What’s been keeping you busy?
We have been busy wrapping up our 2012 summer exploration/drill program, getting ready to release our results and activities to the market, along with planning our 2013 exploration/business strategies.
Can you describe your company and say what it does?
Silver Mountain Mines (TSX: V.SMM, Stock Forum) is a junior exploration company with a historical producing mine in British Columbia. We are currently working towards further developing the property and trying to bring it closer to a stage of production.
What distinguishes Silver Mountain Mines from other companies in your space?
Truly, I believe what distinguishes us is our infrastructure that is in place, our diversified leadership team at the helm of this company, holding our five-year permit from the B.C. government and that we are located in a stable, mining-friendly jurisdiction. Also, SMM is very cost conscientious with tight financial controls in place.
Can you explain why you have chosen to work in British Columbia?
An opportunity came about approximately four years ago in a rich historical production area, which contains some very strong geological features capable of producing a sizeable deposit. We have been excited from that perspective.
What is your flagship project?What stage is the project at?
The Ptarmigan basin, and the existing Ptarmigan mine area is our flagship area property. The stage that we are at is to create value through defining what is there, and expanding out from our land holding while potentially re-opening the former mine. We’re hoping that an extraction program of some sort over the next 18-24 months will lead us to a positive cash-flow position.
We have just announced our initial drill results from our 2012 drill program. This drill program, along with our drill program last year, has successfully identified an additional high grade silver-bearing vein and semi-massive to massive manto-style mineralization containing a high proportion of sulphosalts. We also received some very positive assays from our drill holes ranging from 452 g/t Ag over 6.80 metres to 1,642 g/t Ag over 1.10 metres to 2,376 g/t Ag over 0.60 meters and 4,806 g/t Ag over 0.29 meters. There are also some showings of gold and copper in the assay results, which has to potential to add further value. The initial 2012 drill program results are a great success and we are very excited as to what the future holds for Silver Mountain Mines and its shareholders. (For full reported results please visit the Company’s website: www.silvermountainmines.com).
Are there other projects within the company that you want people to be aware of?
Right now we are looking at potential diversification opportunities. Given the financial market and the opportunities that exist with other companies, we hope to leverage our leadership team and business relationships. Right now we are looking at some things internally but nothing that we can put to the public.
What are the key challenges that you face in your business? How are you dealing with these challenges?
The biggest challenges that we are facing right now are, honestly, the fact that we are heavily influenced by the overall economy and what is happening in the world credit markets. How are we dealing with these challenges? We continue to market the company and its potential, and we continue to build relationships that can support our vision. I believe that as we communicate our company’s opportunity to the market, capital support will be there.
What are the key goals for 2012 and going into 2013?
Our goals for 2012 were to continue to define the mineralization, to expand the value of the property, and to determine the economic viability of a bulk extraction program. We are now focused on bringing forward the results from our 2012 drill program. As for 2013, we are still working to define next year’s goals based on this year’s final drill results as well as our assessment of other opportunities in the marketplace that compliment Silver Mountain Mines assets.
How much money does the company have right now?
We are in the process of closing a private placement and will have approximately $2.5 million cash in the bank.
Can you share with us some of the key players on your management team? What kind of experience do they bring to the table?
Over the past several months we have added three strong individuals, Terry Tucker, Mike Petrina and Doug Pocock, to the SMM management team.
Terry is a registered professional geoscientist in British Columbia and has held a number of prominent roles at strategic, operational, and corporate levels. He is well respected throughout the mining and finance industry. Terry has joined the company in a Board capacity and brings some strong international experience to our Board.
A recent addition to our team has been Mike Patrina. Mike is currently the Vice President of Operations at MAG Silver and has over 25 years of operational experience in bringing mines into production cost effectively. His extensive business relationships have been a strong asset for Silver Mountain Mines.
We have also recently added Doug Pocock, out of Toronto, to the SMM management team. Doug has a very interesting background in capital structure and financing in markets that we have not yet tapped into, namely Asia and Europe. Doug brings some strong expertise in that regard. Obviously, these people have made significant impacts since joining the company over the last six months.
Why should investors be thinking of investing in Silver Mountain Mines today?
I believe that the risk/reward ratio for our company speaks for itself. We manage our money with very tight fiscal controls. We also have significant assets. With regards to infrastructure, we have permanent housing and buildings on site to house all our employees and support staff. We also have about 540 m of adits, with known mineralization, which supports the potential for reopening this existing mine. I believe relative to existing properties that are out there, capitalization wise we have only about 35 to 40 million shares outstanding. The risk/reward is very strong. As far as a junior goes, we have a diversified base of precious metals on our property, which include silver, gold, copper, lead, and zinc. We have all of our permits in place and great local government support. We have enough cash in the bank to carry out our program. All this combined is what makes SMM a very good investment in the junior mining sector.
Disclosure: Silver Mountain Mines is a Stockhouse client.