March 2025 Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) outlined a 20-year mine life (14 years at primary production rates), average annual production of roughly 116,000 tonnes of copper-equivalent, a post-tax NPV of US$1.2 billion, and a post-tax IRR of 19% at a long-term copper price of US$4.30/lb. Start-up capital was estimated at US$1.27 billion.

The central near-term catalyst is La Verde, a copper-gold porphyry discovery acquired in November 2024 roughly 35km from Costa Fuego's planned processing hub. Extensive drilling (three rigs, with a fourth arriving) has defined a broad, high-grade mineralised footprint, and management expects a maiden resource estimate of approximately 500 million tonnes before the end of 2026. Folding La Verde into a restated Costa Fuego PFS is expected to lift post-tax NPV toward US$2 billion and post-tax IRR toward the mid-30s%, while shortening payback from roughly 4.5 years to 2.5 years and improving the project's position on the industry cost curve.

On valuation, Hot Chili highlights two benchmarking metrics: an EV/lb-of-reserve multiple of roughly 3.8 cents against a peer average near 11 cents (implying a 2.9x re-rating opportunity), and a price-to-net-asset-value gap of roughly 2.3x versus recent comparable copper-sector transactions.

Financing is addressed primarily through the company's Huasco Water asset — the only maritime licence with permitted seawater access in the Huasco Valley. Stage 1 (seawater supply to Costa Fuego, 500 L/s) is already funded within the existing PFS. A second maritime licence, which would unlock a larger multi-user desalination business (Stage 2: 1,300 L/s, ~US$977 million post-tax NPV) serving neighbouring major-miner projects, has been in Chile's approvals process for roughly five years and remains on track according to recent government contact, following an earlier delay tied to a change in administration. Management frames monetising this asset as a way to cover a substantial share of the project's equity requirement without heavy shareholder dilution. Additional untapped levers include uncommitted gold production (48,000-70,000 oz/year with La Verde) and roughly 40% of concentrate offtake left uncommitted outside the company's existing Glencore agreement.

Glencore holds a 7.5% equity stake and an offtake agreement for up to 60% of concentrate for the first eight years of production, on benchmark terms. The company has also strengthened its board, adding Stuart Matthews (formerly EVP at Goldfields, with five major mine builds) as Independent Non-Executive Chair.

Near-term catalysts include the maiden La Verde resource estimate (year-end target), a restated Costa Fuego PFS, EIA submission (targeted Q2 2027), progress on the second Huasco Water maritime licence, and an ongoing strategic partnering process. Final Investment Decision is targeted for 2029, with first production guided for 2031.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/hot-chili-limited

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 Interview with James Gurry, Managing Director & Jozef Story, Exploration Manager of Aureka Gold

Recording date: 11th August 2026

Aureka (ASX:AKA) is an ASX-listed gold explorer and near-term developer operating a cluster of projects across Victoria's Stawell Corridor and St Arnaud goldfield, all within a 45-minute to one-hour drive of one another. The company was reconstituted from a distressed tenement package that Managing Director James Gurry acquired for under $1 million in 2023, when gold prices were depressed, and relisted on the ASX at the end of 2024. Since the start of 2025, Aureka has drilled continuously and lifted its JORC resource base by 50%.

The company's flagship asset is the 100%-owned Irvine Gold Project, which sits 16km from the Stawell Gold Mine, a roughly 5-million-ounce historical producer. Irvine currently hosts an inferred resource of 398,300 ounces at 2.59 g/t gold, following a 94,000-ounce, 36% increase to the Resolution lode announced on 18 June 2026. That increase was driven by a reinterpreted structural and geological model, led by Exploration Manager Jozef Story, that defined 11 new geological domains around the deposit. Beyond the current resource, Aureka carries Advanced and Conceptual Exploration Targets that, combined with the unchanged Adventure lode target, exceed 600,000 ounces. Recent drilling identified a high-grade structure the company calls the Tenacity Fault, which returned the project's best assay to date: 10m at 12.1 g/t gold from 413m, including 0.3m at 183 g/t gold.

Rather than pursue Irvine's larger development in isolation, Aureka's near-term strategy centres on the brownfield Comstock project near St Arnaud, roughly 70km from Irvine, within a historic goldfield that produced approximately 400,000 ounces at 15 g/t. Comstock hosts a 56,500-ounce inferred resource at 1.21 g/t gold and 2.14 g/t silver, plus a 112,000 to 116,000-ounce exploration target. The company has signed a toll milling agreement with the nearby Wedderburn mill, described by management as project-agnostic and therefore usable for Irvine ore in future, and has submitted a production licence application for Comstock, targeting first ore movement within roughly 12 months. Management is guiding to first-year Comstock production of 3,000 to 7,000 ounces, an estimated A$30 million to A$50 million in revenue at current gold prices, and a targeted margin of around 50%.

