Jeff Pontius Explains Comstock Gold Bet as Mackay Drills Nevada

Exploration geologist Jeff Pontius joins Kitco Mining’s Digging Deep with Paul Harris to discuss gold’s renewed momentum, Mackay Gold & Silver’s Comstock district opportunity in Nevada, major financings for explorers, the Barrick-Newmont Nevada agreement, African mining policy, and how the U.S. can rebuild domestic mining capacity.

Pontius says a US$4,000 gold base would be “exceptionally good” for producers and developers, especially with many companies producing around US$2,000 per ounce or lower. He says the recent pullback created a buying opportunity, while a less aggressive Fed and stronger broader market could support further gains into year-end. “I think we’ve got a good runway to go on,” he said.

Pontius also explains why he came out of pseudo-retirement to chair Mackay, comparing the consolidated Comstock district near Reno to Cripple Creek before modern district-wide exploration. He discusses Mackay’s 20,000-meter drill program, large oxide targets at surface, and why strong treasuries let explorers drill faster, test bigger ideas, and balance dilution against discovery speed. Pontius also weighs government ownership in African mining projects, spinouts, research funding, permitting reform, and flow-through-style tax incentives for U.S. exploration.

Recorded August 13, 2026.

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00:26 - Gold Finds a US$4,000 Floor
02:12 - Road to US$5,000 Gold
03:18 - Summer Volatility and Gold Pullback
05:17 - Why Jeff Pontius Joined Mackay
10:09 - Comstock Drill Plan and Targets
13:14 - Barrick-Newmont Nevada Deal
17:38 - Africa Gold Deals and Permits
18:28 - Government Ownership Debate
25:51 - Big Raises for Gold Explorers
28:58 - Treasury Size Versus Dilution
32:28 - Spinouts Done Right
35:40 - U.S. Mining Schools and Policy
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Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this podcast do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Kitco Mining Digging Deep with Paul Harris.

SPEAKER_02 0:05

Hello and welcome back to Kitco Mining's Digging Deep with me, Paul Harris, in which we take a closer look at some of the most interesting news items in the mining and exploration space. Today is Thursday, August the 13th, and I'm joined by exploration geologist Jeff Pontius. Jeff, welcome back to Kitco. Great, thanks. It's good to be here, Paul. Good to have you. We've got a wonderful suite of things to discuss today, but uh I want to start with gold, and uh I guess the big question on everybody's mind is whether gold is turning a corner or not. After trading down and sideways over the past few months, the yellow metal has gained about 400 US dollars per ounce over the past week or so. And that really seems to have established a solid $4,000 per ounce as a base price. Jeff, let's start there. How important would having a base price of let's say $4,000 per ounce, how important would that be for the industry?

SPEAKER_01 1:00

Well, I think it's uh key when you look at producers. Uh we got to see a lot of quarterly reports here lately, and uh most guys are producing around that two thousand dollar mark or a bit below. Some of them are as low as fifteen hundred. But if you can produce and provide capital for your development uh on a price that is basically looking at a four thousand dollar base, that is exceptionally good. And that is going to lead to greater expansion, I think, within the gold market. And the this basing at $4,000 is is really important. I think the last one of these we got to was somewhat below $3,000. And uh so I think it's a very important move. Uh I personally see gold being able to make a move of maybe up to 20% by uh by the end of the end of the year here. So uh I think we've got uh good runway to go on, and uh and there should be some good move for gold and silver both uh going forward, uh certainly till the end of the year and beyond, I think.

SPEAKER_02 2:11

Okay, many analysts are looking at a $5,000 US dollars per ounce price by the end of the year, which is uh a little bit above that sort of 20% that's a possible uplift that you mentioned. What do you think will be driving that?

SPEAKER_01 2:26

I think you know what we've seen is is gold has really traded with the overall market. Uh, I think we've got a new sort of group of Fed people driving the bus right now. Uh that group does not seem to be inclined to raise rates. Uh that's good for gold. Uh it's good for the overall market. Gold is trading with that broader market as we go up. And I think that uh what that what that signals to us is uh as long as the broader market and the Fed stays in a relatively conservative mode from a standpoint of raising rates, uh gold should have a good move to be able to go forward and uh and move up. And that $5,000 price is probably uh a pretty good estimate, actually, by year end.

