30th January 2026 North America Newsletter
30th January 2025 North America Newsletter
Featured News
Borealis Mining (TSXV:BOGO)
Completed its first production blast at the Borealis Au mine in Nevada as it transitions into sustained mining operations. The blast was completed within the East Ridge open pit and fragmented 40kt of material that is being excavated and hauled to the heap leach. Borealis has existing infrastructure, including permitted open pits, a permitted heap leach pad, and an on-site ADR plant. “The completion of our first blast is a defining operational milestone for Borealis. It reflects the successful execution of our restart plan and the efforts of our site team and contractors. With this milestone achieved, we are focused on safely advancing toward consistent, sustained mining operations,” said COO Andreas Steckenborn.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Orezone Gold (TSX:ORE)
Is to acquire Casa Berardi Au mine in Quebec from Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL) for upfront and deferred consideration of US$352M and contingent consideration of $241M comprising $160M in cash and $112M in Orezone stock, 9.9% of its issued and outstanding shares, and $80M of deferred consideration. The contingent consideration consists of $10M linked to Au prices, and $231M based on permitting and future Au production. The deal gives ORE a second Au mine and diversifies its risk from Burkina Faso into a tier 1 mining jurisdiction. Casa Berardi hosts reserves of 14.4Mt @ 2.79g/t for 1.3Moz, with 2026 production guidance of 83-91koz. It has exploration upside in several well-established mineralized zones.
Franco-Nevada (NYSE:FNV) provided $100M via a Au stream financing for fixed deliveries of 1,625oz per quarter for the first five years and then variable amounts equal to 5% of Au produced from Casa Berardi and other Quebec assets, plus 2.5% of Au produced from Heva-Hosco. Au delivered under the stream will be paid for at 20% of the spot price. “The combination of Casa Berardi and Bomboré creates a multi-asset platform with strong production and free cash flow, positioning Orezone for near-term growth and long-term value creation,” said president & CEO Patrick Downey.
McEwen (NYSE/TSX:MUX)
Is to acquire Golden Lake Exploration (CSE:GLM) in an all stock C$12M deal at a 60% premium to obtain the Jewel Ridge and Jewel Ridge West projects adjacent to its Windfall and Lookout Mountain discoveries at its Gold Bar mine in the Eureka district of Nevada. GLM shareholders will receive 0.003876 MUX shares for each share held, representing a 12c per share. GLM closed the day before at 7.5c.
Financing
Novagold to raise US$200M
Novagold Resources (NYSE-A/TSX:NG) entered a bought deal of 20M shares @ US$10 for proceeds of $200M, with a cornerstone $140M order from a leading European institution. Proceeds will fund exploration at the Donlin Au project in Alaska, and settlement of its prepayment option on the Barrick Mining (NYSE:B) promissory note.
Ascot raised C$175M
Ascot Resources (TSXV:AOT.H) closed the second and final tranche of a best efforts brokered private placement of charity flow-through and hard dollar units. The proceeds of both tranches totalled C$175M. The second tranche consisted of 34.2M FT units @ 73c for proceeds of $25M and 116.4 HD units @ 60c for proceeds of $69.8M. Each unit is comprised of one share and half a warrant exercisable @ 85c for a year. Proceeds will further develop the Premier Au mine and Red Mountain project in BC. AOT appointed Alex Morrison as non-executive chair to replace Indi Gopinathan.
Osisko Development to raise US$125M
Osisko Development (NYSE/TSX:ODV) entered a bought deal of 35.3M shares @ US$3.54 for proceeds of $125M. Proceeds will fund infill conversion drilling and at depth exploration at the Cariboo Au project in BC.
Gold X2 to raise C$115.9M, AngloGold invests
Gold X2 Mining (TSXV:AUXX) announced a non-brokered strategic investment of C$115.9M consisting of 75.7M charity flow-through shares @ $1.233, and 23.8M 000 units @ 95c to be acquired by Michael Hess, CIO of Hess Capital. Each unit is comprised of one share and a warrant exercisable @ $1.42 for two years. Proceeds will advance exploration and resource expansion at the Moss Au project in Thunder Bay, Ontario. AngloGold Ashanti agreed to acquire 59M shares through the CFT offering to take a 9.9% stake. AGA and AUXX will enter into an investor rights agreement.
