Episode Details

Interview with David Rae, President & CEO of DPM Metals

Our previous interview: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/posts/dundee-precious-metals-tsxdpm-low-cost-gold-producer-with-promising-growing-project-in-serbia-5975

Recording date: 27th September 2026

DPM Metals Inc. (TSX:DPM, ASX:DPM) is a gold, silver and copper producer with operations in Bulgaria and Bosnia and Herzegovina and development projects in Serbia. Over the past two years the company has narrowed its focus to core precious and base metals production in the Balkans, where it has operated for more than two decades.

The first element of the investment case is operating consistency. DPM has met production guidance for 11 consecutive years and expects to make it 12 in 2026. That record was tested when the Ada Tepe mine in Bulgaria reached the end of its life this year. The mine had produced roughly 100,000 ounces a year since 2019 at an AISC of about $500 an ounce. DPM replaced that output through the acquisition of Adriatic Metals, completed on 3 September 2025. According to CEO David Rae, DPM's Chelopech team lifted development rates at the acquired Vareš mine from about 75% of target to full target within six weeks. The company presentation shows Vareš reached commercial production in August 2026 and produced 35,185 GEO in the second quarter at an AISC of $563 per GEO sold.

The second element is growth. Existing operations are expected to deliver just under 400,000 GEO at full production. Čoka Rakita in Serbia, discovered by DPM in 2023, is scheduled to begin construction early next year and to produce about 190,000 ounces of gold a year from mid-2029 at an AISC of $644 an ounce. Its feasibility study, as cited in the company presentation, shows an after-tax NPV of $782 million and an IRR of 36% at $1,900 an ounce gold. Beyond Čoka Rakita, DPM is advancing the Wedge Zone at Chelopech, Dumitru Potok in Serbia and the Brevene Porphyry South discovery in Bulgaria. Rae says the four new assets carry potential for a 300% increase over the next few years.

The third element is financial strength. DPM held around $760 million in cash at the end of the last quarter and expects about $800 million by the end of the current quarter, even after funding the Adriatic transaction, repaying around $200 million of debt and returning $121 million to shareholders plus dividends. The presentation adds an undrawn $400 million credit facility. Rae describes the company as fully funded.

The main debate is valuation. During the interview it was noted that DPM trades at a trailing P/E roughly 36% below peers and at about 13 times EV/EBITDA against around 20 times for peers. Rae attributes this to unfamiliarity with the Balkans and to the lag between discovery and market recognition. He argues that each discovery must be carried through a resource estimate and economic study before its value is reflected in the share price.

Key risks include the capacity of DPM's people and contractors to advance several projects at once, the timing of permitting and studies, and whether investor perception of the region shifts. The Wedge Zone resource estimate, expected by year-end 2026, is the nearest catalyst to watch.

View DPM Metals' company profile: https://www.cruxinvestor.com/companies/dundee-precious-metals-inc

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