SPEAKER_02 3:18

Okay, now historically, traditionally, people think of the summer as being a slow period of time for gold, but a lot of the people I've spoken with that said, you know, they've been very, very busy this summer. There hasn't really been that uh that um you know sleepy, sleepy go away on vacation sort of as as perhaps there has been in previous years. Um what is your view of the summer months this year? And to the to what extent do you think when we get into the fall after Labor Day in September, there's going to be uh, let's say, a ramp up of activity?

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Well, uh I think there is a true sort of summer doldrum that we see in the market over the years. Certainly things have been more volatile when we look at uh at the markets in general and particularly gold. Uh this uh sell down in gold to get down to the $4,000 base level and then recovery here is uh is a good situation with that just shows there was a great opportunity for investors, I think, uh, over the last couple months as gold uh you know readjusted itself down and and was able to then uh uh you know move up right now that we're seeing right now. I think the fall is going to be quite good for a continued move in gold. Uh so I think those old adages uh you know they may not be functional really too much anymore because of the kind of a bit of economic chaos that we see going on with the war in Iran and uh oil prices and a lot of other things that are actually taking place this summer. So uh I think it certainly this summer's been busy.

SPEAKER_02 5:03

I think you make a good point there about the pullback in the prices. For many people, that was a buying opportunity, and we must always remember that uh pullbacks or corrections are healthy and necessary as part of an evolving and developing bull market. Uh, Jeff, since you and I last spoke, you have come out of pseudo-retirement, if I may phrase it like that, and you're now chairing Mackey Gold, which has the former Comstock Gold Mine and surrounding concessions near Reno in Nevada. You had great success in Nevada with Corvus Gold, which you sold to Angler Gold Ashanti a few years ago. Jeff, what was uh attractive about Macai and the Comstock project to you?

SPEAKER_01 5:43

Well, you know, really the Mackey opportunity was an opportunity to come into the Comstock District, a district that has not seen integrated, aggressive, district-wide exploration ever, since its discovery and main production profile that was uh sort of ended around the turn of the century. So it really looked to me like a Cripple Creek opportunity. When I came to Cripple Creek, same sort of situation. The district hadn't been effectively explored with modern methods and aggressive drilling programs. And uh we had great success at Cripple Creek, and Cripple Creek is still steaming away, and I was just up there last month, and uh it's uh I think there's 10, 12 years of additional resources, uh, which will probably continue to expand. So uh, you know, I I saw this opportunity here for a world-class district. This is one of the places as a geologist you've studied these low sulfidation to intermediate sulfidation systems with some exceptional high grades and gold and silver. Uh it's it's really one of those places as a geologist you always want to go to, and you only dream of being able to work in these places. And when Darwin approached me with the opportunity here, he had put together a great core land position, which was a phenomenal piece of work, I think. And then we got involved here about a year or so, a little more than a year ago, with the private company, and then we went public in April. The real opportunity here, in my mind, is this wonderful exploration opportunity that is untapped. And uh it just looking at some of the opportunities, like the one we're drilling now in the South Occidental area, a fabulous soil anomaly that you're looking at, probably averaging 0.3, 0.4 gram per ton at surface in the soils, and we're drilling the structural zone right now, it's a kilometer long. Uh early, sort of ineffective, a little bit ineffective. Shallow drilling has outlined a substantial zone, broad zones, a plus one gram per ton of oxide mineralization right at the surface. Uh, you know, you just don't get these opportunities, particularly in Nevada. And uh and of course, with this terrific district, it's uh it was something I couldn't pass up. Subsequently to that, Darwin has done an absolutely amazing job of consolidating the district. Something we didn't do at Cripple Creek until later on, and it was very expensive for us. And uh I think now that we've got this district essentially fully consolidated, we have uh a really great list of expiration targets to go after. And so it was the proverbial dripping roast, in my opinion. And I couldn't hardly uh pass this up. And uh and it's a great team to work with, and and they're uh really like-minded people that understand aggressive, drill-focused exploration, make the ounces, make them quick, and make them with big drill programs, and always keep your eye on the exit, which is what the investors want. And I think this is going to be a great opportunity to get to ride in another rodeo for me and uh hopefully be part of what'll be a world-class new gold discovery in a world-class historic district. So uh it's it it is really a uh a unique opportunity, and I get to get back out in Nevada and get my boots dirty, and it's uh it's uh it I gotta say, it's pretty fun and a hell of a lot better than being retired.

