Drill Success Stories Dominate Precious Metals Conference

Several companies operating in the precious metals sector also participated in the Beaver Creek summit, using the event to highlight recent developments, ongoing exploration programs, and updated resource estimates. Their presence offered investors and analysts an opportunity to assess project progress, management strategy, and overall positioning within the current market environment. The following updates reflect key takeaways from these appearances. Here are three that made waves at the event

Banyan Gold Corp.

Banyan Gold Corp. (BYN:TSX.V; BYAGF:OTCQB) continues to deliver standout drill results from its AurMac Project in Yukon, Canada, reinforcing its potential as one of the largest undeveloped open-pit gold systems in North America. In September, the company reported a headline intercept of 104.4 meters at 0.82 g/t gold, including a high-grade core of 33.2 meters at 1.44 g/t and 3.1 meters at 5.8 g/t, from drillhole AX-25-678 at the Airstrip zone. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-7310]

The 2025 program has surpassed 27,000 meters of drilling across 120 holes, with the latest assays showcasing consistent high-grade intervals and the discovery of visible gold in skarn-style veins. Additional highlights include 4.0 meters at 3.16 g/t near surface and 24.8 g/t gold over 0.3 meters in other holes. Exploration Vice President Duncan Mackay noted the mineralization remains open along strike and down dip, reinforcing AurMac’s expansion potential.

Analyst coverage has been increasingly bullish. On September 4, Paradigm Capital’s Don Blyth called the new intercept a confirmation of Banyan’s evolving model, suggesting the company could define starter pits averaging over 1 g/t gold.

Jeff Valks of The Gold Advisor emphasized the growing case for a higher-grade gold asset on September 4. Valks highlighted Banyan Gold’s growing momentum at its AurMac Project in Yukon, where recent drilling returned 104.4 meters grading 0.82 g/t gold, including high-grade sections up to 5.8 g/t. He emphasized that these intercepts could help connect the Airstrip and Powerline zones into a single, larger system, with multiple holes now showing +1 g/t material — a key threshold for economic open-pit potential. Valks noted the presence of visible gold, high-grade vein hits, and expanding mineralization at depth and along strike, calling it a shift from “low-grade optionality to an emerging quality gold asset.” He also pointed to the company’s outreach with First Nations and recent option grants as signs of operational maturity. While Valks has just initiated coverage, Gold Advisor editor Jeff Clark currently holds an overweight allocation in the stock.

On September 17, Don MacLean of Paradigm Capital reiterated a Speculative Buy rating and CA$1.70 target price on Banyan Gold following the Beaver Creek Summit. He wrote that Banyan “screened very well” at the conference and continues to stand out as a potential takeover candidate within Paradigm’s coverage. MacLean pointed to the company’s ability to steadily expand the AurMac system, the presence of higher‑grade intercepts at Airstrip, and the potential to bridge Airstrip and Powerline into a single pit as key factors underpinning the firm’s positive view.

Banyan’s June 2025 Mineral Resource Estimate outlined 2.27 million ounces of Indicated gold and 5.45 million ounces Inferred. With approximately 30,000 meters of total drilling planned this year, the company is focused on converting resources to the Indicated category and defining high-grade extensions. A Preliminary Economic Assessment is expected in early 2026, and the company holds CA$24 million in cash with full earn-in on the property now complete.

AurMac’s location offers logistical advantages, including road access, hydroelectric power, and proximity to Victoria Gold’s Eagle Mine. Banyan also maintains a land-use agreement with the First Nation of Na-Cho Nyäk Dun. With 79% retail ownership and continued exploration success, the company appears well positioned to unlock further value from its expanding Yukon gold project.

Refinitiv lists Banyan Gold’s ownership with 4.77% held by institutions. Of those, Franklin Advisors holds the most with 3.24% with IXIOS Asset Management behind them at 1.53%

Strategic entity Victoria Gold Corp owns the most with 9.10%. Management and Insiders own 6.68%, with the most held by CEO Tara Christie, with 3.77%, and David Reid with 1.53%.

The rest is retail.

