New COO with a strong geological background to accompany Juggernaut Exploration’s next development phase in the Golden Triangle and the drilling campaign on the Big One gold deposit.
Juggernaut Exploration strengthens management with experienced geologist
Juggernaut Exploration (TSXV: JUGR; OTCPK: JUGRF; FSE: 4JE) has appointed Dr. Manuele Lazzarotto as its new President and Chief Operating Officer (COO). In doing so, the company is bringing an proven expert in structural geology and metamorphism into its top operational management, who has already contributed to several significant discoveries in Canada and has been supporting the company for some time.
Mr. Lazzarotto has more than ten years of experience in the exploration and development of deposits and has been instrumental in advancing projects from the early discovery phase to defined resources. His technical expertise lies in the field of volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) deposits and gold-bearing systems in Canada.
Most recently, he was Chief Geologist at Goliath Resources, where he played a central role in the discovery and further development of the Surebet deposit between 2019 and 2025. Lazzarotto holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in Earth Sciences from ETH Zurich and a doctorate in metamorphic petrology from the University of Calgary – a profile that supports Juggernaut Exploration’s focus on geologically challenging projects in northwestern British Columbia.
CEO Dan Stuart emphasizes that Lazzarotto’s proven track record, including his work on Goliath’s Surebet and Juggernaut’s Big One project, should provide an important foundation for the further development of the project portfolio. In his new role, Lazzarotto will be responsible for coordinating the technical implementation of the exploration strategy and managing operational activities.
Focus of Juggernaut Exploration: Big One gold deposit ahead of first major drilling campaign
In parallel with the management reinforcement, Juggernaut Exploration is preparing the largest drilling campaign to date on its Big One project. The fully funded diamond drilling program is scheduled to extend over approximately 10,000 meters in 2026 and mark the first systematic test phase at depth on the Big One gold deposit.
Big One is located in the heart of the Golden Triangle in northwestern British Columbia, a region with a long mining history and numerous high-grade gold and silver occurrences. In recent years, hundreds of gold- and silver-bearing quartz veins have been mapped on the project area at the surface, which can be traced for up to one kilometer along the strike. The mineralization is hosted in shear zones up to 50 meters wide, suggesting a broader structural system.
For Juggernaut Exploration, the upcoming drilling program will focus on verifying key questions:
- How continuously do the high-grade zones observed at the surface continue into the depth?
- Can larger, contiguous mineralized bodies be defined that could support a future resource estimate?
- What is the internal structure of the system – individual veins, stockwork zones, or multiple parallel shear zones?
In his first statement as President and COO, Lazzarotto emphasizes that the Big One project, with its combination of high-grade gold and silver grades, large-scale visibility of the veins on the surface, and structural integration into broad shear zones, represents a clear exploration target for the upcoming drilling campaign. The systematic drilling of the deposit is seen as a crucial step in refining the geological model and quantifying the potential of the project more reliably.
Juggernaut Exploration in the Golden Triangle: Profile and Partnerships
Juggernaut Exploration positions itself as an explorer and project generator for precious metals in the Golden Triangle of northwestern British Columbia. The company focuses on projects in geologically known structures and in politically stable regions of Canada, where mining is generally well established.
A special feature of Juggernaut Exploration’s profile is its integration into scientific networks: The company is a member and active supporter of CASERM, a cooperation between the Colorado School of Mines and Virginia Tech. The goal of this platform is to interlink research, education, and industrial application in the raw materials sector. For Juggernaut, such collaborations can strengthen access to current scientific methods in geology, structural geology, and deposit science and enable their application directly in ongoing exploration programs.
On the ownership side, Juggernaut Exploration has a renowned strategic major shareholder in Crescat Capital. Institutional anchor investors of this kind are often an indication in the junior sector that projects can be supported over longer exploration cycles. For a company with a focus on early and mid-stage projects, access to stable capital is an important factor in order to carry out multi-year exploration programs such as the one on Big One.
Outlook: Next steps for Juggernaut Exploration in 2026
With the appointment of Manuele Lazzarotto as President and COO and the planning of a diamond drilling program of approximately 10,000 meters on Big One, Juggernaut Exploration is clearly focusing on growth and value creation through exploration.
The next milestones include:
- the detailed planning and prioritization of drilling targets on the Big One gold deposit,
- the operational preparation of the campaign together with the technical team and service providers,
- the further evaluation of existing geological and geophysical data in the Golden Triangle in order to define additional targets in the vicinity of Big One.
The course has therefore been set and Juggernaut Exploration is ready for 2026 and the first drilling program ever on the Big One property, especially since it recently received the necessary permits. We are excited!
You can find an in-depth Goldinvest.de interview with CEO Dan Stuart and Dr. Lazzarotto here:
