JK: One of my favorites from the past year has been Probe Mines Limited (PRB:TSX.V). This is a hybrid-type company with an existing resource of low-grade disseminated gold at about 4–6 million ounces (4–6 Moz) at 1 g/t. At the current gold price, those resources are not very interesting. But in 2013 the company discovered a much higher grade zone that can be mined underground, and produced a resource estimate of 2 Moz at a good underground mineable grade. The story stalled during 2014 because the ability to chase the extensions of the zone was constrained by the land position.

For two years the company has been negotiating with the lumber company surrounding the property to acquire that land. A combination cash-and-stock deal finally came through in early December. Probe now has lots of running room to chase the deposit, and this system has the potential to blossom. If we do get a pop in the price of gold, the company benefits because it starts bringing the lower-grade ounces back into the equation, but primarily it is an exploration play where one can hope to see the resource estimate double or triple with similar high-grade mineralization pursued down plunge, and perhaps even in parallel zones on the ground just acquired.

TGR: When might we start seeing test results from some of that new property?

JK: At the moment Probe is doing infill drilling. The main drilling is under Borden Lake, which has to wait until the end of January when it is frozen. We will see an intensive lake drilling program from February until late March as long as the ice holds. The goal is to track the zone across the entire lake, see if it makes landfall, and then carry on drilling from solid ground in the summer. Any meaningful assays will not come out until May or June of next year. However, news about where the zone is going and what the nature of the mineralization looks like could get the market excited in the meantime.