Banyan Gold has 317.29 million free float shares, a market cap of CA$190.85 million, and a 52-week range of CA$0.1700 – CA$0.7400.

Liberty Gold Corp.

Liberty Gold Corp. (LGD:TSX; LGDTF:OTCQX) is gaining momentum at its flagship Black Pine Project in southeastern Idaho, located within the prolific Great Basin region. Known for its Carlin-style gold system and open-pit potential, Black Pine has emerged as one of the most promising U.S. heap-leach gold projects in the pre-feasibility stage. The company’s vision for a low-cost, scalable operation recently received a vote of confidence through a CA$28 million investment from Centerra Gold Inc., which acquired a 9.9% stake in Liberty at a premium to market. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-3777]

Analysts have responded positively to both the financing and technical developments. On September 8, Canaccord Genuity’s Peter Bell maintained a Speculative Buy rating and a CA$4.25 price target, citing Centerra’s strategic involvement and Liberty’s strong operational team. Bell also pointed to recent drilling at the legacy heap leach pad, where assays ranging from 0.06 to 1.18 g/t gold support the case for low-cost reprocessing. Removing the old heap could unlock new ounces beneath and expand the Rangefront pit footprint, with metallurgical testing underway to assess reusability of the material.

Ventum Capital Markets analyst Phil Ker echoed that optimism in August, noting the potential for 10–20% of the heap to serve as overliner material for a new pad. He maintained a Buy rating and CA$1.00 price target, calling Black Pine a “value standout” trading at 0.09x P/NAV versus a 0.24x peer average. Ker also highlighted ongoing risk-reduction strategies that could add roughly 250,000 ounces to the mine plan by accessing constrained resources beneath the existing heap footprint, while reducing upfront capital requirements.

Writing on September 17, Don MacLean of Paradigm Capital reaffirmed a Speculative Buy rating and CA$1.75 target price on Liberty Gold. In his Beaver Creek note he cited the company’s Black Pine project as “one of the more attractive heap‑leach development stories in the U.S.,” highlighting Centerra Gold’s recent strategic investment as a strong validation of management’s plan. He said Liberty fits Paradigm’s profile of a developer trading at record‑low valuations relative to the gold price and called it “a logical consolidation candidate” if M&A accelerates as producers raise their assumed gold prices.

On September 8, National Bank of Canada’s Rabi Nizami underscored the significance of Centerra’s investment, which comes alongside an investor rights agreement and board-level involvement. Nizami noted Liberty’s 41% share price gain over the past month and called Black Pine one of the few multi-million-ounce heap-leach assets in the U.S. advancing toward construction. He sees additional catalysts on the horizon, including drill results, a feasibility resource update, and permitting progress. The report rated the stock Outperform with a more than 30% possible return.

Liberty has drilled 28 holes in the Rangefront zone this year, all of which hit mineralization. Canaccord’s Bell noted standout intercepts like 22.9 meters at 1.27 g/t gold and 53.3 meters at 0.62 g/t gold, calling the campaign consistent with earlier results and likely to increase the resource base. Five rigs are active at Black Pine, including those for hydrological studies, resource conversion, and technical drilling, all feeding into a 2026 feasibility study now underway.

On the metallurgy front, Phase 5B testing showed impressive results, with average gold recovery of 81.9% across multiple rock units. Phase 6 through 8 will further evaluate bulk sampling, cutoff-grade variability, and legacy pad reprocessing. With CA$17.6 million in cash and another CA$4.8 million from the TV Tower sale expected, Liberty Gold is positioned to maintain its momentum and move closer to a construction decision targeted for late 2027.

According to Refinitiv, about 3% of the company is with management and insiders and about 28% is with institutions. The rest is with retail investors.

Top shareholders include Van Eck and Associates Corp. with 11.62%, Franklin Advisers Inc. with 8.75%, Konwave AG with 3.25%, Merk Investments LLC with 2.74%, and Calvin Everett with 2.4%.

Its market cap is approximately CA$276.44 million, with about 455.2 million shares outstanding. The company trades in a 52-week range from CA$0.25 to CA$0.64.

