Can you introduce Emperor Metals and its Duquesne West project? 

We are advancing Canada’s next high-grade gold deposit in Southern Abitibi. Duquesne West has a historical resource of 727,000 oz of gold at an average grade of 5.42 g/t and an average thickness of 5.71 m. The project had been idle for 12 years when we acquired it in 2022. In 2023, we did an AI review of the database to create the first 3D and geological models, which demonstrated its exploration potential, and we then built a new open pit conceptual model and successfully drilled 8,579 m to grow the resource footprint. We also sent 2,500 m of historical core for assays in 2023, adding incremental ounces. With the inaugural 2023 drilling program, Emperor was the first company to sample the entire core and identified that the host rock containing the high-grade gold lenses also held low-grade bulk tonnage gold. We will be conducting a fully funded 8,000 m drilling program in 2024. We plan on assaying an additional 8,000 m of historic core within the open pit model as we are working towards an updated NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate by Q1 2025. 

I am a geologist, most recently Chief Superintendent of Geology at Detour Lake Gold (subsequently acquired by Kirkland Lake Gold then Agnico Eagle). Detour Mine was a struggling asset when I arrived in 2016. My team and I built a new geological model for the deposit and enhanced it with AI which resulted in a 20% increase in gold going through the mill—when you produce 700,000 oz/y of gold, that equated to US$150 million/y of extra revenue for the mine’s life (now +US$300 million with the increase in the gold price). AI allowed us to analyze and create models which could not be done before, and I wanted to leverage the advantages of this technology for exploration, which is what we did at Duquesne West. 

How important is Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Emperor’s story? 

The birth of Emperor is in AI as this technology allowed us to build models for our flagship Duquesne West project in a month which would conventionally take years. AI increases productivity—it is like having 20 geologists on your team but without the salary expenses. You have to have trained geological personnel to get the appropriate models, but you can create models of many different scenarios overnight. AI has allowed us to accelerate the model-building process significantly and apply it successfully.

Within one year, Emperor built the first ever 3D model, the first ever geological model, and now the first-ever conceptual model with AI.  These models highlight the potential of the Duquesne West Gold project. Being in a tier one mining district, the project can benefit from great infrastructure such as a highway that leads to Rouyn-Noranda International Airport, access to the local power supply, and year-round maintained road access. One g/t in this jurisdiction is equal to 3 g/t in the North as we do not have to build camps, a mill, or even a tailings dam as we can use the already built infrastructure. Emperor does not have the capex costs that can become substantial when you build a mine, allowing for a high rate of return, a quick payback period, and a healthy NPV.

How do you plan to unlock value at the Duquesne West project? 

The Duquesne West deposit was discovered in 1940. Emperor has leveraged historical information and conducted an inaugural drilling program in 2023 that focused on moving the resource towards development. We realized that there is also significant open pit potential and, as of 2024, we are funded for another 8,000 m drilling program and 8,000 m of historical assaying, focusing primarily on reducing the stripping ratio and continuing to build the resource externally and internally to known resources. We expect to produce a new NI 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimate by Q1 2025, and will then move the project towards a PEA or more advanced study. Emperor is currently at a C$16 million market cap, and looking at projects similar to Duquesne West, we see huge potential for significant market cap growth. 

What makes Emperor Metals a good investment opportunity? 

We have a proven management team, we are exploring a prime mining jurisdiction, surrounded by 50 active mines, and our project presents the opportunity to build gold resources in multiple production scenarios.