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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

FORM 10-K/A

(Amendment No. 1)

 

x ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022

 

¨ TRANSITION REPORT UNDER SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

Commission File No. 000-54653

AUGUSTA GOLD CORP.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

Nevada  41-2252162
(State or Other Jurisdiction
Of Incorporation or Organization)
  (I.R.S. Employer Identification
Number)

 

Suite 555 – 999 Canada Place
Vancouver
, BC, Canada
  V6C 3E1
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)  (Zip Code)

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (604) 687-1717

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: Common Stock, $0.0001 par value per share

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ¨ No x

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. Yes ¨ No x

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the issuer was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes x No ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

 

Large accelerated filer ¨   Accelerated filer ¨
         
Non-accelerated filer x   Smaller reporting company x
         
      Emerging growth company ¨

 

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ¨

 

If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ¨

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.) Yes ¨ No x

 

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common stock was last sold as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter was $37,573,924.

 

Indicate the number of shares outstanding of each of the issuer’s classes of common stock, as of the latest practicable date: 85,929,753 shares of common stock par value $0.0001, were outstanding on December 19, 2023.

 

Auditor Firm ID:

731

Auditor Name:

DAVIDSON & COMPANY LLP

Auditor Location:

Vancouver, Canada

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXPLANATORY NOTE

 

Augusta Gold Corp. (the “Company”) hereby files this Amendment No. 1 (the “Amended Report”) to its annual report on Form 10-K as originally filed with the SEC on March 16, 2023 (the “Original Report”) to update our mineral property disclosures in the Original Report to align with certain of the technical requirements of subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K (“S-K 1300”). This Amended Report is being filed to (i) amend “Item 2. Properties”, and (ii) file amended versions of “Exhibit 96.1 S-K 1300 Technical Report, Mineral Resource Estimate, Bullfrog Gold Project, Nye County, Nevada” and “Exhibit 96.2 Mineral Resource Estimate for the Reward Project, Nye County, Nevada, USA”, in each case, to update only the following disclosure:

 

·Revisions to include cutoff grades for our mineral resource estimates and related disclosure thereto;

·Revisions to opinions of certain qualified persons to conform to respective requirements of S-K 1300; and

·Revisions to explain with particularity, your reasons for using the selected commodity price, including the material assumptions underlying this selection

 

These updates do not change the conclusions, economic results, or mineral resources estimates.  This Amended Report also contains updated consents of the authors of the revised technical report summary filed as exhibits hereto.

 

In addition, pursuant to Rule 12b-15 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, as a result of this Form 10-K/A, the Company is refiling the certifications of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, required pursuant to Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as exhibits 31.1 and 31.2 to this Form 10-K/A.

 

Outside of changes to the items and exhibit as noted above, the updated consents of the authors of the technical reports, and the certifications of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, this Amended Report does not otherwise amend, supplement, update or revise any portion of the Original Report which remains unchanged since the date of its filing. Furthermore, this Amended Report does not change any previously reported financial results, nor does it reflect events occurring after the date of the Original Report. Information not affected by this Form 10-K/A remains unchanged and reflects the disclosures made at the time the Original Report was filed. Accordingly, this Form 10-K/A should be read in conjunction with the Original Report and the Company’s other filings with the SEC subsequent to the filing of the Original Report.

 

ii

 

 

CAUTIONARY NOTE TO INVESTORS REGARDING ESTIMATES OF MEASURED, INDICATED AND INFERRED RESOURCES AND PROVEN AND PROBABLE MINERAL RESERVES

 

We are subject to the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and applicable Canadian securities laws, and as a result we report our mineral reserves and mineral resources according to two different standards. U.S. reporting requirements are governed by subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K under the Exchange Act (“S-K 1300”). Canadian reporting requirements for disclosure of mineral properties are governed by NI 43-101. Both sets of reporting standards have similar goals in terms of conveying an appropriate level of confidence in the disclosures being reported, but the standards embody slightly different approaches and definitions.

 

In our public filings in the U.S. and Canada and in certain other announcements not filed with the SEC, we disclose proven and probable reserves and measured, indicated and inferred resources, each as defined in S-K 1300 and NI 43-101. As currently reported, there are no material differences in our disclosed measured, indicated and inferred resource under each of S-K 1300 and NI 43-101. The estimation of measured resources and indicated resources involve greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic feasibility than the estimation of proven and probable reserves, and therefore investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated resources will ever be converted into S-K 1300-compliant or NI 43-101-compliant reserves. The estimation of inferred resources involves far greater uncertainty as to their existence and economic viability than the estimation of other categories of resources, and therefore it cannot be assumed that all or any part of inferred resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Therefore, investors are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of inferred resources exist, or that they can be mined legally or economically.

 

1

 

 

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

  

This Annual Report on Form 10-K/A and the exhibits attached hereto contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation, collectively “forward-looking statements”. Such forward-looking statements concern our anticipated results and developments in the operations of the Company in future periods, planned exploration activities, the adequacy of the Company’s financial resources and other events or conditions that may occur in the future. Forward-looking statements are frequently, but not always, identified by words such as “expects,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “intends,” “estimates,” “potential,” “possible” and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions or results “will,” “may,” “could” or “should” (or the negative and grammatical variations of any of these terms) occur or be achieved. These forward looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements concerning:

 

·the Company’s strategies and objectives, both generally and in respect of the Bullfrog Gold Project and Reward Gold Project;

·the recommendations of the Technical Reports for the Bullfrog Gold Project and Reward Gold Project;

·the Company’s decisions regarding the timing and costs of exploration programs with respect to, and the issuance of the necessary permits and authorizations required for, the Company’s exploration programs at the Bullfrog Gold Project and Reward Gold Project;

·the Company’s estimates of the quality and quantity of the mineralized materials at its mineral properties;

·the potential discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/reserves and any expansion thereof beyond the current estimate;

·the Company’s expectation that it will become a gold producer;

·the Company’s estimates of future operating and financial performance;

·the Company’s potential funding requirements and sources of capital, including near-term sources of additional cash and long-term financing through the sale of equity and/or debt financings and through the exercise of stock options and warrants;

·the Company’s expectation that the Company will continue to raise capital;

·the Company’s expectation that the Company will continue to incur losses and will not pay dividends for the foreseeable future;

·the Company’s estimates of its future cash position;

·the Company’s anticipated general business and economic conditions;

·the Company’s ability to meet its financial obligations as they come due, and to be able to raise the necessary funds to continue operations; and

·that the Company will operate at a loss for the foreseeable future.

 

Such forward-looking statements reflect the Company’s current views with respect to future events and are subject to certain known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks related to:

 

·our history of losses;

·negative cash flow;

·our limited operating history;

·increased costs affecting our financial condition;

·the Bullfrog Gold Project and Reward Gold Project being in the exploration stage;

·whether the Bullfrog Gold Project and Reward Gold Project are feasible;

·the Bullfrog Gold Project and Reward Gold Project requiring substantial capital investment;

·our inability to obtain required permits;

·our status as a junior mining company;

·difficulties in managing growth;

·our potential loss of key persons;

·risks related to the evolving novel coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic and health crisis and the governmental and regulatory actions taken in response thereto;

·the risks of mineral exploration;

 

2

 

 

·evaluation uncertainty in estimating mineralized material;

·changes in estimates of mineralized material;

·our exploration projects not succeeding;

·price volatility of gold and silver;

·environmental regulations;

·challenges to title to our properties;

·amendments to mining law;

·supply shortages;

·inability to maintain infrastructure to conduct exploration activities;

·new regulation related to climate change;

·relationships with communities in which we operate;

·newly adopted mining disclosure regulations;

·evolving corporate standards;

·Canadian reporting requirements; and

·The price of the shares of common stock being volatile.

 

Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein. This list of factors that may affect any of the Company’s forward-looking statements is not exhaustive. Forward-looking statements are statements about the future and are inherently uncertain, and actual achievements of the Company or other future events or conditions may differ materially from those reflected in the forward-looking statements due to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors, including without limitation those discussed in “Part I, Item 1A, Risk Factors”, of our Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the SEC on March 16, 2023, as well as other factors described elsewhere in that Annual Report, this report and the Company’s other reports filed with the SEC.

 

The Company’s forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A are based on the beliefs, expectations and opinions of management as of the date of this Annual Report. The Company does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management’s beliefs, expectations or opinions should change, except as required by law. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not attribute undue certainty to or place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

 

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GLOSSARY OF SELECTED MINING TERMS

 

Ag Silver
   
Au Gold
   
Breccia Broken sedimentary and volcanic rock fragments cemented by a fine-grained matrix
   
Clastic Rock Fragments, or clasts, of pre-existing minerals
   
Cutoff Grade The grade (i.e., the concentration of metal or mineral in rock) that determines the destination of the material during mining. For purposes of establishing “prospects of economic extraction,” the cut-off grade is the grade that distinguishes material deemed to have no economic value (it will not be mined in underground mining or if mined in surface mining, its destination will be the waste dump) from material deemed to have economic value (its ultimate destination during mining will be a processing facility). Other terms used in similar fashion as cut-off grade include net smelter return, pay limit, and break-even stripping ratio.
   
Deposit A mineralized body which has been physically delineated by sufficient drilling, trenching, and/or underground work, and found to contain a sufficient average grade of metal or metals to warrant further exploration and/or development expenditures. Such a deposit does not qualify as a commercially mineable ore body or as containing reserves or ore, unless final legal, technical and economic factors are resolved
   
Detachment Fault A regionally extensive, gently dipping normal fault that is commonly associated with extension in large blocks of the earth’s crust
   
g/t Grams per metric tonne
   
Metamorphic Rock Rock that has transformed to another rock form after intense heat and pressure
   
Miocene A geologic era that extended from 5 million to 23 million years ago
   
Mineralization The concentration of metals and their chemical compounds within a body of rock
   
Net Smelter Royalty A percentage payable to an owner or lessee from the production or net proceeds received by the operator from a smelter or refinery, less transportation, insurance, smelting and refining costs and penalties as set out in a royalty agreement.
   
Paleozoic A geologic era extending from 230 million to 540 million years ago
   
Photogrammetry The science of making measurements from photographs; the output is typically a map or a drawing
   
Proterozoic A geologic era extending from 540 million years to 2,500 million years ago.
   
Reverse Circulation (RC) A drilling method whereby drill cuttings are returned to the surface through the annulus between inner and outer drill rods, thereby minimizing contamination from wall rock.
   
Rhyolite An igneous, volcanic extrusive rock containing more than 65% silica.
   
Schist A group metamorphic rocks that contain more than 50% platy and elongated minerals such as mica.
   
Siliciclastic Rock Non-carbonate sedimentary rocks that are almost exclusively silicas-bearing, either as quartz or silicate minerals.
   
Tertiary A geologic era from 2.6 million to 65 million years ago.

 

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S-K 1300 Definitions

 

Exploration Stage Issuer An “exploration stage issuer” is an issuer that has no material property with mineral reserves disclosed.
   
Exploration Stage Property An “exploration stage property” is a property that has no mineral reserves disclosed.
   
Development Stage Issuer A “development stage issuer” is an issuer that is engaged in the preparation of mineral reserves for extraction on at least one material property.
   
Development Stage Property A “development stage property” is a property that has mineral reserves disclosed, pursuant to this subpart, but no material extraction.
   
Indicated Mineral Resource An “indicated mineral resource” is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of adequate geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological certainty associated with an indicated mineral resource is sufficient to allow a qualified person to apply modifying factors in sufficient detail to support mine planning and evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Because an indicated mineral resource has a lower level of confidence than the level of confidence of a measured mineral resource, an indicated mineral resource may only be converted to a probable mineral reserve
   
Inferred Mineral Resource An “inferred mineral resource” is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of limited geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological uncertainty associated with an inferred mineral resource is too high to apply relevant technical and economic factors likely to influence the prospects of economic extraction in a manner useful for evaluation of economic viability. Because an inferred mineral resource has the lowest level of geological confidence of all mineral resources, which prevents the application of the modifying factors in a manner useful for evaluation of economic viability, an inferred mineral resource may not be considered when assessing the economic viability of a mining project, and may not be converted to a mineral reserve.
   
Measured Mineral Resource A “measured mineral resource” is that part of a mineral resource for which quantity and grade or quality are estimated on the basis of conclusive geological evidence and sampling. The level of geological certainty associated with a measured mineral resource is sufficient to allow a qualified person to apply modifying factors, as defined in this section, in sufficient detail to support detailed mine planning and final evaluation of the economic viability of the deposit. Because a measured mineral resource has a higher level of confidence than the level of confidence of either an indicated mineral resource or an inferred mineral resource, a measured mineral resource may be converted to a proven mineral reserve or to a probable mineral reserve.
   
Mineral Reserve A “mineral reserve” is an estimate of tonnage and grade or quality of indicated and measured mineral resources that, in the opinion of the qualified person, can be the basis of an economically viable project. More specifically, it is the economically mineable part of a measured or indicated mineral resource, which includes diluting materials and allowances for losses that may occur when the material is mined or extracted
   
Mineral Resource A “mineral resource” is a concentration or occurrence of material of economic interest in or on the Earth's crust in such form, grade or quality, and quantity that there are reasonable prospects for economic extraction. A mineral resource is a reasonable estimate of mineralization, taking into account relevant factors such as cut-off grade, likely mining dimensions, location or continuity, that, with the assumed and justifiable technical and economic conditions, is likely to, in whole or in part, become economically extractable. It is not merely an inventory of all mineralization drilled or sampled.

 

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Modifying Factors Modifying factors are the factors that a qualified person must apply to indicated and measured mineral resources and then evaluate in order to establish the economic viability of mineral reserves. A qualified person must apply and evaluate modifying factors to convert measured and indicated mineral resources to proven and probable mineral reserves. These factors include, but are not restricted to: Mining; processing; metallurgical; infrastructure; economic; marketing; legal; environmental compliance; plans, negotiations, or agreements with local individuals or groups; and governmental factors. The number, type and specific characteristics of the modifying factors applied will necessarily be a function of and depend upon the mineral, mine, property, or project.
   
Probable Reserve A “probable mineral reserve” is the economically mineable part of an indicated and, in some cases, a measured mineral resource.
   
Production Stage Issuer A “production stage issuer” is an issuer that is engaged in material extraction of mineral reserves on at least one material property.
   
Production Stage Property A “production stage property” is a property with material extraction of mineral reserves.
   
Proven Reserve A “proven mineral reserve” is the economically mineable part of a measured mineral resource and can only result from conversion of a measured mineral resource.

 

USE OF NAMES

 

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K/A, unless the context otherwise requires, the terms "we", "us", "our", "Augusta Gold", "Augusta Gold Corp." or the "Company" refer to Augusta Gold Corp., a Delaware corporation, and its subsidiaries.

 

CURRENCY

 

References to CDN or C$ refer to Canadian currency and USD or $ to United States currency.

