A Hoped-For January Financing Deal Would Start CK Gold's US$394 Million Build

• U.S. Gold Corp hopes to reach a definitive project financing agreement for CK Gold around January.
• Development would begin immediately after the agreement, with equity coming in at the front end.
• The company intends to raise the construction capital predominantly through debt.
• Term sheets under review include convertible equity potentially priced at premiums to market.
• U.S. Gold Corp had 16,529,433 common shares outstanding at October 1, 2026.

CK Gold's Permits & the August Construction Schedule

U.S. Gold Corp (Nasdaq: USAU) has taken CK Gold, a gold-copper project about 20 minutes west of Cheyenne, Wyoming, to the point where project-level financing is the last step before the build. All major permits are in hand, including a Mine Operating Permit, which was the first new non-coal hard-rock permit approved in decades. The project is on State of Wyoming land with no direct federal involvement. Initial construction, starting with the mine access road, began in January 2026 under the Industrial Siting Permit, which has been extended through December 2027. 

The March 2026 feasibility study puts initial capital at US$394 million, plus pre-production owners' costs, with US$35 million of sustaining capital over an 11-year mine life at 20,000 tons per day. The base case, with an average output of 85,000 gold-equivalent ounces per year, uses US$3,250 per ounce for gold, US$4.50 per pound for copper, and US$40 per ounce for silver. At those prices, the study reports an after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate (NPV5%) of US$632 million, a 27% after-tax internal rate of return (IRR), and a 2.5-year payback period. At US$4,500 per ounce for gold, the after-tax NPV5% rises to US$1,155 million with a 42% after-tax IRR and a 1.6-year payback. Those sensitivities vary only the gold price, and the company is amending them to reflect higher copper prices.

The August plan put the financing and construction decision as soon as the second half of 2026, with a financing announcement and potential construction start as soon as late 2026. Team build-out was set for 2027, and an 18- to 24-month build was expected to support first production as soon as late 2028. Process plant design has reached the same study level, bids for major equipment are being solicited, and early contractor engagement has begun.

Definitive Project Financing Hoped for Around January

A definitive project financing agreement, hoped for around January, is now the next step in the process for CK Gold. That date falls after the late-2026 window the August plan set for a financing announcement, and management acknowledges that the timelines have dragged on a little.

Non-Independent Chairman and Co-founder of U.S. Gold Corp, Luke Norman, put a month on the agreement and on the work that follows it: 

"We'd like to see ourselves kind of in definitive agreement somewhere before, in January actually, around project financing, we hope. And from there we will immediately commence the development of the project."

Equity would come in at the front end of that development, with debt drawn later and not straight away. The company is engaging with several advisors and is finalizing which one will handle the response to the many term sheets it has already received. The company has been working through those term sheets slowly and is looking to ramp up the process with a new advisor.

U.S. Gold Corp does not publicly release each conversation it has on the financing stack. A Special Committee formed in August assesses all M&A interest, and the company works with an advisor on that side while its focus stays on developing CK Gold. 

Debt, a Silver Stream & Convertible Equity

U.S. Gold Corp intends to raise the full construction capital predominantly through debt, with other instruments available that would not hit the equity side of the balance sheet too hard. Interest in funding CK Gold is coming in particular from offtakers, the buyers who need the project's gold and copper concentrate. The mine will sell that concentrate at the gate, so no smelting facility forms part of the build. The concentrate contains little or no deleterious elements and is sent to off-site smelters. 

A silver stream is the instrument management regards as most useful in keeping the total equity figure low. The reserve contains 3 million ounces (Moz) of silver, 1.02 Moz of gold, and 260 million pounds of copper. About 2 to 3 Moz of silver are captured in the concentrate, and talks on streaming that silver are at the discussion stage and have not reached negotiation. The August plan already named potential debt, equity, streaming, and offtake partners, with priority on structures that would minimize shareholder dilution, and the company is also exploring vendor financing.

