This interview brings together four CEOs at different points on the Lassonde curve. Chris from Valkea Resources (Finland), John from Mithril Silver & Gold (Mexico), Hugh from Revival Gold (United States), and Scott from Snowline Gold (Yukon). They address the real bottlenecks facing juniors and emerging developers today. The cost and cadence of capital and how to avoid destructive dilution, the discipline of doing geology in the right order rather than drilling for headlines, the talent gap that constrains developers, the operational reality of compressing timelines through early environmental baseline work, permitting readiness, and community agreements, and the sector-wide drags of permitting ambiguity, reputation, and chronic underinvestment in greenfields. Each executive details the practices they’re using to mitigate those risks and the milestones they must clear to move from discovery to construction without sacrificing technical integrity. This was a charity episode. All proceeds go directly to the Yukon Mining Professionals Scholarship Fund.

TLDR

1. Capital
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   Early-stage explorers are not starved of capital, but the cost of that capital is often the choke point. The practical constraint is avoiding destructive dilution while still drilling enough to prove scale. The discipline is serial, program-sized raises, lined up months in advance, into a tight register anchored by long-horizon holders who understand the path from first hits to a system. That is the core of Valkea’s approach and the template for any CLGB-style gold hunt.
2. Geology
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   Doing the geology in the right order beats drilling for headlines. Mithril’s cadence is deliberate. They conduct weekly technical reviews, and have willingness to reinterpret the model mid-program, and district-scale datasets to vector toward the “plumbing” beneath near-surface high grade. Resource growth at a mineable core proceeds in parallel with testing new targets, supported by airborne mag and an additional rig, so the district story isn’t sacrificed to near-term optics.
3. Talent
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   For developers, talent is the limiting reagent. Revival’s biggest bottleneck is recruiting and retaining a bench that can take projects from studies to construction, which is why they invest time in industry associations and mentoring. Layered on top is the “developer discount” versus producers. Closing that gap requires credible people, credible schedules and mine plans resilient to volatile inputs like price decks, taxes and tariffs.
4. Schedules
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   Schedule is the main value lever once a large discovery is in hand. Snowline is compressing time-to-decision by running environmental baseline, engineering work and First Nations agreements in parallel with exploration, not after it. The thesis is not complicated. Each year shaved from the critical path moves cash flows closer, so even “boring” de-risking years create tangible value if they shorten the route to a construction decision without sacrificing quality.
5. Permitting
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   Across the sector, the same three drags recur: permitting ambiguity, reputational baggage and chronic under-investment in greenfields. The antidotes are equally consistent. Start ESG and community engagement early and for real, not as a box-tick. Keep a high-quality share register and strong technical governance. Prioritize jurisdictions with policy stability and infrastructure. Most of all, demand a concrete plan to close the valuation gap with producers by sequencing studies, permits and financing to a date-certain decision.

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