Hello and welcome to the KE Report.I'm your host, Chad Markowitz, and we're getting an update today on Ridgeline Minerals, traded on the TSX-V under the ticker RDG and on the OTCQB under the ticker RDGMF.
And we're joined today with the President and CEO of Ridgeline Minerals, Chad Peters, Chad, always great getting you on the show to get an update on Ridgeline.
It's been a couple months since we chatted, I think it was back in August at the end of the month, and you put out some key news on November the 7th that really got people's attention, and this is that in your drill program at the SWIFT project with operator Nevada Gold Mines, which is basically Barrick in this case,
One of the drill holes got down into that Karlin type of gold mineralization, and what you've seen in previous drilling on this project is wide intercepts of lower grade material.This hit more narrow intercepts, but higher grade material.
One of the holes, 10.4 grams per ton gold over 1.1 meters, within a larger 2.7 meters, grading 7 grams per ton gold.
So, this is about 676 meters down hole, so it is deeper, but these are those high grades that you've been looking for in this project to kind of validate the thesis that not only are there those wide intercepts of mineralization, but now you've got the high grades.
So, give us some of the key takeaways from this hole.
Yeah, thanks.You summarized it really well there.I should probably have you be doing my intros and other stuff as well.
The really significant piece you really hit on there was NGM had already spent about $7.5 million at SWIFT over the last three years looking for a deep Carlin-type discovery.
The analogs to that would be the Gold Rush discovery in the same district owned by Nevada Gold Mines.The Four Mile discovery, which is on trend to Gold Rush that is 100% owned currently by Barrick.
but will end up getting moved into the Nevada Gold Mines portfolio soon.All of these projects are 500m to, in the case of 4 Mile, that project goes all the way down to about 1300m vertical depth.
You need to find high grades to support the economics on a project like that.At SWIFT, we'd hit, like you said, big, wide intercepts up to 45-50m.
of 0.2 to 0.5 grams per tonne over kilometres of a footprint, showing a very large gold system was President Swift.What today's results show us is, without a doubt, Swift can produce high-grade and potentially
or grade economic intercepts at depth, which is the critical piece that was missing on this project.So is 1.1m of 10.4g per ton going to build a mine?No, probably not.
We need to see 5, 10, 15m intercepts to really start getting everyone's motor running.But for the first time, we now know, okay, this system can produce high-grade gold.
That's a very material development for SWIFT and for us and for Nevada Gold Mines as well.
Well, it's a proof of concept.And as they say, the proof's in the pudding now.So now I think the follow-up drilling will be pretty interesting for everybody to follow along with.What is the temperament or the takeaway from Nevada Goldmines?
What do they think of this?
Well, they were honestly just as excited as we were.We talked to them on a weekly basis or even more when they're drilling, and they actually called us and said, hey, I think we're onto something.
This has the look of a visual intercept that looks like it's going to carry grade.They had their XRF unit that shows you arsenic, anemone, all the trace element indicators.
Those were through the roof, which is usually an indication of you're into the higher-grade Carlin system.They were excited.It was very much a critical time to drill that hole.The project was getting three years long.
A lot of money had been going in the ground and we just hadn't had that big intercept yet. of high grade, so it was a material change for NGM's thoughts on the project.
They actually ended up pushing these results into their Q3 MD&A and results presentation, which was also announced on November 7th.They actually have SWIFT now as a big star on their Cortez trend map.
And they actually reference it in the actual report as well as the first instance of a high-grade intercept.
So it's material enough for NGM to be noting it and giving it some airtime on their reports presentation, which to me is very material as well.
Yeah, absolutely.Nice to see SWIFT daylighted on their presentation.And then I believe that they're also drilling Hole No.This was Hole No.6 we're talking about, but I think Hole No.7 is currently being drilled.
Maybe talk about that hole, because I think it's stepping out quite a large distance.But then also, what does the future look like?What is the commitment for them to keep spending?
What does the agreement with Nevada Gold Mines look like, you know, moving into next year?
Yeah, so it's important to point out that we're still very much in NGM's, call it the framework stage of exploration.And the reason they call it framework is they drill these wide space holes.
