Short seller firm Iceberg Research is claiming that New Found Gold Corp (CVE: NFG) (NYSEAMERICAN: NFGC) has been lying about the feasibility of its flagship Queensway project and misleading investors.
Iceberg published a report Thursday titled “New Found Gold Corp: Lies, Misrepresentations, and a Professional Stock Promoter.” The gold miner’s shares slid by 8 per cent following its release.
It highlights that New Found has completed over 563,000 metres of drilling at the Newfoundland site but is yet to release an initial resource estimate. The firm has alleged that its release is being delayed due to a lack of consistent gold mineralization at the project.
Iceberg has also accused the company’s CEO, Collin Kettell, of being a “career stock promoter with a disastrous track record.” The short seller firm says he has been involved with at least 11 other mining companies over the past nine years and that all of their stocks have dropped by about 83 per cent since the date when he became an insider.
“Management has been actively re-marketing this old deposit, but we believe the same issues that plagued previous operators — above all a lack of continuity — remain unresolved,” Iceberg described in the report. “This has led to endless drilling with little real progress.”
New Found spent over C$41 million on its extensive drilling campaigns last year, putting at least 2,300 holes in the ground. Meanwhile, preparing a resource estimate would only cost about C$300K, according to a technical report from New Found, but this is yet to be completed.
“Any attempts to bring Queensway into production are likely to face major obstacles,” Iceberg concluded.
$NFGC Canadian gold junior seeking bagholders
– mcap: CAD700m
– money spent seeking gold: 285m
– gold produced: 0
– mineral resource estimate: 0
Nasty, even for a Canadian junior https://t.co/YtRMWlYoX9— Niko (@nikoInvests) September 20, 2024
Read more: Calibre Mining strikes gold: new high-grade discovery at Nicaragua’s Limon Mine
Read more: Calibre Mining shows analysts the ropes at the Valentine gold project
Newfoundland’s top gold asset exceeds expectations
Despite the “nuggety occurrences” and lack of continuity at Queensway that Iceberg has highlighted, other mining companies operating in the province have been pulling favourable cores from the soil.
Calibre Mining Corp (TSE: CXB) (OTCMKTS: CXBMF) reported drill results from the Valentine mine’s Marathon pit this month with 44 per cent more gold at a 47 per cent higher grade than the latest mineral reserve estimate indicated was possible.
In June, rich intervals of gold mineralization were intercepted near Valentine’s Leprechaun deposit. These included 36.8 grams per tonne gold over 0.9 metres estimated true width (ETW) and 24.68 g/t Au in a 0.85-metre section, ETW.
The site’s largest drill campaign and resource expansion program to date is currently underway. Commercial production will kick off by the end of H1 next year.
Juniors initiate new drill campaigns
Great Atlantic Resources Corp (CVE: GR) started a 900-metre diamond drill program at its Golden Promise property in central Newfoundland this week.
Novamera Inc., a company with proprietary hardware and software that utilizes AI for precision targeting, is assisting Great Atlantic with the campaign.
Galloper Gold Corp. (CNSX: BOOM) also commenced diamond drilling at its Glover Island operation on the western side of the province Friday in area designated as “Lucky Smoke.”
“The convergence of major faults at Glover Island and the widespread presence of ‘the right rocks’ is an excellent recipe for a potential large-scale system consistent with what has been observed elsewhere in this ‘Four Corners’ region of Western Newfoundland,” CEO Hratch Jabrayan said.
Glover Island sits about 62 kilometres south of the Valentine gold project.
Calibre Mining is a sponsor of Mugglehead news coverage
rowan@mugglehead.com
