Newcore Gold Ltd. (NCAUF) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, depending on where the world is hanging in from today. I did see at least 7 time zones, so an international audience, really glad you guys could join us. I'm lucky enough to have with me today, Luke Alexander, Newcore Gold's President, CEO and Director, for a Summer Update and Q&A Session. Now I just want to tell folks in the room how today is going to work. So I do have some questions for Luke, but then I'm eager to hear from you guys in the room. This is a town hall open forum. [Operator Instructions] We're going to try to get to as many of those questions as we can today. But if for whatever reason we don't, it's off topic, we run too long, any reason. I'm going to make sure the Newcore team still gets those questions, and we'll get back to as soon as possible. So don't be disheartened if we miss it, but we will try to get to as many as we can today. One last piece housekeeping before we get into the protein for today's event. Webinar is being recorded, and a replay will be available likely tomorrow morning Eastern Time, so it should pop right into your Inbox. Before I get into my question, I do have a bunch to grill with Luke. I was wondering just for the folks in the room who don't know Newcore or aren't as familiar with the story, just give a quick recap.

Yes. So Newcore Gold, we're TSX listed as well as trade on the OTCQX in the U.S. We're advancing the Enchi Project in Ghana. It's a district scale exploration project that's fundamentally underpinned by very robust economics that we put out in a PEA in 2024, which we're now in the process of looking to -- moving to a PFS in 2026. Management and Board, we own 15% of Newcore. That's stock that we bought alongside investors over the last number of years. So we're truly aligned from a shareholder perspective. And then we're also very strongly supported from deep pocketed long-term focused institutional investor, primarily mining and precious metals investors. So we're currently 55% institutionally owned. So great project in a great jurisdiction that's backed by a team with a proven track record of creating value for shareholders.

Awesome. No, I appreciate that recap. I just know those folks in the room aren't familiar, so it's good to give them a bit of an update. I wanted to -- so Luke, last year or over the past year, you released some pretty impressive drill results, including those wide zones of gold mineralization with some higher grade results. So I'm looking really here for kind of your subjective take as CEO. How is the drilling program progressing? And what the results tell you about Enchi?

Yes. So we kicked off a 10,000-meter drill program in Q3 of 2024. We then raised $15 million in Q1, closed that in February of this year. That allowed us to take the 10,000 to a 35,000-meter drill program. And actually, I can share a couple of slides here, which might help people as well just with some visuals. So to date, we've now drilled as part of this 35,000-meter drill program, roughly 200 holes, which represents about 24,000 meters of drilling. A large portion of this drill program has been focused on resource conversion, so moving ounces from the inferred to the indicated category. That's one of the key requirements for us to move this to a PFS. But when we look at our project, we've also been focused on stepping out, going back to some previously drilled tested areas. And with the balance of this program, roughly 11,000 meters, we will be focused on some deeper drilling, which we can get into some detail on as well. But when we look at some of the drilling that's been completed to date, Boin is our second largest deposit. We have focused a lot of the drilling at our Boin deposit. And when we look at some of these cross-sections, we're very pleased with the results. This hole here, 352 was part of a batch of holes that we put out in May of this year. And as you can see, we intercepted 2.25 grams over 56 meters within that some nice high grade of almost 4 grams over 15 meters. So having above-average grade holes that are converting mineralization is something we're obviously pleased with. But then the other key thing is that we have been pushing a number of these holes well beyond the existing pits that constrain our resource today. So for example, if you look here at this hole #294 and 295, these are the existing 1,650 pits, which constrain our resource today. And then you can see we've pushed these holes well beyond those pit walls, which have ultimately ended in mineralization. When I spin this model around for you, it becomes pretty clear to see what the potential impact of that will be. So you can see that 294, 295, but then beyond that, all of these additional drill intercepts have been pushed beyond the existing pits. When we zoom in, it might be a little bit easier for you to see that. But what we're expecting is, yes, resource conversion was the focus within the pits, and that's one of the key things to create indicated ounces. But by pushing these holes deeper, we think we're also going to be able to deepen the overall size of the pit and add some additional ounces. So resource conversion plus resource expansion has been one of the key things that's come out of the first part of this drill program. Here's another area that I'll point to at Boin, where, again, a lot of the drilling was focused on converting ounces within the pit to get into that indicated category. But by pushing these holes deeper and beyond the existing pits, we think we'll be able to add some ounces as well, which ultimately, we would view as a real added benefit to this first part of the drill program. So very pleased with the results, lots of wide intercepts, but also lots of high grade. Within this campaign, we actually had our highest grade intercept ever on the project. That was in Q4 of last year, 204 grams over 1 meter. In April, we put out another hole that had 9 grams over 10 meters. So we're continuing to see some nice high grade on the project, which then obviously complements the very wide zones of mineralization that we got near surface.