The stated strategy is to use Comstock's free cash flow to fund ongoing exploration at Irvine without relying primarily on dilutive capital raises, while pursuing Irvine toward a longer-term development decision that management estimates is roughly three years from a first mining licence. Aureka currently has no debt and two diamond rigs active, one on each project. Management points to valuation support from the tenement package's prior history: the same assets, under a previous owner, traded up to approximately $150 million in market capitalisation in 2020, at roughly half today's gold price, against Aureka's current market capitalisation of under $20 million. Key near-term catalysts include Comstock's production licence approval and further assay results from the Tenacity Fault and Walker zone drilling programmes.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/navarre-minerals

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Interview with Blake Hylands, CEO of Lithium Ionic Corp.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/lithium-ionic-tsxvlth-low-cost-developer-targets-construction-start-h2-2026-8741

Recording date: 6th August 2026

Lithium Ionic Corp has agreed to sell its non-core Baixa Grande lithium deposit in Brazil to PLS Group for up to US$70 million, a move that accelerates funding for the company's flagship Bandeira Lithium Project toward a construction decision.

The transaction delivers US$37.5 million in cash consideration, split between US$30 million payable at closing (expected within months) and US$7.5 million due at the buyer's final investment decision or an earlier agreed date. Additionally, Lithium Ionic retains a 2% royalty on Baixa Grande, estimated at US$20-30 million in value. The sale caps a three-year hold on an asset Lithium Ionic always viewed as secondary to Bandeira, generating roughly eight times the company's original acquisition cost.

Baixa Grande sits adjacent to ground PLS acquired through its 2025 purchase of Latin Resources, with geology representing a natural extension of the same lithium system. The deposit holds approximately 20 million tonnes of identified resource, work that helped drive the eventual sale price.

Proceeds from the sale provide immediate flexibility to order long-lead items, including the processing mill, and fund early operational costs at Bandeira ahead of construction financing closure. This sequencing allows the company to advance procurement without waiting for separate debt or equity raises.

Engineering work is nearly complete, and the underground portal contractor shortlist has been narrowed following a tender process.

Lithium Ionic has secured binding five-year offtake terms with Chinese converter Yahua, covering 170,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate annually at a US$1,000 per tonne floor price with no ceiling. This structure provides lenders visibility that the project generates cash on every tonne sold, supporting debt serviceability discussions.

With projected all-in sustaining costs near US$600 per tonne and spodumene pricing above US$2,000 per tonne, the project offers substantial margins. Brazil's open global trading position provides additional flexibility compared to projects tied to regional buyers.

Management highlights a significant valuation disconnect, with Lithium Ionic trading below 0.1x P/NAV compared to producing peer Sigma Lithium's 1–1.1x multiple. CEO Blake Hylands frames this as a potential tenfold re-rating opportunity as the company progresses through permitting, financing, and construction milestones toward production targeted for late 2027 into 2028.

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Interview with Alex Underwood, Managing Director, Beetaloo Energy

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/empire-energy-asxeeg-racing-to-unlock-vast-australian-shale-gas-resource-4901

Recording date: 7th August 2026

Beetaloo Energy Australia, formerly Empire Energy Group, is moving toward a crucial milestone in the development of the Northern Territory’s Beetaloo Basin, with first gas from its Carpentaria pilot now targeted for the fourth quarter of 2026. The updated schedule is later than the company’s previously indicated 2025 timeframe, reflecting construction and commissioning realities rather than a change in the project’s resource base or contracted sales position.

Three wells have been connected to a pilot pad located approximately five kilometres from the Carpentaria gas plant, whose construction and flowline installation are largely complete. The project is supported by a binding 10-year gas sales agreement with the Northern Territory Government. The contract provides fixed-price revenue with a consumer price index-linked escalator, giving Beetaloo visibility over near-term cash flows. Initial supply is expected to reach 10 terajoules per day, potentially increasing by another 15 terajoules per day once pipeline-flow infrastructure is upgraded.

The company reports approximately A$125 million in available liquidity, divided roughly between cash and undrawn facilities, including Macquarie Bank funding for the gas plant. Management says this provides sufficient funding through first gas without an immediate need for further equity.

