Northern Vertex poured first gold at Moss in March this year and had an estimated 4,200oz of recoverable gold and 27,000oz of silver on the site's heap leach pad at the end of April. The junior sees that Moss is eventually capable of yielding 42,000 gold-equivalent ounces a year after further expansion.

The market, however, remains somewhat unimpressed, with Northern Vertex trading around its lowest levels for the past year (at 42c Wednesday). Its high point for the past 12 months was 70c and it started this year near that mark at 68c.

The company's current market capitalisation is about C$75 million.

It ended the March quarter with cash of $16.96 million ($25 million at the end of June last year), having outlaid capital on construction and commissioning of Moss. It also drew US$6 million of its non-revolving working capital facility with Greenstone Resources, and raised C$2.4 million of equity funding via a non-brokered private placement at C52c a share during the March quarter.

Northern Vertex said Sprott Private Resources Lending LP had agreed, "under certain conditions", to provide up to US$100 million for "future acquisitions and development projects" that could help transform the company into a mid-range producer.