We have received many questions from investors about Golden Metal Resources’ current status and ambitions. We have compiled them into a Q&A below and hope this is useful for those looking at Golden Metal Resources.
1. As an investor I am looking to buy valuable assets at a discount to current or potential future value. What part or parts of the Golden Metal portfolio tick that box?
I would argue the whole portfolio ticks that box. We have acquired all assets at very reasonable valuations during the depths of the most recent bear market. Metal prices are moving up again as is interest in the sector. The vehicle is priced at a level which represents a modest uplift to the total project purchase prices completed during the most recent depressed metals market. This uplift also takes into account the work done and progress made on each project ready for the next step in its development. As this market continues to strengthen, the portfolio can increase in value considerably, but most importantly, by carrying out methodical exploration across the portfolio we will look to drive the package much more quickly up that value creation curve for our shareholders.
2. Pilot Mountain project is centred on a tungsten deposit. Tungsten is not well understood, even though it is classed as a critical metal in the USA. So, from the dual perspectives of supply and demand, which will ultimately drive the commodity price, what are the dynamics that matter and why do you think tungsten will have its day in the sun?
Tungsten is one of the few metals of which China accounts for >80% of the total global supply. In the wake of rising global instability and geopolitical tensions, what is at the forefront of many governments’ agenda is bolstering and securing their own supply chains surrounding strategic and battery metals.
Luckily for Golden Metal, the USA is a leader of this movement, deploying billions of dollars in grant monies to junior mining companies just like Golden Metal. As this narrative continues to develop, I think what will become clear is that supply from countries such as Russia, China and potentially other nations will no longer be considered acceptable by many western countries – so this takes care of the supply element.
From a demand side, there are many catalysts that are developing which many investors are not aware of which include increased demand from battery and industrial fields (incl. semiconductors and O&G drilling), and perhaps one of the more important recent developments – nuclear fusion. It is estimated that one large nuclear fusion plant could require as much tungsten than is currently consumed globally per annum – a remarkable statistic which points to the immense demand for tungsten that could be on the horizon from nuclear fusion.
3. Just how big could the tungsten deposit at Pilot Mountain be and what about the other metals present, notably copper? Has Pilot Mountain been considered as a potential scalable copper deposit, alongside the focus on tungsten?
One of the main reasons we acquired the Project was for the exploration upside. There are several high-priority walk up targets that were never drilled due to historical underinvestment. On top of that we have completed a property wide geophysical survey which we think could end up identifying several other high-priority undrilled targets. Add these all up and it is clear that the current in ground resource represents just a starting point of the project’s total potential.
4. In an ideal world, what is the development pathway for Pilot Mountain post IPO-listing?
In an ideal world, we seek to be the recipient of USA government grant funding (e.g., from the DOD, DOM, DOC etc). These funds (which would result in zero dilution to our existing shareholders) would allow us to fast-track development and exploration. Considering the de-risking that has been already completed (advance metallurgy, baseline studies, scoping study) we have a major head start in being able to move this to a more advanced economic study and subsequently to making a construction decision. Most Projects are staring down a 10-20-year development cycle – at Pilot Mountain the timescale could be a fraction of this.
5. Golconda Summit is targeting Carlin-type gold. What is that and what are the key features of Golconda that suggest to you that this target offers real potential for a major discovery?
Carlin-type gold is a type of deposit that is found exclusively within northern Nevada. These deposits are the reason why Nevada is one of the most prolific gold mining regions in the world. Carlin deposits are large (up to >50M Oz) and typically high-grade and often open-pittable with an underground component. Northern Nevada and Carlin-gold deposits are the reason Newmont and Barrick are the companies they are today. At Golconda Summit, we are in the heart of Carlin country and at surface trenching completed historically returned significant intercepts, including high grades of 19.7g/t Au over an impressive width of 7.6m. The most exciting part is the more prospective ‘lower plate’ rocks below these high-grade trenches were never drill tested. Where did this high-grade gold at surface come from? We are looking to be the first Company to find out.
6. Post listing what’s the work programme for Golconda that will target that potential gold deposit and what size of discovery are you looking to achieve?
We are looking to move to drilling as quickly as we can. There will be some rapid preparatory work undertaken (some further mapping, trenching, rock sampling) and then straight into deep reverse circulation (RC) drilling. We are itching to find out what lays in those prospective ‘lower plate’ rocks below and will find out within a few months of listing.
7. For your two further projects, Garfield and Stonewall, you have been expanding the ground footprint of both. What are you hoping to achieve with both?
Both of these projects, when we originally acquired them, covered a relatively small area of really interesting mineralisation. Through our network, we were able to obtain proprietary datasets which showed strong mineralisation located outboard of the original licence area. As a result, we moved quickly and secured these additional claims. Now, with the projects significantly larger than originally acquired, we are looking to push ahead with further exploration over the expanded, and more prospective, land packages.
8. How robust is the news flow going to be when the listing occurs, as it seems some new listings can be relatively quiet after the process of listing is complete?
We are awaiting final geophysics results from Pilot Mountain and geochemical results (>600 soil samples) from Garfield. Also, post-listing we have ambitious exploration and development goals across our portfolio. We have been able to move all the projects to a potential value inflection point with pre-IPO work programmes completed, so on listing we are not starting from the ground up but rather an advanced stage of preparation and exploration. We are looking to continue our exploration-first mandate, and increase it significantly, post-IPO once the Company is fully funded.
Golden Metal Resources PLC – UK (“GMR”) is a London-based precious and strategic metals exploration Company which controls interests in four highly prospective projects in mining friendly Nevada. The Company completed its pre-IPO financing on 9 December 2021 for total proceeds of £750,000. The Company majority shareholder is Power Metal Resources PLC (LSE: POW) .
