Gold-Silver Exploration in the Western United States
NYSE-American: AUST
Mine-Finding “Dream Team” Advancing World-Class Gold-Silver Discovery
Canada-based Austin Gold Corp. (NYSE-American: AUST) is a newly-IPO’d junior mineral exploration company solely focused on large-scale gold-silver discovery in the western United States — primarily in America’s #1 gold-silver producing state, Nevada.
As you’re about to learn in this Special Report… the AUST team has been built from the ground up for discovery success.
For speculators, it’s crucial to understand that pure mineral exploration brings with it a number of variables and uncertainties that can create an elevated risk factor — making it vitally important to have the right people at the controls.
In other words, you want to invest in serially successful mining professionals who’ve consistently delivered for shareholders over the course of their careers.
And quite frankly, there’s no better example of that than the team at Austin Gold Corporation.
AUST is built on a bedrock of highly successful “mine-finders” with a glowing resume of delivering pure exploration projects all the way through the various stages of discovery, development, and production — leading to dramatic increases in market cap and share value — eventually culminating in strategic buyouts by majors.
That’s a mouthful to be sure… but it perfectly underscores the multiple levels of success the Austin Gold team embodies in its collective pursuit of discovery excellence.
Already, previous exploration and data compilations suggest potential for significant gold discoveries on each of the company’s Nevada-based and Oregon-based projects wherein the Austin Gold team will be deploying its unmatched technical acumen along with the state-of-the-art exploration methodologies that come along with it.
Before we delve into the company’s impressive portfolio of exploration-stage gold-silver properties — let’s take a look at the team that’s tasked with delivering value to Austin Gold stakeholders from the earliest stages of exploration on.
A Serially Successful Team of Mining Professionals
The foundation of ANY company is its people.
That’s particularly true in mining… and especially in grassroots exploration where you need to be able to quickly differentiate between moose pasture and a potentially viable mineral property.
To that end, the team at Austin Gold has been instrumental in building a multitude of mining successes — via previous incarnations and from the earliest stages of exploration — that have led to historic wins for stakeholders.
For those amongst you who closely follow the mining space, you likely already know about some of these decorated mine-finders and the discovery successes that have marked their careers up to this point.
Well-known mining veteran Joe Ovsenek leads Austin Gold as executive chairman and director.
Executive Chairman & Director
Prior to co-founding Austin Gold Corp., Mr. Ovsenek served as president and CEO of Pretium Resources Inc. where he led the advancement of the high-grade Brucejack Gold-Silver Mine, which has been in profitable production since commercial startup in 2017.
If you’ve been following the recent headlines, you know that Pretium Resources was acquired by major Newcrest Mining (C$13B market cap) for US$2.8B in Q1 2022.
A huge win indeed… and we’re only just getting started!
Austin Gold’s VP of exploration is none other than Ken McNaughton.
VP Exploration & Director
Ken and his team are credited with the discovery of the Brucejack Gold-Silver Mine where Ken led all exploration programs as VP of exploration for Silver Standard Resources (now SSR Mining: C$3.8B market cap).
Now, here’s where it gets really exciting…
Executive chairman Joe Ovsenek also cut his teeth, alongside Ken, at Silver Standard where he served in senior management roles for some 15 years.
In other words, with Austin Gold, you’re getting not just a “mine-finding” team but also a “mine-building” team that was instrumental in taking the Brucejack mine all the way from discovery to production — from IPO to a US$2.25B market capitalization — and ultimately to a US$2.8B buyout by a major.
Very, very few junior exploration firms can claim a previous success of that scale and of that magnitude. Yet, it’s only the tip of the iceberg for the decorated group at Austin Gold.
We’re talking about a team that, with Silver Standard/SSR Mining, assembled a portfolio of projects combining for upward of 2 BILLION ounces of silver — taking the company from “explorer” to “producer” on-time and on-budget.
Upon growing the company to a market capitalization north of US$2B, Mr. Ovsenek and Mr. McNaughton joined forces to build Pretium Resources, which, as noted, was acquired by Newcrest earlier this year for US$2.8B.
