Hycroft's Mine Plan: Potentially Redefining the Path for a Major US Silver-Gold Asset

• The billion-tonne Hycroft Mine resource is driving updates to the mine plan and infrastructure to support a significantly expanded operational scope.
• Measured and indicated resources now total 16.4 million ounces of gold and 562.6 million ounces of silver, significantly expanding the project’s scale.
• High-grade silver discoveries at Vortex and Brimstone provide potential underground mining optionality within the broader bulk-tonnage system.
• Metallurgical trade-off studies are evaluating pressure oxidation (POX) versus roasting for sulfide ores, with prior testing showing 82.8% gold and 77.5% silver recoveries.
• The expanded drill program and technical studies support resource growth, conversion of inferred material, and upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results, advancing the project toward development decisions.

Resource Scale & Composition: The Billion-Tonne System Reshaping Project Parameters

Hycroft Mining Holding Corporation released an updated mineral resource estimate for the Hycroft Mine, the first since 2023, incorporating results from 70 recent drill holes, two new high-grade silver discoveries, metallurgical improvements, and updated commodity price assumptions. The update represents an approximately 55% increase in measured and indicated gold and silver resources, significantly expanding the potential mine life and long-term production profile. Measured and indicated (M&I) resources now total 16.4 million ounces of gold and 562.6 million ounces of silver, with inferred resources adding 5.0 million ounces of gold and 132.8 million ounces of silver.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Hycroft Mining, Diane Garrett, described the magnitude of the update, characterising the increase across both metals:

"We've just put out a new resource which is the first one we've completed since 2023, and it is a staggering, on average 50% increase in gold and silver. In the gold category, measured and indicated, we had about 10 and a half million ounces of gold, and now we're over 16 million ounces, plus we have a substantial amount of inferred material, and on the silver, we were at 362 million ounces, and now we're just shy of 600 million with more in the inferred category."

The project sits on a land package exceeding 64,000 acres, with the resource defined solely by the extent of drilling completed to date, and the current footprint covers less than 10% of the land package. Resource bases of this scale can support longer mine lives, larger production profiles, and potential valuation re-ratings as future economic studies incorporate updated parameters.

High-Grade Silver Discoveries at Vortex and Brimstone: Underground Optionality Within a Bulk System

Within the broader bulk-tonnage resource at the Hycroft Mine, Hycroft Mining has identified two distinct high-grade silver systems at Vortex and Brimstone, first discovered in late 2023 and advanced through a 14-month drill program that produced an initial resource estimate. The initial high-grade resource totals 90.2 million ounces of measured and indicated (M&I) silver and 13.4 million ounces of inferred silver, alongside 299,000 ounces of M&I gold and 51,000 ounces of inferred gold. Notable drill intersections include 18.2 metres grading 1,987.35 grams per tonne of silver, while drilling at Vortex has extended mineralisation 70 metres northwest and 90 metres down-dip with the system remaining open in all directions and at depth. 

Garrett confirmed the company's approach to advancing both the large-scale and high-grade components of the project simultaneously:

"We are doing the economics on the large project, and then we're at the same time bringing in an engineering firm to help us assess the underground mining potential of these high-grade systems."

The updated development framework evaluates bulk open-pit mining of sulfide mineralisation as the primary strategy, combined with potential underground production and a possible early restart of heap leach operations for oxide-suitable material to generate cash flow ahead of constructing a sulfide milling operation.

Metallurgy & Processing: Oxide vs. Sulfide & the Pressure Oxidation-Roasting Trade-Off

Processing strategy is a central variable in the development plan for the Hycroft Mine, where oxide ores can be processed through heap leaching while sulfide ores require pre-treatment to oxidise sulfide minerals before conventional gold and silver recovery methods are effective. Metallurgical testing using pressure oxidation (POX) has demonstrated recoveries of 82.8% for gold and 77.5% for silver, establishing an initial benchmark as engineers evaluate a trade-off study between POX and Roasting as the two primary sulfide pre-treatment pathways.

The expanded billion-tonne resource has also required redesign of key infrastructure components, particularly the tailings storage facility (TSF), which must scale with the total volume of ore processed. Final capital and operating cost estimates will depend significantly on the processing route selected through the ongoing metallurgical trade-off study.

Drilling Expansion & Development Risks: What Investors Should Watch

Hycroft Mining is executing its largest drill programme under current management, with approximately 26,000 metres of core drilling and 8,200 metres of reverse circulation (RC) drilling targeting expansion of the Vortex and Brimstone high-grade silver systems and heap leach material, supporting assessment of a potential heap leach restart. Two additional core rigs are planned for the second half of 2026, bringing the total fleet to five rigs, while key catalysts include completion of the metallurgical trade-off study, updated Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) results, ongoing drilling outcomes, and the heap leach restart assessment. 

The independent engineering firms preparing the PEA have advised that additional time is required beyond the original end of the first quarter of 2026 target. The revised timeline reflects the additional engineering work required to fully incorporate the expanded billion-tonne resource into the mine plan and infrastructure design. The company has characterised this as a growth-driven adjustment rather than a technical or operational issue.

Development risks include resource conversion, as a significant portion of the mineral inventory remains inferred and must be upgraded to measured and indicated (M&I) through further drilling for economic modelling. Metallurgical optimisation and processing selection, along with capital and infrastructure complexity, including expanded tailings facilities and expanded mine planning, represent additional uncertainties, and the project has not yet completed a full feasibility study, making the PEA-level economics treated as indicative rather than definitive.

The Investment Thesis for Hycroft Mining

• The updated billion-tonne resource now totals 16.4 million ounces of gold and 562.6 million ounces of silver (M&I), providing the foundation for a potential expanded operation with a large-scale production profile.
• High-grade silver discoveries at Vortex and Brimstone introduce underground mining optionality, with a staged development framework offering a pathway to stronger early-phase cash flows ahead of full sulfide mill construction.
• The largest drill programme under current management is expanding known high-grade zones, supporting resource growth, resource conversion from inferred to M&I, and near-term catalysts such as updated Preliminary Economic Assessment results and heap leach restart assessment.
• Infrastructure scaling, particularly for the tailings storage facility, is being redesigned to accommodate the expanded resource and expanded mine plan.

Taken together, the scale of the resource base, the optionality introduced by high-grade discoveries, and the advancement of technical studies position Hycroft as a significant undeveloped precious metals asset. The updated Preliminary Economic Assessment and continued exploration results represent the critical near-term data points for investors assessing how resource scale translates into a viable long-term operation.

TL;DR

Hycroft Mining’s updated billion-tonne resource now contains 16.4 million ounces of gold and 562.6 million ounces of silver, with newly discovered high-grade Vortex and Brimstone zones providing potential underground optionality. The company is evaluating bulk open-pit mining of sulfide ores with early heap leach for oxide material, while metallurgical trade-offs between POX and roasting inform processing strategy. Its largest drill program under current management is expanding high-grade zones and converting inferred resources, supporting upcoming PEA results and development decisions, with infrastructure components including the tailings storage facility being redesigned to accommodate the expanded resource base and updated mine plan.

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