SPEAKER_02 9:53

Excellent. Well, I've got a sweet tooth, Jess. So I was gonna say for an exploration geologist, it must be like being a kid in a candy store. Um, just a little bit of additional detail. Cripple Creek, that's in Colorado. Uh, and and Darwin is Darren Green, the CEO of the company. Um, you mentioned that the the company recently kicked off its inaugural 20,000 meter drilling campaign. Uh, what does that campaign look to do or achieve?

SPEAKER_01 10:20

Well, I think first of all, we have this terrific soil anomaly that we're drilling uh with some early drill holes that have outlined really the target concept. So we're going to be aggressively approaching that as well as taking some shots in some other parts of the Occidental Brunswick trend for uh what have been called in the past uh bonanza zones. They're really high grade, really broad high grade vein targets that uh are exceptional grade. These things are running an ounce per ton gold and a hundred to a hundred and fifty ounces per ton silver. So uh these kind of targets are really exceptional things. And uh we're gonna take a shot at that. We'll get uh a fair bit of that drilling, I think most of it done by the end of the year, and that should give us a good idea about just what we're looking at out here. Uh we have a number of other targets that need to be drilled, and uh, you know, the my expectation is I want to see uh uh a shape, a geometric shape that looks uh highly mineable, uh exceeds a gram per ton of oxide mineralization from the surface, and uh and we're talking about large tonnage potential of these things, and uh to see what what the hybrid vein targets might look like out here as well, although we won't have enough drilling to really put together resources on something like that initially here, but uh uh as our focus is really going to be this this really excellent surface deposit. So uh I think you know that that's kind of the thing. And I I would expect by the end of 2027 we have over a hundred thousand meters of drilling done in this area, and that uh there's a pretty substantial discovery that we've we've got under our belts, but it's gonna take some time. So we uh, you know, just like everything, we just got to get a lot of drilling done.

SPEAKER_02 12:27

Okay, can we just put a bit of more context on this, Jeff? Because uh one gram of ton oxide heap leachable at surface in Nevada, I mean that that's about as good as it gets, isn't it? Um I'm thinking of Marigold, which is just down the road, um, along I-80, isn't it? And uh what's the head grade there? 0.2, 0.3? And it's very profitable.

SPEAKER_01 12:48

Yeah, 0.3. And then you can look at Florida Canyon, which is operating and making money at 0.2. So uh when you look at one gram per ton deposits, that's what we had at Corvus in our North Bullfrog project. Uh, those are are are exceptional things, and they definitely draw interest. The kind of interest that Mackey wants.

SPEAKER_02 13:12

So, okay, um, potential interest departies will perhaps be mentioning a couple of those in in just a moment, uh, as we're gonna stay in Nevada, where Barrack Mining's IPO of its North American assets is to proceed after the company reached an agreement valued at about 4 billion US dollars with Newmont about their Nevada gold mines joint venture, which is further east along I-80. Barrack will vend in its 4 mile discovery and receive $1.95 billion in cash. Newmont will vend in its fiberline and mic projects. Jeff, um, given that analysts have put a consensus value on 4 mile at 10 to 20 billion, Newmont's 38.5% share of that would should cost them $4 to $8 billion. Are you surprised at how much or how little Barrack seems to be getting in this deal?

