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Paddy Nicol, CEO & President of Orogen Royalties | Rule Symposium 2026: Rick Rule interviews

Rule Investment Media May 8, 2026

Summary

Orogen's prospect generator turned a $225,000 investment in the Silicon royalty into a $421 million sale to AngloGold Ashanti, Nicol explains.

The Ermitaño royalty in Sonora has paid over $25 million on a $150,000 generative cost and now sustains the company.

Nicol says the prospect generator must operate profitably on its own, so royalty revenue never funds high-risk exploration and royalties are created for free.

Hyperspectral analysis (satellite imaging that maps surface alteration) spotted a 10-million-ounce Nevada gold deposit earlier prospecting had missed.

Partners raised over $100 million to fund 14 drill programs worth $50-75 million on Orogen ground this year, giving royalty exposure without funding them.

Key points on Anglogold Ashanti

  • Nicol says Orogen's Silicon royalty — now the Arthur Gold Project — went to AngloGold Ashanti in a $421 million transaction completed in July, of which he says $343 million was attributable to Silicon.
  • Nicol says bringing in AngloGold for the financial heavy lifting on Silicon gave Orogen access to roughly 120 earth scientists it did not have to pay for.
  • Nicol says the Renaissance and AngloGold teams jointly received a PDAC award this past March for the Silicon/Arthur discovery.

Key points on First Majestic Silver

  • Nicol says First Majestic has operated the Ermitaño mine in Sonora since 2021, and that its royalty has delivered over $25 million of revenue to Orogen to date — the income that sustains the company.
  • Nicol says Ermitaño still hosts about a million ounces as it did in 2021, with a lower cutoff grade reflecting higher gold prices, and mine life extended from roughly seven years in 2021 to eight to 10 years as of the May 2026 interview.
  • Nicol says Orogen sold the Ermitaño project to First Majestic after roughly $150,000 of generative investment, netting about $1.5 million from the transaction itself.

Key points on Orogen Royalties Inc

  • Nicol says Orogen's model is proven by its numbers: about $225,000 invested in Silicon led to a share of a $421 million AngloGold sale, and roughly $150,000 spent generating Ermitaño has produced over $25 million in royalty revenue to date.
  • Nicol says the prior year brought just over $13 million of revenue — about $9.5 million from royalties (mostly Ermitaño) and over $3 million from prospect generation — and because the prospect generator operates at a profit, its royalties are effectively created for free.
  • Nicol puts the market cap around $200 million as of the May 2026 interview, with no debt, and values the Ermitaño royalty at roughly half of that, about $100–110 million, with mine life now eight to 10 years versus seven in 2021.
  • Nicol says 14 partner-funded drill programs are running on Orogen projects this year — none funded by Orogen — representing an estimated $50–75 million of spending, with partners having raised over $100 million in the prior six months.
  • Nicol says Orogen only generates its own royalties rather than buying them: it spends roughly $150,000–200,000 per project, sells to partners for cash and share payments, and clips a royalty with full lifecycle exposure and limited downside, aided by data alliances with Altius Minerals, Triple Flag and others.

Key points on Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp

  • Nicol names Triple Flag as one of Orogen's alliance partners that funds early-stage generative exploration, with hyperspectral data acquired and owned jointly.

Rick Rule's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Rule says he has invested in and behind Nicol for the better part of two decades and structures the interview as proof of the prospect-generation model, arguing Orogen's royalties were created less than free because the company accumulates cash.
  • Rule stresses that every public company exhibitor at his July symposium is owned in the sponsors' own accounts and therefore vetted, backing the conference with a money-back guarantee.