Great. I'll stick on the theme of your expectations. I know you just described, you're 24,000 meters in, so the 35,000-meter program. You got 98% hit on mineralization, which is, to me, pretty remarkable consistency. I'm curious, how does this compare to what you thought was going to happen going in? Is this in line? Or is this beating your expectations?

Yes. I mean it's kind of in line to maybe a slight beat of our expectations. When you ultimately look at our project, one of the real advantages we've got is we have got over 210,000 meters of drilling completed across the project. So what that allows and does is it ultimately gives us a huge amount of confidence in terms of where the resource sits, where the exploration opportunities are. So Greg Smith, our VP Exploration and our team in Ghana have a very good understanding of the geological structures here, where the zones are potentially plunging at depth. So we've been able to ultimately use all of that historical data. I mean, in the last 5 years, we've drilled about 115,000 meters. So all of that feeds our geological understanding of the project. So the fact that we've had very high intercept rates with the drilling that we've been doing doesn't come as a big surprise given, again, our geological understanding of the project as well as because the first part of this program has been focused on resource conversion, so infill drilling, you're going to have a higher confidence in that drilling as well. But with that, obviously, as I was highlighting, those holes that we push deeper and continue to intercept mineralization are an added benefit to the program.

That makes sense. So like I said, this program, it's about converting inferred to indicated state of the pre-feas. But just for folks in the room and myself, for that matter, how critical is that conversion for the time line you guys are working towards? It does impact when you get where?

Yes. So as I kind of mentioned, obviously, converting ounces from the inferred to the indicated category is one of the key elements to be able to produce a PFS. You're ultimately derisking those ounces, which is one of the reasons PFSs command a higher multiple from the market as you derisk the overall project. So it's a key element. If we look at our existing resource, which came out in 2023 and then was wrapped into that PEA in 2024, we already have about 740,000 ounces sitting in the indicated category. So our goal is to convert roughly an additional 550,000 ounces, reason we talk about 550,000 ounces is that would get us to a total of 1.3 million ounces of indicated. If you look at the PEA that we released, it was fed by roughly 1.3 million ounces of resource, which then produced over 1 million ounces of gold over a 9-year mine life. So that's what our goal is. With this drilling that we've completed, we think we're well on our way to achieving that goal. So we're very pleased with the results that we've had to date.

Awesome. Now beyond that resource conversion, obviously, you're targeting that pre-feas for 2026. What else -- what are the key milestones between now and then that you guys need to check off in the box before you get to it?

Yes. So resource conversion, as we've talked about, is probably the biggest thing. But beyond that, there's a lot of, call it, boring work happening in the background, but this is critical work to derisk the project to give confidence that it's a project that makes sense to put into production. So you've got hydrological work, geotech work. We're also drilling some diamond holes to do some additional met test work on the mineralization. We're doing some additional environmental and baseline studies across the project. So all of that work has been happening in the background for the last number of months. And as we get it completed, we're then able to obviously hand all of those results over to our consultants who are then able to start working on that PFS, which we're targeting for the first half of 2026.

Great. I want to talk about strategy here for a second because I know Sewum being your largest deposit. As I understand that you've drilled to an average depth of 75 meters. And most of this campaign is kind of those first 100 vertical meters for each deposit. So my question strategically is, how do you balance that immediate goal of resource conversion leading up to the PFS with the longer-term exploration upside that I would imagine exists at them?

