Mining News: Royal Gold nears earn-in at Peak

Contango ORE Inc. Nov. 10 reported that Royal Gold Inc. has invested US$28.7 million into the Peak Gold project in eastern Alaska, which nears the US$30 million required to earn a 40 percent joint venture interest in the project. Once Royal Gold has earned its interest, Contango ORE will pay 60 percent of the expenditures at Peak Gold, formerly known as the Tetlin project, and Royal Gold will pay 40 percent. Contango ORE recently raised US$1.2 million through the exercise of 124,999 warrants issued in 2013. The holders of these warrants were offered a 5 percent discount to exercise the warrants early, providing Contango ORE with additional financial flexibility. In unrelated transactions, 260,000 warrants were exercised in a cashless exercise at their original US$10 exercise price, leaving 196,000 warrants outstanding. Contango ORE now has US$16 million in cash with no debt, enough to cover its share of joint venture capital and overhead expenses for the foreseeable future.

The phase III program at Peak Gold, completed in mid-October, included eight holes offsetting the previously announced West Peak Extension area. While five of these holes intersected gold bearing mineralization, the thickness was not comparable to the earlier drilling that piqued interest in this zone just north of the Main Peak deposit. Contango ORE said future drilling at Peak West will depend upon final interpretation of the data by the joint venture’s exploration team. Two holes were also drilled near the North Peak area, assays are pending.

The Peak Gold exploration team also completed systematic stream sediment sampling program at Noah, a 75,400-acre block of state mining claims east of the Tetlin Village leased claims where the Peak zones are located. Contango said the sampling has identified three areas with anomalous gold or gold-copper stream sediments. “The exploration team will continue to focus on identifying additional mineral resources that can add to our already defined mineral resources at Main Peak and North Peak, while advancing our understanding of these gold and gold-copper anomalies in the Noah block. We are encouraged by the Noah block stream sediment sampling results and will see our understanding of this exciting area advancing in the 2018 exploration season,” said Contango ORE President Brad Juneau.

–SHANE LASLEY