MAI, TK, WRLG, KDK, WGX, SNAG
The IKN newsletter had Minera Alamos aka MAI as a Top PIck for a long time, and kept it at Buy after the pivot from Mexican assets to US operations, including buying the producing Pan gold mine in Nevada. As I mentioned last week, I thought it was low class that MAI announced the departure of long time MAI executive Doug Ramshaw as an afterthought mentioning a new hire. Well, now IKN goes into the new hire Darren Blassuti, and the news is not good.
I can't give much detail because IKN is a paid newsletter, but suffice it to say that Blasutti's name is mud in Mexico, meaning the positive words MAI has been saying about the Mexican assets was a lie -- no company with Blassuti on board is going to get permits in Mexico, including the ones MAI is waiting for.
The new management's disdain for their Mexican properties was further confirmed in a PR which the headline tells us is about 2025 production guidance, which I expected to cover both the Pan mine and the Santana gold mine in Mexico, but there is no mention of anything Mexican until the boiler plate company description at the end, otherwise nary a mention of Santana.
Instead, all we hear about is Pan. In the first three quarters it produced 26100 oz Au at an AISC of $1675/oz Au, with Q4 forecast to exceed planned production of 8500-900 oz Au. They also reiterate that, especially in the light of the current high PoG, they can increase production through a revised mine plan and facility upgrades.
Yes, those numbers are good, but the PR left a bad taste in my mouth. I no longer trust MAI management, and since management is the key for junior miners, I will be looking to sell after the cash flow from Pan increases MAI's share price. I have enough MAI shares that a 10% gain in the share price is meaningful, so I am willing to wait maybe six months for the time when gold makes its next run and lifts all golden boars.
Mind, I still may decide that I like another company's prospects better and sell all or part of my MAI to buy shares in that other company.
Message 35311470
Tinka Resources aka TK owns a large swath of land that trends NW-SE in Peru. For years the focus has been on the Ayalwica Zn and Sn deposits in the SE corner, but they haven't been able to gain traction there, so now the focus has shifted to the Sylvia area in the NE. It used to be described as a CU/Au prospect, but in their latest PR, to announce the start of initial drilling, Sylvia is now described as Au/Cu.
This initial drilling will consist of 4 holes, each up to 400m in length, aimed at Area A, where channel sampling has found values as high as 28.5 g/t Au and 1.2% Cu over 0.6m. The current geological model indicates that the trench that sample was taken from lies at the top of a vertical chimney of skarn which they hope will yield similarly high grade intercepts.
Message 35311454
Even as they finish ramping up production of their recently reopened Madsen Au mine in Ontario, West Red Lake Gold aka WRLG is also working away at the nearby Rowan property, where a PEA released earlier this year demonstrated good numbers for a potential mine. Now WTLG has announced a 5km drill programme at Rowan for infill and resource conversion. The results will feed into a combined PFBS for further developing Rowan and Madsen as a combined mining operation.
Other work to support the PFBS, expected to be released Q3 next year, is also ongoing, as is permitting. And note that Rowan remains open at depth and in both directions along strike.
Message 35311516
Kodiak Copper aka KDK announced another round of metallurgical testing involving ore from six deposits on their recently expanded MPD project in south central BC. This programme is designed to optimize the recovery of both Cu and Au, with results expected in January. Meanwhile, we wait for an updated Resource Report before the end of the year.
Message 35311552
Any gold miner that isn't making money at the current PoG does not belong in anyone's stock portfolio. Fortunately for West Australian gold miner Westgold Resources aka WGX, they are making plenty of money these days, hence I am hanging on to my WGX shares tightly.
We learn this in the latest quarterly report, which covers July to September, Q1 in their eyes, Q3 in ours. Even after spending $72M on exploration and expanding production plus paying $28M in dividends, they were still able to add $108M to their cash stash, which stood at $472M at quarter end. The only fly in the ointment is that they for some reason they still haven't paid off that $50M drawn on a line of credit.
Production of 83937 oz Au in the latest quarter was down slightly from the previous quarter as expected due to planed plant maintenance and upgrades, which also increased costs slightly, but these are expected to be transitory phenomena.
WGX also announced they begun a process to divest 3 small properties deemed non-essential, and reiterated their 3 year growth plan, which aims to increase annual production to 470k oz Au over that period.
Overall, this was a good quarter, with promise of better to come.
westgold.com.au
WGX also released a new presentation covering these results.
westgold.com.au
Silver North Mining aka SNAG owns a number of properties in southern Yukon Territory located along the road to Coeur's Silvertip Ag/Pb/Zn mine just across the BC border, in which they are looking for CRD mineralization similar to that being mined by Coeur at Silvertip. The most advanced of these properties is Tim, which is JVed with Coeur who is paying for exploration. Now we hear about initial exploration on the recently acquired Veronica property, contiguous with Tim.
Silver had never been identified on Veronica before, but this summer's exploration remedied that deficit, with float and outcrop samples yielding 2,860 g/t Ag, 0.412 g/t Au, >1% Pb, 0.13% Cu, 0.18% Zn as well as 2,250 ppm Sb in one sample and 213 g/t Ag, >1% Pb and 367 ppm Sb. The sampling and geophysics has identified a target called Betty which has so far been defined over a 1km by 1km area which remains open in several directions.
There only comment on future plans for Veronica is that it is a high priority for 2026. I bet SNAG, like me, is hoping that Coeyr is impressed enough to add Veronica to the Tim JV, but that may take more exploration to happen.
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