NYSE: CLOSED
TSE: CLOSED
LSE: CLOSED
HKE: CLOSED
NSE: CLOSED
BM&F: CLOSED
ASX: CLOSED
FWB: CLOSED
MOEX: CLOSED
JSE: CLOSED
DIFX: CLOSED
SSE: CLOSED
NZSX: CLOSED
TSX: CLOSED
SGX: CLOSED
NYSE: CLOSED
TSE: CLOSED
LSE: CLOSED
HKE: CLOSED
NSE: CLOSED
BM&F: CLOSED
ASX: CLOSED
FWB: CLOSED
MOEX: CLOSED
JSE: CLOSED
DIFX: CLOSED
SSE: CLOSED
NZSX: CLOSED
TSX: CLOSED
SGX: CLOSED

Revival Gold Positioned to Reboot Historic Idaho Gold Mine into Robust New Operation

  • Revival Gold is advancing the past-producing Beartrack-Arnett gold project in Idaho, USA
  • A recently completed Preliminary Feasibility Study outlined plans to restart open pit heap leach operations with 65k oz/yr production over 8 years
  • Initial capital of $109M is relatively low, providing leverage to the gold price which has averaged over $1,800/oz since 2020
  • The project has a large 2.4M oz gold resource with exploration upside to potentially expand the mine life
  • Revival Gold has an experienced management team with proven track records in the mining sector

Revival Gold Inc. is a Canadian exploration and development company focused on advancing the past-producing Beartrack-Arnett gold project located in Lemhi County, Idaho, USA. The project area covers approximately 5,800 hectares and hosts the former Beartrack open-pit gold mine that produced over 500,000 ounces of gold in the 1990s. Through targeted exploration and resource expansion drilling in recent years, Revival Gold has grown the project's mineral inventory and completed a Preliminary Feasibility Study in 2023 outlining plans for a potential restart of open pit heap leach operations.

With robust economics, low capital requirements to re-establish production, continued exploration upside to expand resources, and an experienced management team, Revival Gold represents a compelling investment opportunity. The company provides leveraged exposure to the gold price in a top mining jurisdiction while advancing a brownfield project with established infrastructure.

Project Overview and Location

The Beartrack-Arnett gold project is located in Lemhi County, Idaho approximately 50km north of the town of Salmon. The property is accessed via a 2km private road from Highway 93 which provides year-round access. The project area has a long history of mining activity dating back to the late 1800s, with modern exploration programs in the district recommencing in the 1970s.

Between 1994 and 2000, Meridian Gold placed the Beartrack deposit into production as an open pit heap leach operation, producing over 500,000 ounces of gold. The former mine benefited from excellent infrastructure still in place today, including a crushing circuit, leach pads, processing plant, tailings storage facility, water treatment plant, assay lab, mining fleet maintenance facilities, and grid hydroelectric power.

The Arnett deposit, located just 5km from Beartrack, was discovered in the 1990s but remained undeveloped by Meridian. Since acquiring the claims in 2017, Revival Gold has focused exploration efforts here resulting in an expanded mineral resource. The close proximity of the two deposits provides synergy for any potential future restart of operations.

Idaho is considered one of the most mining-friendly jurisdictions globally, ranking among the top quartile in the Fraser Institute's Investment Attractiveness Index. The local community near the Beartrack-Arnett project has expressed support for responsible resource development and the associated employment opportunities. Revival Gold has received strong backing from county and state government representatives.

Preliminary Feasibility Study Results

In August 2023, Revival Gold released the results of a Preliminary Feasibility Study completed by third-party independent consultants. The study outlines a plan for an initial 8-year heap leach operation processing 12,000 tonnes per day of ore from the Beartrack and Haidee deposits. This would produce an average of 65,000 ounces of gold per year for a total life-of-mine production of 529,100 ounces.

