Collective Mining Closes in on a Maiden Resource for Apollo

0:14Trevor Hall: All right, everybody. Happy Thursday. Welcome back into Mining Stock Daily. Kind of a busy day here of corporate updates as we begin to wrap up the week and a new refurbished gold market. So we're going to talk about precious metals equities with our friends down in columbia with collective mining they do trade now on the nasdaq and also on the tsx with the symbol cnl happy to welcome in our friend ari susman from the company once again ari the nasdaq uh upgrade from the nicey uh give us a reason why this was kind of an important kind of checkpoint for the company nisey american not full board nisey so so we moved up um it's it's really the equivalent for canadians of going from the tsx venture to the tsx we chose nasdaq over nisey main board because frankly the exchange offered us more freebies and goodies for doing it and its annual fee is slightly less believe it or not than the nisey so we went nasdaq and uh you know we're We're happy to be there and I think we'll see some increased liquidity and really one of our goals, you know, at least from a stock perspective is to see if we can get ourselves listed in one of the Russell indexes.

1:32You know, maybe later this year, if not, it'll be the next round in 2027. They rebalance like large rebalances twice a year. So that's, that's really the granddaddy of them all. that's a much better index to get included into than than any of the other metal focused index in terms of volume because the russell 2000 if you get in could buy you know almost 10 percent

1:57Trevor Hall: of your float type of number big right right we've seen a couple of our partners get included into the russell that had big buying it's been fascinating to watch i always thought the nasdaq was like the most expensive so i'm actually pretty surprised and pleased to hear that it's cheaper than the the nicey board so that's i thought i thought the nasdaq was most expensive and the trevor the amount of freebie things they throw in are using is unbelievable like full investor relations services like free press releases for four years you know they wow that's a big cost you know for your listeners like to have a press release what newswire servants you know costs between 30 and 50 000 a year depending on how active you are with press releases a big money Yeah, absolutely.

2:42Trevor Hall: All right. We're going to get into the developments, latest developments of what's going on with Guayabales, but I think it is important. I want to talk big picture of what's happening in Colombia. A lot of capital flowing in there. Colombia is doing really well. I think people are really excited about the new president, Espriella, who's came into office. I mean, I'm looking at the Columbia ETF and that makes every week makes like a new, relatively new high. So capital is flowing. What are some of kind of the policies that are not only beneficial for the company, but really the mining sect all around that has got people really excited?

3:25So pro-responsible development. This is a capitalistic government that has come in. And I would qualify Abelardo, people can't pronounce de las pria very well, so let's go with Abelardo's first name, President Abelardo, you know, as a cross between Bukele in El Salvador and Mille in Argentina. So the economics of Mille and the tough on crime stance, you know, of Bukele. And I think this is a perfect mix for Colombia. And the message has been clear. I mean, they only came in less than just slightly less than two weeks ago and it's growth, growth, growth. Like, you know, we have a big debt problem.

4:08We need projects to move and move quickly. Where are we going to find those revenue streams and those employment opportunities for the citizens? And mining is definitely right in the center of that mix. So it's going to be a good four years. I've expected anyways to be a good four years. Not that it was bad the last four years, but it was a more, a socialistic approach to government. And this is very capitalistic and pro-growth. So, you know, sweet spot for Columbia and, and, and, and, and I think, you know, as the year progresses or two years to four year term, you know, we're going to hear more and more about the attractiveness of Columbia for developers, explorers and, and for producers, you know, that want to come in and, and, and grow in the country.

4:52because, you know, remember, Colombia, oldest democracy in South America, okay? Only country, no military coups, none of this history. It's always been every four years free election. And other than maybe Chile, I would say it has the best rule of law. I mean, its government is set up similar to ours here in the United States, right? You know, it works, good check and balances between states and foreigners have been investing big money in the country forever and legally very strongly protected. So this is a great place to be. And, you know, I think there's going to see a bevy of explorers start to come in.

5:27We'll see little juniors start to pop up over the next few months. I don't know who yet, but, you know, picking up ground. And we're hopefully the forefront leader, well, we are, of the development stage in the country.