A lot of junior mining companies “like to say” their goal is to make a world-class mineral discovery and then sell it off to a major for a huge share price premium… but only a select few have actually done it.
Conversely, when the team at Austin Gold speaks — the mining industry stops and pays attention!
It’s a company that, quite literally, has been set up from the very start for success… and it all begins with the people calling the shots.
It’s a highly synergistic group that knows where to look for elephants and they have a keen understanding of how to point the drills to large-scale discovery success.
As illustrated, they’ve successfully taken companies from the pre-IPO stage to multi-$Billion market caps… and they have their sights set on doing it again with newly-IPO’d Austin Gold Corp.
And that’s what makes this early-stage opportunity so timely and so intriguing.
We’re talking about an incredibly well-run firm that just IPO’d in Q2 of this year raising US$13M… currently trading below-the-radar around the US$1 per share level… all at a miniscule market cap below US$15 million.
And there’s more… A LOT more!
Austin Gold’s president is Dennis Higgs who brings to the table his 35 years in the energy sector where he served for a full decade as executive chairman of Uranerz Energy.
President & Director
Uranerz, as many of you may know, was acquired by Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE: UUUU; US$1B market cap) in 2015 in a US$320 million consolidation… making it the largest uranium producer in the United States.
Also joining Austin Gold as directors are Barbara Filas, Guillermo Lozano-Chavez, and Ben Leboe.
Barbara Filas is a professor at the prestigious Colorado School of Mines and holds the distinction of being the first female president of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration — the world’s largest mining technical society.
Q.P. & Director
Clearly, she knows a thing or two about mineral exploration!
Guillermo Lozano-Chavez is the former VP of exploration for First Majestic Silver Corp. (US$2B market cap) and the former director of exploration for Silver Standard Resources (now SSR Mining: C$3.8B market cap).
Director
Ben Leboe is the former CFO of Uranerz Energy prior to its merger with Energy Fuels Inc. (US$1B market cap).
Director
The Austin Gold team also includes two very well-known and highly-respected geologists who are serial mine-finders in their own right — W. Perry Durning and F.L. “Bud” Hillemeyer.
F.L. “Bud” Hillemeyer
Advisors
Together, these two award-winning geologists have discovered over 1 billion ounces of silver and over 10 million ounces of gold so far in their careers.
Hailing from the likes of BHP, Kennecott, Hecla, SSR Mining, Meridian, and La Cuesta — three of their discoveries are currently in production, one is in development, and another is undergoing advanced evaluation.
The duo was selected by the PDAC as the 2010 co-award winners of the Thayer Lindsley Award (see photo above) in recognition of La Cuesta’s multiple grassroots discoveries in Mexico.
The gentlemen are now lending their unparalleled mining expertise to Austin Gold in the search for the next great gold find in the western United States.
A Well-Planned Strategy for Discovery Success
If there’s a discovery of merit to be made on one of Austin Gold’s current properties, the company, as you’re no doubt aware by now, has the right people in place to get the project permitted and the drills pointed in the right direction.
And if that elephant-sized discovery is not in the current portfolio… rest assured, the AUST team is not going to waste undue time, money, or resources drilling into any dead ends.
No, instead, it’s a team that’s laser focused on systematically de-risking their current projects through a well-planned and well-executed exploration strategy while also keeping their collective eye out for other high-potential mineral properties to add to an already robust arsenal.
In just a moment — in our exclusive interview with executive chairman Joe Ovsenek and VP of exploration Ken McNaughton — you’re going to hear a lot about what industry insiders refer to as “drill-to-kill.”
Essentially, what that means is “drilling” into a property and, if the results simply aren’t there, “killing” the project and moving on — thereby protecting the treasury and increasing the overall odds for success by only focusing on projects of merit.
A lot of junior exploration companies end up doing the exact opposite: They’ll drill a worthless property into perpetuity until they’ve ultimately killed the treasury — oftentimes a fatal mistake for all involved (including the shareholders).
You simply won’t see that happening with Austin Gold.