Yes. So I think that's one of the things that gets our institutional investors and us as management and Board who own 15% of the company extremely excited about this project is we've got huge optionality. So we've got a project today that makes sense for us to fast track to production as quickly as possible given the economics of the project. So that's something we're very focused on. And obviously, the resource conversion and everything we've talked about so far is part of that process. Beyond that, we have true district scale exploration upside, which I would argue investors ultimately get for free. Maybe I'll just jump in and kind of share a couple of slides given you were asking specifically about Sewum. So Sewum is our largest deposit. So Sewum sits right here. Just to remind people, large land package, 248 square kilometers in size. I was spinning you around our Boin deposit, which is our second largest deposit, where the heap leach facility is contemplated to sit is right in between those 2 deposits, so 1.5 kilometers roughly from each of our main deposits, so very nicely located. But when we look at Sewum and you were asking about some of the drilling and how we prioritize, Sewum is a very large deposit. And as you can see by the density of drilling that we've completed here at Sewum across these areas, that has been very focused on resource conversion and moving those ounces into the indicated category. We've then -- if you look down here, you'll see in this area here that we've also then, again, at Sewum, been pushing these holes well below the current pits. So expectation is we can potentially deepen and widen the overall size of the pit. So that's been part of the focus. But then beyond that resource conversion, what gets us very excited and one of the areas where we focused on for the next 10,000 meters of drilling and drilling beyond that is the opportunity at depth. So when you look at Sewum, Boin, Nyam, the average vertical depth of the pits that constrain our resource today is only down to 75 meters. One of the questions we constantly get is when are you going to start drilling some of these deeper opportunities. We're excited to see the potential at depth. So with the additional drilling we've got and capital that we have now, we're going to be able to start testing this opportunity at depth more. To date, we've probably drilled about 45 holes below 150, 200 meters. But when you look at other deposits along the Sefwi-Bibiani Belt and what we're looking at here is Asante's Chirano mine, but this would look very similar to Bibiani as well as Newmont's Ahafo mine. These Greenstone-hosted deposits will really grow in size and increase in grade as you start to get deeper. So there's that 75 meters superimposed across our project. You then compare that to Chirano. And they -- Chirano today are mining down at roughly 800 meters below surface. So that's an opportunity we're really excited to just be starting to drill right now is some of those deeper holes. And if we look at some of the specific results that we've had historically, you can see why we're excited about this opportunity. So looking here at Nyam, for example, where we put about 15 deeper holes into it, you can see some of these high-grade intercepts that are starting to show up 5.8 grams over 7 meters, 5.6 grams over 8 meters, 6.5 grams over 4 meters, 5 grams over 9 meters. So we think this is one of those high-grade feeder zones that you ultimately see up and down the Sefwi-Bibiani Belt. So getting back in here with some of this deeper drilling we have planned and continuing to chase these structures is something we're extremely excited about. And with any good result, we think we can create outsized return for investors beyond that fundamental rerate that we're expecting to come with the conversion from a PEA to a PFS. Some more drill results here, 3.2 grams over 9 meters, 7.4 grams over 8 meters, 3.5 grams over 9 meters, 6 grams over 6 meters, important to highlight, we're still only at about 250 meters below surface. So opportunity again for us to keep chasing these structures as well as opportunity to drill along strike given there's no drilling to the north, no drilling to the south. So this opportunity at depth is something that we're obviously extremely excited about as well, Romeo.

No, makes sense. I do think some degree market is understanding the stuff that's one should need. One thing, I do want to zoom out a bit and talk about Ghana for a second. So obviously, major gold jurisdiction continues to rank as the sixth largest producer globally. But I'm curious just for your input on how do you view the operating environment there? And things have obviously changed over time. I've worked with a lot of people in different jurisdictions. What gives you confidence in the jurisdiction being and staying from mining development?

