East Star Resources (LSE:EST) - Secures 2nd Copper JV Agreement with Rulikha Project in Kazakhstan

Interview with Hayden Locke, CEO, Marimaca Copper Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/marimaca-copper-tsxmari-undervalued-investment-series-with-hayden-locke-11042Recording date: 7th September 2026Marimaca Copper's latest drill results from Pampa Medina add meaningfully to a discovery story that has been building since late 2024. The headline intercept, SPRD-15, returned 216 metres at 1.0%+ copper plus 7.2 g/t silver, including a high-grade zone of 62 metres at 2.2% copper with 21.6 grams per tonne silver - a result CEO Hayden Locke described as the company's best yet at Pampa Medina. Multiple step-out holes to the south and west, including SPRD-17, SPRD-12, SMRD-13 and SMRD-22, confirmed continuity of the mineralised system across a broader area, with the company now defining a roughly 3km by 1.5km drill-confirmed footprint and a 1.3km by 1.3km high-grade core.Locke was emphatic that Pampa Medina should be understood as a sediment-hosted copper system rather than a Chilean porphyry, drawing direct comparisons to the Kupferschiefer basin in Poland and Germany and, more pointedly, to the Central African Copperbelt's Kamoa-Kakula deposit - among the most significant copper discoveries of the past several decades. He cited an average grade thickness across the drilling of roughly 70% copper-metres plus around 10 g/t silver, though investors should note this figure sits well above every comparator cited elsewhere in the same interview and would benefit from written confirmation as the maiden resource is finalised.On the structural side, Locke addressed two previously unresolved questions. Post-mineral dikes, while carrying negligible grade, have proven thinner in true thickness than earlier drilling suggested, reducing their expected dilution impact on any future resource. Faulting is better understood on an east-west orientation, with fewer structures expected to complicate a north-south mining approach, though further geotechnical work will be required before any underground decision.Parallel to the exploration story, Marimaca's flagship MOD project is fully permitted and now in its detailed design and engineering phase, and is advancing toward a financing decision. The company has narrowed its lender search to three groups now in final due diligence, after which it will negotiate exclusively with one before moving into legal due diligence and long-form documentation, targeting full construction during 2027. Management describes its financing philosophy as conservative: a modest debt-to-equity ratio, no hedging, and traditional senior secured lending rather than more complex structures.Design work at MOD has already anticipated Pampa Medina's growth, with the project's water pipeline oversized to support up to 100,000 tonnes of cathode production annually - infrastructure that any oxide material from Pampa Medina would piggyback on regardless of eventual scale. The company's larger sulfide opportunity at Pampa Medina remains a longer-dated, unquantified catalyst that management says will not be rushed.With approximately $140 million in cash, separated development and exploration teams led by VP Exploration Sergio Rivera, and shareholder alignment behind the current dual-track strategy, Marimaca enters the second half of 2026 with two distinct, near-term catalysts: the Pampa Medina maiden resource expected by end-October, and the outcome of the MOD financing process.Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/marimaca-copperSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with David Wolfin, CEO of Avino Silver & Gold MinesOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/avino-silver-gold-tsxasm-record-revenue-powers-three-mine-expansion-strategy-8753Recording date: 4th September 2026Avino Silver & Gold Mines Ltd. (TSX:ASM) enters the second half of 2026 in the strongest financial position in its 57-year history, and that strength is now being deployed toward a decision that could reshape the company's production profile. Q2 2026 revenue reached $26.8 million, up 23% year-on-year, driven by higher realised silver prices at $68.90/oz and increased throughput from La Preciosa development material. Net income of $10.9 million and EBITDA of $12.6 million both grew strongly year-on-year, and the company closed the quarter debt-free with $144.2 million in cash and $140.8 million in working capital.That balance sheet strength underpins the company's most consequential near-term decision: whether to build a standalone processing plant at La Preciosa, its silver development project 19 kilometres from the existing Avino mill. Management estimates a facility comparable to Avino's current 2,500-tonne-per-day mill would cost $200-300 million, roughly half of which the company already holds in cash. A pre-feasibility study now underway with an independent engineering firm is expected within 8-10 months, after which Avino could move directly to a construction decision.The case for going standalone rests on both economics and optionality. Trucking material 19 kilometres at a much larger scale would strain logistics and community relations at the volumes a full La Preciosa operation would require, and CEO David Wolfin has been explicit that a standalone plant is the better use of capital once the study confirms it. Recent drilling supports that confidence: intercepts including 7.9 metres of 1,600 