5:40Trevor Hall: Ari, you and I have chatted for a number of years. And I think one of the conversations that has always stuck with me since not only I had become a shareholder of Collective, But, you know, just having a professional relationship with you and your team is the idea that when things need to get built or permitted in Columbia, there will be a window of time where that is open. And then potentially there'll be a window of time where that opportunity will be closed. This really feels like the early days of an open window to really go gung-ho with project development permitting and a final construction decision.

6:19Trevor Hall: two weeks into a four-year term, Ari, is this the beginning of that window? Bingo, Trevor. It is. Okay. And, and, and we are going to capitalize on that window. That is our intent. So, um, what you're going to see coming from us, okay. In, in September, I don't know a date yet. We're, we're, our QP is working on it. We're going to announce our maiden resource estimate for Guayabalas, for the Apollo system. Okay. That's going to come in September. Why are we doing that because we're going to accelerate licensing of the project as fast as possible. Okay. Our goal is to submit a license for the project in H2 of 2027.

6:59Okay. To remind your listeners, it takes pretty much maximum a year to license a project in Columbia, best case kind of eight or nine months, realistically about 11 to 12. So that would put us, if all goes well, into a licensed project scenario by late 2028. You have a four-year term. The president has a four-year term. That means he will run until 2030. And we could, in theory, be at least in full-blown construction during his term. And everyone knows in the mining business that construction employs more people than production. In LATAM, you tend to overhire because labor is cheaper. So, you know, my last project, Continental Gold, Beritica Mine, I think at peak employment, we had close to 5 ,000 people working between contractors and employees.

7:49So we're going to be at the forefront of that, and we intend to push this mine, and that's a good place to be, and let's move quickly.

7:59Trevor Hall: Yeah, absolutely. All right, so resource, the first resource. We've been waiting for a long time for this. This is huge. That's going to be a huge update. So obviously, we'll be waiting for that. So in a month's time, maybe, we're going to see what those numbers actually look like. What about economics on this project? What's that one year? Not yet. Not yet. Okay, so our planning is as follows with rough timelines. Okay, resources definitely coming in September, whether it's the beginning or the middle or the end, I don't know yet. The independent QP is doing the work. The project for 43-101 or these compliant categories isn't ready in terms of where the ounces are for a mine plant.

8:43So even a PEA doesn't make sense because I can't say too much at this point until the resource comes out, but we envision mining two areas of the Apollo system, the surface top of the system and ramp. Okay. The problem with the maiden resource is going to be not too many ounces yet in ramp because of the lack of drilling. Ramp is growing very big, very fast. So the thinking is as follows. Resource now. Resource late 2020. follow-up resource, that would then be the basis for a PEA and then directly into FS. Right? So let's play the timeline of this project out. Okay. So if we can get licensed by late 2028, that would be roughly a similar timeline that we could deliver an FS, a feasibility study for the project.

9:36And then we're going out to raise money and build in 2029, we could be in build mode. okay that's very attractive when i look out at our peer group companies you know the peer group are those with medium or large gold deposits you know i don't know if anyone could could replicate that timeline in terms of getting permitted in construction so it puts us at the forefront the one i had that could move faster than us got taken out which was g2 gold which is now which is part of G mining, they closed that transaction. So we're pushing very hard. The 43-101 studies will come out as the permitting's progressing.

10:17This is not abnormal. Remember, there's a legal system for permitting in Colombia, which is not Canadian 43-101. It's Colombian's own version. So we follow that in Colombia, but we do our studies to put project economics around this. But we do envision, I don't know which year, mining the top and ramp simultaneously. And I think we will ultimately see big ounces on an annual basis coming out of this project. Really, really world-class in terms of what it might produce.

10:47Trevor Hall: Yeah. All right. Well, first off, we're going to see the resource. You've done a tremendous amount of drilling, Ari. Are there expectations that we see additional ounces other than inferred? Will we see M &I? You will not see M, but you will definitely see indicated. Okay. What percentage? I don't know, but where you will see indicated is let's break Apollo down into three sections. Okay. Shallow, you know, top 500 meters from surface, 500 to a thousand, and then ramp, which starts at a thousand meters below surface and keeps going down. You will see the indicated sitting in that top 500 meters.

