Disclosure: Trident Resources Corp. has paid FRC a fee for research coverage and distribution of reports. See last page for other important disclosures, rating, and risk definitions.
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Risks
*The company currently has $3M in the treasury, $8M in working capital, and no long-term debt.
Portfolio Summary
75k hectares of gold and copper assets in Saskatchewan. In 2023, the Fraser Institute’s survey ranked Saskatchewan the third-best mining jurisdiction in the world
Three projects with historical resources totaling 1.6 Moz AuEq. Contact Lake and Greywacke Lake are situated within the La Ronge gold belt in northern Saskatchewan
The La Ronge gold belt hosts at least 13 high-grade gold deposits, including five past-producing mines. Excellent infrastructure with access to milling facilities, roads, and power
This region hosts several high-grade gold deposits, including SSR Mining’s producing Seabee underground mine, with resources totaling 0.61 Moz at 4.95 g/t Au, forecasted to produce 70-80 Koz this year
The Contact Lake mine produced 188 Koz historically; the table also shows production from other nearby historic mines
Contact Lake Gold Project, Northern Saskatchewan
The Contact Lake project, previously held by MAS Gold, consists of four key targets - Contact Lake, Preview North, Preview SW, and North Lake - as well as the relatively untested Point Lake target.
The property is 60 km northeast of La Ronge, a hub for mining and exploration companies in northern Saskatchewan
Mineralization, History, and Infrastructure
The Contact Lake deposit was mined from 1994 to 1998, producing 188 Koz at 6.16 g/t Au.
Hosts a historic underground mine. The Contact Lake deposit measures 1.2 km long x 150 m wide x 300 m deep
Existing infrastructure includes access to roads, electricity, and underground development
Historic Resources
Multiple companies have drilled the project since 1939. MAS Gold conducted three drill programs between 2019 and 2022, followed by a resource estimate for Preview SW, Preview North, and North Lake in 2023.
A large, relatively high-grade, potentially open-pittable and underground resource totaling 1.05 Moz Au, spread across three targets
Management has outlined several high-grade drill targets, and plans to commence drilling this year, aiming to confirm and potentially expand the historical resource.
We believe there is resource expansion potential, as all three targets remain open in multiple directions, and several showings remain underexplored
Greywacke Lake Gold Project, Northern Saskatchewan
The property is located 44 km from the Contact Lake project. Located near a highway, with access to power
Mineralization and Historic Resource
Various companies have conducted exploration and drilling since 1959. In 2021, MAS Gold completed a resource estimate on the Greywacke North target, based on 162 drill holes totaling 20,422 m.
A relatively small, high-grade resource totaling 155 Koz potentially amenable to both open-pit and underground mining
The resource is spread across three zones (North, Central, and South). While the current resource is too small for a production decision, we believe there is significant upside potential, as the Greywacke North target remains open along strike and at depth
Knife Lake Project, East-Central Saskatchewan
This advanced-stage copper, (silver, zinc and cobalt) project, covering 45,168 hectares, is located in east-central Saskatchewan.
Additionally, numerous historical showings could expand the project’s overall gold resources
Located 136 km northwest of Flin Flon, Manitoba, and 180 km northeast of La Ronge, Saskatchewan. Access to power, and winter roads
Mineralization, History and Resource
The project lies within the Flin Flon-Snow Lake mining district, one of the most prolific greenstone belts in Canada. The Flin Flon camp hosts over 30 VMS deposits. VMS deposits commonly occur in clusters, and individual deposits, when combined, have potential to form mining districts/camps.
At Knife Lake, various companies have conducted exploration and drilling from the late 1960’s to 1990s. Rockridge Resources completed three drill programs, and delineated a maiden resource estimate in 2019, based on 332 drill holes totalling 7,153 m
Knife Lake is located in a similar geologic setting as the world-class Flin Flon-Snow Lake mining district. VMS projects can potentially host large-tonnage deposits
A small to mid-sized resource, with attractive grades, totaling 203 Mlbs of copper-equivalent (CuEq). The deposit measures 3.7 km long x 30 m wide x 400 m deep. The shallow nature of the deposit could allow for open-pit mining, leading to low OPEX and CAPEX
With less than 5% of the property explored, and multiple untested targets, we believe this property holds significant exploration upside
As management’s near-term focus is on the gold projects, they are planning to bring in a joint venture partner to advance this project.
