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This was an interview with Tom Ullrich, CEO of Aston Bay. We talked about why the market is not rewarding the story yet, and why their flagship asset, Storm might be the solution to the underperformance. Storm is a copper project in Canada’s high Arctic, and the other main asset is Epworth, a copper-silver exploration project just north of Yellowknife. The discussion centered on getting a 43-101 compliant PFS out for Storm, lining up near-term exploration upside at Storm (including a Chevron geochem anomaly and deeper MT targets), and funding and drilling plans for Epworth in 2026.
TL;DR
CEO Ullrich says the key near-term rerating event is a 43-101 PFS targeted for April 15, because he thinks the market is waiting for hard economics (NPV/IRR/capex/timelines) instead of just a resource. He told me that skipping a North American 43-101 PEA was a capital-allocation call, rather than a technical signal. On Storm’s funding/de-risking, he said Ocean Partners has an offtake arrangement that could cover 80% of future mine development costs, and Taurus holds a gross overriding royalty bought for US$12.5M with a final US$4M tranche still expected. For 2026 exploration, the focus is on the partner-led drilling at Storm (including MT targets and possibly a first hole at Chevron if geophysics lines up), and an initial, modest Epworth drill program late summer/fall if he can raise roughly 3 to 4 million dollars.
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- What have they done for shareholders lately?
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On Storm, Tom told me that partner American West Metals has pushed the project to the PFS stage while Aston Bay is free-carried to bankable feasibility, with last season’s work focused more on resource confidence/upgrades than headline step-outs, plus new target generation including a mobile MT survey over the main Storm/Tornado area and “moderate depth” hits that only have one hole each so far. He also described a new copper-in-soil anomaly found by soil sampling on the eastern side of the broader claim block, with no surface mineralization seen but a soil anomaly he claims is similar in size/tenor to what sits over the existing resource area. They call it Chevron. On the corporate side, CEP Ullrich said the offtake/financing arrangement with Ocean Partners tied to future copper product was an important detail, as well as Taurus’ royalty funding (already partly paid) which he views as non-dilutive support to keep the Storm work moving (via the JV partner) while Aston Bay can use its share for G&A.
– - How much money do they have and what are they spending it on?
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Current cash is at about a half a million dollars, but the receipt of the remaining US$4M Taurus tranche (not guaranteed) would translate to roughly another C$1M to Aston Bay, aimed mainly at keeping the corporate lights on rather than funding Storm (since the JV partner is paying for Storm work). For Epworth fieldwork and drilling, he said he would likely use a flow-through financing because it’s a lower cost of capital, and suggested a raise in the order of 3 to 4 million dollars to fund a “very good season” and ensure they actually get to drilling. On corp burn rate, he said they’re a lean setup (him as the only full-time employee, part-time IR and CFO, modest office/legal/filing costs) and said he plans to rein in IR spend versus last year because it’s been only “moderately effective.”
– - Upcoming catalysts
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Technically, Storm PFS is targeted for April 15, with updated mineable resource inputs baked into the study. Storm 2026 field season will be about testing mobile MT targets and potentially running geophysics over the Chevron anomaly to see if it supports a drill target. At Epworth, ground EM is planned in late winter/spring (snowmobile-supported), followed by remote sensing right after snowmelt and summer helicopter-supported mapping/sampling, plus possible MT data reprocessing with a late winter/early spring update. Operationally, Epworth’s first drill program planned for late summer into fall he described as “somewhat modest,” on the order of a couple thousand metres, targeting both the high-grade vein trend and the larger conductor targets in the south. Corporately, Tom told me that attending/presenting around a late-April mining symposium in Nunavut will be an important event, where they can meet with the territorial government. A possible flow-through financing to fund Epworth, ongoing marketing/outreach around PDAC, Swiss Mining Institute (end of March), and more Europe-focused investor work is expected as well.
– - Risks
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The near-term risk is financing risk for Epworth. If markets don’t fund it, nothing happens this year on that project, which delays first drilling. On Storm, Tom implied execution risk is mainly timeline/permitting/technical proof (PFS timing, then permitting pacing, and exploration success on MT/Chevron targets), even though he argued the ore-sorting concept reduces tailings/water issues relative to a conventional mill. On market risk, he said they can’t easily identify who’s selling due to the inherent opacity of the market, and he’s frustrated that development-stage assets can get stuck in the “valley of death” until the market sees credible economics. Finally, he acknowledged plain-old geology risk, as Chevron is just a soil anomaly until drilled, and the deeper MT targets are compelling but still untested.
Aston Bay CEO Interview With Tom Ullrich
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