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Pitch Rick Ep #1 - Versamet Royalties

Rule Investment Media Jul 15, 2026

Summary

The CEO argues the value of Versamet's producing royalties alone exceeds its roughly $1.2 billion market cap, before counting development assets.

Royalties (cuts of production, not mines) give Versamet 90% operating margins with eight staff; it trades near 10 times cash flow, well below larger peers.

Gold-equivalent production has doubled annually from 5,000 ounces in 2024 and should reach a 35,000-ounce run rate once the Eskay Creek stream starts in 2027.

The $360 million Eskay Creek stream was priced tightly, but Skeena's planned mine-plan upgrade could materially lift the stream's net present value.

With about $370 million of debt repayable from under three years of cash flow, officers and directors own over 10% of shares.

Key points on B2Gold

  • Versamet's largest shareholder at just under 30%, and the CEO says its board representative Mike McDonald is stepping up into B2Gold's CFO role.
  • Sold Versamet a portfolio of just under 10 royalties headlined by Kiaka in a $90 million all-share deal, equity the CEO now values at over $300 million.
  • The CEO describes B2Gold as a supportive holder on a five-year horizon, only 1.5 years in, making tremendous cash flow at current gold prices with no perceived need for liquidity.
  • On the Rosh Pinah due diligence trip, B2Gold sent someone from its own Namibia mine who had previously worked at Rosh Pinah, an advantage the CEO says few small royalty companies have.
  • The Kiaka royalty B2Gold sold came into production mid-last year and is ramping into a very significant cash flow contributor, per the CEO.

Key points on Barrick Mining

  • The CEO counts Barrick among the senior producers Maverix sourced royalty portfolios from, at the very end before Maverix's sale to Triple Flag.

Key points on Equinox Gold

  • Owns 11% of Versamet as a founding shareholder, having spun out its non-core royalties to help create the company, per the CEO.
  • Versamet's first meaningful deal was a gold stream on Equinox's Greenstone mine in Canada; Equinox received no shares from it, but its stake gained value as Greenstone lifted the portfolio.
  • Versamet's chairman Greg Smith is a former Equinox CEO and Ross Beatty, the figure behind the spinout, chaired Equinox, so the relationship stays close even though Equinox is less active day to day.
  • On the Santa Rita royalty due diligence in Brazil, Equinox sent someone who had previously worked at the mine.
  • Greenstone does over 4,000 gold-equivalent ounces a year for Versamet; the CEO says the $52.5 million attributable stream stake, bought under $2,000 gold, is now worth well over $100 million, pays just under $20 million in 2026, and is capped at a total ounce count over a 15-year initial term.

Key points on Gold Fields

  • The CEO lists Gold Fields among the senior producers whose overlooked royalty portfolios Maverix acquired from during his Maverix years.

Key points on Kinross Gold

  • The CEO lists Kinross among the senior producers whose royalty portfolios Maverix acquired from before the Triple Flag sale.
  • Versamet director Liz McGregor also sits on Kinross's board, part of the big-company governance the CEO highlights.

Key points on Newmont

  • The CEO lists Newmont among the senior producers whose overlooked royalty portfolios Maverix bought from in the run-up to the Triple Flag sale.

Key points on Pan American Silver

  • Maverix, the CEO's previous company sold to Triple Flag for $750 million in 2023, was spun out of non-core royalties buried in Pan American Silver's portfolio.
  • The spinout was initiated by Jeff Burns as he transitioned out of a ten-year run as Pan American's CEO, per the guest.

Key points on Endeavour Silver Corp

  • Versamet backed Endeavour's acquisition of the Kolpa mine in Peru with equity, debt and a copper stream on the asset, per the CEO.
  • Endeavour immediately moved to expand Kolpa from 1,800 to 2,500 tonnes per day, and the stream covers the entire land package Endeavour is now exploring.
  • The CEO sees roughly a 10-year mine life at Kolpa today and expects 20 to 30 years under Endeavour, though he says he cannot speak for them.
  • He says Kolpa lacked exploration attention as a private Peruvian mine, and Endeavour's arrival is unlocking expansion and exploration upside.

