P2 Gold Secures Water Rights as Gabbs Project Advances Toward Feasibility

• P2 Gold has secured 2,500 acre-feet per year of water rights in the Gabbs Basin of Nevada for US$10.625 million, exceeding the estimated 1,500 acre-feet per year required at a 9 million tonne per year processing rate.
• The Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) approval is expected within 6 to 12 months, aligning with the targeted fourth quarter of 2026 Feasibility Study (FS) completion.
• The 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) outlines an after-tax Net Present Value at a 5% discount rate (NPV5%) of US$942.9 million and an after-tax Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 33.8% at a base case gold price of US$2,350 per ounce, rising to an after-tax NPV5% of US$2.253 billion and an IRR of 77.5% at $3,885 gold price in October 2025 spot prices.
• P2 Gold's 2026 workplan includes infill and expansion drilling now targeting 25,000 to 30,000 metres, Phase 4 metallurgical testing, environmental baseline studies, and a mineral resource update expected in the third quarter of 2026.
• As of January 2026, P2 Gold's market capitalisation stood at approximately US$111.2 million, compared to the base-case after-tax net present value at a 5% discount rate of US$942.9 million outlined in the October 2025 PEA.

Water Rights Secured: A Key Long-Lead Item Removed

P2 Gold Inc. has entered into a letter agreement to acquire 2,500 acre-feet per year of water rights in the Gabbs Basin of Nevada for US$10.625 million. The announcement addresses a critical long-lead item which management described as a major de-risking milestone for the project.

The volume acquired exceeds current requirements. Total make-up water for the process facilities, the volume required to operate the plant at full capacity, is estimated at approximately 1,500 acre-feet per year at 9 million tonnes per year throughput. The additional 1,000 acre-feet per year provides capacity headroom should the company proceed with a throughput increase to 12 million tonnes per year. Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) approval of the transfer is anticipated within six to twelve months, aligning with the timeline for the remaining feasibility workstreams and the targeted fourth quarter of 2026 feasibility study (FS) completion.

A Broader Pattern of Parallel Execution

The water rights acquisition reflects a project management approach that has characterised P2 Gold's advancement of Gabbs since acquiring the project: running workstreams in parallel rather than sequentially, accepting some rework risk in exchange for schedule compression. The 2026 programme illustrates an infill and expansion drill programme that began the year at a planned 15,000 metres is now tracking toward 25,000 to 30,000 metres, with a separate core drill programme for metallurgical and geotechnical sampling running concurrently. Environmental baseline studies are underway alongside the active mining plan of operations filing with the Bureau of Land Management, with some baseline work commenced before the mining plan was finalised.

President and Chief Executive Officer of P2 Gold, Joe Ovsenek described the rationale:

"What we're doing is we've started a lot of those studies up front before we have our mining plan of operations finalized, because we know there are certain things that are going to be looked at. We've hired local consulting firms that know the area. They've done this work for other mines, other projects. So we bring them in and get them working before the mining plan of operations is actually finalized, and so that gives us a bit of a jump start."

The approach carries execution risk, as baseline studies may require revision once the mining plan is finalised, but the company has treated this as an acceptable trade-off. The mineral resource update is targeted for the third quarter of 2026, feeding into the FS. First production is scheduled for 2029  subject to financing and permitting.

The Economics That Give the Schedule Its Urgency

The October 2025 PEA outlines a 14.2-year mine life at average annual production of 109,000 ounces of gold and 15,000 tonnes of copper, or approximately 174,400 gold-equivalent ounces per year. At base case prices of US$2,350 per ounce gold and US$4.50 per pound copper, the project returns an after-tax net present value (NPV5% ) at a 5% discount rate of US$942.9 million and an after-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 33.8%, with a 2.4-year payback on US$382.7 million in preproduction capital.

At October 2025 spot prices of US$3,885 per ounce gold and US$4.81 per pound copper, the after-tax NPV5% rose to US$2.253 billion, the IRR reached 77.5%, and the payback period fell to under one year. P2 Gold noted the disparity between the project's estimated present value and the company's current market capitalization of approximately US$111.2 million as of January 2026, pointing to the upcoming FS as a key milestone.

Ovsenek acknowledged the trajectory directly: 

"As we go through the feasibility and get our feasibility finalized, we should be raising, rerating up from that 250 million market cap to a billion CAD to a billion US, and that's through this year. Like, we have a line of sight on that."

What This Signals for the Broader Sector

The Gabbs water rights acquisition reflects a broader dynamic playing out across the junior developer landscape.  The scarcity of projects at Gabbs' stage and scale in Nevada is a structural feature of the current market. Projects that reach feasibility with permitted infrastructure, secured water, and a resource of sufficient scale to support 100,000-plus ounces of annual gold production are rare in the state. Based on the 2025 PEA, Gabbs is projected to rank as Nevada's fourth-largest gold producer and third-largest copper producer upon commencement of production.

What to Watch Next

• NDWR water rights transfer approval is expected within 6 to 12 months of the definitive agreement. Formal approval triggers the US$10.525 million balance payment and aligns with the targeted completion of the FS.
• Mineral resource update is targeted in the third quarter of 2026. The outcome will also determine whether the 9 million tonne per year versus 12 million tonne per year throughput question can be resolved.
• Feasibility study completion is targeted in the fourth quarter of 2026. The milestone management points to as the primary catalyst for a potential market re-rating. Capital cost estimates will be a key output given the US$382.7 million preproduction figure from the PEA.
• While the 2025 PEA estimates US$382.7 million in preproduction capital, the company has not yet announced its project financing structure.
• Environmental permitting progress is underway, with the full environmental permitting process slated to run through 2028 prior to the 2029 production target.

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