Interview with Alberto Orozco, CEO, Capitan Silver

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/capitan-silver-tsxvcapt-triples-exploration-target-at-historical-cruz-de-plata-silver-district-8232

Recording date: 20th January 2026

Capitan Silver is entering 2026 with significant momentum following a transformative year that repositioned its Cruz de Plata silver project in Durango, Mexico. CEO Alberto Rosco outlined an ambitious exploration program backed by a recent $29 million financing that will fund 60,000 meters of drilling across what the company now recognizes as a complete mineral system rather than a simple silver trend.

The strategic shift came through property consolidation that expanded the project from 7 kilometers to 20 kilometers of vein targets. Through systematic mapping and sampling, the geological team identified that high-grade silver mineralization sits near the contact between an intrusive body and sedimentary rocks, with this controlling structure extending westward and northward in a circular pattern. The company also eliminated a significant royalty and increased gold resources at the adjacent Capitan Hill deposit by 115% to 525,000 ounces.

Rosco emphasized that Cruz de Plata's outcropping nature provides substantial cost advantages throughout exploration and potential development. Most previous drilling remained in the top 150 meters, with the 2026 program designed to extend testing to 150-300 meters depth on the advanced Jesus Maria trend while using reverse circulation rigs for rapid, cost-effective testing of new targets to the west, north, and within the intrusive itself.

Management remains focused on building an operating mine rather than pursuing early monetization, drawing on the team's experience developing and operating projects in Mexico through their previous work at Argonaut Gold. "We're developing this for the long haul. We see a very big system here and we're very excited about it," Rosco stated, comparing Cruz de Plata to successful intermediate sulfidation deposits like Penasquito and MAG Silver's Juanicipio.

With approximately 50 unreleased drill holes from the previous program and multiple rigs operating simultaneously in 2026, investors can expect consistent news flow as Capitan Silver works to demonstrate the scale of its expanded mineral system.

Learn more: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/capitan-silver

Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Interview with Scott Caithness, Managing Director of Hawk Resources Ltd.

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/hawk-resources-asxhwk-december-drilling-targets-five-prospects-in-historic-copper-district-8487

Recording date: 20th January 2026

Hawk Resources has successfully raised A$5 million to fund an aggressive exploration campaign across two high-potential critical minerals projects, with the capital raise closing within an hour of opening due to strong investor demand. The oversubscribed raise demonstrates market confidence in the company's dual-pronged strategy targeting near-term copper-gold catalysts in Utah alongside a potentially transformational scandium opportunity in Western Australia.

Managing Director Scott Caithness confirmed drilling has commenced at the company's flagship Cactus copper-gold project in Utah, with a 4,000-meter program testing six previously undrilled targets. The project carries significant historical pedigree, having been mined between 1905 and 1920 at grades of 2% copper with meaningful gold credits. Recent verification drilling by Hawk intersected 30 meters at 1.8% copper from surface, confirming the presence of high-grade mineralisation that remains accessible for modern exploration techniques.

The company has allocated approximately A$3 million toward the Cactus drilling campaign, with results expected to flow from March 2026 onwards. Hawk's systematic approach integrates geophysical data, historical drilling records, and the first-ever project-wide soil sampling program to identify high-priority targets. The Copperopolis target exemplifies this methodology—a large chargeability anomaly with encouraging surface geochemistry that has never been drill-tested, despite a 1974 hole nearby intersecting 30 meters at 2% copper.

Complementing the Utah copper focus, Hawk has reserved A$1-1.5 million to advance its recently acquired scandium project in Western Australia. The asset features a 4 kilometer by 7 kilometer soil anomaly with scandium grades exceeding 500 parts per million, reaching peaks of 1,200 ppm in a commodity currently worth $3,400 per kilogram. Historical shallow drilling intersected significant scandium mineralisation, though verification through laboratory assays remains the immediate priority.

Caithness positions Hawk as a critical metals company with copper focus, offering investors exposure to supply-constrained commodities essential for electrification and advanced manufacturing while maintaining strategic optionality through its diversified project portfolio.

View Hawk Resources' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/alderan-resources

Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com

Interview with Alex Dorsch, MD & CEO of Chalice Mining

Recording date: 20th January 2026

Chalice Mining is developing the Western world's leading palladium-nickel-copper project at Gonneville, discovered in 2020 near Perth, Australia. The project has advanced from discovery to prefeasibility study (PFS) stage, with Final Investment Decision (FID) and construction planned for 2028-29.

The project's exceptional economics stem from open-pit mining starting at surface level, delivering all-in sustaining costs of $370/oz compared to $900-1,800/oz for South African competitors operating deep underground mines. This positions Gonneville in the second quartile of the global cost curve. The PFS demonstrates a 23-year mine life with NPV8 of A$3.3 billion at current prices and 40% IRR, producing 170,000 oz/year initially and scaling to 250,000 oz/year in stage two.

Palladium prices have surged 105% from $880/oz to $1,800/oz over seven months, driven by supply constraints with over 90% production concentrated in Russia and South Africa. Demand remains resilient as electric vehicle adoption progresses slower than anticipated, supporting hybrid vehicles that require palladium catalytic converters.

Chalice's two-stage development strategy balances ambition with capital discipline. Stage one requires A$820 million capex, fundable through 50-70% debt financing given strong project margins and abundant critical minerals financing from sovereign wealth providers. The company has invested A$325 million in technical work, including A$15 million on metallurgical testing—significantly more than typical junior miners at this stage.

A simplified flowsheet redesign produces three standard products processable by conventional smelters, eliminating downstream technology risk. The project's Perth location provides infrastructure advantages and residential workforce access, reducing capital requirements to A$200-250 million versus multi-billion dollar bills for remote projects.

With regulatory approvals expected in early 2028, Chalice offers rare exposure to palladium development outside Russian and South African dominance in a structurally constrained supply market.

View Chalice Mining's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/chalice-mining

Sign up for Crux Investor: https://cruxinvestor.com