Dustin and I sat down to discuss Kingfisher’s 15,000 metre drill program now ongoing at the Hank-Mary district, part of the 933 square kilometre HWY 37 project, alongside regional exploration work at the separate 202 square kilometre Forrest Kerr project. The conversation centered on the start of the 2026 drill season, target prioritization, budget, and warrant supply.

TL;DR

Two rigs are now at the Hank-Mary district, with a third one coming soon. The first rig is re-entering last year’s discovery hole, HW-25-011, which had returned 425 metres at 0.40% copper equivalent before bottoming out at 959 metres in increasing grades. The second rig landed on site and was expected to start coring the following day. A third rig is scheduled to arrive July 1. CEO Dustin Perry said roughly half the 15,000 metre program will target the Hank copper-gold porphyry, about a quarter the Hank epithermal gold-silver system, and a quarter other new discovery targets, though he stressed this split is not fixed. The summer budget is about C$17 million, with C$20 million approved (from a flow-through financing) and the company holding around C$30 million cash overall, having already spent about C$2 million on the program. Assay turnaround is expected to take roughly two months from when samples leave site. Separately, around C$5.7 million in warrants priced at C$0.40 could become free-trading around early July.

What have they done for shareholders lately?

Since the last interview, Kingfisher released additional data supporting its view of a large mineralized district at Hank-Mary and started the 2026 drill program. The first drill re-entered HW-25-011, the hole from last year that intercepted 425 metres of 0.40% copper equivalent and ended in increasing grade at 959 metres without reaching the bottom of mineralization. As of the day before the interview, that hole had been re-drilled down to about 950 metres, with the original total depth at 959 metres. The second drill was set to begin coring on a separate pad targeting a step-out from the same zone, roughly 350 metres away. The company has also built and permitted a second, larger camp (a 50 man camp currently in place) to support a potentially bigger 2026 program if results justify it. A regional permit amendment allowing use of historic 1980s roads with track-mounted, heli-portable drill rigs is pending review by the Tahltan Nation.

How much money do they have and what are they spending it on?

The 2026 summer program budget is approximately C$17 million, including built-in contingencies plus an additional 15% buffer. The company has C$20 million approved in its budget, representing flow-through financing proceeds (C$5 million non-critical, C$15 million critical-minerals flow-through), and Perry said the company currently holds about C$30 million in cash, having already spent roughly C$2 million on the program so far. He estimated the company would finish the year with about C$10.5 million in hard (non-flow-through) cash if the full C$20 million of flow-through is spent, not counting any proceeds from warrant exercises. Spending priorities include the drill program (roughly half on the Hank porphyry, a quarter on the epithermal gold-silver system, a quarter on other targets), a new camp build, and a regional program at Forrest Kerr including airborne magnetotelluric and magnetic surveys (roughly C$200,000), LiDAR (roughly C$75,000), induced polarization surveys (roughly C$50,000), and geological mapping (roughly C$100,000), for a total Forrest Kerr regional budget Perry estimated at approaching half a million dollars. Separately, about C$5.7 million in warrants priced at C$0.40 may become free-trading around early July. Perry said the financing tied to this batch (done with BMO) carries no associated warrants, and that he is aware of interested buyers who could absorb any resulting sell pressure.

Upcoming catalysts

Technical: assay results from the re-entered hole HW-25-011 and subsequent porphyry and epithermal step-out holes, expected roughly two months after samples leave site, with potential for faster turnaround early in the season. A large induced polarization survey (Dustin described it as potentially the largest such program in BC this year) and airborne magnetotelluric/magnetic surveys at Forrest Kerr, both scheduled to start around mid-July. A geological mapping and biology/archaeology field crew of about 88 people arriving July 15; reconnaissance prospecting and stream sediment sampling at Mess Creek and the RDN target. Operational: the third drill rig arriving on site around July 1; ongoing drill pad clearing at additional Hank-Mary targets through the season, with archaeologist and biologist site visits scheduled for early July and later in the season. Corporate: the pending permit amendment for the Tahltan-reviewed road-access drill program; potential warrants (C$5.7 million at C$0.40) becoming free-trading around early July; ongoing discussions with major mining companies, which Perry said are more focused on the land package and exploration team than on this year’s specific drill results.

Risks in the next months

Drilling and assay timelines depend on factors outside the company’s control, including weather, snowpack, mechanical breakdowns (one rig lost half a day to a filter replacement during the interview window), and lab turnaround, which Perry said typically runs longer than people expect. Drill holes can deviate substantially from their planned paths, and deep re-entry into existing holes carries risk of losing the drill string, which the company said it has cash reserves to absorb if it happens. Permitting work is ongoing and incomplete in several areas as archaeological and biological clearance had not been finished for all planned pads at the time of the interview, and Forrest Kerr and Mess Creek are not currently permitted for drilling, only for non-invasive work such as IP surveys. Target prioritization, including the split of metres between the porphyry, epithermal, and other zones, is described by management as fluid and dependent on results as the season progresses. There is also potential near-term share supply from warrants becoming free-trading around early July, and Perry acknowledged this is a high-risk exploration program with no guarantee that grades or widths will match historical or hoped-for results.

Kingfisher Metals CEO Interview

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