Getchell Gold plans updated PEA for Nevada project
Getchell Gold Corp. [GTCH-CSE, GGLDF-OTCQB, GGA1-FWB] has outlined its objectives for the Fondaway Canyon gold project in Nevada, saying it aims to expand the mineral resource by targeted drilling, including an initial program of 3,000 metres.
One of the objectives in 2025 is to conduct additional testwork to demonstrate increased recoveries. The move comes after metallurgical testwork in support of preliminary economic assessment (PEA) reported highly satisfactory gold recoveries of 84%, the company said in a press release.
“Given the potential for significant increases generated by the planned 2025 drill program and metallurgical testwork, and the likelihood of a substantially higher gold price regime, the intent is to produce an updated PEA that could result in a improvement beyond the current robust PEA, the company said.
Getchell shares eased 6.7% or $0.015 to 21 cents on Friday. The shares trade in a 52-week range of 29.5 cents and $0.07.
Fondaway Canyon is one of two projects that the company gained an option to acquire four years ago from Canagold Resources Ltd. [CCM-TSX, CRCUF-OTCQB, CANA-FRA], a company that was previously known as Canarc Resources. The other was the Dixie Comstock property, which is also located in Churchill County, Nevada.
Fondaway Canyon is an advanced stage gold property. The land package contains 170 unpatented lode claims and has a history of previous surface exploration and mining in the late 1980s and early 1990. In November, 2023, the company expanded its claim holdings by 50%, bringing the total claim area to 1,871 hectares, a move that gave the company sole control over a the entire four-kilometre long east-west gold corridor.
The Dixie Comstock property is situated 17 kilometres northeast of Fondaway Canyon on the eastern flank of the Stillwater Range.
An updated mineral resource estimate for Fondaway was published in September, 2024, more than doubling the historical mineral resource defined at the outset. The company delineated an indicated resource of 13.5 million tonnes at an average grade of 1.49 g/t gold, totalling 648,000 ounces of gold and an inferred resource of 44.8 million tonnes at 1.16 g/t gold, amounting to 1.67 million ounces of gold. Notably the gold mineralization starts at surface, a significant oxide cap was identified, and the resource remains open in most directions for further exploration. In February, 2025, the company published a preliminary economic assessment at Fondaway. The PEA outlined an open-pit mining operation coupled with a conventional 8,000 tonne-per-day milling process, projecting an initial mine life of approximately 10.5 years The economic analysis highlighted robust project economics, with a pre-tasx net present value of US$546 million and 51,2% internal rate of return, plus an after-tax NPV of US$474 million.