Management & Board
Management, board, and advisors own 14%. Three out of five directors are independent
Brief biographies of management/board members, as provided by the company, follow:
Jonathan Wiesblatt, CEO & Director
Mr. Wiesblatt has over two decades of experience in the financial industry in various roles including focused expertise in the mining industry as an analyst and institutional investor. He has spent the last 15-years as an institutional investor working as a Portfolio Manager for several multi-strategy funds, a Canadian Equity Mutual Fund at Sprott Asset Management, as well as recently serving as an advisor to one of Canada’s largest Family Offices, Reichmann International Development Corp. Mr. Wiesblatt is a graduate of The University of Western Ontario and Chartered Investment Manager Designation holder.
Jordan Trimble, President & Director
Mr. Trimble is also the Founder, CEO, and President of Skyharbour Resources (MCAP: $65M). Previously, he was the Corporate Development Manager for Bayfield Ventures, a gold company with projects in Ontario which was successfully acquired by New Gold (TSX: NGD) in 2014. Mr. Trimble holds a Bachelor of Science Degree with a Minor in Commerce from the University of British Columbia and he is a CFA Charter holder.
Dr. Andrew J. Ramcharan, SVP Corporate Development & Investor Relations
Dr. Ramcharan has an extensive background in corporate development, mining and exploration, project evaluation, and investment banking spanning over twenty years. Previously, as Manager of Corporate Development for IAMGOLD, Dr. Ramcharan was involved in raising over $600M in equity financings and worked on project acquisitions totaling over $800M. Prior to that, he was at SRK Consulting for several years and worked with uranium companies including SXR Uranium One, Ur-Energy, and UraMin which eventually sold for $2.5B in 2007 to Areva. Dr. Ramcharan holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in Mining Engineering and Mineral Economics.
Ross McElroy, Independent Director
Mr. McElroy is a professional geologist with over 35 years of experience in the mining industry. He was recently the CEO of Fission Uranium which was acquired by Paladin for over $1B in 2024. He has held senior technical and executive positions with both major and junior mining companies, which include BHP Billiton, Cogema Canada, and Cameco.
Tim Termuende, Independent Director
Mr. Termuende is a professional geologist with over 35 years’ experience in the mineral exploration industry. He has been involved with numerous publicly-traded corporations since 1994, including Copper Canyon Resources Ltd., which was acquired by NovaGold in 2011 for $65M.
Joseph Gallucci, Independent Director
Mr. Gallucci is a senior capital markets executive and corporate director with over 20 years of experience in investment banking and equity research. He is currently the Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking at Laurentian Bank Securities Inc. where he oversees the investment banking practice in entirety
Financials
Healthy balance sheet, with $3M in the treasury, $8M in working capital, and no debt. No options/warrants are in-the-money
FRC Rating and Valuation
ROCK is the most undervalued junior gold stock on our list, trading at $10/oz AuEq vs a comparables average of $50/oz
Applying the sector average multiple of $50/oz, we arrived at a fair value estimate of $1.73/share
We are initiating coverage with a BUY rating, and a fair value estimate of $1.73/share. We believe Trident presents a compelling early-stage opportunity in a top-tier mining jurisdiction, with a substantial historical gold resource, trading at a significant discount to its peers. The company is well-funded, and we expect the valuation discount to narrow if it confirms and/or expands the historical resource at Contact Lake. We maintain a positive outlook on gold prices, anticipating continued US$ weakness, strong demand for safe-haven assets amidst economic and geopolitical uncertainties, and the potential for a slowdown in global GDP growth.
Risks
Assigning a risk rating of 5 (Highly Speculative)
We believe the company is exposed to the following key risks:
