US Gold Eyes CK Gold Financing as Shovel-Ready Wyoming Mine Advances

Key Points

• CK Gold is fully permitted and shovel-ready: The Wyoming project is designed as a roughly 10-year, 20,000-ton-per-day mine producing more than 85,000 gold-equivalent ounces annually, with initial capital estimated at approximately $400 million.
• Financing is the immediate priority: Construction is paused while US Gold evaluates debt, equity and offtake-related funding options. Management wants to limit shareholder dilution and is reluctant to use a streaming deal on gold or copper production.
• Exploration offers additional upside: US Gold plans to advance targets at its Keystone project in Nevada, near major Cortez Trend operations, and at the Chalice project in Idaho, although neither currently has an equivalent resource base to CK Gold.

US Gold NASDAQ: USAU outlined financing plans and development progress for its fully permitted CK Gold Project near Cheyenne, Wyoming, while also highlighting exploration upside at its Keystone project in Nevada and Chalice project in Idaho.

During a company presentation, management said it has 16.5 million shares outstanding, approximately 2.8 million warrants and about $30 million in cash. The company said its market capitalization was approximately $250 million at the time of the presentation and emphasized its intention to limit dilution through a tight share structure.

CK Gold Feasibility Study and Mine Plan

The company said it published a feasibility study for CK Gold in March or April. The study centers on an initial reserve pit containing 1 million ounces of gold reserves and 260 million pounds of copper, or roughly 1.6 million gold-equivalent ounces.

US Gold described the proposed operation as a roughly 10-year mine processing 20,000 tons per day. It expects average production of more than 85,000 gold-equivalent ounces annually over the mine life, with production exceeding 100,000 gold ounces in each of the first three years, in addition to copper output.

The feasibility study used base-case prices of $3,250 per ounce for gold and $4.50 per pound for copper, according to the presentation. At those assumptions, the company cited an after-tax internal rate of return of 27% and a payback period of about 2.5 years. It also estimated all-in sustaining costs of $1,785 and initial capital needs of approximately $384 million, though management later referred to the required initial capital as roughly $400 million.

Management said the reserve pit was established using $2,100 gold and $4.10 copper assumptions. A larger resource pit surrounds the reserve pit, and the company said it believes the project could expand into those resources. It is also conducting additional gravity and magnetic surveys and developing drilling and exploration plans across the broader former Silver Crown Mining District.

Permitting, Infrastructure and Processing

The CK Gold Project is located about 20 miles from Cheyenne on Wyoming state mineral leases and surrounding private ranch land. Management said the project has no federal permitting nexus because it is located on state and private ground.

The company said it began project work in 2020, submitted its permit application in 2022 and was fully permitted by the end of 2024. Permits include a mine operating permit, air-quality permit and water-discharge permit, according to the presentation.

US Gold said the site is about two miles from a paved road and has access to local power priced at 7.2 cents per kilowatt-hour, including the cost of extending a line to the project. Management also pointed to nearby rail lines, a Dyno Nobel prill plant near Cheyenne, and smelting and export routes through Salt Lake City and Hermosillo.

The proposed mine plan calls for a low strip-ratio truck-and-shovel operation, followed by crushing, grinding and flotation to produce a clean concentrate. The company said the concentrate is expected to contain 14% to 16% copper and 60 to 90 grams per ton of gold, without arsenic or mercury. The design includes dry-stack tailings intended to reclaim and reuse water in the processing plant.

• Initial mine plan: approximately 10 years
• Plant throughput: 20,000 tons per day
• Initial capital estimate: roughly $400 million
• Wyoming state royalty: 2.1% net smelter return

Financing Options Under Review

Management said construction is currently paused while the company arranges project financing. The company said it has completed access-road work and considers the project shovel-ready.

In response to an analyst question, management said US Gold has funded itself primarily through offerings, including non-brokered financings supported by a core shareholder group. For CK Gold, the company said it has received indicative term sheets and is evaluating several alternatives, including debt, equity and offtake-related financing.

Management said potential buyers have shown interest in securing concentrate supply as copper demand rises and smelters seek feed. The company said it is not keen to place a stream on its copper and gold production, though it noted the project contains 2 million ounces of silver that could potentially be part of a financing structure.

The company also said there are no other royalties or landholder encumbrances beyond the 2.1% royalty payable to Wyoming, which management said is designated for K-12 education in the state.

Exploration Portfolio

Beyond CK Gold, US Gold said it plans to refocus on exploration at Keystone, its 20-square-mile land position in Nevada near the Cortez Hills complex and the McEwen Mining Gold Bar operation. The company said it has completed geophysical testing, soil sampling and surface mapping, and identified Greenstone Gulch as its primary target.

Management said Keystone shares geological similarities with the Cortez district, including the Wenban Formation, while cautioning that Keystone does not currently have an equivalent resource base. The company also identified Chalice in Idaho, near Beartrack-Arnett and Stibnite, as an additional exploration asset on a prolific gold trend.

About US Gold (NASDAQ:USAU)

US Gold Corp. NASDAQ: USAU is a U.S.-focused mineral exploration and development company. The company's activities center on identifying, evaluating and advancing gold and copper projects rather than operating producing mines.

Its principal asset is the CK Gold Project in southeastern Wyoming, a gold-copper development project also known as Copper King. US Gold Corp. has worked on exploration, engineering, permitting and economic evaluation for the project, with the goal of determining its potential for future development.

The company also holds the Keystone property in Nevada, an exploration project located within the prospective Cortez gold trend.

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