Inventus recovers 427 oz Au from 007 North bulk sample

On December 1, 2025, Inventus Mining announced the results from its first bulk sample at the 007 North zone of its Pardo gold project. The company processed 4,674 dry tonnes of material, recovering 427 ounces of gold. This resulted in a reconciled head grade of 3.04 g/t Au with a high metallurgical recovery of 94%.

The company states the cost of the bulk sample was CAD $1.2 million, and the sale value of the recovered gold was CAD $2.35 million, representing a 96% return over cost. The cost per ounce was calculated at CAD $2,810. Inventus is currently drilling a Phase 2 program and expects to process a second, larger 10,000-tonne bulk sample at the end of January 2026.

The announcement is material and positive as it represents a major de-risking event for the Pardo project and the company. Inventus has successfully demonstrated the entire process from extraction and hauling to third-party milling and gold sales, generating significant free cash flow in the process. For an exploration-stage company, generating approximately CAD $1.15 million in net profit from a test sample is a significant achievement and provides a source of non-dilutive funding. The 94% metallurgical recovery is also excellent.

However, a critical analysis reveals two significant risks that temper the headline success:

1. Negative Grade Reconciliation: The grade control drilling for the 007 North zone, announced on June 4, 2025, indicated a weighted average grade of 3.84 g/t Au. The final reconciled head grade from milling was 3.04 g/t Au. This represents a negative reconciliation of 21%. For a paleoplacer deposit, which can have grade variability (the "nugget effect"), such a discrepancy between drilling and bulk processing is a major concern. If this level of negative reconciliation persists in future, larger bulk samples, the project's economics would be substantially weaker than projected from drilling.

2. High Costs and Reliance on Extreme Gold Prices: The calculated cost of CAD $2,810 per ounce is very high. The stated profitability is entirely dependent on the exceptionally high realized gold price. The sale value of CAD $2.35 million for 427 ounces equates to CAD $5,503 per ounce (approximately USD $4,000/oz). This is significantly above current and historical average gold prices. At a more conservative but still strong gold price of CAD $3,000/oz, the revenue would have been CAD $1.28 million, resulting in a marginal profit of only CAD $81,000, not $1.15 million. The company's claim of a "96% return over cost" is therefore highly conditional on achieving a gold price that may not be repeatable, making the underlying economics appear more fragile than presented.

While the news is fundamentally positive because it advances the project and provides cash, the underlying data on grade and cost structure raises serious questions about the project's economic robustness at more normalized gold prices.

Inventus Mining Corp. is a Canadian gold exploration company focused on advancing its 100%-owned Pardo Gold Project, located 65 km northeast of Sudbury, Ontario. The project hosts a near-surface, flat-lying paleoplacer gold system. The company's strategy is to de-risk the project and demonstrate its economic potential through a systematic bulk sampling program ahead of a maiden resource estimate, with the goal of developing a low-cost, scalable surface mining operation. The property is royalty-free.