Most junior resource companies depend on repeated equity financings to keep exploration programs moving.

Forge Resources Corp. (CSE: FRG) is trying to break that cycle by advancing its La Estrella underground coal project in Colombia toward production while drilling the Alotta gold-copper project in the Yukon.

If La Estrella reaches commercial operations as planned, Murphy says the resulting cash flow could help pay for future exploration at Alotta without relying entirely on new share issues.

“The strategy is to have a path to revenue and profitability,” Murphy said. “That money is going to allow us to self-fund our own exploration in the Yukon, so we can become a junior miner that carries out non-dilutive exploration. That is where the synergy really comes together.”

Forge’s approach gives investors exposure to two projects with different risk profiles and timelines.

La Estrella is the more advanced asset. It has operating and environmental approvals, existing infrastructure, and an underground ramp being driven toward eight known coal seams.

Alotta provides the exploration upside. The Yukon property has returned broad intervals of gold mineralization and narrower high-grade zones across a large porphyry-style system that remains open.

The company recently raised $6 million through hard-dollar and flow-through financings to advance both projects.

“All of the money is going into the ground,” he said. “The $6 million is going to further the project in Colombia, getting us closer to revenue, and it is also going to be used to keep drilling in the Yukon.”

The most immediate value test is taking place at La Estrella in Colombia’s Santander region. Forge holds an 80% interest in the project through Aion Mining. The underground concession covers 548 hectares and has road access, electricity, water, and telecommunications. 

“We have all the environmental approvals done and all the production approvals done,” Murphy said. “We are fully permitted to get to 180,000 tonnes of production per year.”

Historical technical work identified eight coal seams containing both metallurgical and thermal coal.

A 2012 NI 43-101 report prepared by SRK Consulting outlined historical estimates of approximately 1.85 million tonnes measured, 4.34 million tonnes indicated and 16.47 million tonnes inferred.

The coal includes high-volatile coking material used in steelmaking and high-energy thermal coal used in power generation.

Murphy said the company is already well underground and expects to reach the coal later this summer.

“Once we get to the coal seams, we start extracting both the metallurgical coal and the thermal coal,” he said. “As soon as we get enough coal on surface, we can engage with our offtake partner, and then we’re in revenue.”

“We can’t announce the buyer until they take that first shipment of coal off our property, but that is going to be quite a catalyst for us,” Murphy said, adding Forge is targeting its first shipment by end of the year.

A December 2023 mine plan prepared by Geominas modelled a base-case average free-on-board coal price of C$201 per tonne. The study estimated production costs of C$49 per tonne and full free-on-board costs of C$114 per tonne, producing modelled EBITDA of C$87 per tonne and a 43% margin.

“Finishing the underground ramp and getting to the coal seams is a huge catalyst,” he said. “Then it is extracting the coal, stockpiling it on surface, and announcing our offtake partner. Having an offtake partner that is such a major player will validate the project.”

The company’s second asset is the Alotta gold-copper project in the Yukon’s Dawson Range Gold Belt. The property consists of 230 mineral claims covering 4,723 hectares.

It is located approximately 45 kilometres southeast of Western Copper and Gold’s Casino deposit and about 75 kilometres northwest of Rockhaven Resources’ Klaza gold-silver deposit.

The district hosts several major porphyry and epithermal systems and has attracted sustained exploration and infrastructure investment. Soil sampling at Alotta has outlined a broad gold-copper-molybdenum anomaly across an area approximately four kilometres long.

“When we acquired the property in 2023, we saw the geophysical data, the geochemical data, and the IP data, and we really liked what we saw,” Murphy said. “We saw the similarities between this property and the Casino property.”

“We’ve drilled 15 holes, and every single hole hit porphyry-style mineralization,” Murphy said. “We’re getting really good gold grades, and the holes are large step-outs over a very big footprint.”

Drilling for the 2026 season began during the first week of June. The company plans approximately 5,000 metres focused on high-priority targets across the property.

“We love the core samples that are coming out of the ground so far,” he said. “The catalyst in the Yukon is getting those assay results back and continuing to build on the strong performance we have already shown.”

Forge is also now turning more attention to the eastern side of Alotta, where its geological model points to greater copper potential.

“We’ve already hit some decent copper grades,” Murphy said. “This season we are exploring the eastern part of the property. All of our data points are telling us the copper could be there, and the model is pointing us toward a couple of very interesting magnetic anomalies.”

Murphy said the company’s current market capitalization is approximately $36 million.

He believes that valuation does not fully recognize both assets.

“Because we are unique in having two assets, it feels like investors are getting one of them for free at the present valuation,” he said. “Both have a lot of promise.”

The next several months should provide clearer evidence.

At La Estrella, investors will be watching completion of the underground ramp, contact with the coal seams, extraction, surface stockpiling, and the first shipment to the offtake partner.

At Alotta, the major catalysts will be assays from the current drilling program and evidence that the mineralized footprint continues to deliver both strong gold grades and improving copper results.

“I see Forge as a company in significant revenue, with tens of millions of dollars in revenue and excellent profit margins by the of 2027,” Murphy said.

Following Forge’s Top Pick selection at the CEM Bermuda Capital Event, CEO PJ Murphy discussed the company’s dual-asset strategy, its path toward coal revenue, and the drilling catalysts emerging from the Yukon.

“Revenue would change the profile of the company. It would give us greater financial flexibility, reduce our dependence on equity markets, and allow us to fund more of our own growth.

The goal is to build Forge into a junior miner with an operating business in Colombia and the capacity to advance Alotta without repeatedly diluting shareholders.

As we execute, investors should begin viewing Forge as more than an exploration company.”

“The earlier programs showed that mineralization extends across a large footprint and that the western side of the property can deliver strong gold grades.

This season gives us the opportunity to refine the geological model, test continuity between the known zones, and explore the eastern targets where our work points to stronger copper potential.

A meaningful copper discovery would broaden the Alotta story and provide stronger evidence that we are dealing with a substantial gold-copper porphyry system.”

“I want Forge to have established a meaningful revenue stream from Colombia, with strong operating margins and a clear path to increasing production.

In the Yukon, I want us to have advanced Alotta far enough to demonstrate the scale and continuity of the mineralized system and to be moving toward the work required for an initial resource.

The broader objective is to have two assets creating value at the same time, with cash flow from one helping fund the growth of the other.”

The 7th Annual TSX Venture Growth Capital Event will take place July 17–19, 2026, at the Delta Grand Okanagan Resort in Kelowna, British Columbia. This gathering will mark another milestone for CEM as it stages its 100th Capital Event. Built around curated one-on-one meetings, high-value networking, and relaxed relationship-building through golf and wine tours, the event creates a focused setting for companies to tell their story, build investor interest, and open new conversations.

Warm Regards and Happy Investing,

Fabian Dawson

Each week, CEM Partner and Portfolio Manager, Ryan Iverson, spotlights the ideas and companies sparking investor interest form emerging growth stories to the Top Pick featured across CEM’s Capital Events. This series brings real insights from the annotators shaping tomorrow’s markets and reveals where investors are finding the next breakout opportunities.