Ross McElroy, Chairman, and Sherman Dahl, CEO, SKRR Exploration Inc. (TSXV: SKRR; OTC Pink: SKKRF; FSE: B04Q) Discuss Exploration of their Hall of Fame Team in the Best Potential Gold District in Saskatchewan, Canada
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By Dr. Allen Alper, PhD Economic Geology and Petrology, Columbia University, NYC, USA
on 7/7/2022
We spoke with Ross McElroy, Chairman, and Sherman Dahl, CEO of SKRR Exploration Inc. (TSXV: SKRR; OTC Pink: SKKRF; FSE: B04Q). SKRR is a Canadian-based, early-stage, grassroots, precious metal explorer, with properties in Saskatchewan – one of the world’s highest ranked mining jurisdictions. The primary focus is on the, significantly under-explored, Trans-Hudson Corridor, in Saskatchewan, in search of world class precious metal deposits. In 2022, SKRR is focused on drilling, at their Olson Lake Property, that is prospective for high-grade orogenic gold and VMS mineralization, as well as drilling at their Manson Bay Property, with historic gold resources and new high-grade targets. In addition, SKRR has developed interest in strategic base metal properties, with the emphasis on battery metal technology. The Company has a high-grade nickel property, and recently acquired a property, with a historic zinc-lead-silver deposit, and with a recent high-grade discovery on it. SKRR Exploration is aggressively exploring one of the best portfolios, of any junior explorer, in Saskatchewan.
SKRR Exploration Inc.
Dr. Allen Alper: This is Dr. Allen Alper, Editor-in-Chief of Metals News, talking with Ross McElroy, who is Chairman and Director of SKRR Exploration, Inc. Ross, could you give us an overview of your Company and, your recent purchase agreement to acquire a 100% interest of the Nickel Peak Claim group?
Ross McElroy: Certainly. Great to be talking with you Allen. SKRR is, let's call it an early-stage grassroots explorer. Our projects are primarily in Saskatchewan, although as you noted, we do have a new project in B.C. But overall, the projects are both precious metals. Also, lately we've been acquiring some very interesting strategic base metal properties, with the emphasis on battery metal technology. So, with that, we have some excellent nickel properties in the portfolio, both in Saskatchewan and now also in British Columbia. We also have a zinc property in Saskatchewan. The zinc property has an advanced discovery on it, called Watts Lake. That's where we are right now. We want to begin exploring. We know that the market is absolutely right for these kinds of projects. So that's what we intend to be focusing on, these days.
Dr. Allen Alper: Well, that sounds great! I noticed you did a lot of magnetic studies recently. Maybe you could tell us a little bit about that and then also tell us a little bit more about your projects and your plans for 2022.
Ross McElroy: Sure, the latest work that we've done, we completed an airborne magnetic survey on our Father Lake, high-grade nickel sulfide project, in northern Saskatchewan, located near the town of Stony Rapids. I think you should take note too, that Rio Tinto is also exploring in this area for exactly this same kind of target. In fact, they've recently joint ventured on a property, about 40 kilometers to the south of us. RTZ is looking for high-grade nickel, along the same trend that we are. Our airborne survey is really meant to help highlight the kind of rocks that we know host the nickel showings on it. We do have historic nickel showings, in trenches and outcrops on the property. The geophysics gives us another tool to be able to help focus our surface exploration and ultimately lead to drill testing, on these showing.
We're really excited about seeing a Company, such as Rio Tinto, involved in this exploration. I think it is a great validation of the target model that we are looking at. So, we're in the same leagues as the big guys. With respect to Nicke, we have our Father Lake property and the recently announced acquisition, of very prospective nickel projects, in Northern B.C. as well. On the BC side, this is an area where there are a number of showings, quite substantial nickel plays, located nearby in similar geologic settings, I think in particular, also, with our zinc and base metals as well. Anticipated for this year's exploration, we will continue to work on Father Lake and we will also probably get back to Manson Bay, at some point, later this summer or fall. In addition, look to see us to do a little bit of work on Cathro, which is a gold project, really close to the town of La Ronge in North-central Saskatchewan.
So, we're busy and we have the kind of properties that merit a great deal of exploration activities.
Dr. Allen Alper: That sounds excellent! It sounds like 2022, is going to be extremely exciting time for your shareholders and stakeholders, with all excellent exploration going on with base metals, nickel and gold, that precious metal. That really sounds exciting, both in Saskatchewan and in British Columbia. So that's really amazing.
Sherman Dahl: Yeah.
Dr. Allen Alper: Maybe you could talk a little bit about the precious metals work you're doing and talk about the region and how you think it's somewhat comparable to the new region of Canada.
