Sentinel Metals Completes Big Springs Acquisition to Boost US Gold Resources Near 2Moz

Big Springs Acquisition Finalised

Sentinel Metals (ASX:SNM) has completed the acquisition of the Big Springs Gold Project in Nevada, a move that significantly expands its North American footprint. The project, located in the prolific Independence Trend of Elko County, hosts a JORC-compliant Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) of 15.5 million tonnes grading 2.0g/t gold, equating to approximately 1.01 million ounces of contained gold. This acquisition effectively doubles Sentinel's resource base when combined with its flagship Columbia Gold-Silver Project in Montana, which holds 920,000 ounces of gold and 3.1 million ounces of silver.

Deal Structure and Financials

The transaction involved an upfront cash payment of A$8.5 million and the issuance of 8.62 million fully paid ordinary shares valued at A$5 million, priced at the recent placement rate of A$0.58 per share. These shares are subject to a 12-month voluntary escrow. Sentinel also retains the potential obligation to pay up to A$12.5 million in contingent consideration, dependent on achieving resource expansion, share price targets, or other transaction milestones. This layered payment structure balances immediate acquisition costs with future performance incentives.

Strategic Significance and Exploration Upside

Big Springs is a permitted project for both open-pit and underground mining, with historical production of around 386,000 ounces of gold from seven open pits between 1987 and 1993. Sentinel highlights substantial exploration upside, noting multiple high-grade ore shoots identified in previous work remain open at depth and largely untested by modern drilling techniques. The company plans an initial 10,000-metre drilling campaign focused on the North Sammy target, which is on a granted mining lease and has yielded historical intercepts such as 18.3 metres at 33.4g/t gold. Sentinel is also evaluating expansion of the existing mine plan to explore district-scale targets across the 93 square kilometre landholding, which lies adjacent to the major Jerritt Canyon gold system.

Complementing Columbia Project Progress

The Big Springs acquisition complements Sentinel’s ongoing drilling and exploration activities at the Columbia Gold-Silver Project in Montana. Recent drilling there produced a standout intercept of 46.8 metres grading 5.5g/t gold, confirming high-grade mineralisation extends into fresh rock below historical oxide zones. These results underpin Sentinel’s ambition to build a robust North American gold business focused on Tier-1 jurisdictions. Together, the two projects provide a combined resource base approaching two million ounces of contained gold, positioning Sentinel as a meaningful player in US gold exploration and development.

Metallurgical and Resource Considerations

The Big Springs MRE is reported within a US$2,200 per ounce gold price optimised shell, using a 0.4865g/t gold cut-off grade. Metallurgical testwork conducted in 2006 on oxide material demonstrated high recoveries; 96% for gold and 77% for silver; although no metallurgical testing has yet been done on fresh sulphide material. This introduces some uncertainty regarding processing characteristics for deeper mineralisation. Sentinel has confirmed no new information materially affects the resource estimates since their initial reporting in July 2026.