Company Interviews

Interview with Nolan Peterson, CEO, Atlas Salt

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/atlas-salt-tsxvsalt-undervalued-investment-series-with-nolan-peterson-9831

Recording date: 25th June 2026

Atlas Salt is advancing its Great Atlantic Salt Project in Newfoundland from planning into execution after raising $25 million in equity over the past year, including a $15 million round completed in June 2026. The funding is being used to accelerate early-stage development such as site preparation, engineering work, and infrastructure setup, allowing the company to reduce project risk ahead of full-scale financing. The project, with an estimated total cost of $590 million, is positioned to address a well-documented shortage of de-icing salt across the northeastern United States, Midwest, and eastern Canada.

The company is structuring a diversified financing package, targeting roughly 60% of capital from senior secured debt, supplemented by subordinate loans, export credit agency support, and equity contributions. Strategic backing includes an $80 million-plus equipment commitment from Sandvik, alongside potential support from Canadian and Swedish export credit agencies. This layered approach reduces reliance on any single funding source while improving financing flexibility.

Atlas operates in a stable, infrastructure-like market. Road salt demand is driven by public safety needs and government procurement, with approximately 10,000 municipal and state buyers purchasing through annual contracts. This structure enables pricing flexibility and avoids dependence on long-term off-take agreements. Unlike many mining projects, the salt deposit offers long-term production without the need for continual resource replacement, supporting predictable cash flows.

Notably, Atlas is currently the only new salt mine in development in North America, giving it a unique competitive advantage amid declining supply from aging operations. Its anticipated low-cost position, supported by access to regulated electricity and favorable labor conditions, further strengthens its market outlook. The project has already attracted Canadian pension funds, reflecting its long-duration, stable return profile.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/atlas-salt

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Interview with Brian Savage, CEO, Electric Metals USA

Recording date: 25th June 2026

Electric Metals USA is advancing the North Star Manganese Project in Minnesota, anchored by the Emily deposit—the highest-grade manganese resource in North America. The company aims to build a fully integrated domestic supply chain producing high-purity manganese sulfate (HPMS) for electric vehicle batteries, electrolytic manganese metal (EMM) for defense-grade steel, and electrolytic manganese dioxide for alkaline batteries. This strategy targets a critical gap: the United States currently relies entirely on imports, largely from China, for all manganese-related materials.

Rather than selling raw ore, Electric Metals is focused on downstream processing, capturing higher-value chemical outputs. A preliminary economic assessment estimates initial mine development costs at approximately $150 million, with HPMS production costs projected to be competitive with Chinese suppliers even without tariff support. A more detailed study, including a 10,000-tonne-per-year EMM circuit, is expected soon and represents a key milestone.

The Emily deposit grades 17.5% manganese and benefits from oxide mineralogy, which simplifies permitting compared to sulfide-based projects. Historical exploration data and recent test work support its development potential, though additional drilling is required to upgrade resource classifications.

The project is also strategically aligned with U.S. national security and industrial policy. Manganese is essential for both emerging battery chemistries and military-grade steel, yet domestic production is nonexistent. Government interest, combined with rising demand from EV manufacturers, strengthens the investment case.

While technical risks remain—particularly scaling HPMS production from laboratory to commercial levels—the company plans to mitigate these through pilot testing and flexible processing options, including third-party ore sourcing if needed.

With a relatively small market capitalization and strong exposure to critical mineral supply chains, Electric Metals USA represents an early-stage but potentially significant player in reshaping U.S. manganese independence.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/nevada-silver

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Interview with Max Porterfield, President and CEO, Visionary Copper & Gold

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/visionary-copper-gold-tsxvvcg-2026-resource-growth-confidence-plan-at-point-leamington-9535

Recording date: 25th June 2026

Visionary Copper & Gold is advancing its flagship Point Leamington project in Newfoundland, a 43-101 compliant volcanogenic massive sulphide (VMS) deposit containing approximately 20 million tonnes of mineralized material. The near-surface resource hosts an estimated 500,000 ounces of gold and 170 million pounds of copper within 400 metres, providing a substantial foundation for future growth in a mining-friendly Canadian jurisdiction.