This is a team that has collectively made a number of world-class mineral discoveries… and it is that vast expertise and experience that will guide Austin Gold to making the proper decisions — including a focus on minimizing shareholder dilution — to the benefit of AUST stakeholders.
Next, let’s take a look at the company’s impressive property portfolio.
Austin Gold: Advancing a Robust Pipeline of Early-Stage Gold-Silver Exploration Projects
Austin Gold is focused on building value for shareholders through the discovery process in Tier-One mining jurisdictions.
Fresh off their highly-successful May 2022 Initial Public Offering — which raised US$13M — the company has come roaring out of the gate with an impressive suite of gold and gold-silver exploration projects in the western United States; four in Nevada and one in Oregon.
These are two of the best and safest places on the planet for precious metals exploration: we’re talking world-class gold-silver endowments with zero worries about some rogue government coming in and nationalizing the assets.
Nevada, as you may already know, consistently ranks as the #1 gold AND silver mining state in America.
The aptly-named “Silver State” is also home to three of the world’s Top-Ten gold mines.
Accounting for nearly 80% of America’s current annual gold output, Nevada has produced nearly HALF of all the gold ever mined in the nation.
The vast majority of Nevada’s gold has come — and is still coming — from a 5-mile-wide, 40-mile-long mineralized district called the Carlin Trend… the world’s third-richest gold-mining district of all-time: 93 million ounces of gold production to-date.
We’ll explore all four of Austin Gold’s high-potential Nevada-based projects in just a second.
Turning briefly to Oregon, the state is rapidly gaining recognition as an up-and-coming gold-silver producing state based on the recent discovery of a number of large, high-grade gold-silver deposits — certainly with many more to come.
As you’re about to discover, Austin Gold is right in the thick of the top area play in the northern part of a major NW-trending structural corridor in the eastern part of the Beaver State.
So without further ado, and starting with Nevada, here’s a quick breakdown of Austin Gold’s impressive portfolio of early-stage gold-silver exploration projects.
NEVADA
Miller Gold Project: Carlin Trend, Nevada
The Miller Gold Project is located ~30 miles south-southwest of the town of Elko at the southern end of the prolific Carlin Trend.
Robust potential exists for gold mineralization in a north-south direction as evidenced by the extent of faulting.
Geophysical data compiled to-date supports the potential for a district-scale gold discovery.
Austin Gold is pursuing early-stage exploration activities on the project at this time, including a program of geologic mapping, surface rock-chip sampling, and possible geophysics followed by drilling — with results forthcoming.
Lone Mountain Gold Project: NE of Carlin Trend, Nevada
Austin Gold’s Lone Mountain Project is located approximately 25 miles northwest of Elko at the southern end of the Independence Mountains.
The property is situated in one of the major gold mining centers of Nevada — approximately 22 miles northeast of the Carlin Trend and 19 miles south of the Jerritt Canyon deposits.
Importantly, the property exposes one of about a dozen lower-plate gold mineralized windows in north-central Nevada (see below).
The large Carlin-type deposits in the Carlin Trend, Jerritt Canyon, and Cortez districts are all localized in or near such gold-mineralized carbonate windows.
The 13 sq mi Lone Mountain property is situated in one of the largest carbonate windows in Nevada: The Lone Mountain Window.
The Lone Mountain Window is similar to the other aforementioned carbonate windows in the district — Carlin Trend, Jerritt Canyon, and Cortez — with lower carbonate rocks showing alteration and geochemistry indicating solid potential for hosting significant gold mineralization.
Early-stage exploration activities are underway with updates expected soon.
Fourmile Basin Gold-Silver Project: Tonopah Mining District, Nevada
Brought in by advisory board members Perry Durning and Bud Hillemeyer, Austin Gold’s Fourmile Basin project is an epithermal gold-silver exploration project located in Nye county, Nevada.
The property is situated 30 miles east-northeast of the historic Tonopah mining district and about 35 miles southeast of Round Mountain (+16 million gold ounces).
The property has excellent site access and is situated in a favorable jurisdiction for mining. Robust potential exists for mineralization similar to Round Mountain.
