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Mako Mining – Q4 Operations At San Albino, Moss Resource, Development Mt Hamilton & Eagle Mountain

The KE Report Jan 28, 2026

Summary

Mako ended 2025 with $50M Q4 revenue, all debt repaid, and $78M in cash after a $37.7M equity raise.

San Albino returned to its ~7 g/t head grade in Q4 while Moss Mine shifted past residual leach into fresh-ore processing.

Permitted Mt. Hamilton (Nevada) is fully funded for April construction under a Sailfish stream, with first production targeted for Q2 2027.

A separate tungsten-copper-moly target beneath Mt. Hamilton's gold-silver resource could animate US government support for future development.

Eagle Mountain (Guyana) targets ~$96M upfront capex with saprolite-only first production by H2 2028, projected to pay back within a year.

Key points on Mako Mining Corp

  • Q4 2025 generated roughly $50M revenue at a ~$4,310/oz realized gold price, ending the year with ~$78M cash and ~$18.5M of corporate free cash flow after a $6.5M debt repayment; the speaker argues this understates underlying profitability because Q4 was still in the Moss ramp-up.
  • Moss Mine (Arizona): updated resource sits at roughly 670,000 oz of gold at ~0.37 g/t AuEq (4:1 silver-to-gold) on a 650-acre permitted footprint inside a 40,000+ acre land package; BLM has approved the third environmental assessment amendment and the speaker expects the permit within 4-12 weeks to access higher-grade east-side material.
  • Mt Hamilton (Nevada): fully permitted with $85M capex, construction expected to start mid-April 2026 and first pour targeted for late Q2 2027; modeled at ~$5,100/oz gold the project is expected to produce ~60,000 oz/year and over $200M/year cash flow, acquired via Sailfish royalty/stream with no Mako equity issued.
  • Eagle Mountain (Guyana): 1.8M oz resource with a PEA showing a 14-15 year mine life averaging ~65,000 oz/year and ~$96M (now ~$100M with cost inflation) capex; the speaker expects the initial saprolite-only stage to compress to ~3 years at 80,000+ oz/year with payback inside a year at current gold prices.
  • San Albino (Nicaragua): ~9,600 oz sold in Q4 at ~7 g/t head grade; the speaker says 95% of 2026's ~$10M+ exploration budget will go to the Mina Francisco underground decline (25 g/t material beneath the existing open pit) and the new El Golfo discovery to the southwest of Las Conchitas.

Key points on Sailfish Royalty Corp

  • The speaker describes Sailfish as an affiliated royalty company that bought Mt Hamilton for $40M cash from Waterton and gave Mako day-one operating control in exchange for a capped five-year gold stream (4,100 oz/year at 20% of spot, $3,700/oz cap); at the ~$5,100/oz gold spot as of late January 2026 the stream maxes out near $1M/month and only delivers ~250 oz/year.
  • After the five-year stream ends, Sailfish will receive a 2% NSR on all Mt Hamilton minerals, including the tungsten target the speaker frames as a potentially large US critical-metals deposit.

Shad Markwitz's takeaways

  • Top takeaway As KE Report host, he presses the speaker on Moss permitting and exploration upside (40,000+ acres vs 650 permitted), on silver at ~$118/oz (breaking $100), and on the Sailfish/Mt Hamilton deal mechanics and the tungsten/critical-minerals layer underneath.
  • He characterizes Mako as a 'different animal' whose 'complexity has led to simplicity' - three value-accretive acquisitions, a debt-free balance sheet, free cash flow and growth on tap - and endorses the rejection of dividends in favor of reinvestment at high IRR.