The following is a transcription of the above video, and The Market Online has edited it for clarity.
EnviroGold Global (CSE:NVRO) is a technology company dealing with the monetization of valuable metals from mine waste and tailings, as well as reducing environmental liabilities. CEO David Cam joins The Market Online to discuss EnviroGold’s proprietary technology, the company’s business model and next steps.
TMO: Now first of all, EnviroGold Global enables monetization from mine waste. What does that mean?
Cam: There’s over 290 billion tonnes of mine waste and tailings around the world with the in situ metal value of over $3.4 trillion. Now mine waste or tailings as we call them, are derived at the backend of a mining process. Mines obviously have a waste product, and the current contemporary mining processes never capture all the metals. All of it or some of it always goes to tailings and technology has got better over the years but there is still an extraordinary amount of value in those tailings that are presently an environmental liability to the companies that own them. EnviroGold Global has developed a technology that extracts the value targeting the particular metals that contain the gold and silver and make them available for contemporary processing.
TMO: How do you achieve this very important aspect and relatively untapped area in mining?
Cam: Our chief chemist, Brock Hill and I have been working together for well over a decade and what we’re focused on is re-engineering or re-imagining old technologies to bring them into the new century and make it more economic and with an environmental and sustainability focus.
Most miners typically target the process to extract the metals and therefore some goes to waste because they can’t extract at all. Our technology focuses on the ore body and breaking down the mineral components that expose the metals to contemporary processing. So we’re getting a second bite at the mineral processing cherry, if you like.
TMO: Now is that the company’s proprietary technology?
Cam: We developed the technology, we’ve patented it. The company owns 22 current patents and another two impending. We are a technology rich company with a whole range of mine-related and wastewater-treatment-related technology being developed, but right now our focus on mine tailings and gold, silver, copper, lead and zinc from the massive deposits around the world.
TMO: What is your business model?
Cam: We are a technology company, and we operate on a license fee model whereby we charge for the use of our technology for our customers for the life of the mine.
TMO: Now let’s talk about your financing range, which you had to increase because of continuing interest, and that’s a great situation to have. Why do you think this support is so strong?
Cam: Well, you’d call us an early-stage company. We’re heavy on R&D. We’ve invested our shareholders’ funds into technology and technology development, but we’ve never really told our story. And I think when I came on board as CEO five months ago, I began to tell the story, and it’s resonating with the market, resonating with the miners and the environmental sustainability piece is really putting a tailwind behind us.
I think it’s very early days but there’s a lot of interest developing and we’re currently having discussions with some very significant strategic partners that will also be a game changer for us.
TMO: Now on the raise, what was the need for the funds and what projects will you be using the money towards?
Cam: This is all about commercialization of our Clean Leach technology. As I said, we have a whole suite of other technologies on the shelf for next year, but right now it’s standing up the demonstration plant processing our first two or three customers’ tailings at commercial scale, providing technology economic reports and signing up our first customer and get the purchase order, get the revenue generating.
TMO: On the financials, what are some key points you would definitely like investors to know?
Cam: We are an OPEX light, CapEx light company. We’re a technology company, so therefore we’ve developed technology. Our model is to continue to license it repeatedly over time, receiving quarterly payments for the life of the use of technology over the mines and we’re a dividend play, our strategy is to pay as much free cash as we can as dividends annually. And that’s for a technology company, a really exciting proposition.
TMO: what can you tell me about the company’s demonstration plant?
Cam: It was built by the Australian government’s Commonwealth Scientific Research (and Industrial) Organization as a nickel leaching plant to develop new nickel leaching technology. We acquired it from them at a fraction of the replacement cost and are in the process of recommissioning it at our facility whereby we’ll be processing customers tailings through and as I mentioned, producing bankable feasibility type studies for them to proceed with the purchase of our technology.
It’s a very exciting time for us.
TMO: What are the company’s next steps?
Cam: We are focused on engaging with customers. We have a target of 11 top customers that contain over $95 billion of in situ metal value. That’s a revenue opportunity to EnviroGold of over $5 billion for the life of the mine.
So our very clear focus is monetizing this technology in the near term and then next year we’ll move on to other products that we have almost ready to go but it’s all about monetizing the clean leach, getting to revenue and paying dividends.
TMO: Is there anything else you would like to add?
Cam: If investors are interested in technology companies that pay dividends, that have a sustainability bent to them, that’s our space. So at the very least, watch the stock and see where we go because I think we’re off a low base and ready to explode.
You can find EnviroGold Global Ltd. on the CSE under the symbol NVRO or head to its website at envirogoldglobal.com for more information.
Company shares were last trading at C$0.045.
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