Interview with Arturo Préstamo Elizondo, Executive Chairman & CEO of Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/santacruz-silver-tsxvscz-bolivar-recovery-and-tsx-uplisting-drive-2026-growth-strategy-10585

Recording date: 24th September 2026

Santacruz Silver Mining Ltd. (TSX:SCZ, NASDAQ:SCZM) is a multi-asset silver and zinc producer with four producing mines in Bolivia and Mexico, an ore feed sourcing business and a development asset. Higher silver prices have transformed its financial profile. The company realised an average of $76.33 per silver ounce sold in the first half of 2026, more than double the prior-year figure. First-half revenue rose 68% to $241.0 million and adjusted EBITDA rose 64% to $89.2 million.

The near-term operating story rests on three assets. At Bolivar, recovery from the May 2025 flood is progressing. Q2 2026 silver output rose 32% on the previous quarter, and management expects full dewatering in Q4 2026. A review of historical records identified two blocks grading 400 to 500 g/t silver. These have been drilled and modelled, and production is planned for early 2027. Management estimates they could add 8% to 10% to Bolivar's output.

At San Lucas, the company has acquired a dedicated mill in the Potosí district. This removes the conflict between third-party ore processing and the company's own mines. Management said the move frees around 500 tonnes per day of capacity on average, equivalent to roughly 15-20% at Porco.

At Zimapan in Mexico, drilling in a previously untested area has found zones grading around 200 g/t silver and 7% zinc. From 2027 this material should raise head grades toward 100 g/t silver and lift throughput from 74,000 to 80,000 tonnes a month. Combined, the three assets are expected to deliver around 10% production growth in 2027.

Soracaya is the main development catalyst. It hosts an Inferred Resource of 4.14 million tonnes at 260 g/t silver. Permits are expected within weeks and first production is targeted for December 2026. Management said the mine could produce close to 2.5 million ounces at full capacity. Because the resource is Inferred only, execution risk is higher than at the producing mines.

The balance sheet is strengthening quickly. Cash and marketable securities were $72.8 million at 30 June 2026, and the CEO said the figure was close to $120 million near the end of the third quarter. All organic growth is being funded from cash flow.

Capital allocation is the key strategic question. Management has ruled out a dividend for now and is seriously reviewing two acquisitions. Its criteria are a producing asset with more than 3 million ounces of silver or gold equivalent output, located in the Americas, preferably underground and narrow-vein. A precious metals acquisition would also reduce the company's reliance on zinc, which contributed 40.3% of first-half revenue.

Bolivar and Porco operate under a joint operation with state miner COMIBOL that runs until 2028, under which Santacruz receives 45% of profits. Bolivia carries political and regulatory risk, and earnings remain highly sensitive to the silver price. Near-term milestones include the Q3 production release, the Soracaya permit decision, the Bolivar dewatering and any announcement on the two potential acquisitions.

View Santacruz Silver's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/santacruz-silver-mining

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

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/nine-mile-metals-csenine-234m-of-visual-copper-and-a-horizon-never-seen-in-historic-records-10758

Recording date: 24th September 2026

Nine Mile Metals Ltd. (CSE:NINE) is a Canadian junior explorer focused on copper-rich volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits in the Bathurst Mining Camp of New Brunswick. Its lead asset is the Wedge, a deposit that Cominco mined in the 1960s. According to the company's presentation, historic production was approximately 1.5 million tonnes at 2.88% copper.

The company is midway through a 10,000-metre Phase 3 programme, its largest to date. CEO and Director Patrick J. Cruickshank said 22 holes and roughly 5,500 metres had been completed at the time of the interview, with only five holes reported. Assay turnaround of about a month, and the need to rebuild each hole from anonymously numbered samples, explains the gap. Certified results to date includes 24.55 metres of 3.49% copper equivalent over true width and another 14.15 metres at 5.09% copper equivalent.

The geological picture has become more complex and potentially more valuable. Drilling has identified three lenses rather than one. One is a polymetallic lens with lead, zinc, silver, copper and gold. Another, to the east, carries high-grade copper and gold over roughly 40 metres. The lenses dip steeply, so reported intercept widths reflect drill angle rather than true lens size.

The next step is methodical rather than aggressive. Because the upper third of the deposit has collapsed and historic plans of the workings are unavailable, Nine Mile is running a borehole electromagnetic survey across eight holes. The survey should produce a 3D map of old workings and remaining conductors. The company will then complete the programme by drilling to depth on the northwest side of a fault that cuts the deposit. Historic mining did not test below about 150 to 300 metres.

Apex Geoscience is consolidating historic and modern data into a live model. An updated NI 43-101 technical report is expected in the first quarter, followed by a maiden mineral resource estimate. Management's stated mandate is to demonstrate a footprint of up to 10 million tonnes. That target remains untested until the resource estimate is published.

Beyond the Wedge, a new rig is heading to Tribag, four kilometres west along the same trend, to test six targets at 350 to 400 metres depth over about 3,000 metres. At Nine Mile Brook, where the company drilled 10.12% copper over 15.10 metres, a second rhyolite cap found this summer will be drilled next spring.

Financially, the company is in its strongest position in several years. It holds about C$5 million in cash and says it is funded for two to almost three years without needing to raise. Management reports inbound interest from companies about joint ventures and acquisitions, although no agreement has been announced.

The principal risks are typical of pre-resource exploration. These include laboratory delays, unverified historic data, copper equivalent figures that differ in methodology between holes and the absence of any defined resource. Investors should watch pending Phase 3 assays, the borehole survey results, the Tribag programme and the first-quarter technical report as the key near-term markers.

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

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Interview with Nolan Peterson, CEO of Atlas Salt

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/atlas-salt-tsxvsalt-streamlines-permitting-as-financing-process-accelerates-10969

Recording date: 23rd September 2026

Atlas Salt Inc. (TSXV:SALT) is developing the Great Atlantic Salt Project in western Newfoundland, a planned 4 Mtpa underground rock salt mine aimed at de-icing markets in Eastern Canada and the US Northeast. CEO Nolan Peterson outlined how changes in the road salt market, a proprietary distribution model and a growing base of lender interest are shaping the project's next phase.

The most striking change is in pricing. Road salt has historically been sold to municipalities and governments through annual tenders, with prices rising 2% to 3% a year. In 2026 that pattern broke. The company's presentation cites US tenders clearing at US$155-175 per ton against roughly $88 per ton a year earlier, with some jurisdictions receiving no bids in initial rounds. Peterson attributes the shift to depleted inventories after two hard winters, existing mines operating at capacity with limited expansion scope, and higher costs for diesel and ocean freight that affect both domestic producers and importers.

Atlas Salt intends to compete through proximity and analytics. The site sits near a deep-water port, and the company states that shipping to Boston takes about three days compared with more than 14 days from Egypt or Chile. Its in-house Meridian model maps demand across North American jurisdictions and calculates the least-cost supply route for each, allowing the company to target markets where its delivered cost gives it the widest margin. Peterson said back-testing has matched historical tender prices closely. He also noted that an unconstrained run shows profitable demand of up to 6.5 million tons, although this figure has not been studied at feasibility level.

On financing, the 2025 Feasibility Study sets initial capex at C$589 million. Atlas Salt is targeting approximately C$350 million to C$400 million of senior secured debt and holds non-binding LOIs above C$300 million. These include up to C$150 million from EDC, up to C$75 million from a second export credit agency and approximately C$79 million of equipment financing from Sandvik. Peterson sees these LOIs as anchors that make it easier for commercial banks to join with smaller tickets. The equity component has yet to be determined.

On site, early construction is under way, focused on low-cost site preparation during the summer season. The team is expanding, with new site, permitting and safety roles and a new COO. Peterson identified drift development as the main cost and schedule risk, estimating that a 10% slower advance rate could add $10 million to $20 million.

The study outlines a C$920 million after-tax NPV8, a 21.3% IRR and approximately C$188 million in average annual free cash flow. Against an enterprise value of C$174.7 million, the market is pricing in substantial financing and execution risk. The key watch-items are conversion of LOIs into binding terms, the size of any equity raise and early underground ground conditions. Positive progress on those fronts would test whether the current valuation gap begins to close.

View Atlas Salt's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/atlas-salt

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Interview with Eric Zaunscherb, President & CEO of GR Silver Mining Ltd.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/gr-silver-mining-tsxvgrsl-drilling-and-pilot-plant-strategy-support-growth-10136

Recording date: 23rd September 2026

GR Silver Mining Ltd. (TSXV:GRSL, OTCQX:GRSLF) is a Mexico-focused silver explorer that owns 100% of the Plomosas Project on the Sinaloa-Durango border. The project combines two assets with different roles. San Marcial is a silver discovery that hosts 46 Moz of indicated and 14 Moz of inferred silver under the 2023 resource estimate. The Plomosas Mine is a past producer that operated from 1986 to 2000 and now serves as a potential bulk sampling site. President and CEO Eric Zaunscherb has taken on direct responsibility for the Mexican business following the death of founder Marcio Fonseca.

