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.
- TLDR
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Mako is trying to build a gold producer, whose cash flow will be used for exploration and M&A, rather than a company designed for a quick takeout. Management argues the proof point is a debt-free balance sheet and ~US$70M cash after a net ~US$37M equity raise. The portfolio now spans four assets with distinct roles;
– San Albino funds ongoing work but carries geology/metallurgy complexity,
– Moss is being fixed and ramped with near-term technical updates expected,
– Mount Hamilton is a fully permitted Nevada build funded via a stream/royalty structure, and
– Eagle Mountain is the next build targeted to permit by end-2026 and start construction in early 2027.
The main watch-outs are jurisdiction risk in Nicaragua, execution capacity and sequencing across multiple projects silmultaneously, and the non-standard related-party financing structures that require investor comfort with governance and alignment, which was discussed in the interview.
– - What have they done for shareholders lately?
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The main things Akiba mentioned are bringing San Albino to first gold pour in early 2021, funding ongoing exploration and growth from operations since then, repaying all debt so the company is now debt-free, and growing cash from near-zero in 2021 to roughly US$70M today (after a recent equity raise). Over the last 18 months, Mako has added two U.S. assets and one South American development asset to diversify away from a single-country profile. Moss was acquired out of Elevation Gold’s bankruptcy via a short-term Wexford holding structure and then transferred to Mako at cost (management said net ~US$2M after residual leach cash flows), Eagle Mountain was acquired via the Goldsource transaction (announced Feb 2024), and Mount Hamilton was acquired through an affiliated Sailfish/Wexford structure designed to avoid issuing equity at the time.
– - What has changed since the last update?
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Since the period when Mako was still carrying construction/start-up debt, management says the company has repaid the full prior debt balance and now has no debt and a materially higher cash balance, with an expected year-end balance in the mid-US$70M range. The portfolio has expanded to four core assets, and the capital plan has shifted from bootstrap only to accelerating timelines after completing a marketed equity financing from outside investors plus C$15M from Wexford-related Canadian participation, netting ~US$37M after fees. The Mount Hamilton acquisition is now defined by a stream/royalty obligation to Sailfish rather than a conventional purchase, while near-term technical disclosure is expected at Moss (resource/LOM updates) and permitting progress at San Albino (underground).
– - How much money do they have and what are they spending it on?
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Akiba said the company has about US$70M cash on hand (including an imminent gold shipment) and expects to finish the year around the mid-US$70M level, after completing a recent equity financing of ~US$37M. Spending priorities described were approximately US$9M per year at San Albino (including expensed and capitalized exploration plus related land/G&A items), roughly US$20M of capital investment at Moss over the next year (leach capacity/pad space plus exploration), and then deploying the remaining balance sheet strength and operating cash flow toward building Mount Hamilton (~US$85M capex estimate) and subsequently Eagle Mountain (~US$100M capex estimate). The rationale for the equity raise was not immediate survival but to avoid sequencing delays, particularly avoiding pushing Eagle Mountain’s construction start materially later.
– - Upcoming catalysts
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A decision on San Albino underground permits is expected imminently, with management indicating an update by the Q1 operating update in the third week of January 2026, and Moss reaching commercial production/steady state by end of Q1 2026. Akiba also guided to a Moss resource update in the first half of January 2026 and an updated reserve/life-of-mine plan roughly six weeks later (early March 2026). At Mount Hamilton, near-term work is framed around drilling and engineering required to finalize mine planning and construction readiness (infill/confirmation, condemnation, metallurgical, and infrastructure-related work), while at Eagle Mountain the key milestone is full permitting targeted by end of 2026 with a goal to begin construction in early 2027 and later shift the EPCM execution team from Mount Hamilton to Guyana as Mount Hamilton construction tapers.
– - Risks
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Risks highlighted (or implied) include Nicaragua jurisdiction risk (Akiba referenced multiple rounds of US/Canadian sanctions and said the risk of further escalation exists), San Albino technical complexity (narrow-vein geometry and preg-robbing behavior that previously drove recoveries materially lower in 2022 before improvements), and execution risk from running multiple assets and development workstreams at once, which Akiba said is mainly constrained by people, rig availability, and sequencing. Additionally, we also talked about market/liquidity constraints due to concentrated ownership (Wexford around 50%), and governance/perception risk because some transactions are structured within the Mako/Sailfish/Wexford family, but Akiba said they’ve been able to manage that trhough special committees.
Mako Mining CEO Interview With Akiba Leisman
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