Sponsored Q&A: GRG turns to gold after San Pietro copper sale

GRG Resources (TSXV: GRG; US-OTC: GARWF), formerly Golden Arrow Resources, is preparing to test gold targets in Chile after selling the copper assets at its San Pietro project to Capstone Copper (TSX: CS; ASX: CSC).

The $25-million (C$35-million) transaction closed Aug. 31. Payment was made in Capstone shares to a joint venture about 75% owned by GRG, before taxes and fees. The retained concessions form the roughly 90-sq.-km Atakama gold project, about 800 km north of Santiago.

President and CEO Nikolaos Cacos spoke with The Northern Miner about the sale, plans to test whether surface gold mineralization extends to depth and the company’s exploration portfolio in Argentina.

The Northern Miner: After more than two decades as Golden Arrow, why change the name to GRG Resources?

Nikolaos Cacos: Two decades of Golden Arrow have been really successful for us. We’ve made a number of discoveries. We’ve monetized them. We’ve moved forward.

So, it represents a rebirth of Golden Arrow and the beginning of a new era to look forward to.

TNM: How significant was the San Pietro copper sale to Capstone Copper?

NC: For GRG, it’s very significant. These kinds of deposits that are large IOCG [iron oxide-copper-gold] deposits require a lot of money to move forward and it was basically too big for a junior like Golden Arrow at that time to handle it.

So the natural buyer was Capstone Copper. We had discussions with them. We felt that it was a good fit for them. We negotiated the price.

TNM: With copper demand expected to grow, why sell rather than continue developing the assets?

NC: It was a good price for the copper. Quite frankly, it was time for us to move away from that large deposit that required tens of millions of dollars, which become challenging for a junior company like GRG Resources to raise.

TNM: You’ve identified four priority targets at Atakama. What encourages you about their discovery potential?

NC: What’s encouraging is that we’re getting very good grades on trenches that we’ve done. We’ve done a lot of trenching on this property. We’re completing geophysics. And so on surface, this looks like there’s some big strike lengths of some very good gold grades that we’ve been receiving back.

We have to test, does this [go] into depth? And if it goes at any length and depth, I think we could be onto a very significant gold discovery.

TNM: Where do drilling plans stand and what do you want to establish from the first program?

NC: The first program is to test our theory that what we’re seeing on surface extends to depth. And our drilling program is set to begin imminently right now, sometime this month.

So we’re ready to get going and I think in the next month or two, we’ll be in a position to have some drill results.

TNM: How important is the Argentina portfolio to your growth strategy?

NC: It is an important portfolio. We have a number of projects in Argentina. Many of these projects we acquired when we started the company, have been in our portfolio for over 20 years, 30 years almost. And we’ve hung onto them because they’ve had a lot of potential.

And we have been successful in joint venturing a couple of these projects, so basically using other people’s money to explore and to make discoveries and create value for our company and our shareholders. We also have a 1.5% net smelter royalty at the Mogote property, which is now called Filo Sur.

And we also have some projects like the Yanso project, which is a polymetallic gold project, which has a lot of very interesting surface results, and it’s shaping up to become a first-tier exploration target for us.

TNM: How do you assess Chile and Argentina as mining jurisdictions?

NC: Jurisdiction-wise, both Chile and Argentina are kind of our backyard. We’ve been active in Argentina for over the last three decades.

We’ve seen some governments of all colours and all stripes, but we have seen a consistency in support for mining. And the current government that’s there now in Argentina not only supports mining but also supports business investment and economic stability.

Now you go over to Chile and Chile is a very established mining jurisdiction with a long history of mining. In Chile, it’s easier, it’s quicker to get permitting, it’s quicker to find skilled personnel and to do projects, to work on our projects. So it represents another positive for us.

So, both of these jurisdictions we like for different reasons. But both of them are jurisdictions I think that hold an enormous amount of potential.

TNM: What milestones should investors watch over the next 12 months?

NC: Now we’re a company that’s fully funded, that has a very healthy treasury. We have one key project, the Atakama gold project, where drilling is about to take place any minute, any moment now. So, the drill result from that could be another significant milestone for the company with some good results.

And to back that up, we have other projects in Argentina in our pipeline that we’re very quickly rising up to a premier category.

We’re not changing just the name of the company. I think we’re going to see a new change in the overall complexion of the kind of company that we are.

Watch the full interview below:

The preceding Sponsored article is PROMOTED CONTENT sponsored by GRG Resources and produced in co-operation with The Northern Miner. Visit: https://grgresources.com for more information.