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GoldMining Inc. (TSX: GOLD)(NYSE-American: GLDG) CEO Alastair Still on Extending Gold Mineralization Via the Drill at La Mina & Unlocking C$16.5 Million in Value with NevGold
Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is the CEO of GoldMining Inc… and my favorite [Canadian] ticker symbol in the gold space — G-O-L-D — Mr. Alastair Still. Alastair, how are you?
Alastair Still: I'm doing well. I'm glad… that's two of us that like the “GOLD” ticker symbol as well. Thanks for having me on today, Gerardo.
Gerardo Del Real: Thanks for coming on. We know the markets are a bit challenging right now with the summer doldrums… people getting back out… people really not as engaged as they are in the spring, fall, and winter. But we also know that that sentiment turns really, really quick.
I’ve long teased GoldMining for its lack of drilling. GoldMining always pushed back playfully and said, ‘If we could buy ounces in the ground for cheaper than what it costs to go ahead and discover those same ounces… we like our business model.’ That's proven to be accurate.
But GoldMining is back out there with the drill bit. And you just discovered an extension of the La Garrucha target at the La Mina project in Colombia. You drilled 345.54 meters of 0.74 grams per tonne gold equivalent. Heck of a way to get the drill bit back out there turning. Any context there, Alastair?
Alastair Still: Yeah, absolutely. Certainly a very exciting result for us. We were happy with the results we had at La Mina earlier this year. We put out our PEA study in January, which shows very strong economics. There are over a million gold equivalent ounces that can be mined over a 10-year period, producing around 100,000 gold equivalent ounces per year. So already strong economics.
We had this target sitting just to the south and east… less than a kilometer away… so very nearby… can easily be added on. We liked the target. We put together a drill program. We’ve started that. We've now announced the first two holes; both strong intercepts with a good solid run of mineralization, including the headline you mentioned: 345 meters at 0.74 grams per tonne gold equivalent.
I guess what I would put an emphasis on is that… that was a very consistent and steady run of mineralization. There were not a lot of spikes. There were not a lot of high-grade outliers influencing that and smearing it over a broad width. So we're very encouraged by the consistency and the quality of that mineralization.
And to put it in context, when we did the PEA study, we used a cutoff grade for economics of 0.25 grams per tonne gold equivalent. So this is considerably above that cutoff; that's the full zone. And the exciting part for us right now is… that interval actually ended in mineralization. We're going to be reentering that hole to deepen it to test the full extent.
So we haven't quite closed off the mineralization; we have to reenter and deepen it. That's how broad a zone we’ve intercepted. So a great start for us. We plan to drill about 3,600 meters there. And that's just the first two out of about six holes that we plan to drill. So a great start to the drilling.
Gerardo Del Real: The technical team has to be happy with this hit, right, because it was always speculated — and it was modeled, actually, from my understanding — that the mineralization extended to the southeast along strike. Is that correct?
Alastair Still: That is correct. And in fact, give credit to Bellhaven — the previous owners of this property — who had made the initial discovery at La Garrucha. But the reality is it's a separate porphyry center. The existing resources are focused on two porphyry centers. This is a standalone porphyry center, and the magnetic signature for it is actually bigger than the first two — considerably bigger.
So we have a lot of optimism about this. We think it adds value. And your comments at the beginning of… being able to purchase ounces for cheaper than you can drill them. Well, I would say, in this case — I don't think that's the case.
I think in this gold price environment, we're still at a strong gold price. You will not be able to buy ounces for cheaper than what we can find them here. And that's what our goal is — to efficiently drill the ounces.
We would like to put a resource model together later this year. And we can quantify the new discovery, and we can demonstrate, then, very clearly, what a great addition, what great value this was for a pretty modest drill program trying to add resources onto our books.
Gerardo Del Real: Speaking of value and addition, I have to ask how the transaction and the investment in NevGold is coming along. I understand that’s due to close soon if everything is going according to plan. NevGold, obviously, is on to a pretty significant discovery, I believe, in Nevada.
I really like that team… the technical team… the CEO… the jurisdiction, obviously. And the fact that they're getting these long runs of oxidized mineralization bodes really, really well for a potential mining scenario in the future. How are things on that front, Alastair?
Alastair Still: Well, I think you've summed it up very well. But in short, they're progressing as expected. We announced that transaction during the week of the PDAC — the Prospectors & Developers Association Conference held annually in Toronto. We had a lot of positive responses for that.
We’ve met again, at that conference, with the NevGold team. I continue to be impressed by their team and the work they're doing. The drilling that they're doing on their existing project in Nevada has lots of upside. And we think that team can pivot and transition rapidly to focus on Almaden — which was the focus of our transaction with them.
Your listeners will recall, we unlocked C$16.5 million in value with that transaction. And we're both standing to gain — that is GoldMining and NevGold — by the prospects of finding more gold and adding value there because we will have a significant shareholding in NevGold.
So what's good for them is good for us. We did our due diligence on their team and their project in Nevada. We like it. We think this is a true win-win scenario. And as you say, we're pleased to see the transaction progressing as expected and likely to close sometime next week.
Gerardo Del Real: The best way to do business is when everybody comes out a winner. Alastair, an exciting second half of the year is on deck. Anything to add to that?
Alastair Still: No, I would agree… although there's a bit of a doldrum in the markets. I just would remind people that the precious metal prices are still strong. There's a lot of value buys out there. I can't think of a better value buy than GoldMining where you get exposure to 32 million gold equivalent ounces.
We're unlocking value from a very diverse portfolio throughout the Americas. The drill bit is making discoveries, and we will continue to put out some exciting news throughout the rest of this year.
Gerardo Del Real: Thank you for your time as always. I look forward to chatting soon. Assays are still pending, obviously, so I'm looking forward to seeing those.
Alastair Still: My pleasure. I look forward to giving you an update in the short while. Thanks again. Have a great afternoon.
Gerardo Del Real: Thanks again, Alastair.