 

METRIC CONVERSION TABLE

 

To Convert Metric Measurement Units   To Imperial Measurement Units   Multiply by
Hectares   Acres   2.4710
Meters   Feet   3.2808
Kilometers   Miles   0.6214
Tonnes   Tons (short)   1.1023
Liters   Gallons   0.2642
Grams   Ounces (troy)   0.0322
Grams per tonne   Ounces (troy) per ton (short)   0.0292

 

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PART I

 

ITEM 2. PROPERTIES

 

Technical Report Summaries

 

The technical report for the Bullfrog Gold Project is the technical report summary, prepared pursuant to S-K 1300, entitled “S-K 1300 Technical Report, Mineral Resource Estimate, Bullfrog Gold Project, Nye County, Nevada” with an effective date of December 31, 2021, and an issue date of March 16, 2022 (the “Bullfrog Technical Report”).

 

The Bullfrog Technical Report was prepared by Forte Dynamics, Inc. under the supervision of Russ Downer, P. Eng. and Adam House, MMSA QP, each of whom is a qualified person under S-K 1300 and NI 43-101.

 

The description of the Bullfrog Gold Project contained herein is based upon the Bullfrog Technical Report.

 

The technical report for the Reward Gold Project is the technical report summary, prepared pursuant to S-K 1300, entitled “Mineral Resource Estimate for the Reward Project, Nye County, Nevada” with an effective date of May 31, 2022, and an issue date of June 29, 2022 (the “Reward Technical Report”).

 

The Reward Technical Report was prepared by Michael Dufresne, M.Sc., P. Geol., P.Geo, and Timothy D. Scott, SME, each of whom is a qualified person under S-K 1300 and NI 43-101.

 

The description of the Reward Gold Project contained herein is based upon the Reward Technical Report.

 

Summary of Mineral Properties

 

Augusta Gold currently has interests in four gold exploration properties located in the state of Nevada, including the Bullfrog Gold Project and the Reward Gold Project. Each of the properties are exploration stage properties with measured, indicated and inferred resources but no known mineral reserves and our primary operations are exploring these properties to move them towards a development decision.

 

Ownership Interests

 

· At our Bullfrog Project, we have four option/lease/purchase agreements in place and, with the additional claims it has located, give it control of 734 unpatented lode mining claims and mill site claims, and 87 patented mining claims. The claims do not have an expiration date, as long as the fees and obligations are maintained. For additional details see “Bullfrog Gold Project, Nye County Nevada – Property Holdings” below.

· At our Reward Project, the project encompasses 123 unpatented Bureau of Land Management (BLM) placer and lode mining claims and six patented placer mining claims, totalling approximately 2,333 net acres (944 hectares). Only the patented claims have been legally surveyed. Under United States mining law, claims may be renewed annually for an unlimited number of years upon a small payment per claim (currently $155 per claim due to the BLM and an aggregate $1,502 due to Nye County) and the same claim status-whether lode or placer-may be used for exploration or exploitation of the lodes or placers.

 

Several blocks of unpatented claims are leased by CR Reward from underlying owners, and are referred to as Connolly, Webster, Orser-McFall and Van Meeteren leases.

 

In total our options and leases cover 15,998 net acres in the aggregate, consisting of a mix of 93 patented mining claims, 857 unpatented mining claims either leased with option to purchase, or joint ventured, and private property leases.

 

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Summary Mineral Resources

 

Summary Mineral Resources at End of Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022

 

   Measured mineral
resources (koz)
   Indicated mineral
resources (koz)
   Measured and indicated
mineral resources (koz)
   Inferred mineral
resources (koz)
 
Gold                    
United States (Nevada)                    
Bullfrog Project   526.7    682.6    1,209.3    257.9 
Reward Project   169.9    256.8    426.7    27.1 
Total Gold   696.6    939.4    1636.0    285.0 
                     
Silver                    
United States (Nevada)                    
Bullfrog Project   1309.1    1557.5    2866.6    515.7 
Total Silver   1309.1    1557.5    2866.6    515.7 

 

Notes:

 

·Bullfrog oxide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 82% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 20% For Ag.

·Bullfrog sulphide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 50% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 12% for Ag.

·Gold price and Silver price used in the Bullfrog estimated Mineral Resources were based on a review of commodity prices and compared to a three-year trailing average at the time of the estimates with a good correlation.

·Reward oxide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,700/oz and a recovery of 80% for Au were utilized.

·Gold price used in the Reward estimated Mineral Resources were based on a review of commodity prices at the time of the estimate and assumed a price of US$1,700 per oz of gold based upon a 3 year trailing average.

·Bullfrog oxide Mineral Resources are reported using a breakeven cutoff grade of 0.192 g/tonne and sulphide Mineral Resources are reported using a breakeven cutoff grade of 0.315 g/tonne.

·Reward Mineral Resources are reported using a 0.2 g/tonne incremental cut-off grade.

·Bullfrog mining costs for mineralized material and waste are US$2.25/tonne.

·Reward mining costs for mineralized material and waste are US$2.20/tonne

·Bullfrog processing, general and administration, and refining costs are US$5.00/tonne, US$0.50/tonne, and US$0.05/tonne respectively.

·Reward processing and general and administration are US$6.06/tonne and US$0.83/tonne per tonne processed, respectively

·Bullfrog Estimated Mineral Resources are stated as in situ dry metric tonnes.

·The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues

 

Bullfrog Gold Project, Nye County, Nevada

 

Summary Disclosure

 

We hold the Bullfrog Project through our wholly-owned subsidiaries Bullfrog Mines, Rocky Mountain Minerals Corp., a Nevada corporation (“RMMC”) and Standard Gold Corp., a Nevada corporation (“SGC”).

 

Property Location and Access

 

The Bullfrog Gold Project is located in the Bullfrog Hills of Nye County, Nevada and in the southern half of the Bullfrog Mining District (Figure 1). Project properties are located in Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 25, 26, 35 and 36 of T11S, R46E and Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 23 of T12S, R46E, Mt. Diablo Meridian.

 

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The Bullfrog Gold Project is accessible via a 2½ hour (120 mile) drive north of Las Vegas, Nevada on US Highway 95. Las Vegas, the largest city in Nevada, is serviced by a major international airport, and has ample equipment, supplies and services to support many of the project’s needs. The project is 4 miles west of the Town of Beatty, Nevada via a paved highway. Beatty has a population of approximately 1,000 and can provide basic housing, services, and supplies. Access around the project is by a series of reasonably good gravel roads that extend to the open pit mines and most of the significant exploration areas.

 

 

 

Figure 1: Location Map

 

Project Stage

 

The Bullfrog Gold Project is an exploration stage property with measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources but no known mineral reserves.

 

Mineral Resources Estimates

 

Mineral resources utilize all new drilling through the end of 2021 in addition to updated geologic models and database improvements by the Company’s staff. Three-dimensional block models for each area (Bullfrog, Montgomery-Shoshone and Bonanza) were created using Vulcan software. Surfaces and solids representing topography, overburden, geologic units, historic stope shapes and gold mineralization were incorporated into the resource models. Resource estimates utilize drill hole, survey, analytical and bulk density information provided by the project personnel. Gold and silver values have been given null values for all material that has been historically mined by both open pit and underground methods. Bulk density has been adjusted for backfill material placed in the historical open pit and underground operations.

 

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Mineral resources are pit constrained using reasonable cost assumptions, however detailed costing and economic evaluations have not been performed. The resources only consider mining mineralization and waste that will take place on lands controlled by the Company. Pit slope parameters are based on the existing pit wall angles and vary by geology, depth and lateral extent. Different metallurgical recoveries were assigned to oxide and sulphide material and used in the calculation of the optimized pit shells.

 

Mineral resources are reported inside optimized pit shells with Minemax software using high-level economic assumptions, geotechnical pit slope parameters and property boundaries. Estimated mineral resources for the Bullfrog Project are being reported for the Bullfrog, Montgomery-Shoshone and Bonanza areas, respectively.

 

The following table presents the combined global gold and silver mineral resources for the three areas, Bullfrog, Montgomery-Shoshone and Bonanza, at the Bullfrog Gold Project.

 

Bullfrog Gold Project - Summary of Gold and Silver Mineral Resources at the End of the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 Based on $1,550/oz. Gold and $20/oz. Silver

 

Combined Global Resources - Oxide and Sulphide
Classification 

Tonnes

(Mt)

  

Au grade

(g/t)

  

Ag grade

(g/t)

  

Au Contained

(koz)

  

Ag Contained

(koz)

 
Measured   30.13    0.544    1.35    526.68    1,309.13 
Indicated   40.88    0.519    1.18    682.61    1,557.49 
Measured and Indicated   71.01    0.530    1.26    1,209.29    2,866.62 
Inferred   16.69    0.481    0.96    257.90    515.72 

 

Notes:

 

1. Oxide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 82% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 20% For Ag.

2. Sulphide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 50% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 12% for Ag. No sulphide material was reported for Montgomery-Shoshone or Bonanza.
3. Gold price and Silver price used in the Bullfrog estimated Mineral Resources were based on a review of commodity prices and compared to a three-year trailing average at the time of the estimate with good correlation.
4. Bullfrog oxide Mineral Resources are reported using a breakeven cutoff grade of 0.192 g/tonne and sulphide Mineral Resources are reported using a breakeven cutoff grade of 0.315 g/tonne..

5. Mining costs for mineralized material and waste are US$2.25/tonne.

6. Processing, general and administration, and refining costs are US$5.00/tonne, US$0.50/tonne, and US$0.05/tonne respectively.

7. Due to rounding, some columns or rows may not compute as shown.

8. Estimated Mineral Resources are stated as in situ dry metric tonnes.

9. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

 

10

 

 

The following tables present the gold and silver mineral resources for each of the three project areas, Bullfrog, Montgomery-Shoshone and Bonanza.

 

Bullfrog Gold Project - Bullfrog Area, Gold and Silver Mineral Resources at the End of the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 Based on $1,550/oz. Gold and $20/oz. Silver

 

Mineral Resources - Bullfrog
Redox  Classification  Tonnes
(Mt)
   Au grade
(g/t)
   Ag grade
(g/t)
   Au Contained
(koz)
   Ag Contained
(koz)
 
   Measured   24.50    0.537    1.28    422.77    1,010.02 
   Indicated   36.32    0.515    1.14    602.02    1,332.18 
Oxide  Measured and Indicated   60.82    0.524    1.20    1,024.79    2,342.20 
   Inferred   14.40    0.460    0.77    213.06    358.49 
                             
   Measured   1.30    0.710    1.28    29.77    53.52 
   Indicated   1.99    0.625    1.32    39.94    84.47 
Sulphide  Measured and Indicated   3.29    0.659    1.30    69.72    137.99 
   Inferred   1.05    0.657    1.14    22.14    38.53 
                             
   Measured   25.80    0.545    1.28    452.55    1,063.54 
   Indicated   38.31    0.521    1.15    641.96    1,416.65 
Total - Oxide and Sulphide  Measured and Indicated   64.12    0.531    1.20    1,094.51    2,480.19 
   Inferred   15.44    0.474    0.80    235.20    397.02 

 

Notes:

 

1. Oxide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 82% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 20% For Ag.

2. Sulphide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 50% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 12% for Ag.
3. Gold price and Silver price used in the Bullfrog estimated Mineral Resources were based on a review of commodity prices and compared to a three-year trailing average at the time of the estimate with good correlation.
4. Bullfrog oxide Mineral Resources are reported using a breakeven cutoff grade of 0.192 g/tonne and sulphide Mineral Resources are reported using a breakeven cutoff grade of 0.315 g/tonne.

5. Mining costs for mineralized material and waste are US$2.25/tonne.

6. Processing, general and administration, and refining costs are US$5.00/tonne, US$0.50/tonne, and US$0.05/tonne respectively.

7. Due to rounding, some columns or rows may not compute as shown.

8. Estimated Mineral Resources are stated as in situ dry metric tonnes.

9. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

  

Bullfrog Gold Project - Montgomery-Shoshone Area, Gold and Silver Mineral Resources at the End of the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 Based on $1,550/oz. Gold and $20/oz. Silver

 

Mineral Resources - Montgomery-Shoshone
Redox  Classification 

Tonnes

(Mt)

  

Au grade

(g/t)

  

Ag grade

(g/t)

  

Au Contained

(koz)

  

Ag Contained

(koz)

 
   Measured   1.97    0.637    3.35    40.35    212.12 
   Indicated   1.35    0.555    2.85    24.04    123.66 
Oxide  Measured and Indicated   3.32    0.603    3.15    64.38    335.78 
   Inferred   1.05    0.586    3.45    19.76    116.41 

 

Notes:

 

1. Oxide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 82% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 20% For Ag.

2. Sulphide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 50% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 12% for Ag. No sulphide material was reported for Montgomery-Shoshone.
3. Gold price and Silver price used in the Bullfrog estimated Mineral Resources were based on a review of commodity prices and compared to a three-year trailing average at the time of the estimate with good correlation.
4. Bullfrog oxide Mineral Resources are reported using a breakeven cutoff grade of 0.192 g/tonne and sulphide Mineral Resources are reported using a breakeven cutoff grade of 0.315 g/tonne.

5. Mining costs for mineralized material and waste are US$2.25/tonne.

6. Processing, general and administration, and refining costs are US$5.00/tonne, US$0.50/tonne, and US$0.05/tonne respectively.

7. Due to rounding, some columns or rows may not compute as shown.

8 Estimated Mineral Resources are stated as in situ dry metric tonnes.

9. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

 

11

 

 

Bullfrog Gold Project - Bonanza Area, Gold and Silver Mineral Resources at the End of the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2022 Based on $1,550/oz. Gold and $20/oz. Silver

 

Mineral Resources - Bonanza
Redox  Classification 

Tonnes

(Mt)

  

Au grade

(g/t)

  

Ag grade

(g/t)

  

Au Contained

(koz)

  

Ag Contained

(koz)

 
   Measured   2.35    0.446    0.44    33.78    33.48 
   Indicated   1.22    0.422    0.44    16.61    17.17 
Oxide  Measured and Indicated   3.58    0.438    0.44    50.40    50.65 
   Inferred   0.19    0.473    0.37    2.94    2.28 

 

Notes:

 

1. Oxide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 82% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 20% For Ag.

2. Sulphide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 50% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 12% for Ag. No sulphide material was reported for Bonanza.
3. Gold price and Silver price used in the Bullfrog estimated Mineral Resources were based on a review of commodity prices and compared to a three-year trailing average at the time of the estimate with good correlation.
4. Bullfrog oxide Mineral Resources are reported using a breakeven cutoff grade of 0.192 g/tonne and sulphide Mineral Resources are reported using a breakeven cutoff grade of 0.315 g/tonne.

5. Mining costs for mineralized material and waste are US$2.25/tonne.

6. Processing, general and administration, and refining costs are US$5.00/tonne, US$0.50/tonne, and US$0.05/tonne respectively.

7. Due to rounding, some columns or rows may not compute as shown.

8. Estimated Mineral Resources are stated as in situ dry metric tonnes.

9. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues

 

In each case above, Estimated Mineral Resources have not changed from December 31, 2021 to December 31, 2022 due to the fact that Bullfrog Gold Project is in the exploration stage and no new resources were added to the project through exploration activities in 2022. The material assumptions underlying mineral resources as previously disclosed at December 31, 2021 remain current in all material respects.

 

Property Holdings

 

We have four option/lease/purchase agreements in place and, with the additional claims it has located, give it control of 734 unpatented lode mining claims and mill site claims, and 87 patented mining claims. The claims do not have an expiration date, as long as the fees and obligations are maintained.

