Management, deposit and social license are all key when considering a resource investment, said Alex Black, executive chairman of Rio2, but time to production plays an important role, too.

Black spoke to Kitco Mining on Monday.

Rio2 (TSXV: RIO) is advancing its Fenix gold project in Chile. In April, the company announced a $23 million financing. The company also advanced some of its environmental permits. The company says that its Fenix is the largest undeveloped gold heap leach project in the Americas. The company anticipates production by 2025.

When assessing a resource company, Black said that the resource, management and social license are all fundamental. Time to develop also has to be weighed.

"How quickly can [management] develop a project? When you see projects in Nevada and Arizona, it takes five to seven years to get off the ground because of the permitting process. It's not a social issue, but you need to take that into consideration.

"When you buy into a company...that's not a producer, you've got to say to yourself 'Well, I'm not buying it for now. I'm buying it for what it's going to look like in six or seven years.' [There are] potential takeout takeouts. It depends on the asset."


0:00 - What's the Fenix gold project?
1:40 - Environmental permits were initially rejected in 2022
4:17 - Community support for the Fenix gold project
5:34 - Water infrastructure near Fenix
8:39 - Raising funds as a resource company
11:05 - M&A heats up in the resource sector
13:09 - Ensuring that you have social license—lessons from First Quantum's Cobre Panama
16:07 - Is the water situation deteriorating for miners globally?
20:27 - Checklist for resource investors
22:18 - Milestones over next 12 months at Rio2

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