Latest / Kitco MINING / Mineros Targets Nicaragua Growth While Building Gold Treasury | Daniel Henao

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Mineros Targets Nicaragua Growth While Building Gold Treasury | Daniel Henao · Kitco MINING

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Kitco Mining on-site coverage of Mining Forum Americas is presented by Metalla Royalty and streaming.
• 0:09
  SPEAKER_01: Making records in the gold space.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_01: Hello and welcome to Kitco Mining with me, Paul Harris, here at the 2026 Mining Forum Americas in Colorado Springs.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_01: Joining me now is Daniel Anal, president and CEO of Moneros.
• 0:22
  SPEAKER_01: Daniel, welcome to Kitco.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much, Paul.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_02: It's a pleasure to be here today.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_02: Have the opportunity to share what we're building at Mineros.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_02: We're very excited with the with the level of performance that we've been able to achieve, the recognition from the market for what we're doing.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_02: So thanks for providing this platform to share what we're building.
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_02: And it's great to be here today with you.
• 0:46
  SPEAKER_01: We've got a lot to talk about because some of the things you just mentioned, Daniel, have been quite extraordinary, and you're just starting on the journey.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: You and I we've known each other for more years than we probably care to remember since at least 2010, I think.
• 0:59
  SPEAKER_01: And I live in Colombia.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: Daniel's obviously from Colombia.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Mineeros is a Colombian gold miner, it's got more than a 50-year history producing assets in Colombia and also in Nicaragua.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: The company is in very much a sort of turnaround mode with record revenue, record profits.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_01: You recently hit an all-time high share price.
• 1:20
  SPEAKER_01: You've seen a 15 times growth in your market capitalization since the group you came from started investing in the company, taking it from 60 cents to$10.
• 1:30
  SPEAKER_01: That's uh quite an amazing trajectory.
• 1:33
  SPEAKER_01: What are you most pleased about with all of that, Daniel?
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, Paul.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_02: And we achieved that while paying dividends, while doing buybacks, while investing in our assets.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_02: So it's been a very nice um uh trajectory.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_02: Uh look, Mineros is a it's a 50-year-old gold producer, as you mentioned.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, it's been a local Cash Cow, it's been listed in the Colombian Exchange since the 80s, but in many ways is a brand new opportunity.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the company went public in late 2021 in TSX.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so uh these sort of uh platforms are great uh for us to share what we're what we're building.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the firm uh that I came uh from, Sun Valley Investments, we deployed over 200 million dollars uh and acquired control of Mineros.
• 2:19
  SPEAKER_02: And since then we've been working on a very ambitious uh uh turnaround uh on a very profitable mining company, anyways.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: But when we were doing the due diligence on the asset, we realized that there were a lot of low-hanging fruits from an operational point of view, and that became the agenda.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, that's uh what we're working on right now, unlocking very, very significant value, uh making really yeah, like three-digit IRR investments, uh in our assets, things like what we're doing this year,$25 million investment, adding 40% processing capacity to our Nicaraguan asset, the biggest uh asset of the company, adding 30 to 40,000 ounces a year next year.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: So 25 million and 30 to 40,000 ounces type of return.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_02: So those are the sort of uh capital uh initiatives that we're deploying, and that's why we're doing this very nice uh uh uh re-rate.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you you covered a lot of things there, Daniel, that I want to unpack.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_01: You were you were partner and head of business development for Sun Valley Investments.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you'd started investing in um in Mineros.
• 3:28
  SPEAKER_01: You you you you got to be on the board, um, but then you obviously took or Sun Valley took the decision you need they needed to do more, and you were appointed as president and CEO.
• 3:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, talk me through a little bit of that process, um, how Sun Valley got involved with the company, how it built up its position, how you know the board position, and finally taking executive control.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, so as you mentioned, uh I started uh working uh on the Sun Valley Investment Division back in uh around 2014, a beautiful uh bear market, uh great for an investor.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_02: So we're we managed to do very uh creative uh deals, uh exploration stories that later uh became producing mines.
• 4:10
  SPEAKER_02: We built a royalty portfolio, uh, we started investing in in development assets uh in North America, and then back in yeah, uh 20 early 2023, CIBC approached us.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_02: Uh they mentioned, hey, there's there's a banking family, they own about a 30% stake in a gold producer in Latin America.
• 4:29
  SPEAKER_02: We loved what we saw.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_02: So we we acquired that first uh 30% block.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it wasn't enough to take control of the company, so we ended up doubling down, investing about$200 million.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_02: And finally, last year we managed to get control of the company and then are working on this um uh turnaround.
