Getchell Gold Corp. has filed a Preliminary Economic Assessment for its 100%-owned Fondaway Canyon gold project in Nevada, delivering substantial upward revisions across key metrics compared to the previous study published in February 2025.

The updated economic model is underpinned by a base case gold price of US$3,200 per ounce, yielding a pre-tax net present value discounted at 8% of US$1 billion and a pre-tax internal rate of return of 58.8%. On an after-tax basis, the net present value sits at US$905 million with a 53.1% internal rate of return.

These figures represent a more than 60% increase in base case net present value compared to the 2025 study, calculated at US$546 million pre-tax using a US$2,250 gold price and a 10% discount rate. The improved economics are driven by a higher gold price assumption, increased annual throughput, and a simplified process flowsheet.

The study contemplates an open-pit mining operation using contract mining alongside a conventional milling plant. Mill throughput is scaled up to 12,000 tonnes per day, compared to 8,000 tonnes previously. The operation targets an initial life of mine of approximately 10 years, processing 42.8 million tonnes of mill feed at an average grade of 1.38 grams per tonne gold.

Total recovered gold is estimated at 1.52 million ounces, with average annual production projected at 150,000 ounces. That represents a 28% increase in both contained recovered ounces and annual output compared to the 2025 study, which anticipated 117,300 ounces annually.

Initial capital costs are estimated at US$265.3 million, which includes US$188.4 million in initial capital expenditure and US$76.9 million in capitalized stripping over four years, alongside a 20% construction contingency of US$31.4 million. The pre-tax payback period is estimated at 1.6 years, marking a sharp improvement from the 3.1-year payback in the 2025 study. Life-of-mine operating costs are estimated at US$1,373 per ounce, with total cash costs at US$1,740 per ounce.

The processing circuit uses three stages of crushing, ball mill grinding, rougher flotation, and three stages of cleaner flotation to produce a high-grade concentrate grading approximately 20 grams per tonne gold. This concentrate would be trucked and sold to a third-party refinery for pressure oxidation or roasting followed by cyanidation to produce doré.

Getchell expanded its land position at the project by 50% in November 2023 to 1,871 hectares, securing control over the entire four-kilometre gold corridor. The scope of the current Preliminary Economic Assessment remains limited to open-pit mineral resources within the Central Area, leaving underground resources and other targets uncaptured in the current mine plan.

“At $3,200 per ounce base case gold price, the PEA outlines a highly robust, US$1 billion pre-tax net present value, open pit mining operation. Considering the Project's sensitivity to gold price, the economic potential of the Fondaway Canyon project at today's gold price is staggering.”

— Mike Sieb, President

Additional metallurgical test work has been recommended to further optimize grind size, refine the flotation process, and define dry stack tailings costs. Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves have not demonstrated economic viability, and the preliminary economic assessment remains preliminary in nature.

Read the full announcement: Getchell Gold Corp. Files $1 Billion NPV Preliminary Economic Assessment - Fondaway Canyon Gold Project, NV