'Compelling Exploration Story' Could Get Tons Better: Expert

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Tectonic Metals Inc. (TECT:TSX.V; TETOF:OTCQB; T15B:FSE) is on to something major, one might say tectonic, at its Flat gold exploration project in southwestern Alaska, according to Dr. Quinton Hennigh, world-renowned exploration geologist.

"This is a compelling exploration story which could lead to another discovery of a Valley-type deposit that's really in an ideal location for developing such a mine," said Hennigh, referring to Snowline Gold Corp.'s (SGD:TSX.V; SNWGF:OTCQB) project in the Yukon, during Crescat Capital's March 7 Live Market Call video. Hennigh is a team member of Crescat, an asset management firm, and Tectonic's largest shareholder.

Hennigh purported that Tectonic's recent gold discovery at Alpha Bowl, identified through hole CMR24-026, is "going to lead to a much bigger discovery right in this general area." The hole returned 65.5 meters (65.5m) of 1.2 grams per ton gold (1.2 g/t Au), including 6.1m of 6 g/t Au with 1.5m of 21.7 g/t Au.

"It was mineralized top to bottom with good solid grade," Hennigh said. "The hole is smoking hot. The hole, which is really the first of what should be a zillion holes here, is telling us the source is in this neck of the woods. What I think is likely happening here is that the gold deposit is basically immediately underneath the alluvial area."

The Alpha Bowl target is 1.5 kilometer (1.5 km) x 1 km, Streetwise Reports noted in a past article. Inside Alpha Bowl is Flat Creek, historical producer of 650,000 ounces of recorded placer gold and, thus, one of the most prolific, in all of Alaska, placer gold-producing creek on the 99,000-acre Flat property. The bedrock gold source of Flat Creek's placer gold is in intrusive rocks beneath the historical workings in Alpha Bowl.

Hennigh highlighted the distance between hole CMR24-026 and Tectonic's primary target at Flat, Chicken Mountain, where most of the drilling has occurred. Specifically, the southernmost drill hole at Alpha Bowl is about 800m from the nearest Chicken Mountain drill collar location, according to Tectonic's news release.

The significance of this, noted Hennigh, is that the Chicken Mountain deposit is not the source of the gold discovered at Alpha Bowl. Rather, a separate deposit closer to hole CMR24-026 is. So, in addition to the potential but likely high-grade Alpha Bowl source deposit, Tectonic has lots of low-grade gold at Chicken Mountain, whose reduced intrusion-related gold system is about 6 km x 5.5 km in size.

"Virtually every drill hole placed there has runs of gold, like every stinking hole has hit," Hennigh said about the Chicken Mountain target and the 86 holes drilled there to date. "There's no question this is a huge volume of rock. Most of the historic drilling, of course, is quite shallow, but now we know it's deep."

An area of the Flat project was drilled historically in the mid-1980s by Robert Friedland, Mining Hall of Fame inductee, Tectonic Cofounder, President and Chief Executive Officer Tony Reda told "Natural Resource Stocks'" Andy Millette on Jan. 27. There are 55 historical drill holes, all of which hit gold mineralization, including those drilled by Friedland.

Strong Team, Jurisdiction, Partnerships

With Flat, the Tectonic team is looking to repeat its success with Kaminak Gold Corp.'s Coffee gold project in the Yukon. They took Coffee from zero ounces to 5 Moz, raised CA$165 million (CA$165M), and sold it to Goldcorp Inc. for CA$520M in 2016.

To date, Tectonic identified six targets at Flat, all with the potential to be of district scale, Reda told "Dig Deep Mining's" Rob Tyson on March 16.

"We want something that's at least 5 Moz or larger," Reda said. "This is not a one-deposit system. Now there's potential for six of them."

Flat is in Alaska's Tintina Gold Belt, a safe, predictable jurisdiction, the third richest placer mining area in all of Alaska as 1.4 Moz of placer gold were mined historically from its streams and creeks. The belt hosts one the largest (40 Moz) undeveloped gold systems in the world, the Donlin project, about 40 km southwest of Flat and being advanced by Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX:TSX; GOLD:NYSE) and NOVAGOLD Resources Inc. (NG:TSX; NG:NYSE.MKT).

"Flat is the next most advanced gold asset in this established Tier 1 gold district," wrote Jay Taylor in the March 7 edition of Hotline. "Notably, Donlin's owners recently announced a US$43M exploration budget for 2025, highlighting the continued investment and confidence in the advancement of this gold project and region."

Some of Tectonic's Flat property consists of optioned and staked claims, but most is land leased from Doyon Ltd., an Alaska Native Corporation with which Tectonic has a partnership. Doyon is pro-business, pro-mining, and the largest private landowner in Alaska, Reda told Millette. Doyon has invested > US$4M in Tectonic in support of its exploration work on Doyon's property, demonstrating a strong commitment to responsible resource development. This investment underscores the company's alignment of exploration efforts with ESG principles, emphasizing collaboration, sustainability, and respect for Indigenous land stewardship.

Part of Tectonic's strategy is to work with the local communities and villages from the outset, noted Reda. This involves forming production agreements that cover exploration,  production, environmental considerations, reclamation, mandated workforce obligations and scholarship contributions.

