Snapshot: Eight companies advancing projects in the Southwest US

The southwestern United States is well-known for its rich endowment of silver, gold, copper and lithium, among other minerals. Here are eight companies active in the region.

Apollo Silver  

In March, Apollo Silver (TSXV: APGO; US-OTC: APGOF) received its 2024 drill permit for the Waterloo property at its Calico silver project in California’s San Bernardino County, about 15 km from the city of Barstow.  

The company has already defined gold and silver resources estimates at Waterloo, but the property contains significant barite mineralization too, and Apollo plans to update the resource to include the critical mineral for the first time. A historic estimate in 1979 completed by the American Smelting and Refining Company (ASARCO) outlined 33.9 million tonnes grading 13.4% barite for a total of 4.5 million tonnes of barite. 

In addition to being a meaningful byproduct credit, barite production has the potential to reduce waste from future silver mining operations, the company says. It’s important for domestic metallurgical use in the energy industry, and 90% of the barite sold in the U.S. is used as a weighting agent in petroleum drilling. 

Apollo Silver started a test program in January to determine the optimal assay technique for barite using 79 samples from across the Waterloo property. It now plans a comprehensive re-assay program of select drilling pulps. 

Currently, Waterloo hosts 34.2 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 100 grams silver per tonne for 110 million oz. contained silver and 300,000 inferred tonnes averaging 77 grams silver for 720,000 oz silver. It also has 4.5 million inferred tonnes grading 0.5 gram gold for 70,000 gold ounces.   

Pan American Silver (TSX: PAAS; NYSE: PAAS) retains a 2% net smelter return royalty on the property. 

The second property at Calico called Langtry, contains 19.3 million inferred tonnes grading 81 grams silver for 50 million oz. contained silver. 

Apollo Silver has a market cap of $28 million.

Arizona Metals 

Arizona Metals (TSX: AMC; US-OTC: AZMCF) expects to release a resource estimate for its Kay polymetallic project in Arizona in the first half of 2025.  

The company released assays in July from seven drill holes at Kay. One hole returned among the highest copper and gold grades to date from the volcanogenic massive sulphide deposit. 

Hole KM-24-94B cut 65.2 metres of 1.37% copper, 2.48 grams gold per tonne, 3.82% zinc, 35.1 grams silver and 0.5% lead (4.74% copper-equivalent or 7.77 grams gold-equivalent) starting from 682.1 metres depth.  

The wide interval included 14.2 metres of 0.73% copper, 5.84 grams gold, 9.17% zinc, 101.2 grams silver and 1.74% lead (9% copper-equivalent or 14.75 grams gold-equivalent) and 10.4 metres of 4.44% copper, 4.34 grams gold, 2.33% zinc, 33.4 grams silver and 0.17% lead (8.29% copper-equivalent or 13.59 grams gold-equivalent). 

The Kay project in Arizona’s Yavapai County, about 70 km north of Phoenix, sits on private land and Bureau of Land Management claims.  

Arizona Metals also owns 100% of the Sugarloaf Peak gold deposit in La Paz County, about 8 km from the town of Quartzsite. Previous owners reported finding widespread disseminated gold mineralization in a surface anomaly measuring 600-1,200 metres wide and 2,100 metres long. A historic resource estimated 1.5 million oz. gold at a grade of 0.5 gram gold. 

Arizona Metals has a market cap of about $214 million.

Blackrock Silver

In what will be its most aggressive drill campaign in two years, Blackrock Silver (TSXV: BRC; US-OTC: BKRRF) kicked off in July a 20,000-metre drill program at its Tonopah West project, in western Nevada’s Walker Lane gold and silver district. 

The company plans to drill 50 holes over five months with three drill rigs (two core and one reverse circulation), mostly focused on upgrading inferred resources. Forty of the holes will be in-fill drilling in the shallower portions of the Bermuda and Merten vein systems. The two vein systems are expected to be the first structures encountered in the company’s conceptual mine- plan. 

A resource update last October pegged inferred resources at 6.2 million tonnes in a block diluted grade of 242.6 grams silver and 2.9 grams gold (508.5 grams silver-equivalent), using a cut-off grade of 200 silver-equivalent grams. 

Ten holes will focus on expansion drilling targeting prospective mineralization in a gap along a vein corridor that spans 1,000 metres. Blackrock says it anticipates the drilling will link up its DPB and NW step-out resource areas together.  

Tonopah West’s DPB vein system has been tracked to the property boundary with Blackrock Silver’s Tonopah North lithium property. 

Lithium values intercepted at Tonopah North have been as high as 1,660 parts per million (ppm), with zones of mineralization across an area of 7.2 sq. km at surface. The project is adjacent to American Lithium’s (TSXV: LI; NASDAQ: AMLI) TLC project. 

