Company Interviews

Recording date: 28th August 2026

Olive Resource Capital's latest Compass episode centres on two connected observations: a summer drilling season that is quietly delivering strong results, and a persistent shortage of the advanced copper projects the market increasingly wants exposure to.

On the drilling side, Derek Macpherson said a quick scan of recent releases turned up roughly ten notable holes in a two-day window, spanning gold and copper-equivalent results from companies including Lake Victoria Gold, Free Gold, ATEX Resources and VR Resources. He attributed the volume to well-funded companies - many of which raised capital during the frothy financing window of late 2025 and early 2026 - finally reaching the drill bit with larger, multi-rig programmes than in past cycles. Despite the quality of results, Samuel Pelaez noted that most of the underlying stocks have moved only modestly, framing individual holes as a starting point for deeper diligence rather than a signal to react to immediately. He illustrated the point with VR Resources Ltd. (TSXV:VRR), whose strong copper-equivalent grade at its New Boston project in Nevada turned out to be molybdenum-led on closer inspection, and with Heritage Mining Corp., where a genuinely strong gold result failed to move the share price because of an unresolved warrant overhang from prior financings.

Both Macpherson and Pelaez pointed to operational bottlenecks as a growing constraint on the pace of news flow. Assay laboratory turnaround times have roughly doubled industry-wide, and at least one Nevada-based lab has stopped accepting new clients. Macpherson cited a conversation with White Gold Corp. CEO David D'Onofrio, who described Yukon labs as overwhelmed by the scale of concurrent drill programmes in the territory - a dynamic likely to push meaningful drill-result reporting into the fourth quarter and beyond the traditional autumn conference season.

This episode returned to a recurring theme: the scarcity of tier-one copper development projects. Pelaez cited comments from Mineral Resources Limited (ASX:MIN) chief executive Chris Ellison, who told investors on a results call that the roughly A$10 billion Australian miner intends to buy a copper project outside Australia within the next 12 months - a sign, in Pelaez's view, that copper demand is broadening well beyond specialist resource investors. Macpherson highlighted Rio Tinto's US$15 million strategic investment in Mogotes Metals Inc. (TSXV:MOG), closed on 27 August, as further evidence of major producers competing for exposure to early-stage assets in Argentina and Chile's Vicuña district, home to NGEx Minerals Ltd.'s (TSXV:NGEX) four significant discoveries. Closer to home, Olive continues to build positions in Edge Copper Corporation's (TSXV:EDCU) Zonia project in Arizona, Gladiator in the Yukon, and Valhalla in Alaska.

Olive's preferred strategy is buying advanced development assets likely to be built or acquired this cycle, on the view that the valuation gap between developers and producers is typically widest early in a bull market, a gap they expect to become more pronounced in copper as competition for scarce, advanced assets intensifies.

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Interview with Colin Joudrie, CEO, Selkirk Copper

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/selkirk-copper-mines-tsxvscmi-restart-developer-targets-mid-2028-production-10866

Recording date: 26th August 2026

Selkirk Copper Mines is executing a restart of the past-producing Minto copper-gold-silver mine in Yukon, Canada, an asset that operated successfully for 16 years before its most recent operator entered bankruptcy in 2023. Rather than building a new mine, Selkirk is rehabilitating existing infrastructure - a 4,100 tonne-per-day processing plant, underground and open-pit workings, a 400-person camp, water treatment facilities and grid power - an approach management argues meaningfully compresses both the capital and time required to reach production.

The exploration case has strengthened materially over the past year. A Phase 1 drill programme of 52,288 metres, completed in mid-2026, underpinned an updated Mineral Resource Estimate showing a 182% increase in Measured & Indicated copper to 940 million pounds, alongside comparable increases in gold and silver. An ongoing Phase 2 programme, targeting 50,000 metres, is now more than 90% complete and running ahead of schedule, with recent assay results including a 13.12% copper-equivalent intercept at the high-grade Minto North zone and step-out drilling that suggests further expansion potential to the south. Roughly half of the resource growth is attributed to drilling success, with the remainder reflecting updated metal price assumptions.