A key recent development is the discovery of the “Kraken” zone, a copper-rich footwall stringer system located adjacent to the existing deposit. Initial drilling has returned broad copper intersections, including 75 metres grading 0.45% copper, with continuity confirmed across a 275-metre strike length. In comparable VMS systems, such footwall zones can represent a significant portion of total resources, suggesting Kraken could materially expand the project’s scale.

To advance this potential, the company plans a 20,000-metre Phase Two drilling campaign beginning in the second half of 2026. Most of the drilling will focus on upgrading the current resource to higher confidence categories and defining the extent of the Kraken discovery, while a smaller portion will test five additional regional targets across an expanded 30,000-hectare land package.

The project benefits from strong infrastructure, including road access, hydroelectric power, and proximity to a deep-water port, which may help reduce future development costs. Investor confidence is reflected in a significant stake held by Ross Jennings of the Quaternary Group, who has accumulated over 11% ownership.

Amid rising global demand for copper driven by electrification and energy transition trends, Visionary Copper & Gold is positioning Point Leamington as a potentially scalable, lower-cost development opportunity with meaningful exploration upside.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/visionary-copper-gold-mines

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Interview with Elaine Ellingham, President & CEO of Omai Gold Mines Corp.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/omai-gold-mines-tsxvomg-8moz-gold-project-advancing-rapidly-10058

Recording date: 25th June 2026

Omai Gold Mines has rapidly emerged as a significant player in the global gold development sector after doubling its resource base to 8 million ounces across two deposits in Guyana within a year. This growth places the company among a small group of large, undeveloped gold projects worldwide. Despite this scale, Omai trades at roughly $150 per ounce of enterprise value—well below comparable peers valued between $180 and $226 per ounce, and far beneath recent acquisition benchmarks of $425 to $600 per ounce. This valuation gap is partly attributed to the speed of the resource expansion, which analysts have yet to fully incorporate into updated models.

A key near-term catalyst is the company’s forthcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA), expected to provide the first comprehensive evaluation of both deposits at their current scale. The PEA is likely to increase the project’s net asset value and clarify production potential, which may exceed earlier expectations of 250,000–300,000 ounces annually. It may also challenge current assumptions around mining costs, particularly the strip ratio, where management anticipates more favorable outcomes than analysts predict.

Omai benefits from several structural advantages that reduce development risk. As a past-producing site, it already has established infrastructure, including an airstrip, tailings facilities, and cleared land. It is also located near a paved highway and within reach of planned hydropower and LNG energy sources. Additionally, Guyana offers a supportive regulatory environment, streamlined permitting through a single government-issued license, and a growing reputation as a stable mining jurisdiction.

Further upside lies in the project’s geological potential, with drilling indicating mineralization extending well below current resource limits. Combined with its scale, infrastructure, and jurisdictional advantages, Omai represents both a compelling development opportunity and a potential acquisition target in a market increasingly focused on large, de-risked gold assets.

View Omai Gold Mines' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/omai-gold-mines

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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-tsxvnfg-hammerdown-the-path-to-production-10604

Recording date: 23rd June 2026

New Found Gold (TSXV:NFG) is advancing through a critical transition period, moving from an exploration-focused company toward one with near-term production cash flow and a fully funded development plan for its flagship Queensway project. Director and CEO Keith Boyle outlined a clear set of operational milestones, regulatory updates, and a funding position that together describe a company actively de-risking its path from discovery to production.

The company's Hammerdown project represents the nearest-term catalyst. Boyle confirmed the company expects to declare commercial production in the second half of 2026, targeting steady-state annual output of 20,000 to 25,000 ounces at an all-in sustaining cost of approximately $2,500 per ounce, figures consistent with the project's published Preliminary Economic Assessment. This represents New Found Gold's first source of internally generated cash flow, a meaningful shift for a company that has historically relied on equity markets to fund its activities.