The central development in 2026 is hole SMS26-04, which returned 45.1 m true width at 1,623 g/t silver, including 8.25 m at 8,579 g/t silver. Zaunscherb said the result matters most because it confirms the company's geological model. Mineralising fluids from an intrusive body broke up an overlying breccia. Metal was deposited in dilation zones where cross-cutting structures intersect it. The hole was 99.8% silver by value, compared with roughly 90% for the 2023 resource.

Rather than rushing out an early resource to showcase the hole, the company is tightening drill spacing around it from 100 m to 45 m. That aims to bring the zone into the indicated category for the resource update targeted for the first half of 2027. The 20,000 m programme is behind plan, with about 7,000 m completed after security issues and a difficult rainy season. GR Silver is spending about $1 million upgrading road access from Durango and plans to add rigs.

At Plomosas, SEMARNAT has ruled that no new environmental impact authorisation is required. Zaunscherb prefers toll milling or selling material at the mine gate over building a pilot plant, citing lower capital, a shorter timeline and lower execution risk. Pilot plant engineering nonetheless remains among the company's listed catalysts. Output would be limited to 60 to 100 tonnes per day by available power. The strategic value is social licence. Restoring local employment in a very poor area could build goodwill that carries over to San Marcial, 5 kilometres to the south. Management believes this could shorten San Marcial's five-to-seven-year path to potential cash flow by one or two years.

The company held C$26 million in cash and expects further proceeds from in-the-money warrants averaging C$0.26. Zaunscherb noted that the stock trades as a silver proxy. Longer term, GR Silver plans to permit an access tunnel at San Marcial, which could enable underground drilling from later 2028. Plomosas would produce lead and zinc concentrates, while San Marcial points to a Merrill-Crowe circuit producing doré.

On corporate strategy, parties are in the data room, and management is also reviewing acquisitions that could diversify risk within Mexico. Key risks are security, access, development capital and silver price sensitivity. Key watch-items are pending assays, drilling pace and the H1 2027 resource update.

View GR Silver Mining's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/gr-silver-mining

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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-tsx-nfgc-commercial-production-at-hammerdown-11907

Recording date: 23rd Sept 2026

New Found Gold Corp. (TSX / NYSE American: NFGC) has declared commercial production at its Hammerdown Gold Mine in Newfoundland. The milestone was achieved on August 19, 2026, after 60 consecutive days in which throughput, recovery and feed grade all cleared pre-set thresholds. Average throughput was about 748 tonnes per day, recovery was 87.7% and feed grade was 2.92 grams of gold per tonne. Hammerdown produced 9,140 ounces in the first eight months of 2026.

Chief Executive Officer Keith Boyle said the declaration has changed how investors engage with the company. Management had guided to 20,000 to 25,000 ounces a year at an all-in sustaining cost of about US$2,500 per ounce. Boyle said Hammerdown is now delivering against that guidance and expects annualised cash flow of about C$40 million.

The next focus is Queensway, the company's flagship project. Boyle said Queensway needs little mine development because the high-grade material is at surface. The critical path runs through the Pine Cove Mill. The company is first converting the circuit from flotation and Merrill-Crowe to Gravity-CIL, which should lift recovery on Hammerdown ore, and targets completion in the fourth quarter of 2027. Once Queensway is permitted, the company plans to seek an amendment to double the mill so it can take an extra 700 tonnes per day. Boyle targeted the fourth quarter of next year for that expansion.

Queensway's environmental assessment certificate is expected early in the new year. Boyle said Phase 1 material will be trucked to Pine Cove and that this phase carries production to 2031. A mill at Queensway is then planned to process the current deposit.

Exploration is the second theme. Boyle wants ounces available to fill the Pine Cove capacity after 2031. An exploration manager started in June and is assembling historical data on Hammerdown and Pine Cove. The Hammerdown ore profile is about 270,000 ounces at roughly 3 g/t Au. Boyle acknowledged it is not a large high-grade deposit but pointed to untested targets along strike, at depth and on parallel structures. A 10,000 to 20,000 metre programme is planned for next year, separate from grade control and infill drilling. At Queensway, exploration is being made more systematic after 18 months in which about 75% of drilling was deposit-focused.

