Scottie Resources Pushes a No-Mill, Direct-Ship Gold Plan Toward Production in Two Years

Scottie Resources (TSXV: SCOT) is positioning itself to become a near-term gold producer without ever building a mill. In an extended presentation on the Experts Roundtable, CEO Thomas Mumford and Executive Chair Brad Bork laid out a direct-ship-ore (DSO) model that turns the project's high grade, road access, and proximity to a deep-water port into what they argue is one of the simplest small-miner setups in the Golden Triangle.

The project sits in the southern part of British Columbia's Golden Triangle, between Newmont's Bruce Jack mine to the north and Cambria (formerly Ascot) to the south. Two deposits anchor the story: the historic Scottie Gold Mine, a short-lived 1980s producer that graded more than 16 g/t recovered over its life, and the Blueberry contact zone, a 2019 discovery outcropping directly under the existing Grand Duke road. The two lie about two kilometres apart and were previously linked by a 1980s access tunnel.

A natural change in the landscape has reshaped the mine plan. Mumford explains that a glacier downstream of the old workings has retreated over the decades, draining the lake that once dammed the valley. With the lake bed exposed, the team no longer needs the 2.1 kilometre avalanche-risk tunnel and can drive a road along the lake bed to reach the Scottie workings. The drained tailings (still running 2.1 g/t at surface) are now accessible too.

DSO is the centrepiece. Rather than build a mill or tailings facility, the company plans to crush high-grade ore to a coarse 3-inch gravel, run it through two tandem ore sorters, and ship roughly 500 tonnes a day to Ocean Partners, a metal-trading group that blends material at a facility in Taiwan. The ore sorter "doubled grade with only a 5% loss in recovery," in Mumford's words. There is no mill to permit, no tailings dam to engineer, and capex falls to roughly C$130 million for the entire project, a small footprint for a Canadian gold project.

The numbers from the preliminary economic assessment (PEA) lean favourable. Mumford cites an NPV of roughly $670 million at a $4,200 gold base case, an NPV-to-capex ratio of about 5.2, average life-of-mine production near 65,000 ounces per year, gold recovery of about 94.7%, and a seven-year mine life. The mine plan starts with three shallow open pits running at 7.5–7.7 g/t, then transitions underground at roughly 6.9 g/t. Strip ratio is described as about 15 to 1.

The team has already stress-tested the logistics. A bulk sample taken from the bend vein in 2025 — permitted in January, blasted in July, and shipped by year-end — produced about 4,600 tonnes at roughly 14.5 g/t with about an ounce of silver per tonne. Mumford calls the nine-day test "a true dry run," and panel member Brian London puts the implied annualised run rate at "$350 million or so in revenue," a figure the company does not push back on directly. Mumford expects free cash flow of about $150 million a year in the early production years at $2,600 gold, and notes "if you believe gold at $4,000, it's well over $200 million a year."

Drilling is what underwrites the production story. Scottie's maiden resource, published in May 2025, sits at 700,000 oz at 6.1 g/t and is entirely in the inferred category, which Mumford acknowledges is a gap he intends to close. The 2025 program drilled about 27,000 m (roughly 80% infill), and the company is now part-way through a 50,000 m program this season to convert inferred ounces to indicated and to expand the resource. Blueberry has been drilled to 525 m and remains open at depth; eight drills are still turning and the company expects a revised resource estimate and a feasibility study to land around the end of Q1 2027.

Growth optionality is layered on top. Mumford targets roughly two million ounces over the next three to five years, a goal that Brad Bork says "even Thomas's confidence saying 2 million, which is shocking to me." Three targets — Domino, CDN, and the central Cambria block — are being drilled alongside the main deposit.

The optionality that drew the most panel attention is toll milling at the Premier mill, roughly 20 km south. Internal work, Mumford says, shows "about a $150 million differential at any price" if half the DSO product is routed through the Premier mill instead of shipped overseas, but only if that mill is running. The DSO plan acts as a backstop.

Avalanche risk is real and mitigated. Brad Bork and Thomas both confirm that an avalanche-control team and proactive snow management are baked into operating costs, citing Skeena and Bruce Jack as analogues. Permit-wise, the project is modernising existing permit M139 from the 1980s rather than starting from scratch. Indigenous engagement is with the Nisga'a Nation on an Impact Benefit Agreement (IBA), with a capacity funding agreement already in place; the Tsilhqot'in-adjacent Tahltan are also in scope. The Nisga'a are a partner in the bulk terminal at Stewart, the port that will actually ship the ore.

The shareholder register reads like a short list of who matters in gold. Ocean Partners owns about 13% and runs the offtake; Kevin Jennings (ex-CFO of Barrick Africa) holds around 9%; Franklin Templeton 8–9%; Ross Beaty 5%; Eric Sprott 5–6%; Conway Gold 2000 around 6–7%; a private Swiss investor another 5%. Management is roughly 4%, with Brad Bork at 3.5%. Bork took the project over in 2015, self-funded it through 2019, and has been at it for over a decade.

With about $20 million in cash and a $27 million financing in progress at C$2.90, the company guides cash will carry it through the feasibility study and into debt-financing discussions. Production is targeted for late 2028.

The thin case against the story, named on the panel, is whether a junior that has been historically valued at a steep in-ground multiple can hold that multiple into feasibility. Mickey Fulp also flagged the Gantt chart risk. Dominic Frisby called the stock "a little bit double toppy around $3" and asked whether it can hold if gold dips.

For investors, the market is paying a premium for ounces-in-the-ground that have yet to be converted from inferred to indicated. The next six months — drilling results, the IBA, and the feasibility study — will determine whether that premium survives.