Each one of the holes we design has a specific question it's trying to answer, right?Whether it be whole structure, mineralization, fluid flow, we're trying to identify the big key controls for the mineralizing system.
Once you have that figured out, then you can vector in on closer space drilling.That's when you start getting into the higher grades.Hole 6 was the first hole we drilled.
that instead of being an 800m or 1000m step out, it was only a 400m step out from a known drill hole and it hit.Their vectoring is working well.
Hole 7 is actually a kilometre step out from hole 6, but it's actually testing a very similar geologic concept.It's actually only stepping out marginally from Hole 3, which is roughly 50m of 0.45g per tonne in the exact same host rock.
We're taking that same approach, wide-space drilling, but targeted at the same time.The hope is that Hole 6, for example, was actually part of the host rock unit that was faulted off by the major Mill Creek thrust, which is the major ore control.
it was faulted off.So as we step to the west over a kilometre away, all of those prospective post rocks, we know they're already in play because Hole 3 intersected them, right?And they were variably mineralised throughout the whole section.
Now we're using what we know from Hole 3, and Hole 7 is doing its best to target higher-grade intersections right along a known structure that cuts through that zone.I'm really excited about it.
NGM definitely takes the slow and steady approach, but honestly, that's how discoveries are made when you're drilling deep holes.
For a junior like us, every hole you drill has to be going after a high-grade intercept because it might be your last hole.You might not be able to raise money on the project again if you miss.
NGM doesn't have that problem, which has allowed them to do the work the right way. Now, albeit a slow process, it's now starting to actually deliver meaningful results.I think we're going to see expiration accelerate in 2025 through NGM.
I think we're also going to see our hit rate increase as well as we learn more and more about the project.I think 2025 is going to be a massive year for Ridgeline as partners in this project.
Yeah, Chad, I think that's the significance of this whole six for sure is that it kind of raised some eyebrows and said, okay, let's keep pressing our bets with the swift project.
But what you just outlined as far as the expense of these deeper holes and having a partner with the senior miners on the planet and the gold space really speaks to the power of the prospect generator business model.
But in your case, we were talking about this off.Mike Ridgeline is really a hybrid company.There are projects that you're going to drill on your own, like big blue next year.
But then you also have a couple projects that have big partners in there helping with the spend, and you're getting exposure to multiple projects and multiple drill programs, maybe to speak to the power of that business model rather than just trying to go it alone.
No, I think you're totally right.We've kind of evolved into this model through the overextended bear market that we've kind of had to battle through over the last three, four years.
And what I really love is if I was funding our own exploration, you're going to see one, maybe two drill programs a year, and they're not going to be big enough.
And you know, kind of thing like it's just, it's too hard to rave capital right now to drill early stage exploration holes.
Next year, you're going to see, hopefully over 10,000, I could see easily 10,000 meters being drilled across three projects, maybe even more, right?I'm trying to be conservative across three different projects.
two different major companies being NGM and South32, who has a deal on our Celina project.Everything from Silverlead, Zinc, CRD at Celina to high-grade Carlin type gold at Swift and Blackridge.
I think it's a great way to leverage our exploration dollars into the ground and be part of major discoveries.If a discovery is made at any one of these projects, I think Swift is already well on its way to being one of those.
If a discovery is made, there's not really a big question about how it's going to get funded, how it's going to get developed.That's the first thing people start asking of a junior when a discovery is made.How are you going to develop this?
We already have a buyer for our portion of the projects already lined up.There's no concern about funding those assets if it's moving towards development. I like the model.I think it's worked really well.
Our big blue project is 100% owned, royalty-free, and it's an incredible early-stage porphyry copper project where we're essentially drilling under a historic copper mine that was mined in the early 1900s at an average grade of 6% and hasn't been looked at for 100 years.
So there's great potential to have a bona fide porphyry copper discovery that would be 100% owned by Ridgeline, which is that kind of blue sky I'm trying to always offer our shareholders.
But then on top of that, we have all of these highly de-risked opportunities with the majors that if any one of those hits, it's also a game changer for us.So yeah, I think it's a great model.