Funding shapes all of this. Boyle said the company raised C$220 million in April and wants to reach Queensway production with the cash it has. That is why exploration spending is being paced.

For investors, the key items are the Queensway environmental decision, the updated Queensway resource estimate and PEA, commissioning of the Hammerdown crusher and sorter in the fourth quarter of 2026, and the first annual Hammerdown guidance. Risks include the permit to double the mill, which has not yet been applied for, the modest size of the Hammerdown ore profile, and the unproven nature of the new exploration programme. This commentary reflects the views of company management.

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

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Interview with Darcy Marud, President and CEO of Western Exploration

Recording date: 23rd September 2026

Western Exploration Inc. (TSXV:WEX, OTCQX:WEXPF) is a Nevada-focused gold and silver developer whose 100%-owned Aura project lies in north-east Nevada near the Idaho border. The project contains two assets about 8 km apart. Doby George is a near-surface oxide gold deposit being permitted for heap leach development. Gravel Creek is a high-grade epithermal gold-silver discovery that the company made in 2013. Together they hold about 1.5 million gold-equivalent ounces in indicated and inferred categories.

President and CEO Darcy Marud has spent about 40 years in the industry, including roles at Homestake, Meridian Gold and Yamana Gold, and was part of the team behind the El Peñón mine in Chile. Several of his senior colleagues have worked with him for 20 years or more, including CFO Curtis Turner and Aura Project General Manager Mark Hawksworth.

Doby George has a long history. Homestake discovered it in the 1980s, and it carried over 800 drill holes when Western acquired it in the late 1990s. The company validated the historical data through confirmation drilling, an independent 2021 technical report and a further drilling programme in 2022. The 2025 PEA outlines a five-year open-pit, heap leach operation producing about 58,700 ounces of gold per year at a grade of 1.01 g/t. At US$3,000/oz gold, the study shows an after-tax NPV of US$211.2 million, a 62.2% IRR and AISC of US$1,197/oz. Initial capital is US$115.2 million, which is broadly equal to one year of operating cash flow. Marud said the company can see additional oxide ounces that could extend mine life to seven to ten years.

Western chose to start permitting early because it is the longest-lead item. Its Mine Plan of Operations is with the US Forest Service, and the company wants regulator feedback before completing a Pre-Feasibility Study in early to mid-2027. It is targeting a record of decision at the end of 2027, followed by state permits and a possible EIS. That points to a construction decision in 2028 or 2029 and production in 2030.

Gravel Creek provides the growth angle. Last year's resource update raised gold ounces by more than 50% and silver ounces by 83%, driven by the high-grade Jarbidge discovery. The deposit shares its age, mineralogy and style with historic northern Nevada mines such as Midas and Sleeper. Recent metallurgical work showed that concentrate can be ultra-fine ground and cyanide-leached to produce doré on site, with 73.3% gold and 74% silver recovery reported so far. Further test work is due by the end of 2026.

The company is tightly held, with 63.4 million shares outstanding, and Agnico Eagle owns 10%. Its market capitalisation of about C$40 million is small next to Doby George's capital needs, so financing structure and dilution are key considerations. Marud described Glamis Gold's start-small, grow-around-a-central-plant model as the template.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/western-exploration

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Interview with Julien Davy, CEO of Silver Acadia

Recording date: 23rd September 2026

Silver Acadia Exploration Inc. (CSE:SLA) is an early-stage explorer focused on high-grade silver in New Brunswick's Bathurst Mining Camp. The district has a long production history, but it was explored mainly for zinc. CEO Julien Davy believes that left the silver potential of the company's Nicholas-Denys project under-examined.

The core of the investment case is the historical dataset. About 125,000 m of drilling has been completed on the project area over roughly 50 years, and about half of it was never assayed for silver. Around 50,000 m of core is still available. After hyperspectral scanning last year, the company is now re-assaying 20 to 22 selected holes, about 6,000 to 7,000 m in total. Results are expected around November. This work costs much less than redrilling and is intended to guide new targeting.

Geologically, the company describes the system as hydrothermal with remobilised mineralisation rather than pure VMS. Mapping and structural studies indicate that the highest grades sit at intersections between the regional Rocky Brook-Millstream corridor and secondary structures. The company controls about 20 km of the corridor but is concentrating on a 3 km priority area. Phase 1 drilling of roughly 3,600 m tested the model where reported results include 328.9 g/t silver and 1.0 g/t gold over 24.8 m.

