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 Company
Profile:
Midway Gold Corp. is a precious metals company
with a vision to design, build, and operate mines in a manner accountable to
all stakeholders while producing an acceptable return to its shareholders.
Midway controls over 65 square miles of mineral rights in the western United
States, including four advanced exploration projects: Spring Valley, Pan,
Golden Eagle, and Midway, as well as three early stage exploration targets.
These early stage exploration projects include Gold Rock and Burnt Canyon.
 Daniel
E. Wolfus
Position: Chairman, CEO and Director
Daniel Wolfus has over 30 years of investment banking
experience, firstly with E.F. Hutton & Co., where Mr. Wolfus rose to become
partner and Senior Vice President in charge of the West Coast Corporate
Finance Department, followed by his tenure as Chairman, CEO and chief
organizer of Hancock Savings Bank in Los Angeles. During his term with
Hancock Savings, the bank grew to five branches and $225 million in assets
before it was sold in 1997. Mr. Wolfus became Chairman and CEO of Midway
Gold in 2009. Mr. Wolfus also serves in various charitable and non-profit
organizations in the United States.
Interview
conducted by: Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor
CEOCFOinterviews.com, Published – January 7, 2011 |
Basic
Materials
Gold
(MDW-AMEX, MDW-TSXV)
Midway Gold Corp.
Point at Inverness
Suite 280
8310 South Valley Highway
Englewood, CO 80112
Phone: 720-979-0900
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CEOCFO: Mr. Wolfus, what is the overall vision for Midway Gold?
Mr. Wolfus: Our vision for the company
is to take our current projects to production, and to become a producer in
the range of 200,000 to 300,000 ounces a year. We think we can achieve
production with our Pan project by 2013 and reach our goal of becoming a
mid-tier gold producer with our existing projects by 2017. In addition, we
will consider looking at projects outside of Nevada and Washington, possibly
Argentina, Peru, and Chile for a variety of reasons; namely that it's easier
to permit, we have strong business and personal connections, and there are
many good possibilities in those three countries. The drilling continues to
show progress on our Pan and Spring Valley projects. Our primary focus is to
become a gold producer. Gold in the ground is valued far less than gold
being produced. We're trying to increase valuation along that curve and
deliver a steady increase to our shareholders.
CEOCFO: What is it about the Pan project
that you decided to do that one first?
Mr. Wolfus: We keep focused on all of
our projects. The project that is drawing the most resources now is Pan. Pan
is further advanced for production. The Pan project is a sediment-hosted
gold deposit in Nevada’s Battle Mountain-Eureka gold trend. It is an oxide
deposit exposed on the surface with simple metallurgy. It is of manageable
project size with significant upside potential. We believe, we may
ultimately have over a 1 million ounce gold resource. We are currently in
the environmental permitting process and our goal with Pan is production in
2013.
CEOCFO: You mentioned permitting; is it
pretty straight forward today?
Mr. Wolfus: Permitting in Nevada
provides more certainty than in other jurisdictions, but it is still a slow
process that requires a lot of detailed engineering and consultation with
the regulatory authorities. After I became CEO, I realized we needed a key
person like Ken Brunk to help guide that process. Ken served as the Chief
Technical Officer and Senior Vice President at Newmont. In his 15 years with
Newmont, he also developed and oversaw the Mining and Exploration for a
number of projects, many in production today. Ken then added a number of
other people that are highly experienced and talented, including Rick
Moritz, our Vice President of Project Development. Rick’s specialty is the
engineering and optimization of mines and processing plants, including
start-up efforts in North and South America, Central Asia, and Australia.
Tom Williams is our Director of Environmental Affairs, having permitted a
number of projects for other major companies, including 10 studies and 65
reclamation plans. These appointments have formed a nucleus to move the Pan
project forward.
CEOCFO: You have a team in place for
this stage; when you are ready for production, will there be people
available, or will that be a challenge?
Mr. Wolfus: We are lucky to be in Nevada
communities that are very pro-mining. They grew up around mining. They
understand it. It is always a challenge to find and keep the best in the
business, but I think with our community involvement, our strong employment
benefits, and our current very competent team on staff right now, we will be
able to continue to build an impressive company that will continue to
attract people to work for us.
CEOCFO: So you are ready for that next
phase?
Mr. Wolfus: Absolutely. Pan has
significant upside potential. The mineralization is open to north and south
under volcanic cover. We can expand at depth. Twenty percent of the
exploration drill holes are known to end in mineralization. And our recent
sampling has shown higher grades than those grades that have been previously
reported on the property.
CEOCFO: Do you own your properties 100%?
Mr. Wolfus: Yes, we control all of our
properties 100% through direct ownership, leases, or option agreements.
Midway began acquiring gold projects in 2001 and was successful in
negotiating agreements and then finding gold on those projects. For several
years since then, Midway drilled more than any other exploration company in
Nevada, and we are now capitalizing on those discoveries and advancing them
towards development. We are allowing Barrick Gold Corporation, the world’s
largest producer, to potentially earn up to a 75% interest in our Spring
Valley project through $30 million in work expenditures through 2013.
CEOCFO: You mentioned capital for your
current plans; what is the financial picture for Midway Gold?
Mr. Wolfus: We just completed a $4
million financing. We could have raised more, but we wanted to limit the
amount of dilution at this time. Dilution is one of the most important
things for a company our size and with our strategy. We feel that we can
come back to market probably in 2011. We have had a lot of investment
bankers and institutions coming to us to try to increase our cash base. We
also have had some banking institutions who have spoken to us about
financing a portion of the facilities at Pan so that we can achieve a
balance of equity and debt financing.
CEOCFO: So things are looking good and
exciting?
Mr. Wolfus: Yes. Things are exciting
right now. I believe that the market is starting to take notice of Midway as
well. We have always been an excellent company, but it is great when things
begin to fall into place and the hard work accomplished by a very strong,
competent, professional team begins to pay off.
CEOCFO: Would you sum it up for
potential investors; why does Midway Gold stand out from the other companies
in you industry?
Mr. Wolfus: We aren’t just an
exploration company. We are in permitting. We have an aggressive drill
program designed to expand our resources for mine planning. We are moving
forward towards production with an experienced and talented mining team.
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