A structural feature distinguishes Selkirk's economics from the prior operation: a gold and silver streaming agreement that previously diverted precious metals revenue to an outside party was eliminated during the bankruptcy process. CEO Colin Joudrie describes this as a rare outcome that leaves the company with full exposure to gold and silver, which together represent roughly 35% of the deposit's value. Management also plans metallurgical upgrades - adding gravity recovery circuits and a permanent crusher circuit - intended to lift precious metals recovery and reduce milling costs relative to historical performance.

The near-term roadmap is defined. A Preliminary Economic Assessment, incorporating the enlarged resource base, is targeted for completion in Q3 2026 and will provide the first formal cost and production estimate under Selkirk's ownership. A Feasibility Study is expected to begin around the end of September 2026, feeding into a final investment decision targeted for mid-2027, with first production targeted for mid-2028. Restart capital costs are currently expected to be in the range of C$200 million, financing for which - alongside potential offtake and streaming arrangements - is expected to be arranged over the next 12-18 months.

Joudrie situates the restart within a broader copper market thesis: negative treatment and refining charges, ageing global mine supply, and recent major operational failures elsewhere have left the market structurally short, a gap he believes new, quickly-executed supply like Minto is well positioned to help fill. Risks include permitting amendment timing, which remains outside the company's direct control, Yukon-specific cost inflation in contract mining, and the execution risk of translating a substantially larger drill database into a coherent, financeable mine plan. The PEA release stands as the clearest near-term test of whether the exploration success translates into a credible economic case.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/selkirk-copper

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Interview with Anthony Moreau, CEO, American Eagle Gold

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/american-eagle-gold-tsxvae-29-million-major-funding-for-multi-billion-ton-copper-gold-in-bc-6271

Recording date: 25th August 2026

American Eagle Gold Corp. (TSXV:AE | OTCQB:AMEGF) is advancing its 100%-owned NAK copper-gold porphyry project in British Columbia's Babine Porphyry District, and the past month has produced two of the strongest results in the company's history. NAK26-87, reported 18 August 2026, intersected 1,001 metres of 0.46% copper equivalent (CuEq) starting at surface, including 218 metres of 1.01% CuEq - a full kilometre of continuous copper-gold mineralisation and the longest intercept ever drilled at NAK. A week later, NAK26-89 returned 411 metres of 0.43% CuEq from 47 metres downhole, within a broader 880-metre interval of 0.30% CuEq, extending near-surface mineralisation roughly 250 metres east of the existing South Zone and opening a new target area along the southern margin of the Babine porphyry stock.

Together, these results have grown the mapped South Zone footprint to more than 700 metres east-west by 600 metres north-south, with a high-grade core extending beyond 800 metres depth, and management believes the zone remains open in multiple directions. Three additional western step-out holes - NAK26-84, -86 and -88 - returned broad, consistent copper intercepts that extend the footprint further north and west, with positive implications for future open-pit design and strip ratio.

The company is roughly a fifth of the way through an approximately 80-hole, 55,000-metre drill programme running through April 2027, with three rigs operating continuously. Management has now dedicated one rig specifically to the newly opened southern stock zone, an area it describes as among the least-tested but most prospective ground on the property, and the immediate next target is a follow-up to NAK23-09 - the 2023 "Teck Hole."

American Eagle is well capitalised to execute this programme. As at July 2026, the company reported approximately $55 million in cash (with a subsequent release citing approximately $50 million), 205 million shares outstanding, and a market capitalisation of roughly $230 million at a share price of $1.12. Management states the company is funded through 2028 without need for near-term financing. Insiders and strategic shareholders control 53% of the share register, including South32 (19.9%), Teck (12.9%) and Eric Sprott (9.5%) - none of whom, according to CEO Anthony Moreau, have sold shares since investing.