Yes. So Ghana, it's the sixth largest gold producer globally. And let's see, I can pull up another slide here in case visuals are helpful for people. So you look over here, Ghana is the sixth largest gold producer globally, sitting just behind the U.S. and Canada. All of that gold is concentrated into a very small area. So interestingly, Ghana actually produces more gold on a per square kilometer or per mile basis than Nevada does, for example. So a huge amount of mining services as well as mining expertise in country. And one of the things we always say is, listen, don't listen to me, by a CEO with a single asset in Ghana, but look at what the major gold companies are doing. You've currently got 4 of the top 10 largest gold producers on the planet there. We've got Newmont, Anglo, Gold Fields. Zijin has aggressively come into Ghana with the acquisition of Newmont's noncore asset, the Akyem asset. Newmont is then also spending another $1 billion in Ghana and looking to expand their Ahafo project, which will take them to over 20% of global production coming from Ghana. So it's a jurisdiction that obviously has a number of the majors. And we're very fortunate to have a mass and have the project that we've got today. It'd be very hard to put this type of a land package together. And we're also one of the 2 leading gold development projects in the country. So I think that puts us in a very unique position as well. So the government is very supportive, lots of skilled labor in country as well as lots of service companies to support us. And then another thing we always kind of point to is the desire to get into Ghana. Obviously, Zijin with the acquisition of the Akyem asset highlights that desire. But if you look at Cardinal, for example, Shandong bought that project 4 years ago. They put it into production last year, and they're going to be producing 350,000 ounces per year from that. We've also got Asante who's come into the country and then Chifeng who bought the Golden Star Wassa asset. So lots of interest to come into Ghana. But at the end of the day, why do companies want to be there? It's because of the geology. Ghana has some of the largest gold deposits on the planet. You've got 2 prolific gold belts, the Ashanti Belt and the Sefwi-Bibiani Belt. So this area that we've zoomed into is in the Southwest corner of Ghana and some of the largest deposits on the planet. You've got Anglo's Obuasi mine sitting at 66 million ounce endowment, Tarkwa at 25 million, Wassa at 15 million. So very large deposits on the Ashanti belt. And then we sit on the Sefwi-Bibiani Belt. As we've talked about, Chirano sitting at 5.5 million ounce historical endowment and growing, Ashanti 6.5 million. And then Newmont Ahafo mine sits at 20 million ounces and growing, and that's where they're spending that additional $1 billion. So really, the desire to get into Ghana is because it's so well endowed from a gold perspective. And again, our project is very well located on that Sefwi-Bibiani Belt.

Great. No, I appreciate the extra context. I do want to talk about macro for a second. I know gold has been on quite a run this year, making the top collars and the bears look a little foolish over the last 8 months for sure. But I'm curious, for a development company, how does this environment affect your strategy and time line decisions more than anything else?

Yes. I mean, obviously, the gold price has a big impact on the economics of the project. So in terms of the NPV of our project, in terms of the IRR, all of those economics are bolstered in a high gold price environment. I mean one -- maybe one thing I can hone in on and again, I'll share a slide here just because I think visual sometimes help. So if you go back and look at our 2024 PEA, we use a conservative $1,850 gold price. You can go in there and we have sensitivities to the gold price and see what the impacts of those are. But if we look, for example, at an $1,850 gold price, you're looking at $524 million of after-tax cash flow that our project would generate over a 9-year mine life. You increase that to $2,350, you're looking at $855 million. You increase that to $3,000 gold, you're now looking at almost $1.3 billion of after-tax cash flow. So pick your gold price, but between $2,350 and $3,000 gold, this project produces $850 million to $1.3 billion of after-tax cash flow. So the leverage to gold that our Enchi Project has, again, is something that's very attractive for investors and something that is obviously a real benefit for us in a rising gold price environment.

Sure. It certainly doesn't hurt to gold prices on our own. I appreciate that. And having said all that being said, what I hear over and over again what you see is that your mining space is still pretty challenging for fundraising. Even with gold high, even with commodity prices high generally, the space is still -- it's still difficult to get capital sometimes. So I'm curious, how are you thinking about capital allocation and financing as you keep advancing into?

Yes. So for us, I've kind of mentioned it a couple of times, and maybe I'll just kind of pop this slide up. We're very well supported by a number of deep pocketed institutional investors. So we're currently 55% institutionally owned. That increased from 45% to 55% on the back of the last financing that we completed in February of this year. We went out to raise $10 million. We had very strong demand from a number of large institutional investors. So we quickly increased that to $15 million, and that allowed us to increase our drill program to 35,000 meters. If you look at our cash position at the end of March, we were at $15 million. While we're drilling, we're burning about $1 million to $1.5 million per month. So everything we've talked about on this webinar so far is fully funded. So our 35,000 meters of drilling, completion of the PEA, so all of that network, hydro, geotech, social environmental baseline studies, all of that is covered with the cash that we have today as well as money to run the business right through next year. Beyond that, one of the opportunities we've got is we've got some warrants that are in the money. So we've currently got about $3.5 million worth of warrants, which expire in less than 2 months from now, so September of this year. So that money has started to come in, strike price of $0.40 on them. So with that additional capital that will come in, what that will allow us to do is potentially expand our drill program beyond the 35,000 meters. So we've got a self-funding mechanism built into the company through these warrants. Beyond that, we've then got an additional roughly 20 million warrants, which expire at the end of February, so call it, what's that 6 months from now, end of February, which would bring in an additional $10 million into the company. So with those additional warrants, there's about $14 million that could come into the company, assuming we continue to remain in this robust gold price environment. So we've got self-funding baked into the company. It's also important to highlight that these warrants, they're 90% owned by institutional investors. So we know exactly where they sit. We know the support that there is to exercise these warrants to see us continue to move this project forward. So from a funding perspective, we're very well positioned. And what it will allow us to do from a capital allocation perspective is most likely increase the drill program significantly beyond the 35,000 meters that we've announced to date.

