Investor Insight
A large, underexplored land package with potential for district-scale gold deposit makes Zodiac Gold a compelling opportunity amid a positive macroeconomic backdrop for the precious metal sector.
Overview
Zodiac Gold (TSX.V:ZAU) is a gold exploration company focused on its West African flagship Todi project situated in Liberia — an underexplored, politically stable, mining-friendly jurisdiction hosting several large-scale gold deposits. Strategically positioned along the fertile Todi Shear Zone, Zodiac Gold is developing a district-scale gold opportunity covering a vast 2,316 sq km land package. The project has undergone de-risking, showcasing proven gold occurrences at both surface and depth, with five drill-ready targets and high-grade gold intercepts.
Liberia – Stable, Growing and Mining-focused
Liberia is considered a favorable jurisdiction for metals and mining for several reasons: 1) the government has shown a long commitment to developing the mining sector (the mining code is based on Australian legislation), 2) the country has a well-defined regulatory framework (minimal 3 percent royalty rate and a 25 percent basic rate of tax on earnings), and 3) transparent permitting process.
As Africa’s oldest republic, Liberia has had a politically stable democracy since 2003 after signing the Accra Peace Agreement. Additionally, the country has had four successful democratic elections since 2005.
The country is well-endowed with mineral resources that largely remain underexplored. The West African craton hosts numerous world-class deposits with a gold endowment of over 450 Moz. The craton is largely underexplored (~90 percent) with most recent exploration having occurred in the previous 30 years.
Just this year, US iron ore conglomerate High Power Exploration (HPX), founded by mining billionaire Robert Friedland, announced plans to develop the Liberty Corridor – a brand-new multi-user infrastructure corridor connecting Guinea and Liberia.
The Liberty Corridor would comprise a brand-new, world-class rail system connecting the Nimba district of Guinea to a new Liberian deep-water port. The Liberty Corridor is expected to be a leading African example of multi-user, independently operated, and open-access infrastructure that will support the economic opening of the West African region to world markets.
These newly announced Liberian initiatives, coupled with a US-dollar-denominated economy, a majority English speaking population and heavy US presence, makes Liberia a top-tier investment jurisdiction in Africa.
Company Highlights
Zodiac Gold is a West African gold exploration company developing a district-scale gold discovery in the Republic of Liberia. The company’s land package totals over 2,300 sq km.Zodiac Gold has identified five exploration targets that would form the basis for satellite pits that would support a hub-and-spoke mining strategy.Proven gold at surface with five drill-ready targets that are open along strike and depth provide strong upside to organic growth from grassroots exploration.Discovery-driven management team led by CEO David Kol and director of exploration Tom Dowrick who have over 25 years of combined in-country experience. Management and insiders also own over one quarter of the company.
The Todi Project
Zodiac Gold’s 2,316 sq km, 100 percent owned land package in Liberia includes its flagship Todi property (418 sq km) and other license areas (1,898 sq km) overlying prospective geology and structures known to host gold mineralization. The land package is also strategically located 20 km southeast of Avesoro’s New Liberty Gold Mine (1.8 Moz resource) that produced 360 koz of gold in 2023.
The Todi property has five drill-ready targets:
Arthington
The target boasts more than 4 km of soil anomalies with the discovery of a mineralized gold trend along 1.5 km of strike. Highlight intercepts include 9.6 meters at 7.5 g/t gold and 10.6 meters at 6.6 g/t gold. The company recently completed 3,700 meters or trenching and 3,500 meters of drilling at the property and the Phase 2 drill program defined the strike and depth extents of the target.
Alasala
Target highlights include: 1) a 2.4 km long x 250 meter wide soil anomaly with artisanal workings, 2) rock chip samples up to 107 g/t gold, and 3) drilling intercepts with grades above 6 g/t over just under 20 meters.
Benben
Target highlights include: 1) a 4.5 km long soil anomaly with artisanal workings, and 2) rock chip samples up to 255 g/t gold.
Youth Camp
Target highlights include: 1) a 4 km long soil anomaly with artisanal workings and 2) best historical trenching results of 1 g/t gold over 30 meters.
Alasala South
Characterized by a 1 km long soil anomaly with artisanal workings
Zodiac Gold is developing these five exploration targets that would form the basis for satellite pits that support a hub-and-spoke strategy with material feeding a centralized facility that would process ore.
Management Team
David Kol – Director, President and Chief Executive Officer
David Kol is a highly experienced international business and startup executive with over 20 years of experience in finance, marketing, business development, M&A and executive management, primarily in the resource sector, media/entertainment, real estate and technology industries. Prior to Zodiac, Kol held senior management roles in Gem Rocks Mining Resources, Global Media Group Holdings, The Players Network and Interactive Enterprises, where he worked on projects for Sony, Wink Communications, Netcom, US West (now Qwest Communications), BskyB and JskyB. He currently serves on the board of directors of BluEarth Carbon Development and Global Wholesome Network 501. Kol attended the University of California, Davis, where he studied managerial economics, and has an A.A. (criminal justice) from Diablo Valley College.