SPEAKER_01 14:02

Uh you know, to be honest, Paul, I don't put a great deal of credence in analyst assessments of uh mining opportunities. There's a lot of challenges associated with Formile from a mining standpoint, processing standpoint, uh the integration into the overall uh production and uh recovery plan for Nevada gold mines in general. Uh there's there's a lot of moving parts. And my guess is that the valuation that has been agreed to by Newmont, who is a very experienced company, and Beric also very experienced, is probably uh a pretty fair assessment of what those assets are going to be like once they bring them into the overall uh Nevada gold mining joint venture. So uh I think probably at the end of the day it was a fair uh fair deal. And by cleaning up all these other aspects of the uh joint venture, which is what this deal did, it's going to make it much more streamlined, much more efficient. There's going to be more money to be made by everybody involved. And uh I think at the end of the day it comes out to be a huge win. I was always a believer that Formal would be part of the joint venture. And by cleaning up the rest of these assets that are there that are individually owned by the different groups, uh, I think it it makes it a very simpler uh and and more efficient mining opportunity. And and both Newmont and Baric are going to make a lot of money on this deal.

SPEAKER_02 15:42

Okay. Um a lot is known about formal Baric uh published uh um an economic study on that in September last year, and it uh uh really surprised the upside. Little is known, however, about Newmont's fiberline and Mike uh projects that it's putting into Nevada gold mines. Um is there anything you can tell us about those? What do you know about these two projects?

SPEAKER_01 16:05

Well, I've you know actually been out of the trend there for a while, and uh and I'm not too familiar. Mike is an older project, it's been around for a long time. Uh, it's not really ever been economically uh sufficient to for a separate development with it. And uh I think by integrating it with the overall uh uh Nevada gold mines infrastructure, it's probably going to be something, and with current new metal prices uh with copper and uh gold, it's going to be uh probably something that gets developed and it's big and it will make a difference for the for the group. Uh fiber line, from what I understand, it's a four-mile wannabe uh out there at turquoise ridge. Uh I'm not too familiar with the potential of it. Uh I don't think it's four-mile, but uh it's uh it's it's certainly an underground opportunity that we'll be able to uh mine some higher grade mineralization and hopefully utilize the overall processing facilities for the overall JV, which will make it much more economic to develop.

SPEAKER_02 17:19

Okay. Um following up your comment about how bringing everything together is going to generate a lot of value on the Barrack mining second quarter financials conference call at the start of the week. CEO Mike Hill spoke of the possibility of developing a new roaster in the region, a potential $2.5 billion investment there. Let's stick with Barak as we head into Africa, where Fortuna Mining is buying the Bambadji Gold Project in Senegal for $200 million from Barak and IM Gold. Bambadji borders its Diabla Sud project, giving it a much larger exploration position in Senegal. Elsewhere in Africa, B2 Gold said Mali granted the Benangkoto exploitation permit, which follows the July 2025 approval to begin underground mining at its Fucola mine. Fucola Region Regional, its exploration project, 20 kilometers from the Fucola Mine, will be owned 65% by B2 and 35% by Mali. B2 gold shares rose about 26% on the news. Mali and permits have been overhanging B2 for quite some time, so it's good to see some positive news for the company there. An interesting aspect here is that Mali will own 35% of the Fucola regional, which perhaps is part of a broader trend of governments in developing nations requiring or seeking greater project participation. Jeff, let's bring you in again. Um, what is your view? What do you think of this trend for greater project participation being sought by host governments?

SPEAKER_01 18:54

Well, I think it is a uh uh it's potentially a negative for the countries involved. I mean, a short-term uh benefit from owning 35% of what's probably going to be a new mine in the future, uh, but it definitely adds a huge burden for other people looking at opportunities within those areas uh that you have to overcome. And it really forces you to have one of these exceptional deposits or a regional processing facility where you can do marginal uh processing of rock that uh you you develop in these areas. I you know I've always seen it as a negative, in my opinion, because the smaller deposits that can't care that can't fully carry that kind of burden are not going to get developed. And those are gonna impact rural areas and rural communities that could significantly benefit from the economic engine that these mines provide. Hundreds of employees, increased tax base, uh, you know, not only the good jobs, but the also the social infrastructure that comes along with a mine development in a developing country, schools and so forth. I just see it as going to be a limiter. Uh and uh and it's uh it's kind of unfortunate. I would uh if it was me, I would try and spur development uh by having a reasonable participation rate in some of these areas. Um, we'll see. Uh I mean uh definitely B2, you know, has gone through uh a management change from Clive, and uh we're seeing this kind of filter through uh B2, and I think we're we're gonna, you know, they've got the Molly problem that looks like solved for Fu Cola, and I think that in the future we'll see continued uh good performance from B2 uh as things go forward, but uh it it is uh a quite a burden for new exploration coming in the areas if the hurdle is 35%.

