U.S. Gold Corp.'s Pre-Feasibility Study Indicates Solid Value in Gold and Copper at CK Gold Project

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The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

A pre-feasibility study for U.S. Gold Corp.’s USAU CK Gold Project has found solid value in the project’s gold and copper. 

The CK Gold Project is one of four projects the company is advancing. Keystone, located on the Cortez Trend in north central Nevada; Maggie Creek on the Carlin Trend in Nevada; and the Challis Gold Project in Idaho are the other projects.

CK Gold Project

The CK Gold Project is an advanced-stage gold and copper exploration and development project located in southeast Wyoming, 20 miles west of Cheyenne. The project is on state land, making the permitting process easier and the annual leases more affordable.

The property comprises about 1,120 acres (2 square miles) and is 100% owned by U.S. Gold Corp. The project offers the company near-term, open-pit production potential as well as compelling value.

The CK Gold Project deposit is a development stage, large-tonnage, gold-copper deposit with high-grade mineralization exposed at the surface and surrounded by a large, low-grade zone with potential for expanding resources.

The project resource is based on 160 drill holes totaling 28,500 meters and containing oxide, mixed oxide-sulfide and sulfide rock types. The CK Gold Project mineralization is characterized by an even distribution of metal grades occurring as a large body of disseminated and vein/stockwork gold, silver and copper mineralization.

Using base case prices of $1,625 per ounce for gold and $3.25 per pound for copper  the pre-feasibility study (PFS) — SK-1300 PFS study — indicates a 10-year project with a manageable capital requirement of $221 million. CK Gold’s pre-feasibility study projects a total of 248.8 million pounds of copper and 1,017,000 ounces of gold will be produced over the life of the project.

The project shows a pre-tax net present value (NPV) of $323.3 million and an internal rate of return (IRR) of 39.4%. The company says the project enjoys an ideal geopolitical location in Wyoming, which has been supportive of its efforts.

U.S. Gold Corp. has assembled a team to continue expanding CK Gold Project’s current gold and copper resources and advance the project toward production. In addition, the company is developing effective community and government relations programs to minimize any future social challenges.

Positive Pre-Feasibility Study

“We have taken our time to carefully consider and optimize the potential of the CK Gold Project,” U.S. Gold’s President and CEO George Bee said. “From the outset and prior to me joining U.S. Gold Corp., the potential of the project in today’s market was obvious. A deposit that outcrops on the surface with a very low waste-to-ore ratio seemed to be attractive.

“The fact that the project is located in an excellent jurisdiction well versed in the extractive industries with everything that we need on the project doorstep, makes it very attractive. The work that we have done over the last year has confirmed and improved upon previous metallurgical test work. We have set about doing the work to ensure that there will be little or no non-manageable negative impacts on the environment and local community.” 

Already, some 200-plus full-time, high-paying jobs, royalty payments to Wyoming for kindergarten through 12th-grade education, tax payments and investment in the community have all been realized from a project with no danger from tailings, no refinery or smelter emissions and a benign process.

“We pivoted the company to focus on the development of the CK Gold Project, setting aside, for now, the compelling exploration portfolio we have in Nevada and Idaho,” U.S. Gold Founder Ed Karr said. “This decision has proven to be exceptional as we are poised to capture improvements in the gold and copper market in a project that can be brought to book in short order.”

In a statement released Dec. 2, the Cheyenne, Wyoming-based company provided access to the pre-feasibility study for the CK Gold Project.

Bee, said in the release, “The PFS assumes $1,625 per gold ounce and $3.25 per pound for copper, based on a weighted average of historic prices and consensus forward-looking price,” Bee said. 

With gold and copper prices around $1,800 and $4.25, respectively, the project appears to be very attractive with robust project economics. With the metals trading at higher prices than the pre-feasibility study assumes, they will positively impact the financials of the project, Bee said. With the 2021 field season behind it, the company is now in a position to continue onto project feasibility, permit submission and the next steps toward project development in 2022.

Read more about the SK-1300 Technical Report Summary here and U.S. Gold Corp. at usgoldcorp.gold.

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.