International Tower Hill to raise US$60M
International Tower Hill Mines (NYSE-A:THM) launched a US$60M stock offering where Paulson & Co agreed to purchase $40M. Proceeds will fund exploration and development of the Livengood Au project
Lion Copper raised US$30.5M from Nuton
Lion Copper and Gold (CSE:LEO) received US$30.5M from Rio Tinto’s Nuton subsidiary under an earn-in agreement relating to the Yerington Cu project in Nevada to advance the FS and permitting activities.
IsoEnergy raised C$25M
IsoEnergy (NYSE-A:ISOU) closed a non-brokered private placement of 1.7M shares @ C$15 to NexGen Energy (NYSE/TSX:NXE) for proceeds of $25M. Proceeds will fund the continued development and further exploration of the mineral properties in Canada, the US and Australia.
West Point to raise C$20M
West Point Gold (TSXV:WPG) entered a best efforts private placement of 18.2M shares @ C$1.10 for proceeds of $20M. Proceeds will fund exploration at the Gold Chain project in Arizona.
K2 to raise C$15M
K2 Gold (TSXV:KTO) announced a non-brokered private placement of 21.4M shares @ 70c for proceeds of C$15M. Proceeds will fund exploration at the Mojave and Si2 projects in California.
Trident to raise C$15M
Trident Resources (TSXV:ROCK) entered a bought-deal of 4M flow-through shares @ C$3.76 for proceeds of $15M. Proceeds will fund further exploration, mineral resource expansion and drilling at Au projects in the La Ronge belt of Saskatchewan.
Premier American to raise C$13M
Premier American Uranium (TSXV:PUR) upsized a bought deal to 14.4M units @ 90c for proceeds of C$13M. Each unit will consist of one share and half a warrant exercisable @ C$1.26 at for three years. Proceeds will fund exploration and advancement of Ur projects in New Mexico and Wyoming.
Maple Gold to raise C$12M
Maple Gold Mines (TSXV:MGM) entered a best efforts private placement of 3.5M flow-through shares @ C$3.40 for proceeds of C$12M and a concurrent non-brokered private placement of $4M. Strategic investor Michael Gentile intends to participate to maintain his 8.4% partially diluted interest.
Gold Headlines
Gold X2 Mining (TSXV:AUXX)
Announced a PEA and updated resource estimate for its Moss project in Ontario that outlines production of 265koz/y Au & 374koz/y Ag at an AISC of US$1,188/oz over an initial 13.2 year mine life. The project will yield an after-tax NPV5 of C$2.2B, IRR of 22.1% and payback of 3.2 years at a base case of US$2,750/oz Au & US$35/oz Ag. These improve to $6.6B, 48.6% and 1 year at spot metal prices following an initial capital investment of C$2B.
Moss now hosts an indicated resource of 64Mt @ 1.03g/t Au & 1.53g/t Ag containing 2.2Moz Au & 3.2Moz Moz. “The company has done extensive work internally and with G Mining to ensure a realistic high-quality study underpinned by solid geological and engineering work. We look forward to advancing towards a FS and the formal permitting process in 2H27,” said CEO Michael Henrichsen.
Mako Mining (TSXV:MKO)
Released an updated resource estimate for the Moss Au gold project in Arizona that now hosts an estimated M&I open pit resource of 57.1Mt @ 0.35g/t Au & 3.7g/t Ag for 646koz Au & 6.8Moz Ag at a 0.17g/t AuEq at US$2,500/oz Au and $29.2/oz Ag. “No further net capital infusions will be required to bring Moss into steady state production, which is scheduled to commence later this quarter,” said CEO Akiba Leisman.
Thunder Gold (TSXV:TGOL)
Announced a resource estimate at its Tower Mountain property in Ontario with an indicated Resource of 34.5Mt @ 0.46g/t containing 514Koz and 3.1Moz in inferred resources using a US$3,000/oz Au price. “The estimate confirms a large, continuous resource fully contained within an optimized open pit, demonstrating the project’s strong development potential,” said president & CEO Wes Hanson.
Gold Drilling
250 Tectonic Metals (TSXV:TECT)
Announced results from regional exploration drilling at four target areas on its Flat project in Alaska, highlighted by the discovery of at-surface, high-grade Au mineralization at the Black Creek Intrusion target that returned 48.77m @ 4.5g/t in hole 59, including 24.38m @ 7.79g/t starting from surface. “Our first pass drilling at Black Creek is transformative [as it] confirms high-grade Au in a fundamentally different host rock than the monzonite-dominant mineralization we have defined at Chicken Mountain and Alpha Bowl,” said president & CEO Tony Reda.
