Demand for gold is soaring, with an estimated US$4 trillion worth of gold held by central banks, and US$5 trillion by private investors — a record 3.5% allocation to a global gold portfolio when calculated against US$260 trillion for all financial assets.

And, some experts suggest this is just the beginning.

Simon Marcotte, President and CEO of Northern Superior Resources (TSXV:SUP | OTCQB:NSUPF), believes gold could surpass US$30,000 per ounce in the coming years.

Northern Superior is strategically positioned within the emerging Chibougamau Gold Camp in Quebec, Canada. We sat down with Mr. Marcotte to discuss Northern Superior’s strategy amidst these exciting market dynamics.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/simon-marcotte-macro-mining

Q&A

Christian Purefoy (The Oregon Group): Simon, you’ve been a prominent voice highlighting the potential for gold to reach unprecedented levels, arguing US$30,000 per ounce driven by macro factors like Trump’s Project 2025 policies and negative real rates. With gold already comfortably above US$3,000, how does this macro outlook translate into the investment thesis for Northern Superior Resources?

Simon Marcotte (Northern Superior Resources): The investment thesis for Northern Superior is directly tied to this exciting macro environment. The gold price is currently being driven by a once-in-a- generation systemic inflation cycle and all-time high demand from central banks. While gold has rallied — with much higher highs expected — gold mining stocks, particularly juniors, have not yet closed the value gap, presenting a significant underappreciated opportunity.

Major producers need to replenish their reserves, having depleted about a third of them over the last 15 years. At this point, it’s definitely cheaper for them to acquire companies with defined resources than to explore themselves. This dynamic strongly favours junior gold companies that hold promising assets is secure jurisdictions.

Northern Superior is focused on consolidating the Chibougamau Gold Camp, which we are convinced is the next significant camp to emerge globally. This consolidation strategy, and our promising projects, position us well to benefit as capital flows back into the sector.

Christian Purefoy (The Oregon Group): You mentioned consolidating the Chibougamau Gold Camp. What does this involve, and why is this camp particularly exciting?

Simon Marcotte (Northern Superior Resources): The Chibougamau Gold Camp holds several complementary gold resources that are reaching a viable scale. Importantly, the deposits are in close proximity, making them ideally suited to feed a single mill operation.

Historically, the assets in this camp were divided among five different companies. Northern Superior has taken a leadership role in consolidating these assets, primarily through acquisitions, so that now the key assets are largely held by only two entities: IAMGOLD Corporation and Northern Superior Resources.

Together, IAMGOLD and Northern Superior control 12.4 million ounces of gold resources across different projects in close proximity — and we view the entire camp as one project. This consolidation enhances the viability and value of these deposits.

Christian Purefoy (The Oregon Group): Northern Superior holds several key properties in the camp, including Philibert and Lac Surprise. Can you elaborate on the significance of these projects?

Simon Marcotte (Northern Superior Resources): Our main properties in Chibougamau are Philibert, Lac Surprise, Chevrier, and Croteau. We see the Philibert project as a potential key asset for the camp. It’s located just 9 km from IAMGOLD’s Nelligan project and hosts a maiden NI 43-101 inferred resource of 1.71 million ounces at 1.1 g/t gold and an indicated resource of 279,000 ounces at 1.1 g/t gold.*

Philibert boasts a higher grade of 1.1 g/t gold compared to Nelligan’s 0.95 g/t gold. While this difference might seem modest, it translates to a 15% increase in gold output per tonne of ore, which is a critical advantage, especially in the early years of production, helping to lower the payback period. Furthermore, we see a great deal of optimization potential. Our technical report includes a typical sensitivity table where you can see that if we look at our resource with a slightly higher cut-off grade (going from 0.35 to 0.50), our grade becomes 40% greater than Nelligan, while losing only 10% of the ounces, which I think speaks to the quality of our ounces.

The Lac Surprise project is also very important. It’s adjacent to and along the strike of the Nelligan deposit. We believe it is the western strike extension of IAMGOLD’s Nelligan project. You might recall that our share price was running and reached $1.50 during Covid; it was primarily due to the drilling results coming our of Lac Surprise.

Christian Purefoy (The Oregon Group): Northern Superior recently announced significant drill results from Philibert, including a new discovery. Can you provide details on this news?