SPEAKER_02 21:19

So okay, uh I sort of fully understand your point of view, which is very much a mining exploration point of view, but I imagine a number of governments don't see things that way, they perhaps don't understand that logic. And of course, your average government is uh has the sort of sort of short-termism of political expediency, and so you know, taking more of a project gives them a political win now. Um what happens later is somebody else is problems. In that context, do you anticipate seeing more of these kind of deals or situations going forward?

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Well, I I think uh, you know, as you as you say, the the short term uh Benefits from this on this particular project are probably going to spur some governments to look at greater free participating interest in the projects. In the short term. I think in the longer term perspective, people will have a I think a greater appreciation for what just what the economics of mining really are all about, which is hundreds of millions of dollars up front, billions in some cases. And that investment money is not easy to come by in an area where the bulk of the uh uh essential profit is is given away early on in the project. So uh I think it's gonna ultimately be uh kind of uh adjusted in the future for for groups that are a little more um you know far-sighted and and looking for uh uh you know an opportunity that's gonna be a generational opportunity in the future for their people.

SPEAKER_02 23:17

Well, let me put the cat right amongst the pigeons there, Jeff, because obviously we're talking about examples in Africa here, but uh uh in other places such as Canada, the First Nations are very powerful politically. Um they negotiate impacts and benefits agreements. Um, is it feasible that we start seeing First Nations asking for such things as part of their overall sort of compensation for the land usage in their tradition, what they see as their traditional territories?

SPEAKER_01 23:47

Well, I think in some respects they they are approaching it from a more pragmatic standpoint and a longer-term view standpoint here in uh in North America when it comes particularly to the Canadian First Nations groups. I mean, they're really going for the opportunities that are going to help people in their communities, uh, not only in the short term but in the long term. Uh we have seen some Native groups participate, particularly in Alaska, where native land has been separated out and uh and they have fee simple basic land packages. And they've participated in some of these mining opportunities. Uh, we can look at Katango's property uh down there near Toke uh that uh the local native group has been able to participate in, and and I think they see that that's a that's quite a good win. Uh they understand, I think, that that it doesn't come for free and that's uh it's gonna require some commitment from them on on into the future. So uh I I think those aspects are gonna continue to go forward here in the U.S. Uh, you know, native groups have different status when it comes to uh their uh ownership issues and uh and legal rights and so forth. Uh so I think it's a bit more problematic for Native groups to try and interject themselves into the middle of a project. But we have seen recently efforts where they've asked to be able to buy into projects. And uh so I think those opportunities are probably ones that uh are gonna continue in the future. And and it certainly makes sense, in my opinion, in uh in some of these areas. So uh I think we'll see participation, but no wholesale. We're gonna give you 35% of the of the asset for free.

SPEAKER_02 25:48

Okay, well, 35% obviously a lot there. Let's get back to exploration. Um, Snowline Gold completed a bought deal private placement and raised more than 172 million Canadian dollars this week. Um, McKay closed a successful IPO raise of what, 60 million dollars earlier this year? And there have been a number of other very large raises by explorers as the gold price has gone higher. Jeff, um, why do you think there's been so many large raises in the past year or so? What are investors looking to achieve by giving explorers so much money?

