John McCluskey has led Alamos Gold (AGI) for more than two decades, guiding the company from scrappy junior explorer to thriving mid-tier Canadian producer. Following the company's Q3 earnings, he sat down with MarketDash to talk about where Alamos has been, where it's headed, and what to make of one of the wildest gold markets we've seen in generations.

Learning From A Mining Hall Of Famer

The Alamos story goes back to the 1980s, when McCluskey met Chester Milar, a future mining hall of famer and heap leaching pioneer. Fresh out of school, McCluskey joined Milar in a proxy fight against Adolf Lundin at Glamis Gold. They won, shareholders sided with them, and Milar kept control.

"I thought about going back to school, but Chester convinced me to work for him. Staying there made me a lot of money," McCluskey says.

During the long bear market that followed, Millar and McCluskey kept scanning for opportunities. Eventually, they zeroed in on the Mulatos District in Sonora, Mexico, purchasing the asset for $10 million when gold was trading around $300 per ounce.

The early days weren't glamorous. The company had a market cap of just $1 million. By 2005, when McCluskey officially took the CEO role, that figure had grown to about $15 million.

Fast forward twenty years, and Alamos now sports a $13 billion market capitalization. That's impressive growth by any measure, though McCluskey believes there's still considerable value to unlock in the current bull market.

Gold's Best Run Since The 1970s

The last time gold ran this hot, McCluskey was still in college. In 2025, gold has surged 51% year-to-date, the second-best annual performance since 1979. Alamos stock has largely tracked that momentum, climbing about 58% over the same stretch.

Nearly five decades separate today's bull market from the 1970s version, but McCluskey sees familiar dangers lurking.

"The biggest risk remains capital destruction. Money chasing assets that have no value, or no potential to become quality mines," he explains. That risk becomes even more pronounced when volatility picks up.

When asked about recent management shakeups at industry giants, McCluskey draws clear distinctions between the situations.

"Newmont's CEO succession was well-planned and executed. Barrick's? Not so much. There were disagreements that led to the CEO's departure. The news coming out on the same day was a pure coincidence."

Management changes can roil markets temporarily, but given the scale of these companies, McCluskey doesn't expect lasting industry disruption. "We might see some short-term volatility, but the situation will normalize," he says.

The Million-Ounce Target

Alamos hit a few speed bumps in 2025. Seismic events and production downtime forced the company to lower guidance. Still, management remains bullish on internal growth prospects.

The roadmap includes significant improvements at existing operations and exploration projects in Canada. To break into the senior producer ranks, Alamos needs to hit one million ounces of annual production, a milestone the company is targeting for 2030. The catch? They want to get there without sacrificing their reputation for cost discipline.

"Our current priority is the expansion of Island Gold. The acquisition of Argonaut and its permitting would allow us to increase underground production," McCluskey explains. Combined, these assets could deliver annualized production of around 550,000 ounces.

"At $1,000 all-in-sustaining-costs, it makes it one of the biggest and most profitable gold mines in Canada, if not the world," he notes. Full documentation is expected in early 2026.

The Argonaut deal was well-timed and unlocked substantial value, but don't expect Alamos to go shopping aggressively anytime soon.

"Nothing on the market right now is better than what we're currently building," McCluskey says, emphasizing that the company's focus remains squarely on existing projects and ongoing exploration efforts.