220 McEwen (NYSE/TSX:MUX)
Announced drill results from the Gold Bar mine in the Eureka district of Nevada, including the best hole to date at Windfall, which returned 44.2m @ 5.55g/t. Windfall, Lookout Mountain and Unity Ridge are three deposits at Gold Bar that MUX is advancing towards production as part of a plan to double production by 2030. MUX is completing a resource estimate for Lookout Mountain that will be published in February. MUX plans to invest US$10M in exploration in 2026 at Gold Bar.
160 Eldorado Gold (NYSE:EGO)
Discovered four new high-grade zones at the Lamaque Complex around the Ormaque deposit and extensions to the historic Lamaque mine in Quebec and the start of studies to unlock a potential expansion. Highlights included 13.5m @ 13.59g/t in hole 135A at Ormaque SE, a new high-grade flat-lying vein system. “These successes, along with emerging targets on the wider Bourlamaque property highlight a compelling opportunity for low-risk, capital-efficient organic growth, mine life extension, and sustained value creation within EGOs portfolio.
As a result of recent exploration success and the potential for additional resources in close proximity to the Sigma mill, the company has commenced studies to expand throughput from its current capacity of 2,500tpd towards its fully permitted capacity of 5,000tpd,” said CEO George Burns.
150 Spanish Mountain Gold (TSXV:SPA)
Reported assays from seven exploration drill holes within the Orca Fault target trend at the Spanish Mountain project in the Cariboo district of BC. It has completed 9,864m of the 9,000-10,000m of exploration drilling planned in 2025. Highlights included 133.57m @ 1.35g/t in hole 1322. Mineralisation has been hit over 530m in strike length in the Orca Fault area. Results reinforce that tighter exploration drill spacing is unlocking additional mineral potential.
West Red Lake Gold Mines (TSXV:WRLG)
Announced drill results from infill and conversion drilling at the Rowan project in the Red Lake District of Ontario. 38 holes for 6,000m are being drilled with 33 completed and results received for seven. Highlights included 1m @ 141.5g/t in hole 192b in vein 13 with visible Au. A resource estimate at Rowan is planned for 2Q26. “Our updated mineralized domain model that was completed in April 2024 has been holding true with veins and mineralized zones being intercepted where expected. The main targets for this program are Veins 1, 4, 6b and 13, but we are also intercepting mineralization along trend of other modeled veins in the system,” said VP exploration Will Robinson.
130 Alamos Gold (NYSE/TSX:AGI)
Reported from 2025 exploration at the Lynn Lake project in Manitoba, and Qiqavik project in Quebec, where drilling continues to extend and define new Au mineralization. Drilling at Lynn Lake focused on the Linkwood and Burnt Timber satellite deposits that are expected to leverage the infrastructure being constructed for Lynn Lake, extending mineralization beyond the reserves in the 2025 study.
Highlights at Linkwood included 5.25m @ 21.7g/t in hole 82, at East Foster 6.26m @ 27.68g/t in hole 70, and at Burnt Timber 13.04m @ 2.77g/t in hole 73. At the Avinngaq target at Qiqavik Project, highlights included 2.1m @ 54.44g/t in hole 9. “Our success at Lynn Lake is expected to drive additional reserve and resource growth and highlight the potential for further production upside over the life of the project. At Qiqavik, our first year of drilling intersected high-grade Au mineralization across multiple targets demonstrating the potential for a significant discovery in the underexplored region,” said president & CEO John McCluskey.
Scottie Resources (TSXV:SCOT)
Reported assays from drilling various zones within the Blueberry Contact Zone, at the Scottie project in BC. Highlights included 3.3m @ 34.3g/t in hole 420 within the Lemoffe vein zone. 16,000m of 27,000m drilled in 2025 have been reported. “These results reinforce the strength and continuity of high-grade gold mineralization at Blueberry. “Hole 424 is a great example of the efficiency of our targeting at Blueberry, delivering multiple strong intercepts from separate vein zones,” said president Dr Thomas Mumford.