SPEAKER_01 26:23

Well, I think the easy answer is commodity price. I mean, we've seen the price of gold double, so we see investors wanting to be part of that participation, they're looking for the leverage that companies provide going forward uh on these things, and so there's quite an appetite. The investors are certainly, uh, in my opinion, uh uh you know more informed. And uh and they're they're they're picking, in many cases, uh uh very good opportunities to invest in. There is a lot of money sitting on the sideline that is looking into the gold sector. Gold has shown that it is a strong commodity and that uh that people want to participate with that in the future. So uh I think the investor appetite is there. Projects have been starved for capital, good projects that need to move forward. Uh, with current commodity prices, many of these projects can go forward and become economic um uh mining opportunities. So there's a great need for the capital, I think. And uh, you know, bottom line is uh it's a commodities right now are important. Uh the government has made them important, investors have made them important, and uh as that continues on in the future, I think we're going to see uh uh good investor appetite. Uh you know, with with the Mackie financing, when we originally laid it out, uh Darwin marketed it for I think just a week, and uh he had over 120 million in the book. We ended up taking about 62 million out of the deal. But uh it was a huge uh uh there was a huge appetite for it. Uh and this is a project with only a few drill holes in our South Occidental and uh and uh a lot of expectation. So uh I think that uh you know the appetite is there and it will continue to be there uh as you know, realistically, we're not talking about gigantic sums of money here: 100, 200 million, 300 million. Uh when we look at the broader market, most of these you know financing deals we look at for AI and data centers and so forth are in the many, many billions of dollars. So there's quite a bit of money around for gold, I think, and uh and commodities.

SPEAKER_02 28:58

Okay, Jeff, as a former CEO of an exploration company, what does large having a large balance sheet enable you to do in terms of advancing a project, answering the unanswered questions, you know, really looking towards the upside? What does it enable you to do?

SPEAKER_01 29:17

Well, uh for a guy like me that likes to do a lot of drilling and advance exploration discoveries to the discovery point and then the resource development point and then the resource confirmation point, it is essential to have enough cash to continue that process on. And as you have more capital, you're able to do this quicker, more efficiently, and get it to market quicker. And uh Corvus is a great example. Corvus, we we financed that company through literally eight years of the doldrums, where we were still able to raise about 10 million bucks a year. But if we would have had 30 million or 40 million dollars a year, we could have brought the project along much, much quicker. And uh it that is the real leverage that you get by having a nice treasury that enables you to keep those drills turning. And when the squeaky wheel starts to squeak, you add more and more and more drills. And uh it will bring you to the end quicker. Uh, and uh and I think that's that's the real benefit that you see. And as a CEO, it gives you that ability to be aggressive and it gives you the ability to go out and really test some of the things that if you didn't have enough cash, you would have put off till later. And some of those things turn into fabulous discoveries.

SPEAKER_02 30:54

Well, Jeff, let me play. I I really appreciate that that that that that answer, but let me play devil's advocate. You said when you were doing the IPO for Mackey, the book came up to 120 million, you only took 62 million. Given what you've just said, why didn't you take more to be able to be to be able to do more, basically?

SPEAKER_01 31:13

Well, uh when we looked at the 62, Darwin had this vision of further consolidation of the district, which was gonna take 20 or 30 million bucks. And we needed essentially about $30 million to get us through that first hundred thousand plus meters of drilling that we're gonna need to define an initial, say, two million ounce discovery that looks like it's gonna be a very lucrative uh surface opportunity. So that was the basic need. Uh, if all that happened in the future, and let's hope it's going to happen here, uh, then we would be raising money in the future at a much higher share price. So it's all a balancing act between dilution and being able to aggressively approach the project. So Mackey right now has enough cash to really get us to that fundamental point of this is a fabulous new district for new discoveries. And I think once we get there, we will be raising the next trancha money at a much, much higher share price.

SPEAKER_02 32:26

Thank you. That was a good answer. Um moving on, NGEX Minerals said it will spin out its Valle Ancho Copper Gold District Scale exploration opportunity in Chile's Maracunga Belt and Argentina, while out of our hand resources shareholders approve the spin out of Centauri minerals. Both of these are copper focused. And also white gold shareholders approve the spin-out of critical minerals properties in Yukon into W-2 critical minerals. Many people complain about the number of juniors in the exploration business, yet management teams continue to spin out assets into more companies, creating even more juniors. Jeff, um, are you a fan of the spin-out?

