Mawson Resources (TSX: MAW) CEO Michael Hudson’s Latest Assays from Rajapalot Project Successfully Demonstrate Dual-Pronged Approach of Extending Known Zones & Defining New Targets

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is Chairman and CEO of Mawson Resources (TSX: MAW)(OTC: MWSNF), Mr. Michael Hudson. Mike, how are you this evening my time?

Michael Hudson: I'm great, because it's the start of the day here in Australia, as the time differences get bigger, as daylight savings comes upon us.

Gerardo Del Real: Absolutely, absolutely. Listen, you reported nine new drill holes from your Rajapalot project in Northern Finland. You're looking for gold, the simplest version of this is that eight out of the nine holes intersected gold across multiple prospect areas, five prospects in total. Can you please summarize today's results and why you feel they're consistent with the approach that you've taken for this winter's drill program?

Michael Hudson: It's a good way to ask the question, Gerardo, in terms of we set out to have a two-pronged approach for this program. One was to drill out known areas with more consistency, and find continuity of grade, and thickness. And number two was to, with the other 50% of the program, define new areas and new target zones.

We've come in in spades I think, in both, in terms of success. Number one, we've extended known zones, especially that Raja zone, where we put out the nearly 32 meters at 8.4 grams number a month ago. We've been able to extend that system. We took a 120 meter step out, down-plunge, and intersected 5 meters at 12 grams, over a much broader intersection within that drill hole 118.

We're extending that zone. We've also released some results across strike, so that's great. That zone now is 500 meters long down-plunge. Geophysically, we've now found an association, we collected geophysics many years ago, but we didn't know there was exactly gold there until the last few months, and that correlates perfectly with some VTEM geophysics. We see that extending at least down-plunge to 900 meters with the geophysical response. So that's great, and that's probably the limitation of what depth the geophysics can see. So it doesn't mean the mineralization necessarily stops there. So, we've drilled it from surface to 500 meters down, and it looks like it continues.

And number two, that second-pronged approach, we've found gold in four other areas excluding Raja. And we're finding near surface gold, good intersections. Two zones that we'd never drilled before we targeted with geophysical responses and geochemistry that we collected over the last year, and we found gold in those areas, too. That's over a 2x3 kilometer area, so there's gold dripping out of this prospect, and our challenge is to pull it together which we're starting to, also.

Gerardo Del Real: You mentioned the other prospects being near surface, and I'd like to read off some of these numbers, because you had an intercept at one of the prospects of 7.4 meters of 2.4 grams per tonne gold, from 15.6 meters. Another intercept was 4.7 meters of 2.5 grams per tonne gold, from 37.6 meters. And a third was 4.7 meters of 2.1 grams per tonne gold, from 65.7 meters. You have a lot of assays still pending, and you're also still drilling. Can we get an update there?

Michael Hudson: We're still drilling with three diamond drill rigs, going 24/7, and one base-of-till rig also operating 24/7. We've drilled something like 13,000 meters today, a little bit more. 59 drill holes so far. 14 of those drill holes have been released, about a quarter of them, so we've still got about 75% to come.

We were moved out of the key area where we were drilling earlier on, where we put 10 kilometers in a few weeks ago, a bit earlier than we'd hoped through some complex Finnish permitting, should I say. But we're working to be back in that area at the start of winter this year. We're drilling around the area as we speak with those three drill rigs.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. Two areas where you're still active, you are still creating targets along strike to the east of the Raja project, and to the northeast of Palokas. Something that stood out and struck me from the news release was that you have interpreted the new drill core, and you've recognized an early folding event that caused regional inversion. Can you explain why that's important?

Michael Hudson: It's just important because this thing is like spaghetti, in layman's terms. If we can unravel the structural history, it makes it more targetable. These are certainly thoughts that we're working with. It also means there's much more of the target horizon to test if it's doubled over, if you like. It's sorting it out and gives us much more target to look for.

And just going back to your earlier point there, is that the key part of this project is to try and find the extensions of this mineralized system, which we're doing today in areas that we're permitted to drill winter and summer, so we can keep all year round results occurring. That's what we're really focusing on now, is to try and find areas where we can come back in summer, which we will, so the drill rigs will stop in the next few weeks.

It's starting to get a little bit warmer up in Finland. We may have another cold spell, but we always look at mid to late April as the end of our winter drill season. And then we'll be back there in July sometime, when everything's dried out and drilling right through that summer period also.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. Let me ask you one last question. When I look at a one week chart, shares have gone from being somewhere in the $0.50 range Canadian, down to about the $0.36 range. I notice that it coincides with the financing shares becoming free trading, and you know the businesses well and if not better than I do, there's two types of investors and speculators in our space. There's the type, such as myself, I would include myself in this category, that likes to speculate and invest with a mid to long term approach. I like investing and allocating capital to companies that have clear catalysts and giving the companies that opportunity to deliver and execute on those catalysts.

The second type, and correct me if I'm wrong, of investor and speculator in our space, is the four-month-and-a-day type, right? They participate in the financing, and as soon as the shares become free trading, they sell the shares and they keep the warrant, or the half warrant. Do you suspect that may be the case here with the financing becoming free trading here this week?

Michael Hudson: I don't think there's much need to speculate. On April 9th, the four-month hold came free, and that's where we saw a decent volume and the stock heading down. That's the nature of being in these markets. It was a financing done at $0.35 in December, and unfortunately a small number of holders were in that second category, and that's the nature of the business unfortunately. We work hard to try and create value, and then it can be knocked off in the short term. But the key point for us as business builders here, Gerardo, is that we've got a lot of gold, we're executing on those catalysts that we said we would, and we'll continue to do that, and we're building an asset of significant value here. That's really all we can do to control the value creation in the company.

Gerardo Del Real: Well, with another 45 drill holes pending in the lab and assays pending, I've got to believe it's going to be an interesting couple of months. There's always a need for people to buy at higher prices. It is what it is, right?

Michael Hudson: Exactly.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. Mike, when we can expect the next set of assays?

Michael Hudson: Well, we like to batch them in the numbers that we've had. It's sort of a three-week to four-week turnaround is generally how we like to do it. One week's too quick, two weeks is probably not enough holes, and so three weeks would be ideal. Just depending on how we can batch those holes into meaningful releases.

Gerardo Del Real: Well, if you have continued success with the drill bit, it'll be a great way to start May.

Michael Hudson: Exactly.

Gerardo Del Real: Excellent. Mike, thank you so much for your time. I look forward to having you back on.

Michael Hudson: Always a pleasure. Thanks, Gerardo.