Please introduce Tristar Gold?

Tristar Gold was formed from the sale of Brazauro to Eldorado with TriStar then acquiring the Castelo de Sonhos project. Tristar moved Castelo de Sonhos forward from 2008 to 2015. In 2015, some partners and I did a management takeover and injected more money and technical know-how into the company, and started moving it forward significantly faster.

In 2015, we had 280,000 oz of gold in resources. Within a few years, we had that up to 1.8 million oz of indicated, and 700,000 oz of inferred. We are still a single asset company, so our entire focus is on developing Castelo de Sonhos. We recognized that not only was the deposit excellent, but the location was very good as well. We are right next to a road and a power line, near to a labor force, and not in any indigenous or nature reserves. We have now completed our pre-feasibility study, and we are awaiting our LP, the main environmental permit, in the next few months.

What are the strengths of the deposit?

Castelo do Sonhos is different because it is a paleoplacer deposit, which means it was a river fan 2 billion years ago, which is very old by the deposit standards of the earth. What is special about these projects is that they are generally very large, but because they’ve been weathered away already, they are very clean. There are no sulfides, there is no acid rock drainage, and no deleterious elements at all. It is comprised of quartzite (conglomeritic), silica, and then a few gold grains. The cleanliness of the deposit helps with ESG management, and it fits into the Brazilian government’s plan to have a modern clean mining industry. This is probably the cleanest mine you could imagine in gold mining.

We have only developed a small portion of the project so far, and we have 1.4 million oz in reserves, right at the surface. If you see press releases for most companies, they are drilling 300 to 400 meter long drill holes to look for gold, and our drill holes are only 120 meters. We are just scratching to surface, there is so much more to explore.

How does Tristar Gold prioritize sustainability?

We have a vice president of sustainability and an ESG committee at the board level. The company has done excellent work in this area since the beginning of our time at this project. We have our own nursery where we grow plants to revegetate drill sites, and after we replant our platforms, the remaining seedlings are distributed to the local community.

Our main focus though is on health and education. With the help of one of our investor companies, we assisted an important community near us in building a new school. Tristar always attempts to structure ESG projects so they are a strong partnership between us and the community.

What do you see as the investment attitude towards Brazil?

Right now, Brazil seems to be one of the best jurisdictions within Latin America to attract investment. That was not the case for a few years, but the longer Brazil stays stable, the more favorable it will be as an investment target. Although at the federal level we have experienced a major change of government, the mining industry is still stable and still moving forward. The laws are solid and are enforced correctly. I think for most of us this is the most important, knowing where the goal posts are and not having them moving all the time

What are the main objectives for Tristar Gold over the next two years?

At Tristar Gold, our 100% focus is on Castelo de Sonhos and getting it permitted. Next is the final feasibility study, and finally, to enter the construction and production phases. It is just a matter of how we do that. We have hired a Chief Operating Officer who has hands on experience mining these types of deposits. As the project gets bigger, it might become beneficial to have a bigger partner, but the idea is to move the project into production as quickly as possible.