 

NPX Assignment of Lands

 

In September 2011, we issued 14.4 million shares of the Company to the shareholders of SGC to acquire 100% of SGC and its assets. SGC is a private Nevada corporation and now wholly owned by the Company. Concurrently, NPX Metals, Inc. (“NPX”) and Bull Frog Holding, Inc. (“BHI”) assigned all title and interests in 79 claims and two patents to SGC. The Company granted a production royalty of 3% NSR on the property to NPX and BHI, plus an aggregate 3% NSR cap on any acquired lands within one mile of the 2011 boundary. Thus, NPX and BHI would not receive any royalty on acquisitions having a 3% or greater NSR.

 

12

 

 

Mojave Gold Option

 

In March 2014, we formed RMMC, a private Nevada corporation, as a wholly owned subsidiary, specifically for holding and acquiring assets. On October 29, 2014, RMMC exercised an option to purchase from Mojave Gold Mining Co. 12 patents west and adjacent to our initial property holdings and that cover the NE half of the M-S pit. Mojave was paid 750,000 shares of our common stock plus $16,000. RMMC agreed to make annual payments totaling $180,000 over nine years to fully exercise the option, and expend as a minimum work commitment for the benefit of the Property $100,000 per year and a total of $500,000 over five years on the properties and surrounding lands within one-half mile of the 12 Mojave patents. Alternatively, RMMC can pay cash to Mojave at 50% of the difference between the minimum required and the actual expenditures. Mojave retained a sliding scale Net Smelter Return royalty ranging from 1% for gold prices below $1,200/ounce and up to 4% for gold prices above $3,200 per ounce.

 

Lunar Landing Lease

 

On July 1, 2017, RMMC entered a lease with Lunar Landing LLC on 24 patents in the Bullfrog District:

 

  · Two patents are adjacent and west of the M-S pit that could allow potential expansion of the pit down dip of the Polaris vein and stock work system.

  · Ten patents have provided the Company with contiguous and connecting lands between the M-S and Bullfrog pits. These patents will also allow further expansions of the Bullfrog pit to the north and east.

  · Four patents are within 0.5 to 1.2 miles west of the Bullfrog pit in the vicinity of the Bonanza Mountain open pit mine.

  · Eight patents are in an exploration target area located about 1.5 miles NW of the Bullfrog pit and where the Company has owned the Aurium patent since 2011.

 

The lease includes the following:

 

  · The Company paid $26,000 on signing and is scheduled to annually pay $16,000 for years 2-5, $21,000 for years 6-10, $25,000 for years 11-15, $30,000 for years 16-20, $40,000 for years 21-25 and $45,000 for years 26-30.

  · Production royalty of 5% net smelter returns with the right to buy-down to 2.5%.

  · The Company is to expend as a work commitment not less than $50,000 per year and $500,000 in total to maintain the lease.

  · The Company has rights to commingle ores and the flexibility to operate the Project as a logical land and mining unit.

 

Brown Claims

 

On January 29, 2018, RMMC purchased two patented claims (the “Brown Claims”), thereby eliminating minor constraints to expand the Bullfrog pit to the north. As partial consideration for the Brown Claims, RMMC granted the sellers of the Brown Claims a 5% net smelter returns royalty on the Brown Claims, of which 2.5% can be purchased by RMMC for aggregate consideration of US$37,500.

 

Barrick Claims

 

On October 26, 2020, the Company completed its acquisition of Bullfrog Mines pursuant to the MIPA with the Barrick Parties.

 

Pursuant to the MIPA, the Company purchased from the Barrick Parties all of the Equity Interests in Bullfrog Mines for aggregate consideration of (i) 54,600,000 units of the Company, each unit consisting of one share of common stock of the Company and one four-year warrant purchase one share of common stock of the Company at an exercise price of C$0.30 (such number of units and exercise price are set out on a pre-Consolidation basis), (ii) a 2% net smelter returns royalty (the “Barrick Royalty”) granted on all minerals produced from all of the patented and unpatented claims (subject to the adjustments set out below), pursuant to a royalty deed, dated October 26, 2020 by and among Bullfrog Mines and the Barrick Parties (the “Royalty Deed”), (iii) the Company granting indemnification to the Barrick Parties pursuant to an indemnity deed, dated October 26, 2020 by and among the Company, the Barrick Parties and Bullfrog Mines, and (iv) certain investor rights, including anti-dilution rights, pursuant to the investor rights agreement, dated October 26, 2020, among the Company, Augusta Investments Inc., and Barrick.

 

Through the Company’s acquisition of the Equity Interests, the Company acquired rights to the 1,500 acres of claims adjoining the Company’s Bullfrog Gold deposit.

 

13

 

 

Pursuant to the Royalty Deed, the Barrick Royalty is reduced to the extent necessary so that royalties burdening any individual parcel or claim included in the Barrick Properties on October 26, 2020, inclusive of the Barrick Royalty, would not exceed 5.5% in the aggregate, provided that the Barrick Royalty in respect of any parcel or claim would not be less than 0.5%, even if the royalties burdening a parcel or claim included in the Barrick Properties would exceed 5.5%.

 

Abitibi Royalties Option

 

On December 9, 2020, Bullfrog Mines entered into a mining option agreement with Abitibi Royalties (USA) Inc. (“Abitibi”) granting Bullfrog Mines the option (the “Abitibi Option”) to acquire forty-three unpatented lode mining claims to the south of the Bullfrog deposit. The Abitibi Option was amended on December 9, 2022, to extend the exercise deadline and to increase the last payment amount required to exercise the option. Bullfrog Mines made an initial payment to Abitibi of C$25,000 and exercised the Abitibi Option in full on January 30, 2023, by:

 

  · Paying to Abitibi C$50,000 in cash before December 9, 2021;

  · Paying to Abitibi C$78,750 in cash before January 30, 2023; and

  · Granting to Abitibi a 2% net smelter royalty on the claims subject to the Abitibi Option on January 30, 2023, of which Bullfrog Mines has the option to purchase 0.5% for C$500,000 on or before December 9, 2030.

 

Other Property Holding Payments

 

All the unpatented lode mining claims are on U.S. public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) and, therefore, are subject to exploration and development permits as required by the several current regulations. The unpatented lode mining claims require annual payments of $155 per claim to the BLM and $12 per claim to Nye County.

 

Infrastructure

 

Augusta Gold maintains sufficient surface rights to support mining operations, including areas for potential waste disposal, tailings storage, heap leach pads and potential mill sites. The Company recently located additional mining claims and is pursuing the acquisition of other lands in the area. Most claim blocks are contiguous, and the water rights that Barrick held through Bullfrog Mines were indirectly acquired by Augusta Gold as part of its acquisition of Bullfrog Mines.

 

The towns of Beatty, Pahrump and Tonopah in Nye County have populations that support mining operations in the area.

 

Valley Electric Association based in Pahrump, Nevada owns a 138 KV transmission line and a 24.9 KV distribution line that remain on-site and serviced mining at the site previously. The substation connected to the 24.9 KV line remains on-site, but the transformers and switchgear have been removed. Current monthly demand and energy rates are $3.75/kw and $0.12/kw-h, respectively.

 

Pumping from relatively shallow wells completed near the bottom of the Bullfrog pit is required to access deeper mineralization and could produce most of the Project water needs. Water may also be available from Barrick’s production wells located a few miles south of Highway 374, possibly from the Town of Beatty wellfield in Section 2, and to a limited extent from deepening the M-S pit.

 

Geological Setting, Mineralization, and Deposit Type

 

The Bullfrog Gold Project is in the southern Walker Lane trend within brittle upper-plate volcanic host rocks that were severely broken from dominant detachment faulting and associated dip-slip and strike-slip displacements. Epithermal solutions permeated the broken host rocks in the Montgomery-Shoshone (M-S) and Bullfrog deposits precipitating micron-sized and relatively high-grade gold (Au) within major quartz-calcite veins and disseminated gold in associated stock-work veins. The veins contain gangue minerals other than quartz, such as calcite and manganese oxides, the latter of which contributes associated silver (Ag) recoveries and gold.

 

The strike length of the Bullfrog mineralization is about 1,600 m, including the underground portion which accounts for about 600 m of the strike length. True widths mined in the underground, where the ore cutoff was 3.0 g/t Au, typically average 5-10 m and local zones may be as much as 15-20 m wide. The highest grades typically correlate with zones of black manganese-rich material, where much of the early manganiferous calcite has been leached out, rendering the vein a rubble zone of quartz, calcite, and wad. Veins continue up dip and down dip, but the gold grades and thicknesses diminish rapidly above and below these elevations.

 

14

 

 

As in the underground mine, the highest grades in the open pit were associated with veins and vein breccias along the MP fault and its immediate hanging wall. Higher ore grades also occurred in veins along the UP fault, but widths were generally narrow. Zones of quartz stockwork veins and breccia were developed between the MP and UP faults in intensely silicified and adularized wall rocks. The ore zone in the hanging wall of the MP fault, was termed the upper stockwork zone (Jorgensen et al., 1989). Many of the stockwork veins are subparallel in strike to the MP and UP faults, but dip more steeply. A zone of stockwork quartz veins also occurs in the footwall latite lavas (Tr1g) immediately beneath the MP fault, but here the ore zone is usually <10-15 m thick. This was termed the lower stockwork zone (Jorgensen et al., 1989). In this zone individual veins are often subparallel to the MP fault, and vein densities are typically in the range of 5-15%.

 

In most parts of the open pit, mineralized rock is truncated by the erosional surface and gravels. The ore zone thinned up-dip and only a modest amount of ore was probably lost to erosion. Below the open pit, ore grade values persist.

 

In the Bullfrog mineralization, the high-grade zones do not comprise obvious discrete plunging ore shoots. Instead high-grade ore zones are developed along the plane of the MP fault/vein, within 10-20° of the dip of the fault. The overall geometry of these zones is that of elongate lenses in the plane of the fault, with long dimensions that strike roughly north-south at a low angle of plunge. The highest gold grades roughly coincided with the oxidation-reduction boundary in the deposit and the pre-mining water table, and modest localized supergene enrichment of precious metals near this boundary is suggested.

 

The gold deposits of the southern Bullfrog Hills are contained in epithermal quartz-calcite veins and stockworks.

 

Historical Operations

 

In 1904 the Original Bullfrog and Montgomery-Shoshone mines were discovered by local prospectors. Prospecting activity was widespread over the Bullfrog Hills and encompassed a 200 square mile area but centered within a two-mile radius around the town of Rhyolite and included part of the Company’s property. The Montgomery-Shoshone mine reportedly produced about 67,000 ounces of gold averaging 0.47 gold opt prior to its closure in 1911. The District produced about 94,000 ounces of gold prior to 1911. Mines in the District were sporadically worked from 1911 through 1941, but the Company has no production records of such limited activities.

 

The Company’s Providence lode mining claim designated by the Surveyor General as Survey No. 2470 was located in October 1904, surveyed in April 1906, patented in May 1906 and recorded in Nye County Nevada in June 1908. The unpatented Lucky Queen claim is immediately east and adjacent to the Providence patent and is believed to have been located in the same time period but was not patented.

 

With the rise of precious metal prices in the early 1970’s, the Bullfrog District again underwent intense prospecting and exploration activity for gold as well as uranium. Companies exploring the area included Texas Gas Exploration, Inc., Phillips Uranium, Tenneco /Copper Range, U.S. Borax, Western States Minerals, Rayrock, St. Joe American and successors Bond, Lac and Barrick Minerals, Noranda, Angst Mining Company, Placer Dome, Lac-Sunshine Mining Company Joint Venture, Homestake, and others. In addition to these major companies, several junior mining companies and individuals were involved as prospectors, promoters and owners. These scientific investigations yielded a new deposit model for the gold deposits that were mined by others in the Bullfrog District. The identification and understanding of the detachment fault system led to significant changes in exploration program techniques, focus, and success.

 

In 1982 St. Joe American, Inc. initiated drilling in the Montgomery-Shoshone mine area. By 1986, sixty holes had been drilled and a mineral inventory was defined. Subsequent drilling outlined a reported 2.9 million ounces of gold equivalent in the Bullfrog deposit. A series of corporate takeovers transferred ownership from St. Joe, to Bond Gold, to Lac Minerals and eventually to Barrick Minerals. Production started in 1989 and recovered approximately 200,000 ounces of gold annually from a conventional, 9,000 ton/day cyanidation mill mainly fed from open pit operations and later supplemented with underground production. Barrick discontinued production operations in 1999 and completed reclamation in 2003. Thereafter several groups continued exploration on a limited basis on some of the lands currently held by the Company, but no reserves were ever defined by these companies on those portions of the Company’s lands.

 

15

 

 

Exploration and Drilling

 

The Company’s exploration activities to date have focused on the following:

 

  · Exploration drilling, data acquisition and geologic modeling;

  · Acquiring, organizing, digitizing and vetting electronic and paper data bases obtained from Barrick mainly related to drill data, metallurgy and project infrastructure; and

  · Maintaining and expanding the land holdings.

 

The project drilling includes 1,311 holes, for a total of 263,757 meters completed between 1983 and early 2021. The holes were drilled using both core and reverse circulation methods, as detailed in the drilling section of this report.

 

The following table summarizes project drilling by year:

 

Table 1: Project Drilling by Year

 

   Total Drilling   Coring   Reverse Circulation 
Year  Holes   Meters   Holes   Meters   Holes   Meters 
1983   6    975    6    975    0    0 
1984   37    3,560         0    37    3,560 
1985   3    303         0    3    303 
1986   29    3,364         0    29    3,364 
1987   163    29,479    3    732    163    28,747 
1988   321    66,325    32    6,121    321    60,204 
1989   71    12,285         0    71    12,285 
1990   154    37,114    33    3,676    154    33,438 
1991   79    22,954    42    3,627    79    19,327 
1992   23    4,907         0    23    4,907 
1993   9    387         0    9    387 
1994   210    31,362    9    1,412    210    29,951 
1995   99    22,370    3    248    99    22,122 
1996   58    15,254    19    3,329    45    11,924 
2020   26    4,405    1    502    25    3,903 
2021   43    14,820    38    12,749    5    2,071 
2022   6    2,596    6    2,596    0    0 
Total   1,337    272,460    192    35,967    1,273    236,493 

 

A total of 69 drill holes, 30 reverse circulation (RC) and 39 core holes have been drilled by Augusta from 2020-2021. The purpose of the drilling was to further define resources and the ultimate limits of the Bullfrog and Montgomery-Shoshone pits and gather data to support advanced geotechnical and metallurgical studies. The 2020 program also fulfilled a final work commitment for the Company to purchase a 100% interest in lands under lease from Barrick by mid-September 2020. Two holes were drilled at the Paradise Ridge target.

 

Permitting

 

Baseline studies necessary to advance permitting are in progress.

 

The following outlines the general framework for permitting a mine in Nevada and the required permits. Many of the permits discussed herein apply to the construction stage and are not currently being pursued.

