Categories: Precious Metals
Topics: Gold Stocks

Valkea Resources (TSX-V: OZ)(OTC: OZBKF) CEO Chris Donaldson and President Thomas Credland on Strengthening Board & Leadership Team with Strategic Executive and Technical Appointments

 

Gerardo Del Real: I am Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today on a transformational day, and for an overdue catch-up, Mr. Chris Donaldson and Tom Credland from Valkea Resources (TSX-V: OZ)(OTC: OZBKF).

Gentlemen, we're headed towards $5,000 gold. We have ourselves a heck of a market. Today's a big day for the Valkea team. Chris, I'd love to start out with you, because you had some news that I think is being very well-received across the board.

Chris Donaldson: Yeah, we're definitely going on a good run here today. It certainly helps when gold's hitting an all time high as well. But yeah, I founded this company and been advancing it for the last couple years. Have been talking with Thomas, well, since he was at Rupert, and managed to convince him to come over, and he's come on now as President.

It's a huge coup for us. There's nobody who has had as much success and has the experience in Finland, specifically in the Lapland, than Thomas. I think you were the number two guy from Rupert right there from the beginning when it was a smaller company than where we're at, and was able to grow that to well over a billion dollars in his time.

Then of course, Rupert, it's been one of the most significant gold discoveries over the last decade. So, good also to have somebody based in Europe, for a European project. It has some challenges just in being from Vancouver here. Couldn't be more pleased to have him join. He's not only come on, he's put a significant amount of his own money in, which is all public now as well. So, he's jumping in with both feet, and happy to get rolling.

Just before we talk with Thomas, we also added two other people. One, Dr. Charlotte Seabrook, who Thomas will talk about. She was largely responsible for the Ikkari discovery. Also added Marc Turcotte. Marc was Senior VP at MAG Silver, and he's coming on the board, and has done a deep dive when he was at MAG into Valkea, over nine months with his whole technical team. We were very close to doing a transaction with them before MAG got bought out by Pan American there.

So yeah, really happy to build out the team and strengthen it, and to get moving in this market.

Gerardo Del Real: Well, Tom, I congratulated Chris. I have to congratulate you, as well, because I've seen what you can do with a much lower gold price in a much tougher market. You're entering what is the market of all markets for the gold space. Congrats on your timing. I am excited to hear your take on what motivated you to come this way, the Valkea Resources way.

Thomas Credland: Well, yeah. Thanks for having me. I think when we took on the Finland properties at Rupert, gold was $1,200 gold. Again, I think Finland had been a bit out on a limb. I think there'd been that period where you'd had Kittilä discovered by the GTK in the '80s and '90s. And then you'd had Anglo-American discover the big Sakatti project in 2009, and then there'd been this hiatus.

And so, we'd been into Finland, and there weren't the big corporates that are there now. I think there was a lot of dogma there. There was people saying, "Well, if you find a deposit, it's going to be low grade. It's going to be refractory." The truth is, that the Central Lapland Greenstone Belt is the same as every other orogenic gold destination. There's a lot of different types of deposit, and you have to use different ways to find them.

But again, I think the similarities, when I look at Valkea and Rupert in the early days, is the sort of expiration maturity of the ground. There are no quick ways to explore in Finland. You've got 10 to 15 meters of glacial till over everything. So, you have to be super systematic, super disciplined. You can't really use prospecting quite the same way that you can in West Africa, or the Eastern Goldfields, or the Abitibi. So you have to be very systematic, very disciplined and organized.

So I just see, with Rupert, we started really with one core property. Within Valkea, there are five at various different stages of development. So, I think there's a good advanced target with Paana. But again, that looks very something maybe similar to some of the Rupert ground in 2019. So, they had some initial success, but again, it's maybe taking a step back, and looking at what we have.

Again, Ikkari was the sixth new gold occurrence that we drilled. So you have to set your ceiling high. You need to have an ambitious goal, in terms of the deposit you're trying to find. We were always targeting a $2 billion NSR-size kind of project, which is probably quite a small deposit now. But let's say two million ounces is kind of my hurdle. Ability to produce a 2,000 ounce a year mine, so, like at least a minimum of a tier two mine.

But again, in Finland, you've got infrastructure, you've got other mines. So, maybe your margins are always going to be good. So, again, I think there's ways to do things. I think Finland, again, remember, in 2016, there was one gold mine really, plus the parts of RML. But obviously you now have the Ikkari discovery as well. So, you'll have two mills in the next five to 10 years there. So, some of those smaller discoveries may find a home somewhere else.

Gerardo Del Real: You're cashed up. I've got to believe there's an urgency to deploy that capital, given the backdrop with the market that we have right now. Given your experience in Finland, and obviously you have a heck of an analog with Rupert. What comes next, guys?

Thomas Credland: Well, I think this is always the question. When are you going to drill, how many meters, all of these kind of things. I think it's worth reminding everybody, that Ikkari was discovered with single base of till reconnaissance rig, and a diamond rig, going very systematically through target.

So, there's a period where we'll need to take a step back, do the desktop work, looking at some of the very good work that's been done by S2 and Valkea up to this point. Taking a step back so we can go faster down the track. Building this proprietary geological model. But again, both the Valkea team and the Rupert guys that I'm planning to bring in have worked with smaller budgets, and are used to being very efficient with funds.

And so, again, as I say, we made at least six discoveries in Finland, with basically one drill rig, being very judicious and very disciplined. Each target gets 1,500 meters. Then you wait for results. You go somewhere else, drill that. And then you build this inventory of targets, and the ones that kick get more drilling, and the other ones you park and come back to it for another day.

That's the way to cover ground. There's such a big property position in Valkea. You need to cover ground, turn it over, move on to other things.

Gerardo Del Real: Listen, gentlemen, beautiful timing. Congrats to the both of you. Congrats to the team, and really excited for what comes next. Thank you for coming on, guys.

Thomas Credland: Cheers.

Chris Donaldson: Thanks, Gerardo. Bye.

Gerardo Del Real: All right. Cheers.

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