Great. One small little correction you said the completion of the PEA earlier. I believe you meant PFS. I just want to...

Yes, thanks. I wanted to make sure you're listening.

Yes, that's good. It's a good test actually. I appreciate it. And for folks, since I know a bunch of people came in a bit late. I just want to let you know there's chat butt in the bottom right of your screen if you want ask questions. I'm almost through mine. We'll be able to get to on in the chat relatively quickly. One thing I want to ask you, obviously, Newcore has got this kind of unique position that not every company has with the district scale exploration potential, but also a clear path to production. So I'm curious, this is a kind of a communication strategy question. How do you talk about that dual value proposition to investors who -- I think a lot of them are looking for one or the other. So how do you kind of talk about the opportunity of Newcore?

Well, I mean, first and foremost, I would argue you get district scale exploration for free with Newcore. And yes, I mean, I can kind of walk you through that. But when we talk about a fundamental underpinning of value for the company, that's based on the economic study, the PEA that we put out last year, which highlights a very robust open pit heap leach project. One simple way of looking at it is we use that base case of $1,850, which I highlighted produced after tax $524 million of free cash, the $2,350 case, again, $855 million. But another way to look at it is for every $100 move in the gold price, we produce or our Enchi Project returns roughly after tax USD 50 million to the NPV of the project. Our market cap today trades around USD 100 million to USD 110 million. So for every $100 move in the gold price, we add USD 50 million to the NPV of the project. So roughly half of the NPV of the project for every, again, $100 move in the gold price. So when I talk about fundamental underpinning of value, that's what I'm talking about. When we then look at it, let's say, from a $3,000 to $3,300 gold price or if you want to be super conservative, you're probably not on this call today, but you could look at it at $2,350 gold. But at 3,000 to 3,300, you're looking at after-tax $970 million to $1.1 billion NPV compared to a market cap today of, call it, $100 million to $110 million. So we're trading at roughly 0.1 to 0.15x the NPV of the project. IRR, 136% to 156%, roughly a half year payback for the project. So these economics are the fundamental underpinning of value that I talked about. From a re-rate perspective, and one of our motivations to take it from a PEA to a PFS is that typically, PFS stage projects command a higher multiple from the market. So if we're trading today at 0.1 to 0.15x we would expect that to increase meaningfully as we derisk the project to a PFS. Beyond that, as I've kind of talked about and we've looked at with some of the deeper drilling opportunities, we have district scale exploration, which I would argue investors get for free. With any hole that we drill, any successful drill result or batch of drill results that we put out, we could see outsized return beyond that fundamental re-rate that I would expect to come with the publishing of a PFS in the first half of next year. So that's one of the optionalities or is the optionality that gets a lot of our major shareholders very excited, get it into production as quickly as possible. Let's reap that free cash flow the project generates, but also let's aggressively drill on the project because there's a recognition that, that can create significant outsized returns beyond that fundamental re-rate.

Awesome. I know a couple of questions came in over e-mail, and there's a bunch of chat. I just got one more, and I don't want to cut summer short, but we are eventually heading into the fall. What should investors be watching for? What are you most excited for in the next 6, 12 months?

