Company Interviews

Interview with Mark Bristow, President & CEO of Barrick Gold (NYSE:GOLD)

Recording date: 10th August 2023

Barrick Gold is a leading global producer of gold and copper, with a portfolio that spans major gold and copper districts around the world, focusing on high-margin, long-life assets. The company aspires to be the most valued gold and copper business, owning top assets and managed by top-tier professionals to ensure optimum returns for all stakeholders. Strategically, Barrick emphasizes long-term sustainable growth through global exploration programs and is dedicated to forming partnerships with host nations and communities, emphasizing local employment and skill development. The company's shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange as "GOLD" and on the Toronto Stock Exchange as "ABX."

With over 20 years of experience in the financial hubs of London, Germany, and New York, John Butler shares invaluable insights into the dynamics of precious metals, especially gold. From historical contexts to economic theories and the practical fundamentals of supply and demand, we delve deep into the world of investment and the international monetary system. With mentions of gold's potential re-monetization for settling international trade imbalances, the role of the US dollar, and the fascinating comparisons between gold and Bitcoin, this talk is a treasure trove of information. Whether you're an investor, banker, or just someone curious about the future of global economics, this conversation promises deep insights

Interview with Phil Hoskins, MD of Evolution Energy Minerals Limited (ASX: EV1)

Our previous interview: https://youtu.be/bnJdEj0iI6w

Recording date: 17th August 2023

Evolution Energy Minerals Limited, based in Australia, is a mineral exploration firm. It primarily focuses on the acquisition, study, and development of the Chilalo Graphite Project located in southern Tanzania. This particular project, known for its coarse flake graphite, is situated about 100 km north of the Mozambique border, 180 km from the coastal city of Mtwara by the Indian Ocean, and 400 km south of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's metropolis. The site is in the Ruangwa District of the Lindi Region. The company's primary goal is to provide graphite products and battery materials to support the worldwide green economy.

In the dynamic realm of lithium mining, leaders like Robin Dunbar of Grid Metals, Jeffrey Wilson of Eureka Lithium, and Stephen Hanson of ACME Lithium stand out. Grid Metals, situated in southeastern Manitoba's Bird River greenstone belt, controls prized high-grade lithium pegmatites at Donner Lake and Falcon West, with a strategic advantage given their closeness to the Tanco mine, one of Canada's two lithium producers. Their journey doesn't end with lithium; their Ni-Cu-PGM-Co project, Makwa-Mayville, is also generating significant interest. Eureka Lithium, on the other hand, stands as a dominant force in Quebec's Nunavik region. They hold vast projects in emerging areas like Raglan West, Raglan South, and New Leaf Lithium Camps, and have ties to the illustrious prospector Shawn Ryan. The territory they oversee is mineral-rich, housing two active nickel mines with invaluable deep-sea port access. Meanwhile, ACME Lithium, backed by a team of industry veterans, is laser-focused on exploring and developing battery metal projects. Their expansive interests range from Nevada's Clayton Valley and Fish Lake Valley to sites in southeastern Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan. Join us for a deep dive into the innovative endeavors, hurdles, and openings these trailblazers navigate in the fast-evolving lithium sector. Subscribe for a deeper look into the multifaceted world of mining!

Recording date: 17th August 2023

What’s been happening:

Niger is no closer to returning to democratic rule.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/8/15/west-african-military-chiefs-to-discuss-niger-crisis-thursday-and-friday
 
Spot price continues to edge up continuing to generate flows into Uranium ETF’s.
 
France’s nuclear safety regulator has cleared Tricastin 1 to operate for another 10 years, making it the first French reactor to operate beyond 40 years.

https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/Articles/Tricastin-1-cleared-for-ten-more-years

Winner of the week
Australia’s wealthiest person & mining magnate, Gina Rinehart advocates for Nuclear Energy

https://www.skynews.com.au/business/energy/gina-rinehart-declares-support-for-a-nuclear-powered-australia/video/0b16d4696eb8c2f90509be277fbcdb78
 
Bungle of the week

Chris Bowen, Minister of Climate Change & Energy of Australia win’s bungle of the week for his comment: “We’ve got a full agenda and I don’t have time for a distraction that’s not going to work,”.  This came after Deutsche Bank’s chief economist, Phil O’Donaghoe asked, “Why not let the market sort it out?”.
 
https://www.afr.com/policy/energy-and-climate/let-the-market-sort-out-nuclear-bankers-urge-bowen-20230815-p5dwpu
 
Question of the week

What is the Linear Non-Threshold theory of radiation exposure? And why is it important? This question arose from this Tweet - https://twitter.com/jasoncrawford/status/1688278472240529408
 
Tweet (Post?) of the week

This is from Energy analyst superstars, Goehring & Rozencwajg
https://twitter.com/Go_Rozen/status/1691909540915146955

Moonshots & Fizzers

DevEx Resources (ASX:DEV) is an exploration company with a diversified portfolio of high-quality projects spanning some of Australia’s best-endowed mining regions.
 
