Mike Bennett
President & CEO | Altamira Gold Corp | Gold Explorer & Discoverer with 2.3Moz Track Record
"Discovering and advancing gold deposits in Brazil and Bolivia, including Cajueiro, Coringa, and Puquio North"
Biography
Michael (Mike) Bennett is a mining executive and geologist with over 40 years of exploration and mining experience across South America. As President and CEO of Altamira Gold Corp. (TSXV: ALTA), he has built a reputation as one of the most successful gold discoverers working in Brazil and Bolivia today, credited with three notable gold discoveries totaling approximately 2.3 million ounces: Altamira's Cajueiro project (0.7 Moz), Serabi Gold's Coringa project (1.1 Moz), and Puquio North (0.5 Moz) in Bolivia.
Bennett's career is distinguished not only by his technical expertise but by his deep operational and political experience in South America. He has held senior local government appointments including Mayor of Porongo, Bolivia, President of the Municipal Association of Bolivia, and President of the Chamber of Mines in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. This rare combination of geological, commercial, and political acumen gives him a significant advantage in navigating the regulatory and operational landscape of resource development in the region. He is fluent in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Under Bennett's leadership, Altamira Gold has assembled a portfolio of gold assets in central Brazil, anchored by the Cajueiro project with a 1.4 million ounce resource base. The company is actively expanding this resource through new discoveries, including the Maria Bonita and Apiacás targets, and is advancing what Bennett describes as Brazil's first hard-rock gold porphyry discovery at Santa Helena. Altamira is transitioning from an exploration company to a producer, a move Bennett has timed to coincide with what he sees as a structurally higher gold price environment.
Bennett has been a vocal commentator on how rising gold prices are reshaping the economics of gold deposits. He argues that deposits that previously couldn't make economic sense are becoming viable, and that major gold companies are increasingly motivated to avoid being left behind in the current gold run. His perspective as an operator on the ground in Brazil—a pro-mining jurisdiction that has streamlined its permitting processes—provides investors with insight into both the macro thesis for gold and the micro dynamics of building a gold company in South America.
Videos (2)
They’re Uncovering an Entire DISTRICT OF GOLD | Michael Bennett - Altamira Gold
- Top takeaway Argues the Maria Benito resource has grown to just over 1.3 million ounces, up from 720,000 in July 2025, at a rate of roughly 153 ounces added per meter drilled, and says the system holds more than 3 million ounces.
- Maintains that gold near $4,300 an ounce — versus $1,500 when the deposit's first resource was compiled in 2019 — makes low-grade porphyry material economic, without needing a move to $10,000 gold.
- Presents Maria Benito West as a newly discovered porphyry (hole 36: pyrite, magnetite, minor molybdenum) and reports the first 300-400 meter hole was collared the day before the interview.
- Reframes Altamira as a district rather than a single deposit — 25 kilometers of east-west strike, 15 kilometers of mineralized alluvial streams and multiple porphyries found over the past 18 months — calling it potential tier-one.
- Directs investors to watch for the new porphyry's first results, Novosonios trenching ahead of drilling, regular resource increments and newer targets such as Tavares North.
Altamira Gold added over 600,000 ounces with just 12 drill holes, lifting Maria Bonita (its main deposit) from 720,000 to over 1.3 million ounces. The guest argues today's roughly $4,300 gold price makes low-grade deposits economic; his resource was viable at $1,500 gold in 2019. A new porphyry (a large, low-grade intrusion-hosted gold system) called Maria Bonita West was found at depth, and its first drill hole is now collared. Altamira frames Cajueiro as a multi-porphyry district, targeting over three million ounces, with new targets Novosonios and Tavares North in the pipeline. The Deep Dive discloses Altamira is a paying client of its parent, Canacom Group, so treat this coverage as compensated promotion.
Higher Gold Prices Are Changing What Counts as a Real Discovery | Mike Bennett - Altamira Gold
Higher gold prices are fundamentally changing project economics, making previously uneconomic lower-grade bulk tonnage deposits viable and attractive for junior miners. Altamira Gold's Maria Bonita discovery continues to expand, with recent drilling results suggesting the potential for a significantly larger mineralized system than initially anticipated. The company is pursuing a dual strategy of continued exploration drilling to prove scale while simultaneously advancing a small-scale production path to generate cash flow.
Key Quotes
"Majors don't want to be left out of this gold run. Gold's surge to all-time highs is changing the game for deposits that couldn't make economic sense before."
— The Deep Dive Interview
"Altamira is making the transition from an exploration to a production company at the perfect time for the price of gold, and the perfect time in Brazil—a pro-mining country that has streamlined its permitting processes."
— Global Business Reports Interview
Key Works
Altamira's flagship gold project in central Brazil with a 43-101 compliant resource of approximately 0.7 Moz, advancing toward production
1.1 Moz gold discovery in central Brazil, now held by Serabi Gold, demonstrating Bennett's exploration track record
Speaker at premier mining investment conference discussing Altamira's portfolio and gold exploration in Brazil
Specializations
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