Yes. So obviously, we've got this 35,000-meter drill program that we're working on at the moment. So we're about 24,000 meters into that. We've essentially completed all of the infill portion that we wanted to complete with that. So now we're starting to focus more on that district scale exploration opportunity. So starting to drill some deeper holes on the project. So we've got a diamond rig drilling at the moment. Again, that's something that a lot of investors have been asking about and they're excited about and we're excited about is to start testing some of those high-grade structures that I was looking -- that I was walking you through. We've then got that additional warrant proceeds, which are going to come in or we're expecting to come in between now and September. That has already started to trickle in. So with that additional capital that may allow us to expand our overall drill program, which would be exciting for the company. And then just the work that's happening in the background, the hydro, geotech, additional met testing work, all of that will then culminate in the publishing of a PFS in the first half of next year. But the big thing will be a significant amount of drill results through the end of this year.

Awesome. I'm getting into some e-mail questions now. One very careful listener in your investor group noted that in a prior webinar, you mentioned the potential or desire to expand Newcore's position along the Sefwi-Bibiani Belt. He's curious if this still looks like an attractive opportunity given the quality and prospectivity of your current package.

Yes. So we'll always kind of look at opportunities to expand, and maybe I'll just flip this up here just to highlight that. So we get presented with M&A type opportunities and other projects to look at. But the challenge for us is because of the economics of our Enchi Project and the district scale exploration that we've got at our project, it's difficult to find anything that makes sense to ultimately bolt on to the company. That being said, where we will continue to look to grow our resource is our land package is through staking. So good example of that would be this area down here, which we refer to as Omanpe. That's an area that we staked a couple of years ago and ultimately added to our overall land package, taking it from 216 to 248 square kilometers. So we added about 32 square kilometers with this staking of the package. So if there's those types of opportunities to stake around our project or within other areas that we think are prospective, then we see that as a low-cost entry point. So that's something that, yes, we will continue to look to do.

Great. One question came in right as the hour started here. Somebody asked, how confident are you in the leachability of your sulfide and transition rock and have studies been done to support that?

Yes. So we've completed a number of kind of studies on the MET, and I can pull some of that up if people are interested. So to date, we've completed over 400 tests on the -- here we go. We've completed over 400 metallurgical tests, obviously, focused on the oxide, transitional as well as the fresh material. We've had good leachability within the oxide and transitional material. We've tested the fresh material as well. But a big part of moving from a PEA to a PFS, and this is something that I've kind of mentioned a few times is we are drilling some deeper diamond met holes at the moment, which are then going to be used to do some additional test work on all of the material from a leachability perspective. So when you look at the results that fed our PEA, we had an average of 81.8% recoveries within the oxide; and transitional material, that was 85% recoveries; and then within the fresh material, we had 75% recoveries, which then gave us that blended average of roughly 81.8%. So when you look at some of the results that we've had from a column test perspective as well as these bulk scale pilot tests that we did, we've had within the oxides, 91.9% average recoveries from those bulk scale tests; from the roughly 24 column tests that were done within the oxide transitional material, we had roughly 91.5%. So that then got discounted down to represent a commercial scale operation, and that's what ultimately fed our PEA. And then the additional work that we're doing right now, we're looking at some different grind sizes. We're looking at different cement levels. So we are agglomerating on this project. If you look at the PEA, we use 10 kilograms of cement. So we're looking at different cement levels, permeability tests. So all of that work is PFS stage work that we're completing at the moment. And once it gets done, then obviously, that gets handed over to our consultants that will then use that to produce the PFS.

Great. I appreciate a very thorough answer. That's great. I can jump to the ones from the live chat today. Just remind you, you can throw them in just until we wrap up today. So Wesley asked -- I'll just take these in order actually because they're all pretty good. Wesley asked what's the cost per meter in Ghana this year?

So from a drilling perspective, diamond drilling costs roughly $250 per meter. RC drilling is roughly $100 all-in per meter.

Great. Thank you.

We are, I'll just highlight as well because it's another question that comes up generally in that same sentence in case Wesley had it on the tip of his tongue as his next question. We are able to drill year-round in Ghana. There are a couple of short rainy seasons in the country. And the main thing you focus on there is drilling from the top of the hills as opposed to getting down into the valleys where there may be accumulation of water during the rainy season. So we -- yes, so that's kind of the pricing, and we can drill year-round, which is a real advantage for us.

Yes, appear to be year around. One question from Bridge in the chat asks, are there assays in the lab right now?

Yes. So we -- obviously, we're 24,000 meters into this 35,000-meter drill program. So we're just continuing to drill as we speak right now. What we typically do is, obviously, once we fill finished x number of meters, we get all that cut and logged and then send it off to the assay lab, and then we typically get batches of results back. So as you'll see kind of on every 4 to 6 weeks basis, we're typically putting results out to the market. And that's as we get a batch of results back that are enough to justify putting a press release out, then we'll get those out to the market. So yes, you can assume that at any given point in time, we've got assays in the lab that are being analyzed.

Great. RG asks big question, answer the best of your ability. How much cash is required to start mine production, so all the way to production?

So as we've kind of discussed, we're fully funded to complete the PFS, the 35,000 meters, all the work that goes with that. So if we were to look at it as just purely advancing to production, so we complete the PFS. On the back of that, we would look to complete an FS with the additional work there, you'd expect that to be in the kind of $5 million to $10 million neighborhood. And then on the back of that, you're at a construction decision point. That's when if you look at our PEA, the CapEx that is contemplated is $106 million to put it into production. So that's kind of the path to production. But then the other piece is obviously how much drilling are we going to do over that period. Our view and our major shareholders want us to continue to aggressively drill to look to create outsized returns, again, beyond that fundamental re-rate. So -- but I put that in a bit of a separate bucket. And with, again, the warrant proceeds, everything else, our expectation is we'll be able to continue to expand that drill program, but those are the rough numbers to push it to a construction decision and then the actual CapEx required to put it into production.

Awesome. One question from the chat -- 2 questions, but I'll combine the next 2. Graham asked, what permits are still required? Actually, generally, if you can just talk about the permitting process in Ghana.

Yes. So permitting process in Ghana is you -- we've got exploration licenses at the moment. You then once you've put together an economic study, you're able to move that to a mining lease. So you submit a mining lease application. That typically takes around 9 or 12 months for them to process. And then on the back of that, the next big license that's required is the environmental permit, which also takes roughly 9 or 12 months. There's a number of other smaller permits that may be -- not maybe, that are required as well, but those would be the 2 big ones and to get those is in that kind of 18 to 24 months combined.

Great. There's 2 questions left, I'm going to combine them because I think they're similar questions. Graham asks, is Enchi near any majors and JJ asks, who in the neighborhood is likely to buy this out. So there's some crystal ball gazing there, but just to the best of your ability.

Yes. Maybe I'll just pop this slide up again just because I think visuals are sometimes helpful. So again, as we kind of -- as I pointed to, we've got the Ashanti Belt and then the Sefwi-Bibiani Belt, which is the belt that we're on. I'll just highlight the scale down here just so people recognize this in the grand scheme of things is a relatively compact area, especially to have this number of ounces. So on our Sefwi-Bibiani Belt, you've got Chirano, Ashanti with the Bibiani Belt and Chirano asset just to the north of us. You've then got Newmont's Ahafo project. Right here is the Cote d'Ivoire border, and then directly on the other side of the border, you've got Turaco, which is Aussie listed who hold the Afema asset. In country, as we've kind of talked about, you've also got Galiano, TSX listed, AngloGold, Perseus, who's also in country. We've got Gold Fields as well as Chifeng who's also in country. And then in the northern part of the country, I don't have it on this map here, but we've also got both Shandong as well as Zijin, who is now over here on the -- just off of the Ashanti Belt. So lots of companies in country and a number of them who've come into the country in the last few years. I mean when people ask about M&A, which I think is where the kind of question is -- or the genesis of the question, our project, again, is one of the 2 most advanced projects in Ghana. It's a low CapEx project with good returns. And part of, again, the motivation to go from PEA to PFS to FS is as you derisk a project, that's typically where interest levels ultimately increase. So we're in a good neighborhood with lots of companies who are in the country and a number of others who are keen to get into Ghana given what a friendly mining jurisdiction it is.

So lots of company around, always good. Luke, thanks so much. This wraps up for the questions we got in the chat. If you're like me and you think of the perfect question to ask as soon as I hit the close webinar button, please do so -- shoot it to us. I'll make sure that the Newcore team gets it. And like as you put in the chat, you can always reach out to Mal Karwowska for more questions at [email protected], it's right there in the chat for you. That will also be on the website. And everybody, thank you so much. And Luke, thanks so much for going through questions and running us through today.

Yes. Thank you very much, Romeo, and enjoy the rest of the summer, everyone.