⚠️ SPONSORED CONTENT ⚠️

Canterra Mineral is focused on the Lundberg deposit at their 100%-owned Buchans project in central Newfoundland. Lundberg is a stockwork sulphide deposit tied to the VMS system that fed the old Buchans mine. That makes it different from the higher-grade massive sulphide lenses that were mined there for 50 years. In this interview, I asked the CEO about the recent resource upgrade, their plans for the future, and what else they have going on.

TL;DR

Lundberg’s indicated tonnage grew 55% to just over 26 Mt at 0.87% CuEq (0.36% copper). The grade fell from about 1.0% CuEq. Contained copper equivalent rose about 34%. There is also roughly 1 Mt inferred at 1.54% CuEq. The CEO says drilling caused most of the growth, mainly at depth and at the Two Level zone, which pulled the pit northwest. The higher copper price assumption also helped. The strategy is hub-and-spoke with Lundberg as the bulk-tonnage base, and (hopefully) higher-grade satellite deposits feeding a central mill. The goal is to attract a mid-tier miner to help them build it. Cash will be about C$1.3 hard dollars at year end, so another raise is likely before any substantial winter program.

What have they done for shareholders lately?

Since June, they finished the resource drilling and released the update. I asked whether the resource actually grew or whether higher metal prices just pushed more material into the pit. He said it really grew. Almost 4,900 m of drilling over two years extended mineralization at depth and in the northwest corner. Delineating Two Level allowed the pit to expand in that direction. He did acknowledge that prices helped too. The grade drop is partly a math effect: Lundberg is zinc-rich, so a higher copper price lowers the copper-equivalent grade.

The resource uses a US$20.40/t NSR cutoff: US$18/t processing plus US$2.40 G&A. He said the processing cost comes from the engineering firm’s benchmarks on similar Canadian projects and Newfoundland labour rates. The copper price of about US$4.90/lb was chosen to match peers like FireFly Metals and Abitibi Metals. The strip ratio is 3.16:1. When I asked for a comparable open pit at this grade, he named only Canadian Copper’s Caribou project in New Brunswick.

The exploration holes were mixed. Two West Clementine holes found only traces of base metals, and a third was abandoned when the bog thawed. Two holes at Horseshoe hit alteration but no mineralization, so the rest of that program was dropped. He called these “technical successes,” and I pushed back on that framing. Horseshoe is not dead, but it needs more work before they drill it again.

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

Chris said they have roughly C$2M today. All flow-through from last December’s raise of close to C$6M will be spent by December 31. That leaves about C$1.3 to 1.4M in hard dollars, enough to get “well into” Q1 2027. A substantive winter drill program would need more money. When I asked about alternatives to equity, he said there may be one option but would not discuss it. Otherwise it will be equity, with the timing depending on Lemarchant results and the share price.

Upcoming catalysts

About 6,000 m is being drilled at Lemarchant (about 3 Mt at roughly 4.4% CuEq). First assays are expected in two to three weeks, late October or early November, and results will be released in batches through Q1 2027. The order is near-resource holes first, then Lemarchant South, then the northern targets, 905 and Higher Levels. They want a path to about 5 Mt there, which is roughly the size of Teck’s Duck Pond mine.

A winter program at Buchans is likely, subject to financing. Wilding gold results (base-of-till and a detailed magnetic survey) are expected around year end, but there will be no drilling there this year. A target summary for Boomerang, Long Lake and Tulks will also come, with no drilling planned this year.

In 2027 they plan systematic drilling along the margins of the 2.5 km Buchans mine trend. That area saw little exploration outside the old underground footprint. The aim is a 3 to 5 Mt high-grade lens. Mine-trend ore historically averaged about 8 to 9% CuEq.

Risks

Chris named capital allocation as his main concern. They have too many targets for the money available. Dilution is the practical result, given the year-end cash position. On scale, they are at about 32 Mt indicated across the district, or 36 Mt including inferred. He said Teck told him to come back at 50 Mt, while mid-tier miners may engage closer to 40 Mt. Metallurgy relies on 2017 government work, and any PEA would probably need more drilling, including new metallurgical holes if the samples in cold storage are not usable. A growing pit could eventually run into the old tailings ponds, and at least one house would need to be bought. The only investor pushback he said he received was the lower grade.

Canterra Minerals CEO Interview

VERY IMPORTANT WARNING

Please note that this company has paid Resource Talks for the creation of this content. This website is a business that charges for the creation and publication of content. This means there will always be a potential conflict of interest which means you can never rely on anything said herein.

By consuming this content, you acknowledge that Resource Talks and/or its affiliates and/or their personnel may own, have owned, or will own interests in and/or may have a business relationship with some or all companies/entities mentioned/featured in this publication. You further acknowledge that entities which may be referenced or featured in this publication or their related parties may hold an interest in Resource Talks or its affiliates, which may create further conflict of interest.

The information provided herein is general & impersonal in nature and meant for entertainment purposes only. The reader acknowledges and agrees that the information does not constitute a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell any security or instrument or to participate in any trading strategy. The author is not a licensed investment advisor. He is just another talking head on the internet. He might own shares of companies mentioned in this publication. Always assume he doesn’t know much more than a potato does. The mining & exploration space is among the riskiest sectors to invest in. The risk of anything mentioned in this publication is 100% loss of capital. If you don’t read the official documents provided by the company on http://www.SedarPlus.ca, you will lose all of your money.