92 Radisson Mining Resources (TSXV:RDS)
Announced assays from seven new drill holes at its O’Brien project in the Abitibi region of Québec from an ongoing 140,000m step-out program to test the overall scope of Au mineralization. Broad mineralized zones with high-grade vein intercepts at trend #1 extended mineralization to 1,450m vertical depth, 375m below the existing mineral resources. Highlights included 4m @ 23.37g/t in hole 322W3. “We continue to push the limits of known mineralization at O’Brien outwards and downwards. … Beneath the historical O’Brien mine, we have been reporting for the past 12 months the progressive delineation of a broad system of high-grade veins showing good continuity with the former mine workings above,” said president & CEO Matt Manson.
70 Westhaven Gold (TSXV:WHN)
Reported results from the final five drill holes of its 2025 program at the Shovelnose project in the Spences Bridge Belt in BC. Highlights included 70.79m @ 1.13g/t Au & 14.1g/t Ag in hole 442 in South Zone, including 8.05m @ 6.18g/t Au & 89.7g/t Ag. 2026 drilling is expected to start in February, funded through a C$85M earn-in agreement with Dundee Corporation. “This year’s program has significantly advanced our understanding of the structural and geochemical controls on Au mineralization, outlining several new areas with strong potential to host epithermal veining and associated Au mineralization beyond the established South Zone, FMN, and Franz deposits,” said president & CEO Ken Armstrong.
60 Cariboo Rose Resources (TSX:CRB)
Reported the results of two diamond drill holes for 568m on its Lightning Strike Au-Ag project in BC. Highlights included 44.4m @ 1.51g/t AuEq in hole 1.
50 Hemlo Mining (TSXV:HMMC)
Reported assays from its 2025 E-Zone exploration drilling program at the Hemlo mine in Ontario that indicates E-Zone extends 1km vertically and 500m E-W. It is interpreted as a potential analogue to the C-Zone system, which has estimated historical production from underground and open pit operations of 3.7Moz. Highlights included 5m @ 19.11g/t in hole 6702501. “The E-Zone, near surface and close to existing underground development, represents an attractive opportunity to potentially increase future mineral resources and reserves at Hemlo. Advancing this zone has the potential to simplify mining sequences and provide optionality for increased mining rates in the future,” said president & CEO Jason Kosec.
HMMC also initiated a 130,000m exploration drilling program aimed at extending mine life, de-risking the near-term mine plan and identifying near-mine growth opportunities, with 70,000m targeting conversion of inferred resources to indicated for an updated technical study planned for 2H27, 30,000m of high-definition drilling to de-risk the short-term mine plan over the next two years, and 30,000m of growth drilling outside the current resource footprint. “This 130,000m program represents a step-change in ambition for HMMC. … With a strong mineral reserve base, robust economics, and existing infrastructure, we believe this program positions us to extend mine life, grow reserves, and create long-term value in a supportive Au price environment,” said Kosec.
46 Cassiar Gold (TSXV:GLDC)
Announced results from the final 5,243m over 11 diamond drill holes at the Cassiar project in BC. The 2025 program comprised 7,308m in 20 holes. Results reported here identified a new higher grade, visible Au-bearing structure, and extended known mineralization at the Newcoast prospect. Highlights included 15.7m @ 3.8g/t in hole 17. “Intercepts at Newcoast further validate our belief that Cassiar continues to offer considerable untapped regional potential,” said president & CFO Marco Roque.
Lahontan Gold (TSXV:LG)
Announced assays from Phase Two drilling at the Santa Fe project located in Nevada’s Walker Lane district with results for two RC holes in the south Slab pit area for 396m. Highlights included 69m @ 0.45g/t AuEq that extend mineralisation S.
Aztec Minerals (TSXV:AZT)
Received results from five RC drill holes from the Contention mine area in the Tombstone property. Highlights included 44.1m @ 77.7g/t Ag & 1.16g/t Au for a 158.97g/t AgEq in oxidized mineralization in hole 31. 45 RC holes have been drilled in the 2025-2026 program.
Copper Drilling
Imperial Metals (TSX:III)
Reported the first diamond drill hole from the nine-hole, 3,718, Mount Polley 2025 phase 2 diamond drill program which included 11m @ 4.43% Cu, 1.53g/t Au & 41.7g/t Ag in hole 268. The program aimed to test a high-grade zone beneath the Wight Pit, to expand and determine the boundaries for mineralization in the higher Au grade encountered at depth in the C2 zone, and to test beneath the previously mined Bell Pit for depth extension.
