The following is a transcript from the AMA event held on February 19th at 1pm EST https://ceo.ca/~har-ama-channel
CEO.CA would like to welcome Rick Breger, President & CEO of Harfang Exploration, to today’s Ask Me Anything session. Rick, to get us started, could you please provide a brief overview of the company?
Thank you, Ximen, and CEO.ca for hosting today’s AMA … and thanks to everyone joining us here today.
I’m Rick Breger, President & CEO of Harfang Exploration Inc., and I appreciate the opportunity to speak directly with shareholders and the broader investment community.
Harfang is a Canadian-focused mineral exploration company with a strong footprint in Québec and Ontario. Our mandate is straightforward: identify high-quality geological opportunities, advance them systematically, and create value through discovery. We currently hold a portfolio of projects across multiple prospective belts. Over the past year, a major priority for me has been bringing sharper focus to the company by concentrating capital and technical effort on the assets where we see the greatest potential, while leveraging partnerships on non-core projects to preserve capital and reduce dilution.
At the moment, we are actively advancing several key projects. Our winter program includes geophysical surveys at Blakelock and Menarik West, and we will be drilling at Serpent next month, targeting the Mista zone. These programs are designed to move us from early-stage targeting into meaningful drill-driven catalysts. Strategically, our goal is to build toward a larger, more focused winter 2027 drill campaign across our priority assets. We believe disciplined targeting, capital efficiency, and strong technical execution are what ultimately create shareholder value.
In short, Harfang is an exploration company committed to technical rigor, strategic focus, and responsible advancement of high-quality Canadian mineral projects.
I’m looking forward to your questions!
Thank you, Rick, for the great overview. Why don’t we start with you telling us a little bit more about the rest of the Harfang team?
Absolutely! And I’m glad that question came up because exploration is very much a team effort.
At Harfang Exploration Inc., we’ve built a group that combines technical depth with complementary strengths. Starting with leadership, I bring a capital markets and corporate strategy background to the company, with experience in financing, structuring transactions, and building growth pipelines in the mining sector. My role is to ensure we allocate capital intelligently, maintain strategic focus, and position the company for long-term value creation.
Ludovic is Harfang’s VP Exploration. He brings deep geological expertise and decades of exploration experience, particularly in Québec. He has been involved in multiple discoveries and has a strong technical understanding of structural controls and mineralized systems. His ability to integrate field observations with broader geological models is a major strength for the company.
Beyond the two of us, we have three additional full-time team members: two geologists named Sacha and Pierre-Etienne, and one G.I.T. (Geologist-in-Training) named Améliane. Each of them brings a different technical background whether it’s structural geology, geophysics integration, data compilation, or field program execution. What I think makes this team particularly effective is that our skill sets are varied and genuinely complementary. We don’t all think the same way, and that’s very intentional. We work extremely well together, and we regularly put all of our minds into brainstorming and strategy sessions.
Geology is a science, but there’s also a significant interpretive component. You’re working with incomplete datasets, structural complexity, and evolving models. That requires creativity. I firmly believe there’s an art to effective exploration … knowing when to challenge a model, when to pivot, and when to double down.
Our culture encourages open debate and rigorous discussion. We test ideas against each other before we test them in the field. That collaborative dynamic, in my view, is one of our greatest strengths. Ultimately, exploration success comes from disciplined execution combined with thoughtful interpretation — and I believe we have the right team in place to do exactly that.
Truly a collaborative and dynamic team indeed! Now with mining stocks and mineral prices at historical highs, when do you believe Harfang will be in a position to report results that activate greater confidence among shareholders and institutional investors? And what data points will give larger funds the conviction to invest?
Thank you for the question! While we certainly recognize the strength in the broader commodity environment, our focus remains firmly on technical execution and systematic de-risking of our assets. In our view, institutional confidence is not driven by commodity cycles alone, but rather it is driven by clear geological validation and measurable progress along the value curve.
There are three primary milestones that we believe will materially increase institutional engagement:
1. continued drill results demonstrating scale, continuity, and grade consistency. Markets reward repeatability. As we convert isolated intercepts into coherent mineralized systems, we reduce geological uncertainty and improve modelling confidence.
2. the delivery of a compliant mineral resource estimate. A maiden resource transforms exploration success into defined ounces or tonnes. That provides institutions with tangible metrics like size, grade, and geometry that can be incorporated into formal valuation models.
3. advancement beyond pure discovery into technical studies. This includes metallurgy and, in due course, preliminary economic parameters. This transition signals durability and development optionality.
For larger funds currently taking a wait-and-see approach, the critical data points are straightforward: demonstrated continuity along strike and at depth, predictable grade distribution, scalable mineralized footprint, capital discipline and efficient cost per metre drilled, a strong treasury relative to planned programs.
Our objective is to systematically deliver these milestones. We believe that as we progress from exploration potential toward resource definition, capital will follow reduced risk.
Perhaps most importantly, however, is that we are not managing the company based on short-term commodity prices. We are managing it to build technically robust assets capable of attracting long-term institutional support.
Rick, why don’t you tell us what is Harfang’s outlook toward potential Canadian or foreign government investment in the near term, particularly given recent reporting that governments are looking to invest heavily in mineral exploration and mining companies?
That’s an important and timely question. At Harfang, we recognize that governments, particularly in Canada and across allied jurisdictions, are increasingly focused on securing domestic supply chains for critical and strategic minerals. That policy direction is constructive for the broader sector.
From our perspective, government participation can take several forms: direct equity investment, non-dilutive grants, flow-through incentives, infrastructure support, or strategic development financing through federal or provincial programs. We view all these mechanisms as potential complements to private capital and not replacements for it. Near term, our priority remains advancing our projects technically and responsibly. The most effective way to position ourselves for any form of government support is to continue demonstrating things like strong geological merit, clear strategic relevance of the commodities we are targeting, responsible environmental stewardship, constructive engagement with local and Indigenous communities, sound governance and capital discipline.