The investment case rests on combining a high-grade core with substantial surrounding bulk tonnage, a model management compares to Highland Valley. CEO Moreau has framed the strategy as proving NAK can become a mine within the current metal price cycle, positioning the asset for acquisition by a major producer. Road access, existing power and rail infrastructure, and a five-year Exploration Agreement with the Lake Babine Nation (signed August 2023) support a lower relative cost of capital versus more remote British Columbia projects.

Key catalysts ahead include continued assay releases through April 2027 (roughly 74 of 80 planned holes remain unreported), results from the newly dedicated southern stock zone rig, ongoing metallurgical test work feeding a 2027 PEA, and a targeted maiden mineral resource estimate in 2027. The primary risk remains that NAK is still a pre-resource exploration asset: reported intercepts, while long and consistently mineralised, do not yet establish confirmed tonnage or grade, and copper equivalent figures rely on assumed metal prices and recoveries pending further metallurgical work.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/american-eagle-gold

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Interview with Luis Azevedo, Chairman and CEO, Bravo Mining

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/bravo-mining-tsxvbrvo-double-grades-and-resource-up-to-236-million-tons-in-tier-one-pgm-deposit-7934

Recording date: 25th August 2026

Bravo Mining (TSXV:BRVO, OTCQX:BRVMF) is advancing its 100%-owned Luanga PGM+Au+Ni deposit in Brazil's Carajás Mineral Province through a Pre-Feasibility Study guided for Q3 2026, while simultaneously extending two secondary discoveries — a nickel-copper sulphide system at the Babylon target and an early-stage copper-gold exploration programme — that management believes could add materially to the project's long-term optionality.

The immediate news is a set of assay results from drill hole DDH26LU347 at Babylon, adjacent to Luanga's North Sector. The hole intercepted 13.4 metres at 1.55% nickel, 0.33% copper and 2.02 g/t PGM+Au (including a higher-grade 6.7-metre interval at 2.25% nickel and 3.14 g/t PGM+Au), plus a separate 6.0-metre interval grading 6.81 g/t PGM+Au. CEO Luis Azevedo characterises the nickel-copper result as evidence the deposit could ultimately support underground mining grades in addition to its established open-pit resource, with a large Induced Polarisation anomaly at roughly 700 metres depth now queued for follow-up drilling.

On the core PGM story, the PFS — pushed one quarter from Q2 to Q3 2026 — is being built around metallurgical testwork showing Jameson Cell flotation technology can lift platinum, palladium and gold recoveries by 5-10% and nickel recoveries by 5-30% against conventional Denver cells, while cutting mass pull by up to 50%. Glencore Technology has independently reviewed the metallurgical database and indicated it is prepared to issue performance guarantees on the assumptions. Azevedo argues the practical effect is a larger, more profitable pit rather than a simple recovery uplift, which is the stated reason the study needed the extra quarter.

Bravo held approximately $94 million in cash at the time of interview, which management says funds the PFS, permitting and 2026 drilling without near-term dilution. Beyond the treasury, the company has structured but not yet drawn on two further levers: an indicative $280 million offer for a portion of its gold credit, and an existing $300 million credit line from Orion. A PGM offtake has drawn interest from multiple parties but remains unpriced pending bankable feasibility numbers.

On permitting, Bravo already holds its preliminary licence and plans to submit for the Installation Licence within one to two weeks of the PFS release, targeting approval within six months to a year based on the company's track record with Brazilian regulators. A construction decision is targeted roughly six months after the PFS, with construction possible from mid-2028, pending a Q1 2027 resource update and a Q3 2027 Definitive Feasibility Study.

The 2025 PEA's vertically-integrated smelter scenario has also become more attractive: rising sulphuric acid byproduct pricing lifts that case's NPV from approximately $1.2 billion to $1.68 billion versus the base concentrate-sale case, though management has not yet decided on timing.

Separately, a copper-gold division led by 31-year Vale veteran Fabio Masotti is running IP surveying ahead of an 8,000-metre H2 2026 drill programme — a third, still unpriced source of optionality that management says could eventually support a standalone corporate structure if results warrant it.