However, well economics remain dependent on substantial cost reductions. Recent wells cost more than A$50 million each, partly because of Australia’s remote logistics and high transport costs. Beetaloo expects year-round drilling and stimulation to eventually halve well costs, supporting targeted internal rates of return of 30% to 50%.

A separate growth opportunity comes from a non-binding memorandum of understanding with Halliburton for Beetaloo Digital, a proposed AI data centre near Darwin. Halliburton would contribute power-generation expertise, while Beetaloo’s role would remain focused on supplying gas rather than owning or operating the facility.

Longer term, demand could come from Northern Territory industry, east-coast gas shortages and LNG exports. Nevertheless, the investment case remains exposed to first-gas delays, high initial well costs, third-party pipeline investment and the uncommitted status of the data-centre proposal.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/empire-energy-group

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Interview with Chad Peters, President & CEO of Ridgeline Minerals Corp.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/ridgeline-minerals-tsxvrdg-600m-free-carry-potential-on-partner-funded-crd-discovery-8609

Recording date: 7th August 2026

Ridgeline Minerals has completed the sale of four early-stage Nevada gold exploration projects to Nevada Gold Mines (NGM), generating US$23.15 million in cash and a return of more than 350% on its invested capital. The transaction, which closed on August 3, involved Ridgeline’s interests in the Swift and Black Ridge earn-in agreements, as well as its Bell Creek and Atlas projects.

The sale gives Ridgeline approximately C$33 million in cash and C$3 million in marketable securities. Together, those assets exceed the company’s market capitalisation of about C$24.5 million, substantially reducing its near-term financing and dilution risk. Management says the strengthened treasury will support new project staking, exploration, potential acquisitions and, possibly, shareholder returns.

Ridgeline retained its flagship Selena project, a 39-square-kilometre carbonate replacement deposit target being advanced through a US$20 million earn-in agreement with South32. South32 has committed US$4 million for drilling in 2026, fully funding the programme. The project gained importance after the 2025 discovery of high-grade massive sulphide mineralisation at the Chinchilla Sulphide zone. South32 has compared the early-stage discovery with its Taylor deposit in Arizona, although Selena does not yet have a formal mineral resource estimate.

The company also continues to own Big Blue and Coyote outright. Big Blue is a copper-silver-tungsten exploration project with encouraging historical and recent drill and trench results. Coyote is an undrilled Carlin-type gold target located near NGM’s Black Ridge project and approximately four kilometres from the Fallon gold resource, making it a potential partnership or transaction candidate.

Ridgeline additionally holds a 17.3% stake in Spartan Metals and a 1% royalty on metals from Spartan’s Eagle tungsten project. The company’s next challenge is converting its financial strength and exploration portfolio into further discoveries, particularly through Selena’s 2026 drilling and future work at its 100%-owned Nevada properties.

View Ridgeline Minerals' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/ridgeline-minerals

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Interview with Robin Dunbar, President & CEO of Grid Metals Corp.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/grid-metals-tsxvgrdm-positioning-for-near-term-production-in-the-ultra-rare-cesium-market-9448

Recording date: 6th August 2026

Grid Metals Corp. is advancing the Falcon West project in southeastern Manitoba toward a maiden mineral resource estimate for cesium and lithium. The company has commissioned SGS Canada Inc. to prepare a NI 43-101-compliant estimate for the Lucy South pegmatite, with results expected in fall 2026. The announcement represents a potentially important milestone because pollucite, the primary cesium-bearing mineral targeted at Lucy South, is exceptionally rare. Only three pollucite deposits worldwide have ever reached production.

Lucy South is located approximately 130 kilometres east of Winnipeg, directly beside the Trans-Canada Highway. Its mineralisation is shallow, occurring from less than two metres to roughly 40 metres below surface. Drilling has outlined a cesium-rich zone measuring approximately 120 by 50 metres. Recent results included an intercept grading 5.44% cesium oxide and 1.52% lithium oxide over 2.75 metres, including 1.55 metres grading 8.49% cesium oxide.

Grid believes the project could be developed using a relatively simple processing approach. The proposed flowsheet involves crushing and X-ray transmission ore sorting, without water, flotation, milling, or a tailings facility. Management has estimated total project capital costs at less than C$10 million, comparing the concept more closely to a quarry than a conventional mine.

The project is supported by Avenir Minerals, a wholly owned subsidiary of Agnico Eagle Mines. Avenir invested C$3.75 million for an initial 15% interest in Falcon West, while Grid retains 85% and operatorship. Avenir also holds options linked to the Lucy South resource, a future preliminary economic assessment, and mine-plan milestones.