Sherman Dahl: Well, I think, just looking at precious metals, Saskatchewan has had a number of operating mines. It's quite famous for hosting high-grade gold deposits. And more recently, we've seen that some of these deposits can be absolutely world class size, multi-million-ounce, high-grade gold deposits, such as the Seabee and Santoy operations that SSR mining has. We're after the same kind of targets, we know that the potentials is there to host giant gold deposits that are high-grade. That's really what we've been focusing on, over the last couple of years. We've had several drill campaigns on our Olson Lake property and identified several very prospective targets there. There's mineralization in about four or five different zones on Olson.
And we've also done some work on our Manson Bay, gold and copper project. Actually, the targets are a bit of gold, copper, and zinc. Manson Bay is located only 40 kilometers from Flin Flon. So, we have been doing work, in that area. Right now, this summer, as I mentioned, we'll be focusing on a couple of other projects that we have yet to really do a lot of work on, but I think the time is right to start advancing those. And that would be the Cathro project, near the village of LaRonge, with precious metals. So, we think that these are the kind of properties that can host high-grade gold deposits. If we look at more mature screen stone belts, such as the Abitibi Ontario, we see that these large deposits occur on trends and in multiple occurrences.
We think that same story is developing in Saskatchewan, as well. We were there early, we were able to stake ground back, I think before people really had their eyes open to the potential of this province, for hosting this scale of deposits. So, we have one of the best land packages, available in Saskatchewan, to be able to make these discoveries. And now's the time to get to work, to make the discoveries and build on the projects that we have.
Dr. Allen Alper: Well, that sounds excellent! Sherman. Did you join this?
Sherman Dahl: I did. Yep. I've been listening the whole time.
Dr. Allen Alper: Oh, okay. Great. So let me continue. Maybe Ross and Sherman, you could tell us a little bit about yourselves. I know you have an award-winning Team and also award-winning Advisory Board. So, I'll let one or both of you discuss that.
Sherman Dahl: Well, I would certainly add that the inception of the Company was marrying up the geological brilliance of Ross McElroy and Ron Netolitzky and the deep history that they both have in Saskatchewan, in the Trans-Hudson corridor, but also just globally, in terms of understanding mineralization, in different parts of the world. Including the most recent nickel acquisition, which is also in a well-known area in British Columbia. Then taking that geological experience and capital market experience, of people like myself that have been in the investment business for over 25 years. Our advisory board is somewhat stacked with individuals like Michael Halverson, who's the Chairman of Orezone Gold. Michael is well known in the investment community. He's active in advising us. He's a large shareholder of SKRR.
And we also have Craig Roberts, who is very well known in the Canadian resource sector, with the founder of New Found gold, which we consider to be similar, in ways, to Saskatchewan. Saskatchewan has different reasons for being under-explored. One of which is the political environment that existed a number of years ago, with more of a socialistic approach to mining, where at one point, I think you actually had to partner, with the government, in order to be a mining entity, or to have mining assets in Saskatchewan. That's of course changed. The Saskatchewan government is ranked as one of the top, in the world, for supporting mining. And SKRR is an immediate beneficiary of that. We just received a $100,000 check for some of our previous drilling that we just completed at both the Olson and the Manson Bay property.
So that points to the commitment that Saskatchewan government has to mining in Saskatchewan. And going back again, with Craig Robertson at New Found Gold, there were reasons as well, in Newfoundland, that Newfoundland was under-explored for many years. And that's where all that attention went to the Abitibis and to the Red Lake camps and to the Golden Triangle. So, I think, it's really over the next number of years that we're going to see a lot of interest in the Saskatchewan assets, not only, obviously, in the world class uranium deposits. There are also world class nickel deposits, and world class copper deposits that are evidenced by the Fin Flon ore body.
I think you would be very interested to know that if you were to ask someone, who produced the largest amount of gold in Saskatchewan, you'd be surprised that it was actually the Flin Flon orebody that produced millions of ounces, as a byproduct of their copper deposits, in the Flin Flon area. So, you have this wonderfully endowed, mineralized area of the Trans-Hudson corridor. The whole point of forming SKRR was to develop the geological Team, with Ross McElroy and the capital markets' strength of the Mike Halverson's and the Craig Robert's. So that whole Team has really gathered around to collect a world class portfolio, including gold and base metal assets. And then, off the record, if we can just get Ross to give us some uranium assets, we will be set. (laugh) That was a joke.