With respect to foreign government investment specifically, our approach would be measured and consistent with Canadian regulatory frameworks. We operate in Canada, and we respect the national interest considerations that govern strategic mineral assets. Ultimately, our philosophy is straightforward: build technically robust projects first. Capital, whether institutional, strategic, or government-supported, follows quality assets and disciplined execution.
How are the talks going with the native community regarding the Sky Lake project in Ontario?
Discussions with Mishkeegogamang Ojibway Nation are ongoing and constructive towards the receipt of a social license to operate within their traditional territory. We respect their process and are in active discussions to clarify the timing, scope and cost framework for next steps. While this results in a temporary pause to exploration, we believe taking the time to get this right is important for establishing a strong, long-term working relationship and a clear path forward at Sky Lake.
Thank you for the update on this! Now given the name, a lot of people think that Harfang is associated with China or backed heavily by Chinese investors. Is that true?
Thank you for the question, and I appreciate the opportunity to clarify. It a question that I often get asked in investor presentations!
The name “Harfang” is simply the French word for "snowy owl". It reflects our Québec roots and the northern environments in which we operate. It also might shed some light on our logo which is a snowy owl with a heart-shaped face. There is absolutely no geopolitical significance attached to the name! Our shareholder base is publicly disclosed and consists primarily of Canadian and North American retail and institutional investors, along with management and insiders. We operate as a Canadian-listed company under Canadian regulatory oversight, and we maintain full transparency with respect to ownership in accordance with securities regulations.
As a policy matter, we evaluate all potential investors, domestic or international, through the lens of long-term value creation, regulatory compliance, and strategic alignment. Governance, transparency, and adherence to Canadian regulatory standards are fundamental to how we operate.
So, to be clear, the name reflects our heritage and operating jurisdiction, not foreign backing.
Very interesting! Is Harfang an exploration company or a project generator?
That’s a very good question, and one we’re happy to clarify. This is another question I often get asked by investors.
At its core, Harfang is an exploration company. Our primary objective is to make meaningful discoveries and create value through technical advancement of our core assets. That said, we do hold a relatively large portfolio of projects, and that breadth can sometimes make us appear more like a project generator. The distinction is important. A traditional project generator’s model is built around staking, vending, and carrying multiple assets through partners. Our model is different ... we selectively advance priority projects ourselves while monetizing or partnering non-core assets to preserve capital and reduce dilution.
Since I stepped into this role, one of my priorities has been to bring sharper focus to the company. You’ve seen that reflected in the two option agreements we recently announced with SOQUEM and Fancamp Exploration. Those two transactions allow us to unlock value from non-core properties while concentrating capital and technical resources on the projects where we believe we can generate the greatest impact.
So, to summarize ... we are an exploration company first! We are using portfolio management tools including option agreements, for example, to strengthen our balance sheet, reduce dilution, and increase strategic focus. Our goal is disciplined capital allocation in pursuit of discovery.
To wrap up this session, could you tell us what is your overall strategy over the next 18 months, and what catalysts should investors expect?
Thank you, that’s a great question and a perfect way to wrap up our AMA! Our strategy over the next 18 months is centered on disciplined technical advancement, clear prioritization of assets, and setting up meaningful drill catalysts that can materially move the company forward.
We are currently in the middle of our winter exploration program. That includes geophysical surveys at our Blakelock and Menarik West projects, which are designed to sharpen targeting and ensure that when we drill, we are doing so with the highest probability of success. In March, we will begin drilling at our Serpent project, specifically targeting the Mista zone. The key catalyst there will be drill results once assays have been received, processed, and fully interpreted internally. Based on current timelines, we would expect those results to be available toward the end of April or into May.
Following this phase, our focus shifts to positioning the company for a significant winter 2027 diamond drill campaign, approximately one year from now. The current plan is to drill Menarik West, funded by our partner SOQUEM, advance Blakelock to drill stage once geophysical data is fully interpreted, and prepare Sky Lake for drilling following receipt of social license from the Mishkeegogamang community. We believe these three drill campaigns will provide a number of significant catalysts in the first half of 2027.
Importantly, these three assets are logistically more efficient and cost-effective to drill in winter conditions, which informs our planning and capital allocation decisions.
Our summer 2026 program will be driven primarily by targeting and data compilation. The objective is to ensure that by the time we mobilize drills next winter, we are operating with maximum geological clarity and capital efficiency.
So in summary, over the next 18 months you can expect:
1. Near-term drill results from Serpent (Mista target)
2. Continued geophysical results and targeting refinement at Blakelock and Menarik West
3. Strategic advancement toward a larger, focused winter 2027 drill program at Menarik West, Blakelock, and Sky Lake
Our goal is to create a steady cadence of technically driven catalysts while building toward a more substantial drilling phase that has the potential to materially re-rate the company.
Thank you so much Rick! Any closing remarks for our investors?
I'd like to thanks everyone for joining us here today and I hope I was able to answer all your questions. I'd like to personally invite everyone to our booth at PDAC on March 1st and 2nd in downtown Toronto, if you're planning on attending. We will have a booth for these two days only so come stop by and meet me and some of the Harfang team in the flesh. Our booth tubing is 2215A. Otherwise feel free to send me an email ... my contact information is readily available on all our press releases and at harfangexploration.com. Lastly, to the Canadian Women's Hockey Team - GO CANADA!!
CEO.CA would like to give a big thanks to Rick Breger, President & CEO of Harfang Exploration, and our investors for joining us today! A transcript of today’s session will be available shortly. Have a wonderful day everyone!