"The company aims to partner with local communities and Indigenous groups from the outset," Tyson pointed out in his podcast summary. "These partnerships not only provide financial backing but also streamline the permitting process and enhance community relations, which are crucial for project success."

Gold Just Getting Started

For the first time in history, the gold price burst through US$3,000 per ounce (US$3,000/oz) recently, but this is only the start of its run, according to Mike Larson, editor-in-chief of MoneyShow.

"Gold has been climbing for more than a year due to strong central bank buying and solid investor demand globally. But it has really turned on the jets in 2025 because President Trump's trade and tariff policies are driving market volatility higher, and investors are turning to gold as "insurance,'" he explained. "Still, gold's outperformance is a longer-term trend."

Barry Dawes, executive chairman of Martin Place Securities, wrote on March 21 that gold "could see [a] sharp move from here." Gold stocks are "ready to head much higher," and "small caps [are] ready to break out."

According to Technical Analyst Clive Maund, based on his review of the charts, gold is "way, way below its 2011 peak relative to the stock market" despite having outperformed during the past year. "It looks like gold is just getting started," he wrote in a March 17 report. Also, Maund pointed out, gold (and silver) stocks did well while the general stock market was slumping over recent weeks.

Gold and silver are now 'the only game in town,'" wrote Maund. "Precious metals stocks are a worthwhile investment that look set to do very well indeed even if the rest of the market tanks."

Regarding gold stocks, Stewart Thomson, retired Merrill Lynch broker, opined on March 18, "Now is the time to rock." He explained, "For the past several months, I've suggested that most goldbugs may be underestimating the amount of institutional money that could pour into the miners as the world gets carpet bombed with tariff taxes."

As for how high the gold price might go, InvestingHaven predicted it will hit US$3,260/oz in 2025, approach US$3,775 in 2026 and reach US$5,120 by 2030.

Brien Lundin, in his Feb. 26 Gold Newsletter edition, purported the gold price could exceed US$5,000/oz. One just needs to look at its performance during its four historical bull runs, he wrote, in which it increased between 5.6 and 8.2 times, from trough to peak.

"So if you count the bottom of this bull market to be US$1,050 in 2015, that would project to anywhere from US$6,000−8,500 or so for a peak price during this run. So yes, the future looks bright . . . if you own gold."

John Newell of John Newell and Associates agreed. "An explosive move toward US$8,000/oz is not just possible; it's increasingly probable," he wrote in a recent article.

"For those looking to hedge against inflation, preserve wealth, and capitalize on a potential historic price surge," added Newell, "gold remains one of the most compelling investment opportunities of our time."

Plan for 2025

Tectonic will be announcing its 2025 strategy and "how we're going to create value and move this project forward," CEO Reda said, referring to Flat, in a February interview for Investor Ideas' "Exploring Mining" podcast. You can also check out the latest webinar here.

What Experts Said

Several experts are bullish on Tectonic. Jeff Clark, precious metals expert and founder of The Gold Advisor, remains Long on the stock. Jeff Valks, senior analyst for the newsletter, wrote on March 4 about Tectonic, "The good news is that the good news keeps coming, and the stock looks to be rebounding from five-year lows. With all 86 holes drilling gold, the soil is rich. Always a great combination when a stock is hitting five-year lows."

Chris Temple of The National Investor first recommended Tectonic as a Buy last December due to "its merits and the story," he said during an interview of Reda then.

"You've got proven jockeys. You've got a great location, great jurisdiction. One of the most remarkable stories is how you have an organization that's a big for-profit entity of Alaskan natives that are the second largest investor in Tectonic. It's more than getting a First Nations group on side; [Tectonic] has done more than that. Great management team."

Temple also highlighted as positive the ore at Chicken Mountain appears to be free milling (requiring less capex and opex), the potential for an open-pit, heap-leach operation at this target, and metallurgy having shown "a high average recovery rate (96% in one test and 91% in another) that would come via heap leaching a mix of oxide and non-oxide ore." Further, the financial support of Tectonic, including that of Crescat Capital, and Tectonic's ability to raise money are noteworthy. Another material benefit is Tectonic's "engaged and invested partner," Doyon.

"These and other attributes," added Temple, "set Tectonic apart as something well beyond the typical speculative exploration play!"

Rick Rule of Rule Investment Media, who owns Tectonic shares, is "a fan of" Tony Reda, generative exploration in Alaska and Tectonic's technical team, he said during a March 14 interview. Now, Rule added, there are drill data that validate the team's "big" exploration thesis.

"Finally, they've put some numbers on the board and given me an excuse to own the stock," Rule said.

Investor Ideas, a news source in the financial markets for retail investors, chose Tectonic Metals as one of its Top Picks from the Vancouver Resource Investment Conference (VRIC) 2025.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to the company, ~40% of Tectonic's outstanding shares are held by long-term supporters.

Crescat Capital LLC holds approximately 17%, Doyon Limited owns around 8%, and Tectonic and other institutions hold around 11%.

The rest is retail.

The company has 419 million shares outstanding and a market capitalization of CA$23 million. The 52 week range is CA$0.04–$0.11.