(Kitco News) – Now is the time to invest in the junior gold miners, according to Kiran Patankar, CEO and President of Maple Gold Mines.
Patankar sat down with Kitco Mining at Xplor 2024 in Montreal. He said that all signs point to a rise in the valuations of the gold juniors.
“We know that the industry is cyclical,” he said. “Certainly, I can see the interest on the investor side in strong companies that have producing assets that are generating cash flow. We've seen, in a record gold price environment, that senior producers and mid-tier producers are getting a lot of interest from the investor side.”
“What we all recognize though, especially in an industry like mining and particularly in gold, is that these are non-renewable resources,” Patankar said. “There needs to be an engine for growth because every ounce you take out of the ground has to be replaced. There's been chronic underinvestment over the cycle in exploration assets and development assets that can fuel that next leg of growth for producing companies. I think this is the time for investors, before the juniors have really gone on a run.”
As for how Maple Gold is positioning itself in the current environment, Patankar said their competitive advantage comes down to favorable geology and strong partnerships.
“We're in a known gold camp in the Abitibi gold belt, which is prolific,” he said. “There's 200 million ounces of gold that's been produced in the region. We have an amazing partnership with Agnico Eagle. When you look at juniors, and do their properties and projects have the scale to attract the interest of majors, we've done that with Agnico, both originally as a joint venture partner, but now as a strategic investor.”
“We've got 100 percent control of a district-scale land package, which has an established resource of 3 million ounces, a past producing high-grade gold mine complex, infrastructure, and a partnership with arguably one of the best gold mining companies in the world.”
Patankar said that the company intends to move forward on two fronts.
“I would like to pursue a dual track of doing both systematic exploration, but also project development, which leads us towards an economic mine plan at an established resource,” he said. “That's the plan going forward.”
Coverage of Xplor 2024 was sponsored by Radisson Mining Resources.
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