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_02: So that's that's sort of like the background.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so we have a lot of skin in the game.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: This is a very uh meaningful investment for us, so we want to make the most out of it, uh, and that's for the benefit of all shareholders.
• 5:02
  SPEAKER_01: You perhaps can't answer this question, but uh the the financial group, you mentioned the Colpatria group, they'd owned Mineras for a long, long period of time.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um and I think it was striking when when the deal was announced that uh Colpatria had decided to sell rather than to try and shake things up and improve things themselves.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_01: And and for them, I guess the timing was the worst possible because that was you know quite that was prior to the gold price taking off.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um what does Sun Valley bring to the Moneras picture that perhaps wasn't there before?
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_02: I think uh technical expertise, uh they they they were they are a great uh banking family.
• 5:38
  SPEAKER_02: They're very successful in what they do, but they they they don't have they didn't have that uh technical expertise that we that we have.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and that's uh that's the focus for us.
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's a technical agenda, focus on on the growth for for the two mining uh assets, and then do uh what I used to do for Sun Valley, bringing uh new assets to this platform, remarkable, potentially transformational assets uh for mineros, uh which I would love to uh tell you more about.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_02: But yes, that technical agenda.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_02: So our Nicaraguan asset, for example, is now moving towards the 200,000 ounces.
• 6:16
  SPEAKER_02: A ton of uh immediate growth is happening.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, so that's the immediate engine of growth.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_02: Our Colombian asset uh as well, we're working on a growth agenda for it with a very supportive uh environment uh right now.
• 6:29
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna get into that in in just a moment.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: The growth story I think is really exciting.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_01: One final question on this preparatory part.
• 6:37
  SPEAKER_01: Uh you mentioned that Sun Valley has invested about 200 million dollars into the company so far.
• 6:43
  SPEAKER_01: How has it financed that?
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_02: So it's it's it's been our proprietary capital uh that's been deployed uh in Mineros.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_02: So so when it comes to being aligned to shareholders, having skin in the game, you totally have it uh at Mineros.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, now let's get on to the opportunity and and the growth there.
• 7:02
  SPEAKER_01: You've talked you you spoke about the the growth opportunity in Nicaragua.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um it sounds like you've got a lot of organic growth initiatives.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_01: Talk us through some of those.
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, we now have very significant growth opportunities.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh the immediate uh growth is happening at the Hemco platform in Nicaragua, um, removing historical bottlenecks like processing capacity that we discussed, adding 40% uh processing capacity uh this year, uh, improving recoveries.
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_02: Our silver recoveries have more than doubled.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: They went from 30% nothing uh to about 76% now, much better.
• 7:38
  SPEAKER_02: So our silver revenues went up about 500% uh this first half of the year compared to the first half the year before.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: Uh gold recoveries have gone up from 87% to north of uh 90% now.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: So very meaningful improvements uh to the operations that at the end of the day translate into more gold, translated into higher margins.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so Nicaragua has been the focus.
• 8:00
  SPEAKER_02: That's the that's the asset where we identify the biggest opportunities from an operational point of view, uh, deploying some capital, getting massive uh gains on the asset.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: So we're we we expect to take Nicaragua uh from this year, we just raised the guidance uh for for Nicaragua to about 150,000 ounces.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_02: We expect next year to start moving towards 200,000 ounces in in Nicaragua and then hopefully, yes, get very close to 200 ounces, 200,000 ounces there.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_02: But there's also very exciting growth opportunities.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_02: We have the Porvenir, um uh Advanced Development Assets, a PFS stage project, a 3150 uh gold price, which is a price that we picked for the pre-feasibility, is a 38% IRR project on a$200 million investment and a ton of growth around it.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: We're we're doing the largest exploration program in the history of this uh of this district.
• 9:00
  SPEAKER_02: A district that has produced about 8 million ounces of gold, but the level of understanding that we have of what we own already is minuscule.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: So understanding the potential of Nicaragua is something that we look forward to doing.
• 9:15
  SPEAKER_01: Mineos has been talking about Pauvener for many, many years, uh, since we've been working on that project and a PEA or PFS studies level first stage for a long, long time.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_01: What's your timeline now for bringing that into production?
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_02: It's hopefully now happening, Paul.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_02: So um we're working very hard with the authorities to get to get the asset fully permitted.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_02: We just received major permits.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so the plant is permitted, the mine is permitted, the tailing facility is permitted.
