How do you stand out in a crowd?
It's a question buzzing around the junior mining space, including for Tim Mason, CEO of Eagle Mountain Mining Limited, a copper company well-positioned to meet the transition to electrification. With the Oracle Ridge Copper Project in Arizona, a high-grade existing underground mine with 18 kilometers of development and extensive local infrastructure, highly-credentialed to potentially be a low-emission producer, there's a compelling story brewing.
"The world is going to need a lot of copper for decarbonization goals, and if we can sustainably produce that copper, well, that's just an exciting story," says Mason. "It's about being able to do your part to help out with what I believe the world needs now."
The challenge is bringing that story to investors. These days, 10-page ASX announcements don't make the grade.
"There have been many IPOs recently, and there are many companies, so you've got to do something a little bit different to grab the reader's attention," Mason says.
To share the story in an immersive and accessible way, Mason uses VRIFY Video, boosting stakeholder engagement and generating excitement for the project's progress. By accompanying press releases with narrated 360-degree site tours, Mason provides context, transparency, and a unique understanding of why investors should be as excited as he and his team are about Oracle Ridge, currently in the resource definition phase.
Watch Tim Mason run through a virtual site tour of the company's Oracle Ridge Copper Project in Arizona -> Here
Below, we've mined our latest conversation with Mason to bring you five hands-on tips for using VRIFY Video to spark investor excitement.
Key Challenges
- Explaining the project's complex ore body to stakeholders using PowerPoint slides was difficult.
- Competition for investor eyeballs in the junior mining space demanded differentiation for communicating project progress.
- The project has compelling ESG advantages that must be easily translated for stakeholders to understand.
Key Results
- Effective Communication: The use of VRIFY to showcase 3D models of their resources and present data visually has improved communication and transparency. The 3D models make it easier for investors and stakeholders to understand the geology, resource locations, and project details.
- Innovative Approach: By leveraging virtual site tours in conference presentations, one-on-one meetings, and Zoom calls, Eagle Mountain Mining is sparking the "wow" factor and differentiating itself as an innovator in the junior mining space.
- Transparency and Trust: By providing a 3D model of their resource and sharing information in a clear and accessible way, the company is nurturing trust with investors and stakeholders.
1. Don't be afraid to put your face out there
As CEO, Mason recognizes his role in representing Eagle Mountain Mining and its projects in a public-facing way.
"These days, people like to see who is running the company and the experience they've got," he says. Putting his face out there, including in narrated site tours with VRIFY videos, has been "really important" for reaching out to the right investors for the Oracle Ridge Copper Project.
With VRIFY Video, Mason can quickly record short 1-2 minute videos describing the highlights of recent announcements, referencing the resource model as he speaks, zooming in, and drawing on the model to support his narration.
These short video clips are "really simple and don't take long to create" on the VRIFY platform.
2. Showcase different perspectives
If you're a bit camera-shy, try sharing the screen with other experts and leaders on your team. Sharing a mix of perspectives helps unpack different contexts, speak to different audiences, and provide a holistic understanding of your project.
"I'm doing some videos now where I've got a geologist coming on, and he's giving his thoughts," says Mason. "We get different people from the organization to help explain what we're doing while they're showing the model, spinning it around and adding bits and pieces to what we've got to say."
Mason also engages renowned Founder and Managing Director of Eagle Mountain Mining, Charlie Bass, as a video narrator to significant effect.
"Charlie is very well known in the mining space, and people are always keen to hear his wise words," says Mason. "It adds an element that you don't get in an ASX or TSX release because, with video, people can see how exciting it is."
3. Bring ESG goals to life
The Oracle Ridge Copper Project is a restart, working with the existing 18+ kilometers of development from twenty years ago.
Technology has evolved rapidly since then, and Mason says his team is applying innovative and sustainable solutions to reduce energy emissions and production costs while growing the resources to harness economies of scale.
"These are the things that we're running through to try to add value to our shareholders and do what's right by the community and the environment," says Mason.
Mason uses VRIFY videos to help investors see the potential, guiding them in immersive 360-degree tours that demonstrate how the site is suited to the potential use of electric equipment, including trucks (the resource is located on a hill), and access to an existing water supply for a green-energy source of power.
"Having VRIFY to help explain this is the best part," says Mason. "We've got the underpinning of having a real, credible ESG advantage compared to many other projects."
4. Embed videos on your website and newsletters
The Oracle Ridge ore body is complex.
"We're not a VMS where it's a nice single lens or otherwise very explainable," says Mason. VRIFY videos, embedded in a few clicks on the company website and in newsletters announcing updates, help explain to investors where results come from and what it means in a larger context.
"Video helps with explaining, for example, where the site sits relative to our infrastructure, the differences in grade, where we have a nice high-grade zone, and then these broad low-grade halos around the outside," he says.
"It can be hard to understand where these areas actually sit. We need the ability to explain it." Bringing VRIFY videos to different channels provides ample access and transparency.
"We've had plenty of people say, 'Look, if you're happy to put all your data out there, then you've got nothing to hide,'" says Mason. "You get that element of trust."
Sharing short explainer videos alongside ASX announcements also encourages engagement. "People generally have time to watch a one-minute video," Mason says. "And in a newsletter, you can say, 'Here's our release, check out this short video, this tells you everything you need to know, and if you want to read more, we have those details available as well.'"
5. Embrace new ways to engage shareholders
Supported by what Mason describes as an "incredible" team aligned in pursuing innovative approaches to the industry's challenges, Eagle Mountain Mining Limited is all for embracing new ways to engage shareholders.
"[Junior mining] is such a crowded space," says Mason. "You've got to think about how you'll reach out to those investors who will be right for your project. And stakeholders as well, equally: governments, communities, anyone the project will impact."
Even before adopting VRIFY, Mason used short video formats with press releases to give context to drill results and explain the next steps. With VRIFY, the process is made simple. At conferences, one-on-one meetings, and Zoom calls, VRIFY is helping Mason unpack the complexities of the project.
"We get tons of great feedback from people saying, 'Wow, that's powerful, I can understand that.'"
As Mason shows us, knowledge gives audiences power: the power to decide and the power to get excited!
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