Queensway, the company's flagship high-grade project, remains subject to an Environmental Assessment decision that Boyle expects by early July 2026, following a routine two-week extension to the standard 45-day review period. Boyle characterised the extension as a function of higher application volumes at the regulatory body rather than any project-specific concern. Once the EA is approved, the company anticipates progressing to an early works permit, clearing the way for construction activity to accelerate.

A central element of the investment case is the operational continuity between Hammerdown and Queensway. By acquiring the Hammerdown mine and the Pine Cove mill through its earlier Corvus acquisition, New Found Gold gained an already-operating production team and processing facility. Boyle explained that this team's experience bringing a 700-ton-per-day mine into production at Hammerdown is now being applied directly to Queensway, which is being developed at a similar scale. Rather than constructing new milling infrastructure, the company is expanding an existing, operating facility, a structural advantage relative to many development-stage peers building from a standing start.

Boyle also detailed the company's funding position, confirming a $220 million capital raise dedicated specifically to the Queensway development plan. This leaves the company fully funded for early works currently underway at Pine Cove, including the ordering of long-lead-time equipment, while it awaits regulatory clearance. Boyle noted that acquiring existing infrastructure brought Queensway's production timeline forward by approximately three years compared with developing the project independently, while also reducing reliance on further equity issuance and associated shareholder dilution.

Exploration remains an active component of the story alongside development. The company has expanded its 2026 drilling program to 90,000 metres, with 45% allocated to new discoveries and resource growth rather than confirmation drilling. Boyle outlined a longer-term production growth profile targeting more than 100,000 ounces per year in the near-to-medium term, scaling toward approximately 200,000 ounces per year by around 2031 following the planned Queensway expansion.

Taken together, New Found Gold presents a defined near-term catalysts, a funded development plan, and continued exploration upside to weigh against standard regulatory and execution risks inherent to development-stage mining equities.

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

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Recording date: 19th June 2026

Samuel Pelaez and Derek Macpherson of Olive Resource Capital make the case that the commodity bull market remains intact despite near-term volatility — and explain exactly how they are positioning for it.

The pair cover the latest developments in the Strait of Hormuz, where a US-Iran term sheet has eased but not eliminated geopolitical risk, and assess what a structurally different Federal Reserve under new Chair Kevin Warsh means for industrial commodity demand. With crude pulling back toward $80 a barrel, Olive Resource Capital has been adding to oil and gas exposure. Takeover proceeds are being redeployed into small and mid-cap copper producers and explorers, with AI-driven data centre construction cited as a durable demand driver the market is underappreciating. Gold fundamentals remain intact, supported by expected central bank net buying and persistent global fiscal deficits.

The discussion closes with a candid look at portfolio discipline - why entry points matter as much as stock selection, and why the firm is carrying above-average cash while waiting for risk to reprice.

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Interview with Patrick Cruickshank, Director & CEO of Nine Mile Metals

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/nine-miles-metals-csenine-record-copper-gold-grades-drive-2026-expansion-drilling-9179

Recording date: 24th June 2026

Nine Mile Metals Ltd. (CSE:NINE) is in an active phase of exploration at its Wedge project in the Bathurst Mining Camp, New Brunswick, a region with a substantial mining history but, in the company's view, considerable untested potential. The Wedge deposit was partially mined decades ago before falling commodity prices and operational constraints brought work to a halt, and historic records suggest only a fraction of the deposit was ever extracted. Nine Mile's current strategy is built on testing the ground that was left behind, both laterally and at depth.