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, we're working on on uh forestry and uh water disposal permits.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_02: We expect to be fully permitted by the end of the year.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_02: So so very, very soon.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_02: Already doing uh detail engineering in a lot of aspects of of the of the of the asset.
• 10:00
  SPEAKER_02: In fact, we're starting to mobilize uh construction teams, building access.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_02: So we are hopefully ready to take a construction decision for this asset early next year.
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_02: So uh yes, it's been around, but we expect to take that into production hopefully very soon.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_02: And what's the potential capital cost for that?
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_02: 200 million dollars, 38% RRR on uh at 3150 gold.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_02: Uh at these levels is a is a great investment.
• 10:27
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and we're thinking of the development of Pourvenir as a phase one because what we're seeing around it, it's also very, very exciting.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_02: So we're we're starting with a 2,000 tons per day tapping infrastructure, but leaving all the space uh available and thinking already in uh doubling to 4,000 tons per day uh if we're able to to continue getting the sort of results we're getting so far.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well let's move back to Colombia, the the the company's heartland.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_01: Colombia's got a new president.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: All the companies active in Colombia that I've spoken to at this event are singing his praises and expecting great things from him.
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_01: What is your view?
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_02: Paul, um we we started uh receiving uh calls from government officials 10 days after after he was elected, after he took office, even after a devastating earthquake uh happening in Colombia.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_02: So that's you know that that speaks uh to the level of support that we're getting now uh in Colombia.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um we we need the mining industry as a country.
• 11:33
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and we have as a country remarkable opportunities uh to unlock a lot of value for the benefit of the country, for the benefit of our communities.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I think the current government recognizes that uh and um and we want to take advantage of this four-year window uh to advance our our pipeline in Colombia, to grow our existing production platform, um uh the Nichi operation that has been in production for over a century.
• 12:02
  SPEAKER_02: We have 2.2 million ounces in resources there, but only produce 80 to 90,000 ounces of gold a year.
• 12:08
  SPEAKER_02: We think we can have a higher production profile there.
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_02: So we're working now on on new permits to hopefully have uh a growth strategy for our Nichi operation.
• 12:19
  SPEAKER_02: But we also position ourselves quite well.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: We managed to acquire uh a bit of a controversial assets uh uh uh a month before the elections, and I'll leave it there.
• 12:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, talking about remarkable opportunities, you you're talking about the massive Lacalossa deposit, which you bought for a relatively modest amount, was it 40 or 50 million dollars?
• 12:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the the global resources, what, 28 million ounces?
• 12:44
  SPEAKER_01: There's potentially a higher grade core to that.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_01: Um what are your plans for Lacalosa during the current president's four-year terms?
• 12:54
  SPEAKER_02: Well, first of all, um uh the the key to unlock the value of this asset will be the the community, the local community.
• 13:03
  SPEAKER_02: From a technical point of view, this is a remarkable asset, uh Paul.
• 13:07
  SPEAKER_02: Um the size of it, the grade of it, the yes, there's Anglo invested about a billion dollars um Anglo Gold Shanti.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_02: Uh uh on this asset, and we heard it, all that information.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but that's that's not the key uh for this for this asset.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_02: The key is working with the communities.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_02: We we are ranked as number one in terms of social license in Colombia.
• 13:33
  SPEAKER_02: We have great tools at our disposal, some uh some tools that you're familiar with, uh like work for taxes or infrastructure for taxes, where we have uh tools at our disposal to create very deep relationships with our local community, with our communities, the communities that matter most to us.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_02: So, for example, this year we're building a school in the Bajo Cauca region for for about 2,000 kids, the same school that you would find here in Colorado Springs.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_02: We're building that in the Bajo Cauca region of Antiochia.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_02: So that creates very deep relationships uh with our local communities, the communities that matter most to us.
• 14:12
  SPEAKER_02: So we look forward to to do these sort of uh things to hopefully get um this uh community uh that is about 30 kilometers away from the asset to recognize that this is actually a very important opportunity for them.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_02: Uh and hopefully we'll be able to unlock value for their benefit, for the benefit of the country, and of course um for our company.
• 14:36
  SPEAKER_02: So exciting times.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, now beyond Colombia and Nicaragua, what are the growth plans for the company?
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_01: I understand you recently appointed a business development person who's based here in Denver.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_02: Exactly.
• 14:48
  SPEAKER_02: So that's Maria Vallejo.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_02: She's helping us evaluate uh growth opportunities for the company.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: We've gone through over a hundred assets in the last year.
