Meet Hemlo Mining, Canada’s Next Mid-Tier Gold Producer

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Every once in a while, a deal comes along that resets the playing field…

And on September 10th, the Carcetti Capital shell (TSXV: CART.H) did just that.

I caught up with Jason Kosec (CEO) and Jonathan Awde (Executive Chairman) last week to learn more about their new story straight from the horses mouth.

And what a story it is.

They announced they are buying Barrick’s last remaining mine in Canada for $875M in cash + 34.6M shares, plus up to $165M in contingent payments if gold keeps running.

Once the dust settles, Carcetti will be reborn as Hemlo Mining Corp. (TSX:HMMC) and led by the who’s who of Canadian mining executives.

Now, they always say “Your network is your net worth”.

And that couldn’t be more true with legends of Canadian mining, like Robert Quartermain (currently the CEO of Dakota Gold ($DC ( ▲ 4.57% )) with numerous success stories over his 40+ year career), spearheading this transaction and putting it together “with a few phone calls.”

His first call (may or may not be factual, but probably went something like this) was to his friend Mark Bristow, the CEO of Barrick (who recently resigned, oddly enough), to let him know he was interested in buying the Hemlo project, which was put up for sale in April 2025.

It was possible. 

Once he confirmed he could actually buy it (which was competitive btw, the press reported that Discovery Silver had almost closed on the deal), he’d then begin lining up capital and possible streaming interest.

So, next he’d call his friend Randy Smallwood (CEO of Wheaton Precious Metals $WPM ( ▼ 1.4% ) ) to see if a streaming deal was possible.

It was.

Then, he’d ring one of his bankers at Scotia, (who’d likely supported many of his past projects) to judge interest in the equity side and possible term loans.

Interest was there, and interest was high.

The goal: Buy Hemlo, assemble a world-class team, and turn it into Canada’s newest high-growth, mid-tier gold producer.

Next came assembling the team — would world class operators, mine builders, experienced executives with previous exits — be interested in such an ambitious project?

They were, big time.

Naturally, starting with Jonathan Awde made sense.

They were both founders of Gold Standard Ventures, which was wildly successful, culminating in a $242M acquisition by Orla in 2022.

Come to think of it, I did well there too, that deal was initially seeded/funded mainly through the 24th floor of Canaccord Vancouver, where I worked at the time.

They also started Dakota Gold together, where Jonathon later stepped down from his CEO role and handed the reigns to Bob to take over.

Perhaps, as the company transitioned from exploration to development…

Perhaps, to make way for this transaction.

Next up, they needed a President & CEO.

Enter Jason Kosec.

A young, ambitious structural geologist with a string of wins: most recently with Millennial Precious Metals, which merged to form Integra Resources ($ITRG ( ▼ 1.69% )), now a near billion-dollar operation.

Not to mention his roles at Barkerville Gold (sold to Osisko for $338M).

And Trelawney Mining (sold to IAMGOLD for $608M).

Jason is incredibly sharp, which I realized in just a few short minutes of speaking to him last week about this project. (Special Thanks to Sean Zubick for setting that up.)

The team was falling into place…

The capital was falling into place…

The acquisition was possible…

The plan was coming together…

And when it was announced on September 10th, 2025, the mining industry, and investors alike, went bonanza.

Investors immediately ate up the deal.

Within weeks, Hemlo had upsized its $415M equity offering to $497M, thus reducing the streaming deal from $400M to $300M improving project economics, and the $200M term loan was firmed up via Scotiabank.

A Generational Shift

But, one of the things that has me most excited, is watching how a new wave of executives are taking over the mining industry.

As mentioned, Hemlo is spearheaded by Kosec who at 38 years old represents the next generation of Canadian mining leadership, and he’s already proved to the world he can do it, now I believe he’ll do it again.

It feels like the industry is finally handing over the reins, and the best part, is the timing lines up perfectly with a structural bull market in gold.

Now, the question: why would Barrick sell such a large mine?

One that’s been in operation for almost 40 years?

One that Bob Quartermain himself made two discoveries on while at Teck, before it was sold to Barrick? (How cool is that by the way, talk about full circle)

The answer is simple:

A $1.1B NPV mine producing 140,000 ounces annually is nothing to a company the size of Barrick ($80 billion market cap), especially a mine thats already produced 25 million ounces.

It’s less than 5% of their assets, probably a lot less than that actually.

It doesn’t move the needle, at all.

Barrick is hunting 30 million ounce deposits, the kind that moves the needle.

So, what about Hemlo’s exploration upside?

What if you turn it into a 200,000-ounce producer?

What if you turn it into a 20-year mine life with more room to grow?

Well young Jedi, that still doesn’t move Barrick’s needle.

But it does move Hemlo’s.

As a stand-alone mid-tier producer, the upside is massive.

They bought the asset for $1.1B, and that valuation was based on a 2025 pre feasibility study (PFS) using long-term consensus prices of $2,610.

Meaning, the deal was inked based on $2,610 gold.

Adding to that, Barrick based its reserve stopes on $1,700 gold, while the Hemlo team re-ran theirs at $2,100.

This means a higher gold price assumption lowers the cutoff grade and captures significantly more mineable ounces, which boosts both reserves and NAV, majorly.

Meaning today, with gold over $4,000, its NPV isn’t $1.1B — it’s already well north of $2B (IMO).

If that isn’t an “it’s meant to happen” timing, I don’t know what is.

Why Hemlo Will Work, IMO

Hemlo has already produced 25Moz since 1985, but the story’s far from over.

In fact, Barrick even commissioned a third-party PFS by M Tech and SLR showing a:

• 14-year mine life,

• 140,000 oz/year,

• AISC just under $1,400,

• and an after-tax NPV (5%) of US $1.1 billion at consensus prices.

That’s how they arrived at the valuation.

But, that was then, and this is now.

There’s also so much room for optimization, increased throughput, increased resource, newer technology, and improved mine site designs that make this story 10x more attractive, here’s a snippet:

• Underutilized mill: 3.6Mtpa capacity, currently running 1.3Mtpa

• Reserves & resources: 2.3Moz P&P, 3.6Moz M&I, 624koz inferred

• Exploration: Brownfield upside all around existing workings, and at depth

• Cash flow torque: $1.49B life-of-mine free cash flow at consensus gold, imagine that at $4,000…

Again, at $4,000/oz gold, Hemlo’s NPV jumps from $1.1B to $2B+ (IMO).

Within 2–3 years, they’ll likely have expanded operations, upgraded the plant, increased throughput, re-opened the open pit, extended the mine life, and added ounces through exploration.

This could easily become a 200,000-ounce-per-year producer with a 20+ year mine life.

It could spit out over $2B in cash flow to shareholders, which makes me believe this $2.00 offering could be 2–3x in 12 months and 10x within 5 years.

And Bob Quartermain knows this asset better than anyone, he made two of the original discoveries here in the ’80s and was literally pointing out forgotten drill zones to geos on site last week.

The team he’s assembled, Kosec, Awde, and Audra Walsh, Eric Tremblay, are some of the most respected mine builders in the business.

With $12M of their own money going in, a billion-dollar financing stack now fully committed, and NYSE listing plans post-close, this is shaping up to be one of the most exciting new gold stories in years.

There’s a lot more to come from me on the asset, the story, and the upside, but for now, I just wanted to introduce you to this new and exciting deal coming to trade in November.

Make sure it’s on your watchlist — HMMC.

And as always, Happy Hunting!

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