Sage Potash is working on the Sage Plain potash project in the Paradox Basin of southeastern Utah, about 30 km northwest of Monticello. In this interview, CEO Patricio Varas talked about the company’s ongoing step-out drill hole, the resource update expected to follow, and the broader strategy of building the deposit up to a size that could attract a major fertilizer company as a partner or buyer.
TL;DR
The whole story right now hinges on one drill hole. The company’s only data point until now was a single hole drilled by a previous operator back in 2014, which hit high grade potash at around 2,100 metres depth. Sage is now drilling a step-out hole about 1.2 km north of that old hole to confirm continuity. As of the interview the hole was at roughly 5,600 feet, expected to hit total depth and start coring this weekend. Assay results should feed into an updated NI 43-101 resource, targeted for Q3 this year, which the CEO hopes will show something in the range of 500 million to a billion tonnes (current inferred resource is 298 million tonnes). He said the company has enough cash to finish this hole, but will need to raise C$10 to $15 million in the fall for feasibility-level engineering work if results support it.
What have they done for shareholders lately?
Not much has moved yet in terms of new hard data. This is essentially a story that has sat as desktop studies for years, with a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) completed in 2025 based on that single 2014 hole. What’s new is that Sage started drilling its first-ever confirmation hole in early July this year, targeting the same geological horizon (cycle 18 of the Paradox formation) about a kilometre away from the original intercept. The CEO said this is the first time real money has gone into the ground on this project under any operator.
How much money do they have and what are they spending it on?
The company’s most recent financing closed in late January this year, raising C$13 million at 20 cents per share with a three-year warrant exercisable at 30 cents. The current drill hole is budgeted at roughly US$3.5 million, and the CEO said existing cash is sufficient to complete that hole and get to the updated resource estimate. Total G&A for the year was put at approximately C$1.2 million, with C$400,000 to $500,000 of that going toward marketing and investor awareness in the US. Beyond the current program, the CEO said a much larger raise (C$10 to $15 million) will likely be needed in the fall to fund feasibility-level engineering, additional drilling, cavern development testing, and infrastructure trade-off studies (power, water sourcing, transportation).
Upcoming catalysts
Technical: completion of the current step-out drill hole (coring expected this weekend, roughly 1,600 feet of remaining hole reported at time of interview); assay results expected roughly a month after coring; an updated NI 43-101 resource estimate expected in Q3 this year.
Operational: a site visit planned with investors and government representatives (timing not specified); water and brine testing at depth to assess potential use for future solution mining operations.
Corporate: an anticipated financing in the fall to fund feasibility work; continued government and US Department of Agriculture discussions regarding potential grant programs for resource development (no formal program confirmed to exist yet); ongoing efforts to raise the project’s profile with US institutional and family office investors.
Risks
The biggest near-term risk is simply whether the new hole confirms the grade, thickness, and continuity seen in the 2014 intercept. Nothing about production economics, offtake, or partnerships can move forward without that confirmation. The CEO also flagged that no offtake or royalty agreement is in place, and that the company sees its low valuation as a reason to wait on giving those away. Financing risk is present too. He was explicit that a significantly larger raise will be needed later this year to fund feasibility-stage work, and any delay or shortfall in that could push back the broader development timeline. The CEO said permitting, water rights, and community relations have not been a problem so far, but Utah’s water constraints and the state’s cap on evaporation pond use were both raised as factors the company will need to manage through engineering solutions rather than through local opposition.
Sage Potash CEO Interview
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