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Kintavar Exploration (now renamed Auriginal Metals) is being reset under new CEO Peter Cashin around a single asset and a single hypothesis; Roger, near Chapais (Québec), has been miscast as a low-grade porphyry and should be tested as a gold-rich VMS system. In this interview, we covered the transaction and valuation, Cashin’s track record and planned personal share buying, ownership concentration and governance, the technical thesis and economic bar for success, the exact work program (geochem, physical property measurements, down-hole EM, then a deep, wide-spaced winter drill pass), budgets and assay logistics, permitting and community, risks (financing now; tailings later), and non-core monetization options to keep dilution down.
TLDR
- 1) VMS Pivot
Peter says they’ll no longer focus on the old porphyry lens, but will be running a VMS playbook instead. They intend to treat Roger as a gold-rich massive sulfide target with camp-scale potential, not a low-grade bulk-tonnage gold system. Historic core shows very high gold values within massive sulfide sections (he cited up to 27 g/t Au), a NW – SE structure plausibly overprinting gold into a sulfide-rich chemical trap, and a geophysical “masking” problem where a magnetic backstop likely soaked up prior signals. The economic hurdle he sets is either a 5–10 Mt lens or a smaller body if the recoverable rock value is ≥US$250/t, with conventional VMS metallurgy expected. The strategic upside, if this model holds, is to secure more ground along the favorable horizon and build a district, not just a one-off. - 2) Timeline
Auriginal wants to re-log and resample historical core, run fertility-focused geochemistry, measure physical properties (mag susceptibility, conductivity, chargeability, density) on representative lithologies to de-mask subtler conductors, and complete down-hole EM this fall across the 1.8 km strike. Permitting for new drilling is expected to take approximately 3 months, allowing winter drilling to start by Mar 2026. First pass drilling is deep and wide-spaced (approximately 500 m holes on approximately 200 m centers) because DHEM has a ~150 m detection radius around each hole, giving overlapping coverage across ~1.6 km with ~8 holes. Recent assay turnaround has been <3 weeks, so first assays could post in March if rig(s) turn(s) in February. - 3) Money
The company has ~C$4.8m hard cash on hand and plans a charity flow-through raise before year-end to pre-fund winter mobilization at a premium and place the back-end with firm hands. Their cost is approximately (drill-only) C$100/m and all-in C$250–300/m (assays, geology, logistics, core handling). G&A is expected to remain at C$25 to 30k/month via shared services with the OreGroup. Sample prep is in Val-d’Or, analyses in Southern Ontario (recent <3-week TAT). Winter access is intentionally used to lower practical access costs (frozen ground) and avoid fall hunting windows. Near-term marketing is Québec-centric (Explorer Montréal, Québec City government show, etc), plus steady technical updates, not promotion ahead of data. - 4) Skin in the game
Post-deal, two new holders sit at ~19.9% each and a legacy parent block is ~16%, implying ~56% effectively in tight hands. A local group controls ~20m shares the company is trying to secure or acquire. Cashin currently owns only about 100k shares but says he might buy in the open market, and options will also be part of compensation. He reports no insider-owned royalties on Roger. Small royalties exist only on minor legacy ground the company may vend. Governance-wise, he took the OreGroup-partnership for the back-office capability but stresses independent, exploration-led decision-making. Compensation KPIs are tied to share performance, capital access, and explicit technical gates over 12 months. - 5) Economic bar
According to Auriginal CEO Peter Cashin, success means intercepting a body that meets the VMS bar (≥5–10 Mt or smaller at ≥US$250/t recoverable) and generating vectors for a camp-scale land build-out. Failure means calling it early and redeploying. The near-term risk is financing execution in a tough tape. The long-term risk, if they get that far, is engineering sulfidic tailings. Peter says it’s solvable but not trivial. Permitting, access, power, and community look workable around Chapais, and winter is an operational advantage. To mute dilution, the non-core portfolio can be monetized, but details remain unclear. If discovery comes, natural suitors include mid-tiers and regional smelting infrastructure. If not, investors get a quick, inexpensive “no.”
Auriginal / Kintavar CEO Interview With Peter Cashin
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