Learn more: https://cruxinvestor.com/companies/bravo-mining

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Interview with Meredith Eades, President and CEO, EraNova Metals  

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/eranova-metals-dual-path-critical-minerals-play-with-30-million-infrastructure-advantage-in-canada-9037

Recording date: 24th August 2026

EraNova Metals has released the first independent economic study on its Adanac Molybdenum Project since 2008, and the numbers give investors a concrete basis for evaluating a story that has, until now, rested largely on historical potential. The Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), prepared by Tetra Tech Canada, values Adanac at a C$714.4 million after-tax NPV with a 23.5% IRR and a 2.6-year payback, using a US$25.00 per pound long-term molybdenum price. At the current spot price of US$31.91 per pound, President and CEO Meredith Eades said the after-tax NPV rises to C$1.29 billion, with IRR climbing to 30.2%.

What separates Adanac from many junior molybdenum stories is the amount of work already completed. The project was drilled more than 73,000 metres, advanced through a full feasibility study, and received an Environmental Assessment Certificate in 2007, before the 2008 financial crisis halted construction. EraNova estimates the value of this historical infrastructure at more than C$100 million - road access, site works and engineering that a typical greenfield developer would need years and substantial capital to replicate. Combined with a mineral resource that is 93% Measured and Indicated, the technical foundation for a Feasibility Study is already largely in place, reducing the need for extensive further drilling.

The macro backdrop adds to the case. Around 90% of the world's molybdenum supply arrives as a by-product of copper mining, and as copper operations increasingly move underground, by-product molybdenum grades and volumes are under pressure. That leaves relatively few primary molybdenum developers positioned to meet growing demand from high-strength steel applications in pipelines, energy infrastructure, aerospace and defence.

Eades is explicit that EraNova is not attempting to raise its full C$953.3 million initial capital requirement in one step. Instead, the company is using the PEA as a credibility milestone to open conversations with government funding programmes, strategic partners and potential off-takers, including molybdenum consumers such as Freeport, Centerra and Molymet. A roughly 3,000-metre engineering support drilling programme is planned to advance toward Feasibility, alongside an updated environmental assessment process conducted in continued engagement with the Taku River Tlingit First Nation.

Against a market capitalisation the company puts at approximately $10 million, the PEA's economics represent a significant disconnect from the underlying asset value - if the numbers hold through Feasibility. Risks remain: the project still requires a full Feasibility Study, updated permits, and a near-billion-dollar capital build, all of which carry execution and dilution risk as capital is raised in stages. For investors willing to accept pre-production development risk, EraNova offers a rare primary molybdenum exposure with an unusually advanced permitting and engineering head start, plus exploration optionality across the wider Ruby Creek property - including high-grade silver, gold and tungsten targets - that could deliver catalysts independent of the molybdenum development timeline.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/eranova-metals

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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-tsxnfg-construction-still-on-track-10918

Recording date: 14th August 2026

New Found Gold's transition from exploration company to emerging Newfoundland gold producer reached a milestone with its move to the TSX main board, a step CEO Keith Boyle frames as recognition of the company's operational progress over the past 18 months. The listing upgrade is intended to widen access to institutional capital and stock indices unavailable on the TSX Venture Exchange, with Boyle noting the company currently splits roughly 60% of trading volume on New York exchanges and 40% on the TSXV, and expects the TSX move to lift Canadian volume without reducing US liquidity.

Operationally, the company is running a two-track strategy. Hammerdown, a smaller open-pit gold mine acquired as part of the Maritime Resources transaction, is being ramped toward a 20,000-25,000 ounce annual run rate and is expected to be declared in commercial production within months. Boyle was explicit that Hammerdown was never intended to be a major cash generator - its purpose is to cover general and administrative costs and exploration spend, freeing the balance sheet to focus on the larger Queensway project.

