Dakota Gold sees expansion potential at Richmond Hill

New drilling by Dakota Gold (NYSE-A: DC) at the Richmond Hill oxide heap-leach gold project in South Dakota suggests mineralization extends beyond the deposit’s known limits.

Expansion drill hole RH25C-359 – a 260-metre north step-out from the current measured and indicated resource boundary – cut 13 metres grading 3.14 grams per tonne gold and 10.57 grams silver from 99 metres depth, Dakota Gold said Tuesday in a statement. The mineralization in the northeast remains open in all directions.

The latest results demonstrate “clear potential for resource expansion beyond established boundaries and suggests the presence of ore grades exceeding the average outlined in the current mine plan,” Scotia Capital mining analyst Eric Winmill said Tuesday in a note.

Gold and silver assay results from drilling this year and last at Richmond Hill will be incorporated into a pre-feasibility study that’s due to be published in the second half, Dakota Gold said. This will allow the company to report reserves in 2026.

Opportunities

Other highlights released Tuesday include hole BG-GW-11, which cut about 6 metres grading 2.53 grams gold and 1.91 grams silver from 55 metres downhole, and hole BG-GW-13, which intersected 9 metres of 1.42 grams gold and 1.9 grams silver from about 37 metres depth.

“The final drill results from the 2025 drill campaign at Richmond Hill continue to illustrate the potential for expansion and higher-grade gold and silver opportunities for the project, particularly in the north where we expect to begin the initial years of mining,” chief operating officer Jack Henris said in the statement.

Dakota Gold’s CEO, Robert Quartermain, previously built Pretium Resources and developed the Brucejack mine in British Columbia before agreeing to be bought by Newcrest – now Newmont Mining (NYSE: NEM) – for about C$3.5 billion ($2.6 billion) in 2021. He formed Dakota Gold the following year to explore in South Dakota.

Dakota Gold has completed 7,565 metres of drilling since Jan. 1, or almost half of its full-year budget. The exploration campaign, which includes 109 holes covering 15,481 metres, consists of a combination of infill, expansion, geotechnical and mine plan drilling. It’s expected to be completed in the third quarter.

Last year’s drill campaign included 242 holes over 29,524 metres. 

Homestake district

Richmond Hill is part of the historic Homestake mining district, which has produced more than 40 million oz. gold over its 145-year history. Dakota Gold is also advancing the nearby Maitland project.

Richmond Hill could produce 2.6 million to 3.9 million oz. of gold over a potential mine life of 28 years, according to an S-K 1300 Initial Assessment report from July. With a post-tax net present value of $1.6 billion (C$2.2 billion) to $2.1 billion, the project has a post-tax internal rate of return of 55% to 59%, with initial costs of $384 million. Dakota targets production for 2029.

The project hosts 244.7 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.46 gram gold and 4.83 grams silver for 3.6 million oz. of contained gold and 38 million oz. silver, according to an initial resource released in February 2025. Inferred resources total 230.6 million tonnes at 0.35 gram gold and 3.09 grams silver for 2.6 million oz. gold and 22.7 million oz. silver.

Dakota Gold shares fell 1% to $5.54 in U.S. trading Tuesday morning, giving the company a market capitalization of about $712 million. The stock has traded between $2.40 and $7.25 in the past year.