SPEAKER_01 33:07

You know, I am under the right conditions. And for me, it has to be a compelling asset that's gonna be put into the spin-out or group of assets, and also enough cash to get it to that next level of uh exploration uh that is gonna be proof of concept and a quality management team to run the spin out. So when you have those three components, I think it makes sense for shareholders, particularly when you dividend out the shares in the Spin Co to the existing shareholders. So they're gonna get a couple bites at the Apple. Uh, in the case of ITH, where we spun out Corvus Gold in 2010, it was a great move for the ITH shareholders. They got a company that turned into large value for them in the future. That value was not being realized within ITH. So, in the right situations, you can create much more value for your shareholders uh by creating spin cods, particularly when they get the shares from the spin co on a pro-rata basis. So uh, you know, it does make sense, and uh, and uh, but you have to have the right conditions and you've got to have the right team, and you gotta be able to vent enough money into the into the into the new entity. Fair enough.

SPEAKER_02 34:34

Um, your your comments have sort of made me refer back to something we talked about earlier in our conversation today, and that's the the North American Barrack IPO. Uh Barrack mining CEO Mark Hill said he is going to be running that. So the company's spinning out um Barrack North America and the CEO's going with it, um, which is curious. And that, you know, what do you think that perhaps says about the rest of Barrack? Uh Barrick worldwide for want of a better phrase. It seems like you just want to be any part of that.

SPEAKER_01 35:05

I sort of hate to throw the analogy up there, but uh at ITH, I was the CEO of ITH, and I left ITH to go to Corvus. So I think uh uh Mark may have the right uh the right idea. I think uh uh Barrick Gold or Beric North America is gonna be a phenomenal engine. And uh when they go public, it's definitely one I'm gonna buy. So it's uh I think I think they've got the right sauce for that one.

SPEAKER_02 35:40

Excellent. Well, let's end on something again focused on exploration. US President Donald Trump is to provide $180 million in mining school investments to bolster the American mining workforce. Jeff, how or where would you spend this money? Where do you think it can do the most good?

SPEAKER_01 36:00

Well, realistically, if it was me and I was looking at trying to build more expertise and uh more innovation within the resource sector, I would rebuild the research funding that was cut over the last year and a half. And I would uh you know, I would go back and take a broader look at science, and I would fund the research in a broad field of sciences because you never know what is going to come together and be the critical element that will be beneficial for the mining business or the exploration business in the future here in America or wherever it happens to be in the world. So I think that's an important thing to rebuild that exploration of research funding that has been taken away from the universities. And also, what I would do would be to try and uh streamline the permitting and uh uh and approval on the federal level of these mining projects. Basically, my adage has always been you build it, they will come. If there's jobs, the mining industry will add people. It's only an aspect right now. There isn't a lot of mining jobs here in the U.S. And so uh, you know, I spent some time helping the guys at School of Mines over here in Colorado for a bit. It's amazing. 65% of our grads at Mines go to work in the aerospace business because that's where the jobs are. So we need more mining projects here in the U.S. We need to get them permitted, we need to get them built, we need to get them financed. And I think this administration's done a good job of providing seed financing for many of these critical element type mining projects, and that's an important aspect that I think we can continue on and hopefully expand. Uh, and then another thing I would do would be to try and stimulate the exploration business in a way like the Canadians have done with the flow-through financing, tax-benefited sort of investment uh motivators for our investors in the sector so that more American money can come in for American projects. And uh we get the same sort of uh you know, juice up that the Canadians do with their flow-through financing on projects. Uh, I think if the U.S. implemented something very similar to flow-through here, it would provide huge amounts of investment and really spur uh a lot of exploration in the future. So uh I think those three things are really important. You know, more research, get more mines permitted, support them uh financially as they go forward, and then provide a tax-benefited uh situation so we can actually stimulate our exploration program much in the way the Canadians do. And uh and I think we'll we would see a huge renaissance of exploration here in the US by doing that.

SPEAKER_02 39:18

That would seem to be a very, very good idea. Unfortunately, that's all we have time for. It's been uh a wonderful discussion with you. Uh Jeff Pontius, thank you very much for joining me today. Great, Paul, always good talking to you anytime. Excellent. And of course, to our viewers, if you like what you see, don't forget to hit that subscribe button. I'm Paul Harris, digging deep for Kitco Mining.

SPEAKER_00 39:42

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