Robert Eckford: Why Gold Will Keep Running for Another 5 Years
VRIC Media Sep 10, 2026 39:52
Summary
Robert Eckford argues gold has another 3-5 years of upside as US deficits persist across parties and central banks keep buying.
Central banks are price-agnostic, multi-year gold buyers, and institutions that follow them push equities to catch up to the metal.
Rua Gold ran a small PEA early so New Zealand would fast-track a six-month permit for Old Creek inside the Reefton district.
A hub-and-spoke plan turns Old Creek into the first mine feeding a central mill, with Glamorgan as high-upside exploration leverage.
Roughly $29.5M cash and no warrant overhang let Rua plan $130-150M of project financing and a 2027 Reefton build decision.
Key points on Equinox Gold
- Robert's prior Leer Gold venture was sold to Equinox successfully, the outcome he cites when explaining how the same team went on to found Aris Mining in 2020
Key points on Newmont
- Named as the first acquirer in chairman Oliver Lennox King's exit track record, with Roxgold purchased by Newmont and then by Fortuna, each deal reportedly over $1B
Key points on Aris Mining Corp
- Robert was CFO and helped found Aris Mining in 2020 with CEO Neil Woodger, growing it from $20M to roughly $1B through organic and inorganic moves before leaving in April 2024
- The Colombia thesis was built as a jurisdictional arbitrage — the team believed Colombia was a better jurisdiction than the market was pricing — after previously selling Leer Gold to Equinox
- During Robert's tenure Aris operated two producing mines and two development projects and rang the bell on the New York Stock Exchange
- Aris is currently completing a roughly $400M build of the Mamato project, a stage Robert says he lived through from planning to construction startup; Aris COO Richard Thomas has since joined Rua's board
Key points on Fortuna Mining
- Named as the second acquirer in Roxgold's exit chain after Newmont, in a deal Robert describes as over $1B and part of chairman Oliver Lennox King's cumulative near-$3B in exits
Key points on Rua Gold
- The Old Creek PEA was a permit-anchoring move, not an investor-marketing one — Robert ran it specifically to qualify Rua for New Zealand's six-month fast-track process, which Rua was accepted onto in July 2026
- Old Creek is one of nine historic mines in the Reefton district; the PEA covers only the first 200m by 800m drill grid and is effectively 'one-ninth' of the district, framed as the first spoke of a hub-and-spoke model with a second spoke to be unveiled after the PFS
- PEA economics: $40M NPV at 18% IRR with capex around $130M (expected to rise to $130–150M at PFS); the base-case 200,000 oz Au-eq already pays off the plant, so every incremental ounce is upside
- Glamorgan (North Island) drill program starts Q4 2026 with 9,000m across three targets on a $5M budget, led by COO Simon Henderson — the discoverer of WKP — using CSAMT, soils, and surface mapping to target epithermal funnels
- Rua held roughly $29.5M in treasury at the time of the interview and expects to finish Q2 2027 with about $10M remaining after delivering the PFS, updated MRE upgrading Inferred to Indicated at Old Creek, the Reefton permit, and the Glamorgan drill program
Simon Henderson's takeaways
- Top takeaway COO of Rua Gold with over 30 years of epithermal experience and the discoverer of WKP, now applying that mapping, soil, and CSAMT knowledge to prioritize Glamorgan drill targets
Jay Martin's takeaways
- Top takeaway Frames gold as a multi-year debasement cycle rather than a 2025-only spike, and positions Rua as well-set for a fall 2026 catalyst window as gold sentiment reawakens after a quiet summer