 

Exploration activities on Federal mining claims on BLM lands requires a Notice of Intent (NOI) for exploration activities under five acres of disturbance and a Plan of Operations for larger scale exploration activities. A Plan of Operations is also required with the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection (NDEP) to fulfill the State of Nevada permitting obligations on private and public lands, respectively. Reclamation bonds related to environmental liabilities need to be calculated and posted to cover activities on the Project. Additional permits and bonding will be required for developing, constructing, operating, and reclaiming the Project.

 

16

 

 

Additional Baseline Studies will be required to update the historical studies completed by Barrick. This will include geochemistry, hydrologic studies of the in-pit water and water in existing wells, plant, wildlife and threatened and endangered species surveys, meteorological information, and cultural surveys:

 

  · Water Pollution Control Permits (WPCP): The WPCP application must address the open pit, heap leach pad, mining activities and water management systems with respect to potentially degrading of the waters of Nevada. Sufficient engineering, design and modeling data must be included in the WPCP. A Tentative Permit Closure Plan must be submitted to the NDEP-BMRR in conjunction with the WPCP. A Final Permanent Closure Plan will be needed two years prior to Project closure.

  · Air Quality: An application for a Class II Air Quality Permit must be prepared using Bureau of Air Pollution Control (BAPC) forms. The application must include descriptions of the facilities, a detailed emission inventory, plot plans, process flow diagrams and a fugitive dust control plan for construction and operation of the Project. A Mercury Operating Permit and a Title V Operating permit will also be necessary for processing loaded carbon or electro-winning precipitates.

  · Water Right: Additional water rights will need to be acquired from third parties or obtained from the Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) for producing Project water.

  · Industrial Artificial Pond: Water storage ponds, which are part of the water management systems, will require Industrial Artificial Pond permits (IAPP) from the Nevada Department of wildlife. Approval from the Nevada State Engineer’s Office is also required if embankments exceed specified heights.

 

Additional minor permits will be required for the project to advance to production and are listed in Table 8.

 

Table 8: Additional Minor Permits Required

 

Notification/Permit   Agency
Mine Registry   Nevada Division of Minerals
Mine Opening Notification   State Inspector of Mines
Solid Waste Landfill   Nevada Bureau of Waste Management
Hazardous Waste Management Permit   Nevada Bureau of Waste Management
General Storm Water Permit   Nevada Bureau of Water Pollution Control
Hazardous Materials Permit   State Fire Marshall
Fire and Life Safety   State Fire Marshall
Explosives Permit   Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives
Notification of Commencement of Operation   Mine Safety and Health Administration
Radio License   Federal Communications Commission
Public Water Supply Permit   NV Division of Environmental Protection
MSHA Identification Number and MSHA Coordination   U.S. Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
Septic Tank   NDEP-Bureau of Water Pollution Control
Petroleum Contaminated Soils   NV Division of Environmental Protection

 

2023 Project Exploration Plans

 

Subject to funding, the Company’s focus in 2023 for exploration at the Bullfrog Gold Project is drilling at the Gap Target, an epithermal lithocap at the northern end of the Bullfrog land package, as well as continued support of ongoing permitting and engineering work.

 

17

 

 

Reward Gold Project, Nye County, Nevada

 

Property Location and Access

 

The Reward Gold Project (the “Project” or “Reward Project”) is situated about 11.3 km (7 miles) south-southeast of the town of Beatty, NV about 3.2 km (2 miles) east of US Highway 95 in Nye County (Figure 1). The Project can be accessed from Beatty by paved road on Highway 95 followed by traveling two miles east on a gravel road. Several dirt roads diverge into various canyons of the Bare Mountains. The Project area lies within Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 16 of Township 13 South, Range 47 East and Sections 33, 34, and 35 of Township 12 South, Range 47 East, all referred to the Mount Diablo Baseline and Meridian. The Project can be accessed from Beatty by paved road on Highway 95 followed by traveling two miles east on a gravel road. Several dirt roads diverge into various canyons of the Bare Mountains.

 

Project Stage

 

The Project is an exploration stage property with measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources but no known mineral reserves.

 

Mineral Resource Estimates

 

Mineral Resources were classified using a combination of assessment of geological confidence, data quality and grade continuity. Reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction were considered by constraining the estimate within a conceptual pit shell that used the assumptions in Table 9.

 

Table 9. Reward Conceptual Open Pit Parameters.

 

Parameter  Unit (Imperial)  Cost (Imperial)   Unit (Metric)  Cost (Metric) 
Gold Price  US$/oz   1,700   US$/g   54.656 
Gold Metallurgical Recovery  %   80   %   80 
Pit Wall Angles  °   48-58   °   48-58 
Mining Cost  US$/st   2.00   US$/tonne   2.20 
Processing Rate  Mst/a   3   Mtonne/a   2.7 
Processing Cost  US$/st  $5.50   US$/tonne  $6.06 
G & A Cost  US$/st   0.75   US$/tonne   0.80 
Cut-off Grade (break even)  oz/st   0.0047   g/tonne   0.158 
Royalty  %   3   %   3 

 

The Mineral Resource Estimate for the Reward Project is presented in Table 10 below.

 

Table 10. Reward Project Mineral Resource Estimate at December 31, 2022 Based on USD$1,700/oz. Au

 

Classification  Tonnage (Mt)   Average Grade (g/t)   Contained Au (koz) 
Good Hope               
Measured   6.19    0.86    169.9 
Indicated   10.76    0.69    240.0 
M&I Total   16.94    0.75    409.9 
Inferred   0.29    0.56    5.3 
Gold Ace               
Indicated   0.83    0.63    16.8 
Inferred   1.03    0.73    21.8 
Reward (Combined Good Hope and Gold Ace)               
Measured   6.19    0.86    169.9 
Indicated   11.58    0.69    256.8 
M&I Total   17.77    0.75    426.7 
Inferred   1.23    0.68    27.1 

 

Notes:

 

1. Oxide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,700/oz and a recovery of 80% for Au were utilized.
2.

Gold price used in the Reward estimated Mineral Resources were based on a review of commodity prices at the time of the estimate and assumed a price of US$1,700 per oz of gold based upon a three year trailing average.

3. Mining costs for mineralized material and waste are US$2.20/tonne.

4. Processing and general and administration are US$6.06/tonne and US$0.83/tonne per tonne processed, respectively.
5. Reward Mineral Resources are reported using a 0.2 g/tonne incremental cut-off grade.

6 Due to rounding, some columns or rows may not compute as shown.

7. Estimated Mineral Resources are stated as in situ dry metric tonnes and are partially diluted.

8. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

9. The effective date of the Reward mineral resource estimate is December 31, 2022.

 

18

 

 

Estimated Mineral Resources have not changed from May 22, 2022 (the date estimates were initially reported to the Commission in the Company Current Report on Form 8-K dated July 7, 2022) to December 31, 2022 due to the fact that the Reward Gold Project is in the exploration stage and no new resources were added to the project through exploration activities in the remainder of 2022. The material assumptions underlying mineral resources as previously disclosed at May 31, 2022 remain current in all material respects.

 

Property Holdings

 

The Project area lies within Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, 11 and 16 of Township 13 South, Range 47 East and Sections 33, 34, and 35 of Township 12 South, Range 47 East, all referred to the Mount Diablo Baseline and Meridian.

 

Canyon Resources Corporation (Canyon Resources) holds a 100% interest in the mineral claims that form the Project. In 2008, Canyon Resources assigned all of the patented and unpatented claims comprising the Project to an entity which was subsequently converted into CR Reward.

 

The Project encompasses 123 unpatented Bureau of Land Management (BLM) placer and lode mining claims and six patented placer mining claims, totalling approximately 2,333 net acres (944 hectares). Only the patented claims have been legally surveyed. Under United States mining law, claims may be renewed annually for an unlimited number of years upon a small payment per claim (currently $155 per claim due to the BLM and an aggregate $1,502 due to Nye County) and the same claim status-whether lode or placer-may be used for exploration or exploitation of the lodes or placers.

 

Several blocks of unpatented claims are leased by CR Reward from underlying owners, and are referred to as Connolly, Webster, Orser-McFall and Van Meeteren leases.

 

Connolly Lease

 

This lease agreement (the Connolly Lease), effective as of September 28th, 2004, covers a two-third interest in each of the Sunshine and Reward unpatented lode claims (collectively, the Connolly Claims). The Connolly Lease is for an initial term of 20 years and continues so long thereafter as the Project remains in commercial production. A 3% NSR royalty is payable on any minerals mined from the Connolly Claims, but is reduced to 2% due to the fact that CR Reward only owns a two-third interest in the Connolly Claims. Annual advance minimum royalty payments are payable under the Connolly Lease in an amount equal to $10,000 per year. These annual advance minimum royalty payments shall be applied toward, credited against and fully deductible from earned mineral production royalty payments due from the Connolly Claims.

 

Webster Lease

 

This lease agreement (the Webster lease), effective as of November 9, 2004 (as amended on November 9th, 2004 and November 8th, 2006), covers a one-third interest in each of the Sunshine and Reward unpatented lode claims and a half interest in the Good Hope unpatented lode claim (collectively, the Webster Claims). The Webster Lease is for an initial term of 20 years and continues so long thereafter as the Project remains in commercial production. A 3% NSR royalty is payable on any minerals mined from the Webster Claims, but is (i) reduced to 1% on the Sunshine and Reward claims due to the fact that the lessee only owns a one-third interest, and (ii) reduced to 1.5% on the Good Hope claim due to the fact that CR Reward only owns a half interest in this claim. Annual advance minimum royalty payments are payable under the Webster Lease in an amount equal to $7,500 per year. The annual advance minimum royalty payments paid in any given year may be applied toward, credited against and fully deductible from any earned mineral production royalty payments due on the Webster Claims during the calendar year in which such annual advance minimum royalty payments are due.

 

19

 

 

Orser-McFall Lease

 

This lease agreement (the Orser-McFall Lease), effective as of February 5, 2005 (as amended on August 18th, 2005 and November 14th, 2006), applies to 12 unpatented lode and six unpatented placer mining claims (collectively, the Orser-McFall Claims). The Orser-McFall Lease is for an initial term of 20 years and continues so long thereafter as the Project remains in commercial production. The lessors under the Orser-McFall Lease own 100% of the Orser-McFall Claims, except for the Good Hope claim, in which they own a half interest (the other half being owned by the Daniel D. Webster Living Trust and leased to CR Reward pursuant to the Webster Lease). A 3% NSR royalty is payable on minerals mined from the Orser-McFall Claims, but is reduced to 1.5% on the Good Hope claim due to the fact that the lessee only owns a half interest in that claim. Annual advance minimum royalty payments are payable under the Orser-McFall Lease in an amount equal to $20,000 per year. These annual advance minimum royalty payments shall be applied toward, credited against and fully deductible from earned mineral production royalty payments due from the Orser-McFall Claims.

 

Van Meeteren et al Lease

 

This lease agreement (the Van Meeteren Lease), effect as of December 1st, 2011 (applies to the Double RS and the Durlers Hope unpatented placer claims (the Van Meeteren Claims). The Van Meeteren Lease is for an initial term of 20 years and continues so long thereafter as the Project remains in commercial production or CR Reward is actively conducting exploration, development, reclamation or remediation operations. A 3% NSR royalty is payable on minerals mined from the Van Meeteren Claims. Annual advance minimum royalty payments are payable under the Van Meeteren Lease in an amount equal to $15/acre from 2011 through 2020, for a total of $1,800 per year, and $20/acre from and after 2021, for a total of $2,400 per year. These annual advance minimum royal payments are recoupable from earned mineral production royalties. All payments described above have been timely paid by CR Reward and its predecessor and the agreements are all in good standing.

 

The Project area mainly consists of Federal public domain lands administered by the BLM. There are no State or private tracts within the Project area, except the six patented claims owned by CR Reward, all of which carry surface and mineral rights ownership.

 

The Project is not subject to any other back-in rights payments, agreements or encumbrances.

 

CR Reward has the right to use 391,494 m3 (317.39 acre-ft) of water annually under Application No. 61412, Certificate No. 16384 and Permit No. 76390.

 

The Amargosa River basin is an enclosed basin, and the water rights are thus not affected by the Colorado River Compact or other agreements.

 

Infrastructure

 

The Project is located seven miles by road southeast of Beatty, a town of approximately 1,000 people that serves as a transit hub and service centre for travellers between Las Vegas and Reno, and those going to Death Valley. Several motels and restaurants, gas stations, a post office, and several small stores provide basic services.

 

The Project is currently serviced by an existing 14.4/24.9 kV power line owned and operated by Valley Electric. A water well currently provides water for exploration activities.

 

Project employees would likely be recruited from the local area, including the communities of Beatty, Amargosa, and Pahrump, located within Nye County, and the regional urban centre of Las Vegas, located within Clark County. There is available nearby accommodation to the Project site in Beatty and other smaller communities

 

20

 

 

The Project has sufficient land area, with adjacent public-domain lands also potentially available, to allow mine development, including space for the mining operations, waste rock disposal facilities (WRDs), heap leach pads and processing plants.

 

Geological Setting, Mineralization and Deposit Type

 

Mineralization in the Good Hope Deposit and Golden Ace Zone can be classified as examples of a structurally controlled, locally disseminated, sediment hosted, mesothermal quartz vein gold deposit.

 

The Project is hosted within the Bare Mountain Complex which lies within an intricate tectonic setting of the Nevada Basin and Range Province.

 

The Bare Mountain Complex consist of up to 6,096 m (20,000 ft) of Upper Proterozoic to Paleozoic marine sedimentary rocks in the lower plate that have been juxtaposed against Miocene silicic volcanic sequences in the upper plate. The lower plate units were deformed through folding, thrust faulting, low and high angle normal faulting during a Mesozoic compression event, and have been metamorphosed from lower amphibolite to sub-greenschist grade. Two dominant normal fault sets have been mapped in the lower plate, including the moderately east-dipping Bare Mountain and Gold Ace faults, and shallowly southeast-dipping faults that cut or curve into east-dipping faults.

 

The Project is located on the southwestern flank of the Bare Mountain Complex and is underlain by moderately-deformed marine clastic and carbonate rocks of Late Proterozoic and Late Cambrian age that have been metamorphosed to greenschist grade. Tertiary and younger alluvium cover the lower slopes and the adjacent Armagosa Valley to the south and west. The east-dipping Gold Ace fault, locally termed the Good Hope fault zone, separates northeast dipping Late Proterozoic to Early Cambrian units in the footwall block from Middle to Late Cambrian units in the hanging wall block.

 

The gold mineralization in the Good Hope Deposit is spatially associated with, and along, the Good Hope fault zone, and is primarily hosted in altered and veined Wood Canyon Formation, and to a lesser extent, in the Juhl and Sutton Members of the Stirling Formation. Mineralization hosted along the contact between the Sutton and Morris Marble Members of the Stirling Formation is referred to as the Gold Ace Zone. Although there are small historic prospects along the Good Hope fault zone, most of the historic production came from the Gold Ace Zone.