g/t silver and 2 g/t gold, and a further 6 metres at 550 g/t silver, suggest underground mining grades could exceed the diluted, open-pit-based resource model inherited from the project's previous owner, Coeur Mining.Underpinning this is Avino's first mineral reserve in company history, published in April 2026 after the company crossed the $90 million trailing-revenue threshold required under NI 43-101 to report reserves. The combined 127 million silver equivalent ounces in proven and probable reserves, alongside 301 million ounces of measured and indicated resources, gives the growth story a formal technical foundation it lacked a year ago. Average reserve mine life across the portfolio comfortably exceeds the roughly 8-year average among primary silver peers, a comparison management uses to argue for a valuation re-rating as the company de-risks.Risks remain concentrated in execution. Costs rose alongside the cash build, with all-in sustaining costs of $38.75 per silver equivalent ounce in Q2, reflecting the expense of developing a new mine rather than deterioration at Avino itself. Copper production fell 50% year-on-year as the company processed oxidised material from historical open-pit walls, a sequencing decision expected to reverse over the next six to eight months. Investors should also note that much of the grade upside management points to remains in step-out drilling not yet reflected in the reserve model; an updated estimate is expected in Q1 2027.For investors, Avino offers a rare combination: an operating, cash-generating mine funding a second high-grade asset, a debt-free balance sheet providing genuine optionality, and two concrete near-term catalysts: the La Preciosa pre-feasibility study, and the Q1 2027 resource update against which to track execution.View Avino Silver & Gold's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/avino-silver-gold-mines-ltdSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Donovan Pollitt, President and Director, White Gold Corp Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/white-gold-tsxvwgo-largest-drill-program-commencing-on-highest-grade-gold-resource-in-yukon-10043Recording date: 2nd September 2026White Gold Corp (TSXV:WGO) has crossed a threshold that had eluded it for years: a Preliminary Economic Assessment that puts formal economics around its Yukon flagship deposit. Released August 10, 2026 and refined in an August 28 update, the PEA delivers an after-tax NPV (5%) of C$1.86 billion and a 41% IRR at a US$3,600/oz gold price, with a 1.5-year payback period. At spot-adjacent US$4,500/oz pricing, those figures rise to a C$2.9 billion NPV and 56% IRR. The proposed operation is a conventional open-pit, carbon-in-leach mine processing 12,000 tonnes per day across the Golden Saddle, Arc, Ryan's Surprise and VG zones, producing approximately 188,000 ounces annually over a 9.4-year life at an all-in sustaining cost of US$1,482/oz. Initial capital is costed at C$1,002 million.President and Director Donovan Pollitt was explicit that the study was built conservatively: a first-year production rate derated to 85% of nameplate, full costing of infrastructure most PEAs might trim (a new 5,000-foot airstrip, complete camp and tailings facilities), and a mine plan that uses only around 60% of the current 3 million-ounce resource. Notably, underground potential at Golden Saddle where drilling continues to target higher-grade mineralisation below the current pit design was excluded from the study altogether, representing upside not yet reflected in the headline numbers.Beyond the PEA, two lower-cost avenues to resource growth are underway in parallel with continued step-out drilling: a systematic resampling of roughly 7,350 metres of historic core (about 12% of all metres drilled on the property since 2008) that was never assayed, concentrated in a hanging-wall zone now interpreted as continuously mineralised, and a new target, Golden Saddle 2.0, on the far side of a fault offset from the main deposit. The 2026 drilling programme totals 15,000-20,000 metres, with over 10,000 metres completed at the time of the interview and 11,500 metres confirmed in a subsequent company update; assay results are expected through the autumn as regional lab capacity, strained by a busy Yukon drill season, catches up.A second and distinct value lever sits outside the gold story: White Gold's non-gold critical mineral targets - copper, tungsten, silver and molybdenum anomalies identified through years of soil geochemistry but never drilled - are being spun into a separately listed vehicle, W2 Critical Minerals Corp, at a ratio of one W2 share per five WGO shares held. The Ontario Superior Court granted final approval for the arrangement on August 28, 2026, with W2's associated financing upsized from $5 million to $10 million to fund a maiden drill programme.Valuation-wise, White Gold trades at approximately US$116 per contained ounce as of early August 2026 company filings - the lowest in its Yukon peer group despite carrying that group's highest weighted-average grade (1.38 g/T). Management has signalled no rush toward a production decision or an accelerated pre-feasibility study, prioritising further drilling and optionality on mine-plan design over speed. For investors, the near-term catalyst calendar includes autumn assay results, progress at Golden Saddle 2.0 and the VG East extension, and the pending completion of the W2 spin-out.Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/white-gold-corpSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Jonathan Fisher, CEO of Cauldron EnergyRecording date: 2nd September 2026Cauldron Energy (ASX:CXU) holds 55 million pounds of JORC-compliant uranium resource at its Yanrey Project in Western Australia, with an exploration target of up to 269 million additional pounds. The company’s near-perfect drilling record and strategic positioning make it a compelling uranium story—provided Western Australia lifts its longstanding mining ban.The Yanrey Project spans three deposits: Bennett Well, Manyingee South, and Manyingee North are all situated in a region considered highly prospective for in-situ recovery (ISR) uranium mining. Cauldron’s exploration has been remarkably successful wherein the first 24 drill holes at Manyingee North intersected mineralisation, defining a maiden 10-million-pound resource with a 100% hit rate. Subsequent drilling of 40 to 50 additional holes has maintained that near-perfect success rate.The company uses passive seismic surveying to identify buried palaeochannels, ancient river systems, that concentrated uranium as they flowed eastward from granitic sources. Three channels have been drilled to date, yielding the three known deposits, with 20-30 more channels still untested. A formal resource update is expected later in 2026 following the completion of the current drilling campaign.Western Australia’s state-level uranium mining ban remains the single biggest obstacle to production. Despite this, Cauldron received two government exploration grants in April 2026, a signal CEO Jonathan Fisher interprets as contradictory but encouraging. Additional indicators of potential policy shift include a parliamentary inquiry where over 60% of submissions favoured uranium mining, and a recent by-election swing toward the pro-uranium One Nation party.While the ban persists, Cauldron is maximising its resource base to become either a ready-to-develop asset or an attractive takeover target once policy changes. The company has partnered with Uzbekistan’s Navoi Mining and Metallurgical Company to de-risk ISR process design and hired an experienced environmental manager to navigate regulatory approvals. Groundwater testing by ANSTO found low salinity across all three deposits—a favourable factor for ISR recovery economics.Cauldron’s investment case hinges entirely on Western Australia lifting its mining ban. While management cites multiple signals of policy change, none are confirmed. Technical risks remain, as demonstrated by peer Boss Energy’s setbacks at its Honeymoon ISR operation, though Cauldron’s Navoi partnership aims to mitigate such risks. Shareholder concentration is high, with a family office holding ~30% and ETFs ~15–16%, providing stability but limiting free float.View Cauldron Energy's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/cauldron-energy-limitedSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Alex Walker, CEO of East Star ResourcesOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/east-star-resources-lseest-partner-funded-copper-production-and-25m-gold-search-in-kazakhstan-10606Recording date: 2nd September 2026East Star Resources (LSE:EST) has added a second free-carried development structure to its Kazakhstan copper and gold portfolio, signing a binding Heads of Agreement for a joint venture over its Rulikha copper project. The deal follows the same non-dilutive logic that underpins East Star's existing Verkhuba joint venture with Chinese mine-builder Xinhai Mining: rather than raising capital from shareholders to fund permitting, drilling and construction, East Star brings in a partner with deeper development expertise and lets that partner carry the cost, in exchange for a minority economic interest once the project reaches production.At Rulikha, that partner group consists of two entities: Nova, a financing vehicle, and Orion, an operating team that has previously built two copper mines in Kazakhstan and exited its most recent project to a Chinese buyer for approximately $125 million within the past four years. CEO Alex Walker cited that track record, along with the personal involvement of a well-connected Kazakh lawyer who structured the deal, as central to his confidence in the partnership.The earn-in mechanics are designed to protect East Star's downside. The partners' initial percentage only crystallises once they complete the first of either 3,000 metres of drilling or $1.5 million of spend, and even that threshold represents only a fraction of the total committed spend, not a cap. East Star's final economic interest lands between 25% and 35% depending on whether the partners fund with equity or debt and importantly, majority ownership does not pass to the partners until they reach the construction stage, well beyond the current commitment.Operationally, drilling approval for Rulikha is already secured, land access was obtained before the joint venture was even discussed, and management expects drilling to begin in the third or fourth quarter of 2026, targeting both the main Rulikha deposit areas and two satellite targets, Taloskoy and Rulikha North, the latter having already returned a 120-metre interval of disseminated sulphide mineralisation last year.Meanwhile, at the more advanced Verkhuba copper deposit, drilling continues under the existing Xinhai-funded joint venture, with a second rig now on site and the first assay results due at the lab within one to two weeks. East Star's separate gold exploration joint venture with Endeavour Mining, covering two large land packages in northern and central Kazakhstan under a $25 million funding commitment, remains unchanged and continues to offer a third free-carried catalyst.For investors, the Rulikha announcement effectively doubles East Star's exposure to potential copper production funded entirely by third parties, without adding dilution risk. The near-term catalysts to watch are execution of the definitive Rulikha joint venture agreement (currently only a Heads of Agreement), the start of Rulikha drilling later this year, and Verkhuba's forthcoming assay results, which together will begin to clarify the pace at which East Star's project pipeline converts into cash flow.Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/east-star-resourcesSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Peter Akerley, CEO & Kelly Clure, Advisor of Erdene Resource DevelopmentOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/erdene-resource-developments-tsxerd-undervalued-investment-series-with-peter-akerley-10566Recording date: 1st September 2026Erdene Resource Development Corp. (TSX:ERD; MSE:ERDN; OTCQX:ERDCF) has moved from mine-builder to self-funded explorer. The company's Bayan Khundii Gold Mine, operated as a 50/50 joint venture with Mongolian Mining Corporation, delivered 11,709 ounces of gold in Q2 2026, a 37% increase quarter-on-quarter, generating $53 million in gross revenue. Feed grade rose 25% to 2.4 g/t gold, with recoveries of 96%, ahead of plan.That cash flow is now being redeployed into a materially more aggressive exploration program across the company's broader Khundii Minerals District, discovered by Erdene in Mongolia's southwest. Management has committed 12,000 metres of drilling to Bayan Khundii's western expansion, targeting the corridor between the current pit and the newly resource-defined Ulaan deposit. In parallel, the company is testing porphyry copper potential beneath all three of its main hydrothermal systems, Bayan Khundii, Altan Nar and Zuun Mod, none of which has been drill-tested below roughly 700 metres, despite kilometre-scale surface alteration footprints comparable to major regional discoveries like Oyu Tolgoi.Zuun Mod, a wholly-owned molybdenum-copper porphyry, is the standout near-term catalyst: the deposit ranks in the upper 15th percentile globally on grade-tonnage terms, and a preliminary economic assessment is on track for mid-H2 2026, backed by a newly contracted deep geophysics (IP/MT) program aimed at both Zuun Mod itself and the adjacent Khuvyn Khar copper target.Altan Nar, holding roughly 500,000 ounces of gold along a 5-kilometre trend, is next in line for 2027 capital, with management weighing a CIP tie-in to the existing Bayan Khundii plant against a standalone flotation-concentrate build. Early metallurgical work favours the CIP route, potentially adding five years of mine life for a fraction of the estimated $140 million standalone capex. A complementary heap leach study, covering oxide material at both Dark Horse and Altan Nar, could add a further ~100,000 ounces of lower-cost production.A smaller, earlier-stage option property, Tereg Uul, sits roughly 10km south of Oyu Tolgoi; a maiden drill program confirmed anomalous gold, silver and native copper along a 1.5-kilometre structure, and the option was extended in July 2026 with a $400,000 payment.Underpinning the exploration push is a policy tailwind: Mongolia's mining ministry announced in June 2026 that it would reopen exploration licensing after roughly a decade of restricted issuance, a development management believes favours first movers with existing geological databases, including Erdene.Financially, the company holds $26 million in corporate cash earmarked for its wholly-owned project pipeline through 2027, and is running an active share buyback (up to 4.9 million shares, ~10% of public float, with 94,400 shares already repurchased at an average $5.21). Key near-term catalysts for investors to track include the Zuun Mod PEA, deep geophysics results expected later in Q3 2026, and progress on Mongolia's licensing reopening.Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/erdene-resource-developmentSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Recording date: 28th August 2026Olive 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.Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Colin Joudrie, CEO, Selkirk CopperOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/selkirk-copper-mines-tsxvscmi-restart-developer-targets-mid-2028-production-10866Recording date: 26th August 2026Selkirk 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-copperSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Anthony Moreau, CEO, American Eagle GoldOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/american-eagle-gold-tsxvae-29-million-major-funding-for-multi-billion-ton-copper-gold-in-bc-6271Recording date: 25th August 2026American 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-goldSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe

Interview with Luis Azevedo, Chairman and CEO, Bravo MiningOur previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/bravo-mining-tsxvbrvo-double-grades-and-resource-up-to-236-million-tons-in-tier-one-pgm-deposit-7934Recording date: 25th August 2026Bravo 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-miningSign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com/subscribe