U.S. Gold Eyes Wyoming Project

While recent mining in Wyoming has centered around energy commodities and industrial minerals, the state has a long history of hard rock mining. We know thousands of years ago humans utilized the metal deposits near present day Hartville to fashion tools and weapons. Wyoming’s hard rock mines drove the early settlement of many communities in the state. Western Laramie County is home to numerous historic mines, in fact, the area is known as the Silver Crown Mining District. While major mining operations ended just prior to World War II, the mining legacy of the area can still be seen in the remnants of the town of Hecla and an ore mill southeast of Curt Gowdy State Park. Potentially economic quantities of gold, copper, and other metals remain in the area. A few years ago, U.S. Gold Corp. (Nasdaq: USAU) acquired the lease for the former Copper King Mine located on State of Wyoming owned land, as well as leases on adjacent fee lands. The Copper King Mine was developed in 1881 by the Adams Copper Mining and Reduction Company and later operated by the Hecla Mining Company. Since 1938, the site has been drilled for core samples by at least eight different companies. In August 2020, George Bee joined U.S. Gold Corp. as the new President and CEO. He has significant experience around the world developing new mines for companies such as Barrick Gold, Anglo American, and Rio Tinto. Mr. Bee has renamed the site the CK Gold Project and assembled a team to take a new look at the prospects. Last fall, the company drilled a number of exploratory holes and wells to take core samples and insert water monitoring equipment. This summer, drilling will resume to obtain additional geologic samples and baseline water qualities, to confirm preliminary findings which suggest the project is both viable and will have a net benefit to the area.

Previous analysis indicates about 182 million pounds of copper and 692,000 ounces of gold can be recovered using gravity and froth floatation recovery methods. This process will create a concentrate that will be shipped to existing smelters off-site for final processing. The onsite processing is rather benign, with no stack emissions, roasting or cyanide leaching common in other areas. The mine is estimated to have about a ten-year production life, employing about 150-200 people at site, with significantly more during the initial construction phase. There will be an additional two-year reclamation period, post-mine life. The company is exploring the feasibility of several post mining uses for the site, including a reservoir for water storage. Ultimately, geologic and rock chemistry analysis will determine what is possible. Throughout the rest of 2021, the company will be conducting additional studies to better understand the site, the extent of the resource in place, area hydrology, local impacts and economics. This summer, the company plans to release a prefeasibility report, which will likely lead directly into a feasibility study. The findings will determine the next steps. Area landowner and stakeholder outreach is an important part of this effort. The company has conducted over 40 meetings with over 100 local and regional stakeholders. U.S. Gold Corp. strives to be a good corporate citizen and is actively listening to concerns and comments. Understanding those issues now can help design a better project to best mitigate impacts and enhance opportunities. In early 2021, the company opened an office in Cheyenne to provide a local presence and location for people to learn more about the project.

The CK Gold Project would provide a significant economic boost to southeastern Wyoming and tax coffers. Since the project is located on a State-owned section, the royalties would directly fund education, not to mention the revenue from the ad valorem, sales and use and severance taxes.

U.S. Gold Corp. is excited about the prospects of opening the first hard rock mine in Wyoming in decades. We look forward to working with the rest of the mining community and are currently prioritizing Wyoming consultants and vendors to assist with the project. If the projects proceeds, we will focus on engaging with additional Wyoming companies to make the mine a reality. The next 12 months will be extremely busy and we will share updates as new information becomes available.

BY: JASON BEGGER President of Armature Advocacy, LLC