Galleon Gold’s flagship is the West Cache gold project, a shear-hosted mesothermal system 13 km west of Timmins, Ontario, on the Porcupine-Destor corridor, with a secondary high-grade vein asset called Golden Trove in Idaho that’s largely on hold. We talked about the 86,500-tonne bulk sample program now in early execution at Zone 9, the Pan American Silver relationship (lender, 20% shareholder, and planned toll miller at Bell Creek), the Newmont royalty buyback, permitting strategy, and the path to a feasibility study.
TL;DR
CEO Russell says the next 9 to 12 months are critical for the company as that’s when the team will try to answer the main unanswered questions. The ramp goes down, tight-spaced drilling ties Zone 9 to the historic West Deep zone, and within 12 months ore should be shipping to Pan American’s Bell Creek mill. He told me Zone 9 averages about 9 g/t in the high-grade core with a broader 2 to 7 g/t envelope, and claims a mine still works at 6 g/t or even 3 g/t with added zones. Feasibility remodeling starts in the next 3 to 4 months, with a decision on going straight to final permits expected within 4 to 6 months. If they file, he thinks final permits could land by end of 2027 or 2028. Of a C$90M program, roughly C$30M is spent, and he says they’re funded through to ore delivery without going back to the market, helped by about C$18M of in-the-money convertibles he expects to come in over 12 months.
What have they done for shareholders lately?
They finished the box cut and awarded underground development to a Mattagami First Nation joint venture with contractor Dumas, with the jumbo drill about to start the first rounds. In December 2025 they closed a C$30M financing at 60 cents plus a C$46M senior secured credit facility with Pan American (prime plus 7%, 24-month term, first charge over essentially all assets), drew C$11M immediately, and used it to extinguish Newmont’s royalty for roughly C$11M, which Russell values at C$240M over the mine life at current gold prices. Drilling since January has been punching holes between the top of Zone 9 and West Deep, and he says every hole so far has hit; the project database now sits at about 540 core holes and 360,000 m, with 100% hitting gold. He also said grade in Zone 9’s core jumped to around 9 g/t once they drilled larger-diameter metallurgical holes through the guts of it.
How much money do they have and what are they spending it on?
The all-in program is C$90M, of which about C$30M is spent, leaving roughly C$60-65M including the Pan American facility, of which C$35M is contractually earmarked for underground development and getting ore to Bell Creek. He expects to exit the bulk sample with C$48-52M in the bank after repaying the C$46M facility plus interest, and pegs the effective total cost of the debt at 10-11% once the 1.6% standby fee is blended in. Surface drilling runs about C$3-3.5M per program (the January program was C$3.5M for 18,000 m), G&A is C$1.8-2M plus C$600K for marketing, so call it C$2.5-3M a year to run the company. He wouldn’t give me the toll milling cost per tonne yet but said it’s “a little bit north” of the PEA number, expects 89-93% recovery, and the mill agreement should be public in 3 to 4 weeks. He also said 2021’s C$150M initial capex would be C$200-220M in 2026 dollars, and doesn’t see needing the market unless they accelerate step-out drilling, which could mean another C$9-15M.
Upcoming catalysts
Technical: assays every 2 to 3 weeks from the ongoing 18,000 m program, including hole 249 targeting the gap between Zone 9 and West Deep with results expected within days via photon assay; Zone 9 remodeling and feasibility work starting within 3 to 4 months; M&I conversion over 9 to 15 months targeting 1.5 to 2 million ounces into a feasibility study. Operational: jumbo at the face and first blast rounds imminently; regular ramp advance updates; ore to Bell Creek within about 12 months; final Dumas contract details. Corporate: toll milling agreement with Pan American public in 3 to 4 weeks; decision within 4 to 6 months on amending the current permit versus filing for final permits, with final permits possible by end of 2027 or in 2028; IBA negotiations with First Nations starting if they file; a promotional video shoot at site at the end of this month.
Risks
The obvious one is reconciliation because the bulk sample is the first real test of whether Zone 9’s grade, continuity, ground conditions, and capital costs match the model, and Russell himself concedes grade could come in lower, though he argues 6 g/t still works. There’s counterparty concentration risk with Pan American, which is simultaneously senior secured lender with first charge over all assets, 20% shareholder, and the toll mill operator, though Russell says he can take ore to Discovery Silver as leverage and Pan American is capped at 19.99% for about two and a quarter more years. Recovery terms with Bell Creek aren’t finalized, dilution assumptions (PEA at 28%, he’s targeting 10-12%) are unproven, most of the resource beyond Zone 9 is inferred and needs upgrading, and he named labour availability as the biggest practical risk. Interest costs run 14% at current prime on drawn debt, and any permitting path slippage pushes the feasibility and production timeline past 2027-28.
Galleon Gold CEO Interview
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