This week they have released results from their ongoing 2023 Reverse Circulation drill campaign at the Nabarlek Uranium Project in the NT and it is delivering exciting uranium results at several prospects surrounding the historical Nabarlek Uranium Mine. Located close to the world-class Ranger Mine, could this be Australia’s next Ranger?

https://www.devexresources.com.au/sites/default/files/asx-announcements/61163163.pdf
 
What do we know. Showing potential but is it underground open pit. Who else in the area?

Vimy used to describe it as the Athabasca.
 
Not to forget Boss Energy (ASX:BOE) who released good looking drilling results that will add very handy life to their Honeymoon Well in-situ recovery mine.

https://bossenergy.com/investors/asx-announcements

Recording date: 15th August 2023

Join industry leaders Mark Selby, Chairman & CEO of Canada Nickel (TSX-V:CNC), Hayden Locke, President & CEO of Marimaca Copper (TSX-V: MARI), and Simon Clarke, CEO of American Lithium Corp (TSX-V:LI) as they delve deep into the future prospects of the mining sector. Canada Nickel is at the forefront, advancing the next generation of nickel-sulphide projects for the booming electric vehicle and stainless steel markets, with a unique push towards net zero carbon products anchored by their Crawford Nickel-Cobalt Sulphide Project. American Lithium, on the other hand, is setting benchmarks with their large-scale lithium projects, especially the TLC Lithium Claystone Project in Nevada and their ventures in Peru, which showcase considerable expansion potential. Rounding out the trio, Marimaca Copper focuses on the promising Marimaca Project, an oxide, open-pit, heap leach copper initiative in Chile's Antofagasta region. Dive into this enlightening discussion to unpack the intricacies of the mining world and its trajectory.

Interview with Chris Frostad, President & CEO of Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. (TSX-V:PTU)

Our previous interview: https://youtu.be/QDsHRx2gtjg

Recording date: 15th August 2023

Purepoint Uranium Group Inc. (TSXV: PTU) (OTCQB: PTUUF) spearheads a robust exploration operation of nine advanced uranium projects in Canada's Athabasca Basin. They have a leading joint venture at Hook Lake in collaboration with Cameco and Orano, and another joint venture at Smart Lake with Cameco. Additionally, Purepoint possesses seven projects, fully owned, showcasing uranium-rich prospects. As they undertake dynamic exploration activities across various projects, Purepoint is positioning itself as the leading uranium explorer in the world's most uranium-abundant district.

Nickel dropped down to the bottom end of $20-$22,000 range that we’ve largely been in since the beginning of May – dragged lower along with the rest of the base metal complex as China deflation concerns weighed on the market.  LME inventories are still low.

According to statistics from the Stainless Steel Branch of China Iron and Steel Association, China’s crude stainless steel production amounted to around 17.59 million tons in the first half of this year, up by 8.2% compared to the same period a year ago.  Among them, the output of Cr-Ni stainless steel (300 series) accounted for the largest proportion at 50.33%, totalling around 8.85 million tons, a year-on-year hike of 11.1%.  (we thought China was slowing down) - seeing cuts in the first half in ROW production after a big surge in 2021/22, but now seeing a turn in the West as well.  Analysts always underestimate stainless growth. 

Still not seeing any further momentum in nickel sulphate in China, but seeing more nickel directly utilized (in the form of MHP/matte) and more high nickel cathode material produced in Korea.

FPX Nickel saw a big drop this week – down by 33% on news that one of the First Nations (FN) groups has made public communications from Tl’azt’en Nation with respect to the 2012 Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) between Tl’azt’en Nation, family Keyoh Holders, and FPX, and concerns expressed related to resource development.

The team at FPX have done a very good job responsibly advancing the project, but sometimes best efforts can’t change the view of the local community.  The original 2012 group split into several groups – which may have different views on resource development. Elections in FN communities typically every 2-3 years so can have multiple leadership groups to deal with during the lifespan of the project (think with my old Dumont project, we had 5 different chiefs over 10 years).  The new chief came in a year ago and may be a catalyst for change, maybe another change in the future.