 

Historical Operations

 

Historical exploration of the Project was completed by several other companies from 1976 to 2004, including Galli Exploration Associates (Galli Exploration), Teco Inc. (Teco), St. Joe Minerals Corporation (St Joe), Gexa Gold Corp (Gexa), Cloverleaf Gold Inc. (Cloverleaf), Homestake Mining Company (Homestake), Pathfinder Gold Corporation (Pathfinder), Bond Gold Exploration Inc. (Bond Gold), Barrick, US Nevada Gold Search (USNGS), Rayrock Mines, Inc (Rayrock), Glamis Gold, Ltd. (Glamis Gold), and Marigold Mining Company (Marigold Mining). Historical exploration included airborne geophysics, reverse circulation (RC) and core drilling, initial metallurgical testwork, mineral resource estimates and technical studies.

 

Canyon Resources acquired the Project in 2004, and together with Atna Resources Ltd. (Atna) and CR Reward, have completed data compilation and validation, ground induced polarization/resistivity geophysical surveys, RC and core drilling, mineral resource and mineral reserve estimates, metallurgical testwork, permitting studies, environmental baseline studies, and technical studies. The following permits and authorizations were granted to CR Reward in 2007:

 

· Plan of Operations authorized under N-82840.

· Water Pollution Control Permit (WPCP); WPCP NEV2007101.

· General construction permit; NVR100000 CSW-17415.

· Water rights permitted by Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) under Mining, Milling, & Domestic permit 76390.

· Mining reclamation permit granted by the Bureau of Mining Regulation and Reclamation (BMRR) under mine site permit #0300.

· Nevada Bureau of Air Pollution Control (BAPC) authorized Class II Air Quality permit AP1041-2492.

 

21

 

 

Permitting

 

The current Project area includes public and private lands within Nye County, Nevada. The Project, therefore, falls under the jurisdiction and permitting requirements of Nye County, the State of Nevada (primarily the BMRR) and the BLM.

 

The following permits and authorizations were granted to CR Reward:

 

· Plan of Operations authorized under N-82840.

· Water Pollution Control Permit (WPCP); WPCP NEV2007101.

· Water rights permitted by Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) under Mining, Milling, & Domestic permit 76390 and permit 89658.

· Mining reclamation permit granted by the Bureau of Mining Regulation and Reclamation (BMRR) under mine site permit #0300.

· Nevada Bureau of Air Pollution Control (BAPC) authorized Class II Air Quality permit AP1041-2492.

 

The reader is referred to Evans et al. (2019) for additional information regarding permitting considerations for mining activities at the Project. Regarding exploration activities, during early phases of exploration, when surface disturbance is generally limited, authorization from the BLM is conditionally granted under a notice (40 CFR § 3890.21). There are currently no exploration notices associated with the Project and none are likely to be granted given the Project has a mine plan of operations (MPO) that was granted in 2020.

 

2023 Project Exploration Plans

 

Subject to funding, the Company’s focus in 2023 for exploration at the Reward Project is expanding the resource down-dip, and performing infill drilling where there are gaps in the current resource model.

 

22

 

 

PART IV

 

ITEM 15. EXHIBITS

 

Documents Filed as Part of Report

 

Financial Statements

 

The following Consolidated Financial Statements of the Company were filed with the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on March 16, 2023:

 

  1. Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm (Davidson & Company LLP.

  2. Consolidated Balance Sheets – As of December 31, 2022 and 2021.

  3. Consolidated Statements of Income/(Loss) – Years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

  4. Consolidated Statements of Shareholders’ Equity – Years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

  5. Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows – Years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.

  6. Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements.

 

See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”.

 

Financial Statement Schedules

 

No financial statement schedules are filed as part of this report because such schedules are not applicable or the required information is shown in the Consolidated Financial Statements or notes thereto. See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data”.

 

Exhibits:

 

The exhibits, listed on the following exhibit index are filed or furnished as part of this Amended Report on Form 10-K/A. These exhibits should be read in conjunction with the exhibits in Item 15 of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on February 24, 2022.

 

Exhibit

Number

  Description
31.1   Certification of Chief Executive Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
31.2   Certification of Chief Financial Officer pursuant to Rule 13a-14(a) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended
96.1   Technical Report Summary for the Bullfrog Gold Project
96.2   Technical Report Summary for the Reward Gold Project

 

23

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

Date: December 20, 2023 AUGUSTA GOLD CORP.
   
  By: /s/ Donald R. Taylor
    Name: Donald R. Taylor
   

Title: President and Chief Executive Officer

(Principal Executive Officer)

     
Date: December 20, 2023 AUGUSTA GOLD CORP.
   
  By: /s/ Michael McClelland
    Name: Michael McClelland
   

Title: Chief Financial Officer

(Principal Financial and Accounting Officer)

 

24

Exhibit 31.1

 

CERTIFICATION

 

I, Donald R. Taylor, certify that:

 

1.I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K/A of Augusta Gold Corp.;

 

2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

  a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

  b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

  c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

  d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

  a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

  b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Dated: December 20, 2023  /s/ Donald R. Taylor
    
   Donald R. Taylor,
   Chief Executive Officer

 

Exhibit 31.2

 

CERTIFICATION

 

I, Michael McClelland, certify that:

 

1.I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K/A of Augusta Gold Corp.;

 

2.Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

 

3.Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

 

4.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

 

  a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

 

  b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

 

  c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation; and

 

  d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the registrant’s most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant’s fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting; and

 

5.The registrant’s other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based on our most recent evaluation of internal control over financial reporting, to the registrant’s auditors and the audit committee of the registrant’s board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

 

  a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

 

  b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

Dated: December 20, 2023  /s/ Michael McClelland
    
   Michael McClelland,
   Chief Financial Officer

 

 

Exhibit 96.1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

S-K 1300 Technical Report 

 

Mineral Resource Estimate 

 

Bullfrog Gold Project 

 

Nye County, Nevada

 

EFFECTIVE DATE: December 31, 2021 

 

Amended: December 18, 2023 

 

PREPARED FOR: 

 

Augusta Gold Corp. 

 

Vancouver, BC 

 

BY 

 

QUALIFIED PERSONS:

 

Forte Dynamics, Inc. 

 

120 Commerce Drive, Units 3-4

 

Fort Collins, CO 80524

 

 

 

 Augusta Gold Corp.

 

Date and Signature Page

 

This report titled “S-K 1300 Technical Report Mineral Resource Estimate on the Bullfrog Gold Project, Nye County, Nevada” is current as of December 31, 2021 and was prepared and signed by Forte Dynamics, Inc., acting as a Qualified Person Firm.

 

(signed and sealed)

 

Date: December 18, 2023

 

Forte Dynamics, Inc. 

120 Commerce Drive, Units 3-4

 

Fort Collins, CO 80524

 

FORTE DYNAMICS, INC
120 Commerce Drive., Units 3 & 4, Fort Collins, CO 80524
P a g e | 2 of 178December 2023
 Augusta Gold Corp.

 

Table of Contents

 

1. Executive Summary 9
       
  1.1 Location, Property Description and Ownership 9
  1.2 Geology and Mineralization 10
  1.3 Exploration, Drilling, Sampling and QA/QC 11
  1.3.1 Exploration 11
  1.3.2 Drilling 12
  1.3.3 Sampling 13
  1.3.4 QA/QC 14
  1.3.5 Database Improvements 14
  1.4 Mineral Processing and Metallurgical Testing 14
  1.5 Mineral Resource Estimates 17
  1.6 Conclusions 20
  1.6.1 Geology and Mineral Resources 20
  1.6.2 Metallurgical Test Work and Mineral Processing 21
  1.6.3 Infrastructure 22
  1.7 Recommendations 22
       
2. Introduction 23
       
  2.1 Units of Measure 23
  2.2 Abbreviations 24
  2.3 Qualified Persons and Details of Inspection 24
       
3. Property Description 25
       
  3.1 NPX Assignment of Lands 51
  3.2 Mojave Gold Option 51
  3.3 Barrick Bullfrog Inc. Lease and Option 51
  3.4 Lunar Landing Lease 51
  3.5 Brown Claims 52
  3.6 Barrick Claims (2020) 52
  3.7 Abitibi Royalties Option 53
  3.8 Other Property Considerations 53
  3.9 Environmental and Permitting 53
  3.10 Significant Risk Factors 54
       
4. Accessibility, Climate, Local Resources, Infrastructure and Physiography 55
       
  4.1 Accessibility 55
  4.2 Physiography, Climate and Vegetation 55
  4.3 Local Resources and Infrastructure 56
         
5. History 57
       
6. Geological Setting, Mineralisation and Deposit 59
       
  6.1 Regional Geology 59
  6.2 Local and Property Geology 60
  6.2.1 Cenozoic Rocks 62
  6.2.2 Pre-14 Ma Rocks 62
  6.2.3 14 to 11 Ma Rocks 64
  6.2.4 Post 11 Ma to 7.6 Ma Rocks 66

 

FORTE DYNAMICS, INC
120 Commerce Drive., Units 3 & 4, Fort Collins, CO 80524
P a g e | 3 of 178December 2023
 Augusta Gold Corp.

 

  6.2.5 10.6-10.0 Ma Rainbow Mountain Sequence (Trm, Tr11-16 and other units) 67
  6.3 District Geology 68
  6.4 Mineralization and Veining 69
  6.4.1 Bullfrog Mineralization 69
  6.4.2 Montgomery-Shoshone Mineralization 70
  6.4.3 Bonanza Mineralization 72
  6.5 Deposit 72
       
7. Exploration 74
     
  7.1 Bullfrog 75
  7.1.1 Mystery Hills 75
  7.1.2 Ladd Mountain 75
  7.2 Montgomery-Shoshone Area 75
  7.2.1 Polaris Vein 75
  7.2.2 East Zone 75
  7.2.3 Deep Potential 75
  7.3 Bonanza Mountain 76
  7.4 Gap 76
  7.5 Drilling 77
  7.5.1 2020 - 2021 Drilling 79
  7.5.2 2021 Additional Drilling Included in the End of Year 2021 Resource Model 89
         
8. Sample Preparation, Analyses, and Security 95
       
  8.1 Historic Data (1983 – 1996) 95
  8.2 Augusta Gold Corp. (2020-2021) 95
  8.2.1 Augusta Gold Corp. 2020 95
  8.2.2 Augusta Gold Corp 2021 97
         
9. Data Verification 107
       
  9.1 Check Assay 108
  9.2 Qualified Person’s Opinion 111
       
10. Mineral Processing and Metallurgical Testing 112
       
  10.1 St. Joe 112
  10.1.1 Large Column Leach Test 112
  10.1.2 Bottle Roll Tests on UG Samples 113
  10.1.3 Column Testing by Kappes Cassiday & Associates 113
  10.2 Pilot Testing by Barrick 114
  10.3 Column Leach Tests 115
  10.4 Conclusions for Heap Leaching 116
  10.5 Leach Pad Siting 117
  10.6 Additional Testing 118
  10.7 Qualified Person’s Opinion 119
       
11. Mineral Resource Estimates 120
       
  11.1 Summary 120
  11.2 Database 123
  11.2.1 Vulcan Isis Drillhole Database 124
  11.2.2 Drillhole Exclusion 126
  11.3 Grade Shells 127

 

FORTE DYNAMICS, INC
120 Commerce Drive., Units 3 & 4, Fort Collins, CO 80524
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 Augusta Gold Corp.

 

  11.4 Statistical Analyses and Capping of Outlier Values 129
  11.5 Compositing 130
  11.6 Variography 130
  11.7 Block Model 133
  11.8 Estimation Methodology 135
  11.9 Resource Estimate Classification 138
  11.10 Density Data 138
  11.11 Pit Slopes 140
  11.12 Reblocking 141
  11.13 Pit Shell Optimization 142
         
12. Mineral Reserve Estimates 145
     
13. Mining Methods 145
     
14. Process and Recovery Methods 145
       
15. Infrastructure 145
       
16. Market Studies 145
       
17. Environmental Studies, Permitting, and Plans, Negotiations, or Agreements with Local Individuals or Groups 145
 
18. Capital and Operating Costs 145
       
19. Economic Analysis 145
       
20. Adjacent Properties 146
       
21. Other Relevant Data and Information 147
       
22. Interpretation and Conclusions 148
       
  22.1 Geology and Mineral Resources 148
  22.2 Metallurgical Test Work and Mineral Processing 149
  22.3 Infrastructure 149
       
23. Recommendations 150
       
  23.1 Exploration 150
  23.2 Baseline Studies 150
  23.3 Additional Studies 150
  23.4 Estimated Costs 150
       
24. References 152
       
25. Reliance on Information Provided by the Registrant 158
       
26. Appendix 1 159
       
  26.1 Statistical Analysis of Drillhole Data for Gold Assays 159
  26.2 Statistical Analysis of Drillhole Data for Silver Assays 166
  26.3 Swath Plots 173

 

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120 Commerce Drive., Units 3 & 4, Fort Collins, CO 80524
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List Of Tables

 

Table 1-1: Location and Depth of 2020 - 2021 Holes 12
Table 1-2: 1994 Leach Test Results 14
Table 1-3: 1995 Pilot Heap Leach Test Results 15
Table 1-4: 2018 Column Leach Test Results 15
Table 1-5: 2019 Column Leach Test Results 16
Table 1-6: 2020 Bottle Roll Test Results 17
Table 1-7: Bullfrog Mineral Resources 18
Table 1-8: Montgomery-Shoshone Mineral Resources 19
Table 1-9: Bonanza Mineral Resources 19
Table 1-10: Combined Mineral Resources 20
Table 3-1: Lands Under the Control of Augusta Gold Corp. 26
Table 3-2: Additional Minor Permits Required 54
Table 5-1: Bullfrog Project Production 57
Table 7-1: Drilling Totals by Type 78
Table 7-2: Active Years by Operator 79
Table 7-3: Location and Depth of 2020 - 2021 Holes 81
Table 7-4: Drilling Results from the 2020 - 2021 Program 84
Table 7-5: Location and Depth of Additional 2021 Holes 90
Table 7-6: Drilling Results from Additional Drilling in 2021 Program 91
Table 8-1: CRM Expected Values 96
Table 8-2: Summary of Gold in CRM’s 96
Table 8-3: CRM Expected Values 96
Table 8-4: Blank Failure Threshold 97
Table 8-5: Duplicate Sample Results 97
Table 8-6: CRM Expected Values 104
Table 8-7: Summary of Gold in CRMs 105
Table 8-8: Blank Failure Threshold 105
Table 9-1: Check Assay Gold Statistics 110
Table 10-1: Typical Processing Statistics from 1989-1999 112
Table 10-2: Leach Test Results 113
Table 10-3: Heap Leach Pilot Tests – Barrick 114
Table 10-4: Column Leach Test Results (2018) 115
Table 10-5: Column Leach Test Results (2019) 116
Table 10-6: Estimated Heap Leach Recovery 116
Table 10-7: Summary Metallurgical Results – Bottle Roll Tests 118
Table 11-1: Bullfrog Mineral Resources 121
Table 11-2: Montgomery-Shoshone Mineral Resources 122
Table 11-3: Bonanza Mineral Resources 122
Table 11-4: Combined Property Mineral Resources 123
Table 11-5: Drillhole Exclusion for Bullfrog Deposit 126
Table 11-6: Drillhole Exclusion for Montgomery-Shoshone Deposit 127
Table 11-7: DOMAIN Codes and Corresponding Grade Shell Triangulations 129
Table 11-8: Capping Values and Statistics for Gold Assays 130
Table 11-9: Capping Values and Statistics for Silver Assays 130
Table 11-10: Block Model Extents 133