Key points on West African Resources Ltd

  • Operates Kiaka in Burkina Faso, the source of roughly 7,000 gold-equivalent ounces for Versamet this year, about $28 million of royalty revenue at $4,000 gold with no ongoing payment, per the CEO.
  • Burkina Faso's government has lifted its mine interest from 10% to 15% and is discussing up to 40% in exchange for cash paid to WAF, which the CEO says leaves Versamet's royalty, based on 100% of production, untouched.
  • The CEO calls WAF a tremendous operator well versed in West Africa and takes comfort from that given country risk; Rick Rule adds he concurs the West African people are very high quality.
  • A WAF satellite deposit is slated to come online later this year, adding another near-term Versamet cash flow contributor.

Key points on Skeena Resources

  • Versamet paid $360 million ($340 million cash, $20 million shares) for an uncapped gold stream on Skeena's Eskay Creek project, which the CEO calls the cornerstone elephant of the portfolio, with production expected mid-2027.
  • He concedes the pricing was tight: NPV roughly equal to the price paid, with analysts citing a low single-digit IRR, and the bet resting on Skeena's promised mine-plan upgrades.
  • Skeena's chairman has said an updated mine plan will show higher grades in the first 10 years and extend mine life from 12 to 15 years, which the CEO says would greatly lift the stream's NPV; the study is due later this year.
  • Construction is about halfway complete, and the CEO expects the stream to deliver over 10,000 ounces out of the gate.
  • Skeena used part of a roughly $750 million high-yield note raise to buy the royalty down from over 10% to the 3.52% Versamet acquired from Orion and Blackstone, so no further buybacks are possible.

Key points on Franco-Nevada Corp

  • The CEO names Franco-Nevada, with Wheaton, as the steward of the royalty sector that has treated shareholders incredibly well, but argues its scale makes doubling or tripling production every few years impossible, which is the growth lane for smaller royalty companies.
  • He says Franco's NAV is impossible to calculate because of its enormous fat tail of assets that may not produce for 5, 10, even 20 years, a structure he is trying to replicate.
  • The guest doubts Franco would syndicate pieces of large copper streams to smaller royalty players, saying the majors want to hog the puck.
  • Rick Rule counters that the industry's capital needs exceed what Franco and Wheaton can absorb, so they will have to share deal flow.

Key points on Triple Flag Precious Metals Corp

  • Bought the CEO's previous royalty company Maverix in 2023 for $750 million, a deal he says made shareholders of both Triple Flag and Maverix do incredibly well.
  • The CEO places Triple Flag and Osisko at around $8 billion market caps, with no royalty company between roughly $2 billion and the three majors, the missing middle Versamet targets.
  • He argues Versamet's Eskay Creek stream would stand among the top assets even in Triple Flag's portfolio.

Key points on Versamet Royalties Corp

  • The CEO agrees the NAV of Versamet's operating and near-operating royalties already exceeds its enterprise value, about $1.6 billion EV on just under $400 million of net debt versus a market cap just over $1 billion, with shares at about 10 times pro forma cash flow, a 50-100% discount to larger royalty peers (as of this July 2026 interview).
  • Per-share growth is the pitch: 5,000 gold-equivalent ounces in 2024, 10,000 in 2025, 20,000-23,000 expected for 2026 on roughly $100 million of revenue, and a 35,000-ounce run rate once Eskay Creek starts mid-2027.
  • Ownership is concentrated: B2Gold just under 30%, Tether just over 12%, Equinox 11%, the Lundin family 9% and insiders over 10%, with the CEO noting those shares were bought with written checks after the spinout.
  • The balance sheet carries about $370 million of debt against $10 million of cash, repayable in under three years from cash flow at the 35,000-ounce run rate, run by eight employees at roughly 90% operating margins.
  • Behind the bankable NAV the CEO lists long-dated royalties he treats as free call options, including Hackett River (about $20 million a year of cash flow if built), Prairie Creek, Makoa and Converse, plus Kui Kui entering production later this year at no added cost.

