Firetail secures option to acquire two high-grade USA gold projects

The company has entered into a binding option agreement with Athena Gold Corp (Athena Option Agreement) for the exclusive right to acquire 80% of the Excelsior Project, Nevada, and 100% of the Bella Project, South Dakota.

The Excelsior Springs Project (Excelsior) is located in Nevada within the Walker Lane Trend, which has produced over 40 Moz of gold. The trend hosts multiple past, current, and pre-development gold mines including the AngloGold Ashanti Silicon/Merlin Project, Kinross Gold Corp.’s Round Mountain Mine, and the Comstock Project. Excelsior has a history of high-grade production, with the Buster Mine producing over 19 koz at 41 g/t Au. Modern exploration has defined a target area with a current strike length of 3.5 km and a width of 200 – 400 m of intense silica and clay alteration and has reported multiple significant high-grade gold drill intercepts which warrant follow-up exploration. Geophysics, lithology mapping, and sampling supports further mineralised trends across the wider mineral claim.

The Bella Project (Bella) is located in South Dakota within the Homestake Gold Belt, which hosts approximately 85 Moz Au of historic and current production. Stratigraphic correlation with the Homestake Mine has concluded that the Banded Iron Formation sequences at Bella are the pre-tectonic strike extension of the Homestake Mine Sequence. In other words, prior to faulting and offset, the Bella Project was part of the Homestake Mine sequence. The mineralisation is typically focussed around structurally thickened hinges of Banded Iron Formations with enriched zones observed to host substantial amounts of pyrrhotite.

Firetail’s Managing Director, Glenn Poole, commented:

“The acquisition of such high-calibre gold assets will complement our current portfolio and leverages off the board’s strengths, enabling us to diversify our exposure to the prevailing strong gold and copper prices. The Excelsior Springs Project represents an advanced, drill-proven opportunity with gold from surface, and the mineralisation remaining open in all directions with the potential to deliver an expedited resource – reinforced by the presence of further historic mines within the mineral claim that highlight the potential precious metal endowment of the area.

“The Bella Project sits in the shadow of a giant, with the Homestake mine being one of the most notable in modern history. The evidence we see on the ground – of extensive mineralisation-hosting Banded Iron Formation and multiple, significant grades occurring across the wider project area is highly encouraging. The opportunity to follow up on multiple, extensive, historically producing trends that have not been drilled in the modern era in a district known for its size and scale is hugely exciting.”

Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/finance-business/03062025/firetail-secures-option-to-acquire-two-high-grade-usa-gold-projects/