 

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Table 11-11: Block Estimation Parameters 136
Table 11-12: Block Estimation Parameters 138
Table 11-13: Density Assignments for Mineralized Domains 139
Table 11-14: Density Assignments for Unmineralized Domains 139
Table 11-15: Density Assignments for Dump, Fill and Alluvium 139
Table 11-16: LG Pit Optimization Parameters 142
Table 23-1: Land Positions of the Bullfrog Project and Adjacent Properties 151

 

List Of Figures

 

Figure 1-1: Location Map 10
Figure 1-2: District Geology Map 11
Figure 3-1:  Location Map 25
Figure 3-2: Property Map of the Bullfrog Project 50
Figure 4-1: Photo of Bullfrog Hills at Rhyolite 55
Figure 6-1: Regional Setting of the Bullfrog Mine (Eng et al., 1996) 59
Figure 6-2: Bullfrog District – Stratigraphy and Mineralization 61
Figure 6-3: Cross Section of the Bullfrog Project Area 62
Figure 6-4: District Geology Map — Each Section is 1.6 km, or 1 Mile Square 69
Figure 7-1: Exploration and Mining Targets at the Bullfrog Project 74
Figure 7-2: Plan Map of Drill Hole Collars 80
Figure 7-3: Drilling in the Montgomery-Shoshone Area from the 2020 - 2021 Drill Campaign 83
Figure 7-4: Drilling in the Bullfrog Area from the 2020 - 2021 Drill Campaign 83
Figure 8-1: Truck Mounted Core Rig 98
Figure 8-2: Laydown Yard and Sample Storage 98
Figure 8-3: Logging Laptop 99
Figure 8-4: Core Shed and Quick Log Station 100
Figure 8-5: Logging Facility 101
Figure 8-6: Core Saw 102
Figure 8-7: Sampling Tables 102
Figure 8-8: Core Cutting Facility 103
Figure 8-9: Sample Pick Up Area 104
Figure 8-10: Gold Pulp Comparison 106
Figure 9-1: Check Assay Gold Comparison 109
Figure 9-2: Check Assay Gold - Percent Difference 110
Figure 9-3: Silver Check Assay Comparison 111
Figure 10-1: Leach Test Results 114
Figure 10-2: Potential Leach Pad Sites & Approximate Capacities 117
Figure 11-1: Drillhole Collar Locations 125
Figure 11-2: Grade Shell (DOMAIN) Triangulations 128
Figure 11-3: Variogram for Bullfrog Low Grade Domain (11) 131
Figure 11-4: Variogram for Bullfrog High Grade Vein Domain (12) 131
Figure 11-5: Variogram for Montgomery-Shoshone Low Grade Domain (21) 132
Figure 11-6: Variogram for Bonanza Low Grade Domain (31) 132
Figure 11-7: Bullfrog Underground Stope Shapes 134
Figure 11-8: Bullfrog 8620N Cross-Section Showing Gold Blocks and Composites 137
Figure 11-9: Oxide and Sulfide Coding – Bullfrog Section 8600N 138

 

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 Augusta Gold Corp.

 

Figure 11-10: Bullfrog Pit Slope Angles and Slope Sector Assignments 140
Figure 11-11: Bonanza Pit Slope Angles and Slope Sector Assignments 141
Figure 11-12: Montgomery-Shoshone Pit Slope Angles and Slope Sector Assignments 141
Figure 11-13: Bullfrog 143
Figure 11-14: Montgomery-Shoshone 143
Figure 11-15: Bonanza 144
Figure 20-1: Land Positions of the Bullfrog Project and Adjacent Properties 146

 

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 Augusta Gold Corp.

 

1.Executive Summary

 

This report has been updated from the Technical Report Summary submitted on July 14, 2023.

 

PP11.1 – Added a paragraph to the report describing the cut off grade selection. Added the oxide and sulfide cutoff grades to the tables.

 

Break-even cutoff grades, which consider mining cost and can identify blocks have a positive net value, including mining costs. Mineral resources are reported at break-even cutoffs of 0.192g/t for oxide-leach and 0.315 g/t for sulfide-leach.

 

PP9.2 - The qualified person has reviewed these data and believes that they are sufficient and appropriate for use in this report to determine the mineral resource estimate.

 

PP10.7 – “The qualified person has reviewed these data and believes that they are sufficient and appropriate for use in this report to determine the mineral resource estimate.”

 

PP11.1 – “The comparable pricing for gold of $1,550 compares well with the three-year trailing average of $1,558/oz Au in June 2021, an accepted method for a mineral resource reporting price. The $20/oz silver price compares to a three-year average of $19.07 and was typical of other similar reports.”

 

This technical report has been prepared for Augusta Gold Corp. (Augusta, Augusta Gold, or the Company) by Forte Dynamics for the Bullfrog Gold Project (Project, project, or Bullfrog Project) in Nye County, Nevada. This is a Technical Report Summary (TRS) summarizing an Initial Assessment of Mineral Resources aligned with Securities and Exchange Commission Regulation S-K subpart 1300 (S-K 1300).

 

This report was prepared for the purpose of producing an updated mineral resource statement for the project that includes new drilling information, and geologic modeling associated with the work that was completed through 2021.

 

New resource models were completed for the three deposits at Bullfrog (Bullfrog, Montgomery-Shoshone, Bonanza) and mineral resource estimates were calculated within optimized pit shells for the Bullfrog area, Montgomery-Shoshone area and the Bonanza area. Previously, resources were reported from earlier models in an August 2021 NI 43-101 technical report.

 

1.1Location, Property Description and Ownership

 

The Company’s wholly owned Bullfrog Gold Project is located in the Bullfrog Hills of Nye County, Nevada and in the southern half of the Bullfrog Mining District (Figure 1-1). Basic amenities are available in the town of Beatty, which is situated 6.5 km east of the Project. Las Vegas is the largest regional city with full services and is a 260 km drive to the site. Project properties are located in Sections 25, 26, 35 and 36 of T11S, R46E and Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 23 of T12S, R46E, Mt. Diablo Meridian. The location of the property is shown in Figure 1-1.

 

The Company has four option/lease/purchase agreements in place and has located 61 claims that give it control of 439 unpatented lode mining claims and mill site claims, and 86 patented. The claims do not have an expiration date, as long as the fees and obligations are maintained.

 

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120 Commerce Drive., Units 3 & 4, Fort Collins, CO 80524
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 Augusta Gold Corp.

 

Figure 1-1: Location Map

 

 

 

1.2Geology and Mineralization

 

The Project is in the southern Walker Lane trend within brittle upper-plate volcanic host rocks that were severely deformed from dominant detachment faulting and associated dip-slip and strike-slip displacements. Epithermal solutions permeated the broken host rocks in the Bullfrog Montgomery-Shoshone (M-S) and Bonanza areas precipitating micron-sized and relatively high-grade gold (Au) within major quartz-calcite veins and disseminated gold in associated stock-works. The veins contain gangue minerals other than quartz, such as calcite and manganese oxides, the latter of which contributes associated silver (Ag) recoveries and gold. The district geology map is shown below in Figure 1-2.

 

FORTE DYNAMICS, INC
120 Commerce Drive., Units 3 & 4, Fort Collins, CO 80524
P a g e | 10 of 178December 2023
 Augusta Gold Corp.

 

Figure 1-2: District Geology Map

 

 

 

1.3Exploration, Drilling, Sampling and QA/QC

 

1.3.1Exploration

 

The Company’s exploration activities to date have focused on the following:

 

Exploration drilling, data acquisition and geologic modeling;

Acquiring, organizing, digitizing and vetting electronic and paper data bases obtained from Barrick mainly related to drill data, metallurgy and project infrastructure; and

Maintaining and expanding the land holdings.

 

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120 Commerce Drive., Units 3 & 4, Fort Collins, CO 80524
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 Augusta Gold Corp.

 

1.3.2Drilling

 

The project drilling includes 1,311 holes, for a total of 263,757 meters completed between 1983 and early 2021. The holes were drilled using both core and reverse circulation methods, as detailed in the drilling section of this report. Table 1-1 summarizes the project drilling by year.

 

Table 1-1: Location and Depth of 2020 - 2021 Holes

 

Year Total Drilling Coring Reverse Circulation
Holes Meters Holes Meters Holes Meters
1983 6 975 6 975 0 0
1984 37 3,560   0 37 3,560
1985 3 303   0 3 303
1986 29 3,364   0 29 3,364
1987 163 29,479 3 732 163 28,747
1988 321 66,325 32 6,121 321 60,204
1989 71 12,285   0 71 12,285
1990 154 37,114 33 3,676 154 33,438
1991 79 22,954 42 3,627 79 19,327
1992 23 4,907   0 23 4,907
1993 9 387   0 9 387
1994 210 31,362 9 1,412 210 29,951
1995 99 22,370 3 248 99 22,122
1996 58 15,254 19 3,329 45 11,924
2020 26 4,405 1 502 25 3,903
2021 43 14,820 38 12,749 5 2,071
Total 1,331 269,864 186 33,371 1,273 236,493

 

A total of 69 drill holes, 30 reverse circulation (RC) and 39 core holes have been drilled by Augusta from 2020-2021. The purpose of the drilling was to further define resources and the ultimate limits of the Bullfrog and Montgomery-Shoshone pits and gather data to support advanced geotechnical and metallurgical studies. The 2020 program also fulfilled a final work commitment for the Company to purchase a 100% interest in lands under lease from Barrick by mid-September 2020. Two holes were drilled at the Paradise Ridge target. Section 7 of this report details the results of the 2020 - 2021 drilling program.

 

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 Augusta Gold Corp.

 

1.3.3Sampling

 

1.3.3.1Historic (1983-1986)

 

Historic drilling and coring information used in this resource estimate was obtained from several drill programs that began in 1983 with St. Joe Minerals, continued with Bond Gold and Lac Minerals, and ended by Barrick in late 1996. Of 1,262 total holes drilled in the area, 147 holes included core and 1,243 holes were drilled using reverse circulation methods. Most of the cored holes included intervals of core plus RC segments. Percent recovery and RQD measurements were made on all core intervals. An assessment was made of the quality of the orientation data and the core was marked accordingly. The core was then logged, recording lithological, alteration, mineralization, and structural information including the orientation of faults, fault lineation’s, fractures, veins, and bedding. With few exceptions, the entire lengths of the holes were sampled. Sample intervals were 5 feet and occasionally based on the geological logging, separating different lithologies and styles of mineralization and alteration. Samples were marked and tagged in the core box before being photographed, after which the core was sawed in half, with one half sent for assay and one half retained for future reference. Each sample interval was bagged separately and shipped to the lab for analysis.

 

Cuttings from nearly all reverse circulation drill programs were divided into two streams, one was sampled and the other was disposed during the reclamation of each drill site. Using a Jones splitter, the sample stream was further divided into two sample bags, one designated for assaying and the second duplicate designated as a field reject. Samples were collected at five-foot intervals and bagged at the drill site. Each five-foot sample was sealed at the drill site and not opened until it reached the analytical lab. At each 20-foot rod connection, the hole was blown clean to eliminate material that had fallen into the hole during the connection. The designated assay samples for each five-foot interval were collected by the site geologist and moved to a secure sample collection area for shipment to accredited laboratories off site. When duplicate samples were collected, they were retained at the drill site as a reference sample, if needed. If the duplicate samples were not used, they were blended with site materials during site reclamation.

 

1.3.3.2Augusta Gold Corp (2020-2021)

 

Augusta Gold Corporation (Augusta Gold) commenced exploration on the Bullfrog Gold Project in 2020, continuing through the second quarter of 2021. Work performed consisted of oriented diamond core drilling, conventional Reverse Circulation (RC) drilling and reconnaissance mapping and surface sampling for drill target generation. A digital, Access based database (GeoSpark) has been maintained by Augusta Gold, including all assays from drill samples and geochemical analysis from surface rock chip samples, completed on the project.

 

Oriented diamond core drilling (HQ3) was performed using two track-mounted LF-90 drills and one truck mounted LF-90 drill. Core orientation was collected using Reflex ACTIII tooling, overseen by staff geologists and verified by a third-party contractor. All drill core was logged, photographed, split, and sampled on-site.

 

Conventional Reverse Circulation drilling was performed using a single Atlas Copco RD 10+, with a hole diameter of 6.75 inches. All RC samples were logged and sampled on-site. Samples were air dried, sealed in bulk bags on-site. Additionally, surface rock chip samples were collected during field reconnaissance. These samples were collected, described, and geolocated in the field before being in sealed rice bags for transport.

 

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120 Commerce Drive., Units 3 & 4, Fort Collins, CO 80524
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 Augusta Gold Corp.

 

1.3.4QA/QC

 

The sampling QA/QC program was originally established by St. Joe Minerals. Subsequent owners followed the procedures with any necessary updates to meet quality assurance standards of the time. The standard practices included the supervision of drilling, logging of core, as well as in-stream sample submittal for blanks, certified standards, and duplicate testing to ensure laboratory performance. All assay testing was completed by outside, fully accredited laboratories, such as Skyline, Legend, Iron King, Barringer, American Assay, Chemex, ALS and Paragon Geochemical. Assay certificates are available and have been electronically scanned to complete the project drilling database.

 

1.3.5Database Improvements

 

During the later half of 2021, Augusta Gold Corp. staff conducted an in-depth review and update of legacy data in the Bullfrog drilling database. During the process, previously missing assay information was found on old assay certificates, was verified against drill logs, and added to the database. Additionally, assay grades were checked throughout the legacy data set and consistent conversions from imperial to metric grade units were updated where needed. During the process, it was discovered that some series of older drillholes had improper imperial-metric grade conversions and were subsequently updated, resulting in grade increases for the majority of affected drillholes. Forte Dynamics requested and received assay certificate and logging data for approximately 10% of the relevant legacy drillholes in the economically important portions of gold deposits and has verified the accuracy of the database for those drillholes.

 

1.4Mineral Processing and Metallurgical Testing

 

Metallurgical testing programs that are relevant to the development plans of the Project are summarized below.

 

In 1986 St. Joe American performed two large column tests on composites of M-S samples and recovered 56% of the gold after 59 days of leaching material grading 0.034 opt and crushed to -19 mm (-3/4 inch). The other column recovered 49% of the gold after 59 days of leaching minus 304.8 mm (-12-inch) material grading 0.037 opt. Projected 90-day recoveries were 61% and 54% respectively.

 

Results from leach tests performed in 1994 by Kappes Cassiday of Reno, Nevada on 250 kg of sub-grade material from the Bullfrog mine are shown below:

 

Table 1-2: 1994 Leach Test Results

 

  Bottle Column Column
Size, mesh, & mm (inch) -100 mesh -38 mm (-1.5”) -9.5 mm (-3/8”)
Calc.  Head, opt Au 0.029 0.035 0.029
Rec % 96.6 71.4 75.9
Leach time, days 2.0 41 41
NaCN, kg/t (lb/short ton) 0.5 (0.1) 0.385 (0.77) 5.35 (10.7)
Lime, kg/t (lb/short ton 1.0 (2.0) 0.155 (0.31) 1.75 (0.35)

 

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In 1995 Barrick performed pilot heap leach tests on 765 t (844 short tons) of BF subgrade material and 730 t (805 short tons) from the M-S pit. Both composites were crushed to 12.7 mm (-1/2 inch). Results are shown in Table 1-3 below.