Ross McElroy: So, I'll just pipe in there. I think Sherman's given a great introduction of the group, the Team, a lot of the strengths, I'll just add a bit of context for myself. I mean, I've spent the better part of a 35-year career in the province of Saskatchewan. I think it does have tremendous potential, in the precious metals, in base metals, and now, we're seeing it even in high-grade nickel, such as we have in showings and trenches on our Father Lake property. And everybody's quite familiar with Saskatchewan’s Athabasca Basin uranium story. For SKRR, I think Saskatchewan has been an exceptional place to be able to get ground and have access to a number of different commodities. I also know that we're very excited to be looking also in British Columbia, where I think most people are quite familiar, with the tremendous endowment of metals. We're now in a nickel rich area, and ready to explore in a new area for us as well.
So, we’re the right Team and it is the right time to be able to take advantage of these markets.
Dr. Allen Alper: Well, that sounds great! It sounds like you and your Team have been able to gather up properties and resources, in each of the hard times and in the right times. And it looks like, in the future environment, with inflation increasing, that precious metals will increase in value. Also, the electric vehicle market is driving up nickel and other base metals.
Ross McElroy: Indeed!
Dr. Allen Alper: Sherman, could you tell our readers/investors a little bit about your share and capital structure?
Sherman Dahl: Certainly. We have approximately 65 million shares outstanding. Currently, we're trading, obviously, at a very, very low valuation, relative to the assets we have, which is somewhat reflective of the junior market at this point. We're currently about 1.5 million in cash. So, we're in a good position going into 2022. Obviously, we're going to be fairly careful about what we do, with our exploration dollars. We are going to be looking at a small financing, with just some strategic players that want to add to SKRR through a flow-through, probably. Insider ownership is around the 16% mark.
Dr. Allen Alper: Well, it's good to say that insiders have skin in the game and are confident in the Company, willing to invest like investors. So that's excellent. Sherman, could you, and then Ross, continue to highlight and summarize the primary reasons our readers/investors should consider investing in SKRR Exploration?
Sherman Dahl: We've always thought investing in companies should be based around, what we always consider to be the three P's. Where you want to find a Company that has remarkable people that are committed for the long term. So, a very strong Management Team and Advisory Board at SKRR, are the people that we have. We also know, as investors, that you need to have very good projects to really fuel the growth of any particular Company and projects that have tremendous upside. We have that as well at SKRR.
We have amazing projects, both gold and base metal projects. And then third of course, is as investors, you always want to consider the price that you're paying. Well, that moves around as do the projects, depending on what the Company's adding to and how they're developing them, but the price is something that always needs to be considered. And clearly at this price level, you have all three P's working in your favor. Great people, great projects, and a wonderful price for shareholders to be able to buy the stock at. I mean, anything in this 10-cent range is obviously a low valuation for what we have.
Ross McElroy: And I would add to the three P's. I think, we definitely have a great deal of respect for shareholders and that comes from the people that run the Company, the quality of the Management, the quality of the Board and Advisory Group, a great deal of respect for the shareholders, trusting shareholder value. And, I also would add in vision of the Company. What do we want to explore for. We understand the need right now, the global need for battery metals. And we've had the vision to pick up properties, a while ago, before people really tuned into doing so.
So that's why we've been able to gather together some of the best exploration projects in the province, in these various commodities, precious metals, the base metals with zinc and nickel and our vision is to get out there, be early, make discoveries, world class discoveries, that we ultimately want to see turning into producing assets.
So, we're in for the long term.
Dr. Allen Alper: Well, those are really extremely compelling reasons for readers/investors to consider investing in SKRR. You have an award-winning, outstanding Team. You have outstanding properties and great locations. And the know-how also, to buy properties, develop and explore properties and finance your work. At the moment the junior sector is depressed. So that, I would say, is an opportunity for investors. Is there anything else you'd like to add, Sherman or Ross?
Sherman Dah: I don't think so. I think we've covered all the main reasons to invest. I guess the other one that I would add, and Ross is always very keen on this too, is the jurisdiction. We all know that jurisdiction is becoming more and more important to investors. And I think people want to be in safe jurisdictions that are mineralized. It's great to have a safe, wonderful jurisdiction, but it also has to be mineralized. Saskatchewan has just so much going for it. And Canada does. I saw an ad, I don't know which company it was, but I thought it was- Actually, I think it was Cornish Metals, which has a remarkable tin deal in South Crofty. And they said, “Do you want your tin from the Congo or from someplace else?” I never thought of running an ad like that, but you want gold in Saskatchewan, do you want gold in Burkina Faso? So, I think jurisdiction's going to be really important as well.
Dr. Allen Alper: Definitely! I think it's nice to have projects in safe places and also in areas that are used to mining and favor mining. So that's excellent! We’ll publish your press releases as they come out so our readers/investors can follow your progress.
https://skrr.ca/
Sherman Dahl
President & CEO
Tel: 250-558-8340
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