Monumental Energy (TSX-V: MNRG)(OTC: MNMRF) Founder Max Sali on Sticking to their Guns and Making Things Happen for Shareholders in the Global Energy Commodity Space

 

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is the founder & VP Corporate Development for Monumental Energy — Mr. Max Sali. Max, it's been a bit, how are you, sir?

Max Sali: Yes, it's been a while. It's been since summer, Gerardo. Obviously, the fall was a busy time for us. We ended up acquiring some oil assets in New Zealand with our partner New Zealand Energy. 

We were halted for exactly two months during this fundamental acquisition. We came back trading December 31st, and January has just been an incredible month for us in terms of stock performance. I've been doing lots of interviews, some marketing, getting the story out, and the markets seem to really like what we're doing just based on the share price. 

I think we're up a triple so far since January 1st. We were higher. And I'm excited about what we're doing, and everything so far is going really well. It looks like we'll have some revenue coming in around March for this oil and gas asset.

Gerardo Del Real: Let's talk about the strategy. Obviously, Monumental has had several different versions of itself. Where is the company now? I've had several shareholders reach out over the past couple of weeks asking about the price appreciation and the strategy moving forward. 

For those who are following the story or are looking to follow the story, oil and gas is hot right now, and you're seeing traction in the market. Can you speak to the strategy of the company?

Max Sali: Yes, we are focused on our lithium asset in Chile. And that became a lot more difficult than we thought. We did a name change in October 2023 to Monumental Energy and then acquired a position in a gas company in New Zealand that is now producing gas. And we're waiting for those flow rates. 

With the extra capital we had, we got a waiver from the TSX, and you and I did an interview in December 2023 regarding that investment. That well is now flowing, which is a great investment for us. It has paid off. 

But having additional cash on top of that and not being able to move the lithium in Chile forward, we ended up doing a deal with New Zealand Energy Corp. where we’ll hold a 25% royalty on some past-producing oil wells, workover wells, that we're going to put back into production. And we'll have an update this week, and we'll be able to show the shareholders that things are moving quickly.

We were able to get government consent in only five weeks to get these wells back online. When you look at the New Zealand dollar, all of your input costs are in New Zealand, and all of our output costs will be in Brent Crude US pricing. So the actual numbers at the end of the day will be quite phenomenal, and this is very low-risk for us.

It was a good opportunity. I think Monumental Energy reflects different types of energy. Obviously, I still love lithium and would love to move that forward. But right now, the price of oil, especially after the Trump election win, is strong, and we've had a lot of good feedback from our American shareholders that understand oil and gas and understand where the price is. 

And so we're looking forward to that big revenue for us. And then, the gameplan further in 2025 would be to drill our own fresh new well and have that revenue.

Gerardo Del Real: What's the treasury looking like because it's looking like you've really derisked the company? 

There was a time where you were looking at lithium and you were looking at rare earths. I love exploration as much as the next person but to have an asset that's already generating cash flow and producing is a big derisking. Where are you now as far as the cash position, and how do you see that moving forward?

Max Sali: We are just getting our final year and audit done so we'll have those numbers out on our cash position, I would say, in the next couple of weeks. We own 1.3 million shares of New Zealand Energy that are free trading. Their stock is anywhere from 85 cents to a dollar five. They will be paying us a dividend following some production from the gas likely later in the first half of this year. And we are fully funded to do all of the workovers. 

Obviously, we had to be fully funded for the exchange to approve this transaction. I think that, with the stock where it is, at some point, we probably would top up the treasury. We've had offers. The stock has been performing well. We are one of the most liquid stocks on the Venture Exchange right now. People like that; shareholders like liquidity. So we're in a very good position, and, I think, going forward with this royalty revenue, that'll just add non-dilutive cash to us.

So at some point when we drill a new well, we will have to bring in a strategic partner or raise a bit more capital but we wouldn't have to dilute that much. Right now, we only have 58 million shares out. I know where most of that is. We're liquid, we're healthy, and we'll have revenue sometime in March. So everything is looking good. I'm very excited about the New Zealand play.

And hopefully in 2H 2025, if we can get something done in Chile where we can move that lithium forward, I'd love to do that. But right now, if oil and gas is doing what it's doing… I mean, when you and I chatted back in December of 2023, New Zealand was so hot back in 2010 before the government changed for oil and gas.

And here's the second coming of that where the government needs the production; they need it for the locals. They're having rolling blackouts. And they're permitting these things super quickly. And you're getting top price for gas. 

For example, the price of gas in New Zealand is about C$18 to C$20 per MCF versus Canada, which is around $3 per MCF. And the price of oil is Brent Crude pricing, where in Canada you're getting C$40. So the numbers are tremendous.

Gerardo Del Real: And the market cap is still tiny. I know that you've had a good run here recently since the halt was lifted but where is the market cap right now just to give people some context? 

Max Sali: We are at 58 million shares at C$0.15 so it's still small. I'd like to see us get back into the C$0.25 - C$0.30 range. And I think with some good news coming, we'll get there. Our last two financings were done at C$0.175 each. And the one before that when we acquired the lithium asset back in 2021-22 was at C$0.45 per unit. 

We're building back up to where we were. So far, the market is showing us some love, finally, after, as you said the other day, a ‘purgatory’ of two years where we were trading in that C$0.10 range. 

But I spent those two years buying stock as did friends of mine, family, and brokers. And you know what… we have the cash to be able to figure out what we want to do, and now we're deploying it. And shareholders are clearly enjoying what we're doing.

Gerardo Del Real: Great work. You've stuck to it. You've put your money where your mouth is. You've bought a lot of stock; you own a ton of it. Friends and family do as well. I like to see people sticking by their plays even if you swing and miss a couple of times. It looks like you're on to something pretty significant here, Max. Anything to add to that?

Max Sali: I think you nailed it. It's been a long time building up. 2024 was a building process for us to get this oil transaction done. There will be more transactions. If you look at New Zealand Energy’s last few press releases, they want to work with us. 

We have the ability to raise capital. They will be the operator. They have a ton of permanent acreage, and they just needed a partner like us to come in. We'll do a 50/50 split on these wells. And the wells will come online at 500 to 1,000 barrels a day and go right into New Zealand Energy’s production facility. 

It's a great business model for us. I'm glad to be back in New Zealand after just being an investor from 2009 to 2013. And I think the market will appreciate what we're doing significantly.

Gerardo Del Real: Good work, Max. Looking forward to having you back on. It was way overdue. Thank you so much for your time today.

Max Sali: Thank you, Gerardo. Have a good day, sir.

Gerardo Del Real: Alright, you as well. Cheers.

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