Inventus Mining’s main asset is the Pardo gold project, a shallow, flat-lying gold-bearing conglomerate deposit about 65 km northeast of Sudbury, Ontario. The conversation covers bulk sample results, a newly confirmed second mineralized layer called the Matinenda Layer, drilling progress toward a maiden resource, ore sorting and heap leach test work, and financing.

TL;DR

CEO Wesley Whymark said Inventus completed processing of a 10,000 tonne bulk sample that generated C$3.4 million in gold value against about C$2.3 million in costs, netting roughly C$1.2 million in cash flow, with a head grade of 2.05 grams per tonne that reconciled closely with the 2.12 gram per tonne block model. He said the company has now confirmed high-grade gold in a second layer, the Matinenda, with one interval of 10.5 grams per tonne over half a metre, and plans to include it in the maiden resource. He said the company raised C$2.5 million in flow-through financing in April at 28.5 cents with no warrants, has about 200 holes planned before a cutoff for the resource, and is targeting the maiden resource for late October or early November, which he said would come in under 500,000 ounces. He said no further financing is expected before then, with drilling and test work funded by the flow-through money and bulk sample cash flow.

What have they done for shareholders lately?

Whymark said the company finished processing a second 10,000 tonne bulk sample (following on from the 2,500 tonnes processed in February and the balance of 7,500 tonnes processed last month), recovering 564 ounces of gold. He said drilling has confirmed a second mineralized horizon, the Matinenda Layer, sitting below the shallow Main Layer, with high-grade intercepts including 10.5 grams per tonne over 0.5 metres. He said roughly 70 to 90 holes have been drilled and assayed so far this year with another 120 or so planned, for a total of close to 200 holes ahead of the resource cutoff. He also said the company sent three tonnes of bulk material to a group in South Africa to test ore sorting, and has substantially completed heap leach test work on lower-grade material, with a report still to be finalized.

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

Whymark said Inventus raised C$2.5 million in a flow-through financing in April at 28.5 cents per share with no warrants attached, timed to bridge a delay in bulk sample cash flow while running two drill rigs. He said this financing, plus roughly C$1 million in in-the-money warrants and ongoing bulk sample cash flow, fully funds the current drill program, ore sorting test work, and heap leach test work, and that he does not foresee needing to raise money again in the near term. He said general administrative detail on cash flow economics included a 2023 5,000 tonne bulk sample that cost about $340 per tonne, versus about $230 per tonne for the more recent 10,000 tonne sample, with costs expected to fall further, toward roughly $150 per tonne, once the company reaches what he called commercial-scale direct-ship-ore production.

Upcoming catalysts

Technical: continued Phase 2 drill results are expected on an ongoing basis, ore sorting results from the South African test are expected by late August or mid-September at the latest, and heap leach test results are pending finalization for a news release. Operational: the company plans to process the remaining roughly 20,000 tonnes of bulk sample material under its current permit, aiming to finish this year though possibly slipping into early next year, and plans to apply for a larger, roughly 550,000 to 600,000 tonne production permit around February or March next year. Corporate: a maiden resource estimate is targeted for late October, with a resource update and a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) targeted for late spring or summer of next year, and commercial-scale direct-ship-ore production targeted for the third quarter of next year.

Risks

CEO Whymark flagged uncertainty over whether the gold system keeps growing at depth and along strike, since the ultimate size of the deposit is not yet known. He also pointed to regulatory and ministry cooperation as a factor that could push out permitting timelines for the larger production permit and for the heap leach facility, noting no heap leach pad has previously been permitted in Ontario. He said the ore sorting and heap leach test results are not yet finalized, so the eventual processing economics, including cost per tonne, recovery rates, and capital costs (which he estimated at up to roughly C$3 million for an ore sorting unit and crushing circuit) remain unconfirmed. He also noted that winter weather previously caused processing delays and moisture-related issues at the third-party mill, and that regulatory concerns about potential acid generation in the company’s material required additional testing before processing windows could be reopened.

Inventus Mining CEO Interview

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