TIKIRARJUAQ/WHALE COVE
Even though Nunavut is expected to have the highest amount of exploration spending among the three territories, Northquest president and CEO Jon North told News/North the money being spent is primarily due to two other companies.

Northquest president and CEO Jon North stands in front of the entrance of the theatre where he made his presentation on the company's Pistol Bay Gold Project during this year's Yellowknife Geoscience Forum on Nov. 25. - Karen K. Ho/NNSL photo

"That's because of TMAC (Resources) and Agnico Eagle," he said in the Capitol Theatre during this year's Yellowknife Geoscience Forum. "They're drilling tens of thousands of metres of exploration drilling every year, that's millions and millions of dollars."

North said his company spent $4 million, which led to the company's latest results published last week from its Pistol Bay Gold project in the territory.

While there is some nervousness about investing due to the current low commodity prices, North said that long-term thinkers are less focused on what's going on right now and what companies like his are doing in the future.

"We're not going to produce gold tomorrow from Pistol Bay, TMAC is not going to produce gold tomorrow from Hope Bay and Meadowbank's total cash costs are $600 to $700 an ounce, that's still a profitable mine," he said, adding that commodity prices and investor sentiment, while currently low, are cyclical in nature. "Long-term thinkers will win. We'll be fine."

As for the next six to 12 months, North said that his company has already completed next year's sealift shipments.

"We could go into camp right now, start the generator and helicopters," he said.

North said that Northquest has to finish publishing more results from its drilling over the next six months.

"We also have to interpret results," he said. "Technical results like that aren't really understood (he snaps his fingers) like that, by everybody."

Last week Northquest announced that it had found a second gold-bearing point at its Vickers Zone at the Pistol Bay project. The results show 39 metres of drilled rock with a grading of 2.7 grams of gold per tonne.

In the new release, North stated that the drill holes extended the strike length of the Vickers gold zone by 150 metres, for a total strike length of 600 metres. Notably, North said a newly discovered area containing visible gold was intersected in all four drill holes in the eastern extension of the Vickers gold zone.

The president of Northquest knows his latest news release about the results from 18 drill holes is really hard to understand. One day after the drilling results were released to the public, North said he'd already received many calls asking him what exactly the measurements mean for the future of the company.

"I just wanted to slam the phone down," he said. "But I took a deep breath and said 'Listen, it means this,' and tried to put it in its simplest terms."

What North often recommends is people look up results from Agnico Eagle's deposits and use those as a point of comparison to Northquest's latest drilling results.

Things like hiring and additional work also heavily depend on North's ability to raise money. He said he's open to different methods of fundraising approximately $5 to $10 million for next year. But he has to finish publishing those results first.

"You can't raise money while you're in possession of information," he said. "I think we'll have all of them published by Christmas and then in January we'll start marketing for the next financing."

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