"With at least two million ounces of gold equivalent in the ground, we are probably the best leveraged gold company in the world," says John Anderson, CEO and executive chairman of Triumph Gold Corp. (TIG:TSX.V; TIGCF:OTCMKTS). "We trade $10 market cap per ounce right now. The industry average is $50."
The Vancouver-based junior owns and is extensively exploring its flagship property, Freegold Mountain Project, in the Yukon's Whitehorse Mining District. Notably, Triumph Gold's program is backed by Newmont Corporation, which purchased a nearby gold mine in 2016 for $520 million. In an interview with Streetwise Reports, Anderson laid out evidence supporting his thesis that Triumph Gold's share price is currently lagging the proven value of its metal resources. He emphasized the potential riches of the near surface and underground zones under current exploration by Triumph Gold's new engineering team.
Triumph Gold Corp's 2020 mineralization report estimates a resource of two million ounces gold equivalent at three sites in the sprawling exploration project covering 200 sq km. Drilling and magnetic surveys outside the three assessed sites reveal substantial pockets of gold-copper and silver-bearing porphyry zones underlaying the property, which straddles the Big Creek fault zone of the Dawson Range gold-copper belt, which has delivered up 200,000 gold ounces to creek-based miners since the 1930s. Triumph Gold and major firms are digging deeper into the geological formation for the sources of the placer-mined gold flake for which the region is known. The Dawson Range is host to Newmont Corporation's Coffee deposit, Western Copper and Gold's Casino project, Copper North's Carmack's Copper project and Rockhaven's Klaza deposit. The region is alive with mining.
A government-subsidized road runs through Freegold Mountain Project. Heavy equipment–accessible dirt roads access the known deposits. The federal government has committed $360 million to upgrading the transportation infrastructure of the region to facilitate expanding mining operations and access to deep water ports.
The Freegold Mountain Project is 100% owned by Triumph Gold, which began exploring it in 2006. As a shareholder, Anderson has raised $50 million for the company. The majors supporting Triumph Gold include Newmont Corporation, which owns 12.8% percent of the shares, and China-based Zijin Mining Fund, which owns 9.8%. In a recent acquisition Triumph also added the Big Creek Claims to its land package from Teck Resources Inc. for 1.25 million shares, adding another major mining company to its shareholder list
Anderson remarked, "We've got one of the largest copper companies in the world and the biggest gold company in the world as shareholders." He revealed, "Palisades Gold Corp. has 9.5%. Gold 2000 out of Zurich holds about 5%, as well as Bridgeport Capital owns 5%. Norway's ABC capital has 5%, among others." Institutions hold another 40% of the stock.
As a result of major investor interest, Triumph Gold is debt-free. "The cash balance of $4 million is more than enough to carry out our near-surface drilling agenda for 2021," Anderson said.
Since Triumph Gold acquired the Freegold Mountain Project, more than 20 mineralized zones have been identified. The NI 43-101 reports three mineral deposits: The Nucleus deposit is an epithermal-style gold-silver-copper deposit, Revenue is a porphyry-related gold-silvercopper-molybdenum-tungsten deposit located approximately 4 km to the southeast of the Nucleus deposit, and Tinta Hill is a vein-hosted gold-silver-copper-lead-zinc deposit located 14 km southeast of Revenue. Triumph Gold's 2020 exploration program aimed at unlocking the higher-grade gold areas of the Freegold Mountain Project and significantly advancing underexplored, near-surface gold targets. Permitting and politics are not obstacles in the mining-friendly region, although drilling was temporarily slowed down by compliance with Covid-19 restrictions.
Anderson has 20 years of capital market experience in the resource sector. He has founded and financed start ups on the TSX, NYSE, NASDAQ and London AIM and Swiss Stock Exchange. He was a founder of Deep 6 PLC, American Eagle Oil and Gas, and a founding general partner in Aquastone Capital LLC, a New York-based gold fund.
The veteran financier explained, "High interest rates during the Reagan years shut down the feasibility of gold mining in the Yukon for decades. The wilderness is rugged and much of it only accessible by helicopter. Our Freegold Mountain Project is an exception, because paved and dirt roads network the property, which is flatter and more open than much of the Yukon mining regions.
"The most important change we made in the past year was hiring Brian Bower as the lead technical director. He is assembling the same technical team that found the very productive New Afton mine in British Columbia, which is also a flat terrain," Anderson remarked. "The Freegold Mountain project is especially amenable to mining because a forest fire wiped out the trees in 2002. We can drive most places.
"Remarkably, the Freegold Mountain Project is located in the only mining area in North America that was not reshaped by glaciation during the last ice age 10,000 years ago. Freegold Mountain Project has the largest and most intense gold and copper soil anomaly in North America. This is because no glaciers have receded over this land for more than one a million years. Glaciers typically snowplow soil hundreds of miles from deposit sources. But in our property, the rocks have been free to leach up into the soil for a million years.
"During the last four years, we've been doing bigger programs with 15 to 20,000 meters of drilling annually. Last year, Covid-19 rules restricted us to 2000 meters of shallow surface drilling. We had a 45-day program. We drill tested and confirmed a series of geophysical targets using a new 3D magnetic model. We drilled tested and confirmed targets in the big porphyry system underlaying most of the property. And then we drilled tested a new Greenfield target. And we nailed it! We are excited about that development.
"And that is why I believe we are one of the best leveraged gold companies in the world," Anderson concluded, "Not to mention the added bonus of abundant copper, silver and other polymetallic mineralization found across our property." He observed that Triumph Gold is capable of mining its Freegold Mountain Project under its own steam and is in no hurry to sell.
Read what other experts are saying about:
Disclosure:
1) Peter Byrne compiled this article for Streetwise Reports LLC and provides services to Streetwise Reports as an independent contractor. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.
2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Triumph Gold. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees.
3) Comments and opinions expressed are those of the specific experts and not of Streetwise Reports or its officers. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.
4) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.
5) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Triumph Gold, a company mentioned in this article.