 

Table 1-3: 1995 Pilot Heap Leach Test Results

 

  BF Low-Grade M-S Mineralization
Calc.  Head, opt Au 0.019 0.048
Calc.  Head, opt Ag 0.108 0.380
Projected Au Rec % 67 74
Projected Ag Rec % 9 32
Leach Time, days 41 37
NaCN, kg/t (lb/short ton) 0.10 (0.20) 0.125 (0.25)
Lime, kg/t (lb/short ton) Nil (Nil) Nil (Nil)

 

In 2018 and 2019, standard column leach tests were performed on materials from the Bullfrog property by McClelland Laboratories, located in Reno, NV. The sample tested in 2018 was a composite sample created from a bulk sample representing “Brecciated Vein Ore Type”. Results from the 2018 test work are shown in Table 1-4 below.

 

Table 1-4: 2018 Column Leach Test Results

 

Feed Size Crush Method Test Time Au Recovery, %
9.5mm (3/8”) Conventional Column 60 days 58
9.5mm (3/8”) Conventional Bottle Roll 4 days 59
1.7mm (10 mesh) HPGR Column 60 days 77
1.7mm (10 mesh) HPGR Bottle Roll 4 days 70
150µm Conventional/Grind Bottle Roll 4 days 89

 

The 2018 column leach test results suggest a crush size dependency where HPGR crushing (high pressure grinding rolls) may have the potential to significantly improve recovery. The lime requirement for protective alkalinity was low and cyanide consumption was moderate. The results of the 2019 program are summarized in Table 1-5 below.

 

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Table 1-5: 2019 Column Leach Test Results

 

Sample Feed Size Crush Method Test Time Au Rec., %
Composite E 9.5mm (3/8”) Conventional Column 151 days 75
Composite E 6.3mm (1/4”) HPGR Column 122 days 77
Composite E 1.7mm (10 mesh) HPGR Column 102 days 89
MS-M-1 9.5mm (3/8”) Conventional Column 108 days 66
MS-M-1 6.3mm (1/4”) HPGR Column 108 days 77
MS-M-1 1.7mm (10 mesh) HPGR Column 89 days 85
MH-M-2 9.5mm (3/8”) Conventional Column 109 days 83
MH-M-2 6.3mm (1/4”) HPGR Column 105 days 88
MH-M-2 1.7mm (10 mesh) HPGR Column 86 days 91

 

In 2020, cyanidation bottle rolls tests were conducted on 14 variability composites from the Bullfrog project. Details of this testing can be found in Section 10 of this report. The Bullfrog variability composites generally were amenable to agitated cyanidation treatment at a nominal 1.7 mm feed size. The samples were not crushed with an HPGR. Gold recovery ranged from 38.7% to 86.8% and averaged 68.0%. Recovery was 58.1% or greater for 12 of the 14 composites. Gold recovery was not correlated to gold head grades for these 14 composites. Gold recovery consistently decreased with increasing sulfide sulfur content. Results from the bottle roll test are shown below in Table 1-6.

 

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Table 1-6: 2020 Bottle Roll Test Results

 

Composite Drillhole   REAGENT
REQUIREMENTS
Interval (ft) Au
Rec.
Head Grade Au
g/tonne
kg/tonne mineralized
material
From To % Calculated Assayed NaCN Cons. Lime Added
4594-001 BM-20-1 0 40 67.8 0.59 0.80 0.15 1.1
4594-002 BM-50-1 40 75 67.2 0.58 0.50 0.11 1.2
4594-003 BM-20-4 280 335 44.4 0.27 0.26 0.12 1.7
4594-004 BM-20-4 335 390 38.7 0.31 0.30 0.17 1.5
4594-005 BM-20-6 295 395 66.7 0.27 0.29 0.11 1.4
4594-006 BM-20-6 395 485 58.5 1.06 0.86 0.11 1.6
4594-007 BM-20-11 95 185 72.7 0.22 0.18 <0.07 1.1
4594-008 BM-20-14 0 45 58.1 0.31 0.27 <0.07 1.8
4594-009 BM-20-14 90 135 80.0 0.15 0.13 0.14 1.5
4594-010 BM-20-14 170 235 84.2 0.19 0.21 0.14 1.2
4594-011 BM-20-14 235 260 86.8 0.53 0.57 0.09 1.2
4594-012 BM-20-15 35 130 72.3 0.47 0.46 0.17 1.4
4594-013 BM-20-19 0 115 73.3 0.30 0.27 0.08 1.4
4594-014 BM-20-22 305 385 81.0 0.63 0.67 0.09 1.6

 

1.5Mineral Resource Estimates

 

Mineral resources were updated based on technical information as of December 31, 2021, by Forte Dynamics for the Bullfrog project. The update utilizes all new drilling through the end of 2021 in addition to updated geologic models and database improvements by Augusta Gold Corp. staff. Three-dimensional block models for each area (Bullfrog, Montgomery-Shoshone and Bonanza) were created using Vulcan software. Surfaces and solids representing topography, overburden, geologic units, historic stope shapes and gold mineralization were incorporated into the resource models. Resource estimates utilize drill hole, survey, analytical and bulk density information provided by the project personnel. Gold and silver values have been given null values for all material that has been historically mined by both open pit and underground methods. Bulk density has been adjusted for backfill material placed in the historical open pit and underground operations.

 

Mineral resources are pit constrained using reasonable cost assumptions, however detailed costing and economic evaluations have not been performed. The resources only consider mining mineralization and waste that will take place on lands controlled by Augusta Gold Corp. Pit slope parameters are based on the existing pit wall angles and vary by geology, depth and lateral extent. Different metallurgical recoveries were assigned to oxide and sulphide material and used in the calculation of the optimized pit shells.

 

Mineral resources are reported inside optimized pit shells with Minemax software using high-level economic assumptions, geotechnical pit slope parameters and property boundaries. Estimated mineral resources for the Bullfrog Project are being reported for the Bullfrog, Montgomery-Shoshone and Bonanza areas, respectively.

 

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Table 1-7: Bullfrog Mineral Resources

 

Mineral Resources as of December 31, 2021 - Bullfrog

Redox/

Cutoff

Classification Tonnes
(Mt)
Au grade
(g/t)
Ag grade
(g/t)
Au Contained
(koz)
Ag Contained
(koz)

Oxide/

0.192 g/t

Measured 24.50 0.537 1.28 422.77 1,010.02
Indicated 36.32 0.515 1.14 602.02 1,332.18
Measured and Indicated 60.82 0.524 1.20 1,024.79 2,342.20
Inferred 14.40 0.460 0.77 213.06 358.49
 

Sulfide/

0.315g/t

Measured 1.30 0.710 1.28 29.77 53.52
Indicated 1.99 0.625 1.32 39.94 84.47
Measured and Indicated 3.29 0.659 1.30 69.72 137.99
Inferred 1.05 0.657 1.14 22.14 38.53
             
Total -
Oxide
and
Sulfide
Measured 25.80 0.545 1.28 452.55 1,063.54
Indicated 38.31 0.521 1.15 641.96 1,416.65
Measured and Indicated 64.12 0.531 1.20 1,094.51 2,480.19
Inferred 15.44 0.474 0.80 235.20 397.02

 

Notes:

1.Oxide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 82% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 20% For Ag.

2.Sulphide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 50% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 12% for Ag.

3.Mining costs for mineralized material and waste are US$2.25/tonne.

4.Processing, general and administration, and refining costs are US$5.00/tonne, US$0.50/tonne, and US$0.05/tonne respectively.

5.Due to rounding, some columns or rows may not compute as shown.

6.Estimated Mineral Resources are stated as in situ dry metric tonnes.

7.The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

  

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Table 1-8: Montgomery-Shoshone Mineral Resources

 

Mineral Resources as of December 31, 2021 - Montgomery-Shoshone
Redox/
Cutoff
Classification Tonnes
(Mt)
Au grade
(g/t)
Ag grade
(g/t)
Au Contained
(koz)
Ag Contained
(koz)

Oxide/

0.192 g/t

Measured 1.97 0.637 3.35 40.35 212.12
Indicated 1.35 0.555 2.85 24.04 123.66
Measured and Indicated 3.32 0.603 3.15 64.38 335.78
Inferred 1.05 0.586 3.45 19.76 116.41

 

Notes:

1.Oxide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 82% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 20% For Ag.

2.Sulphide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 50% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 12% for Ag. No sulphide material was reported for Montgomery-Shoshone.

3.Mining costs for mineralized material and waste are US$2.25/tonne.

4.Processing, general and administration, and refining costs are US$5.00/tonne, US$0.50/tonne, and US$0.05/tonne respectively.

5.Due to rounding, some columns or rows may not compute as shown.

6.Estimated Mineral Resources are stated as in situ dry metric tonnes.

7.The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

 

Table 1-9: Bonanza Mineral Resources

 

Mineral Resources as of December 31, 2021 - Bonanza
Redox/
Cutoff
Classification Tonnes
(Mt)
Au grade
(g/t)
Ag grade
(g/t)
Au Contained
(koz)
Ag Contained
(koz)

Oxide/

0.192 g/t

Measured 2.35 0.446 0.44 33.78 33.48
Indicated 1.22 0.422 0.44 16.61 17.17
Measured and Indicated 3.58 0.438 0.44 50.40 50.65
Inferred 0.19 0.473 0.37 2.94 2.28

 

Notes:

1.Oxide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 82% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 20% For Ag.

2.Sulphide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 50% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 12% for Ag. No sulphide material was reported for Bonanza.

3.Mining costs for mineralized material and waste are US$2.25/tonne.

4.Processing, general and administration, and refining costs are US$5.00/tonne, US$0.50/tonne, and US$0.05/tonne respectively.

5.Due to rounding, some columns or rows may not compute as shown.

6.Estimated Mineral Resources are stated as in situ dry metric tonnes.

7.The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

 

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Table 1-10: Combined Mineral Resources

 

  Combined Global Resources as of December 31, 2021 - Oxide and Sulphide
  Classification Tonnes
(Mt)
Au grade
(g/t)
Ag grade
(g/t)
Au Contained
(koz)
Ag Contained
(koz)
  Measured 30.13 0.544 1.35 526.68 1,309.13
  Indicated 40.88 0.519 1.18 682.61 1,557.49
  Measured and Indicated 71.01 0.530 1.26 1,209.29 2,866.62
  Inferred 16.69 0.481 0.96 257.90 515.72

 

Notes:

1.Oxide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 82% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 20% For Ag.

2.Sulphide estimated Mineral Resources are reported within a pit shell using the Lerch Grossman algorithm, a gold price of US$1,550/oz and a recovery of 50% for Au and silver price of US$20/oz and a recovery of 12% for Ag. No sulphide material was reported for Montgomery-Shoshone or Bonanza.

3.Mining costs for mineralized material and waste are US$2.25/tonne.

4.Processing, general and administration, and refining costs are US$5.00/tonne, US$0.50/tonne, and US$0.05/tonne respectively.

5.Due to rounding, some columns or rows may not compute as shown.

6.Estimated Mineral Resources are stated as in situ dry metric tonnes.

7.The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues.

 

Combined Mineral Resources presented in this report have increased over those reported in the June 2021 Bullfrog NI 43-101 technical report. Measured and Indicated Resources increased by 18.7 million tonnes, 329,500 gold ounces, and 476,000 silver ounces. Inferred Resources increased by 7.6 million tonnes, 127,900 gold ounces, and 272,200 silver ounces. The changes are primarily due to new drilling, database improvements, and the updated geological controls that have led to greater continuity of higher-grade material in lower portions of the Bullfrog pit resulting in a more robust pit optimization.

 

1.6Conclusions

 

This report is based on all technical and scientific data as of December 31, 2021, the effective date of this report. Mineral resources are considered by the QP to meet the reasonable prospects of eventual economic extraction. Analytical data has been collected and analyzed using industry standard methods at the time they were collected. Geologic data has been interpreted and modeled using historic maps, reports, field mapping, drillhole logging and three-dimensional computer modeling. Resource block models were developed using the geologic and analytical data to best represent the mineralization within each of the areas and accounts for historic mining of the resource by open pit and underground methods. Lerch-Grossman optimized pit shells have been generated for each area using representative costs, metal recoveries and slope angles and resources have been summarized within those pit shells.

 

1.6.1Geology and Mineral Resources

 

The exploration potential within the district is high and recent drilling has shown that mineralized structures and features continue both laterally and vertically along the known mineralized trends in and near all three major areas. Specific areas for additional exploration drilling and interpretation include Ladd Mountain and Mystery Hills near the Bullfrog pit; the Polaris vein and related disseminated mineralization near the Montgomery-Shoshone pit; along strike and beneath Bonanza Mountain near the Bonanza pit; and in the structurally prospective Gap area in the northern portion of the property.

 

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Considerable effort has been placed on verifying historic assays and surveys by checking against historic drill logs and assay certificates. The database has been updated to include additional assay certificate data that was recently discovered. Problems with imperial-metric grade conversions in a porting of the legacy data have been corrected.

Forte Dynamics completed a review of the drilling database for Bullfrog and has verified assay data against lab certificates for approximately 10% of drillholes in the economically important portions of the deposits.

The recent assay data has been collected in a manner appropriate for the deposit type and mineralization style. Assay QA/QC analyses have been taken to ensure that assays are of a quality suitable for the estimation of mineral resources.

The level of understanding of the geology is very good. A district wide geologic model has been constructed using historic maps, geology reports and field mapping. Drillhole logs are used in the interpretation, when possible, but more effort should be placed on utilizing the downhole logging data to help refine the geologic models.

Drillholes excluded from resource estimation have been reviewed and the list has been updated. Some holes now have assay data and have been removed from the exclusion list. A few additional RC drillholes with downhole contamination have been added to the exclusion list. Location and downhole survey issues for a few holes have also been identified.

Historical production data, blastholes, pit maps, underground maps, stope surveys should be extracted from the historical archives and digitized into a format that can aid in the interpretation of the geologic model and resource block model. The historic data can be used to calibrate the resource model and provide a validation check.

The treatment of outlier assays in the database is appropriate and reasonable. The block grade interpretations have been carried out using conventional methods consistent with common industry practice.

Block model grades have been zeroed out in areas of historic underground and open pit mining. Block model grades were also zeroed out within geologic units known to be barren. Backfilled areas within the open pit and underground mines have been accounted for in the volume and tonnage to be mined.

Mining and processing costs based on similar Nevada operations have been applied in the pit optimization. The existing pit walls remain very stable with steep overall slope angles on a majority of the pit walls. The existing wall angles have been measured and applied in the pit optimization.

 

1.6.2Metallurgical Test Work and Mineral Processing

 

Metallurgical testing performed to date indicates reasonable gold recovery at small particle sizes. The column leach tests on HPGR fine crushed materials suggest gold recovery could exceed 85% on 10 mesh material; however, further testing is required to properly characterize the recovery potential for each mineralized zone.

