Matt Lennox-King is the CEO of Pilot Gold, one of the leading mineral exploration companies. We were fortunate to catch up with Mr. Lennox-King at the recent Cambridge House VRIC 15 conference in Vancouver.

Yesterday, Haywood Securities upped their price target on Pilot Gold shares from $1.60 to $1.90, maintaining their Buy rating, in a report published by Toronto-based mining analysts Tara Hassan, PEng, and Danny Ochoa, CFA. Pilot issued an updated PEA for its 40% owned Halilaga copper-gold project in Turkey showing boosted IRR and payback, thanks to a reduced project footprint. The IRR on the project more than doubled since its 2012 PEA from 20% to 43%. Haywood thinks the re-scoping could see JV partner Teck Resources do a deal on Halilaga that could benefit Pilot shareholders. Pilot Gold is the successor to Fronteer Gold, a Nevada gold explorer that sold to Newmont for $2.3 billion in 2011. The company has a large portfolio of projects but is focused on the Kinsley project in Nevada, and TV Tower in Turkey. Shares in the gold explorer closed at $1.15 Thursday, giving the company an approximate market cap of $123.3 million

The following is a transcript of the above video.

Matt Lennox-King, CEO, Pilot Gold, Cambridge House transcript:

The risks that we face at Pilot Gold are no different to anyone else in the industry, whether its a small exploration company or all the way up through the majors. The three things that face everyone are social license, permitting and finance. That really sums it up.

Pilot Gold on the financing side, we always maintain a robust treasury, always have. We have over $20 million Canadian in our treasury now. We have a track record of executing on our projects, whether its in Nevada or Turkey, translating that to real value in the ground, and then into market value for our shareholders.

Related: X marks the spot of discovery: Pilot Gold CEO Matt Lennox King

This is not a solicitation to purchase or sell securities. Always do your own due diligence. Additionally, this video and article may contain forward looking statements.