What makes the Abitibi greenstone belt so attractive to Cartier Resources, and how do the historic activities of the region fit with the company’s strategy to focus on advanced gold projects?

The Abitibi greenstone belt is a tier-one district with over 100 years of proven endowment that has provincial and national support backing its development. In the last bull run from 2003-2006, no less than ten mines were brought into production. The one common denominator for all ten deposits was that none of them were new discoveries. As an example, Canadian Malartic was four past-producing mines turned open pit.

Cartier Resources' flagship Chimo is another example. It produced in the mid-1960s and mid-1980s before being sold to a final operator who mined it until 1997. Over a 30-year period, Chimo produced just under 400,000 oz Au. It ceased production not for lack of ore but because of the price of the gold at the time and the negative light the Bre-X scandal cast on the mining industry. Yet its endowment did not go anywhere, and we were thrilled to acquire it.

How much potential does Chimo presently hold?

When Cartier Resources changed its strategy from focusing on grassroots exploration to shopping for projects that had great historical resources, Chimo, Benoist, Wilson, and Fenton all stuck out to us and are all part of our present portfolio. It just so happened that Chimo had infrastructure from past production, so we had access to a database of 4,000 drill holes and 60,000 assays. The resource estimate at Chimo indicated the mine grows laterally and at depth, and at depth we would be crossing onto O3 Mining territory. As a result, O3 sold us the property in exchange for a significant share position alongside Agnico Eagle, and by consolidating, we increased the ounce count considerably.

Has the current investment climate impacted Cartier Resources’ operations?

One sentiment investors cannot tolerate is fear. When fear takes hold of the market, the last thing you want to hold is junior stocks. Unfortunately, when this happens, you crystalize your loss, and everybody suffers. What should be done instead is to pause for reflection on whether a project has strong fundamental geological value, cash in the bank, corporate sponsors, social acceptance, and drillers available. If this is the case, there is no need to worry about the long term – gold in the ground does not rust. Fortunately, Cartier Resources has more cash than most, so we will continue to push forward.

How do considerations for Cartier Resources’ shareholders factor into your plans?

It is more responsible to let the big players develop mines. From an ESG standpoint, they have the environmental departments and resources to do things well. From a financial standpoint, when a junior attempts to do what the seniors do, they spend significantly more money given economies of scale. Producers are happy to watch you dilute your shareholder value to begin construction and wait to buy the project off you once you have significantly de-risked it and are no longer able to proceed. It is our fiduciary duty to protect shareholder value and recognize this. That said, we are pricing out the process of building the mine to compare it with bids.

Along those lines, seniors have encouraged exploration companies to consolidate. The problem is that unlike when producers consolidate, when juniors consolidate, they do so at the detriment of their shareholders.

What role does ESG play in Québec?

Unfortunately, many companies do a lot of lip service when it comes to ESG. This is not the case for companies based at or near their operations. Those living near or on-site will naturally be better stewards of the environment than those who cannot directly see their impact. Québec is proactive in the sense that when you start a project in the province, you must bond the money for a reclamation. Something else I appreciate about Québec is that the money stays near the mine.