Beyond cesium, Grid offers exposure to a broader Manitoba portfolio. Teck Resources is funding work at the Makwa nickel project, Boliden can earn an interest in Thompson East, and Grid also holds the Mayville copper and Donner lithium projects.

The Lucy South resource estimate is therefore both a technical milestone and a potential valuation catalyst, while the company’s partner-funded portfolio provides diversification across several critical minerals.

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Recording date: 6th August 2026

Olive Resource Capital posted a modest decline in July, with its portfolio down just over 1% for the month. Management characterizes the result as effectively flat, given the heightened volatility that defined the period and the fund's favorable performance relative to its internal peer benchmark.

Oil and copper led commodity markets higher during July. Oil rebounded on renewed tensions around the Strait of Hormuz, while copper climbed to fresh yearly highs as Chinese warehouse inventories drew down faster than anticipated and production disruptions hit major Chilean mines. Together, these factors created a constructive supply-demand backdrop that management expects to persist in the near term.

Precious metals staged a late-month recovery, supported by a US dollar reversal tied to the Federal Open Market Committee's July meeting. Despite gains in gold and silver, precious metals equities broadly lagged, with some declining even as underlying metal prices rose. This divergence between commodity prices and related stocks has been a recurring theme through the first half of 2026.

Olive Resource Capital used the month's volatility strategically. Management deployed capital during risk-off periods and leveraged thinner summer liquidity to add positions in energy, uranium, copper, and gold. Notable additions included new buying in CANEX Metals following its consolidation with Gold Basin Resources, and continued accumulation in Prospector Metals, which has moved into the fund's top ten holdings.

Looking ahead, management is watching for early drill results from Prospector Metals in early September as a key near-term catalyst. The fund is also positioning for a seasonal pickup in news flow and financing activity through the autumn, consistent with its historical pattern of using the July-August window for accumulation ahead of stronger market conditions in the fall.

The Strait of Hormuz situation remains the dominant macro driver, though management notes the market appears to be growing less sensitive to individual headlines as investors conclude the current level of aggression is unsustainable for all parties involved.

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Interview with Hugh Agro, President & CEO of Revival Gold Inc.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/made-in-america-revival-gold-tsxvrvg-the-case-for-us-based-gold-development-10516

Recording date: 6th August 2026

Revival Gold Inc. (TSXV:RVG) is a Toronto-headquartered gold developer advancing two brownfield, pure-gold assets in the western United States: the Mercur Gold Project in Utah and the Beartrack-Arnett Gold Project in Idaho. Both sit on historically productive ground with existing infrastructure, which the company argues reduces development risk and capital intensity relative to greenfield alternatives.

Mercur, at the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) stage, is the company's near-term production driver. The May 2025 PEA outlined a 66 Mt resource grading 0.60 g/t gold for 1.275 million ounces contained, average annual production of 95,600 ounces over a 10-year mine life, initial capex of $208 million, a 56% after-tax internal rate of return, and an after-tax NPV of $741 million at a 5% discount rate and $3,000 gold (rising to $1,270 million at $4,000 gold). The company is roughly halfway through an 18,000-metre drilling programme aimed at converting inferred resources to measured and indicated categories, with a Preliminary Feasibility Study targeted for completion by the end of Q1 2027 and construction decision expected in 2028.

Beartrack-Arnett is further along, at Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) stage for its first-phase open-pit heap leach restart, with a 2023 PFS outlining 65,300 oz gold per year over eight years at $1,248/oz all-in sustaining cost, $109 million pre-production capex, and an after-tax NPV of $484 million (80% after-tax IRR) at $3,000 gold. Behind that sits a second-phase, higher-grade underground opportunity at the Joss zone, currently an inferred resource of 877,000 ounces at 4.05 g/t. A 5,500-metre 2026 drilling programme targeting expansion of that underground resource recently returned one of the project's strongest intercepts to date: 3.43 g/t gold over 131.7 metres, including 6.56 g/t gold over 42.5 metres, at hole BT26-255D, extending known continuity to roughly 850 metres of vertical extent. The zone remains open along strike and at depth.

Combined, the two projects represent an after-tax NAV of $1.225 billion at a 5% discount rate and $3,000 gold price, against a basic market capitalisation of approximately C$211 million, a 0.11x price-to-NAV ratio that the company positions against a 0.35x average for US developer peers, citing S&P Global Market Intelligence data. Estimated cash of C$27.8 million is stated to fund both projects through to Mercur's construction decision.
Ownership is institutionally weighted, with institutions and corporates representing 59% of the capital structure, including EMR Capital, Konwave, and Dundee Corporation among named holders. Basic shares outstanding stand at 319.4 million, with 359.6 million fully diluted.

