Emperor Metals Inc. (CSE: AUOZ) (OTCQB: EMAUF) (FRA:9NH)
Investment Considerations
- Tier 1 Jurisdiction: The flagship Duquesne West Gold Project is located in the heart of Rouyn-Noranda – a prolific mining district.
- Historical Inferred Mineral Resource Estimate: 727,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 5.42 g/t and an average thickness of 5.71 meters in 4.171 million tonnes*
- Fully Funded Drill Program: Expected to begin in Q2 2024 and will focus on the new open pit model
- Strategic Investor: Rob McEwen, founder of Goldcorp, recently invested C$1M investment, now owning 8% of the company.
- AI – Machine Learning: Used to create the first 3D and geological models in record time
- Long term objectives: Continue to develop the economics of a new conceptual open pit model and continue to grow ounces externally and internally to known resources; update the historic resource to a new 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate by Q1 2025; move the project toward a PEA or more advanced study.
Emperor Metals Inc. (CSE: AUOZ) (OTCQB: EMAUF) (FRA:9NH) is an advanced stage gold exploration company focused on proving and developing the substantial resource potential of its flagship Duquesne West Gold Project located in the Tier 1 district of the Southern Abitibi Greenstone belt of Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec. The Project has a 2011 historical mineral resource estimate of 727,000 ounces of Au at 5.42 g/t and an average thickness of 5.71 m*.
In 2023, with the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence), Emperor Metals created the first ever 3D mineralized and geological model, which illuminated the potential to add significant ounces to this deposit. Using these models, Emperor’s had a very successful 2023 drilling campaign of 8,579 m. In addition to laterally extending high grade zones by intercepting grades of 15.8 g/t Au over 10.8 meters, Emperor encountered intercepts of lower grade bulk tonnage in the host rocks (1.69 g/t Au over 25 m). This led to envisioning a different strategy of exploration and the revelation that a conceptual open-pit potentially overlies this high-grade gold deposit. Historic core sampling began (2,500 m) for discovering overlooked lower grade gold in the host rock around the high-grade lenses. Lower grade bulk tonnage gold improves the open-pit economics by reducing stripping ratios and adding overlooked incremental ounces for open pit mining.
Emperor Metals is set to begin a fully funded Phase II 8,000 m drilling program in May 2024. The company also plans on assaying an additional 8,000 m of historic core within the open pit model. Emperor is working toward producing an updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate by Q1 2025.
The company is led by a dynamic group of resource sector professionals who have a strong record of success in evaluating and advancing mining projects from exploration through to production, attracting capital and overcoming adversity to deliver exceptional shareholder value.
Project
Emperor Metals has an option to earn 100% ownership of the Duquesne West Gold Project, a mineral claim package comprising 38 claims covering approximately 1,389 ha (3,432 acres) in Quebec.
The Duquesne West Gold Property is located 32 kilometers northwest of the city of Rouyn-Noranda and 10 kilometers east of the town of Duparquet. The property lies within the historic Duparquet gold mining camp in the southern portion of the Abitibi Greenstone Belt in the Superior Province.
Emperor is targeting the potential multimillion-ounce resource in a combination of conceptual open pit and underground mining scenarios. A Phase I drill campaign and historical core sampling program was completed in 2023, which included resource confirmation and exploration drilling, focusing on delineating and growing the resource toward development.
The property hosts a historical inferred mineral resource estimate of 727,000 ounces of gold at a grade of 5.42 grams per ton (g/t) and average stope thickness of 5.71 m. The mineral resource estimate predates modern Canadian Institute of Mining guidelines, and a Qualified Person on behalf of Emperor Metals has not reviewed or verified the mineral resource estimate. Therefore, it is considered historical in nature and is reported solely to provide an indication of the magnitude of mineralization that could be present on the property. The gold system remains open for resource identification and expansion.
Reinterpretation of the existing geological model was created using artificial intelligence and machine learning. This AI model shows the opportunity for additional discovery of ounces by revealing gold trends unknown to previous workers and the potential to expand the resource along significant gold-endowed structural zones. Multiple scenarios exist to expand additional resources, which include:
- Underground High-Grade Gold
- Open Pit Bulk Tonnage Gold
- Underground Bulk Tonnage Gold
The Duquesne West-Ottoman property straddles the Porcupine-Destor gold localizing fault several kilometers east of the town of Duparquet. A number of previous drill campaigns have outlined an inferred resource of 4.17 million tons grading 5.42 g/t of gold (cut) or 6.36 g/t (uncut), as reported in the NI 43-101 report titled “Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate Update for the Duquesne-Ottoman Property, Quebec, Canada.”
Emperor Metals is funded for an 8,000-meter drilling program focusing primarily on adding ounces to the current resource within and lateral to the open pit model. An additional 8,000 m of historical core sampling and assaying is included in the budget to help build incremental ounces in the open-pit environment.
Market Opportunity
The World Gold Council, the industry association for the world’s gold producers, estimated in 2023 the physical financial gold market, which is made up of bars, coins, gold ETFs and central bank reserves, to be worth nearly $5 trillion.
The council reports that gold mine production adds approximately 3,500 tons of the precious metal to the world’s supply annually, equivalent to about 2% growth. This historical scarcity and relatively slow production of new supply, as compared to other commodities, is a primary reason gold has retained its value for millennia, according to the council.
In May 2024, the market price of gold was approximately $2,340 per ounce.
Management Team
John Florek, P.Geol., is President, CEO and Director of Emperor Metals. He has more than 35 years of technical and senior management experience with major and junior mining companies, including roles as founder, vice president and director. He has helped identify and develop significant asset value for mines and exploration projects from grass roots through development. He has worked for several major mineral producers, including BHP, Placer Dome, Barrick, Teck and Detour Gold/Kirkland Lake Gold/Agnico Eagle.
Sean Mager is CFO and Director of Emperor Metals. He has worked more than 30 years in the mining sector, including extensive experience in corporate development, stakeholder relations, regulatory, financial and operations.
Alex Horsley is Head of Corporate Development and Director of Emperor Metals. He has more than 20 years of experience in the mining sector and capital markets with a focus on finance, marketing, management, corporate development and communications. He is founder and former CEO of Emperor Metals. He has assisted in raising more than C$40 million for exploration and development mining companies.
*Power-Fardy and Breede, 2011. The Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) constructed in 2011 is considered historical in nature as it was constructed prior to the most recent Canadian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (CIM) standards (2014) and guidelines (2019) for mineral resources. In addition, the economic factors used to demonstrate reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction for the MRE have changed since 2011. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to consider the MRE as current. Emperor is not treating the historical MRE as current. The reader is cautioned not to treat it, or any part of it, as a current MRE.