Ned Jalil, CEO of Collective Mining | Rule Symposium 2026: Rick Rule interviews

Rule Investment Media May 22, 2026

Summary

Collective Mining's CEO targets a 5 to 10 million ounce gold deposit at Apollo, and half a million ounces a year from it.

Over 120,000 meters drilled at Apollo, with 80,000 more planned this year and its first resource estimate targeted for the first half of next year.

The CEO explains that measured, indicated and inferred — a deposit's three confidence tiers — are what make it a resource, not exploration potential.

Over $100 million in the bank at the end of Q1 leaves room for one more raise before full build capital.

The guest cites the chairman, CFO and Colombia-based president, who built Continental Gold from scratch and sold it to Zijin for over C$2 billion.

Jalil lists re-optimizing a long-running Kinross Gold operation — one that had operated for years without generating significant value for stakeholders — among the career successes he brings to Collective Mining.

Jalil says Collective is still late-stage exploration with no PEA or resource statement, and targets a maiden resource at the Apollo system in the first half of 2027 off more than 120,000 metres drilled to date, with over 80,000 metres of drilling planned during 2026.
He says Collective ended the first quarter with over $100 million in cash, calls the company very well financed, and expects at most one further raise before the full capital needed to build the project is requested.
He states the Apollo intercepts support a target of 5 to 10 million potential ounces, calls 5 million ounces world-class, and aims ultimately at a tier-one asset producing more than 500,000 ounces a year over 10-plus years of mine life.
Apollo is a multi-element system carrying copper, gold, silver and tungsten, and Jalil says it is one of the first deposits in Colombia where the occurrence of tungsten has been identified.
Collective holds two projects in Colombia's Caldas department — San Antonio and Guayabalas, with Apollo the prime discovery in the latter — and Jalil says the company lists in New York and Toronto and recently moved its head office from Toronto to Miami.

Top takeaway Sussman is chairman of Collective Mining, and Jalil says being able to trust him was immediate and one of the prime reasons he accepted the CEO role more than a year ago.
Jalil credits Sussman and the rest of the leadership team — CFO Paul and Colombia-based president Omar — as former Continental Gold principals who built that company from scratch and sold it to Zijin for more than C$2 billion.

Top takeaway Rule says his conference vets every public-company issuer before admission and excludes exhibitors whose shares are not owned by the conference sponsors, so the company interviewed in this session has been vetted.
He argues the recorded breakout sessions, not the live ones, are where attendees get the benefit, because the simultaneous sessions cannot all be attended in person.
He describes an unconditional money-back guarantee for both live and livestream attendees, which he says no other conference in the world offers.
He explains he pre-interviews every exhibitor and speaker, and records the full proceedings, so attendees can allocate their time and resources across the four days more efficiently.

Top takeaway Jalil's central claim is that Collective is late-stage exploration rather than resource-stage: no PEA, feasibility study or resource exists yet, and the first maiden resource is targeted for the first half of 2027 after more than 120,000 metres drilled and over 80,000 metres planned during 2026.
He frames the value case as a 5 to 10 million ounce deposit at Apollo — 5 million ounces being, in his words, world-class — with the longer-term goal of a tier-one asset producing more than 500,000 ounces a year for over a decade.
He sets out three parallel priorities: keep drilling toward a measured, indicated and inferred resource; grow the district through nearby targets such as Trap, Aminé and Plutus; and build the team that will carry the project through scoping, pre-feasibility, feasibility and detailed engineering.
On funding he says the company held over $100 million at the end of the first quarter, which he considers more than adequate for current spending, and anticipates possibly one raise before asking for the full build capital.
He argues the team is trustworthy because chairman Ari Sussman, CFO Paul and Colombia-based president Omar were all part of Continental Gold, which they created and sold to Zijin for more than C$2 billion.