Key points on Wheaton Precious Metals

  • The CEO's royalty career began as a junior investment banker in the room for Silver Wheaton's (now Wheaton Precious Metals) earliest streaming deals in the mid-2000s, including advisories on streams sold by Lundin Mining and Glencore.
  • He calls Wheaton's $4.2 billion deal with BHP a harbinger of more big deals that is great for the whole royalty sector, and sees the copper industry's stated $250 billion ten-year capital need as the biggest streaming opportunity he has ever witnessed.
  • He doubts Wheaton will syndicate out pieces of the coming byproduct copper streams, though he says Versamet would join if asked.
  • Rick Rule argues Wheaton and Franco will be forced to share the $40-60 billion of potential byproduct streaming because it exceeds their capacity.
  • The CEO cites royalty companies' record of outperforming their operating partners in both up and down markets, with Wheaton and Franco-Nevada as the industry standard.

Clive Johnson's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Rick Rule cites Clive Johnson, with Ross Beatty, as the kind of sophisticated shareholder who would never let Versamet's management write itself a check at a discount, and jokes it would amuse him to watch someone try to bully them.
  • The guest names a seller like Clive Johnson as someone who might accept a smaller cash check because the equity in a Versamet deal can be worth more than a larger buyer's.

Rick Rule's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Runs the interview as a value exercise: he refuses to discuss upside until the CEO agrees, on the record, that the NPV of Versamet's assets exceeds its enterprise value.
  • Believes the big royalty companies' biggest transactions are ahead of them and that they will have to syndicate deals out, seeing $40-60 billion of streaming against byproduct gold and silver in the copper business, more than the majors can keep to themselves.
  • Values the tail, the cash flows beyond the 10-11 year NPV window, as the little extra you get for free in his New Orleans phrasing, noting the clock often resets at 100% once a NPV calculation is used up.
  • Vouches for West African Resources' people as very high quality and says he would be amused to watch anyone try to bully Clive Johnson or Ross Beatty.
  • Discloses he has just taken a flyer on Prairie Creek himself and tells Versamet the entry qualification to his circle is ownership: we have to own you.

Dan O'Flaherty's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Stakes his pitch on value: he agrees the NAV of Versamet's operating and near-operating royalties exceeds its enterprise value and puts the stock at about 10 times pro forma cash flow, a 50-100% discount to larger royalty peers (as of this July 2026 interview).
  • Lays out the growth record as proof of execution: 5,000 gold-equivalent ounces in 2024, 10,000 in 2025, 20,000-23,000 expected for 2026, and a 35,000-ounce run rate once Eskay Creek starts mid-2027.
  • Argues the balance sheet is manageable, with about $370 million of debt against $10 million of cash repaid in under three years from cash flow, under a rule against diluting shareholders except to fund a signed deal.
  • Credits the company's edge to flexibility and out-hustling: equity-for-royalties with B2Gold, combining Appian's two assets into one process, and timing the Eskay Creek purchase alongside Skeena's high-yield raise.
  • Names the two ways a royalty investor loses money, bad technical due diligence and too much debt, and says the roughly 90% margins and low-cost operators let him sleep.

Mr. Diego Airo P.Eng.'s takeaways

  • Top takeaway Leads Versamet's technical due diligence; the CEO says he has earned the nickname Dr. Death for how many projects he kills, exactly the conservatism a royalty holder wants holding the keys.
  • Came to Versamet from Maverix and built operator-side experience at Capstone, including operations in Mexico and a large US copper project, and at Kinross.
  • Focuses on mine operations for assets already producing or with a clear path to production, identifying asset-specific risks so each stream can be tailored.
  • The CEO credits his diligence, digging into what a counterparty would rather not show, as the answer to the royalty sector's most common mistake.

Juan Presa's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Recently joined Versamet's board as Tether's representative, with Tether holding over 11% of the stock at the time.
  • The CEO says Presa has been a great addition, giving Versamet visibility into how Tether thinks about future gold royalty exposure.

Ross Beatty's takeaways

  • Top takeaway The connective figure of the story: per the guest, the Equinox Gold chairman and Pan American Silver founder whose royalty ideas produced Maverix and whose Equinox ties produced Versamet's spinout, and he is now a Versamet shareholder.
  • His Maverix-era mantra, do not dilute me unless you have a future deal, still governs Versamet's financing policy.
  • Rick Rule counts him, with Clive Johnson, as a dominant shareholder who would never let management issue itself stock at a discount.