In a recent conversation with Zak Mir from Zak’s Traders Café, Panther Metals CEO Darren Hazelwood outlined a strategy unlike any other in the London junior market.

The company is not only pursuing brownfield exploration and development in Canada but is also in the process of building out a Bitcoin-backed treasury to avoid dilution, unlock alternative financing, and position itself at the convergence of digital capital and physical assets.

Panther’s evolution over the past two months reflects a rare attempt to bring the benefits of crypto-native capital models into the resource sector. Hazelwood’s goal is clear: to monetise assets, fund development, and protect shareholder value without relying on traditional equity issuance. Whether through tailings cash flow or Bitcoin leverage, Panther is moving with speed and conviction.

A Different Kind of Treasury

On June 23rd, 2025, Panther announced its intention to build a Bitcoin-backed treasury strategy, initially planning to raise up to £4 million via warrant exercises and a traditional equity raise. This treasury would be used both as a long-term balance sheet asset and as collateral to secure strategic acquisitions such as the Pick Lake deposit.

A follow-up RNS on July 30th, 2025 clarified a pivot in this approach. Panther confirmed it would no longer pursue a conventional public raise. Instead, it is developing a Bitcoin-to-equity subscription mechanism. Under this model, investors will be able to subscribe for new shares using Bitcoin. The BTC will be converted into GBP immediately prior to settlement, with Panther then repurchasing Bitcoin on-market to maintain treasury exposure.

While this still results in dilution, as new shares are issued, it avoids the significant costs typically associated with small-cap placings: no discounting, no broker fees, and no warrants. The strategy aims to maximise capital efficiency and align long-term value creation with Panther’s digital-physical asset blend.

“It’s a company that’s moving towards cash-generative activities that will enable us to build our BTC treasury as we go along that curve,” Hazelwood said in the podcast. “We become a natural hedge between the fiat world and the crypto space… all of our commodities are priced and traded in fiat currency. So we sit between the two.”

Panther is operationalising this structure with CoinCorner Ltd, a Bitcoin services provider based in the Isle of Man, and Evoke Solutions, a UK-based advisory firm, to ensure secure custody, regulatory compliance, and governance standards.

From Ontario to Dubai

The treasury strategy is not confined to Panther’s London listing. Hazelwood revealed that the company is actively exploring a regulatory base in Dubai, where cryptocurrency ownership per capita is among the highest globally. Calling it “the new Istanbul… a gateway between East and West,” he highlighted the city’s appeal for traders, its favourable tax framework, and its increasing status as a bridge between fiat and decentralised capital. The move was flagged again in Panther’s July 30th treasury update, where the company also reiterated its focus on maintaining regulatory clarity while expanding its investor base.

Back to the Rock

While Panther’s Bitcoin pivot has drawn significant attention, the company’s exploration assets are also showing near-term value. On 31st July, Panther published results from its initial sampling of the Winston tailings in Ontario. The announcement reported high-grade material including 0.814 grams per tonne gold, 21.9 grams per tonne silver, 2.20 percent zinc, 0.20 percent copper, 496 ppm cobalt, and 122 ppm gallium.

These findings validate historical assumptions from the 1980s and 1990s, when the original operators focused exclusively on zinc. “Now that gold, if it was in the deposit… it had to have gone in the tailings,” Hazelwood told Zak Mir. “We knew we were only going to scrape the very surface… the grades were phenomenal.”

Crucially, the Winston site is a brownfield location with existing infrastructure, including power, roads, fencing, and water handling. The 2021 feasibility study for the adjacent Pick Lake deposit, which hosts the bulk of the Winston Project’s resource, valued the site at a pre-tax NPV of C$176 million using conservative pricing assumptions. This setup allows for a near-term cashflow opportunity, with the potential to fund construction of a full processing plant, without diluting shareholders.

Managing the Capital Stack

Hazelwood believes that combining tailings cashflow with a Bitcoin-backed balance sheet could allow Panther to secure longer-duration debt on improved terms. “There is definitely the potential that this could build the mine, pay for our exploration, and everything else around the site,” he said. The company expects to release further test work results and an engineering review in the coming weeks to advance this thesis. Panther previously confirmed the sampling programme in early July.

Insider Commitment

Confidence in the strategy is not limited to public statements. On 30th June, Panther disclosed that CEO Darren Hazelwood and Chairman Nicholas O’Reilly had subscribed for a combined £132,000 of new shares at 69 pence, increasing their holdings to 7.06 percent and 1.91 percent respectively. Both purchases were made at or above prevailing market prices at time of purchase ,underscoring belief in Panther’s direction and underlying asset value.

Despite this progress, the company’s market capitalisation remains around £5 million. Hazelwood noted in the interview that such a low valuation leaves Panther exposed. “This is a very, very clear story now,” he said. “It’s easy to understand. I guess my biggest fear would be a potential takeover of us where we currently sit.”

A Model in Motion

Panther’s attempt to straddle the worlds of resource development and decentralised finance is ambitious. The Bitcoin-for-equity mechanism still needs to pass regulatory review, and Winston tailings economics must be validated through formal metallurgical analysis. But with clear execution on its early-stage promises, a strong management stake, and a capital model designed to reduce dilution, Panther may be pioneering a new playbook for junior resource companies.

As Hazelwood put it, “It’s all happening at Panther.” Investors may want to pay attention, before the story gets priced in.