The company is midway through its largest drill programme to date, a 10,000-metre campaign that follows smaller efforts in the falls of 2024 and 2025. The current phase targets the eastern extension of the deposit, the western flank beyond a fault structure that disrupted earlier drilling, and the system's depth potential, alongside two additional target areas known as West Wedge and TriBag. Two completed holes have already returned long intervals of visible copper-bearing mineralisation, at 234 metres and 130 metres respectively, including a horizon at depth that does not appear in any historic record for the property. This is a meaningful distinction for investors: the company is exploring genuinely new ground rather than reinterpreting previously known mineralisation.

Beyond these results, Nine Mile has identified three separate mineralised lenses within the Wedge system, including a high-grade copper zone that returned grades between 5% and 8% copper before a fault structure interrupted the original hole. The current programme is designed to re-approach that zone from the opposite side of the fault, with deeper holes planned to test both its lateral extent and how far the broader system continues at depth. The deposit's mineralogy varies across these lenses, with the company reporting a lead-zinc-rich zone, a high-grade copper zone, and intervals of elevated silver and gold, along with reported occurrences of antimony and indium. This polymetallic character is typical of VMS systems generally, though it also adds complexity to eventual resource estimation, since grade and metal mix differ from lens to lens.

On the resource question, historic operators are understood to have extracted around two million tonnes from Wedge, with approximately half a million tonnes believed to remain. Nine Mile's own geophysical and 3D modelling work suggests the true figure may be larger, particularly given that current drilling sits outside historic mining areas entirely. Apex Geoscience, the company's technical advisor, is expected to deliver an updated NI 43-101 technical report by autumn 2026, incorporating the 2024 through 2026 drill programmes and potentially including indicated and inferred resource categories for the first time.

On funding, the company states that its 2025 programme, which produced several of the high-grade intercepts referenced above, was completed on a modest budget, and that it does not currently require additional capital to execute the 2026 campaign, while remaining open to strategic investment. For investors, the combination of new discovery zones, a forthcoming resource update, and a stated funded position offers several catalysts to monitor over the coming months with all current results remain preliminary pending certified assay confirmation.

View Nine Mile Metals' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/nine-mile-metals

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Interview with Jonathan Egilo, CEO of Axo Metals

Recording date: 24th June 2026

Axo Metals is advancing its San Antonio gold project in Sonora, Mexico toward a potential production decision, combining ongoing drilling, engineering work, and permitting with a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) expected in September. Acquired earlier this year, San Antonio is a brownfield asset with a history of heap leach gold production, most recently operated in 2021. Existing infrastructure, including a 12,000-tonne-per-day crusher and maintained processing facilities, significantly reduces development risk and upfront capital requirements.

The company’s near-term focus is the Sapuchi deposit starter pit, a near-surface oxide deposit with a low strip ratio that allows mining to begin immediately in ore. Infill drilling at Sapuchi has delivered encouraging results, including gold mineralisation in areas previously classified as waste. These findings could improve project economics by lowering effective stripping requirements and increasing recoverable material within the planned pit.

San Antonio currently hosts a resource of approximately 1.1 million ounces of gold based on a 2021 estimate at lower gold prices. Axo Metals believes this could grow to 1.5–2 million ounces through updated pricing assumptions and ongoing expansion drilling. Over a projected mine life of 10 to 12 years, the project could support annual production of 100,000 to 150,000 ounces, with additional upside from a future sulphide milling operation.

Financially, the company has raised $40 million, with additional warrant potential, and estimates that only tens of millions more are needed to reach initial production due to the project’s partially built status. With permitting underway and a clear development plan, Axo Metals is positioning San Antonio as a near-term, capital-efficient gold production opportunity, particularly attractive in a strong gold price environment.

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

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Interview with Craig Lindsay, CEO, US Operations of Resolution Minerals

Recording date: 24th June 2026

Resolution Minerals Limited (ASX:RML) is advancing its Horse Heaven project in Idaho at a moment when US policymakers are actively prioritising domestic supply chains for antimony and tungsten which are of limited substitutes and outsized exposure to Chinese supply concentration. China currently processes approximately 80% of global antimony supply and mines around 60% of it, a dynamic that has previously resulted in export restrictions to North America and has elevated supply security to a national policy concern.