• 14:56
  SPEAKER_02: We've been able to acquire two uh very exciting growth opportunities.
• 15:01
  SPEAKER_02: I think that you're alluding to the um La Pepa asset in Chile.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so we acquired that late last year.
• 15:08
  SPEAKER_02: Uh exciting opportunity for us to add Chile as a as a jurisdiction.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we're in the Maricunga Gold District, surrounded by producing mine.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_02: Kingros is operating there, goldfields is operating there, and adjacent to us is Rio 2.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, they took a very, I think, a smart approach to the development of their Phoenix mine.
• 15:29
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, and we're thinking of doing taking a very similar approach.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_02: We're starting with two and a half million ounces in resources there, which is a good place to start.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, there's a ton of exploration upside to the north, south, and west uh that we'll be investigated in due time.
• 15:43
  SPEAKER_02: But two and a half million ounces is good enough.
• 15:46
  SPEAKER_02: So we're working on a preliminary economic assessment uh that we expect to release uh early next year uh to start visualizing what a mining operation would look like.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_02: Again, similar approach to what Rio 2 did in uh just north of us, adjacent to us, uh starting with the with the oxides, same solution for the water with the same people.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's working for them, so we expect it will it will work for us as well.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_02: So that's Chile, uh which is becoming now an exciting third jurisdiction for us.
• 16:18
  SPEAKER_02: Also working hard on more inorganic acquisitions.
• 16:22
  SPEAKER_02: That's proving to be perhaps the more challenging part of the business in this very uh strong bull market.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's it's becoming harder to find accredited.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_02: We want to say discipline.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_02: Um so so so you know we keep working hard on that, but we've been able to assemble a very nice pipeline of growth in the short term and mid-term.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: Traditionally, Colombia has had very strong relationships with a strong relationship with the United States, and that the current president is uh has returned to that sort of modus operandi.
• 16:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um Colombia received a visit of US Secretary of State Marco Rubio um very, very recently.
• 17:02
  SPEAKER_01: So there seems to be a good connection there again.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um with that in mind, do you have any aims to potentially take a listing in the United States as well at a US exchange?
• 17:14
  SPEAKER_02: It could be very interesting.
• 17:15
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we're seeing our peers taking uh similar moves.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: So RS mining, aura minerals, uh they're they're all going towards NASDAQ.
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_02: Oh collective mining as well.
• 17:25
  SPEAKER_02: Collective mining as well.
• 17:27
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's unlocking a lot of value for them.
• 17:29
  SPEAKER_02: So it's something that we're certainly investigating.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_02: We're always investigating uh, you know, ideas to unlock value for for our shareholders.
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_02: So we're seeing the benefits that they're getting in terms of volume, price, uh discovery.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so it could be it could be a very exciting um opportunity for us as well.
• 17:46
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: During uh earlier in the conversation, Daniel, you mentioned the dividend that uh Moneros pays.
• 17:51
  SPEAKER_01: Moneros has paid a dividend for a very long time, it was uh a very good yield for a very long time.
• 17:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um more recently, the company's been buying back shares as well.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: Talk me through the the capital returns policy and program of the company and how that may evolve going forward.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_02: Perfect, Paul.
• 18:07
  SPEAKER_02: Look, we are uh prioritizing the investments in our assets.
• 18:12
  SPEAKER_02: Uh that's where we get the best IRRs, and at the end of the day, that translates into value for our shareholders.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we're doing dividends, as you pointed out, we're doing buybacks, we're acquiring also assets.
• 18:25
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, but even at after all of that, we're still left uh with a significant cash position that is now evolving into a bullion position as well.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um so we're we're now contemplating um new ways of developing you mentioned a bullion position.
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, I will get there.
• 18:42
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, but but um but right now um yes, we're we're contemplating perhaps um expanding uh things like dividends.
• 18:50
  SPEAKER_02: For us, uh we're we're the largest shareholders of the company, so so there's a ton of alignment there.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_02: Um we would love to acquire new assets, but if we're struggling with that, uh we also would love to find more ways of returning value to shareholders.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: I want to talk about the bullion position because that's something quite unique and interesting.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: But before I do, we regarding the share buyback program, I think it was fair to say that Mineros has uh a relatively modest number of shares outstanding compared to other companies in the in the space.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: So what's the aim there?
• 19:21
  SPEAKER_01: Obviously, with the the$200 million that Sunvalley's invested into the company, Sunvalley acquired a very, very large position in Mineros.
• 19:33
  SPEAKER_01: Um, is Sunvalley looking at re reducing that uh position?
