TNR Gold Corp (TSX-V:TNR, OTC:TRRXF) executive chairman Kirill Klip spoke with Proactive about the company’s recent progress across its portfolio in Argentina.
Klip highlighted the strong shareholder support received at TNR Gold’s AGM, where the company’s strategy was endorsed by a record number of votes.
“We delivered already with the TNR Gold team 100% increase in share price this year. And now we are working on the next 100 plus milestone,” he said.
On the Mariana lithium project, Klip explained that partner Ganfeng has started gradually producing lithium chloride, with plans to scale up capacity to 20,000 tonnes per year. He noted that this marks TNR Gold’s transition from a project generator into a royalty-generating company, with the first royalty payments expected soon.
Turning to the Los Azules copper project, Klip pointed to the recent collaboration agreement between McEwen Copper and the International Finance Corporation, describing it as a strong vote of confidence that paves the way for project financing.
He said TNR Gold’s royalty on Los Azules could be valued as high as $30 million, referencing recent comparable deals.
Klip also highlighted a new research report that raised TNR Gold’s target price from $0.28 to $0.30, reflecting market recognition of the company’s growth potential.
Proactive: You’re watching Proactive. Joining me is TNR Gold executive chairman Kirill Klip. So let’s talk about your AGM back in June where you had overwhelming support for the team at TNR Gold and also endorsements of your strategies. So shareholders are clearly happy with the progress you’re making.
Kirill Klip: Results are speaking for themselves. We delivered already with the TNR Gold team a 100% increase in share price this year. And now we are working on the next 100 plus milestone. As you mentioned, we celebrated the AGM this year with a record number of votes. This was overwhelming support of the TNR Gold team and a very strong endorsement of our strategy.
Well, let’s take a look at the strategy and what the shareholders are endorsing. We’ll start with your Mariana projects in Argentina. Ganfeng is already gradually supplying lithium chloride products in a stable manner.
Yes, this is correct. As you can imagine, all our shareholders have been eagerly awaiting more positive news from Argentina, and our partners have delivered. All our projects are moving forward. The most important thing to mention is that this year, we are graduating from a project generation junior mining company to potentially a cash-flow royalty generation company. Mariana lithium has reported progress.
We are very pleased to say that in internal findings in China, they announced that they expect Mariana lithium will gradually be producing commercial quantities of lithium chloride. They plan to increase capacity to 20,000 tonnes per year. So we are eagerly awaiting the first royalty payments from this project.
Good news also from your Los Azules copper project in Argentina. The International Finance Corporation has signed a collaboration agreement with McEwen Copper. That will assist the financing, won’t it?
Exactly. The team of Rob McEwen is advancing this giant project very successfully. Now we have another vote of confidence in this development. As you know, IFC is a member of the World Bank organization, providing financing to more than 100 countries worldwide, mostly emerging economies.
Rob McEwen has said this cooperation agreement is paving the way for a financing package already for construction of Los Azules. IFC will hopefully participate as a lead lender and also in the next round of equity investment in this giant copper project in Argentina.
They are positioning this development as a way to unlock the economic potential of Argentina with new pro-business reforms implemented by President Milei.
And of course, Los Azules is moving forward towards that feasibility study. That’ll give you more potential valuations for your royalty in Los Azules, won’t it?
Yes, this is true. As you remember, we have already been discussing a number of potential valuations for Los Azules. Based on Rob McEwen’s personal estimation following the Osisko Gold and SolGold deal in Ecuador, TNR Gold’s royalty could be valued as high as $30 million. You can imagine this is already a giant project.
It is among the ten largest projects in the world, and it is the fourth largest project not owned by a major copper mining company. We now expect a new feasibility study and hopefully a new resource estimation, because the preliminary economic assessment only considered drill holes up to December 2022.
Los Azules already has a giant resource base equivalent to almost 50 million ounces of gold, consisting of 10.9 billion pounds of copper in the indicated category and 26.7 billion pounds in the inferred category.
We are looking now for an increase in resources. Analysts and investors are also paying close attention. Fundamental Research issued a new report increasing our potential target price from $0.28 to $0.30.
We are looking forward to hitting this milestone.
As I told you, TNR Gold has already delivered a 100% increase in share price this year, and now we are working hard for our shareholders to reach another milestone with another 100% increase in market cap potential.