Permitting/First Nations risk is real – even the best management team/approach can do everything 100% right, but the community may not want resource development. Encourage every investor to look at First Nations/permitting risk – not just to country, province, but the specific region – look at whether any mines operating in the area, have any operated before, and search for public comments on mining activity in the area. Can always be the first new mine in an area, but comes with lots of risks and need to manage accordingly.

This is always been a key concern – 4 major assets that I’ve been involved with have been in established mining areas - Abitibi Quebec (Dumont), Abitibi area of Ontario (Crawford), Kalgoorlie (Beta Hunt), Manitoba/Snow Lake (Reed).  

The Metals Company (TMC) stock has moved significantly higher over the last 2 months and just completed $27 million financing (think highlighted back in June that smaller scale start-up using existing Japanese processing capacity provides a lower capex path to production).  The Metals Company aims to apply next year for a licence to start mining in the Pacific Ocean, with production expected to start as early as the fourth quarter of 2025, it said in a statement.

Magna Mining put out some nice drill holes this AM and has been busy retracing about 50% of what it gave up after the PEA announcement.
101 FW Zone

MCR-23-041: 3.0% Ni, 0.7% Cu, 1.2 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 31.6 metres

MCR-23-042: 4.2% Ni, 1.4% Cu, 1.0 g/t Pt + Pd + Au over 27.6 metres

Good results but would asterisk them a little bit – when historic drilling – look for step out versus infill, unless filling in some pretty wide gaps.  These holes look like in between 22-003 and 22-005 drilled earlier this year which in turn were between 1003080 and 1003090 and 1163050
At the other end of step out level, our neighbour in Timmins, Aston Minerals, has started off their 2023 drilling season with some 500 metre step-outs in their B2 zone which in turn is more than 2 kilometres away from their initial Boomerang resource of 2.5 million tonnes of nickel.

On the lithium-nickel front, Widgie Nickel got approval to mine its Faraday lithium deposit – will ship ore to one of the local lithium mines to be processed.

Azure Minerals (nickel developer turned lithium developer) turned down $600 million offer from SQM.

Interview with Charles FitzRoy, CEO of Bradda Head Lithium (LSE: BHL)

Our previous interview: https://youtu.be/pKWqsKoJelo

Recording date: 15th August 2023

Bradda Head Lithium Ltd. is a lithium development company primarily centered on North America. The firm holds stakes in several ventures, with its most developed ones located in Central and Western Arizona: The Basin Project (encompassing Basin East and Basin West) and the Wikieup Project.

Basin East boasts an Indicated Mineral Resource of 21.2 Mt with an average grade of 891 ppm Li and 3.5% K, translating to 100 kt LCE. Additionally, it has an Inferred Mineral Resource of 73.3 Mt with an average grade of 694 ppm Li and 3.2% K, amounting to 271 kt LCE. Elsewhere in the Basin Project, SRK projects an Exploration Target ranging from 300 to 1,300 Mt of material with grades varying from 600 to 850 ppm Li, equating to 1 to 6 Mt LCE. The company is poised to progress its trio of initial projects in Arizona and simultaneously aims to tap into the potential of its pegmatite and brine ventures in Arizona, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. Significantly, Bradda Head holds all its licenses at a complete equity share and is strategically located near essential infrastructure.

Interview with Eric Zaunscherb, Chairman of Critical Elements Lithium Corp. (TSX-V: CRE)

Our previous interview: https://youtu.be/iPNhac82fnc

Recording date: 14th August 2023

Critical Elements aims to establish itself as a major and conscientious lithium provider for the thriving electric vehicle and energy storage sectors. The company is progressing its premier Rose lithium project in Québec, a high-purity venture nestled within its expansive landholdings of over 1,050 square kilometers. On June 13th, 2022, they unveiled the results of a feasibility study for the production of spodumene concentrate at Rose. This project boasts an impressive after-tax internal rate of return of 82.4% and an after-tax net present value of US$1.9 B, considering an 8% discount rate. Critical Elements believes that Québec's location is ideal for the US and EU markets, underscored by its solid infrastructure that includes a predominantly hydroelectric-powered grid (94%). Additionally, the Rose project has garnered the nod from the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change based on the Joint Assessment Committee's suggestions, which includes members from the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Cree Nation Government. It has also secured the Certificate of Authorization under section 164 of Québec’s Environment Quality Act from the Québec Minister of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife, and Parks.