U.S. Gold Corp's Expanded Land Control & the Reduction of Development and Permitting Risk at CK Gold

• Expanded land control at the CK Gold Project is expected to reduce permitting, execution, and community-related risks, a persistent friction point for US mine developers entering construction phases.
• U.S. Gold Corp.'s acquisition of both operational and buffer land provides development flexibility for a mid-cap developer, strengthening its transition from a permitted asset to a build-ready project.
• Wyoming's state-level permitting regime, combined with strategic land consolidation, positions CK Gold differently from federally encumbered US projects facing multi-year approval uncertainty.
• Infrastructure adjacency, Interstate 80 access and proximity to Cheyenne, is expected to lower future operating friction, labour bottlenecks, and logistics risk, factors often underweighted in feasibility models but heavily penalised by markets.
• As investors increasingly price schedule certainty and social licence, CK Gold provides a case study in how early, non-headline decisions can influence internal rate of return durability, payback timing, and re-rating potential.

Why Land Control Is Becoming a Critical Investment Variable in US Mine Development

The valuation framework for development-stage mining assets has undergone structural revision. Resource confidence and feasibility economics remain foundational, but the market now assigns material weight to execution probability, specifically, the ability to advance from permit to production without schedule disruption, cost overruns, or third-party opposition.

Historic valuation models prioritised net present value sensitivity to commodity prices and discount rates. Today, investors apply schedule-sensitivity frameworks that penalise perceived execution risk before it materialises. A six-month delay in construction can compress internal rate of return by 200 to 300 basis points, while a twelve-month delay may erode payback periods enough to trigger re-financing or equity dilution.

The US Permitting Paradox

The United States presents a contradiction. Commodity prices remain supportive, infrastructure is mature, and capital markets are deep. Yet permitting friction has intensified at both federal and local levels. Projects subject to National Environmental Policy Act review have faced multi-year timelines in recent cycles, with some approvals extending five to seven years or longer.

State-managed permitting regimes offer a structural alternative. Wyoming, Montana, and Nevada operate their own regulatory frameworks for projects on state or private land, bypassing federal processes when Army Corps of Engineers or Bureau of Land Management involvement is not triggered. These regimes have historically compressed timelines and reduced political variability. For developers, this distinction is material, it converts permitting from an open-ended liability into a bounded risk.

Land ownership has emerged as a gating factor. Developers who control sufficient acreage to accommodate mine infrastructure, buffer zones, and auxiliary facilities reduce their exposure to zoning disputes, third-party appeals, and permitting amendments.

Expanded Land Control as a Strategic Lever: What CK Gold Illustrates

U.S. Gold Corp's approach to land acquisition at CK Gold demonstrates forward positioning. The company has secured land parcels beyond the immediate pit boundary, including a recently acquired 110-acre buffer zone west of the project and a 10-acre parcel at North Range Business Park to serve as a workforce muster point and shuttle hub.

The distinction between operational land and auxiliary land is often underestimated in feasibility studies. Operational land supports the pit, waste dumps, and processing plant. Auxiliary land accommodates contractor facilities, workforce logistics, water management infrastructure, and transportation corridors. When auxiliary land is leased or requires easements, developers introduce scheduling dependencies and cost variables that are difficult to control.

Why Buffer Zones Matter More Than Investors Realise

Buffer zones provide physical separation between mining activities and adjacent land uses, reducing noise transmission, dust dispersion, and visual impact. They also create legal and operational distance from potential sources of opposition. A developer who owns buffer land substantially reduces the risk that adjacent landowners will contest permits, file injunctions, or demand mitigation measures not anticipated in the original mine plan.

Permitting amendments triggered by neighbour complaints or environmental group appeals have delayed US projects by months or years. In some cases, amendments require supplemental environmental impact statements, public comment periods, and additional agency review. Buffer ownership does not eliminate these risks entirely, but it is expected to reduce their probability.