To-date, mineralized boulders along the 9-km-long East Basin Zone — which has never been drilled — have assayed up to 1.43 grams per tonne (g/t) gold and 119 g/t silver.
The primary exploration concept at Fourmile Basin is to find the source of the float and boulders of the East Basin Zone.
Permitting for exploration work is through the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the southern end of the East Zone with the rest of the property residing on US Forest Service (USFS) lands.
Austin Gold has applied for and is awaiting drilling permits on the USFS portion of the Fourmile Basin project.
Kelly Creek Gold Project: North of Battle Mountain Mining District, Nevada
The Kelly Creek Gold Project is located north of the Battle Mountain Mining District on the northern margin of the Battle Mountain-Eureka trend.
The project is situated near the Lone Tree Mine (~4.2 million gold ounces) and the Marigold Mine (~3.2 million gold ounces).
The potential for discovery of additional mineralization in the immediate area of Kelly Creek is considered robust.
Previous work indicates that the components needed for a sedimentary-hosted gold deposit are present on the property.
Austin Gold proposes to pursue an exploration program including additional drilling (4 holes completed to-date with assays pending), mapping, and sampling.
OREGON
Stockade Mountain Gold-Silver Project: Southeastern Oregon
Brought in by advisory board members Perry Durning and Bud Hillemeyer, Austin Gold’s Stockade Gold-Silver Project consists of 261 unpatented lode mining claims covering an area of 6,790 acres located in Malheur County, Oregon.
The property is a large, classic epithermal alteration system associated with rhyolite intrusions focused along a major NW-trending structural corridor where deeper drilling has the potential to unlock further gold-silver mineralization.
Exploration programs conducted at Stockade by majors BHP, Phelps Dodge, and Placer Dome in the 1980s and 1990s included shallow exploration holes targeting bulk tonnage potential with no efforts to target deeper high-grade gold-silver vein deposits.
Many of these shallow holes returned significant lengths of strongly anomalous gold mineralization. Historical drill intercepts include 7.6 meters averaging 2.78 g/t gold and 4.6 meters averaging 1.38 g/t gold.
The Austin Gold team plans to initiate a systematic exploration program to include deeper drilling beneath the known high-level gold-silver mineralization.
Permits are expected within the next few months.
And never one to rest on their collective laurels, the Austin Gold team is actively reviewing a number of additional gold-silver projects that host discovery potential for economic gold-silver deposits.
With so many high-potential projects in the exploration pipeline at various stages of advancement… what better way to bring it to you than straight from Austin Gold executive chairman Joe Ovsenek and vice president of exploration Ken McNaughton.
Exclusive Interview with Austin Gold Executive Chairman Joe Ovsenek and VP of Exploration Ken McNaughton
Our own Nick Hodge of Resource Stock Digest had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Ovsenek and Mr. McNaughton at the Beaver Creek Precious Metals Summit in Colorado this past September for an in-depth interview.
We hope you’ll enjoy the conversation.
Nick Hodge: Nick Hodge here with Resource Stock Digest. I'm sitting down with some of the executive team from Austin Gold (NYSE-American: AUST), Joe Ovsenek, executive chairman, and Ken McNaughton, vice president of exploration.
This is a new issue… recently IPO’d on the NYSE-American… so I wanted to talk to you both about the team and the project. So thanks for being here at Beaver Creek.
Joe Ovsenek: I appreciate that.
Nick Hodge: Joe, I guess I'll start with you. You guys both have an extensive history in the mining sector and had a very successful exit — a multi-billion dollar exit — with Pretium Resources a couple of years ago. So why don't you talk about the team a little bit and why you're lending your skills to Austin Gold.
Joe Ovsenek: Well, Ken and I have worked together since back in '96 with Silver Standard [now SSR Mining]. At that point, we were just starting to build up the premier silver resource company. Between 1996 and 2010, we took Silver Standard from a market cap of $50 - $60 million back then?
Ken McNaughton: Yep.
Joe Ovsenek: We left in 2010 to start up Pretium Resources. We were at a couple billion [in market cap] with 2 billion ounces of silver resources in the ground and had taken the company from an explorer to a silver producer listed on the NASDAQ and the TSX.
