Interview with Jonathan Egilo, President & CEO of Axo Metals
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/axo-copper-tsxvaxo-royalty-free-high-grade-copper-discovery-prepares-for-june-2025-listing-7208
Recording date: 28th April 2026
Axo Metals Corp, trading on the TSX Venture Exchange and in the process of rebranding from Axo Copper Corp, has made a single acquisition that fundamentally changes its investment profile. The company purchased the San Antonio gold project in Sonora, Mexico in January 2026. The asset is a past-producing open-pit heap leach operation that retains most of its original mining infrastructure, including a crusher, carbon column plant, heap leach pads, camp facilities, water rights, and power line access.
President and CEO Jonathan Egilo has described the situation plainly: the company is inheriting a heap leach mine that is already approximately 70% built. The difference between a greenfield gold project and a brownfield restart with existing infrastructure is the difference between years of capital-intensive construction and a development timeline measured in months. Egilo has guided for a build period of six to nine months once permitting is secured, a timeline that is only realistic because the heavy lifting was completed during the asset's prior operating life and subsequent development by Osisko.
The current resource stands at 1.1 million ounces of gold, split between lower-grade oxide material amenable to heap leaching and higher-grade sulphide material. That figure was generated after one year of drilling and modelled on a gold price of US$1,700 per ounce, well below where gold is trading today. Refreshing the model to current prices is expected to add ounces before a single additional metre of drilling is completed. A 30,000-metre drill programme is now running in parallel with permitting and engineering, targeting high-priority areas that have never been drilled in the project's history. The company has the financial flexibility to expand that programme by a further 20,000 to 30,000 metres without returning to the market.
On the financing side, Axo completed a C$40 million raise with warrant accelerators that could bring in a further C$28 million. The remaining capital build including the incremental stripping, haul road, and heap leach pad expansion required to begin mining the new starter pit, are expected to be covered by a combination of those proceeds and a modest debt facility, which management considers readily available in the current gold price environment.
The permitting pathway is credible rather than theoretical. The same management group secured an open-pit permit in Sonora from the current Mexican administration in approximately twelve months, completing that process for Silver Tiger Metals in November 2025. San Antonio involves the same state, the same regulatory authorities, and the same team.
The deal structure with Osisko, structured as all-stock with production-linked cash milestones, means the vendor's interests are aligned with Axo's success. There is no financial pressure on Osisko to liquidate its position before production is achieved.
For investors looking for near-term gold production exposure with a de-risked capital profile, an undervalued resource base, and a management team that has already proven it can execute in the same jurisdiction, Axo Metals offers a specific and timely opportunity ahead of a PEA, permit update, and drill results all expected in 2026.
View Axo Copper's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/axo-copper-c
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