George Bee, Chief Executive Officer of U.S. Gold Corp., frames the company's jurisdictional positioning:

"You can count on one hand the number of fully permitted projects in a safe jurisdiction like the United States."

Infrastructure Adjacency & the Economics of Schedule Certainty

CK Gold is located approximately 20 minutes west of Cheyenne and three miles north of Interstate 80, with mine access four miles from a paved state road. This adjacency compresses labour transport times, simplifies equipment delivery, and lowers consumables logistics costs, each contributing to sustaining capital efficiency and all-in sustaining cost stability.

Labour transport is particularly relevant in Wyoming, where workforce availability is high but commute distances can extend operating costs. Workers based in Cheyenne can commute daily rather than requiring rotational fly-in, fly-out schedules or temporary accommodation.

George Bee describes the workforce logistics advantage:

"With our location, people can go home at night, live in Cheyenne... we're very competitive on the labor side and then being in the center of a mining hub, it means that we haven't had to build a whole host of warehousing and critical spares."

Schedule Risk & Internal Rate of Return Sensitivity

Internal rate of return is highly sensitive to production timing. A twelve-month delay in first production reduces net present value by approximately 8 to 12 percent, depending on discount rate assumptions and commodity price forecasts. Markets penalise perceived schedule risk even before it materialises.

Land control and infrastructure access directly influence construction timelines. Developers who own staging areas, haul road corridors, and buffer zones avoid permitting amendments and easement negotiations that can extend schedules. U.S. Gold Corp has addressed early-stage infrastructure requirements, including acquisition of the North Range Business Park parcel to facilitate workforce mobilisation ahead of the anticipated 2026 construction startup.

Permitting Risk: Why CK Gold's Land Strategy Is Structurally Different

Wyoming operates a state-level permitting regime for mining projects on state land, bypassing National Environmental Policy Act processes when federal land or federal agencies are not involved. For CK Gold, this translates into a permitting pathway that has proven both shorter and less politically variable than projects subject to Bureau of Land Management or Forest Service oversight.

CK Gold has secured all major permits required for development, including the Mine Operating Permit (approved April 2024), Industrial Siting Permit (approved June 2023, extended through 2026), Air Quality Permit (approved November 2024), WYPDES water discharge permit (approved May 2024), and Reclamation Bond (accepted June 2024). The project operates on state land with no direct federal involvement, as the mine plan design purposely avoids Army Corps of Engineers jurisdiction.

George Bee explains the strategic approach:

"We've stuck to an initial 10-year mine plan. 10 years means that we don't involve Army Corps of Engineers or the federal government in any way."

Real Estate as a Permitting Risk Hedge

Land ownership reduces third-party appeal risk. Developers who lease operational land or lack buffer zones introduce points of vulnerability where adjacent landowners, environmental groups, or local governments can contest permits or demand mitigation measures. Ownership internalises these variables, reducing the number of external stakeholders who can influence permitting outcomes.

CK Gold's expanded land control provides this structural hedge. The company owns buffer zones, auxiliary land, and infrastructure corridors, reducing exposure to zoning disputes or neighbour opposition.

Development Flexibility & Long-Life Asset Planning

Surplus land provides optionality that extends beyond initial mine planning. Expanded land control allows for layout optimisation and phasing adjustments without triggering permit amendments. If waste dump capacity becomes constrained, additional land is available. If processing throughput increases, plant expansion can occur on controlled property.

Land ownership also simplifies environmental, social, and governance obligations. Progressive reclamation is easier to implement when the developer controls all land within the project boundary. Closure liabilities can be managed more predictably, as land-use commitments are not subject to third-party lease terms.

