Spotlight: Four more companies advancing projects around the world 

Junior exploration companies across the globe stand or fall on drill programs that could turn them into bigger stories. Here are four more juniors with company-making discovery potential in proven mineral districts.

Emerita Resources  

Emerita Resources (TSXV: EMO; US-OTC: EMOTF) expects to complete a prefeasibility study on its flagship Iberian Belt West project in southern Spain in the third quarter of the year. 

The IBW project, which consists of three polymetallic deposits – Infanta, El Cura and Romanera – lies in the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt, a historic mining district known for its volcanogenic massive sulphide deposits. The cornerstone asset lies in the western part of the belt, adjacent to the border with Portugal, about 435 km southwest of Madrid and 50 km from the port of Huelva. 

IBW hosts 18.9 million indicated tonnes grading 2.8% zinc, 1.42% lead, 0.5% copper, 1.28 grams gold and 66 grams silver for 547,000 tonnes of contained zinc, 269,000 tonnes lead, 94,000 tonnes of copper, 783,000 oz. gold and 40.2 million oz. silver, according to this year’s update. 

Inferred resources total 6.8 million tonnes at 3.25% zinc, 1.5% lead, 0.73% copper, 0.77 gram gold and 56.3 grams silver for 221,000 tonnes zinc, 102,000 tonnes lead, 49,000 tonnes copper, 168,000 oz. gold and 12.3 million oz. silver. 

Emerita’s Spain portfolio includes the Aznalcollar project, a past-producing open pit mine that it is seeking to redevelop following a long-running legal dispute over ownership, and the Nuevo Tintillo project. Both assets are about 40 km north of Seville. 

In May, Denarius Metals (CBOE: DMET; US-OTC: DNRSF) abandoned efforts to acquire Emerita after the junior refused to hold talks over the proposed all-share deal.  

Denarius holds the Aguablanca, Lomera and Toral assets near the IBW project as well as producing assets in Colombia and had argued a combination would have been a good strategic fit. 

Emerita Resources has a market cap of $90.5 million. 

Headwater Gold  

Headwater Gold (CSE: HWG; US-OTC: HWAUF) is exploring for gold in the western U.S. and has six projects in Nevada and Idaho partnered with gold majors Newmont (TSX: NGT; NYSE, ASX: NEM), OceanaGold (TSX, NYSE: OGC) and Centerra Gold (TSX: CG; NYSE: CGAU). 

The company’s main asset is Spring Peak, a high-grade epithermal gold discovery in western Nevada’s Walker Lane trend, about 275 km southeast of Reno. 

Newmont is funding exploration as part of an earn-in agreement signed in August 2022. Newmont can acquire up to 75% of the project by spending $55 million in exploration and completing a prefeasibility study. It owns 51% and has elected to continue to earn into the project. 

The property sits next to Hecla Mining’s (NYSE: HL) past-producing Aurora mine, where existing infrastructure includes a 600-ton (544-tonne)-per-day mill, several production water wells and high-voltage three-phase power. 

Last October, Headwater’s exploration permit on Spring Peak was selected as part of the FAST-41 program, a U.S. federal initiative designed to streamline approvals for vital infrastructure related to mining projects. 

Highlight drill results from the Disco zone at Silver Peak include 34.72 metres grading 2.73 grams gold starting from 256 metres, including 2.01 metres of 10.43 grams gold and 2.38 metres of 15.92 grams in drillhole SP22-13. 

Newmont is also earning up to 75% of Headwater’s Lodestar project, about 10 km north of Spring Peak.  

In northern Nevada, Headwater has earn-in agreements with OceanaGold at its TJ, Jake Creek and Hot Creek projects. The TJ project is less than 10 km east of Nevada Gold Mines’ Turquoise Ride complex, a joint-venture between Barrick Mining (TSX: ABX; NYSE: B) and Newmont. Jake Creek lies 65 km northwest of Winnemucca and Hot Creek sits about 17 km northwest of First Majestic Silver’s (TSX, NYSE: AG) Jerrit Canyon mine.  

In April, Headwater reported the highest gold grades yet at TJ. Drillhole TJ25-01 cut 19 metres grading 0.48 gram gold starting from 112 metres downhole, and TJ25- 04 returned 10 metres of 0.93 gram gold from 141 metres. 

In western Idaho, Centerra is earning 70% in Headwater’s Crane Creek project, where historic intercepts include 62.5 metres grading 1.21 grams gold. The project is about 90 km northwest of the capital of Boise. 

