U.S. Gold Corp. management outlined details from its definitive feasibility study for the CK Gold Project during a company webinar, emphasizing an 11-year mine plan, updated capital and cost estimates, and several potential “blue sky” opportunities that could expand production and add additional revenue streams.
Feasibility study headline metrics
During the presentation, CEO and Director George Bee said the feasibility study is the result of a roughly 5.5-year effort supported by a broad group of engineers and consultants. Bee said the company has invested “about $28 million of direct investment into the project,” aside from corporate overhead.
Bee noted the study’s base case uses “$3,250 gold,” and said the company views the project’s financial metrics as “very robust at the base case” and stronger at higher gold prices. He added that the feasibility study incorporates “tariffs, inflation impacts,” current equipment quotes, and “a full closure provision.”
Capital cost changes and engineering updates
Bee compared the feasibility study to the earlier pre-feasibility study (PFS), stating the PFS had a smaller initial capital number and that the feasibility study reflects a series of scope and cost updates. He cited “revised scope items,” “quantity, rate, and design changes,” and higher indirect costs as contributors, and said the company is “very confident about these numbers.”
He also described engineering and flowsheet modifications included in the feasibility work, including Jameson Cells, a “smaller plant footprint,” and changes in filtration for dry-stack tailings. The plant design includes crushing to “-6 in,” grinding to “90 µm,” flotation using Jameson Cells, regrinding concentrate to “25-µm,” and producing a copper-gold concentrate for sale. Bee said the company moved from “plate and frame” filtration to “Viper filtration” and later described adopting “agitated belt filters for the dry stack tailings” via a filtration island supplied by Jord.
Bee emphasized the level of design detail, saying 3D design work improved visualization and accuracy for “steel platework, piping, electrical instrumentation,” including confirmation that “a single liner handler” can serve both the SAG and ball mills.
Location, mining layout, and permitting status
Bee described CK as located about 20 miles west of Cheyenne, Wyoming, with nearby road, power, and water infrastructure and access to supply hubs such as Denver and Salt Lake City. He said the project does not require a man camp, noting workers can “go home at night,” which he said supports labor competitiveness.
He also said the project’s mineral lease is with the State of Wyoming and that the company will pay the state a “2.1% royalty.”
On the mine layout, Bee said the open pit is “approximately 80 acres,” with short hauls to waste and processing facilities. He also pointed to a “low strip ratio, 0.98-1,” and said the mine plan reflects “zero strip to actually get into our ore” for parts of the deposit, contributing to lower mining costs. The project plan includes a dry-stack tailings management facility and a low-grade ore stockpile adjacent to that facility.
Resource upside and exploration path
Bee said the current mine plan focuses on the “initial reserve of 1 million ounces of gold and 260 million lbs of copper,” while additional measured and indicated resources exist outside the current reserve plan. He said the company expects to pursue mine-life extensions as additional resources are incorporated and permitted, and added that “a lot of the holes bottom out in mineralization.” Bee said the company previously prioritized permitting the initial mine plan rather than depleting treasury on additional drilling.
In response to analyst questions, VP of Exploration and Technical Services Kevin Francis said drilling density declines with depth and that inferred resources reflect “widely spaced drilling.” Francis said converting those inferred blocks would require deeper grid drilling and infill work, and noted that prior drilling to the southeast found “encouraging mineralization of similar grade that currently lies outside the pit” due to limited drill density.
Bee also referenced a “dry gulch” and said that expanding into that area could involve the Army Corps of Engineers under current rules, adding that the company currently maintains a buffer but considers it “an easy bolt on.” He said geophysics identified “interesting anomalies down to our southeast” and suggested the company expects to go deeper and southeast to add resources.
Potential value adds: gold recovery, aggregates, and financing
Several potential upside items were discussed beyond the base feasibility plan. In response to a question about increasing gold recovery, Bee said the company tested cyanidation of flotation tailings and observed “very rapid recovery with a short residence time” due to fine residual gold. He said cyanide processing was not included in the initial permitted project because of cost and permitting considerations at the time, but that higher gold prices have changed the economics. Bee said the company intends to pursue the idea of adding this processing step in the future, while noting it would require discussions with regulators. Chairman and Co-Founder Luke Norman added that the company could also test other recovery methods “rather than cyanide.”
Management also described aggregate sales as another potential revenue stream. Norman said the company had been approached by a “large U.S.-based rail company” with a letter of intent to purchase material, and said monetizing rock classified as waste could reduce production costs. Bee said the company intends to pursue permits to sell rock as “aggregate and rail ballast,” potentially supplying local demand tied to construction, including data centers, with the possibility of expanding distribution via rail over time.
On concentrate marketing, Bee said the company expects to produce a “very clean concentrate” without deleterious elements and has held discussions with off-takers and metal traders regarding smelter terms and possible financing support, though he said the company has not finalized an approach.
Regarding financing, Bee said the company had “about $30 million-odd” in treasury and is seeking a financing package to move into execution, noting it has already started an access road project. Norman said the company has been cautious about relying on streams or offtake-linked structures too early, and referenced reviewing term sheets that could involve “80% debt, 20% equity” exposure.
Bee added that the company has put its name “in the hat” for federal support, but said federal timelines do not match the company’s desired development schedule. He also said Wyoming’s state treasurer had expressed interest in potentially participating as part of a debt financing consortium.
Asked about other company assets, Bee said the Keystone project is “phenomenal” but that the company is currently focused on CK, while continuing technical work such as geophysics and applying AI-driven analysis to confirm drill targets. Norman said it could make sense to spin Keystone out to avoid dilution while CK advances.
About US Gold (NASDAQ:USAU)
US Gold Corporation (NASDAQ: USAU) is a U.S.-based mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing gold and copper projects in key mining jurisdictions across the United States. The company’s flagship asset is the Copper King project in Park County, Wyoming, where US Gold holds more than 10,000 contiguous acres in the historic Sweetwater Mining District. Copper King is a bulk-tonnage, porphyry-style copper-gold property for which the company has completed multiple drilling campaigns, metallurgical testing and a preliminary economic assessment.
In addition to Copper King, US Gold controls the Keystone project on the northern Black Hills Gold Trend in South Dakota.
