Black Pine among the largest gold projects in the western United States

[Ben Graham]

A resource update for Liberty Gold’s (TSX: LGD) Black Pine site in southeastern Idaho ranks it at the top of undeveloped gold projects in the state by contained ounces and in the region’s top three. Shares soared. 

The update gives Black Pine 502.7 million indicated tonnes grading 0.3 gram gold per tonne for 4.8 million oz., a 17% increase from the 4.1 million contained indicated oz. in the 2024 study, Liberty reported Tuesday. Inferred resources now total 157.1 million at 0.21 gram gold for about 1 million contained oz., a 47% increase in contained gold. Black Pine is about 380 km southeast of the state capital, Boise.

The addition of more than 700,000 indicated gold oz., and an expansion of 338,000 inferred gold oz., is a “solid result that meaningfully enhances the project’s scale,” Canaccord Genuity Capital Market analyst Peter Bell said in a note on Tuesday.

‘Strengthens project’s trajectory’

“[The update] not only grows the footprint but importantly lifts the higher confidence indicated inventory that underpins feasibility work,” he said. “We see this as a constructive result that strengthens the project’s trajectory toward development.”

The updated resource adds to significant tailwinds for Liberty Gold, after Black Pine – one of the few large-scale oxide gold deposits in the US – was added just weeks ago to the FAST-41 federal government program to quicken permitting. Its designation as a “covered project” gives it benefits such as a project advisor and timetable, enhancing the inter-agency coordination for the site.

Liberty Gold sets 2028 build clock for Black Pine under Idaho’s new SPEED Act

Liberty shares surged more than 3% to a 52-week high of C$1.42 apiece at mid-day Tuesday in Toronto, valuing the company at about C$723 million ($534 million).

Idaho’s golden crown

Compared to other projects in Idaho, the total contained ounces put Black Pine ahead of Revival Gold’s (TSXV: RVG) Beartrack-Arnett project, which hosts about 4.6 million global contained oz., and Freeman Gold’s (CSE: FMAN) Lemhi project, with about 1.46 million contained ounces.

In the Intermountain West region of the United States, Black Pine ranks third behind AngloGold Ashanti’s (NYSE: AU; JSE: ANG) Beatty District projects in northern Nevada, which host about 19.7 million oz. gold; and Hycroft Mining’s (Nasdaq: HYMC) namesake project in southern Nevada, with 14 million ounces.

“This updated mineral resource estimate has achieved indicated resource growth and expanded the total resource footprint which are important steps for the Black Pine project as we move closer to mine development,” Liberty CEO Jon Gilligan said in a release.

“With totals of just under 5 million gold ounces of resource in the indicated class, and just over 1 million gold ounces of inferred mineralization, Black Pine is solidly positioned to deliver a feasibility study in the fourth quarter of this year.”

The update is based on results from 462,662 metres of drilling across 3,010 holes, Liberty said.

The preliminary feasibility study estimated Black Pine’s post-tax net present value at $550 million, with a 32% post-tax internal rate of return and with all-in sustaining costs at $1,380 per ounce. That was based on a price assumption of $2,000 per oz. gold and a 5% discount rate.