Newmont acquired a 7.1% equity stake in Headwater in August 2022 and Centerra a 9.9% stake in September 2024. 

Headwater Gold has a market cap of about $38 million. 

Medallion Metals  

Medallion Metals (ASX: MM8) plans to start underground development work in August at its Ravensthorpe copper-gold project in Western Australia, about 550 km southeast of Perth.  

A feasibility study in December envisioned the underground operation producing a total of 374,000 oz. gold and 15,000 tonnes copper over an initial mine life of 5.7 years generating post-tax cashflow of A$624 million. 

Ravensthorpe’s after-tax NPV (at an 8% discount rate) was pegged at A$443 million, with an IRR of 87%, based on a gold price of A$5,200 ($3,380) per ounce. Pre-production capital of A$138 million could be repaid in one year. 

Processing will take place at its Forrestania operations, about 160 km south of Ravensthorpe. Medallion completed the acquisition of Forrestania from IGO (ASX: IGO) in March. The property includes the Cosmic Bay concentrator and related infrastructure as well as the historic Teddy Bear and Lounge Lizard gold deposits.  

Medallion has all primary environmental approvals in place to advance final development planning and a $50-million funding and offtake agreement with Trafigura for Ravensthorpe’s copper concentrate and gold doré.  

Significant drill results from an 18,000-metre infill and extension drill program launched in January include 13.5 metres grading 3.3 grams gold and 5.1% copper from 380 metres downhole in drillhole DD26KP1243 and 12 metres of 9.9 grams gold, 1.8% copper and 10.3 grams silver from 58 metres in RC26KP1263. 

The drilling is also probing potential extensions to a new lode discovered last year within the footwall of the primary Gem lode, which sits outside the current resource. DD24KP1232 returned 7.7 metres grading 5.9 grams gold, 3.4% copper and 22.2 grams silver from 350.5 metres downhole, including 3.7 metres of 11.3 grams gold, 4.8% copper and 33.3 grams silver. 

The project hosts 3.15 million indicated tonnes grading 4.8 grams gold and 0.7% copper for 23,000 tonnes contained copper and 490,000 oz. gold. Inferred resources add 2.56 million tonnes grading 4.3. grams gold and 0.5% copper for 13,000 tonnes copper and 360,000 oz. gold. 

At its Forrestania gold project, Medallion is validating historical drill results from the Lounge Lizard deposit. Significant intersections beneath the old pit and surrounding areas include 11 metres grading 6.94 grams gold from 50 metres and 9 metres of 8.69 grams gold from 67 metres. 

Medallion Metals has a market cap of about A$351 million. 

Minerals 260  

Minerals 260 (ASX: MI6) is advancing its Bullabulling project in Western Australia, one of the country’s largest undeveloped gold projects not owned by an existing producer. 

The project, which Minerals 260 acquired in April 2025, contains five gold deposits on a 1,160-sq.-km land package in the heart of the Eastern Goldfields, about 65 km southwest of Kalgoorlie. 

The company is targeting first production in late 2028 and early construction activities are already underway. 

A prefeasibility study released in July envisioned an open-pit mine producing 150,000 oz. gold per year over 19 years at an all-in sustaining cost of A$2,500 per oz. generating A$330 million in average annual free cash flow at a base case gold price of $3,800 per ounce. 

The study forecast an after-tax NPV (at a 5% discount rate) of A$2.3 billion, an IRR of 43% and a two-year payback of pre-production capital of A$115 million. 

The PFS was based on probable reserves of 90 million tonnes grading 0.86 gram gold for 2.5 million contained oz. of gold. 

The operation would start with a 5-million-tonne per year conventional carbon in leach (CIL) plant, but could be expanded later to 7.5 million tonnes per year. 

Minerals 260 recently updated the resource estimate based on about 78,000 metres of drilling since acquisition, growingthe resource from 2.3 million oz. gold to 6.2 million oz. gold. The resource estimate will support an updated ore reserve that is to be completed in conjunction with the definitive feasibility study. 

Currently, Bullabulling contains 140 million indicated tonnes grading 0.98 gram gold for 4.4 million contained oz. gold and another 51 million inferred tonnes averaging 1 gram gold for 1.7 million ounces.  

Recent drill results include 20 metres grading 3.4 grams gold from 93 metres in drillhole BBRC0668 at the Phoenix deposit; 15 metres of 2.3 grams gold from 204 metres in BBRC0700 in the Bachus deposit; and 18 metres of 2.9 grams gold from 332 metres in the Dicksons deposit. 

Minerals 260 has a market cap of about A$1.7 billion.