Management's objective is to show continuity across a broad envelope grading 70 to 80 g/t silver, with higher-grade ore shoots inside it. Davy argues that an envelope of that grade near surface could be economic in a safe jurisdiction. The company is working toward a Mineral Resource Estimate targeted for 2027.

The shareholder base is a notable strength. About 30 holders own roughly 70% of the stock, including Michael Gentile and Victor Cantore. The company raised $4.7 million in two private placements in 2025. It now has about $2 million in cash, around 74.6 million shares outstanding and about 109 million fully diluted.

Funding is the key near-term issue. Drilling begins in November at an all-in cost of about $320 per metre and is expected to run until March or April 2027. The planned Phase 2 programme of about 15,000 m would cost roughly $4.8 million at that rate, well above current cash. Investors should expect a financing. Warrant exercises at $0.18 to $0.24 could contribute some of the capital.

Beyond the flagship, Silver Acadia holds four other projects. Goldstrike, on the same trend to the west, has returned a 455 g/t gold grab sample and 1.19 g/t gold over 10.2 m in drilling. SEDEX combines an untested gravity anomaly with an antimony occurrence that returned 4.2% antimony over 0.6 m. These projects receive about 20% of spending.

The main risks are non-compliant historical data, unproven continuity, narrow high-grade intervals, dilution, untested metallurgy and silver price volatility. For investors comfortable with early-stage exploration risk, the re-assay and winter drill results are the milestones to watch.

View Silver Acadia's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/silver-acadia-exploration

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Interview with Hugh Agro, President and CEO of Revival Gold Inc

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/revival-gold-tsxvrvg-high-gold-intercepts-in-idaho-continues-mercur-nears-build-decision-11384

Recording date: 23rd September 2026

Revival Gold Inc. (TSXV:RVG, OTCQX:RVLGF) is positioning the Mercur Gold Project in Utah as a near-term US heap leach development, with a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) targeted for Q1 2027 and a construction decision planned for early 2028. The company states it has sufficient cash to reach that decision without further financing.

The starting point is Mercur's 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlining an open-pit heap leach operation producing an average of 95,600 ounces of gold per year over a 10-year mine life, requiring $208 million in pre-production and working capital. At $3,000 gold, the PEA delivered an after-tax NPV of $752 million and an after-tax IRR of 57%. CEO Hugh Agro describes capital intensity of just over $200 per ounce and a capital requirement of about one-third of net asset value, with all-in sustaining costs expected to sit in the bottom quartile in North America.

Management expects the PFS to land close to the PEA. Engineering refinements to leach pad placement, truck fleet size and haulage cycle times should offer some gains, while higher energy prices will add cost. Agro has been clear that Revival Gold will keep a healthy grade and a conservative cut-off rather than lowering grades to add ounces, since recoveries in heap leach operations deteriorate at very low grades.

Technical work is converging on the PFS. Approximately 11,600 metres of the 2026 Mercur programme had been completed by late September, and the company reports that infill results continue to support PEA grade and leachability assumptions. Recent intercepts include 0.92 g/t gold over 33.5 metres and 1.82 g/t gold over 29.0 metres. Eighteen metallurgical columns are under leach with constructive early results. Environmental baseline fieldwork is complete with no red flags identified, and the company is now working with Utah's Division of Oil, Gas and Mining on its notice of intent.

The most significant development is organisational. Revival Gold has around 20 employees and 20 contractors and consultants. It has appointed a Mercur General Manager with 14 commissionings behind him, a new Exploration Manager from Kinross Gold and a Utah-based permitting and environmental manager. Around six further hires in mining, processing and human resources are planned over the next five to six months. The consultant team includes Kappes, Cassidy & Associates, WSP, RESPEC and Stantec.

The financing plan follows a defined sequence. Lender engagement begins in March or April 2027, with an eight-month review period and an independent engineer appointed well before the feasibility study is complete. The company will also evaluate streams, royalties, convertibles, private equity, offtakes and equity, likely with the support of an adviser.

At Beartrack-Arnett in Idaho, 2026 drilling expanded the vertical extent of the Joss zone by 70%, and the zone remains open to the south. An internal resource update, metallurgical testing and a concentrate market study are under way, with the next drill phase being planned.

For investors, the key catalysts are the remaining infill assays, the DOGM notice of intent and the Q1 2027 PFS. The main risks are cost inflation, permitting timing and potential dilution if Beartrack-Arnett is advanced faster than Mercur cash flow allows.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/revival-gold-inc

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