Darin Wagner, the President and CEO of Balmoral Resources (TSX: BAR), took the time to update Metals News on Balmoral's gold progress in the Abitibi greenstone belt at the Hard Assets Resource Investment Conference San Francisco.
Wagner said, “Our principal focus has been on our Detour Gold Trend Project in Quebec.” Balmoral completed a large drill program on the Project in 2012 producing numerous new high-grade gold discoveries. He said, “We have had a series of really good, high grades results from multiple zones – particularly on our Martiniere Property.” With financing in place Wagner expects Balmoral to continue to aggressively expand on their Martiniere discoveries moving into 2013.
With expired warrants providing cash to the company, Wagner and his team now have enough cash to continue work without looking for additional financing for the next couple of years. Wagner said, “We have caught a bunch of money through warrant exercises. We are ready to put our heads down and drill on out our new discoveries, try and add to that growing list of potential resources and let the market tag along.” Knowing that financing can be challenging to achieve in the current economic climate, Balmoral is in an enviable position. Wagner said regarding the market situation and their goals, “It is a difficult market, but we are getting to work and better yet producing excellent results on multiple fronts.”
The cash generated by the expiring warrants is significant. Asked about their level of financing, Wagner said, “We have $18 million dollars in working capital for our drilling program.” With that level of cash in the treasury, Wagner and his team have no need to go to the market in the near term. He said, “We are fully funded right now. We are going to drill at Martiniere and along the Detour Gold Trend.”
As they continue to expand their impressive list of discoveries Balmoral is also keeping an eye on a developing behemoth next door. “Our discoveries sit less than 45 kilometres, so nominally within the capture radius, of what our neighbours at Detour Gold are billing as “the world’s largest open pit gold mine”. With that kind of developing infrastructure, a long term commitment to gold production in the belt and the fact that we control over 80% of the known extent of this gold bearing structure we are uniquely position to become a principal player in Canada’s newest gold camp.”
Wagner believes that emergence of the Detour Gold Trend will bring a number of new investors to Balmoral. “Now it is really a question of time and drill holes to see whether these new discoveries will demonstrate sufficient scale to prove economic as a stand-alone operation or as a source of feed for one of many gold producers in Quebec. When the next batch of drilling is completed, Balmoral will have a better picture of what is available at Martiniere. Wagner said, “Our 2013 drill program will bring us up to the initial resource estimate at Martiniere.” He anticipates that the report will have enough data to provide a direction for the project. Wagner said, “Our issue at this point is that we haven't found an edge at any of our drill zones. We don't want to start running economics on any of them until we know what they are going to look like. We have a lot of drilling to do to get our heads around the size of them.” With their aggressive drill program, Wagner is expecting to see lots of information and expansion on the zones over the next year. He said, “We will see at lot of growth on the project and in the interest in the Company in the next 12 months. Players in the industry are always on the look-out for good high-grade discoveries like the ones we are finding and building underneath the dirt in Quebec.”
The infrastructure around the project is a positive. Wagner said, “The project itself – the Detour Gold Project – is about 85% accessible by road already. We enjoy excellent First Nations relations and work with one of the most progressive First Nations in Canada. Quebec is a great place to work with a tax credit incentive program that sees us get $0.35 cents back for every dollar we put into the ground. It is one of the best places in the world to work.
Like every other company, Balmoral Resources faces challenges. Wagner said, “The biggest challenge going forward is the market. The market, as a whole, is a much more difficult place for juniors than it was before the 2008 financial crisis but our strong treasury removes the largest obstacle which is access to capital.” In addition to the challenges of the financial markets, Wagner also needs staffing to add to his team. He said, “The other challenge is finding the right people to work on the project.” In terms of other issues, Wagner said there aren't any, “Outside general market conditions we don’t see any major obstacles over the next few months – it’s just a question of time and drill holes to determine what Mother Nature has in store for us. We are confident that investors will like what they see. ”
With all the good news, the future for Balmoral may be an uncertain one. Wagner said, “When we look across the high grade gold space, over the last few years, we see a number of acquisitions including our former company, West Timmins Mining. Good high-grade gold discoveries in places like Canada are rare and thus highly sought after. Should we continue to produce the kind of results we have to date we would not at all be surprised if these projects end up in the hands of a mid-tier or larger gold producer.”
As 2013 begins Balmoral is one of the few junior resource stock making new 52 week highs so why should investors take a closer look at Balmoral Resources? Wagner believes there are quite a few reasons Balmoral is attractive to investors. He said, “When you are looking for investment, you are looking for quality projects in good districts run by successful teams. We are talking about higher grade assets, low potential Cap X and safe jurisdictions. We tick all those boxes. We are in one of the best jurisdictions in the planet. We are building a high-grade gold asset, which is growing rapidly. We are well financed at a time when investors #1 concern should be the financial shape of companies in our space We also have a management team who have already been successful in this same space recently following a very similar formula. We thus believe we have all the necessary attributes to continue to grow and increase shareholder value moving into 2013.” With a great deal of success already behind them and a number of potential value drivers in 2013 this is one BAR that is unlikely to leave you with a hangover in the months ahead.
http://www.balmoralresources.com/
Balmoral Resources Ltd.
Suite 2300 - 1177 West Hastings Street
Vancouver, BC
Canada V6E 2K3
Telephone: 604-638-3664
Fax: 604-648-8809
Toll Free: 1-877-838-3664
Investor Inquiries:
John Toporowski, Manager, Corporate Development
Telephone: 604-638-5815
Email: jtoporowski@balmoralresources.com