 

The metallurgical test program should be comprehensive, and include the following (at a minimum):

 

Full characterization of composite samples – Au/Ag content, carbon and sulfur speciation, typical Geochem including Hg, solids specific gravity

Crushing work index testing

Abrasion index testing

 

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Column leach testing at various HPGR crush sizes, including comparative bottle roll tests and size fraction recovery analysis

Agglomeration testing

Compacted permeability testing

Any required environmental tests on column test residues measured

 

1.6.3Infrastructure

 

The project is in a jurisdiction that is amenable to mining.

The project site is near the town of Beatty, Nevada which has adequate amenities and services.

The project was open pit and underground mined from 1989-1999 and has remaining infrastructure that includes power lines on site, a paved highway to site and a network of roads across the district.

Availability of adequate power through the local utility, as well as available water and water rights to support operations require further evaluation.

 

1.7Recommendations

 

The current estimation of mineral resources indicate the potential for further work to advance the project to a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).

 

Additional exploration drilling and delineation drilling should be carried out to expand the resource base and to further refine the geologic models and resource block models.

 

Metallurgical testing performed to date indicates gold recovery is reasonable at small particle sizes. The column leach tests on HPGR fine crushed materials suggest gold recovery could exceed 85% on 10 mesh material; however, further testing is required to properly characterize the recovery potential for each mineralized zone.

 

Baseline study work across a range of activities can be started to support permitting activities for future study stages.

 

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2.Introduction

 

This report has been prepared for Augusta Gold Corp. for the Bullfrog Gold Project in Nevada with the purpose of updating and reporting mineral resources utilizing the most recent drilling and geologic models. The drillhole and geologic information has been used to generate a three-dimensional block model of the mineralized areas and optimized pit shells have been developed from those block models to report mineral resources.

 

Technical information, including locations, orientations, mapping, and analytical data has been supplied by Augusta Gold Corp. Information pertaining to title, environment, permitting and access has also been supplied by Augusta Gold Corp. Introductory summaries pertaining to infrastructure, location, geology, and mineralization have been primarily sourced from the historical reports from past producers and by Augusta Gold Corp.

 

The project site was inspected by Forte on December 14, 2021.

 

2.1Units of Measure

 

All references to dollars in this report are to U.S. dollars (US$) unless otherwise noted. Distances, areas, volumes, and masses are expressed in the metric system unless indicated otherwise. Historic data is expressed in English units, such as feet and tons.

 

For the purpose of this report, common measurements are given in metric units. All tonnages shown are in Tonnes (t) of 1,000 kilograms, and precious metal grade values are given in grams per tonne (g/t), precious metal quantity values are given in troy ounces (toz). To convert to English units, the following factors should be used:

 

1 short ton = 0.907 tonne (T)

1 troy ounce = 31.1035 grams (g)

1 troy ounce/short ton = 34.286 grams per tonne (g/t)

1 foot = 30.48 centimeters (cm) = 0.3048 meters (m)

1 mile = 1.61 kilometer (km)

1 acre = 0.405 hectare (ha)

 

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2.2Abbreviations

 

The following is a list of the abbreviations used in this report:

  

Abbreviation Unit or Term
2D two-dimensional
3D three-dimensional
Ag silver
Au gold
cm centimeter
cm3 cubic centimeters
g gram
g/t grams per tonne
g/cm3 grams per cubic centimeter
ha hectare
kg kilogram
km kilometer
km2 square kilometers
km/h kilometers per hour
kw-h kilowatt per hour
m meter
M million
Mm millimeter
mm/yr millimeters per year
Mya million years before present
NDEP Nevada Department of Environmental Projection
NI 43-101 Canadian Securities Administrators’ National Instrument 43-101
NSR Net Smelting Return
Pb lead
PEA Preliminary Economic Assessment
ppm parts per million
QA/QC quality assurance/quality control
metric ton
toz Troy ounces
T/d Tonnes per day
US$ United States dollars

 

2.3Qualified Persons and Details of Inspection

 

Forte is acting as a Qualified Person firm consisting of mining experts to prepare the report. Below is a list of details of the QPs inspection of the property.

 

A Forte QP conducted a site visit of the property on December 14, 2021, where he was able to review infrastructure, existing pits, waste dumps, roads, and the observable geologic features of the site. The exploration program had been completed earlier so logging and sample preparation were not directly reviewed, although the sampling and logging procedures were reviewed. The Forte team did receive a thorough geologic review of the site by the project geologist.

 

Information contained in the report is current as of December 31, 2021.

 

The reports and documents listed in Chapter 24 and Chapter 25 of this Report were used to support Report preparation.

 

Augusta Gold has not previously filed a technical report summary on the Project.

 

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3.Property Description

 

The Project is located in the Bullfrog Hills of Nye County, Nevada (Figure 3-1). Bullfrog Mine’s property covers approximately 3,157 hectares of patented and unpatented lode mining claims in Sections 25, 26, 35 and 36 of T11S, R46E and Sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, and 23 of T12S, R46E, Mt. Diablo Meridian. The Project is accessible via a 2¼ hour (260 km) drive north of Las Vegas, Nevada along US Highway 95. Las Vegas is serviced by a major international airport and is the closest major hub for providing equipment, supplies, services, and other support to the Project. The Project lies 4 miles west of the Town of Beatty, Nevada, which has a population of approximately 1,000 and contains most basic services, including motels, gasoline stations, schools, and a variety of stores and services. Access around the Project is provided by a series of reasonably good gravel roads that extend to the existing mines and important exploration areas.

 

Figure 3-1: Location Map

 

 

 

Augusta Gold has four option/lease/purchase agreements in place and has located 61 claims that give it control of 439 unpatented lode mining claims and mill site claims, and 86 patented. These lands are listed in Table 3-1. A property map with the locations shown in detail can be seen in Figure 3-2. The claims do not have an expiration date, as long as the fees and obligations are maintained.

 

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Table 3-1: Lands Under the Control of Augusta Gold Corp.

 

Augusta Gold Corp. Patented Claims
Standard Gold
Patent Name Mineral Survey No.
Providence 2470
Aurium 2654

 

Augusta Gold Corp. Patented Claims
Mojave Gold Mining
Patent Name Mineral Survey No.
Polaris Fraction 2426
Inaugural Fraction 2426
Three Peaches 2426
Little Fraction 2471A
Indian Johnnie 2471A
Shoshone 2471A
Del Monte Fraction 2501A
Shoshone Two 2471A
Shoshone Three 2471A
Oro Grande 2470
Shoshone Extension 2470
Greenhorn 2470

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Patented Claims
Brown Claims
Patent Name Mineral Survey No.
Crystal 2418
Oliver 2340

 

Augusta Gold Corp. Patented Claims
Lunar Landing Claims
Patent Name Mineral Survey No.
Elkhorn 2736
Red Bluff 2540
Black Bull 2425
Bell Boy Fraction 2425
South Fraction 2425
Lookout 2461
Molly Gibson #1 3043
Molly Gibson # 2 3043
Molly Gibson #3 3043
Molly Gibson #4 3043
Molly Gibson #5 3043
Rand 2784
Rand #1 2784
Rand #2 2784
Rand #3 2784
Rand Fraction 2784
Early Bird 2491

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Patented Claims
Lunar Landing Claims
Patent Name Mineral Survey No.
Unexpected 2735
Scorpion 2411
St. Anthony 2734
Eva Bell 2576
Gem Fraction 2377
Quartzsite Fraction 2422
Annex 2715

 

Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
BFGC 1 NMC1147851
BFGC 2 NMC1147852
BFGC 3 NMC1147853
BFGC 4 NMC1147854
BFGC 5 NMC1147855
BFGC 6 NMC1147856
BFGC 8 NMC1147857
BFGC 9 NMC1147858
BFGC 10 NMC1147859
BFGC 11 NMC1147860
BFGC 12 NMC1147861
BFGC 13 NMC1147862
BFGC 14 NMC1147863

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
BFGC 15 NMC1147864
BFGC 16 NMC1147865
BFGC 17 NMC1147866
BFGC 18 NMC1147867
BFGC 19 NMC1147868
BFGC 20 NMC1147869
BFGC 21 NMC1147870
BFGC 22 NMC1147871
BFGC 23 NMC1147872
BFGC 24 NMC1147873
BFGC 25 NMC1147874
BFGC 26 NMC1147875
BFGC 27 NMC1147876
BFGC 28 NMC1147877
BFGC 29 NMC1147878
BFGC 30 NMC1147879
BFGC 31 NMC1147880
BFGC 32 NMC1147881
BFGC 33 NMC1147882
BFGC 34 NMC1147883
BFGC 35 NMC1147884
BFGC 36 NMC1147885
BFGC 37 NMC1147886
BFGC 38 NMC1147887

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
BFGC 39 NMC1147888
BFGC 40 NMC1147889
BFGC 41 NMC1147890
BFGC 42 NMC1147891
BFGC 43 NMC1147892
BFGC 44 NMC1147893
BFGC 45 NMC1147894
BFGC 46 NMC1147895
BFGC 47 NMC1147896
BFGC 48 NMC1147897
BFGC 49 NMC1147898
BFGC 50 NMC1147899
BFGC 51 NMC1147900
BFGC 52 NMC1147901
BFGC 53 NMC1147902
BFGC 54 NMC1147903
BFGC 55 NMC1147904
BFGC 56 NMC1147905
BFGC 57 NMC1147906
BFGC 58 NMC1147907
BFGC 59 NMC1147908
BFGC 60 NMC1147909
BFGC 61 NMC1147910
BFGC 62 NMC1147911

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
BFGC 7 NMC1154057
BFGC 63 NMC1154058
BFGC 64 NMC1154059
BFGC 65 NMC1154060
BFGC 66 NMC1154061
BFGC 67 NMC1154062
BFGC 68 NMC1154063
BFGC 69 NMC1154064
BFGC 70 NMC1154065
BFGC 71 NMC1154066
BFGC 72 NMC1154067
BFGC 73 NMC1154068
BFGC 74 NMC1154069
BFGC 75 NMC1154070
BFGC 76 NMC1154071
BFGC 77 NMC1154072
BFGC 78 NMC1154073
BFGC 79 NMC1154074
BFGC 80 NMC1154075
BFGC 81 NMC1154076
BFGC 82 NMC1154077
BFGC 83 NMC1154078
BFGC 84 NMC1154079
BFGC 85 NMC1154080

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
BFGC 86 NMC1154081
BFGC 87 NMC1154082
BFGC 88 NMC1154083
BFGC 89 NMC1177609
BFGC 90 NMC1177610
BFGC 91 NMC1177611
BFGC 92 NMC1177612
BFGC 93 NMC1177613
BFGC 94 NMC1177614
BFGC 95 NMC1177615
BFGC 96 NMC1177616
BFGC 97 NMC1177617
BFGC 98 NMC1177618
BFGC 99 NMC1177619
BFGC 100 NMC1177620
BFGC 101 NMC1177621
BFGC 102 NMC1177622
BFGC 103 NMC1177623
BFGC 104 NMC1177624
BFGC 105 NMC1177625
BFGC 106 NMC1177626
BFGC 107 NMC1177627
BFGC 108 NMC1177628
BFGC 109 NMC1177629

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
BFGC 110 NMC1177630
BFGC 111 NMC1177631
BFGC 112 NMC1185280
BFGC 113 NMC1185281
BFGC 114 NMC1185282
BFGC 115 NMC1185283
BFGC 116 NMC1185284
BFGC 117 NMC1185285
BFGC 118 NMC1185286
BFGC 119 NMC1185287
BFGC 120 NMC1185288
BFGC 121 NMC1185289
BFGC 122 NMC1185290
BFGC 123 NMC1185291
BFGC 124 NMC1185292
BFGC 125 NMC1185293
BFGC 126 NMC1185294
BFGC 127 NMC1185295
BFGC 128 NMC1185296
BFGC 129 NMC1185297
BFGC 130 NMC1185298
BFGC 131 NMC1185299
BFGC 132 NMC1185300
BFGC 133 NMC1185301

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
BFGC 134 NMC1185302
BEATTY CON # 1 NMC109662
LUCKY QUEEN NMC109667
BC # 8 BABINGTON NMC109697
BC # 9 CORNELL NMC109698
BC # 10 FLIN FLON 2 NMC109699
BVD 6 NMC987963
BVD 5 NMC987964
BVD 324 NMC987965
BVD 323 NMC987966
BVD 322 NMC987967
BVD 321 NMC987968
BVD 317 NMC987969
BVD 316 NMC987970
BVD 315 NMC987971
BVD 314 NMC987972
BVD 303 NMC987973
BVD 302 NMC987974
BVD 301 NMC987975
BVD 300 NMC987976
BVD 207 NMC987977
BVD 206 NMC987978
BVD 205 NMC987979
BVD 204 NMC987980

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
BVD 203 NMC987981
BVD 202 NMC987982
BVD 201 NMC987983
BVD 200 NMC987984
BVD 107 NMC987985
BVD 106 NMC987986
BVD 105 NMC987987
BVD 41 NMC987988
BVD 40 NMC987989
BVD 32 NMC987990
BVD 31 NMC987991
BVD 30 NMC987992
BVD 29 NMC987993
BVD 36 NMC987994
BVD 35 NMC987995
BVD 34 NMC987996
BVD 33 NMC987997
BVD 28 NMC987998
BVD 27 NMC987999
BVD 26 NMC988000
BVD 25 NMC988001
BVD 19 NMC988002
BVD 18 NMC988003
BVD 17 NMC988004

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
BVD 16 NMC988005
BVD 24 NMC988006
BVD 23 NMC988007
BVD 22 NMC988008
BVD 21 NMC988009
BVD 20 NMC988010
BVD 15 NMC988011
BVD 14 NMC988012
BVD 13 NMC988013
BVD 12 NMC988014
BVD 11 NMC988015
BVD 39 NMC988016
BVD 38 NMC988017
BVD 37 NMC988018
BVD 10 NMC988019
BVD 9 NMC988020
BVD 8 NMC988021
BVD 7 NMC988022
BVD 4 NMC988023
BVD 3 NMC988024
BVD 2 NMC988025
BVD 1 NMC988026
BVD 401 NMC992989
BVD 402 NMC992990

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
BVD 403 NMC992991
BVD 404 NMC992992
BVD 405 NMC992993
BVD 406 NMC992994
BVD 407 NMC992995
BVD 408 NMC992996
BVD 409 NMC992997
BVD 410 NMC992998
BFG 135 NV105225834
BFG 136 NV105225835
BFG 137 NV105225836
BFG 138 NV105225837

 

Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Abitibi Option
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
AR 1 1209019
AR 2 1209020
AR 3 1209021
AR 4 1209022
AR 5 1209023
AR 6 1209024
AR 7 1209025
AR 8 1209026

 

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Augusta Gold Corp. Unpatented Claims
Abitibi Option
Claim Name BLM Serial Number
AR 9 1209027
AR 10 1209028
AR 11 1209029
AR 12 1209030
AR 13 1209031
AR 14 1209032
AR 15 1209033
AR 16 1209034
AR 17 1209035
AR 18 1209036
AR 19 1209037
AR 20 1209038
AR 21 1209039
AR 22 1209040
AR 23 1209041
AR 24 1209042
AR 25 1209043
AR 26 1209044
AR 27 1209045