Orefinders Resources said it's received drilling and exploration permits for all three of its gold properties in northeastern Ontario.
The permits are good for three years but the Toronto junior miner hasn't revealed its exploration plans for 2019, nor its exploration budget; that's all by design, according to Orefinders CEO Stephen Stewart.
The financing environment simply isn't the greatest.
The company has been steadily prospecting and collecting data on its Mirado, McGarry and Knight projects, spread out between Shining Tree and Kirkland Lake.
Orefinders has been taking a new geological approach to these properties, which are either former mines or are situated next to very advanced gold properties in the region.
Stewart maintains the cost of exploration capital is too high.
But with new gold discoveries becoming increasingly scarce, with major mining companies starting to feel the pressure of dwindling reserves, and with mergers and acquisitions season in full swing, Orefinders is prepared to sit and wait.
“We spent a good portion of 2018 compiling large amounts of data from each of our projects to fully understand what work has been completed, its results and what that represents. This compilation was used to design these drill programs, which are now fully permitted," said Stewart in a statement.
“In that past, we have been cautious on exploration budgets as we firmly believed that the cost of capital has been too high, and the market was not rewarding good drill results. This equalled a poor environment for us to deploy capital to onto our properties, hence our acquisition strategy as of late.
"However, we are starting to see positive signs as metals prices strengthen and it’s clear we are amid a mergers-and-acquisitions wave. We are not saying that we are there today, but this signals a shift towards exploration and we are now completely ready for when that day comes.”
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