CK Gold in the Context of Development-Stage Valuation

CK Gold's February 2025 Updated Pre-Feasibility Study outlines all-in sustaining costs of $937 per gold-equivalent ounce, post-tax net present value at five percent discount of $356 million (at $2,100 per ounce gold), post-tax internal rate of return of 30 percent, and a payback period of 2.12 years. Initial capital expenditure is estimated at $277 million, with life-of-mine production of 1.112 million gold-equivalent ounces from a 20,000-tonne-per-day open pit operation.

The company is advancing its Final Feasibility Study, anticipated near year-end 2025, which is expected to reflect improved net economic performance driven by higher metal prices and technical optimisations including Jameson cell flotation technology.

The payback period of 2.12 years under base-case assumptions, compressing to 1.31 years at $3,000 per ounce gold, assumes construction proceeds without material delays. Land control, infrastructure adjacency, and state-level permitting reduce the probability of schedule slippage.

U.S. Gold Corp has secured competitive power pricing through a local provider that owns in-state generation, eliminating a capital cost that would otherwise appear in project financing requirements.

George Bee describes the metallurgical advantage:

"Our concentrate is very clean, no impurities which really draw penalties from the smelters... we've got offtakers who are very keen let's say to grab our production."

Market Re-Rating Mechanics

Investors typically re-rate development-stage assets at feasibility study completion, construction financing, and visible de-risking events. Land acquisition, permit approvals, and infrastructure commitments reduce the discount rate applied to future cash flows by lowering execution uncertainty.

CK Gold has crossed several thresholds. The project holds all major construction permits, controls expanded land parcels including strategic buffer zones, and has addressed early-stage infrastructure requirements. The company reported $11.3 million in cash as of July 2025, with additional capital raised through registered direct offerings. The project is targeting a 2026 construction startup.

The Investment Thesis for U.S. Gold

• Execution certainty increasingly drives valuation as investors penalise permitting and community friction that extends construction timelines or increases capital requirements.
• Expanded land control reduces non-technical risk, improving confidence in construction schedules and capital efficiency by eliminating dependencies on third-party leases, easements, or buffer negotiations.
• State-level permitting regimes provide clearer timelines and lower political variability than federal pathways, reducing the probability of multi-year delays or interagency coordination failures.
• Infrastructure adjacency lowers long-term operating friction, stabilising all-in sustaining costs and ramp-up performance by reducing labour transport premiums, equipment delivery costs, and consumables logistics complexity.
• Developers that invest early in non-headline risks, land acquisition, workforce logistics infrastructure, power arrangements, tend to outperform peers as projects move toward production, as markets reward execution readiness with compressed valuation discounts.

Why Land Control Is No Longer a Footnote in Mine Valuation

Expanded land ownership is strategic risk management. CK Gold illustrates how early decisions on land acquisition, infrastructure adjacency, and jurisdictional positioning shape long-term investor outcomes. Development flexibility, permitting resilience, and execution certainty are increasingly material inputs into valuation frameworks, particularly in US jurisdictions where social and regulatory friction defines success.

Projects that address these variables early compress the discount rate applied to their economics and reduce the probability that non-technical obstacles will compress internal rate of return or extend payback periods. U.S. Gold Corp's approach at CK Gold demonstrates how early, strategic decisions accumulate into structural advantages. Land control is no longer a footnote, it is a core component of execution strategy, and markets are beginning to price it accordingly.

TL;DR

U.S. Gold Corp has strategically expanded land control at the CK Gold Project in Wyoming, acquiring buffer zones and auxiliary parcels that reduce permitting, community opposition, and execution risks. The project benefits from Wyoming's state-level permitting regime, bypassing federal NEPA processes entirely. All major permits are now secured, including Mine Operating, Industrial Siting, and Air Quality permits. Located 20 minutes from Cheyenne with Interstate 80 access, CK Gold minimises labour and logistics friction. The February 2025 Pre-Feasibility Study projects 30% IRR, $356M NPV, and 2.12-year payback at $2,100/oz gold. Construction startup is targeted for 2026, with a Final Feasibility Study expected by year-end 2025.

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