Kinross Gold Corporation (TSE: K) (NYSE: KGC) subsidiary Kinross Gold U.S.A has gotten the 2025 exploration program underway at the Pipeline West/Clipper Gold Project (PWC) at the Cortez mining district of the Battle Mountain Eureka Trend.
Riley Gold Corp (CVE: RLYG) (OTCMKTS: RLYGF) announced the beginning of the drill campaign in a Tuesday press release. Riley owns the PWC, and Kinross Gold operates it on an exploration earn-in agreement started in March. Kinross has the right to earn up to 75 per cent of PWC by spending USD$20 million.
Kinross has identified new high-priority drill targets at the PWC property that have never been tested. The first 2025 framework drill holes lie about 2.5 kilometres north-northwest of the initial Kinross drill hole completed in late 2024. Furthermore, these holes aim at the highest-grade gold-in-soil anomalies on the property.
The company also compiled geologic mapping, geophysical surveys, historical drill results, and gold-in-soil data in Leapfrog software to support the new drill locations. Furthermore, recent geologic modelling and interpretation provided a strong structural framework for the 2025 Exploration and Drill Program.
Kinross has awarded drill contracts, begun permitting, and expects drilling to start in four to six weeks. Additionally, the company plans further soil sampling during the 2025 field season to expand geochemical coverage beyond Riley Gold’s 2023 survey. That survey identified significant gold-in-soil anomalies stretching over 3 kilometres. It also showed elevated levels of pathfinder elements linked to Carlin-type and intrusive-related gold systems.
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Carlin type deposits require specialized processing
Kinross successfully completed its first deep framework drill hole at PWC (PW24-01) in the fall of 2024. The goal was to search for favourable Carlin-type gold host rocks—specifically lower plate carbonates. The hole reached a depth of 3,597 feet (1,096 metres).
Carlin gold refers to microscopic gold found in sedimentary rocks, mainly in Nevada. It forms through hydrothermal fluids rich in minerals. These fluids deposit gold in carbonate rocks, especially limestone. As a result, the gold is invisible to the naked eye. Additionally, Carlin-type deposits often contain arsenic, antimony, and mercury. Therefore, specialized processing is required to extract the gold.
PW24-01 tested a large part of the 25 km² PWC property where no deep drilling had occurred before. The drill hole intercepted a 1,251-foot (380-metre) thick zone of lower plate carbonate rocks, starting at 2,346 feet (715 metres). This also included 1,193 feet (364 metres) of the Devonian Wenban Formation, a key gold-bearing rock in Nevada.
The results show that rocks known to host large gold deposits in the nearby Cortez District also exist at PWC. Furthermore, these rocks lie at drillable depths across a wide, unexplored area close to the Pipeline mining complex.
“Kinross has been amazing to work with and we have full faith that their strong technical team, along with Riley Gold’s PWC technical lead, Mr. Paul Dobak, have detailed a plan for success,” said Todd Hilditch, CEO of Riley Gold.
“Kinross has successfully identified stratigraphy and lithology at explorable depths, within the PWC Project, similar to that of local large gold deposits like the Fourmile discovery and the Cortez Complex owned and operated by Nevada Gold Mines LLC.”
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Kinross is a major player in Nevada
Nevada is one of the world’s top gold-producing regions, with multiple gold trends spanning across the state. These trends include the Carlin Trend, Cortez Trend, Getchell Trend, and Eureka-Battle Mountain Trend. Each has yielded significant gold discoveries and continues to attract both major and junior exploration companies.
Kinross Gold is a major player in Nevada. It operates the Round Mountain mine, a large open-pit heap leach operation in Nye County. Additionally, Kinross holds the Gold Hill project nearby, which supplies higher-grade ore to Round Mountain. The company also continues to explore early-stage opportunities across the state, including recent drilling at the PWC property.
Further east lies the Battle Mountain-Eureka Trend. This trend hosts some of the richest sediment-hosted gold systems in North America. The region features extensive Carlin-type mineralization and strong structural controls that make it a priority for exploration.
Calibre Mining Corp (TSE: CXB) (OTCMKTS: CXBMF) operates in this trend through its Pan Mine in White Pine County. The Pan Mine is a producing open-pit heap leach operation with expansion potential. Additionally, Calibre owns the nearby Gold Rock project, which is fully permitted and expected to enhance long-term production. The company acquired these assets through its 2022 purchase of Fiore Gold.
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