West Point Gold Corp.

West Point Gold Corp. (WPG:TSXV; WPGCF:OTCQB) drew attention at Beaver Creek with its upgraded exploration target at the Tyro Main Zone within its Gold Chain Project in northwestern Arizona. On September 4, the company revealed a conceptual tonnage range of 19.5 to 31.2 million tonnes grading 2.0 to 3.0 g/t gold — figures based on 6,227 meters of drilling alongside surface trenching, underground sampling, and detailed geologic mapping. The Tyro Main Zone represents just 1 kilometer of a 3.4-kilometer structure and remains open along strike and at depth. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-11225]

Among the strongest intercepts to date, Hole 49 returned 62.49 meters grading 4.73 g/t gold, including a standout interval of 30.48 meters at 9.05 g/t gold. These results support the company’s model of a continuous tabular gold-bearing structure surrounded by a broader quartz stockwork envelope. A fully funded 10,000-meter drill program began in September, designed to test deeper and on-strike extensions of the Tyro zone — including NE Tyro — and step-out targets like the Sunset vein and Frisco Graben. West Point held approximately CA$9 million in cash at the time of the update and reported a YTD share price gain of 30% through early September.

Meanwhile, recent drilling in the Main and Northeast Tyro Vein zones has delivered higher-grade intercepts that significantly expand the known mineralized footprint. Highlights include 50.29 meters at 3.76 g/t gold from hole GC25-47, and 59.44 meters at 1.25 g/t from GC25-61, with multiple intervals exceeding 1.5 g/t. These results extend mineralization to depths of nearly 200 meters over a strike length of one kilometer and provide support for a future resource estimate.

Hole GC25-62 cut 68.58 meters at 0.90 g/t gold, including a high-grade core of 15.24 meters at 2.89 g/t, with mineralization linked to a nearby rhyolite dike — a feature the company now considers potentially important to the system. Hole GC25-63, drilled further south, returned 7.62 meters at 1.88 g/t, adding further confirmation of the district-scale potential. CEO Mai said the continuity and grades “bode well” for development planning.

West Point’s progress comes as market conditions improve. Analysts from Citi recently raised their short-term gold price forecast to US$3,500 per ounce, citing inflation concerns, U.S. growth headwinds, and renewed tariff risks. In that context, gold explorers with near-surface oxide potential, like West Point, may benefit from increased investor and industry attention. The company maintains a tightly held share structure, with 91% retail ownership and 8% held by insiders.

Don MacLean of Paradigm Capital identified West Point Gold as one of his “favorite new ideas” from the Beaver Creek conference in his September 17 report. He pointed to the company’s flagship Gold Chain project in Arizona — particularly the Tyro Main Zone — as an emerging high-grade, open-pittable gold target. MacLean highlighted West Point’s fully funded 10,000-meter drill program targeting NE Tyro at depth and along strike, where recent hits included 30.5 meters at 9.05 g/t gold and 33.5 meters at 5.46 g/t. He noted that early modeling suggests a conceptual resource in the range of 1 to 1.5 million ounces at grades exceeding 1.5 g/t gold, with potential upside on both grade and tonnage. With a market cap of just US$27 million and ~CA$9 million in cash, he wrote that West Point “appears attractively priced for the project’s size, quality, and jurisdictions.”

As the company prepares to extend its permit area and resume drilling toward deeper structural intersections, West Point is positioning itself to define a sizable gold system in one of the U.S.’s most mining-friendly jurisdictions. If the next phase of drilling hits its mark, the Frisco Graben could emerge as a new source of oxide gold in Arizona’s underexplored volcanic terrain.

According to Refinitiv, about 6.4% of West Point Gold is owned by insiders and management, and about 17.2% by institutions. The rest is retail.

Top shareholders include Executive Chairman Derek Macpherson with 2.27%, Director Anthony Paterson with 1.7%, U.S. Global Investors Inc. with 1.08%, Mai with 0.17%, and Ehsan Agahi with 0.01%.

Its market cap is CA$28.96 million with 87.78 million shares outstanding, and it trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.21 and CA$0.68.

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