Queensway itself is being built in phases rather than as a single large-scale mill, a decision Boyle said was made specifically to reduce the size of financing required at each stage. Phase one, a 700-tonne-per-day open pit feeding an expanded Pine Cove mill, is fully funded through to first ore delivery - targeted for the fourth quarter of next year - following a $220 million financing announced in April. The company expects production to climb toward 120,000-125,000 ounces annually by 2028 and 175,000-200,000 ounces from 2031, as later, larger phases come online.

A key near-term catalyst is the forthcoming updated mineral resource estimate and preliminary economic assessment for Queensway. Rather than moving straight to a feasibility study, the company is choosing to publish an updated PEA so investors can see the full multi-phase project, since phases two and three have not yet received enough infill drilling to be classified beyond inferred resources. Phase one, by contrast, has been de-risked through 5-by-5-metre grade control drilling and orders already placed for the mill conversion, which Boyle said supports a feasibility-level capital cost estimate for that portion of the project.

On exploration, New Found Gold is directing roughly 45% of its expanded 90,000-metre, $40-million-plus 2026 drill programme toward new discovery targets rather than infill - including strike extensions east of the high-grade core, ground picked up along the Appleton Fault from the November Exploits Discovery acquisition, and follow-up drilling at Pulse Pond/Greenwood Pond and Duder Lake. Boyle said per-ounce discovery costs have fallen from roughly $145 for the initial resource to below $100 currently, comparing favourably with M&A-driven ounce additions in the sector, which he put at $500-600 per ounce. For investors, the story combines a funded near-term production ramp with an aggressive, discovery-weighted exploration budget, and the updated Queensway study will be the next major data point to watch.

View New Found Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/new-found-gold

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Recording date: 21st August 2026

Omai Gold Mines emerged as the central focus of Olive Resource Capital’s latest market review after releasing a preliminary economic assessment that highlighted the project’s potential scale. At a gold price of $3,600 per ounce, Omai’s after-tax net present value was estimated at $4 billion, increasing to $5.5 billion at $4,200 gold. The study outlined average annual production of 350,000 ounces over an 18-year mine life, including several years above 400,000 ounces, and $8.1 billion in cumulative undiscounted cash flow. Although the market initially reacted cautiously, Olive argued that investors are still adjusting to the multibillion-dollar capital requirements of large mine developments in a higher-gold-price environment.

Olive also viewed Prospector Metals’ sharp selloff as a potential opportunity. The company’s shares fell about 40% following early Yukon drill results that did not immediately match the prior year’s standout intercepts. However, only two full holes and part of a third had been reported from a 44-hole program. With the company funded for its drilling campaign and management indicating it had identified a high-grade structural core, Olive added shares at approximately $0.80 to $0.90. The stock subsequently rebounded roughly 25% from its low.

K92 Mining reported more than US$300 million in quarterly cash flow and reached a net-cash position while advancing its Stage 3 expansion. The company also announced a planned CEO succession, with John Lewins becoming non-executive chairman and internal executive David Medilek taking over as CEO. Olive characterized the change as a continuity move rather than a change in strategy.

The broader second-quarter reporting season reinforced copper’s growing importance. Copper accounted for more than half of BHP’s EBITDA while being Rio Tinto’s largest contributing group (alongside aluminum and lithium), both firsts. Supply disruptions, constrained inventories and US stockpiling contributed to tighter copper markets. This renewed attention on miners with copper exposure, including DPM Metals, which generated record revenue and free cash flow. Olive was more cautious on Eldorado Gold, arguing that McIlvenna Bay is principally a zinc asset despite being widely described as a copper project.

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Interview with Phil Hoskins, CEO of Atomic Eagle

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/atomic-eagle-asxaeu-all-known-questions-answered-april-2026-10323

Recording date: 3rd August 2026

Atomic Eagle Limited (ASX:AEU | OTCQX:AEUXF) has negotiated the return of its Madaouela Uranium Project in Niger, transforming the company from a single-asset Zambian developer into a dual-asset uranium play with a combined resource base spanning two continents. The deal, agreed in principle after seven months of negotiation with Niger's Ministry of Mines, follows the 2024 expropriation of the project from Atomic Eagle's subsidiary GoviEx Uranium and the international arbitration proceedings that followed.

