The Gold Report: Please give us an overview of Auryn Resources and its genesis.
Shawn Wallace: Auryn Resources Inc. (AUG:TSX.V) is the third company that Auryn chairman Ivan Bebek and I have started. Previously we founded Keegan Resources and later Cayden Resources. Keegan became Asanko Gold Inc. (AKG:NYSE.MKT; AKG:TSX; ) and it merged with its neighbor, PMI Gold. While working with Asanko in Ghana, we met Auryn COO Michael Henrichsen, a brilliant structural geologist with Newmont Mining Corp. (NEM:NYSE).
After Cayden was bought by Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. (AEM:TSX; AEM:NYSE), our team began a global search for an asset with three key attributes: it had to be a district-scale opportunity, which means a land package where multiple deposits could be developed in the same geological setting; it had to be situated in a stable jurisdiction where people get mining permits in a reasonable timeframe; and it had to be high grade because it’s only in times like these when you can economically acquire high-grade assets. We searched in a bunch of countries but Committee Bay ticked off all the boxes.
“The key to our success is that we’re a disciplined group with skilled people.”
Auryn has people from Cayden and Keegan on the board, which has made the integration of a new company into the group almost seamless. We had about $9 million ($9M) in cash at the start of this year but it is about $7M now because we have started spending money on Committee Bay. And a lot of that money came from us. We invest in our company.
TGR: Why has your group had so much success, even in difficult markets?
SW: The key to our success is that we’re a disciplined group with skilled people. We know what we’re good at and what we want …read more