by James Kwantes
Published first at Patreon
Junior mining is a people business. At a certain point, of course, the geology must deliver in order for shareholders to make a big score.
Executive moves involving people with track records of making discoveries are noteworthy.
One of those happened on Tuesday morning when Delta Resources (DLTA-V) announced the appointment of two new directors: Zach Flood and Joseph Milbourne. I'm not as familiar with Milbourne, a metallurgist and mining exec with more than 50 years of experience.
Flood is no stranger to my Patreon readers. He's CEO of Kenorland Minerals (KLD-V) , a discovery-focused project generator, and a highly accomplished geologist and deal maker who co-founded Kenorland as a private company 10 years ago and took it public in January 2021.
Kenorland's flagship asset is a 4% NSR royalty on the Frotet project in Quebec, which hosts the multi-million-oz Regnault gold deposit. A maiden resource estimate announced in December 2025 outlined 2.55 million ounces (Inferred) at 5.47 g/t.
Buying a Business for the Price of a Lottery Ticket | January 18, 2024
Kenorland staked Frotet in 2017 and made a high-grade gold discovery while the project was in a JV with Sumitomo (20% KLD, 80% Sumitomo). Flood converted Kenorland's interest into the valuable royalty.
I suspect Flood has had plenty of invitations to join the boards of public junior mining companies. Delta is his first public directorship, although he's executive chairman of private explorer Koulou Gold and is a co-founder of privately held Prospector Royalty Corp.
The market took notice of the onboarding. Delta shares rose half a cent to 18.5 cents on Tuesday, followed by a 5-cent (27%) increase to 23 cents on Wednesday, for a market cap of $38.4 million. The company is exploring its Delta 1 gold discovery 50 kilometres west of Thunder Bay, Ont., and has a Quebec project optioned to Troilus Mining (TLG-T).
Another familiar face on Delta's board caught my attention: lead director Kevin Heather. Heather is an accomplished geologist who was a founder of both Antares Minerals (sold to First Quantum Minerals for $650 million) and Regulus Resources (REG-V), along with business partner John Black. Heather is chief geological officer at both Regulus and Aldebaran Resources (ALDE-V).
Heather is a skilled operator with a track record of discoveries and shareholder value creation.
The Forever Financing | November 28, 2024
There has also been steady insider buying from Ron Kopas, Delta's CEO and the company's largest shareholder.
Kopas has been steadily adding to his stake, going back months. Since the beginning of June, he has bought more than $160,000 worth of Delta shares at prices ranging from 15.5-18 cents (and as high as 23.5 cents earlier this year).
Kopas owns 20.25 million shares, a 12.4% stake.
Delta Resources (DLTA-V)
Price: 0.23
Shares out: 163.26 million (214M fully diluted)
Market cap: $38.4 million
Disclosure: I own shares of Kenorland Minerals, Aldebaran Resources and Delta Resources, the latter purchased in the market this week. No business relationship with any company mentioned. This article is for information purposes only and all investors need to do their own due diligence.
