Disclosure: LaFleur Minerals Inc. has paid FRC a fee for research coverage and distribution of reports. See last page for other important disclosures, rating, and risk definitions.
The analyst’s rating and fair value are one click away. Free FRC account, no credit card.
Already have an account?
Price Performance (1-year)
In early September 2024, the company secured an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Swanson project. On September 20, 2024, LFLR announced an agreement to acquire the fully permitted 750 tpd Beacon mill, located 40 km from Swanson.
The Abitibi Greenstone Belt, extending over 500 km from northeast Quebec to west of Timmins, Ontario, is one of the richest mining regions, and among the largest greenstone belts in the world.
Two gold projects, and a permitted mill, in the prolific Abitibi mining camp, Quebec. The Fraser Institute’s 2023 annual survey ranked Quebec as the fifth-best mining jurisdiction in the world
Swanson Gold Project (option to acquire a 100% interest)
This advanced-stage project, covering 15,000 hectares, is comprised of 400 claims, and a mining lease previously owned by Monarch Mining, Abcourt Mines (TSXV: ABI), and Globex Mining (TSX: GMX).
LFLR can acquire the project for 12M shares (8M shares issued), $0.8M in cash, and $2.5M in exploration spending
Located in the southern part of the AGB, close to majors such as Agnico Eagle (NYSE: AEM), and Eldorado (NYSE: EGO), as well as developers like Probe Gold (TSX: PRB), and O3 Mining (TSX: OIIII). The property is 66 km north of the city of Val-d’Or
Established infrastructure including access to several gold mills, roadways, rail connections, and power lines. By acquiring the Beacon Mill, LFLR aims to process materials from the Swanson Project at this facility
A major advantage of this project is that it can be advanced to production quickly and with low CAPEX, facilitated by pre-existing underground mine development, and proximity to the fully permitted Beacon mill.
The property includes surface and underground infrastructure, including a 500 m ramp to the deposit 80 m below surface
A CN railroad line runs through the property, and for future mining operations, the railroad might have to be relocated. The current resource estimate assumes this relocation, for which we anticipate CAPEX of <US$10M.
The resource is based on 242 drill holes totaling 36,272 m. The property was last drilled in 2021-2022 by Monarch Mining. Open-pit resources totaling 119 Koz indicated, and 29 Koz inferred, with relatively high-grades
The current resource envelope measures 475 m long x 425 m wide x 500 m deep; 84% of resources are open-pittable
We believe the project has resource expansion potential as the deposit remains open at depth, and along strike. Past drilling has intersected broad zones of mineralization below the current pit shell
In addition, the property hosts two gold showings with historical resources, and several other targets
LFLR has commenced geological prospecting, soil geochemistry, and property-wide airborne geophysics designed to expand the current resource area, and generate new drill targets. Management aims to delineate a 1M+ oz resource for the project.
This project includes the recently refurbished 750 tpd Beacon mill, the past-producing Beacon I and II mines, and a tailings pond. Although the Beacon mine produced gold from 1984 to 1988, and again in 2005, a resource estimate has not been completed. The underground infrastructure of the Beacon gold mine includes two mining ramps and three shafts.
Located on highway 117, and 40 km away from the Swanson project. The mill is currently under care and maintenance
In 2022, Monarch invested $20M on mill refurbishment. Management aims to complete an updated resource estimate, followed by a PEA
Given the existing infrastructure and the anticipated acquisition of the Beacon mill, we believe the Swanson project can advance to production by 2027, with <US$20M in initial CAPEX.
Management and board own 2.8%. Institutions and other juniors own 39%. LFLR’s Exploration Manager previously worked with Monarch, and is well-acquainted with the Swanson project
Brief biographies of the management team and board members, as provided by the company, follow:
Kal Malhi – Chairman
Mr. Malhi is a successful entrepreneur and the Founder and Chairman of Bullrun Capital Inc. that funds several private early-stage companies on the path to a public listing. He is also the CEO of TSX-V listed investment issuer Coloured Ties Capital Inc. Over the past two decades, Mr. Malhi has fundraised $300M+ in capital for numerous start-up companies. He specializes in working with academia and advances in technology and funded academic research that has the potential for commercialization through private and public companies, and has extensive experience in the mining, oil and gas, biomedical, agriculture, and technology sectors.
Paul Ténière – CEO
Mr. Ténière is a seasoned executive with over 25 years of experience in the exploration and mining industry. As a Professional Geologist (P.Geo.), he has developed numerous precious and base metal, critical minerals, and metallurgical coal deposits globally, from exploration phase to mine development. Mr. Ténière has served as a Technical Advisor and geological consultant for both private and public mining companies and also held senior leadership roles including President & CEO, Senior Vice President – Exploration, and Director for various mining companies listed on the CSE and TSX Venture Exchange.