And I'm thinking 2025, it's finally going to start really coming together and hitting on multiple projects.
Well, and we've talked a lot in this one about SWIFT and why we're excited for the future, especially now that there's more of the thesis pulling together what some of these follow up polls may look like next year.
You just mentioned the upside, the blue sky upside that the company has with the 100 percent own Big Blue project.Maybe just give us a little teaser for next year of what's coming for Celina and Blackridge.
Yeah, for sure.So we're doing an MT survey right now with SO32 at our Celina project.And what that's going to do is that is effectively imaging and chasing high-grade sulfide, semi-massive sulfide zones at depth at a chinchilla sulfide project.
So they use, or Target, they use that really effectively to chase the deeper sulfide horizons at the peak discovery that SO32 made at the Taylor deposit, which is a massive CRD. they're applying that same approach.
We're running the exploration, we get a 10% management fee, but we have that guidance from South 32, which is incredible.The goal is to be drilling a maiden drill program in the summer of 2025.
That'll probably be somewhere in the five to six hole range, I'd guess, just kind of testing key concepts.If we're successful, I think the exploration would accelerate a lot from there. And Blackbridge is in the same position.
Their team is doing target generation NGM right now.They did a whole bunch of fieldwork this summer, re-permitting to set up drill pads where they want to see them next year.
They have a $1.5M guaranteed expenditure of which they've only spent about $400,000 so far that they have to satisfy by the end of next year.So I fully expect at least 1 or 2 drill holes to be going down at the Blackbridge project as well.
You're going to see multiple drill holes across all 3 partner projects. I can't speak to SWIFT as to what that budget may be.
It's still in the budget process, but I can't help but think it's going to be probably our biggest expiration budget to date, given the results that we just had in six, so.
Yeah, it's a forward-looking statement that I'm making on my part, but I have a feeling, Chad, it's going to be bigger than last year's budget based on this new symbol.
That would be, yeah, I'd be, I'll disclaimer that as well, but I would have to think that it would be, they're going to put more money in the ground this year than the last few years for sure.
Hey, you made it in their presentation now and that's saying something.So I think that's showing the world that there's more focus put on that.I guess just maybe one last question as we wrap up here.
Just talk about, I think for people that maybe don't understand the significance of SWIFT, how it relates to the Cortez Hills, you know, the project that Nevada Goldmine already has and why the same mineralized system and the Carlin type of system, just how big these can be, why it's so significant.
Why is a major spending money on it in the first place?Maybe fill in the gap there for people not familiar with this area of the country or these type of deposits.
Yeah, well, you know, everyone thinks when they think of Nevada, they think of the Carlin trend, right?
And in reality, there's the Carlin trend and the Battle Mountain Eureka trend and the Cortez district, which is the jewel of the Battle Mountain trend.
That is where arguably one of the highest concentrations of gold in Nevada has been coming together over the last 10-15 years.
You have over 50 million ounces of resource and reserve across about five different mines, all owned by Nevada Gold Mines in Barrick. Each one of those deposits is, in its own right, roughly anywhere from 10-20Moz in size.
When we're talking about scale, the Swift project bookends the northern end of the Cortez district.It's only 5km away from Pipeline, which is a 23Moz mine in the exact same host rocks that we just drilled this intercept in.
It is a complete game-changer for the project. And the upside here at this project is they are looking for tier one assets.
And it's not unrealistic to say that if successful, we're targeting a 10 plus million ounce gold deposit of which Ridgeline retain a 25% fully carried interest all the way to commercial production.
I can't think of a better opportunity for shareholders than to have that materializing already and hopefully starts really getting fleshed out in 2025.
All right.Well, we'll wrap it up there, Chad, but great update here on SWIFT and also all the other projects, all the work going on behind the scenes and building into next year's program.
So we'll definitely keep following along with Ridgeline Minerals.And for those of you listening, if you want to follow along with the news as it hits the wires, definitely click on the link below this interview.
It takes you right over to the Ridgeline Minerals website, straight to their news section, so you too can follow along.And Chad, keep us posted.We'll get you back on for an update.And as always, looking forward to our next conversation.
Yeah, thanks for having me.
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