DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.

Robert Quartermain first went underground at Hemlo in the early 1980s while working for Teck. More than 40 years later, the geologist is lead director of Hemlo Mining Corp., which bought the Ontario gold mine from Barrick, and co-chair of Dakota Gold.

“I have a better understanding of the geology now than I did 40 years ago, and see lots of potential,” Quartermain said. His long experience at Hemlo now accompanies another ambitious mine development effort.

After 50 years in mining, Quartermain left retirement to help build Dakota Gold’s Richmond Hill project in South Dakota’s Homestake district. It would be the sixth mine he has taken from discovery to production.

Quartermain handed the chief executive position to Jack Henris in August but remains co-chair and, by his account, Dakota Gold’s largest shareholder. “It’s exciting for me to be building and growing again, which I’ve done throughout my career,” he told Kitco News on Oct. 30 at the New Orleans Investment Conference.

Gold fell more than $100 an ounce that day and slipped below $4,000, trading between $3,890.90 and $4,027.30, according to Kitco data. It later rallied following the U.S. midterm elections and traded above $4,100 on Nov. 5.

Quartermain’s perspective stretches back to far leaner gold markets. “I started in the business back in 1976. You know, gold was $140 an ounce back then. So 4,000 looks very attractive,” he said.

Dakota Gold may use a gold price of about $3,000 in the Richmond Hill feasibility study that it plans to present to lenders. Its 2025 initial assessment used $2,300, giving the project room below current market prices.

Quartermain said industry costs generally remain around $1,600 to $2,000 while gold prices have moved higher. “The industry is still making profits at these prices,” he said, adding that he owns physical gold and has most of his net worth tied to the metal.

Richmond Hill is located 2 miles from Coeur Mining’s Wharf mine, which has produced more than 4 million ounces. The wider district includes the Homestake mine, which produced more than 40 million ounces.

Dakota Gold’s July 2025 initial assessment projected roughly 153,000 ounces of annual gold production from a heap leach operation. The company acquired the option in 2022 and is targeting production in 2029, a seven year path matching the time Quartermain said it took to move Brucejack in British Columbia from discovery to production.

Brucejack began commercial production in 2017 and ranks among the world’s highest grade gold mines. Its owner, Pretium Resources, was acquired by Newcrest Mining in 2022 through a transaction valued at about C$3.5 billion.

Richmond Hill is on private land, leaving Lawrence County and South Dakota responsible for its primary permits. “So we’re not currently impacted by federal regulations in that regard,” Quartermain said, describing the clearer path as one reason he returned from retirement.

Almost 50 members of the South Dakota legislature have visited the project, according to Quartermain. Construction could create 300 to 400 jobs, while many of the roughly 40 people already working at the site are young engineers from the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.

Dakota Gold owns about 50,000 acres in the district and intends to build Richmond Hill rather than sell it. Quartermain said construction and operation are where shareholders can capture the project’s value.

The neighboring Maitland property sits along strike from the former Homestake mine. Dakota Gold has recorded 47 drill intersections there averaging about 10.7 grams per tonne across 4 meters, results Quartermain described as “a third of an ounce across 12 feet.”

Quartermain wants Richmond Hill’s eventual cash flow, rather than additional shareholder capital, to finance drilling at Maitland. However, he acknowledged that Dakota Gold has not completed its full feasibility work or arranged project financing.

A prefeasibility study is expected in the fourth quarter, followed by a feasibility study in the first half of 2027. The 2025 assessment estimated capital costs at roughly $400 million, while Quartermain previously projected a permitting process lasting about 18 months.

Dakota Gold held about $99 million in cash at the end of June after raising $75 million during the year. Quartermain said that should fund the company through feasibility, while possible financing tools include convertible debt, a stream on the project’s silver, royalties and forward gold sales.

Hemlo offers Quartermain another financing example. Hemlo Mining Corp. purchased the mine from Barrick in a transaction valued at up to $1.09 billion that closed in November 2025, with part of the funding coming through a $300 million gold stream with Wheaton Precious Metals.

Beyond mining, Quartermain earned his pilot’s license in 1973 and hoped to fly professionally before his eyesight forced a different career. He is now an honorary colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force and a member of the Order of Canada.

Quartermain said North America’s critical minerals weakness lies in refining rather than mining. He also noted that jets including the F-35 used Chinese components until a few years ago, while Canada retains what he called “a strategic stockpile in the ground.”

For investors unnerved by gold’s daily volatility, Quartermain urged patience and attention to business returns. “What’s the business doing from a return perspective rather than what’s the gold price doing on a daily basis?” he said.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.