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Victor Feng of Auro Metals Inc. talks to Chen Lin | Metals Investor Forum Sept. 2026

Metals Investor Forum Sep 25, 2026 10:45

Summary

Auro Metals is targeting a doubling of the 4.1Moz Santa Barbara porphyry (large, low-grade gold-copper) resource via 40,000m of Phase 2 and 3 drilling.

Ecuadorian porphyries have drawn major-miner M&A: Sol Gold sold for $1.2B and Lumina Gold for $420M in the past 18 months.

Hole 68 cut 905m at 0.6 g/t gold and 0.12% copper — comparable to Filo's earlier porphyry intercepts and ending in mineralization at depth.

Silvercorp's 27.3% cornerstone stake leaves it well-positioned to re-enter as a strategic acquirer at the permitting stage.

Copper-recovery metallurgical work begins in October with samples shipped to Vancouver, ahead of a resource update in early-to-mid 2027.

Key points on Lundin Gold

  • Victor Feng places Tincorp roughly 36 km south of Lundin Gold's Fruta del Norte mine in Ecuador's Zamora copper-gold belt
  • Cited by Victor Feng as part of the case that Ecuador hosts multiple major-tier gold assets

Key points on Silvercorp Metals Inc

  • Holds 27.3% of Tincorp as a cornerstone shareholder; Victor Feng flags the option to come back in once the project is permitted
  • Victor Feng cites Silvercorp's adjacent Condor project as a peer in the same Zamora copper-gold belt

Chen Lin's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Chen Lin frames Santa Barbara as potentially among the world's largest gold deposits if the 4.1 Moz resource doubles, and argues the ~$230M market cap leaves room for re-rating
  • Chen Lin highlights sustained major interest in large-scale Ecuadorian gold projects, citing the recent Rupert deal and broader M&A context

Victor Feng's takeaways

  • Top takeaway Outlines Santa Barbara at 4.1 Moz gold plus ~0.5B lb copper and frames doubling the resource as the company's internal target
  • Walks through the active drill campaign: Phase 1 (11,000m infill) complete, Phase 2 (20,000m) underway with four rigs scaling to seven including 1,000m+ rigs for depth extension
  • Highlights recently published Hole 68 — 905m at 0.6 g/t Au and 0.12% Cu from ~56m — and compares it to early Filo holes, noting more consistent mineralization but fewer high-grade spikes
  • Lays out the 6-9 month plan: finish Phase 2 by year-end, add 20,000m Phase 3 by Q1 2027, complete initial metallurgical work in October, then commission a resource update for early-to-mid H2 2027
  • Keeps "all options open" on development vs. sale; flags Ecuadorian M&A precedents (SolGold ~$1.2B, Lumina ~$420M) and notes Silvercorp holds 27.3% as a cornerstone shareholder