In addition, the company is exploring the Silver Cloud gold and silver project, adjacent to Hecla Mining’s (NYSE: HL) Hollister project. Discovery drill hole SBC22-020 in December 2022 cut 52.62 grams gold and 606 grams silver over 1.5 metres starting from 307.5 metres depth.   

Blackrock Silver has a market cap of about $61.5 million. 

Century Lithium  

Century Lithium (TSXV: LCE; US-OTC: CYDVF) recently completed a feasibility study on its Angel Island Mine lithium project in Nevada, immediately east of Albemarle’s (NYSE: ABL) Silver Peak mine, North America’s only lithium brine operation.  

The project, formerly known as Clayton Valley, is expected to produce an annual average of 34,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) over a life of 40 years, according to the April study. 

Phase 1 production capacity of 13,000 tonnes LCE per year comes at a capital cost of US$1.5 billion. Expanding that capacity to 28,000 tonnes per year will cost another US$651 million, and to increase that to 41,000 tonnes per year has a price tag of US$1.3 billion. Phase 1 and 2 production rates are maintained over five years each with the third stage at 30 years. 

The study forecast average operating costs of US$8,223 per tonne of LCE produced, an after-tax net present value (at an 8% discount rate) of US$3 billion and an internal rate of return of 17.1%. 

Century Lithium plans to use a patent-pending chloride leaching process combined with direct lithium extraction (DLE). The feasibility study released in April was supported by more than two years of testing at the company’s pilot plant in the Amargosa Valley.  

In August, the company reported that it had added a lithium carbonate stage at its pilot plant. The plant treated 200 litres of concentrated lithium solution and produced 20 kg of high-grade LCE on site in the first days of startup. 

The lithium clay deposit has 1.1 billion measured and indicated tonnes averaging 966 ppm lithium for 1.1 million tonnes of contained lithium or 5.9 million tonnes of LCE. Inferred resources add 187.3 million tonnes grading 820 ppm lithium for 154,000 tonnes of lithium or 817,000 tonnes of LCE. 

Century Lithium has a market cap of $37.2 million. 

Excelsior Mining  

Excelsior Mining (TSX: MIN; US-OTC: EXMGF) is working with Rio Tinto’s (ASX: RIO; LSE: RIO; NYSE: RIO) Nuton LLC to evaluate the use of Nuton’s copper heap leaching technologies to restart the past-producing Johnson Camp in southeastern Arizona. 

Nuton’s copper heap leaching technologies are targeted at primary sulphide minerals, including lower-grade mineral deposits, which could not otherwise be processed economically using traditional leaching or sulphide processing technologies. 

In May, the two companies proceeded to the second stage of their option agreement at Johnson Camp, in Cochise County.  

The second stage work program is expected to take up to five years, and if successful, will demonstrate key elements of Nuton’s technologies at an industrial scale. Under the companies’ agreement, Excelsior will provide the mineralized material, existing plant and infrastructure, permits, people and management, and Nuton the expertise, support, specific equipment and funding. 

Nuton copper will be produced in the first half of next year and when Stage 2 is completed, Nuton has the right to form a joint venture at Johnson, giving it an initial 49%. If a JV isn’t formed, Excelsior can use Nuton technology under a licence. 

Nuton will pay Excelsior US$5 million for the use of its infrastructure during the second phase 2 work program and Nuton will receive all operating income less Excelsior’s royalty an0d stream obligations until the costs are repaid.  

In August, Excelsior kicked off construction of its leach pad. 

Excelsior’s flagship project is its nearby Gunnison in-situ recovery mine, one of the largest unmined copper resources in the United States. Gunnison is permitted for up to 125 million lb. of copper cathode per year. 

Excelsior has a market cap of $54 million. 

Faraday Copper  

Faraday Copper (TSX: FDY; US-OTC: CPPKF) is continuing to drill at its flagship Copper Creek project after releasing a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) last year. Copper Creek is a 3-km-long porphyry copper deposit in Pinal County, 70 km northeast of Tucson, Ariz. 

The current drill program encompasses the American Eagle area, targeting near-surface breccia-hosted mineralization situated above the underground resource at Copper Creek, and the Rum area, 3.5 km to the northwest of American Eagle, targeting porphyry-hosted mineralization exposed at surface. 

In June, Faraday released the results of the first two drill holes at American Eagle. Drill hole FCD-24-064 returned 20.1 metres of 1.2% copper, 0.1% molybdenum and 6.8 grams silver from 406.6 metres downhole or about 230 metres below surface. The intercept was within a broader 100.3-metre interval of 0.42% copper, 0.02% molybdenum and 1.84 grams silver starting from 395.4 metres. The hole ended in mineralization. 

