Hello, I’m Ricki Lee and this is the Capital Compass. Today we’re heading to British Columbia’s copper country to talk about a company exploring one of Canada’s most accessible and mining friendly regions. Sego Resources (TSXV:SGZ, OTC:SGOZF) is advancing its Miner Mountain Project near Princeton, BC, a region with proven copper production, strong infrastructure, and no need for remote exploration camps.
The project sits on the same geological belt as the nearby Copper Mountain Mine, tapping into alkalic rock formations that are rare outside of Australia and BC. Joining me today to discuss the company’s recent financing and what’s next on the ground is J. Paul Stevenson, CEO of Sego Resources. J. Paul, welcome to the Capital Compass.
J. Paul: Thank you for having me, Ricki. It’s a pleasure to be here and I’m actually in our core facilities in Princeton right now.
Ricki: Well, the pleasure is all mine J. Paul, welcome to the Capital Compass. So, for those who may not know about Sego Resources, can you start by introducing the company and maybe explaining what makes your location near Princeton such a strategic advantage for exploration?
J. Paul: Well, Princeton is only a three and a half hour drive from Vancouver, BC on Highway 3, which is the main route to BC’s Southern Okanagan. So it’s easy for us to mobilize crews and bring in the geologists. The Miner Mountain project is only 15 kilometers north of the producing Hudbay Minerals’ Copper Mountain Mine that you can see on my screen the drill in the background, I’ll just move over a bit, this is from a program we did a few winters ago.
So that’s how close we are to a mine. We can see the South Gold Zone from our motel parking lot and the claims cover rolling range land so that you can actually drive right up to the drill and right onto our targets. We have easy access to power, highway and are only 20 minutes from the town of Princeton. We’re on the Quesnellia terrain which some call the Porphyry Highway. All of the major copper mines in BC are on this porphyry belt. So we have the right geology with excellent year-round access and the infrastructure to support a mine.
Ricki: Amazing. So, this project hosts alkalic rock, something only found in Australia and British Columbia. So what makes this type of geology so unique and how does it influence your exploration model?
J. Paul: The alkalic deposits are noted for their excellent copper and gold ratios. They’re hard to find because they don’t have the vast alteration zones like Highland Valley, the Calc-Alkalic deposits have. In Australia, Newcrest, which is now owned by Newmont, spent a lot of time and money, but came up with the Cadia Rodeway mines, which are renowned. The Alkalic deposits tend to cluster so that one normally finds more than one deposit within the system. Our models developed by methodical exploration utilizing geophysics, trenching, petrographic studies, geochemistry, and of course drilling. Data management is very important in exploring these projects, but we’re basically following methodical exploration that has been the root to discovery in most of the major discoveries.
Ricki: So, BC is quite known for being miner friendly and your project benefits from existing infrastructure and easy access like you just spoke about. So how does that impact both your operational efficiency and the long-term development potential at Miner Mountain?
J. Paul: Well, BC might be mining friendly, but Princeton is mining exuberant. Princeton’s a mining town with services that cater to mining, and the people here are unbelievably helpful. We pick up fuel for the drill at a gas station that literally sits on our claims after the drilling shift. So no hauling, no helicopter, just pick up the fuel on the way to dinner. I mentioned our motel that literally views our project. Billy’s restaurant is our cook shack. We don’t have camp costs, no camp, no hauling fuel and excellent meals in a restaurant. We have access to repairs and equipment and can even have repair vehicles drive right beside the drill if we need to. It’s only 20 minutes from the motel to the drill. All of this adds up to very low cost drilling, with logging and lumber having slowdowns due to tariffs and lack of access to timber, the local communities realize the need for more mining.
Ricki: Wow. Shout out to Princeton. Hope they’re listening. So you’re located near the Copper Mountain Mine and on the same geological belt. So how does that proximity help validate the potential of your project area?
J. Paul: Absolutely, it helps. There used to be a saying, if you want to find a mine look between the head frames. In our case, we’re within sight of a producing and expanding mine. Our geological similarities are there. So having a mine next door really does validate our geology.
Ricki: Great. And so you’ve just completed a $625,800 private placement, so congratulations on that. But how will those funds be used? What are the next steps for Sego as you move the project forward?
J. Paul: As I said in the opening, I’m now in Princeton. Our news release, which came out this morning, notes that the drill is here, it’s on site. We’ll be moving it up actually onto the pad today. The drillers will arrive soon. The crew is working hard to set things up so that when we start, the sites will all be ready and moves will be quick and efficient. We plan to drill the South Gold Zone with infield drilling to provide a NI 43-101 compliant report and explore in our deeper Cuba Zone copper-gold porphyry, which lies 1,700 meters to the northeast of the South Gold Zone. As I mentioned, no need for a new road to move the drill to the new site. When we move to the Cuba Zone, a low cost program next to a mine with excellent infrastructure and zones carrying excellent grades, we look forward to a successful program.
Ricki: Amazing. Well, J. Paul, thank you so much for joining us and sharing the latest on Sego Resources.
J. Paul: Thank you Ricki. Always a pleasure and watch for regular updates on our drill program.
For more information, you can visit segoresources.com. And as always, you can join the discussion on the Stockhouse Bullboards too. I’m Ricki Lee, and this has been the Capital Compass. See you next time.
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