Norman pointed to an equity component on terms that would not count as equity on day one:

"We're looking at equity that's potentially at premiums to market. And not just premium to market, but convertible equity, so it doesn't actually represent as equity up front."

With a financing package in hand, management expects the project to re-rate higher.

Share Count, Cash & the Equity Slice

U.S. Gold Corp had 16,529,433 common shares, 2,824,787 warrants, and 642,872 options outstanding at October 1, 2026, and a market capitalization of US$245.6 million as of October 2026. U.S. Gold Corp trades on Nasdaq, while developers of this type have traditionally listed in Canada on the Toronto Stock Exchange or the junior exchanges. Management ties its tight share structure to that listing and aims to maintain it through the financing, keeping shareholders leveraged to gold and copper.

Cash stood at US$27.1 million on July 31, 2026, and the company does not plan to use it for development. That balance is operating capital held in reserve against an unexpected event. Management regards the treasury as enough for day-to-day operations for years. 

The company's recent raises were equity: a US$31.2 million private placement in December 2025 and registered direct offerings of US$10.2 million in December 2024, US$4.9 million in April 2024, and US$5.0 million in April 2023. The share price traded between US$12.23 and US$23.75 over the 52 weeks to October 2026. Management places U.S. Gold Corp on the Lassonde Curve, a lifecycle model of a mine's value from exploration to production, as it moves into the development stage. The model names funding among the risks a mine faces. 

The Path From Term Sheets to Construction 

Since President and Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Gold Corp, George Bee, joined in August 2020, CK Gold has moved from a pure exploration project to a fully permitted, shovel-ready development asset. Asked why the financing has taken so long, Norman set that record against the time a bank-led package needs:

"These things take a long time. I feel like we’re moving lightning speed. If you wanted to go and deal with one of the traditional banks, you're looking at 18 months just for the financing package." 

The build is a simple open pit on rock exposed at the surface, crushed, ground, and floated into a gold-copper concentrate. A small truck-and-shovel fleet works very short haul distances, and many existing equipment fleets are run by cost-competitive contractors. The site is about 3 miles north of Interstate 80, next to Cheyenne, a city of 125,000 people, with a full power grid within 16 miles. Fuel is a further exposure: if war-driven fuel prices remain at current levels, management expects them to have a limited impact through construction but a very large impact through ongoing production. 

Cost inflation is already in the study. Its changes include tariff and inflation impacts on operating and capital costs, as well as increases in initial capital costs due to design enhancements. Management regards the August timelines, including an 18- to 24-month build and first production as soon as late 2028, as still somewhat achievable. 

The Investment Thesis for U.S. Gold Corp

• CK Gold holds all major permits on State of Wyoming land, and project-level financing is the last step before the build. 
• U.S. Gold Corp hopes to reach a definitive project financing agreement around January, with development beginning immediately thereafter.
• The company intends to raise the construction capital predominantly through debt, with a possible stream on about 2 to 3 million ounces of silver.
• Term sheets under review include convertible equity potentially priced at premiums to market.
• The March 2026 study gives an after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate of US$632 million on US$394 million of initial capital at US$3,250 per ounce for gold.
• U.S. Gold Corp had 16,529,433 common shares outstanding at October 1, 2026, and cash of US$27.1 million as of July 31, 2026. 

The case for U.S. Gold Corp now turns on the terms of a financing it hopes to sign around January. A debt-led package with convertible equity, potentially priced above market, would fund US$394 million in initial capital. At the same time, U.S. Gold Corp aims to maintain a tight share structure, and development would begin upon signing.

TL;DR 

U.S. Gold Corp is assembling a debt-led financing for CK Gold's US$394 million build and hopes to reach a definitive agreement around January, with development beginning immediately thereafter. A possible silver stream and convertible equity potentially priced at premiums to market are the instruments on the table to keep the equity figure low for a company with 16,529,433 common shares outstanding. The August timelines have dragged on a little, and the hoped-for January agreement is the next dated step for the fully permitted project.

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