Interview with Brian Miller, Director & CEO of Astra Exploration
Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/astra-exploration-tsxvastr-largest-drill-plan-tests-district-scale-at-la-manchuria-12013
Recording date: 18th October 2026
Astra Exploration Inc. (TSXV:ASTR) is a gold-silver explorer focused on Argentina and Chile. Its flagship is the La Manchuria project in Santa Cruz province, within Argentina's Deseado Massif. The company is preparing to start its largest drill campaign to date, and CEO and co-founder Brian Miller set out the investment case at Michael Gentile's European roadshow.
La Manchuria hosts two styles of mineralisation. A bulk disseminated system begins at surface and remains open. Miller puts grades in this system could average up to 10 g/t gold. Its hilltop location supports the case for open-pit mining. The project also hosts high-grade veins, typically 1-2 metres thick, carrying 50-100 g/t gold and silver in the kilograms per tonne. The Basalto zone, discovered in March 2026, is a high-grade vein exposed at surface, and its most recent step-out returned 2.0 metres at 80.5 g/t gold and 44 g/t silver.
The company has deliberately held off on an updated resource estimate. A small resource already exists, and Miller says drilling has shown the deposit is substantially larger. Astra will only publish an update once it believes it can outline about a million ounces, a threshold that gives investors a clear benchmark against which to judge progress.
Phase IV begins in November with two drills. The programme is planned at a minimum of 10,000 metres and up to 20,000 metres, with the final figure driven by results. About 5,000 metres are targeted before year-end, about 5,000 metres in the first quarter of 2027, and up to a further 10,000 metres after that. The first assays are expected around February. Beyond Manchuria Hill, which covers about 1 km², the company has defined five priority regional targets across a 4 x 4 km area. Breccia, directly along strike to the southeast, will be drilled first. La Pampa, to the northeast, is the other standout.
In Chile, Astra will drill its 100%-owned Don Mario project in the Maricunga belt in early 2027. Field work in 2026 aligned every geological dataset on a single 2 km by 2 km high-sulphidation epithermal target. About 2,500 metres in roughly seven holes should deliver a go or no-go decision. A strong result could lead Astra to seek a joint venture partner quickly.
Astra holds just over C$12 million in cash. The company's latest presentation lists about 137 million shares outstanding, no warrants, and strategic investors holding about 64% of the company, including Gentile with about 15%. The stock has been under pressure and recently traded around C$0.36, close to its 52-week low.
The district offers infrastructure optionality. Patagonia Gold, Astra's partner on La Manchuria, has heap leach production at Cap-Oeste and owns the Martha flotation mill, which is on care and maintenance. Pan American Silver's Manantial Espejo plant nearby is also on care and maintenance. Miller believes a project of around a million ounces could support a profitable open-pit starter operation, while a larger discovery would attract a different class of acquirer. The key risks are drilling outcomes, the absence of an updated resource and share-price weakness that could make future financing more dilutive.
View Astra Exploration's company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/astra-exploration
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