Revival drills shallow gold at Mercur in Utah

New drilling by Revival Gold (TSXV: RVG; US-OTC: RVLGF) at its Mercur project in Utah has returned shallow gold as the company continues expanding mineralization and advancing the past-producing mine toward a prefeasibility study.

Standout hole RM26-204 in the South Mercur area cut about 31 metres grading 1.65 grams gold per tonne from 128 metres downhole, Revival said Wednesday in a statement. Hole RM26-183, in the same area, intersected about 31 metres grading 0.92 gram gold from 145 metres depth.

Revival Gold is now more than a third of the way through a planned 18,000-metre drilling program this year at Mercur, having completed 7,400 metres in 74 holes. The latest reverse-circulation holes targeted the Main Mercur and South Mercur areas, where drilling so far confirms broad zones of potentially leachable material that extend below the planned open pit outlined in the project’s 2025 preliminary economic assessment (PEA).

“Results in the South Mercur area are revealing some of the project’s highest grades and point to potential expansion opportunities in heap leachable material beyond the PEA open pit,” CEO Hugh Agro said in the statement.

“Meanwhile, we continue to build on-site facilities, roadworks and staffing as our Mercur team ramps up to double the number of rigs drilling to four later this summer,” he added.

Carlin type

Located 57 km southwest of Salt Lake City, Mercur was one of Utah’s largest historical gold mines, producing more than 2.6 million oz. before operations ceased in the late 1990s due to depressed commodity prices. Revival bought the property from Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) in 2024 and has since consolidated ownership by exercising its option to acquire the mining giant’s remaining interest.

Named after the German word for mercury, Mercur was one of the earliest recognized Carlin-type gold systems in the western U.S. It covers about 66 sq. km and benefits from existing infrastructure.

Ongoing drilling at Main Mercur is focused on resource conversion, expansion and engineering design, Revival said.

Other highlights released Wednesday include hole RM26-194, which cut 11 metres of 1.89 grams gold from 50 metres depth, and hole RM-26-189, which returned 6 metres of 2.44 grams gold from 85 metres downhole.

10-year mine

Last year’s PEA outlined an after-tax net present value of $294 million (C$417 million) and an after-tax internal rate of return of 27%, based on a 5% discount rate and a gold price of $2,175 per ounce. It also calculated capital costs of $208 million to build a mine with a 10-year life that would produce 95,000 oz. gold annually.

Revival is targeting completion of a prefeasibility study in 2027 while advancing environmental baseline studies and permitting. The company has said it aims to make a construction decision after completing the required technical and permitting work.

Including its other projects, Revival aims to surpass 160,000 oz. in annual gold output over time.

Revival shares fell 2.7% to 73¢ Wednesday morning in Toronto, valuing the company at about C$233 million ($164 million). The stock has traded between 48¢ and C$1.14 in the past year.