The project benefits substantially from the existing infrastructure at the site resulting in pre-production capital costs estimated at only $109 million. With a total life-of-mine sustaining capital of $100 million, the overall capital intensity is very low at just $206 per ounce of gold production.

Operating costs are modeled at $986 per ounce and the PFS estimates an all-in sustaining cost of $1,235 per ounce. This cost profile is competitive with Revival Gold's US-based open pit heap leach peers. At a gold price assumption of $1,800 per ounce, the PFS demonstrates robust economics for the project restart with an after-tax NPV of $105 million and 24% IRR. The payback period is just 3.4 years from the start of production. The project stands out for its relatively low technical risk given extensive existing infrastructure and straightforward conventional open pit mining and heap leaching process.

The PFS production schedule focuses on near-surface oxidized material from Beartrack and Haidee in the initial years, with some higher-grade transitional and sulfide material blended in from underground at Beartrack in later years. Metallurgical test work has shown excellent expected recoveries for the oxidized ore, averaging 84% for Beartrack and 86% for Haidee.

While the base case economics are already solid, there is excellent potential to enhance project value beyond what is assumed in the PFS. The company is targeting opportunities such as a coarser crush size at Haidee, higher heap leach tailings recovery at Beartrack, lower operating and capital costs from further optimization studies, and integration of new exploration targets into the mine plan.

Mineral Resource Estimate

Incorporating all drilling completed through May 2022, Revival Gold announced an updated mineral resource estimate for Beartrack-Arnett in July 2023. This estimate forms the basis for the PFS mine plan and serves to highlight the exploration upside and organic growth potential remaining.

Across both deposits, the project hosts an estimated 2.36 million ounces of gold in the Measured & indicated category. The Inferred mineral resource totals an impressive additional 2.17 million ounces of gold.

The Beartrack deposit has an estimated Measured & Indicated open pit heap leach resource of 22.3 million tonnes at 0.99 g/t gold containing 714,000 ounces. The Inferred resource adds a further 15 million tonnes at 0.92 g/t gold for 446,000 ounces of potential open pit heap leach material.

At Haidee, the Measured & Indicated open pit heap leach resource totals 18.5 million tonnes at 0.78 g/t gold for 465,000 ounces of gold. The Inferred resource adds another 7.7 million tonnes at 0.44 g/t gold for 108,000 ounces.

Beartrack also hosts underground higher-grade sulfide mineralization, with an Inferred resource of 5.2 million tonnes at 3.97 g/t gold containing 664,000 ounces of gold. This material provides a potential phase two milling opportunity.

The Beartrack-Haidee trend remains open to expansion along strike and at depth. The PFS only assumes an 8-year mine life based on current reserves, but the sizable remaining resources signal excellent potential to extend the heap leach operation well beyond this initial timeframe. Ongoing exploration drilling also provides upside for making new discoveries to further grow the resource inventory.

Exploration Potential

A key part of the investment thesis for Revival Gold lies in the outstanding exploration upside that remains across the broader Beartrack-Arnett project area. Since acquiring the claims in 2017, the company has made one of the largest new gold discoveries in the United States over the past decade. Systematic exploration programs have demonstrated that the Beartrack-Haidee mineralized trend extends for over 5km of strike length and remains open in multiple directions.

Recent drilling has targeted mineralization extensions at the Haidee deposit with strong results including 16.6 g/t gold over 4.5 meters in hole BT22-242D. These results demonstrate the potential to expand the higher-grade material at Haidee.

Beyond Haidee, several other greenfield targets exist along the trend that the company is advancing toward the drilling stage. Early rock chip sampling has returned grades as high as 40 g/t gold at the Roman's Trench target just 2km south of Haidee. Geophysical surveys have also highlighted the potential of targets such as Rabbit and Midlands.

At the Joss high-grade sulfide target, located south of the Beartrack pit, Revival Gold has drilled long intercepts of 2-8 g/t gold with impressive widths up to 115 meters. All 20 holes drilled at Joss to date have intersected gold mineralization pointing to a sizeable zone of gold enrichment. Joss appears analogous geologically to other world-class orogenic sulfide deposits. Additional drilling could outline a sizable resource at Joss for potential future underground mining.