Simon Marcotte (Northern Superior Resources): Yes, it’s not every day that your geologist will allow you to use the words “new discovery” — we recently reported additional results from our 20,000-metre expansion drilling campaign at Philibert. Hole PB-25-484 marked a new high-grade discovery. It intersected 18.0 metres grading 2.48 g/t, including 4.9 metres at 7.02 g/t. This intercept confirms that mineralization continues down-dip and becomes enriched at vertical depths exceeding 500 metres. This opens the door for potential underground resource development.

Additionally, we reported strong step-out results with hole PB-25-480 intersecting 50.3 metres at 0.70 g/t, including 13.3 metres at 1.47 g/t. These results build on previous success at the southeastern extent of the pit and reinforce the potential to grow the resource well beyond the current estimates.

Christian Purefoy (The Oregon Group): Operating jurisdiction is always a key consideration for investors. How does Quebec stack up, and what kind of support do you receive?

Simon Marcotte (Northern Superior Resources): Quebec is as good as it gets as a Tier-1 mining jurisdiction and is one of the most sought-after locations globally. As it is clear that we are at the bottom of the cycle, my view is that there is no need to play in more risky jurisdictions. Quebec also offers unmatched government support and a clear permitting framework. Notably, the Philibert project itself was originally discovered by SOQUEM, a division of Investissement Québec, which remains our partner. The Quebec support system assists companies throughout the de-risking and development process, a structure not found elsewhere in North America.

Christian Purefoy (The Oregon Group): Investors often invest in the people behind the projects. Who is the team driving Northern Superior?

Simon Marcotte (Northern Superior Resources): We have assembled a world-class team of leaders, geologists, investors, and entrepreneurs. Our core management and technical committee comprise stalwarts in the mineral exploration and finance sectors with significant accomplishments.

Victor Cantore, our Executive Chairman, is also the CEO of AMEX Exploration, known for the successful Perron discovery. Michael Gentile, our largest shareholder and director, has over 20 years as an institutional money manager and is actively involved in the company. Other key technical personnel include Adree DeLazzer, our VP Exploration, which joined us from Detour, and Melanie Pichon, our Senior Exploration Geologist, formerly of Eldorado Gold Corp. And I bring nearly 25 years of experience from mining and finance, including roles at CIBC World Markets, Sprott, and Cormark Securities.

We have strong insider ownership of approximately 25%, with insiders participating in financings, including the recent $8 million private placement underwritten by Cormark Securities, where insiders participated for $1 million, demonstrating strong alignment with shareholder interests.

Christian Purefoy (The Oregon Group): Why have junior miners lagged the metal price? Is there a risk that the catch-up in equities might not fully materialize, or take longer than anticipated?

Simon Marcotte (Northern Superior Resources): The US$30,000 figure is based on specific analyses, such as comparing the US gold reserves as a percentage of US debt to historical periods of negative real rates, which suggests an equivalency of $24,000 gold in today’s dynamics, and the current geopolitical situation could potentially push it higher. While ambitious, these types of significant moves are not unprecedented in financial history, especially given the immense liquidity injected into the system since 2008.

Regarding the equities catch-up, yes, they have lagged. However, the fundamental case remains compelling. As real rates are expected to fall and turn negative again, western investors will likely join central banks in buying gold, which should accelerate the metal’s price. When real rates start going down, and even better if they turn negative, gold equities are expected to experience a catch-up in valuation to the current gold price, much like oil stocks did in the early 2000s. The fact that the market hasn’t forgotten about gold stocks is evidenced by their performance during the brief period of negative real rates during COVID. While timing is always a factor, increasing activity in the sector and the clear need for major producers to acquire new resources suggest this catch-up is likely.

Northern Superior is well-positioned with defined resources in a safe and emerging jurisdiction. We believe that the consolidation opportunity in Chibougamau, combined with the potential for significant resource growth and optimization opportunities, presents a strong value proposition regardless of the exact peak gold price, especially given our current valuation relative to recent transactions in the camp. We expect strong news flow from ongoing exploration programs in the months ahead.

Christian Purefoy (The Oregon Group): Thank you for sharing your insights, Simon.

Simon Marcotte (Northern Superior Resources): My pleasure.

* Northern Superior announces 1,708,809 gold ounces in inferred category and 278,921 gold ounces in indicated category at 1.10 g/t in maiden NI 43-101 pit constrained resource estimate at Philibert; Northern Superior’s press release dated August 08, 2023.

Note that the technical and scientific information disclosed from neighboring properties does not apply to any other properties of the area.