11:25Right? Makes sense because surface rigs, that's the shortest distance to drill. So that's where the most meters are. The middle section is actually poorly drilled. You'll see ounces there. Believe me, you'll see some ounces, but, and ramp is just really a new thing. I mean, you've seen our corporate presentation and press releases on drilling. We have this donut shape of the breccia, this circular shape. You know, it's only been drilled with assays of maybe 22 or 23 % of the circumference. I don't have the answer yet what percentage of that total circumference makes the resource, but it's going to be 20 % max laterally or in a circumference.

12:01Vertically, the thing's growing at depth. I know, you know, so maybe we'll go down the resource. We'll test 400 meters vertical of ramp with very sparse drilling. We have visual holes down to about, oh God, 800, almost 800 meters below the top of ramp to the deepest potential intercept. There's a lot of good-looking holes, you know, that are just finished drilling or being drilled during the lab. So stay tuned. We're going to be really news-heavy post-resource announcement in September. And the key on the resource is whatever the number is, I can't comment, but, you know, it's just a step because the system's growing and growing fast from that point.

12:41Trevor Hall: Well, and that's what makes the exploration added into ramp so important. That was the latest news here this week. The almost two-kilometer switchback road to access the beginning of that added is being complete. So that's huge. Everything's on track to commence the development of that. It sounds like Q4, early 2027. Is that right? No, no. We will be advancing with the tunnel or the audit in Q4, the exploration audit. The box cut in portal will be starting obviously before that. They get complete and then you start advancing underground. If you dig into that press release, obviously it's a little more speculative, but man, are we right at TRAP.

13:31We'll be drilling a greenfield target called TRAP East, which is named a TRAP East, simple. um you know in q1 of 2027 i mean you will have a drill bay cut out pretty close to the entrance maybe a couple hundred meters you know from the entrance of the of the portal the underground at it and then we'll be at the trap main zone um you know by middle of next year and if you look at the map we produced we had two drill pads in trap a couple years ago that are sitting effectively right on line with where the tunnel is. And, you know, it's more of a narrower vein system in that location of trap, but we did drill two meters at 234 grams per ton.

14:14You know, we'll be able to almost touch that from the underground exploration audit, right? So high expectations. And why I like this is because I'm hoping that we find a lot more at trap. I do think it's a multimillion ounce target. I mean, I know it is a multimillion ounce target. And I can envision that we'll have a working front for underground mining from TRAP to go alongside with Apollo. And how good is that going to be to fill the mill when you have a separate area to be mining underground to add complementary ounces to the Apollo system? So that's going to be awesome.

14:51Trevor Hall: Yeah, it's very awesome. I mean, now that you're going to be starting that underground development, Ari, talk about, did you had to go out and hire any underground mining expertise, any sort of personnel? And what did that look like? Is it added GNA because of it? Well, we had already staffed. It's a small GNA internally, but we're using a third-party contractor to do the tunneling. Okay. Okay. It's someone we've worked with in the past. So it was already budgeted. I mean, we went for budget this year. It wasn't a surprise that we were doing this. It was in the budget. And so$5 million of our budget for this year is allocated to the tunnel.

15:34Next year, it will be more. I don't have that number yet. But my guess, it's a guess, you know, because until you actually start tunneling underground, the costs are a guess versus reality. I bet you the tunnel to get to Apollo is going to cost$30 million. Okay. So it will take 2027 and 2028, okay, to get there. So 12 million next year-ish, 18 million the year after or something, you know, like that, you know, would be rough numbers in terms of what it will cost because it will get faster as you get more advanced. Right.

16:09Trevor Hall: I think that it's interesting. Interesting. I would recommend everybody who's listening to this, go back to that last news release, and there's a great image of that exploration at it and what a potential future mine infrastructure looks like. You mentioned it goes through TRAP, but before it even gets to Apollo, Ari, it has to also go through Plutus, which is quite interesting. So, I mean, it's like the world's your oyster with a potential mine plan, and depending on the development of this at it into the ramp zone, where it's eventually going to end up. But what happens between that portal and Apollo is still kind of yet to be seen.