• 19:37
  SPEAKER_01: And to what extent is that something related to the share buyback program?
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: Or does the share buyback program enable Sun Valley to get an even larger percentage?
• 19:46
  SPEAKER_02: It's a capital allocation uh allocation decision.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um so uh often when we like earlier this year, we saw a very deep correction in the share price, and we understand probably more than anyone else the value of our business.
• 20:00
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so we we we were concluding that the best investment opportunity that Mineros had was Mineros.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_02: So we were aggressively buying back our shares when we had that uh very significant correction.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_02: So we're being uh uh I would say tactical about it, um uh and removing that sell pressure and providing to some extent uh downward downward protection uh for our shareholders when those corrections happen, removing that bottle uh volatility.
• 20:27
  SPEAKER_02: So the buybacks have been uh more on that on that neighborhood.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_02: Uh it's more a capital allocation decision and providing that downward uh protection.
• 20:37
  SPEAKER_02: So that's you know that's that's there.
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we increase the buyback program, it's up to$175 million for a three-year.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um it's optional.
• 20:46
  SPEAKER_02: We we do it when we feel uh it makes sense.
• 20:50
  SPEAKER_02: Um and and then there's the dividends as well, which is something that we're always looking at as well.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well let's get on to the the bullion position.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um presumably that means you're holding bullion on your balance sheet.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, how did you come to that policy?
• 21:04
  SPEAKER_01: What's that about?
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: How much?
• 21:05
  SPEAKER_01: How how are you judging how much you need to hold?
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, uh so look, it's it's something relatively innovative, uh, but we think it's very logical at the same time.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_02: Uh as mining executives, as gold mining executives, we're always talking about how constructive we are about the metal that we produce.
• 21:26
  SPEAKER_02: Yet the first thing we do when we produce our gold is go and change it for paper.
• 21:30
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we don't think that that that's logical.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_02: We don't think that it goes well with the message that we're we're we're we're we're giving to the market.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_02: So we're simply uh being you know uh consistent uh with what we're saying.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_02: So we're we're starting to build up a bullion position.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_02: We we have we're in such a good operating environment that we can do all of that that we've been talking about, but at the same time building that uh Boolean position.
• 22:02
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so we part of the production that that we have, uh we sell it and we buy it back immediately.
• 22:09
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we keep it in in vaults in Salt Lake City in Switzerland, and we provide that extra exposure to our shareholders that invest in Bineros because they want to have exposure to the metal.
• 22:20
  SPEAKER_02: So right now we have about 40,000 ounces of gold sitting in in our vaults.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: And how do you determine the amount of gold you want to hold?
• 22:28
  SPEAKER_01: Is that a proportion of the overall balance sheet, a proportion of the overall market capitalization?
• 22:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yes, so the bullion policy has those those metrics.
• 22:36
  SPEAKER_02: We we're we also like to be uh tactical about it.
• 22:39
  SPEAKER_02: Uh we have uh an investment community, we have uh great advisors, um and and uh we yes when we see a level uh where we don't feel comfortable uh selling gold at, we try to keep some of that gold and and uh yes, because uh the business is performing so well, we we have that luxury, we don't have to sell all of our production to pay the the you know salaries and stuff like that.
• 23:07
  SPEAKER_01: So that 40,000 ounces people should expect to see that grow quarter on quarter, potentially.
• 23:12
  SPEAKER_02: Potentially, yes.
• 23:14
  SPEAKER_02: Um we we think gold is a great way of preserving uh the value of of our treasury.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um so so as we build up that liquidity, uh gold can be uh uh a significant part of part of that.
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_02: We're putting also credit lines in place.
• 23:32
  SPEAKER_02: So in case we need that liquidity for an acquisition, uh we can use that gold as collateral and get uh get uh dollars uh for that.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so it's not coming at a cost uh to our liquidity.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, well, congratulations on you know what what is so far being a very successful turnaround.
• 23:50
  SPEAKER_01: Wish you great success for uh continuing that.
• 23:52
  SPEAKER_01: Look forward to hearing more about that as that progresses.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_01: Daniel and now, thank you very much for joining me today.
• 23:57
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you very much.
• 23:58
  SPEAKER_01: Real pleasure, thank you.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_01: And we have a lot more to come from the 2026 Mining Forum Americas, so stay tuned and hit that subscribe button.
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Paul Harris, and this is Kitco Mining.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_00: Kitco Mining on site coverage of Mining Forum Americas is presented by Metalla Royalty and streaming.