(Kitco News) - Veteran geologist Jeff Pontius says the gold sector is entering a new phase of discovery and consolidation as exploration spending rebounds and quality assets attract fresh capital. Speaking with Kitco Mining’s Digging Deep, the former Corvus Gold CEO predicts that mid-tier producers “might be the ones that are the real driving force in M&A going forward in the next two or three years.”
Pontius led Corvus until its 2022 sale to AngloGold Ashanti for C$570 million and now advises exploration ventures. “I’ve been spending a little time at the Colorado School of Mines, helping on a couple of projects as well as doing some advisory work,” he said. “It looks like the sector’s taking off again.”
On AngloGold’s continued expansion in Nevada, he said, “They’ve done a very good job of advancing that, keeping the locals on side, pushing the permitting forward,” adding, “They’re going to start, I think, with our North Bullfrog project, which is a couple million-ounce open-pit heap-leach project.”
Pontius also weighed in on Barrick’s Four Mile discovery and the recent CEO changes at major producers. “I see Four Mile as a cornerstone asset in the Carlin Trend,” he said. “These things are long-life assets that have great value associated with them.”
He added that majors need a balanced approach. “You keep your fingers in the juniors, particularly with strategic investments like Anglo did with us, and you also drive your own greenfields program forward, which we see too little of in the majors right now.”
He noted rising U.S. investor participation and said a dual listing was key to Corvus’ success. “We traded more on the U.S. side than we traded on the Canadian side,” he said. “It was absolutely critical.”
Pontius believes the market remains early in the cycle. “I look for two to three more years of pretty strong moves in the commodity price,” he said.
Watch on the Kitco Mining YouTube channel here: Catch the full, unedited conversation where Jeff Pontius discusses Nevada’s next generation of gold discoveries, the outlook for M&A, and why he believes the gold bull market still has years to run.