American Eagle Gold (TSXV:AE)
Reported one of the strongest drill results to date at its NAK project in BC, highlighting a wide, near-surface, high-grade interval that demonstrates continuous mineralization from surface to depth. Highlights included 802m @ 0.71% CuEq from surface, including 375m @ 1.01% in hole hole 78.
Amarc Resources (TSXV:AHR)
Reported remaining assays from the 2025 expansion drilling at the AuRORA Cu-Au-Ag deposit in BC that now measures 1.4km by 800m km. 24 core holes for 9,687m were completed of which 23 were expansion step-out holes. “AuRORA has rewritten the exploration playbook in the Toodoggone and stands as one of the most important recent porphyry Cu-Au discoveries in BC,” said president & CEO Dr Diane Nicolson.
Gladiator Metals (TSXV:GLAD)
Reported assays from the last 32 drill holes for 8,072m drilled at its Cowley prospect in Yukon in 2025. Drilling on the Northern Limb continued to intersect near-surface, continuous high-grade mineralization, highlighted by hole 112D2 that returned 92m @ 1.03% Cu from 2m. High-grade skarn mineralization in the Southern Limb was extended vertically by 85m from previous drilling. Cowley now boasts a lateral footprint of over 1,200m in strike length, 450m in width, and 300m in depth.
A sub-parallel zone of mineralization was intercepted at depth with magnetic data pointing to over 600m of untested strike potential. “These latest results from Cowley represent a significant step forward in our understanding of the system. … Also noteworthy is the discovery of a new, subparallel zone of mineralization at depth. This new zone, combined with the fact that the main body remains open, highlights the substantial scale and growth potential at Cowley,” said CEO Jason Bontempo.
Critical Minerals Drilling
Noble Plains Uranium (TSXV:NOBL)
Announced results from 20 drill holes at its Duck Creek Ur project in Wyoming’s Powder River Basin. Highlights included 35.5 feet of 0.202% eU₃O₈ in hole 96. “These results reinforce our confidence that Duck Creek can support a meaningful, scalable Ur resource,” said CEO Drew Zimmerman.
Transition Metals (TSXV:XTM)
Reported assays from its Saturday Night PGE project in Ontario that saw the extension of hole 3X beyond the basal contact and two new holes for 1,463m. Drilling expanded the known mineralized footprint of magmatic sulphide mineralization associated with the basal portions of the Saturday Night intrusion. The PGE-Ni-Cu mineralized envelope measures 800m by 200m. Highlights included 14.44m @ 0.61g/t Pt-Pd-Au & 0.13% Cu in hole 3. “We see similarities to the proximal phases to the higher-grade sequences we previously encountered at our nearby Sunday Lake discovery, and reinforce our interpretation that Saturday Night represents a large, fertile magmatic system,” said CEO Scott McLean.
Tomagold (TSXV:LOT)
Announced assays from drill holes 14 & 15 on its Berrigan mine project in the Chibougamau camp in Quebec, with hole 15 intersecting semi-massive mineralization at depth. Highlights included 98.5m @ 5.75% ZnEq. “This very encouraging result suggests the presence of a large mineralized system that remains open at depth,” said CEO David Grondin. LOT will launch a new drilling program at Berrigan as soon as it receives the results of the last three drill holes.
Paul Harris
Paul has more than twenty years’ experience in the mining sector in investor relations, communications, research and news reporting roles. Paul has 16 years’ experience in the Colombia gold sector including investor relations roles with Continental Gold, Gran Colombia Gold and Mineros.
Paul founded the successful Colombia Gold Symposium in 2016 and has written for industry leading publication Mining Journal since 2015. Previously, Paul spent five years in Chile reporting and researching the copper sector for CRU and Metal Bulletin. Paul received a BA in Business Administration from the University of the West of England, UK; and a MA in International Relations from the University of Chile, Santiago Chile. He is fluent in English and Spanish.
Disclaimer
The content and materials featured or linked to on Mining Network are for your information and education only and are not attended to address your particular personal requirements. The views expressed in this article are those of the columnist and not necessarily of Mining Network Ltd.
The information does not constitute financial advice or recommendation and should not be considered as such. Mining Network is not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), it’s authors are not financial advisors and it is therefore not authorised to offer financial advice.
Always do your own research and seek independent financial advice when required. Any arrangement made between you and any third party named or linked to from the site is at your sole risk and responsibility. Mining Network and its associated writers assume no liability for your actions.
The value of investments and any income derived from them can fall as well as rise and you may not get back the original amount you invested.
