Liberty Gold Targets 2029 Black Pine Production After Feasibility Study

Key Points

• Liberty Gold is targeting commercial production at Black Pine in 2029, following detailed engineering expected to finish by the third quarter of 2027. The open-pit, run-of-mine heap-leach project is designed for a 16-year life and nearly 3 million ounces of gold production.
• The feasibility study estimates $411 million in initial capital, average annual production of 177,000 ounces and all-in sustaining costs of $1,566 per ounce. The project is expected to produce more than 200,000 ounces annually during its first five years and remains viable across a wide range of gold prices.
• Black Pine’s reserve has grown to 4 million ounces from 3 million since the pre-feasibility study, while permitting and a 50,000-meter drilling program continue. Liberty Gold expects an environmental impact statement in the first half of next year and is evaluating early construction works beginning in late 2027.

Liberty Gold TSE: LGD outlined plans to advance its Black Pine oxide gold project in southeast Idaho following completion of a feasibility study, with the company targeting detailed engineering completion by the third quarter of 2027 and commercial production in 2029.

During a company presentation, Jon said Black Pine is designed as an open-pit, run-of-mine heap-leach operation with a 16-year mine life. The feasibility study contemplated production of just under 3 million ounces of gold from a 4-million-ounce reserve, including annual output exceeding 200,000 ounces during the first five years. Life-of-mine annual production is projected at 177,000 ounces, with all-in sustaining costs of $1,566 per ounce.

Feasibility Study and Project Economics

The company said the project would require initial capital of $411 million. Jon characterized that amount as manageable from a financing perspective and said the company sees potential financing avenues including debt, equity and streaming.

Black Pine’s operating plan calls for drill-and-blast mining, hauling and heap leaching without crushing, conveying, stackers or agglomeration. The project would include two larger owner-operated pits, Range Front and Discovery, while smaller peripheral pits would be mined by contractors over the mine life.

The feasibility study also assessed Black Pine’s sensitivity to gold prices. Jon said the project remained buildable at a gold price of $2,000 per ounce and could withstand prices below $1,400 per ounce. At a $6,000-per-ounce gold price scenario, he said the project’s net present value would exceed $6 billion.

Jon described the project location as dry and arid terrain with low rainfall and no surface waters, lakes or streams. He said Black Pine contains fully oxidized rock, which the company believes reduces concerns related to acid rock drainage. Mining is planned above the water table, eliminating the need for pit dewatering or pit-lake management, according to the presentation.

Infrastructure, Water and Resource Growth

The company said it has access to water rights in an adjacent basin, where active wells currently supply agricultural use. Liberty Gold plans to compensate the farmer and redirect the water to the project, a structure Jon said would avoid a new net draw on the basin. A power line is already located at the site’s entrance, with the company having ordered a transformer needed to connect to it.

Black Pine is also accessible from Interstate 84, with Salt Lake City about two hours to the south and Burley about one hour to the north, according to the company.

Since its pre-feasibility study two years ago, Liberty Gold said Black Pine’s reserve has increased to 4 million ounces from 3 million ounces, while the resource has grown to 6 million ounces from 5 million ounces. The company is approximately halfway through a 50,000-meter drilling program.

• Drilling in the initial years of the mine plan is intended to upgrade indicated resources to measured resources.
• The program includes drilling around planned permanent infrastructure, including the heap-leach and rock-storage areas.
• It also includes peripheral exploration drilling around resource shells, which Jon said could result in modest resource growth.

Jon said the company expects the drilling to support a resource update at the beginning of next year. He added that the work could ultimately support a proven reserve for the first three years of mining.

Liberty Gold also reported results from a 12-ton bulk-sample leach test using four-foot-diameter columns. Jon said the results validated the company’s earlier metallurgical work and supported its understanding of recovery characteristics for the planned heap-leach operation.

Permitting and Development Timeline

The company said it is about two-thirds of the way through the U.S. National Environmental Policy Act process and is preparing an environmental impact statement, or EIS, expected in the first half of next year. The permitting effort is being conducted through the FAST-41 process.

Jon said the company holds biweekly meetings involving the FAST-41 team, federal agencies, state agencies and Liberty Gold. Idaho state agencies have aligned timelines for the cyanidation and air-quality permits with the federal process, he said. The company cited prior FAST-41 approvals for South32’s Hermosa project and Equinox Gold’s South Railroad project as evidence that the process can meet, or beat, scheduled timelines.

Liberty Gold said it expects to complete detailed engineering by mid-2027, with all drawings issued for construction by the third quarter of 2027. The company is considering early works beginning in the second half of 2027 and extending into 2028. It is targeting a one-season construction period, first gold pour in late 2028 and commercial production in 2029.

Balance Sheet and Shareholder Support

At its last reporting date, Liberty Gold said it had $36 million in cash on its balance sheet and expected an additional $34 million over the following 14 months, primarily from divestitures of non-core assets. The company said those funds should support operations through the current and following year and allow it to reach an in-principle final investment decision by late 2027 or early 2028.

Jon said Centerra became a shareholder in September of the prior year. He also cited support from institutional investors including VanEck, Franklin, RCF, Amati, Konwave, Commodity Capital, Ixios and Aegis. Wheaton Precious Metals holds a 0.5% royalty on Black Pine, with Liberty Gold retaining a right to buy back 50% of that royalty, according to the presentation.

About Liberty Gold (TSE:LGD)

Liberty Gold is a U.S.-focused gold company advancing Black Pine, its 100% owned oxide gold project in Idaho, located within the Great Basin, one of the world's most productive and mining-friendly gold regions. Black Pine is a large-scale, past-producing, run-of-mine heap leachable gold deposit progressing through feasibility and permitting toward a modern open-pit mining operation. The Company's strategy is centered on advancing high-quality, long-life gold assets, with a clear focus on technical simplicity, strong environmental performance, project executability, collaborative permitting processes, and value creation.

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