And then, while at Silver Standard, Ken's team discovered the Brucejack Mine. Formed up Pretium; sold the asset to Pretium. We moved over to Pretium, and we took Brucejack from discovery to production in under eight years. So it was a big push for us, and we had a great time and accomplished a lot there.
We've done a lot together. And coming out of Pretium, we've known Dennis and Darcy Higgs for quite some time. And Dennis has a great background, most recently in the energy side with uranium — with Energy Fuels. And before that, Uranerz.
So we've all worked together at times, and we all have experience in bringing projects from discovery and advancing them. And that's what we feel lends things with Austin. Our view with Austin is… let's go looking in the best jurisdiction for gold in the world — which is Nevada.
We're looking for elephants because we want to discover them, advance them, and sell them off to a major. And that's the way we see things happening at Austin Gold.
Nick Hodge: You mentioned Dennis Higgs who you said is quarterbacking this deal. And he's got expertise and experience with major US exchanges. I wonder if you could talk about the raise you guys just did — the US$13 million you raised in the IPO — and why the NYSE listing is so important?
Joe Ovsenek: Well, the NYSE, the US market — that's where the liquidity is. And so it's just the place to be. Both of our previous companies; at Pretium, we had an NYSE listing, and at Silver Standard, we had an AMEX listing.
Dennis had experience with the NYSE-AMEX and so it's the place to go for raising money for Nevada — deep market, lots of liquidity. And it's a financial capital. So if you're going to be anywhere, if you can be in New York, it's the place to be.
And so a tough market for an IPO, and yet Dennis did a great job; IPO'd at US$4, raised US$13 million dollars. So nice funds in the treasury… and allows the company to kick off and start doing that exploration. That really is the first step for discovery.
Nick Hodge: Well, that's what we're going to talk about next. Exploration is where you get the most bang for your buck in the market. When you come up out of the ground with a nice hit — you can really see share prices move.
So Ken, maybe talk to me a little bit about the projects. You mentioned you were elephant hunting in Nevada. You've also got a project in Oregon. Let's talk about the holes you just drilled and the holes you want to drill at the various projects.
Ken McNaughton: Well, Kelly Creek is sitting there with Mary Gold and Lone Tree. So there are big deposits… Rabbit Creek and Twin Creeks… they're all up at the north end of this trend. It's a great spot to be. There's some historical drilling.
And so what we’re sited on now is in and around that area looking at the favorable geology, having done the groundwater survey, which pointed to some newer trends and then said, ‘Okay, well let's go down and test those.’ But really, the philosophy now is what we've done over the years is get into good projects with good geology and then do your best to advance. And if it doesn't get over the hurdle — get rid of it and move on to the next one.
And so you just have the conveyor going… you have the projects in the pipeline, and if at any point they stall — well it's too bad. We all hate for that to happen. So that's Kelly Creek, the first one we've drilled.
Nick Hodge: Four holes done. Is that correct?
Ken McNaughton: Four holes done. Everything is waiting. We're out waiting for assays now. So based on some other companies, we're going to say 6 to 8 weeks for assays, depending. And then, we're permitting at Fourmile. There, we're dealing with the Forest Service, which is a little slower process than BLM. It is what it is.
It's a very interesting project. It's a geologic concept but the guys that brought it to us — Bud Hillemyer and Perry Durning; great explorationists, award-winning — we dealt with them in Mexico with Silver Standard and Canplats with Camino Rojo.
So these guys, when they say here's a project… you have a hard look at it!
So that's one we're permitting. And then, the second one that they brought in was Stockade Mountain, which is up in Oregon. And it's a very interesting project. There's some historical work; there's some historical drilling all pointing to a bulk tonnage near-surface.
But we think the main potential is looking more down at-depth, looking at higher-grade. Because it's Oregon, it's not that you can't permit there… but it is a process. So you're going to have an easier time with a high-grade underground than you are with a bulk tonnage.
Joe Ovsenek: But Oregon is heating up on the exploration side.
Ken McNaughton: It's getting better and the state… we just talked with someone with Grassy Mountain… they're coming along. Everyone's looking for revenue now. They've legalized cannabis. So now, where's the next revenue coming from? So mining in the right area and, certainly, the east part of the state is the place to be in Oregon.
Nick Hodge: Sometimes you read the news stories… they're trying to secede and become part of Idaho.
Ken McNaughton: The east, yeah.
Joe Ovsenek: The state of Jefferson. Love it!
Ken McNaughton: It makes more sense quite honestly. But at any rate, we won't go into US politics.
Nick Hodge: So what do timelines look like for those two other projects you just mentioned; Fourmile and Stockade?
Ken McNaughton: Well, I think Stockade, they can probably get their permits within the next few months. I don't know exactly where Bob is. Bob Hatch is doing the filing on that. But those will move, and because they're BLM, they'll move relatively quickly. And honestly, I have no experience with the Forest Service so I can't predict.
Joe Ovsenek: But Forest Service tends to be nine months to a year. And so it's in the works. And part of Fourmile is BLM land.
Ken McNaughton: Yeah.
Joe Ovsenek: We have some experience permitting with BLM. And at this stage for initial grassroots drilling, it goes quickly. So I expect that'll come fast.
Nick Hodge: You guys have a super tight share structure so I would assume that any results could see the shares move quite quickly and to the upside. And so I want to ask you, Joe, what does the next 12 months look like?
Ken mentioned ‘drill-to-kill,’ and if the project is not working out — moving on. So maybe frame up the next 12 months for us and what the vision is for Austin Gold with maybe other projects in the pipeline.
Joe Ovsenek: Well look, as Ken mentioned, we’ve got to get on the ground; we’ve got to drill them. As much as it's drill-to-kill, we've got property in a great spot on the Carlin Trend. We're on the Jerritt Canyon with Fourmile not far from Round Mountain; same rocks.
These properties have a lot of potential so we just need to get on the ground to drill. So it's that startup — getting the permits in place. But as we get the permits in, we'll start drilling them. Can't really give you a timeline on some of them… but we'll be drilling this year. And we'll be looking for more projects.
Ken McNaughton: We're always looking for more!
Joe Ovsenek: We see something that's attractive to us, we'll look to pick it up. Because, really, you get one big discovery — that's where the value is created in mining. It's that discovery phase which sends the price higher.
Nick Hodge: Absolutely! That Lassonde Curve.
Joe Ovsenek: If you discover something with a couple hundred million of value with a tight share structure, that value is there and people recognize it right away. And if you really luck into an elephant, you're looking at pretty fast $500 million of value if you come into a nice gold property.
Nick Hodge: And what would be your goal to exit? Would it be to sell that to another company or would it be to continue down the road? I know we're getting a bit ahead of ourselves.
Joe Ovsenek: We have different philosophies, and we’ve got to talk a little more strategically at the company. Our experience has always been you keep driving a project forward… and that way, it shows the value and brings people in to look at it.
With Pretium, we were advancing it and the market tanked… if you remember, sort of 2012 through ‘16, ‘17 was not pretty. So we built Brucejack because that's where the market was. If the market had been different, somebody would've come in and taken that from us.
Because we look at what creates the best value, we're not married to a project where we're going to be the guys building this. It's, ‘Okay, what creates the best value for shareholders?’
Ken McNaughton: But if we need to build it — we will! And that's the bottom line. Other companies will say, ‘Oh well, we're going to build it.’ But if you haven't built a mine, you've got some credibility issues. But we've all done it so we can do that if that's the way the project goes.
Nick Hodge: Well that goes back to the team and the experience that you have. We've seen some failed projects here in recent memory that, for whatever reason, there's cost overruns or they just don't have the experience to build a mine.
Joe Ovsenek: Mining is a tough business.
Nick Hodge: Absolutely.
Joe Ovsenek: So you need to have some gray hair.
Nick Hodge: Last question on the cycle, which you guys have seen… just your thoughts on the macro picture. Where are we in the cycle and what are your thoughts on the precious metals here?