Harry Nijjar – CFO & Corporate Secretary
Mr. Nijjar is currently a Managing Director with Malaspina Consultants Inc. and provides CFO and strategic financial advisory services to his clients across many industries. Mr Nijjar holds a CPA CMA designation from the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia and a BComm from the University of British Columbia.
Preet Gill – Independent Director
Mrs. Gill has a proven track record of identifying and creating profitable business opportunities, qualifying authentic prospects, and cultivating strong partnerships. Mrs. Gill has over 28 years of experience in senior leadership roles within Home Depot Canada and has an MBA from Royal Roads University and certificates in business leadership from Queen’s University.
Michael Kelly – Independent Director
Mr. Kelly is a former member of the Canadian Armed Forces Military Police and a retired member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. He currently serves as an Advisor at BullRun Capital Inc. and is a respected businessman based in Kelowna, British Columbia. Mr. Kelly has served on several public companies in Board Member or Executive capacities. Mr. Kelly is also a director and member of the audit committee of Beyond Medical Technologies Inc.
Michael Stier – Independent Director
Mr. Stier is a business management & finance professional with over 15 years of experience in the capital markets including corporate structure, finance, business development, IPO’s, M&A, and wealth management. He served as a CIBC IIROC licensed Senior Financial Advisor, senior analyst for a private equity company, and currently holds executive and director roles with private companies and publicly listed issuers.
Louis Martin, P.Geo. – Technical Advisor & Exploration Manager
Mr. Martin is a Professional Geologist and has been a major contributor to the co-discovery of several gold and base metal deposits during his more than 40-year career. He was a part of the exploration teams that were awarded the Discovery of the Year by the AEMQ for the West Ansil Deposit (2005) and the Louvicourt Deposit (1989). Mr. Martin has worked on several advanced exploration projects, that included bringing four of these projects into production. For the last eight years, he has worked as a technical advisor and geological consultant for numerous junior and major mining companies. Prior to this, Mr. Martin was Vice President of Exploration with Clifton Star Resources, where he led the team that completed a Pre-Feasibility study defining the 4.5 million-ounce Duparquet Gold Project.
Jean LaFleur, P.Geo. – Senior Advisor
Mr. Lafleur is a Professional Geologist with 45 years of experience in Geology and Mineral Exploration in Canada, and internationally in the USA, Mexico, Latin America, Ireland, Spain, and Africa. He has been a C-suite executive for multiple small-cap junior exploration companies and has led successful exploration programs in Québec and Ontario. Mr. Lafleur obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Geology from the University of Ottawa and was active as an exploration geologist early in his career with Newmont, Falconbridge, Dome Mines, and Placer Dome. Mr. Lafleur is currently Senior Manager for North America at Appian Capital Advisory LLP, a mining-focused private equity firm based in London, UK.
Altitude Capital Consultants & ECM Capital Advisors – Market Advisors
Eugene (Gene) McBurney, B.A., M.A., LL.B., LL.D., brings over 25 years of international investment banking experience, establishing him as a trusted advisor, especially in the global mining sector.
Michael A. Wekerle has had a very successful career in capital markets. Early in his career he joined First Marathon and quickly rose up to become the head trader for the firm, where he was a key player in Roger’s takeover of McLean Hunter in 1994. He then joined GMP (Griffiths McBurney and Partners) as Vice Chairman of trading, where he was involved with the 1997 initial public offering of Research in Motion (RIM). Mr. Wekerle is well known for the four years he was an investor on the Canadian television show, Dragon’s Den.
Three out of four directors are independent
Subsequent to Q1-FY2025, LFLR closed a $1.20M equity financing. In-the-money options and warrants can bring $2.3M
Based on the current resource estimate, and a 10-year mine life, our DCF valuation model returned a fair value estimate of $0.83/share
Following our review of the company’s portfolio, and management’s strategy to advance its projects, we are initiating coverage with a BUY rating, and a fair value estimate of $0.83/share. One of LFLR's key advantages is its capacity to rapidly enter production with relatively low CAPEX. We are not conducting a comparables valuation, as, unlike LFLR, most juniors lack access to a mill, and/or have a similar path to production. Furthermore, we see potential for resource expansion. Given that our fair value estimate is based solely on the current resource, positive results from resource expansion drilling should serve as catalysts for the stock.
We are assigning a risk rating of 5 (Highly Speculative)
We believe the company is exposed to the following key risks (not exhaustive):