The scale differential between the two projects is significant. Madaouela hosts 116.5 million pounds of U3O8 at 1,282ppm - roughly twice Muntanga's resource size and four times its grade - underpinned by more than $160 million of historical expenditure and 600,000 metres of drilling. At current uranium prices, management estimates the project's net present value at approximately $650 million US, with each $5-per-pound price increase adding a further $100 million.

The commercial terms give Atomic Eagle 60% ownership of a newly formed Nigerien entity, with the government holding 40% - 15% as a standard free-carried interest and up to 25% as a contributory stake that dilutes if unfunded. Near-term cash outlay is limited to $10 million US in staged payments, plus a non-cash offer to carry the government for up to $40 million of its equity contribution. Critically for investors assessing execution risk, operational control - budgets, work programmes, and day-to-day decisions - sits unambiguously with Atomic Eagle, with no unanimous consent requirements from the government side.

The company now has a two-year window to update feasibility studies, reapply for environmental approvals, and convert the historical NI 43-101 resource estimate into a JORC-compliant figure, targeted for the second half of 2026. With $13.8 million in cash as at 30 June 2026 and a further $16 million potentially available through early option exercises by strategic holders, management believes funding is adequate to meet these near-term obligations without an immediate capital raise.

Management was explicit that Madaouela is not intended to divert resources or attention from Muntanga, which continues to grow toward a resource approaching 60 million pounds, supported by its own dedicated exploration and study teams. CEO Phil Hoskins framed the valuation opportunity in relative terms: African uranium developers currently trade around $3 a pound, which applied to Atomic Eagle's 60% attributable Madaouela resource implies roughly $210 million Australian in additional value - a figure he suggested could be exceeded given strategic interest already expressed by parties including the White House and major Chinese uranium companies, though he cautioned this depends on Atomic Eagle first demonstrating the deal's credibility to the market.

Formal signing of the mining convention is imminent. Until then, the agreement remains non-binding, and investors should treat the current terms as indicative rather than final.

View Atomic Eagle's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/atomic-eagle

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Interview with Alan Carter, President & CEO of Cabral Gold Inc.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/cabral-gold-tsxvcbr-85-built-q4-production-district-growth-ahead-11014

Recording date: 14th August 2026

Cabral Gold has reached a pivotal stage in developing its Cuiú Cuiú gold district in Pará State, Brazil, having secured the Operating Licence (LO) needed to begin leaching gold from its first heap leach pad. The licence, granted by the state environmental authority SEMAS/PA, follows the earlier Preliminary Licence and sits alongside a separate approval from Brazilian military authorities covering the purchase and transport of cyanide which both prerequisites for gold recovery under the company's Phase 1 gold-in-oxide operation.

Construction of the wet processing circuit, the last major piece of the build, is over 90% complete. The ADR plant which is built in Australia and shipped to site has finished mechanical assembly, with electrical work more than 90% done and commissioning under way. The simpler dry circuit, covering ore crushing, agglomeration and stacking, is already commissioned and operating. Ore is being mined, stacked and prepared for irrigation, which CEO Alan Carter expects to begin within days.

Management's updated timeline puts first gold production in September 2026, around six weeks earlier than originally planned, with full commissioning wrapped up by late September and a ramp-up toward commercial production - defined internally as 60-70% of design throughput - through the fourth quarter. The company has deliberately avoided issuing formal 2026 production guidance given the number of ramp-up variables involved in a first-time mine build, though guidance is likely for 2027.