The second hole cut about 23 metres of 0.58% copper from 227.3 metres. The intercept was within a 142.7-metre intercept grading 0.31% copper from a depth of 219.3 metres, or less than 150 metres below surface. The results from this hole represent the discovery of copper mineralization at the previously undrilled SK-3 and Prada breccias.  

A May 2023 PEA estimated initial capital costs at US$798 million. The study outlined a post-tax net present value (at a 7% discount rate) of US$713 million and an internal rate of return of 16%. Construction would take about two years and the payback period was forecast at just over four years. 

The operation, which will initially start as an open pit before going underground, will have a life of 32 years, producing 3.2 billion lb. of copper, plus 45.1 million lb. of molybdenum and 9.7 million oz. of silver. 

Copper Creek hosts total open pit and underground resources of 421.9 million measured and indicated tonnes grading 0.45% copper, 0.008% molybdenum and 1.1 grams silver. Contained metals are 4.2 billion lb. of copper, 74.6 million lb. molybdenum and 15.5 million oz. silver. Inferred resources total 83.6 million tonnes at 0.34% copper, 0.007 % molybdenum, and 0.6 gram silver, for 628.2 million contained copper lb., 13.4 million lb. molybdenum and 1.7 million silver ounces.     

Faraday Copper has a market cap of $160 million. 

Nevada King Gold  

Nevada King Gold (TSXV: NKG; US-OTC: NKGFF) is focused on drilling its past-producing Atlanta gold mine project along the Battle Mountain Trend in southeastern Nevada, 130 km southeast of Ely. 

As part of a strategic reorganization in July, it spun out its remaining concessions in the state to Nevada King shareholders in a new company called NV King Goldlands. 

The spin-out, which won’t be publicly listed, holds target areas along the Battle Mountain Trend including the Lewis and Horse-Mountain-Mill Creek projects, both located between the Phoenix and Pipeline mines owned by Nevada Gold Mines, a Barrick Gold (TSX: ABX; NYSE: GOLD) and Newmont (TSX: NGT; NYSE: NEM) joint venture; and the Iron Point project, 35 km east of Winnemucca.  

In addition, NV King Goldlands was granted a 3% net smelter return royalty on all future gold and silver production from the Atlanta gold mine project, including the Atlanta resource area and non-core claims surrounding the project. 

The spin-out enables Nevada King to concentrate on the Atlanta project, where it’s in a second-phase drill program. Assay highlights include 54.9 metres grading 6.3 grams gold starting 148 metres downhole in drill hole AT24-HG-41.  

Drillhole AT23WS-44, released in October 2023, cut 108.2 metres of 11.64 grams gold and 17.4 grams silver starting from 215 metres, including a 29-metre interval of 37.16 grams gold and 34.4 grams silver. 

The Atlanta mine produced 110,000 oz. gold and 800,000 oz. silver from 1.4 million tonnes between 1975 and 1985. More than 40,000 metres were later drilled by Gold Fields (NYSE: GFI), Kinross Gold (TSX: K; NYSE: KGC) and Meadow Bay Gold starting in the early 1990s.  

Nevada King has a market cap of $96 million. 

Surge Battery Metals  

In February, Surge Battery Metals (TSXV: NILI; US-OTC: NILIF) completed the first resource estimate for its Nevada North lithium project, 73 km northeast of Wells in Elko County. 

At a cut-off grade of 1,250 ppm lithium, Nevada North contains 309.3 million inferred tonnes grading 2,839 ppm lithium for 4.7 million tonnes of LCE. 

The company’s most recent drill program began at the end of May. It consists of eight reverse-circulation drill holes testing an area 1 km to the west and up to 1.2 km to the south of the resource. The results will be used to update the resource model and incorporated into a PEA later this year. 

Assay results from four surface holes released in July indicate that thick, high-grade and near-surface mineralization continues to the south of the resource area. Select intercepts include 6.1 metres of 2,696 ppm lithium from surface in drill hole NNL-021, 15.2 metres of 4,661 ppm lithium from 12.2 metres and 26 metres of 3,859 ppm lithium from 32 metres downhole. 

NNL-022 cut 25.9 metres of 4,605 ppm lithium from 13.7 metres downhole and 42.7 metres of 3,734 ppm lithium starting from 64 metres below surface. Hole NNL-024 cut 27.4 metres of 4,043 ppm lithium from surface and 45.7 metres of 3,093 ppm lithium from 35.1 metres. 

Surge Battery Metals has a market cap of $52 million.