Key near-term catalysts include the Mercur PFS (end of Q1 2027), pending Joss wedge-hole assay results, initial Mercur metallurgical column test results (expected before the end of August 2026), and continued Mercur infill and expansion drilling results through the remainder of 2026.

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Interview with Aaron Revelle, MD & CEO of Pursuit Minerals

Recording date: 5th August 2026

Pursuit Minerals is advancing a small-scale lithium development strategy in Argentina while preparing to test a newly defined gold-silver exploration system. The company’s flagship Rio Grande Sur project, located on the Rio Grande Salar in Salta province, is supported by a completed Pre-Feasibility Study for an initial 5,000-tonne-per-year lithium carbonate operation.

The study outlines a net present value of approximately $364 million, estimated capital costs of $120 million to $157 million and an internal rate of return of about 22%. With forecast operating costs of roughly $6,500 per tonne, the project is positioned in the lower quartile of the global cost curve. Pursuit has also produced technical-grade lithium carbonate with 99.5% purity from its pilot plant, providing practical validation of the proposed processing flowsheet.

The company is relocating the pilot plant to Rio Grande Sur to test the process using site brine and local operating conditions. It has also expanded its landholding by 1,362 hectares through an acquisition from REMSA, bringing the project’s total tenement area to approximately 10,595 hectares. Diamond drilling is now underway at the Mito target, where geophysical surveys identified a deep, basin-scale conductive anomaly.

Pursuit is assessing larger production scenarios through Stage 2 Pre-Feasibility Study addendums, including lithium carbonate and lithium chloride options. Its proposed development model is to secure an offtake partner, use project debt to fund the initial operation and expand production after the base plant generates cash flow.

The company’s second asset, the Sascha Marcelina gold-silver project in Santa Cruz province, has advanced following geological mapping that identified five priority targets. An induced polarisation survey is underway, with maiden drilling expected to begin from September 2026.

Pursuit held $3.068 million in cash at 30 June 2026 and owned a $4.82 million stake in Kendrick Resources. While its modest market capitalisation and low-capex strategy may offer leverage to improving lithium demand, securing construction finance remains the critical challenge.

View Pursuit Minerals' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/pursuit-minerals-limited

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Interview with Philip Williams. Director & CEO of IsoEnergy Ltd.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/isoenergy-tsxiso-toro-acquisition-adds-75-mlbs-of-uranium-to-portfolio-growth-plan-10865

Recording date: 5th August 2026

IsoEnergy Ltd. (NYSE American: ISOU; TSX: ISO) has entered into a definitive agreement with DISA Technologies to form DISA Uranium Corporation, a new technology-enabled uranium company combining IsoEnergy's Utah mine portfolio with DISA's proprietary ore-processing and remediation businesses. Under the agreement, IsoEnergy will contribute its Utah Portfolio, comprising the Tony M Mine, Daneros Mine, Rim Mine, Sage Plain Project, and Flatiron Project, in exchange for 1,677,350 shares of common stock in the new entity.

DISA Uranium has secured commitments for a US$105 million private placement led by Tembo Capital, with strategic participation from BHP Ventures, Galvanize Climate Solutions, Valor Equity Partners, Evok Innovations, Halliburton Labs, and Veriten. IsoEnergy is contributing US$33 million to that round and will emerge as DISA Uranium's largest shareholder, holding approximately 33% on a fully diluted basis alongside two board seats. The financing implies a pro forma fully diluted equity value of roughly US$505 million for the new company.

At the core of the platform is DISA's High-Pressure Slurry Ablation technology, which preliminary testing at Tony M suggests can reduce feedstock volumes by around 78% while recovering approximately 88% of contained uranium, materially improving the economics of trucking and processing. DISA Uranium also holds the only US Nuclear Regulatory Commission license authorising uranium recovery from legacy mine waste across multiple sites, giving it access to more than 15,000 identified abandoned uranium mine locations across the western United States.

For IsoEnergy shareholders, the transaction crystallises value from a previously standalone asset base while preserving meaningful upside through continued ownership and governance influence. Management has also flagged early-stage plans to explore a new domestic uranium processing mill, the first of its kind built in the US in more than four decades, subject to feedstock consolidation. The transaction is expected to close in August 2026.

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