Economically, the early mine life looks favourable relative to the broader resource. Infill drilling at the first deposit being mined points to average grades near 1.5 g/t gold over the first 12-18 months, roughly double the 0.7 g/t life-of-mine average, with life-of-mine costs guided at approximately US$1,200 an ounce against a gold price recently around US$4,300 an ounce. Management expects Phase 1 to generate at least US$50 million a year in cash flow once ramped up, which it intends to direct toward repaying a 39-month gold loan (signed in November 2025) and funding an active six-rig exploration programme, rather than raising further equity.

The larger opportunity, as Carter frames it, is Stage 2: unweathered hard-rock gold beneath the oxide caps now being mined, which he says represents roughly three-quarters of the district's current resource. With six known gold deposits, five confirmed to carry oxide caps, and around 50 untested peripheral targets across the district, management plans to update Cuiú Cuiú's global resource estimate by year-end and, depending on the outcome, potentially advance a preliminary economic assessment on the hard-rock opportunity in the first half of 2027.

Near-term risks centre on commissioning execution through the wet circuit and the inherent uncertainty of ramping up a new operation, while the current trial mining licence's 500,000-tonne cap - below the 1-million-tonne throughput contemplated in the Pre-Feasibility Study - remains a near-term constraint pending an expected licence upgrade. The project also recorded its first Lost Time Incident during the update period, a non-critical injury, against a Lost Time Injury Rate of 0.34 per 200,000 hours worked.

View Cabral Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/cabral-gold

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Interview with Alberto Orozco, CEO of Capitan Silver

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/capitan-silver-tsxvcapt-60000m-drilling-to-prove-scale-at-cruz-de-plata-9531

Recording date: 11th August 2026

Capitan Silver Corp. (TSXV:CAPT) is advancing its Cruz de Plata silver-gold project in Durango, Mexico, through a fully-funded 60,000 metre drill programme in 2026 - a 400% increase over the prior year's campaign and more than double all historic drilling on the property combined. CEO Alberto Orozco told Crux Investor the company is roughly halfway through the programme, with four rigs (one RC, three diamond) now active and the drill rate accelerating as additional rigs have come online through the year.

The project's most advanced target, the Jesus María trend, has been drilled along a continuous strike length of 2.5 km, part of a broader 3.7 km surface-sampled mineralised trend and a cumulative 21 km of vein structures identified across the consolidated property. Historical and recent drill results include intercepts of up to 1 kg/t silver over two to three metres, within broader zones as wide as 40 m grading 100-300 g/t AgEq. Orozco was clear the project is a primary silver system rather than a base-metals story: silver represents 75-95% of AgEq value depending on location, and a west-to-east metal zonation pattern is being used to vector toward the deeper part of the system.

Management's stated priority for 2026 is proving scale rather than rushing a resource. Because the current programme is focused on step-out rather than infill drilling, any near-term resource estimate would be classified as inferred. Orozco indicated an internal benchmark of roughly 100 Moz AgEq for a credible first resource, a figure he said the company does not expect to be far from once the current programme concludes, though further drilling would be needed to build density around any initial estimate.

Financially, Capitan Silver raised C$29 million in late 2025 to fund the expanded programme and reported a market capitalisation of $212.0 million as of August 2026. Over 70% of the share register is tightly held, with no free founder shares and most shares issued at $0.20. Two of the last three financings priced at a premium of more than 30% to market, each led by a new strategic investor, Jupiter Gold & Silver Fund, Michael Gentile and Construplan are the top three shareholders. Management has also contracted to remove all remaining project royalties.

The company positions Cruz de Plata within the intermediate sulphidation epithermal deposit class responsible for several major Mexican silver discoveries and recent billion-dollar M&A transactions, including Las Chispas, Los Gatos and Juanicipio. Peer-comparison data prepared by Stifel Canada shows Capitan trading at a discount to the average resource-stage peer on both market capitalisation and enterprise value. For investors, the key watch items through the remainder of 2026 are continued assay flow from the deeper, western portion of the Jesus María trend and from newly-permitted step-out targets, with a maiden resource estimate representing a later-stage catalyst rather than a near-term one.

Learn more: https://cruxinvestor.com/companies/capitan-silver

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