16:46Trevor Hall: I mean, that could be some real blue sky potential. I would be shocked if we don't run into something and I wouldn't be surprised. I'm not predicting this, but I wouldn't be surprised if we find another discovery, make another significant discovery on the way. There has never been any exploration, zero, between Trap and Plutus. It's not because the surface is less perspective. It's just, we can't be everywhere at once doing work. And so what happens between trap and Plutus, Plutus is very poorly drilled. Okay. But we did discover a breccia body at Plutus, right. And, and there's some pretty decent intercepts into it, right.

17:24Like, you know, a hundred to 200 meter intercepts at North of a gram into Plutus. So, um, that's going to be nice to go look at that after we get past trap from underground and, and look, having done underground development for exploration in the past at continental gold, you know, it tends to become a case of where you slap your forehead and say, oh, this was so obvious. Why didn't we see this from surface drilling? Right. So we're going to, we're going to find some things and it's, and, and, and there'll be some good metal under there. And I can't wait to get moving. What I can tell you is the first hundred meters will be bad.

17:58Okay. It's not going to look good. We've done the condemnation drilling. So fortunately you don't really want to have metal there because you have a tunnel there. So the first 100 meters is dead, you know, but that's good. And then, and the nice thing also, the last point to mention is where this exploration at it is, is beside where we envision building the future mines. So this will eventually be widened. And, you know, once we get licensed, we'll in the future turn into a haulage line, you know, for ramp material to come out to a processing plant. All right.

18:35Trevor Hall: On top of the technical aspects and development, I'm really excited a month from, hopefully a month from now, we get that resource estimate. I've been, as you know, Ari, I've been waiting patiently for those numbers. However, the social license here has also kind of been really important to take note of the way you interact with the community and called us. but obviously we all know of the unfortunate incident of the earthquake there in western columbia you did put out news that the company is in assistance to provide any sort of help where it can but also on top of that you did an interesting solar energy initiative with the local communities as well uh can you know we don't need to go into great detail unless you'd like to but you know talk to us about that social community relationship right now it seems like it's in it's it's probably maybe stronger now than it ever has been even three years since i've been there on the ground it's maturing right you know it's the hardest point the hardest thing to do is to build trust with communities and it's your goal as a company is to become the community you're part of it right not not not not some gringo that's come in as a third party and throwing money around to try and buy support.

19:55And, you know, so we arrived as the outsider and I would say we're now part of the insiders, right, of that community. The earthquake is devastating. You know, we as a company, you know, must have had horseshoes hanging off of of the rooftops of our facilities because somehow we got very lucky. We had no injuries. We had no damage corporately. We did have four employees whose personal homes were not destroyed, but were condemned post-earthquake by engineers saying not safe. So we are assisting them. But I don't know why. Somehow Supia, the town we're based in, Marmoto next door, even though they were closer than the large cities nearby they didn't get hit very hard right to this they were closer to the epicenter so it was just maybe it was the topography and the one miracle of this earthquake that not that there's anything good about it but it was deep right if it was shallow the devastation would have been far far worse than it actually was but it's bad don't get me wrong manis alleys where we're contributing which is the largest city in Caldas.

21:08It's, you know, it's a better, it's just under a million people. It got hit pretty bad. And that is where our efforts are going. Like more than half our employees are from Anasales. Okay.

21:19Trevor Hall: Well, heart goes out to them. Hopefully get through this and, you know, kind of move on and, you know, everybody, nothing, nothing more happens. Let's just say that, but I appreciate your time. Everything obviously you do for the communities. I think people are very grateful for that. Ari, appreciate you and I or somebody from Collective. We're going to chat here maybe a month's time. Huge news on the horizon. I would say almost imminent. Look forward to having that conversation because it's potentially going to be a catalyst for the next move. It's going to be the first of hopefully lots, right?

21:55So we're excited. Yeah. All right. Okay, Trevor. Thank you.

21:58Trevor Hall: Thank you. Yeah, that's Collective Mining, everybody. Again, trading on the NASDAQ and the TSX with the symbol CNL. The information presented should not be considered investment advice. Mining Stock Daily Yen's affiliates are not responsible for any loss arising from any investment decision in connection with the material presented herein. Please do your own research or speak with a licensed financial representative before making any investment decisions.