Categories: General Market Commentary / Precious Metals
Topics: General Market Commentary / General Precious Metals

Revival Gold (TSX-V: RVG) CEO Hugh Agro on Milestone Resource Increase, Potential Restart of Heap Leach Operations & Exploration Drilling at the Beartrack-Arnett Gold Project in Idaho

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is the President and CEO of Revival Gold (TSX-V: RVG)(OTC: RVLGF), Mr. Hugh Agro. 

Hugh, I would ask you how you're doing, but given today's news I assume you're doing pretty well. How are things?

Hugh Agro: It's just great. It's a culmination of a lot of work and so today is a great day.

Gerardo Del Real: I've been one, an early shareholder of Revival Gold. But two, more importantly, a big, big backer of the management team early on. Before today's news, I've gone on the record over and over saying how great the team was, how methodical the team was. I think the news today is a testament to the quality of the team and all the work that you've been doing. 

Let's get right to it. You announced what you described as a substantial resource increase at the past-producing Beartrack-Arnett Gold Project.

Let me provide a bit of context and then I'll let you take it away. You now have approximately 3 million ounces across all categories. Big increase in the indicated category, increase in the inferred category. You have multiple scenarios. And I love this, you were conservative. You did all this at $1,400 gold, which, of course, with gold trading at $1,575 gives people a good snapshot as to the potential economics in the future because I know that you're setting the table for a PEA. 

Before we get into all those details, congrats first off and please provide the details, fill in the blanks there for us, Hugh.

Hugh Agro: Thank you, Gerardo. First, thank you for recognizing the team. It is a team effort. It takes a lot of expertise to do this kind of work and it's something that we've been busy at for a number of months here now. We've got a super explorationist in Steve Preismeyer, our VP of Exploration. Our General Manager, Pete Blakeley, former General Manager for the operation at Beartrack. So a lot of in depth knowledge and an understanding. 

At the board level we've got folks like Wayne Hubert, our Chairman who's done it before and with the Andean Resources. Don Birak, Idaho resident and a long-time and well-regarded explorationist across the Cordilleran. This kind of guidance and strategic leadership is what makes all the difference for Revival Gold. 

Then we've got the input of our consultants, Roscoe Postle Associates, a really well-regarded firm that did this resource update and all the analysis behind it, including on the metallurgical side with input from SGS and from John Marsden. A really good team and thank you for recognizing the efforts of the team and the of the work that's come from it. 

Yes, there's lots of detail there and we are very methodical. But as we know in the mining industry, there's lots of things that can go wrong so you want to make sure you've covered all the bases. I think we've done that with this release. 

3 million ounces is the headline. But if you kind of dig down into it a little further, you can see that we've got a big quantity of leachable material in the order of 600,000 ounces. That's the relatively quick opportunity for us to potentially produce gold from this project. And then in the longer term, we've got this large and growing mill resource, which puts us on a really a different level in terms of the scale of the project. And recognizing that there's only five gold mines in all of the United States that produce more than 300,000 ounces a year, this is important. And the scale that we've developed and that we're looking at and conceptualizing for Beartrack and the mill scenario puts us in that league.

Gerardo Del Real: The news has been very well received by the market. And despite that, you have a market cap of approximately $36, $37 million Canadian. This resource estimate now pegs the resource across all categories at about 3 million ounces. I know that privately you feel that the exploration potential is tremendous. 

I'll go on the record and say – the way I did before about the fact that you would reach 3 million ounces – I think you're well on your way now to 5 million ounces. I would love for you to provide a brief overview of the exploration upside because it's still substantial.

Hugh Agro: It is substantial and it's quite obvious to the educated folks who get out to the project that we have this potential. We've now locked up 5,400 hectares, over 12,000 acres of land, including about 11 kilometers of favorable strike in the Beartrack Panther Creek Shear Zone. We know that over 5 kilometers of that's mineralized. We have, as you've said, close to 3 million ounces in that system and then the balance at Arnett. But we've got another doubling of the strike potential in the property position. 

Furthermore, we have drill permits in the main area and we have additional permits coming into play for this year. Lots of catalysts ahead for growing the resource, growing the potential economics of the project, not just through the drill bit, but as you pointed out at the outset,  we'll move to economics on the leach restart roject. And given the brownfield nature and the existing plant infrastructure that's there, I think we have a head start to potentially producing cashflow from this project.

Gerardo Del Real: Given today's reaction in the market and the volume in the stock, I have to believe there are a lot of new eyes on the company. Can you provide a quick overview of the significant infrastructure advantages that you have over some of your exploration peers, frankly?

Hugh Agro: Yeah, maybe some context to start. There's two big gold companies in the universe of public gold companies. That's Barrick and Newmont, of course. There's another half dozen above $10 billion market cap in the space. And then beneath that, you've got three dozen producing companies, gold or silver, that are beneath $10 billion market cap and above a half a billion dollar market cap. And then another three dozen below that. 

There's six dozen gold producers who, if they're not looking to replace reserves, are looking to grow their reserves and their resources as they try and sustain their businesses. I think that's a healthy market for us to look to beyond our institutional equity investor base that we chase after and the retail and family offices. So lots of investors for us to potentially speak to about this project who are looking for gold exposure in the United States, safe geography. I think that's the key here is we've got to get out and get this message of the scale, the magnitude, the importance of this project out to the broader audience.

Gerardo Del Real: You got the team, you've got the infrastructure, you're in the right jurisdiction, you're, in my opinion, severely, severely undervalued, even just relative to your peers at this stage of development. And that's basing it on the 3 million ounces, not on the 5 million that I think you're on your way to. 

Hugh, nothing else to say. Congratulations and I can't wait for the details of a potential restart of the heap leach operations at Beartrack and the PEA, which I know will be forthcoming in due time.

Hugh Agro: Yeah, first job is to get the message out. Thank you for taking the opportunity to hear about the project and we'll report back in due course.

Gerardo Del Real: Appreciate it, Hugh. Thanks again.

Hugh Agro: Okay, Gerardo.

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