The video is a boots-on-the-ground site visit at Awalé Resources’ Odienné project in Côte d’Ivoire, and it’s a deliberate attempt to get past the content that dominates a lot of mining travel footage, which is often focused on the beautiful shots, emotions, and music. Yes, we have those, too. And yes, West Africa is beautiful, the food and the weather are great, and the music will make anyone move. And yes, everyone will tell you they’re the next big thing. But I went there to see how exploration actually gets done, end-to-end. I wanted to see how the sausage is made.

Mako Mining is a gold-focused producer/developer in the Americas with producing operations at San Albino (Nicaragua) and a recently acquired/ramping asset at Moss (Arizona, USA), plus permitted development projects at Mount Hamilton (Nevada, USA) and Eagle Mountain (Guyana). The interview mainly focused on how management built the company since 2019, how the recent acquisitions were structured and financed (including related-party structures), current liquidity and spending plans, and the near-term execution and jurisdictional risks.

Viva Gold is a junior gold exploration and development company advancing the Tonopah Project in Nevada, USA, focused on open-pit, heap leach potential at the PEA stage. The company’s current resource is stated at about 600,000 oz of gold, and this interview largely centered on why the stock has lagged the gold move, the CEO’s strategy to prioritize feasibility and permitting over endless drilling, and the critical role of water and permitting in Nevada.

Golconda Gold is a small gold producer with two assets: the Galaxy underground gold mine in South Africa (Mapumalanga), which is currently ramping up, and the Summit mine in New Mexico, USA, which is planned for restart in 2026. This interview covered CEO Ravi’s track record and alignment, the logic behind the company’s asset strategy, Galaxy’s operational ramp and cost structure, the Summit restart plan, and how streams, taxes, and South African BEE ownership affect near-term and medium-term cash flow.

Borealis Mining (TSX-V: BOGO) is a Nevada-focused gold developer built around restarting the Borealis oxide heap-leach mine and advancing the Sandman gold project as a second operation. Borealis is at restart / early production stage using existing plant and permits, while Sandman is at PEA stage with an update and PFS planned. This conversation focused on Borealis’ restart plan, the Nevada “hub-and-spoke” growth model, funding and dilution, key technical and permitting risks, and more.