Between Beartrack and Joss, geophysics have outlined prospective structural targets at South Pit and Ward's Gulch. These targets have seen limited drilling but present opportunities for new near-surface oxide discoveries that could feed into an expanded Beartrack heap leach operation.

In summary, Beartrack-Arnett is still in the early stages of exploration. There remains a strong potential to significantly increase resources beyond the 2.4 million ounces currently defined. Ongoing exploration success could substantially extend the 8-year mine life contemplated in the PFS. With continued systematic exploration, Revival Gold is positioning Beartrack-Arnett as a nucleus that could ultimately support a +200koz per year multi-decade operation.

Management and Leadership

An important aspect of evaluating any mineral development company is assessing the experience and track record of management. In the case of Revival Gold, the executive team and board of directors carry impressive credentials that instil confidence in their ability to successfully advance the Beartrack-Arnett project.

President and CEO Hugh Agro is a professional mining engineer with over 30 years of experience. He previously held senior roles with Kinross Gold and Eldorado Gold.

General Manager Pete Blakeley who has past experience with the original Beartrack mine development when it was operated by Meridian Gold in the 1990s. He is joined by the very capable Lisa Ross, a CPA with senior finance experience at Kirkland Lake Gold and other miners. Blakeley was formerly the Site Manager at Beartrack under Meridian.

Chairman Wayne Hubert offers invaluable perspective, having previously been CEO of Andean Resources which developed the Cerro Negro gold mine before being acquired by Goldcorp. Andean shared many similarities to Revival Gold.

VP of Engineering & Development John Meyer and VP of Exploration Steve Priesmeyer round out the core technical team. Meyer is a registered professional engineer with open pit and underground mine design expertise. Priesmeyer is a certified professional geologist focused on gold systems with experience spanning from grassroots exploration through feasibility studies.

Multiple board members also lend their diverse experience with mining finance, development projects, and corporate strategy. Overall, Revival Gold is positioned with the leadership team necessary to prudently advance Beartrack-Arnett up the value chain.

Investment Thesis Summary

• Revival Gold offers an attractive investment exposure to the gold developer space. Led by an accomplished team, the company is working to restart the former Beartrack gold mine in Idaho as an open pit heap leach operation.

• The recently released PFS demonstrates robust economics based on an initial 8-year mine life, highlighted by a rapid payback period and 24% IRR at $1,800/oz gold. With existing infrastructure in place, the pre-production capital cost is only $109 million. This provides excellent leverage to the gold price which has averaged over $1,800/oz since 2020.

• Beartrack-Arnett is more than just a near-term production opportunity. The +5km mineralized trend remains open to resource expansion from ongoing exploration. There is excellent potential to significantly extend the contemplated 8-year mine life from both open pit and underground resource growth.

• In a top-tier mining jurisdiction like Idaho, open pit heap leach projects with solid base case economics represent lower technical risk and can be placed into production relatively quickly compared to large-scale mills. But layered on top, Beartrack-Arnett has immense upside potential from still being in the early stages of exploration and discovery.

•. For investors seeking exposure to gold developers, Revival Gold offers an asymmetrical risk-reward proposition. Their seasoned team is primed to create substantial shareholder value by leveraging existing infrastructure at a brownfield site with abundant expansion possibilities remaining.

Analyst's Notes

Institutional-grade mining analysis available for free. Access all of our "Analyst's Notes" series below.
View more

Subscribe to Our Channel

Subscribing to our YouTube channel, you'll be the first to hear about our exclusive interviews, and stay up-to-date with the latest news and insights.
Revival Gold
Go to Company Profile
Recommended
Latest
No related articles

Stay Informed

Sign up for our FREE Monthly Newsletter, used by +45,000 investors