Interview with John McConnell, President & CEO of Victoria Gold Corp.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/victoria-gold-vgcx-onsite-visit-with-john-mcconnell-2321

Recording date: 20th November 2023

Victoria Gold seeks to hit its stride and regain investor confidence after several years of operational setbacks and missed guidance targets caused its stock to languish. But with its Eagle mine now running smoothly, a focus on optimizing production and controlling costs aims to deliver consistent execution and cash flow going forward.

President and CEO John McConnell acknowledged past struggles in meeting forecasts but emphasized Victoria Gold's focus is now firmly on efficient operations. Guidance of 160,000-180,000 ounces of 2022 production appears achievable, with output tracking just below the midpoint currently. More ambitious expansion plans have been reined in, however, amid inflated capital costs.

Instead, Victoria Gold is concentrating on incremental improvements across its Yukon-based Eagle mine to enhance productivity. New fleet management systems provide additional oversight into trucking, loading and personnel efficiency. Ongoing tweaks to key plant components have already yielded throughput gains as well.

These initiatives aim to lower all-in sustaining costs from around $1,450 per ounce presently. While inflation has driven expenses higher across the mining industry, McConnell stressed that "we can produce gold for the lowest possible cost per ounce. That's our aim."

With gold potentially heading towards $3,000 per ounce by 2024 according to some bullish forecasts, even modest reductions in Eagle's cost profile could deliver significant upside leverage. Victoria Gold has also put in place hedging and other risk management strategies to protect against volatility in the gold price.

The company's financial health appears set to support operational initiatives and improvement plans. Victoria Gold generated $18 million in free cash flow last quarter even after making debt repayments and acquiring new royalty assets. Steady debt reduction remains a priority for excess cash flow allocation after investments to expand output.

Ultimately, McConnell sees investor perception turning positive again if Victoria Gold can demonstrate consistent execution. Renewed confidence in management's operational capabilities could spur a re-rating towards historical valuation multiples. Executing on guidance and generating free cash flow gives weight towards that crucial credibility shift.

In summary, Victoria Gold's pathway towards restoring its credibility seems clearing: optimize and derisk existing production at Eagle while minimizing costs to deliver steady cash flow. Then leverage operatonal gains to fund measured expansions if capital costs normalize.

With assets in a tier-one jurisdiction and institutional backing still apparent, Victoria Gold offers turnaround potential as a fledgling gold producer if execution issues are put to rest. Progress on guidance adherence and cost control point tentatively in that direction for patient value investors.

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View Victoria Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/victoria-gold-corp

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