Arizona Gold & Silver Inc (TSX-V:AZS, OTCQB:AZASF, FRA:A9J0) CEO Mike Stark talked with Proactive about a major $18 million institutional investment set to accelerate exploration across the company’s key projects.
Proactive: Exciting news out from the company that you've had a large investment from an institutional investor really backing what you've been doing, obviously your project Philadelphia and other things as well. So tell me a little bit about this investor and what they said to you of why they want to back the company.
Mike Stark: I'm really pleased. Look, this is the biggest deal they've ever done. That in itself shows a lot of credibility. More importantly, this is an interesting institutional style investor. These are people that look long term, which is where I was most excited about them. 3 to 5 years is well within their wait period. So that's somebody that wants to grow with us.
They see the opportunity that not only Philadelphia has, but Silverton as well. And our management team, they've got the big picture here Steve. I couldn't be happier. $18 million coming in over the next two years. Very exciting.
So when you were talking to them, Mike, what sort of things were they really excited about as far as Philadelphia was concerned?
It's been going on for five months. This wasn't easy. This is something that took time and negotiation on both sides. But what I'm excited about is as they get involved, they're part of the equation. They are in day-to-day movements and working with us. They’ve also got an advertising background.
So their team is moving in conjunction with us. And that is a team aspect that I've always enjoyed.
Talk to me a little bit about $18 million. What does it mean as far as work that can be done and runway?
It's huge. Look, this will give us a two-year runway. It'll give us the opportunity to put multiple rigs on Philadelphia. Obviously, Silverton gets included in that. We will have two properties moving forward simultaneously.
The results are going to speak for themselves, but the potential we now have and the availability of multiple rigs is going to bring multiple news releases — 4 to 5 holes a month on just Philadelphia, 24-hour drilling. This is what our shareholders have been waiting for, and we're delivering it now.
And that includes this year?
Mike Stark: Our program right now is anywhere from 30 to 40 holes this calendar year. From this point forward to next year, we'd like to put 40 holes into the system. We've managed to drill 162 so far. So this is a major move forward.
Lastly, what does this say about the work done behind the scenes?
It is gratifying. I've said this before — Lex is a get-it-done guy. And now with this capital coming in, you can imagine geologists love spending money.
This fits his wheelhouse because he's got his drill program ready to execute. The area outside to the east of our property is a very exciting target. Now we're going to motivate that area as well and do more work to define where we want to drill.
Again, this capital is going to allow the company to really move forward.
Quotes have been lightly edited for style and clarity