Red Pine Exploration is a gold explorer/developer advancing the Wawa-area gold project in Ontario’s Greenstone belt, a historic mining camp beside the town of Wawa with regional processing infrastructure nearby. This interview focused on the prior assay-manipulation issue, governance fixes, and the company’s staged plan to move toward production via near-surface pits and toll milling, anchored by an upcoming PEA.
TL;DR
— — —
Michael told me that historical assay manipulation affected about 12% of assays and that it was identifiable and correctable, enabling them to revise disclosure and update the resource estimate. He added that the updated 43-101 resource incorporated about 65,000m of drilling and increased ounces by about 150%, and referenced a resource size of about 1.7M oz. The near-term business plan is to start with small near-surface open pits and toll milling, modeled at about 1,000 tpd, to minimize upfront capex and reduce dilution. Treasury was stated at about C$7.0M, which they think is enough to complete the PEA, planned drilling, and baseline work, with the next financing expected after the PEA.
- What have they done for shareholders lately?
— — —
Michael told me that, since he joined, they investigated and corrected historical assay manipulation, updated public disclosure, and issued an updated NI 43-101 resource estimate incorporating about 65,000m of drilling. He said this update increased contained ounces by about 150% versus the prior estimate and referenced a ~1.7M oz resource, with the concept broadened to include open-pit material. He also described cost reductions and operational tightening, including reducing drilling costs from about $150/m to $100/m and cutting camp and contractor overhead.
– - What has changed since the last major update?
— — —
Michaud said the company moved from a situation where the (previous) CEO also acted as the qualified person and controlled assay flow, to a more standard multi-person/QAQC-controlled process. They added two directors and described broader governance and cost-control changes. Strategically, he said the plan pivoted toward near-term cash generation through small near-surface pits and toll milling (contract mining/hauling/milling) to reduce capex and fund exploration, rather than spending primarily on step-out exploration first.
– - How much money do they have and what are they spending it on?
— — —
Michael said they have about C$7M in casg as of the most recent financial statement (the prior month), and said this funds the current drilling plan, completion of the PEA, and baseline studies required for permitting, covering ‘most of next year’ as well. Drilling for near-surface pit definition and study data, metallurgical testwork at SGS Lakefield (bottle rolls and process-route testing including gravity/flotation/cyanidation plus detailed mineralogy), geotech/environmental work supporting slope design, and permitting were the main items he said they’ll be spending money on. Michaud also said G&A should rise with hiring (engineering and community/First Nations capacity), estimating roughly a 30% increase, and mentioned possible incremental marketing/IR spend on the order of roughly $10k per month, potentially including the sponsorship of a newsletter writer.
– - Upcoming catalysts
— — —
The CEO indicated the PEA is expected in 2026, and described current drilling finishing around the same time as the PEA, toward the end of Q1 2026. They framed the next step as moving from PEA into PFS without pausing to re-drill, because they are drilling now to support that. He also pointed to potential commercial progress on identifying and securing a toll-milling path with a regional mill operator as a key milestone, though he didn’t mention the expected timing. For permitting, Michael described a one-year baseline data program running from July 2025 to July 2026.
– - Risks
— — —
The most direct near-term risk is credibility and market trust following the assay-manipulation episode. Execution risk is tied to third-party dependence in a toll-milling strategy, including securing mill capacity on acceptable terms and operating through contract mining/hauling/milling. Technical risk is concentrated in metallurgy and recoveries under toll milling, because the company may have limited ability to tune a third-party mill to its ore, potentially requiring blending, batching, or selective feed strategies. Permitting and water-management expectations were discussed as relevant, even though management argued existing reclaimed facilities and ongoing sampling reduce water risk. Financing and dilution remain a risk beyond the PEA, especially if the company chooses to fund more drilling for deeper or step-out targets.
Red Pine Exploration Resources CEO Interview With Michael Michaud
VERY IMPORTANT WARNING
Please note that Red Pine Exploration has not paid Resource Talks for the creation of this content. However, 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.
