Categories: Precious Metals
Topics: Gold Stocks

Valkea Resources (TSX-V: OZ)(OTC: OZBKF) CEO Chris Donaldson on Aggressive Exploration Across Its Northern Finland Project Portfolio

 

Gerardo Del Real: This is Gerardo Del Real with Resource Stock Digest. Joining me today is the executive chair and CEO of the all of a sudden very popular Valkea Resources (TSX-V: OZ)(OTC: OZBKF), Mr. Chris Donaldson. Chris, we talked a bit off-air. What a difference a couple of months make, but you got to look at the forest and not just the trees. And we'll talk about that. But first and foremost, how are you sir?

Chris Donaldson: I'm doing great actually. Certainly a different market, as you said than it was a year ago and even a few months ago. And it's nice to see a little bit of traction starting to happen in the share price as well.

Gerardo Del Real: Well listen, I think there's traction across the junior space. Gold, clearly when you look at the macro situation and you have indications that fed chair Jerome Powell is going to step down and or get fired, it's no coincidence that gold is rushing back towards 3,400. Silver clearly has broken out. Finland, specifically Northern Finland, all of a sudden, and I say that sarcastically, but all of a sudden is getting attention as a top-notch jurisdiction, which it has been for years, and you're dead smacked in the middle of it. Look, you had a financing here a couple of months ago. You worked your behind off to make that happen. You got a phenomenal shareholder registry involved there, and now you get to deploy that capital with some aggressive exploration. Can we talk about 2025 and what comes next? And before we talk about that, can you give us an overview of the company because I know you have a lot of new eyes with the sector getting some attention finally?

Chris Donaldson: Yeah, absolutely. Let's start by just talking about Finland and specifically Northern Finland, the central Lapland. We're in an area that is pretty unique and in that there's a concentration of majors operating in the area and actually very few juniors. The whole area is anchored by Europe's largest gold producing mine, which is the Kittila mine, which is owned by Agnico Eagle. Kinross has some exploration properties up there. B2Gold has a JV with Orion and operating in the area. And then one of the best success stories anywhere in the world, gold exploration stories over say the last five, six years is a company called Rupert Resources, which started out at our size and were able to put together almost a four million ounce resource within three and four years. Rupert just had an investment come in from Agnico who appear to have doubled down in the area and looked like they want to continue and have an area play as well. Our properties, we have five properties that we own 100%. The main one is one called Paana, P-A-A-N-A, and it has a discovery.

We made a new one earlier this year on it, high-grade discovery on it. And now we're just following up on the results to try to understand how big it could be. Is it the next Kittila? Is it the next Ikkari? That's our main focus is that exploration play. And we've just announced a drill program, an exploration program that we plan on starting in August and going to be pretty aggressive going after some known targets that we have and also prepping some new targets. We have a dominant land package in the area and really pretty excited on that. And then on the background, we also have two additional projects that Rupert is actually earning into, and those are active as well. They can earn in up to 70%. Exciting times. Certainly the market is picking up and Finland itself, it's becoming globally significant as a gold jurisdiction. And the analogy is it's a greenstone belt which are known to house many multi-million ounce deposits, but it's only been explored for the last 35, 40 years, so the analogy is this is very similar to the Abitibi 100 years ago.

Gerardo Del Real: And look, you're being modest. You mentioned following up some successful previous drilling at Paana. Those numbers were 55.48 meters of 1.63 grams per tonne gold including 8.50 meters of 8.57 grams per tonne gold. And it's important to note that the deposits in the region are both very prospective for high grade mineralization but also bulk tonnage. Can you speak to that please?

Chris Donaldson: Kittila started open pit and then went underground. They've identified nine million ounces and mined some of that at four grams. And then Rupert's Ikkari project is four million ounces at about two grams on there as well. And they're proposing an open pit and then going underground. If you see some of our previous hits, you get long sections of what we'll call lower grade like 55 meters at a gram or 65 meters at a gram and a half, and then they're all punctuated with some high grade intercepts on it, four meters at 18 grams. And so there's real potential there, so if you can get the size and the master, you get a high chance of being able to get something economic out it.

Gerardo Del Real: No, that's exciting. Look, your cashed up, you had a financing here recently. I mentioned the shareholder registry being pretty impressive. That money came from very, very strong hands. And so with this exploration, when can we anticipate to see the drill bit turning? Because again, there clearly is momentum in the space right now.

Chris Donaldson: This financing, Michael Gentile, some of your visitors may know he had came in and took a cornerstone investment of 9.9%. We also had three other groups who did the same, so it was a tight financing with various supportive shareholders. And Michael Gentile has a following and has been very successful in his investments as well. And that's allowed us to get on this program. We hope to start it in mid-August. And so we'll start getting results you'd imagine end of September, October.

Gerardo Del Real: Well listen, that comes quick. I'm looking forward to having you back on here as soon as that program kicks off, it should be a fun second half of the year. Anything to add to that, Chris?

Chris Donaldson: No, normally it's a little quiet in the summer here, but we're in full swing, so it's great. And it looks like we have a market and it's not just our company, it's finally what we've been talking about is coming for many years now. It looks like money is flowing into the sector and it's good to see that share prices are responding. And if people just want to follow us we're at valkea.ca. And we've got a Twitter and LinkedIn and so on and post quite often shots from site and the like, so thanks Gerardo, appreciate your time.

Gerardo Del Real: No, look, everybody looks smart again. Let's see how long that lasts. Have a good one, Chris. We'll chat soon.

Chris Donaldson: Okay, take care. Bye-bye.

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