Among other things, Kaminak Gold CEO Eira Thomas shares her thoughts on what it takes to bring a mine from exploration and development into production.

At last week’s Sprott-Stansberry Vancouver Natural Resource Symposium, Kaminak Gold (TSXV:KAM) CEO Eira Thomas took a moment to chat about the progress the company has made so far in 2015 and what investors can expect next.

Certainly, it’s been a busy year for Kaminak Gold, which has put out a string of drill and metallurgical results for its Coffee gold project since January. Most recently, Kaminak reported gold recoveries of up to 85 percent from transitional mineralization in column leach tests.

The company is aiming to complete a feasibility study for its Yukon project by early 2016. Thomas stated that Kaminak Gold has completed all fieldwork associated with the study, and is now moving into the final stages of engineering and design for the project. Kaminak is fully funded through to completion of a feasibility study.

Certainly, the current gold price environment has not been kind to mining companies, but Thomas stated that Kaminak Gold’s Coffee project is “actually fairly well insulated” against gold’s decline. “As we like to emphasize, it is a project that really works in the current gold price environment,” she said. Being located in Canada, Kaminak Gold has also seen a weaker Canadian dollar bring costs down for the Coffee project.

More generally, when asked about what it takes to bring a mine from exploration and development into production, Thomas pegged timing as a key issue. “So much of it is just about hitting the cycle at the right time,” she said. “I’ve watched really good companies with great projects struggle in the current market environment because they need cash now.”

Thomas suggested that Kaminak Gold is fortunate in that the big fundraising to build Coffee is still a ways off. For now, the company remains focused on derisking the project and bringing it through the next stages of development.

And while she admitted that permitting can sometimes take time in the Yukon, Thomas stated that it’s a “very predictable and transparent regime.” With a team that has a strong track record of permitting mines, Thomas said that Kaminak Gold is aiming to have Coffee “shovel ready” by the second quarter of 2018.

Watch the video for more of what she had to say.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=56&v=5jMy_dKkU9Y

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