Horse Heaven sits directly adjacent to Perpetua Resources' Stibnite project, a permitted Idaho gold mine valued at ~$4 billion that has drawn US government and military attention partly due to its antimony content. Resolution's differentiation lies in grade: its antimony veins, ranging from a few inches to a couple of feet thick, average approximately 40%, against Stibnite's sub-1% grade. Because Stibnite's antimony will be recovered only as a byproduct of gold production, Resolution's near-surface, standalone veins may offer a more direct and capital-efficient route to extraction.

Craig Lindseay, CEO of US Operations, has overseen approximately $47 million raised over the past six months, predominantly from Australian investors, and the company is now progressing toward a NASDAQ listing intended to broaden access to deeper US capital markets. Resolution is also engaging directly with federal policymakers and the Department of War, and is a member of the Defense Industrial Base Consortium, a channel for accessing critical minerals supply chain funding. Grant applications have been submitted, though outcomes remain undisclosed.

Notably, management has been explicit that government capital is not treated as a precondition for project viability. Lindsay stated that the project's high grades and near-surface mineralisation should allow it to function as a standalone development, with government support sought primarily through permitting assistance rather than direct funding dependency. This is reflected in the company's recent award of Fast-41 status, a federal designation that subjects the US Forest Service's permitting process to defined timelines via the Permitting Council, addressing what is widely regarded as the principal bottleneck across the mining sector.

On infrastructure, Resolution has acquired a 25-acre private parcel containing the historic Johnson Creek Tungsten Mill, offering more permitting flexibility than public land. The company is pursuing a phased strategy toward early revenue: existing tungsten stockpiles would be sold to third-party processors in the near term, while a bulk sample extraction permit application for a minimum of 500 tons of high-grade antimony material which is roughly equivalent to two years of US military demand is also in progress.

A 45,000-foot drill programme is underway, with results expected from late July through year-end and a maiden resource estimate targeted for Q1 2027. The project remains pre-resource and pre-permit for full-scale production, and funding, listing, and permitting outcomes remain pending.

View Resolution Minerals' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/resolution-minerals-ltd

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Interview with Rupert Verco, CEO, Cobra Resources

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/cobra-resources-lsecobr-discovers-high-grade-copper-gold-over-74m-9534

Recording date: 24th June 2026

Cobra Resources is advancing what it describes as Australia’s only rare earth project suited to in situ recovery (ISR), a mining method that offers lower capital costs, reduced environmental impact, and faster development timelines compared to conventional techniques. Located in South Australia, the project has recently confirmed mineralisation across two prospects through sonic core drilling, supporting progress toward a maiden mineral resource estimate.

A defining feature of the project is its high-value rare earth composition. Approximately 43% of the mixed rare earth carbonate (MREC) basket consists of heavy rare earths, including nearly 5% dysprosium and terbium—elements critical for electric vehicles and wind turbines and typically more valuable than light rare earths. This positions Cobra competitively among global ionic clay projects.

Technical results further support ISR viability. Permeability testing has demonstrated strong hydraulic connectivity, with transmissivity rates of around 8 metres per day and 80% tracer recovery within two days. These metrics suggest efficient leach cycles of 30–60 days and support well-field spacing that enhances operational efficiency. Importantly, high tracer recovery also indicates effective containment, a key requirement for regulatory approval.

The project may also benefit from natural sulfide oxidation within the orebody, which can generate sulfuric acid in situ. This could offset a significant portion of reagent costs, typically around 30% of operating expenses in ISR projects, improving overall economics.

Cobra plans a low-cost pilot study using existing infrastructure and ANSTO’s facilities to validate the ISR process, followed by a scoping study. With supportive regulatory conditions in South Australia and proven ISR analogues in similar geological settings, the project presents a differentiated, capital-efficient pathway to rare earth production amid rising global demand for critical minerals.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/cobra-resources

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