Joe Ovsenek: On the current cycle… say analogously, going back to 2007-08, we had the Great Financial Crisis. Gold actually came off; I think we were about a thousand bucks down about US$750 [per ounce] or less. And then, from there it built up to 2012 where it hit US$1,900. So really, there's a lag between the inflation and the economic crisis… and then it takes off.
So I think we're not that far away from gold starting to move up. It's just a question of where do we start seeing the bottom on things. In the general market, you're starting to get down closer to what Morgan Stanley and others are saying is getting to that bottom.
Nick Hodge: Sure, it's bounced off the high-US$1,600s a couple of times. I think it has found its support there. And so… see if we can't make another run at US$1,800, Joe?
Joe Ovsenek: We're looking for a run at US$2,000-plus, I think, is reasonable in this next runup getting north of US$2,000 per ounce.
Ken McNaughton: Especially if inflation stays sticky… then the fundamentals have to drive gold eventually.
Nick Hodge: It's been a relative safe haven… held up more than the market has so far, at least when you look at the S&P and the NASDAQ.
Joe Ovsenek: Look, it's solid; gold is. We're preaching to the choir here… but we're believers.
Nick Hodge: Good. Well, Joe and Ken, thanks for taking the time to tell us about Austin Gold (NYSE-American: AUST). We look forward to following the story as you get those first assays out from Kelly Creek and as you start to drill these other projects here.
Really appreciate it!
Ken McNaughton: Very good, thanks!
Joe Ovsenek: Thank you very much, Nick.
The Opportunity
Newly-IPO’d Austin Gold Corp. — currently trading undiscovered below US$1 per share — is driving grassroots precious metals exploration in the Tier-One mining jurisdictions of Nevada and Oregon.
And they’re doing it by way of a synergistic and serially successful team of mine-finders with a proven track record of discovery success and project advancement — including mine building.
The team’s roots are based in two highly successful gold and silver companies: Pretium Resources (acquired by Newcrest in March 2022 for US$2.8 billion) and Silver Standard Resources (now SSR Mining: C$3.8B market cap).
From its collective beginnings at these two well-known mining firms… tiny Austin Gold Corp. is now systematically advancing its own suite of high-potential gold and gold-silver projects in Nevada and Oregon — all at various stages of exploration.
Exploration updates, including assays, are forthcoming at several properties… which means the news flow is about to pick up big-time.
You heard directly from Austin Gold executive chairman Joe Ovsenek. He had this to say about the mammoth-sized deposits the company is seeking to unearth in Nevada and Oregon:
“We're looking for elephants because we want to discover them, advance them, and sell them off to a major. And that's the way we see things happening at Austin Gold.”
And VP of exploration Ken McNaughton added this about the team’s exemplary mine-building prowess:
“But if we need to build it — we will! And that's the bottom line. Other companies will say, ‘Oh well, we're going to build it.’ But if you haven't built a mine, you've got some credibility issues. But we've all done it so we can do that if that's the way the project goes.”
Put plainly, there’s very little the Austin Gold team hasn’t collectively seen nor conquered in the mineral exploration and development space… and they’re more than up for the task at-hand — which is large-scale discovery success.
Turning to the balance sheet, Austin Gold boasts an exceptionally tight share structure with less than 15 million shares outstanding for a current market capitalization well below US$15 million.
The company is also well-funded to achieve its near-term exploration initiatives having just raised US$13 million via IPO in Q2 2022.
For speculators seeking exposure to early-stage gold-silver exploration via a team that’s done it all before — Austin Gold holds tremendous upside potential from current price levels as it advances its impressive portfolio of gold and gold-silver projects in the western United States.
A great place to commence your own due diligence is Austin Gold’s corporate website where you can learn more about the team, the properties, and sign-up to receive updates directly from the company’s IR department.
Also, click here for more of our ongoing coverage of Austin Gold, including additional late-breaking interviews with upper management as developments arise.
Austin Gold Corporation trades on the NYSE-American exchange under the symbol AUST.
— Resource Stock Digest Research