Categories: Precious Metals
Topics: General Precious Metals

Hannan Metals (TSX-V: HAN) CEO Michael Hudson on Hannan's Growing Basin Scale San Martin Copper Silver Project

Gerardo De Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is the Chairman and CEO of Hannan Metals, Mr. Michael Hudson. Mike, how are you this afternoon?

Michael Hudson: I'm very, very well. Morning down under Gerardo.

Gerardo De Real: I see that despite the holiday week, you and the Hannan team are busy. You just had some news where Hannan has now expanded its San Martin copper silver project portfolio to a massive 937 square kilometers. This follows the announcement of your joint venture with JOGMEC, which is a joint venture that by the way, is one of the strongest in the junior space over the past year. 75% earn in by spending up to $35 million US. It's a lot of progress and congratulations. It seems like I say it every time I speak with you, but these aren't inconsequential news releases. This, in light of copper being at $3.55 a pound and projected to go higher in 2021 is a big deal.

Michael Hudson: Everybody wants more copper and we're going to mine more copper in the next 20 years they say, than we have for the history of the earth and the true way of finding a lot of copper is to find new districts and new basins or new plays. And this is developing into one of those Gerardo and it got the attention of the Japanese government, and we just completed that joint venture just over the last few weeks. And there's teams on the ground. We're exploring actively in that San Martin JV project area with JOGMEC and there'll be news flow into the new year from those field campaigns that have already started. But what is important is stage two. And you were just about to ask me a question here, I think.

Gerardo De Real: Yeah, I think you're headed to the question that I was going to ask you. I thought it was important to point out that these new claims are a hundred percent owned by Hannan outside of the current joint venture. And those 278 square kilometers, are again massive and important moving forward, correct?

Michael Hudson: Correct. So the San Martin area is massive, et cetera, 120 kilometers of strike. We've got high grade copper in contexts that we've made early stage discoveries over that larger area. With JOGMEC, we've got an area of 660 square kilometers, which is huge in itself. 660 square kilometers, but these new areas we've announced, which is 278 square kilometers is in our own right. So this is stage two for Hannan I think is the simple way to put it, that basically two thirds so far of the area that we've got under tenure is with JOGMEC, one-third is with our own banner, our own exploration teams and our own funding and full exposure for Mawson shareholders if we make a discovery in those areas, I suppose, and really stage two is starting where we left off. We're going to do it again.

We're basically going to go and ideally make some new discoveries in these areas and then consider whether to explore them in our own right or explore them with a partner. But Hannan is certainly very much in a very good partnership with JOGMEC, but we're doing it again in our own right.

Gerardo De Real: Within the context of COVID and the precautions that the team has taken, how is exploration in the field developing? I know that you've been very conservative, very responsible. You made it a point early in the year to not rush into deploying the team back in the field. How are things coming along in that respect there, Mike?

Michael Hudson: Surprisingly well, I suppose, in terms of the cautiousness that we did demonstrate. We kept in touch with local stakeholders, local people, local authorities, and we had two people on the ground continuously. We were supporting the communities in our own way, that what a small company could, but we've certainly had the presence there and wanted to make sure that they knew we were there for the longterm. We went back with field teams and social teams first up at the start of November and then geological teams a few weeks later. And we've been working and it's business as usual in a COVID way, if that's a tautology, but we're collecting as many samples, walking as much ground, running big stream sediment surveys, making discoveries in new areas, interacting with locals, all with the PPE gear on and social distancing.

But what is really, I suppose, very nice is that people see we're there for the right reasons in terms of what we're telling people we're doing and we're doing it. And then demonstrating what we've been doing just in exploration, very low impact way, but the locals are now really starting to understand what exploration is and how it differs from mining. And it's pretty much universal that we're being welcomed into these areas and that's the way it should be. First up interactions and building credibility, and then demonstrating that by doing what you say you're going to do. And I think that that plan is working out.

Gerardo De Real: Absolutely. Absolutely. That's great to hear Mike, anything else that you'd like to add?

Michael Hudson: No, I think how you started it was how we should finish it. Completed one of the strongest joint ventures in the junior business with the Japanese government’s JOGMEC, over two thirds of our area. And now we've staked a massive new area. Now one third of that whole 937 square kilometers that we have under tenure is in our own right. And we're going to do it again.

Gerardo De Real: Eagerly anticipating results from the field on the exploration work that you've done over the past several months. And I have to believe that there's likely several companies that are also eagerly anticipating those results.

Michael Hudson: Well, we have fingers crossed and we're working hard and it's a fertile area that really has never really seen any decent exploration. So it's very, very exciting.

Gerardo De Real: Mike, a lot to look forward to in 2021. Thank you so much. If we don't chat again soon, have yourself a fantastic Christmas holiday and new year's and thanks again.

Michael Hudson: To you and your listeners, thanks, Gerardo.

 

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