North Bay Resources Inc (NBRI)

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NBRI Update from Mining.com.au
https://mining.com.au/north-bay-strikes-momentum-as-fran-starts-to-pay-its-way/

20 APRIL, 2026
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WRITTEN BY Kate Ryan
North Bay strikes momentum as Fran starts to pay its way

This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner North Bay Resources. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.

There is a point in mining where things stop being theoretical. Drill hits, models, and historical data can point in the right direction, but until rock moves through a mill and a cheque lands, it’s all still potential.

Momentum is starting to build for North Bay Resources (OTC:NBRI) at the Fran Gold Project in British Columbia, where the company is moving from ‘high-grade’ gold discovery into processing, refining, and the beginnings of cash flow.

“A lot has happened in the last two weeks and it’s been super exciting”, CEO Jared Lazerson says.

It’s not an understatement. North Bay has completed multiple refinery deliveries in a single month and processed its first proper shipment of ‘high-grade’ ore from Fran. It is an important step in showing the project can move from rock in the ground to revenue.

It is not large-scale production just yet. The shipment was a test run of about 10 tonnes, but it marks the first time the company has taken ore from discovery through to processing and refining.

That makes it more than a small parcel of rock. It is early proof that the system can work.


Fran Gold Project in British Columbia (2025)
A ‘high-grade’ surprise
The current phase at Fran traces back to mid-2025, when the company returned to historical trenching areas that had been largely untouched for more than a decade. What followed was not just encouraging, it was unusually strong for near-surface material.

“We hit a half ounce in June, then 2.5 ounces, and then at the bottom of the trench was 6.6 ounces”, Lazerson says.

The lower result is extremely high.

“If I hadn’t done it myself, I wouldn’t even believe it.”

The grades improved with depth, something that stood out even to an experienced operator. Lazerson says the mineralisation was so visible in the rock that it resembled more historical pictures of mines, where gold appears almost in sheets through the material.

These strong grades and clear visual mineralisation near surface are reshaping the near-term outlook at Fran. The discovery triggered a small-scale extraction effort. Without full permits in place, the team worked the area by hand, gradually building a stockpile of ore for testing. By September, around 10 tonnes had been bagged and ready for shipment.


Why proof matters
Mining is full of projections, but far fewer companies demonstrate the full journey from ore to revenue, particularly at the junior end of the market. For North Bay, that end-to-end capability is the focus.

“The main point is proof of concept, from the mine to the mill, recovery, refinery, and actually getting a cheque”, Lazerson says.

The company owns its own mill, giving it a level of control that many peers do not have. Rather than relying on third-party processing, North Bay can move material through its own system, testing recovery, refining outputs, and validating economics along the way.

That first shipment is expected to generate some tens of thousands of dollars in cash flow. It is modest, but a step up from roughly $10,000 generated over the past year from lower-grade material. More importantly, it establishes a baseline because when it works once, the question becomes: Can it work again, and at scale?


Scaling up, cautiously
Despite the high-grade results, Lazerson is not getting ahead of himself.

“I’m very conservative”, he says.

“I’m assuming if we do better than half an ounce, I’ll be very happy.”

That half-ounce benchmark aligns with historical averages across the Fran area, even as recent trench results suggest higher-grade zones exist within it. The strategy is to focus on those zones first.

Within a broader bulk tonnage system (estimated at 40 million tonnes) there are smaller pockets of higher-grade material that can be accessed more easily and processed more profitably in the near term.

“We can just mine some high-grade gold right now and that changes things”, Lazerson says.

The next step is mechanisation. North Bay has applied for permits that would allow it to move from manual extraction to larger-scale mining, with approval expected around July. That shift would enable the company to process thousands of tonnes rather than tens.

“We’ll be moving a fair amount of ore and making significant money”, Lazerson says.

It is a gradual scale up, but a deliberate one.

Smaller team, sharper focus
While many mining companies chase scale early, Lazerson’s approach leans the other way.

“Our formula is really just smaller. Smaller team, top people”, he says.

The logic is straightforward. Larger teams and more complex operations can introduce inefficiencies, something North Bay is trying to avoid at this stage.

“If you have a couple of top guys, you can scale your team down and still perform better”, he says.

There is also a technical discipline behind the strategy. Lazerson focuses on processing methods he understands rather than overcomplicating flowsheets or scaling too quickly. It is a pragmatic approach, built around controlling variables rather than expanding them.


A second front, but Fran stays centre stage
While Fran is where North Bay is proving it can mine, mill, and monetise ore, the company is also building out its next phase of growth. It has signed a deal to acquire a portfolio of assets in Sonora, Mexico, valued at $4.1 billion MRE/PEA level for a cash price of $25 million.

For Lazerson, the appeal lies in the level of preparation already completed.

“It’s probably the best documented project I’ve ever seen”, he says.

The immediate focus is the Oposura project, a fully permitted zinc, silver, and lead operation that the company plans to advance using non-dilutive financing. That approach (potentially through partnership) is designed to avoid issuing new equity, something Lazerson sees as a common pitfall in the junior sector.

“Share dilution is what kills these companies”, he says.

Still, Mexico is a future lever. Fran is the project generating momentum, now moving from discovery to processing, and toward what North Bay hopes will become repeatable revenue.

Gold
Fixing the market mismatch
Operational progress is one side of the story. Market recognition is another. North Bay is currently listed on the US OTC market, where Lazerson believes structural factors are limiting the company’s valuation. The solution is a planned move to Canada.

“We’re planning a Canadian IPO to move onto a proper mining-oriented exchange”, he says.

Targeted for September, the shift is intended to provide improved liquidity, fairer pricing, and better alignment with the company’s evolving operational profile. It is also a signal that North Bay sees itself transitioning beyond the early-stage category many OTC-listed companies remain in.

Momentum, at last
For Lazerson, the current phase is about more than individual milestones, it is about momentum.

“It takes forever to get going but once you get going you can move very quickly.”

That momentum is now visible across the business. At Fran, the company has moved from high-grade gold discovery to processing and is on the cusp of generating meaningful cash flow. In Mexico, it is lining up its next production opportunity. And at the corporate level, it is preparing for an uplisting shift to better reflect its progress.

There is still plenty to deliver, but for the first time, North Bay is in the enviable position of ramping up operations and producing gold; with a large and expanding asset base to develop into the future.

Write to Kate Ryan at Mining.com.au
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WRITTEN BY
Kate Ryan
Kate Ryan has more than 12 years’ experience as a broadcast journalist and television news reporter, covering stories across all genres. Over the past four years she has developed specialist writing expertise in the recruitment, health, aged care, tourism and mining sectors. Curious by nature and committed to authenticity, Kate tells stories in a simple, engaging and often playful way. Her ability to make complex ideas clear and compelling helps organisations connect with their audiences and keep readers interested.