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Dave Erfle - Site Visit Recap: Cassiar Gold & Scottie Resources

The KE Report Sep 8, 2026 16:35

Summary

Cassiar Gold's 2M+ oz Taurus needs a JV or sale of the southern ground to fund a real drill-out — hard-dollar runway sits at six months.

Scottie Resources is targeting a mid-2026 feasibility study with eight rigs on a 50,000+ meter Blueberry program and deepwater port direct-ship ore (DSO) access.

Premier Mill's care-and-maintenance status creates a clear consolidation path for Scottie, though Cambria's $5M/month burn stalls any near-term takeover scenario.

Scottie carries insider backing from Franco-Nevada (2% NSR), Eric Sprott (5%), and Ross Beatty (5%); Cassiar trades on the optionality of a single JV decision.

Cash burn, not geology, is the gate for both names: Cassiar needs a $25M JV, while Scottie plans a $25M insider-led raise to bridge into production.

Key points on Scottie Resources

  • The guest argues that the high-grade Blueberry bulk sample — 16 g/t, generating roughly $9M — validates Scottie's direct-ship-ore model and underpins the company's move straight to a feasibility study in mid-2027.
  • Eight drill rigs are turning on a roughly 50,000m program at the time of recording (early September 2026), with CEO Brad Rourke expecting results soon and targeting approximately 100% resource conversion plus another ~100,000 oz (to ~800,000 oz over an ~8-year mine life).
  • Erfe views Scottie as a likely consolidation target — its location adjacent to the Ascot/Premiere mine (now under Cambria, roughly $5M/month in care and maintenance) makes it a logical satellite pit, and he projects possible 4x upside to a $1B market cap via a mid-tier or major takeover.
  • Strategic backers include Franco-Nevada (recently took a 2% NSR), Ross Beatty (~5%) and Eric Sprott (~5%); the company sits on roughly $22M cash and trades near all-time highs above $3/share as of early September 2026.
  • Funding plan is a 75/25 debt/equity package — roughly $125M of debt and $25–35M of equity targeted in early 2027 — on top of a near-term ~$25M internal raise from existing shareholders, against a PEA capex of ~$136M (feasibility expected closer to ~$150M).

Key points on Franco-Nevada Corp

  • Franco-Nevada recently bought a 2% net smelter royalty on Scottie Resources, which the guest calls a strong validation and which puts Franco-Nevada on the cap table alongside Ross Beatty (~5%) and Eric Sprott (~5%).

Brad Rourke's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Scottie CEO Brad Rourke told the group on the site visit that the company plans to raise another roughly $25M shortly from existing shareholders, consistent with his broader 75/25 debt/equity funding plan targeting ~$125M of debt and $25–35M of equity in early 2027.
  • Rourke's stated resource-growth target for the upcoming feasibility study is roughly 100% conversion of inferred ounces plus another ~100,000 oz, which would take Scottie to ~800,000 oz and an ~8-year mine life.