Can you describe your company and say what it does?
Smash Minerals (TSX: V.SSH, Stock Forum) is a gold exploration company. We are working in the White Gold District, Yukon, with the same team that made the first hard rock gold discovery in the Yukon with Underworld Resources in 2008.
What distinguishes your company from others in your space?
Our team has the experience and intellectual property from three years working with Underworld Resources and the discovery of the plus one million ounce Golden Saddle gold deposit, now owned by Kinross Gold. Adrian Fleming, our president and CEO has several gold discoveries to his name in different geological settings.
Can you explain why you have chosen to work in the Yukon Territory?
We staked prospective ground immediately east of where we had been working with Underworld Resources and where we made the Golden Saddle discovery. Yukon is one of the best jurisdictions in Canada and the world for minerals exploration. There is significant placer gold production in this area. Lastly this area has seen little, systematic, modern gold exploration and is ripe for additional discoveries.
What are your flagship projects?
The Whisky project covering a whopping 846 square kilometers is one of the biggest claim blocks in the White Gold District. Several prospects have already been defined.
What are the main challenges that you face in operating your business?
The effective exploration and drilling season in this part of Canada is only six months. There are no lakes here so it is difficult and expensive to drill in winter. However, Smash’s 2011 summer program is very aggressive with the objective of completing more work than other companies working in this area.
Who are your competitors?
Since we made the first discovery in 2008, which led to the recognitions of the White Gold District, over 50 companies now hold claims in this area. All these companies are competing to make another significant gold discovery. However, few are as advanced as Smash, have the intellectual property or will drill this year.
Who are the major shareholders of Smash Minerals?
Dynamic Funds, Sprott Asset management and Acker Findlay are significant institutional shareholders. Insiders and close associates hold 3.5M shares.
How much cash do you have on hand and what is your monthly cash burn rate?
Current cash reserves are $4.5 million with a monthly burn rate of about $600,000 during the summer exploration season. We are fully funded through 2011.
Who are the key players on your management team?
Key players on the Smash team are technical and corporate. The technical heavyweights are Adrian Fleming, Dennis Arne, Colin Brodie, Phil Smerchanski & David Johnson who provide geological, geochemical and geophysical input. On the corporate side, Darryl Cardey and Darren Devine cover financial, securities and publicity.
What kind of experience do they bring to the table?
Adrian Fleming has 35 years experience in the exploration business and has been part of teams that made significant gold discoveries in PNG, WA, Nunavut and Yukon. Others of the technical team are seasoned explorationists and worked with Underworld in Yukon. Darryl Cardey and Darren Devine have financed and run numerous successful exploration companies in the minerals and energy sectors.
Disclosure: Smash Minerals is a Stockhouse client