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Spanish Mountain Gold drills 40.7 metres at 1.26 g/t gold and files PEA

The conceptual larger-pit option contains 4.4 million ounces, while a potential resource update is targeted for year-end.

Mara Quinlan·
An exposed rock face in a generic hillside exploration trench illustrates near-surface mineralization.
An exposed rock face in a generic hillside exploration trench illustrates near-surface mineralization. Illustration: Mugglehead, generated with AI.

Spanish Mountain Gold Ltd. CVESPA OTCMKTSSPAUF FRAS3Y reported on Monday that drilling intersected 40.7 metres grading 1.26 grams per tonne gold at its British Columbia project. The interval begins 16 metres downhole, providing shallow higher-grade material to assess in a 60,000-metre program supporting the proposed mine’s feasibility study, according to the release.

Shares closed higher at C$0.23 on the TSX Venture Exchange at 4 p.m. EST on Nov. 6, according to CVESPA. That session preceded Monday’s announcement.

Spanish Mountain also said it filed its updated preliminary economic assessment on SEDAR+ on Nov. 6. The release describes an alternative larger pit containing approximately 348 million tonnes of mineralized mill feed at 0.39 grams per tonne gold, drawn from measured, indicated and inferred resources.

The company has completed approximately 47,011 metres of drilling, with results pending for 49 holes. It is targeting a potential resource update by year-end and feasibility-study completion in the first half of 2028, followed by a build decision.

Monday’s assays cover 21 diamond drill holes from the Main Deposit program, which combines infill drilling with resource expansion. Hole 26-DH-1421 returned the headline interval.

That interval sits within a broader run of 138.55 metres grading 0.50 grams per tonne gold, beginning 14.85 metres downhole. The quoted intervals are measured down the hole.

Hole 26-DH-1429 also returned 43 metres grading 0.93 grams per tonne gold. That interval starts 51 metres downhole.

“We see the potential for an even larger scale gold operation in a region of British Columbia, Canada where jobs and economic opportunities are critically needed to support a vibrant community,” chief executive Peter Mah said in Monday’s release.

The base-case economics were announced on Sept. 21. At an assumed gold price of US$3,600 an ounce, the PEA estimated an after-tax net present value of US$2.156 billion using a five per cent discount rate.

The Sept. 21 study estimated an after-tax internal rate of return of 35.2 per cent, with initial capital of US$1.05 billion. The study projected a 25.8-year mine life and a 1.8-year capital payback at its base-case price.

Life-of-mine payable production rose to 3.33 million ounces from 3 million ounces in the previous PEA. The newly filed technical report has an effective date of Sept. 20, 2026.

The larger-pit option would contain approximately 4.4 million ounces. Spanish Mountain expects to assess that alternative during feasibility work alongside coarse particle flotation and potential mill-throughput improvements; it remains a conceptual development option.

The company’s June 30 financial statements reported C$29.9 million in cash.

Read more: GoldMining starts São Jorge environmental studies alongside drilling

Spanish Mountain is targeting completion of its 2026 drilling program and a potential resource update by year-end.

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