US Gold Corp Secures Final Permit for CK Gold Project in Wyoming
US Gold Corp. (Nasdaq: USAU) has cleared a major hurdle in the development of its CK gold project by securing approval from the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) for its air quality permit. This permit represents the final condition required under the mine operating permit issued earlier this year. The other two conditions—the project’s reclamation bond and the Wyoming Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit—were previously satisfied.
According to US Gold’s executive chairman Luke Norman, fulfilling this requirement "positions the CK gold project to be Wyoming’s next producing mine, adding gold and copper production to the state’s resource portfolio."
With the air quality permit in hand, the company is now focusing on an optimized prefeasibility study (PFS), which it expects to release by the end of this year. The updated study builds upon a 2021 PFS, which detailed a 10-year operation with an average output of 108,500 ounces of gold equivalent annually, including 135,300 ounces during the first three years. Over the life of the mine, total production is estimated to reach 248.8 million pounds of copper and 1.02 million ounces of gold.
The 2021 study valued the CK project at an after-tax net present value (NPV) of $266 million, discounted at 5%, with an internal rate of return (IRR) of 33.7%. Initial capital expenditures are estimated at $221 million, with a payback period of two years.
The CK project was acquired from Energy Fuels in 2014 and contains a large-tonnage gold-copper deposit with measured and indicated resources of 1.58 million ounces of gold equivalent (1.11 million ounces of gold and 280 million pounds of copper). US Gold previously shifted its focus to the CK project after years of exploring other assets in Nevada and Idaho, such as the Keystone and Challis gold projects.