Tom Dowrick – Director of Exploration
Tom Dowrick is a seasoned chartered geologist with 17 years of experience in the mining and exploration industry. Since 2011, he has been a driving force at ACA Howe International, where he serves as managing director. In this role, he manages a range of geological and mining consultancy projects around the globe, including serving as a consultant on Zodiac Gold’s Todi project in the Republic of Liberia, West Africa. Dowrick has substantial experience in West Africa, having completed field and desk-based reviews of the exploration activities of both public and private companies in Liberia, Mali, Guinea, Mauritania, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Mozambique, in addition to projects in Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Kazakhstan and Australia.
Peter Granata – Chief Financial Officer
Peter Granata has more than 18 years of experience in finance and operations management within global organizations. He is a dynamic, results-oriented professional with executive positions in TSXV companies and, prior to these, served as an audit manager for PricewaterhouseCoopers. Granata has prepared financial statements, MD&A, news releases, mine permitting applications and project cash flows. With PricewaterhouseCoopers, he performed audits for Canadian IFRS, US GAAP reconciliations, special purpose financial statements and has executed group reporting under Canadian GAAP. His experience includes CFO for TSXV entities, capital raising, international corporate structures, client engagement, C-suite and directors’ engagement, M&A, financing, investor relations, related party transactions, and finance transformation. Granata has a B. Bus and is a chartered accountant.
Sherry Siu – Corporate Secretary
Sherry Siu has over 30 years of experience working as a paralegal for a boutique law firm in Vancouver, specializing in securities, commercial and corporate matters, and has been corporate secretary of various junior resource companies since 2011. She has worked on a variety of securities-related and corporate transactions, including M&A, spinouts and business combinations, reorganizations, and going-public filings. Siu is a paralegal certified with the BC Paralegal Association.
Douglas Cater – Director
Doug Cater is a professional geologist who has worked extensively across Canada and internationally for more than 35 years, with a particular focus on the Abitibi gold belt located in northeastern Ontario. He has held positions with both senior and intermediate gold producers, including Barrick Gold, Placer Dome and Kinross Gold. His African exploration experience was obtained while serving as an exploration consultant for Barrick Gold in Tanzania, where he was responsible for the project management of an exploration diamond drill program in the Lake Victoria greenstone belt. His most recent executive position was as vice-president, exploration (Canada) with Kirkland Lake Gold. Cater is also a director of Sierra Metals, Mayfair Gold, Exploits Discovery and Gowest Gold. He is a graduate of the ICD-Rotman Directors Education Program.
Renaud Adams – Advisor
Renaud Adams has over 30 years of global mining experience in senior executive positions and operations. Currently, Adams serves as the president and chief executive officer of IAMGOLD (NYSE:IAG) (TSE:IMG), a mid-tier Canadian gold company with a US$1.4 billion market cap. From 2018 to 2022, he served as the president and chief executive officer of New Gold, where he led the strategic repositioning of the company and turnaround of its operations. Prior to New Gold. Adams served as the president and chief executive officer of Richmont Mines from 2014 until the company was sold to Alamos Gold in November 2017. During his time at Richmont Mines, the primary mine of the company experienced a two-fold increase in production, the mineral reserves were multiplied by more than three, and the costs were reduced significantly, leading to the Island Gold Mine in Ontario becoming one of the most cost-efficient underground mines in the Americas. From 2011 to 2014, Adams served as chief operating officer at Primero Mining Corporation, and prior to that he served as general manager of IAMGOLD’s Rosebel mine in Suriname before being appointed senior vice-president, Americas Operations. Adams holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in mining and mineral processing from Laval University in Quebec, Canada.
Michael Demeter – Advisor
Michael Demeter is a highly experienced executive with a track record spanning over 30 years in financial services, including the past 22 years in capital markets, advising both companies and buy-side investors as well as raising growth capital for a wide range of companies. Michael has worked with boutique investment dealers, Canadian banks, and global investment banks, providing him with diverse exposure to companies of all sizes. Michael is a Partner with Fort Capital, one of Canada’s leading independent investment banking advisory firms. Mr. Demeter is the former Managing Director and Head of Institutional Sales at Haywood Securities and has held senior management roles at Macquarie Group, Dundee Securities, Royal Bank of Canada, and Scotiabank. Mr. Demeter earned a BA (Economics) from Huron College at the University of Western Ontario, and an MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto. His work in financial services has led him to attain his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, Chartered Market Technician (CMT) designation, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designation, and Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation. He is a member of the Rotman Dean’s Global Advisory Board (GAB), and the Loan Review Committee for Rise Asset Management, a charity dedicated to helping people with mental health and addiction challenges achieve financial independence through self-employment or small business ownership.
Ryan Hanley – Advisor
Ryan Hanley is currently the CEO of Springburn Capital, a private investment and consulting company. Before founding Springburn, he was the director and mining analyst at Laurentian Bank Securities in Toronto, where he worked from March 2017 to May 2024. Before joining LBS, Hanley was an equity research analyst specializing in mining and mining services at Research Capital from 2012 to 2017. His career at Research Capital also included roles as a mining research associate from 2009 to 2012, and an investment banking analyst in 2008.
Hanley has been ranked as a top analyst by Bloomberg, Thomson Reuters and Refinitiv, including as the third-ranked ‘Top Stock Picker (All Sectors)’ in Canada in the 2017 Thomson Reuters Analyst Awards. He holds a BA from McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.