We recently caught up with Explorer’s League honoree Simon Ridgway about one of his earlier-stage companies, Radius Gold (V.RDU). Is it time to invest? Find out where Simon is exploring now and why he’s not worried about Peru.
XL EDITOR JEFF CLARK: Simon, we talked a couple years ago, and you indicated Radius would get your focus. Tell us what’s transpired with the company since then.
SIMON RIDGWAY: Yes, I had just stepped back from active management of Northland Resources to focus on Radius after the failure of the joint venture between Radius and Meridian Gold at Pavon.
JEFF: Why wasn’t the takeover successful?
Read MoreRadius Gold (V.RDU) was granted a license for what is considered a highly prospective geothermal property in Guatemala. They also have pending applications for six other potential geothermal fields totaling 200,700 hectares.
Radius reviewed its hot spring database and decided to stake several active geothermal systems believed to hold geothermal power generation potential. Not a bad move considering the Guatemalan government is forecasting country demand for electric power will grow more than 8% per year through 2015.
Fortuna Silver Mines Inc. (T.FVI) reported drill results at its Caylloma Mine in southern Peru, including an eye-popping intersection of 2,222 grams/tonne silver and 9.64 g/t gold over 9.2 meters (along with 1.17% Pb and 3.02% Zn). And this is true width, quite exceptional for such high grade rock.
Fortuna Silver Mines (T.FVI) completed a feasibility study on its 100%-owned San Jose Project in Oaxaca, Mexico. The stock sold off 16% in the two days following the news, so one might think the study was negative, right? One might, but one would be wrong. The NPV of US$36.4 million and IRR of 18% are positive figures, but much lower than we expected – and evidently the market as well.
Simon T. Ridgway is President and Director of Radius Gold, Inc. Unlike the heads of many junior exploration companies, Ridgway is not only known for making deals that profit his shareholders, but for actually getting out in the field with his team of prospectors and making grassroots discoveries.
Before starting Tombstone Exploration Ltd., his first junior mining exploration company in 1994, Simon Ridgway spent 20 years kicking rocks in the Yukon, and in speaking with him, one gets the sense that kicking rocks is still what he likes doing best. Nevertheless, in the almost 15 years he has been managing exploration companies in North, Central and South America, his practical, low-cost approach to exploration management has led to major discoveries in Honduras and Guatemala, and what looks like one (or more) shaping up in Nicaragua. Along the way, he certainly has created a lot of shareholder value.
